So what comes after RDR2?

[Foxtrot]

I've done the story, gained my 100% game completion and fairly close to completing the available stranger missions.  I'm more or less done with the game (my third play through, so I'm reticent about starting over again).

So, what do you guys suggest I play next?  Next on my list is the next episode of Life is Strange II, but that won't last long.

I don't do Online, so RDO doesn't really interest me that much.

[Kean_1]

I know @BropolloCreed79 was playing the Division 2.  I am too in fact.  

Days Gone is coming up quick but I have a funny feeling about that one.  I just don't get a good vibe from the hype, interviews, footage, etc.  .....a good vibe for me that is.

I don't know.....  What do you like that you've played?  I'm just waiting for the Spring RDO update which I have a feeling will land in April since that is when their published  schedule ended for their weekly release of challenges, etc.  ....I'll still be playing other titles at the same time though as I do now.

[Foxtrot]

Yes, I was looking at Division 2.  It does seem a bit pricy for a 20 hour campaign though.  I might wait for that to enter a discount period.

[NDX47]

If you like those b rated monster movies that have giant ants, bugs and monsters. Try out "Earth Defense Force 5" has over 90 missions in story mode with five difficulties and it has great gameplay.

Four different classes to choose from ranger to a class with girls with jetpacks. It's what you ask for in a game. Blow everything up to save mother earth from any alien attacks. It's price is a bit much and it's digital only for the fifth version.

The version before it should be fairly cheap $20 bucks "Earth Defense Force 4.1" and it has a physical copy. Great game to play with kids on split screen two player hunting down ants and other giant bugs. 

[Kean_1]

55 minutes ago, Foxtrot said:

Yes, I was looking at Division 2.  It does seem a bit pricy for a 20 hour campaign though.  I might wait for that to enter a discount period.

20 hours?   I've already put in 46 hrs of PvE and I just barely got to level 18 last night.  After lvl 30 there is end game content, challenges you can do, etc.  

I know some folks have already blasted through the end-game content after the first week and quite frankly, I don't know how they do it without actually being able to enjoy the game.  I thought I was making good, steady progress while still exploring and finishing off all the side missions, settlement requests, random events along the way, collecting blueprints, etc.  I always level up above the requirement for the missions before tackling them where possible.  .....and try to obtain the best gear.

If you're like me and don't blow through games, I think TD2 would last you a while.  .....and then it doesn't stop there as they will be adding more content along the way.

Not at the top of my favorite games but quite fun.  ....especially with a friend or two.  

[Foxtrot]

Ah, cool.  Might give that a go then.  Thanks for the advice.

I had to look up "PvE".  I thought at first it meant "Player vs Everyone".

[Kean_1]

1 minute ago, Foxtrot said:

Ah, cool.  Might give that a go then.  Thanks for the advice.

I had to look up "PvE".  I thought at first it meant "Player vs Everyone".

No problem...

I have to add....  Now that I think about it, I do have 3 characters I use.  One for solo and the other two for when I play with friends which is usually 1-2 times per week.  ....so my solo play is probably about 30 hours so far with around the remaining 16 hours as coop.  

It's kind of cool because when a friend joins, I don't mind replaying some missions they want to do, etc.  It's a different experience with a team and you really need to use some basic tactics and cover in this game as the lethality has been increased (both in what you deal and take).  You can also stash weapons / gear and use it for your other characters (if they are the appropriate level for those items of course).  

[Kean_1]

btw, if you like creepy and enjoy hardcore survival games, an inexpensive gem (IMO) is The Forrest.  Not sure if it's on XB1 but may be worth checking out.  

I bought it for $19 on a friend's recommendation and it is addictive.  .....tons of fun with a friend (you can play with 3 others) or alone.  

[Saffron]

28 minutes ago, Kean_1 said:

20 hours?   I've already put in 46 hrs of PvE and I just barely got to level 18 last night.  After lvl 30 there is end game content, challenges you can do, etc.  

I know some folks have already blasted through the end-game content after the first week and quite frankly, I don't know how they do it without actually being able to enjoy the game.  I thought I was making good, steady progress while still exploring and finishing off all the side missions, settlement requests, random events along the way, collecting blueprints, etc.  I always level up above the requirement for the missions before tackling them where possible.  .....and try to obtain the best gear.

If you're like me and don't blow through games, I think TD2 would last you a while.  .....and then it doesn't stop there as they will be adding more content along the way.

Not at the top of my favorite games but quite fun.  ....especially with a friend or two.  

I can assure you its no 20 hour game.im at world tier 3 and the game keeps opening up.once you master the game technique and how the enemys come at you its pretty easy to blast through.done tier 2 solo and just got some randoms in to help on big missions.amazing game.and it will keep getting better

[Kean_1]

40 minutes ago, Saffron said:

I can assure you its no 20 hour game.im at world tier 3 and the game keeps opening up.once you master the game technique and how the enemys come at you its pretty easy to blast through.done tier 2 solo and just got some randoms in to help on big missions.amazing game.and it will keep getting better

Did you hear the State of the Game today?  Just ended about 20 minutes ago.  The next TU is coming 4/5.

 

[Kormath]

I don't do online games either, with the exception of The Division.  I did enjoy the survival DLC playing with others online.

Love The Division 2,  my son and i play that together, and typically that's just when i play it, so i'm still a lowly level 13 i think lol. 

When he's not around (he's almost 20 now, so he's away more than he is home) i play a hunting simulator game, probably one of the reasons i love hunting in RDR2 so much, they're quite similar.  TheHunter: Call of the Wild,  i have about 12 days of playtime in it.  It's the most realistic hunting sim yet.   

If i'm not in the mood to hunt i've been working on Assassin's Creed Origins, so i can start playing Odyssey, i bought Odyssey when it was released but wanted to finish Origins first.  But the first playthrough of RDR2 was taking all my time.

Also playing Ark's 3rd DLC - extinction i think it is? and The Forest is not yet released for Xbox   And finally Just Cause 4.  yeah it got a lot of bad reviews but i'm having fun with it, i like some of the changes they made from #3.

[Saffron]

29 minutes ago, Kean_1 said:

Did you hear the State of the Game today?  Just ended about 20 minutes ago.  The next TU is coming 4/5.

 

State of the game ? Please explain and whats TU

[Kean_1]

5 minutes ago, Saffron said:

State of the game ? Please explain and whats TU

Ubi has a "State of the Game" livestream from time to time where they announce upcoming updates, issues they are working on, etc.  

TU = Title Update 

[Saffron]

3 minutes ago, Kean_1 said:

Ubi has a "State of the Game" livestream from time to time wuhere they announce upcoming updates, issues they are working on, etc.  

TU = Title Update 

Just as you replied i typed in state of the game and found it.thank you

[Foxtrot]

Wow. Division 2 seems like it’s half modding/configuration and half shooting stuff. That makes Red Dead look positively simple. 

Can I just play Division 2 with a Litchfield repeater with express rounds please?

[Kormath]

15 minutes ago, Foxtrot said:

Wow. Division 2 seems like it’s half modding/configuration and half shooting stuff. That makes Red Dead look positively simple. 

Can I just play Division 2 with a Litchfield repeater with express rounds please?

I go the sniper route,  i like to hang back and headshot then run in with a shotgun and finish off anyone left.  My second load out is an LMG and assault rifle when i want to just spray and pray

[BropolloCreed79]

On 3/27/2019 at 10:42 AM, Kean_1 said:

I know @BropolloCreed79 was playing the Division 2.

It's literally everything I wanted it to be.  I've eschewed food, sleep, AND alcohol to play it.  I get maybe an hour or so a day on it, give or take, so I haven't even hit Level 30 yet.  At some point I'll get back into Red Dead, but it's incredibly deflating to try and sign into the servers and getting disconnected before the game even finishes loading.

I'd be more likely to play RDRO if I had more time to do it, but I'm spread pretty thin right now, and TD2 is functionally and technically further along than RDO, so that's where I spend my time right now.  At some point, I'll need a break or a palette cleanser, and RDO will be there for me, but for now, TD2 satisfies that "itch" when I pick up a controller, and it's going to be some time until that changes for me, personally.

On 3/27/2019 at 11:00 AM, Foxtrot said:

Yes, I was looking at Division 2.  It does seem a bit pricy for a 20 hour campaign though.  I might wait for that to enter a discount period.

According to Ubisoft Club, I'm 38 hours into the campaign, and I'd estimate that I'm only about 75% of the way through it.  The level cap is 30, and I'm on 25, with three sections of the map undiscovered, not including Dark Zones.  I'm one of those rabid completionists, though, so I'm doing ALL the side missions and peripheral activities instead of blowing through the main story missions.  I'd be willing to bet that you could, if so inclined, finish the campaign in 15-20 hours, but I'll easily blow through 40 hours before I hit the endgame.

There's so much to do, and it's damn fun doing it, too.  Everything I loved about the first one has been improved upon and it's a blast.

It's also a looter-shooter, so the idea of the campaign is more of a preamble to the loot hunt when you get to endgame, honestly.  To be fair, the campaign story isn't as deep or involved as it was in the first one, and they didn't do as good a job this time as they did on TD1 fleshing everything out--it's very discombobulated--but I have a feeling they'll tie it together with the free DLC packs in year 1.

On 3/27/2019 at 11:54 AM, Kean_1 said:

I know some folks have already blasted through the end-game content after the first week and quite frankly, I don't know how they do it without actually being able to enjoy the game.

Word.  And the frustrating part is, those are ususally the folks crabbing about not having anything to do, which is probably why WT5 comes out Monday.

On 3/27/2019 at 11:56 AM, Foxtrot said:

I thought at first it meant "Player vs Everyone".

I've been making that assumption for almost 15 years, and just recently learned the actual meaning.  So don't feel bad.

22 hours ago, Foxtrot said:

Wow. Division 2 seems like it’s half modding/configuration and half shooting stuff. That makes Red Dead look positively simple. 

Can I just play Division 2 with a Litchfield repeater with express rounds please?

You can, in a way.  There are plenty of semi-auto rifles in the game, as well as specialized ammunition caches that can be picked up throughout the open world.  There's nothing more satisfying than picking up 30 incendiary rounds and watching enemies burn.

 

[Kean_1]

1 hour ago, BropolloCreed79 said:

It's literally everything I wanted it to be.  I've eschewed food, sleep, AND alcohol to play it.  I get maybe an hour or so a day on it, give or take, so I haven't even hit Level 30 yet.  At some point I'll get back into Red Dead, but it's incredibly deflating to try and sign into the servers and getting disconnected before the game even finishes loading.

Yeah, the only thing really bugging me right now with TD2 is the texture rendering delays/issues that have been around since the betas.  A lot of people have reported it but they still haven't added it to their "known" list.   ....and then they kept asking for more video evidence so then everyone flooded them with examples all showing the same thing.  I hope they get that sorted as it's really the only thing putting a damper on my gameplay experience / immersion.

 

 

[DaveSpeek]

I would imagine you are more keen on offline story mode games over online multiplayer games, yeah? What games have you not played yet that would interest you from 2018/2019? I have a hard time recommending games when I don't know which kind are preferred. 

[Parzival]

On 3/27/2019 at 9:05 AM, Kean_1 said:

btw, if you like creepy and enjoy hardcore survival games, an inexpensive gem (IMO) is The Forrest.  Not sure if it's on XB1 but may be worth checking out.  

I bought it for $19 on a friend's recommendation and it is addictive.  .....tons of fun with a friend (you can play with 3 others) or alone.  

Why does enjoying survival games make someone creepy? 😕

[Kean_1]

49 minutes ago, Parzival said:

Why does enjoying survival games make someone creepy? 😕

I meant if you like creepy and enjoy HC survival....   In other words, The Forest is a creepy, HC survival game.  .....not that you would be creepy for liking it.  😄

[Parzival]

Oh, okay. I misread that. My bad.

[Foxtrot]

So, I got The Division 2 to play after RDR2.  Made it up to Level 4 so far after a couple of sessions.

I got reminded immediately about how well Rockstar has done with RDR2.  The Division doesn't have the glorious graphics, it doesn't have the personality of the story, and is over-complicated in terms of the resource management aspect.  I do like the cover transitions though - they're pretty neat.

[Kean_1]

4 hours ago, Foxtrot said:

So, I got The Division 2 to play after RDR2.  Made it up to Level 4 so far after a couple of sessions.

I got reminded immediately about how well Rockstar has done with RDR2.  The Division doesn't have the glorious graphics, it doesn't have the personality of the story, and is over-complicated in terms of the resource management aspect.  I do like the cover transitions though - they're pretty neat.

Yeah, definitely a different ball of wax.  TD1 and TD2 are RPG looter shooters.  In that genre, I think the franchise does it well as I'm not a big fan of Destiny and the like.  Hell, I'm not even a huge fan of the Division but I like it better than most in that type of game. 

I would really rather be playing tactical shooters than looter shooters.  Although they stopped short of delivering what could have been a really cool game, I thought Ghost Recon Wildlands was one the best things Ubi had released in a long time.  .....until they started dumbing it down instead of building on what made it unique in the console market.

[BropolloCreed79]

4 hours ago, Foxtrot said:

it doesn't have the personality of the story,

Blasphemy!  The story is engrossing and part of a rich tapestry when woven together with both it's predecessor and ancillary media.  I love that they leave breadcrumbs and trails for folks to follow the smaller parts of the narrative if they so choose.  It's a nice counter-point to Dutch's oft-repeated calls for faith and pipe dreams of "having a plan".

1 hour ago, Kean_1 said:

I would really rather be playing tactical shooters than looter shooters

I'm just now getting into the endgame, and cover/tactics are absolutely necessary for survival--really, they're the game's core mechanic.  I solo most of the content (though that may change if it gets too much harder), and the days of walking someone down with a shotgun or standing out of cover with a sniper rifle are a thing of the past--even in the jump from TD1 to TD2.  The enemy AI balance between skill deployment, tactics, flanking, and reliance on teamwork are amazing.

I've only slept for six hours in the past two days combined.  Much like RDO (when I can manage to stay on for more than ten minutes at a time), it quickly devolves into "just one more mission/bounty/checkpoint/stronghold...." like an oblivious alcoholic telling themselves, "I can quit any time I want to..."

 

[Kean_1]

1 hour ago, BropolloCreed79 said:

I'm just now getting into the endgame, and cover/tactics are absolutely necessary for survival--really, they're the game's core mechanic.  I solo most of the content (though that may change if it gets too much harder), and the days of walking someone down with a shotgun or standing out of cover with a sniper rifle are a thing of the past--even in the jump from TD1 to TD2.  The enemy AI balance between skill deployment, tactics, flanking, and reliance on teamwork are amazing.

I've only slept for six hours in the past two days combined.  Much like RDO (when I can manage to stay on for more than ten minutes at a time), it quickly devolves into "just one more mission/bounty/checkpoint/stronghold...." like an oblivious alcoholic telling themselves, "I can quit any time I want to..."

I do like the strategy change in this iteration of the series.  Cover is absolutely essential and for what it is, I do enjoy it.  .....but while tactics are necessary, they're also relatively limited or simplistic IMO.  A lot of that has to do with limitations in the mechanics of the game though.  For example, if crouching or the ability to go prone were introduced, this would certainly open up new ways in which you could approach engagements, use various bits of the environment for concealment/cover, sneak up on positions, etc.  As it is, you are limited to available cover that you are allowed to "snap" to.   

Personally, that was one aspect of GRW that I loved even with it's flaws.  .....especially the lethality.  That was the most fun I had playing with friends in a game in a long time.  A lot of freedom in the way you could approach objectives, choose roles, etc.  

.....but, TD1 and TD2 are still fun for me.  Just a different kind of fun.   ....and yeah, when working with a friend or two, it is satisfying when everything clicks.  We usually establish fall back positions when possible and communicate as we push forward, suppress, flank, reloading, etc.  The folks I play TD2 with were the same folks I played GRW with so we already have a rapport going and know how to communicate with one another.

It's even fun solo as I've already got 43 hrs into it (and 21 hrs in coop). .....much, much more to go.

[Parzival]

I played TD1 as I liked the concept of an open-world third person shooter in a post-apocalyptic setting, but gameplay-wise it wasn't productive for solo players with bullet sponge enemies and missions intentionally designed for multiple players. For this reason, it's highly unlikely I'll ever consider TD2.

[Kormath]

11 hours ago, Parzival said:

I played TD1 as I liked the concept of an open-world third person shooter in a post-apocalyptic setting, but gameplay-wise it wasn't productive for solo players with bullet sponge enemies and missions intentionally designed for multiple players. For this reason, it's highly unlikely I'll ever consider TD2.

I solo'd almost all of TD1, only the end game 4 man raids forced me to do multiplayer, and even a few of those could be solo'd with tier 4 gear playing the mission at tier 0 or 1.  All of the story line missions and bosses were able to be solo'd.  

I die much more in TD2 than TD1,  i love it.  It's frustrating, mostly as i go well that was stupid of me as i hit the button to resurrect.  Cover is a must, but so far for as much as i've completed (just unlocked the 3rd safehouse last night) i've solo'd it all without much difficulty.

And the mission end guys aren't as bullet-spongey as they were in TD1 i don't think.  a well placed couple sniper rounds and they die quickly.

Also, level equipment is a big deal in TD2,  you can't get away with using your favorite level 7 sniper rifle on level 11 enemies in TD2 like i did with TD1.

Edited April 3, 2019 by Kormath

[Foxtrot]

I've not really gelled with Division 2 after playing it for a while.  The skills/commendations/mods/equipment thing is just complicated and bewildering to me, the combat seems to be entirely based around cover transitioning and pumping bad guys full of lead.

The cover system lends itself well to steath attacks, but doesn't.  For all of the protagonist's athleticism, there's no thought of hand-to-hand fighting or sticking a knife into the back of someone's neck.

The protagonist never speaks.  The voice acting and pacing of the cut scenes seem atrificial and stilted when compared with the fluidity and naturalness of RDR2.

Respawns are confusing.  Sometimes I resawn in place, sometimes I have to respawn back at base and restart the side mission all over again.

I will probably circle back to this game, but for now I'm not finding it that enjoyable.  I can see why the level of detail and the depth of the missions are attractive to people, but not to me, not yet.

[Kormath]

6 hours ago, Foxtrot said:

I've not really gelled with Division 2 after playing it for a while.  The skills/commendations/mods/equipment thing is just complicated and bewildering to me, the combat seems to be entirely based around cover transitioning and pumping bad guys full of lead.

Don't worry about mods, commendations etc until end game level 30.  you'll pick up gun and gear mods along the way, use what you like sell or the rest.  Combat is, which is why i prefer the sniper and LMG or a good AR as the 2nd weapon.  pop a few in the head with the sniper and then when the rest run at you like idiots mow them down with the LMG or AR.

I liked TD1, but it took playing TD2 a bit to get into it for me, around level 5 or 6 i finally got hooked.

6 hours ago, Foxtrot said:

The protagonist never speaks.  The voice acting and pacing of the cut scenes seem atrificial and stilted when compared with the fluidity and naturalness of RDR2.

That's always bugged me too.  Shouldn't be too hard to put in a voice selection in their character creation a little bit of dialogue.

6 hours ago, Foxtrot said:

Respawns are confusing.  Sometimes I resawn in place, sometimes I have to respawn back at base and restart the side mission all over again.

If your in a mission, you'll respawn at the last checkpoint, typically where the last restock box was.  When out in the free world roaming you pick your respawn location.