Random Gaming Thoughts

[BogusMeatFactory]

So I've been testing sea of thieves and have to say that it is most definitely the most fun I have ever played in any game. That is not an exaggeration. If you have an Xbox one or a windows 10 pc (I can play it on my potato) and have any love for socializing in video games... it... is.... amazing!

[noiseredux]

Damn dude that's some serious praise. I haven't paid much mind as I'm not a big fan of the pirate setting. But maybe you can sell me on it.

[BogusMeatFactory]

Damn dude that's some serious praise. I haven't paid much mind as I'm not a big fan of the pirate setting. But maybe you can sell me on it.

So this is what I can tell you. I am under NDA for certain aspects of the game, but things covered under the last public beta are open. There is a lot to cover so bare with me.

The gameplay is simple. You make a pirate character and choose to sail in a 1-man sloop solo (for the super hardcore players. It is the most challenging experience) the 2-man sloop or a 4 man galleon. From there it pairs you up with your friends or random players and you do missions from a variety of factions, all the while exploring the seas and avoiding or engaging other players on a map that is akin to a GTA online map (so many players per map).

The magic is in the specifics. The two boat types are a night and day different experience. Galleons require coordination and everyone playing a role. At the helm, the sails impede your view so you rely on the crows nest for guidance. Moving, raising and lowering sails, as well as raising the anchor require multiple people to do quickly and efficiently.

The sloop on the other hand is not as fast as the galleon, but it is extremely maneuverable and the 2-man crew offers a unique experience. The sails don't impede the helmsman, and the limited cannons mean precision is a must. What makes the ship so special is its maneuverability. You can quickly drop anchor, spin the ship around at a 90 degree turn and raise it fast to speed off.

The missions themselves are great. The three factions focus on a variety of styles of play. One faction gives you x marks the spot maps of islands you need to identify and locate as well as riddle maps that give you points of interest on a variety of larger islands. This requires you to know hour surroundings and communicate with others.

Another faction does skeleton bounties where you hunt down skeleton forts on islands and take down skeleton captains to turn in their skulls.

Last but not least is the trade faction that asks you to collect a certain number and type of animal and deliver them back safely ( they are subjected to the elements and could drown in your hold if you take on water of be struck by lightning if on deck in a thunderstorm).

As you progress in the factions you have access to unique gear and more complex and dangerous missions.

What makes the game so special though is that the seas are always filled with danger. Players could plunder your ship at any time. If you are hunting for treasure on an island, you better have a lookout as someone could come and steal your loot, or sink your boat.

As for gear, all of it is cosmetic. There are four weapon types currently: The sword, the mid range pistol, the long range rifle and the short range blunderbuss. Outside of those weapons there is nothing that gives an older player an advantage outside of experience.

And let me say that there is a ton of cosmetics. You can buy eyepatches, peg legs, hooks, clothes, visually different versions of your tools (the compass, spyglass, tankard, bucket, accordian, shovel, hurdy gurdy and watch), sail emblems, your bow bling, your cannons etc. It is crazy how much you get to customize.

The fun is the adventures you create though. The game gives you tools to use and rewards risk taking. Since all your gold earned goes towards cosmetics, you can afford to lose some to player pirates, so it is expected to take risky maneuvers. Firing yourself out of a cannon onto their deck, using exploding barrels as mines and doing some stealthy sneaky trolling are what make the game so unique.

Here is a story. I met with a random player on a 2 man sloop (I play the sloop exclusively solo or with another random) and we were making out like gangbusters. We are heading towards this island for treasure when we see another sloop. We hail it and say we are friendly when they open fire on us. The battle is on.

We exchange a flurry of cannonballs, landing and receiving big hits. We both repair our ships and keep going at it, launching ourselves on deck and fighting. Both of us are at a stalemate and we are both running out of materials to fight and repair our ship. Night starts to fall and I see some lights in the distance... a galleon.

I tell my crew mate to make a B-line for the lights and we take off with our aggressors in tow. We gain some huge distance and find the galleon parked at one of the nearby outposts (where you socialize, drink, buy gear and turn in loot for rewards... it is not a safe zone.) I yell we are friendly and ask for help from these assholes and they agree to help.

At that moment the pursuers ship smashes onto land and they jump down and a firefight ensues. They quickly get dispatched (I mean... 6 versus 2 here) and we sink their boat fast so they will respawn somewhere else.

I thank them and realize one of the crewmembers of the galleon was one of my first positive encounters and they taught me all the tricks of the game.. we catch up and say our farewells and head back to the island for treasure!!

We get to the island and see a different galleon on the opposite side of the island.. we are running quiet and decide to stealth in. We see a single pirate scouting things out on the island and he takes out my crew mate. I avenge his death, but hear cannon fire.... my ship is being sunk.... but I am looking at a SECOND galleon that is doing the sinking. So these two galleons go all-hands-on-deck and engage in a big battle, while I am stranded on the island and my crew mate is spawned far away, racing to come get me. I take this time to find the treasure chest and hide behind a rock outcropping on the far beach opposite the battle.

All of a sudden, I hear silence. Someone won and the victor was slowly making his way around the island and into plain view of me. I grab the chest and dive under the water hoping they don't find me.

Suddenly I hear my crew mate yelling, "I GOTCHA BUDDY! I GOTCHA!!! MAKE WAY!!!" as he is barreling towards me... but also the galleon. I grab onto the ladder of the ship and get on board and we make a full 180 to get the hell out of there only to come within inches of smashing into a galleon that was chasing my crew mate... it sees the other aggressor and they engage each other and we slip between them to race off and turn in our chest... alive and well and with plenty of loot. We drank a lot of grog after that.

That is the magic of sea of thieves. It is filled with obstacles, danger and camaraderie in the most unlikely of places. It isn't so much about what the game had to offer, but what the players offer and it is absolutely magical.

There are so many more stories like this one, but I always felt that this one covered the gamut.

I could talk forever about this game... and there is more... so much more I wish I could say.

If you want to hear more... just let me know and feel free to ask questions.

[noiseredux]

That sounds really interesting and full of cool stories. Sort of like my adoration of Friday the 13th last year for the weird situations you can be put in. This is much larger of course. I won't be getting at launch but I'll keep my eye on it now. Thanks

[ESauced]

Glad to hear Sea of Thieves is fun. I picked up a 3 month subscription to game pass pretty much exclusively to have a cheap way for my wife and I to play that game. If it’s as fun as you say it is, maybe I’ll end up buying it outright once the subscription is up.

[Segata]

I just played the Fist of the North Star Yakuza game. HOLY SHIT! Ok, this is amazing! LIkely the best this series ever had (Fist) for a game. It's a smoother version of the Yakuza fighting engine. It's fantastic. Shame we in the west will not get it.

[Forlorn Drifter]

I'm still holding out hope for Fist of the North Star.

Also, my laptop can apparently run PCSX2. So yay.

[Segata]

I'm hearing that PSVR retail releases are getting rare. Is this true?

[ElkinFencer10]

I'm hearing that PSVR retail releases are getting rare. Is this true?

Yeah. The Paranormal Activity one was close to $100 last I checked.

[Reprise]

Replaying Bayonetta 1 on Switch and although I loved the game when it first came out, and again in 2014 on the Wii U; in 2018 on the Switch, the game kinda annoys me...

Every time there's a QTE or a button mashing section, I can't stand it! And the checkpoints are in such annoying parts of the game. Like instead of having a checkpoint before a boss, so if I die I can start replaying straight from the start of the boss battle, nooo instead it decides to make me sit through a cutscene again and do a stupid little QTE section, before going into ANOTHER cutscene (fortunately one without QTEs and therefore skippable), before finally letting me have another attempt at beating the boss. Like why not have the save point/checkpoint after that bollocks and right before the actual boss battle?

Oh and as for cutscenes, they always end abruptly and go into a fight with enemies that will attack you immediately without warning. So you basically have to watch a cutscene very carefully, with your hand on the controller - as if you're a young guy with all the time in the world and not a father who has been awake since 5am, has to be listening to whatever stuff his wife is saying and keeping an eye on his kid to make sure they're not getting themselves into trouble - just so you can tap the dodge button the very second the cutscene ends, in order to avoid taking immediate damage.

Ugh.