Communities like gaming, sports, etc. have been officially released:
- https://communities.win/c/Changelogs/p/11S0gNqRTp/short-term-plans/
- https://thedonald.win/p/11S0gNqiGM/whats-next-plans-expansions-comm/
I'll keep an eye on them, but I prefer smaller communities like this and even Half-KIA. On that note: what are you playing right now?
My rotation at the moment:
Synthetik: It is an EXTREMELY well done roguelike shooter, with a little bit of progression between runs as you level up different classes. Classes have the abilities, and then you just have to drop to your knees and pray to the loot gods it gives you good gear.
Hades: Also an excellent roguelike, with a bit more control over your run as you can equip certain items to try and push the odds in your favor for items you want. I know that some have tried to claim its woke, but those people are lying. The game is well done, the characters are well done, and everything makes sense for what it was intended to be.
Men of War: Assault Squad 2/Call to Arms: Realistic themed RTS based on the same engine by the same dev (MOW is WW2, CTA is modern war). They are pretty fun if slightly difficult games, but they can be a great time once you get the hang of them.
Project Wingman: I am a HUGE Ace Combat fanboy, and this game is basically Ace Combat as made by Ace Combat fans with some of the little nagging elements of the game changed to make it better (for instance, you can mount different weapons on different hardpoints instead of having to have all of the same special weapon).
Need For Speed Heat: I havent played NFS in ages, and I have heard Heat does a pretty good job going back to its roots. Either way, I grabbed it on a sale so I am willing to give it a try.
And Finally, Cyberpunk 2077. I know its had its issues, and it has had moments of jank even on PC, but I think there are the bones of an excellent game here, and I cant wait to see what they come up with. After all, that is the story of Witcher 3 as well.
Flamenco intensifies
I knew I liked you.
Incidently, Zero is hands down my favorite Ace Combat, with 4 being a close second. I know everyone talks up how awesome 5 is, but I am less whoppy about it. Mostly because its FAR too in your face about its messaging compared to the other games, and it makes your squadmates annoying IMO.
Zero on the other hand pushes literally the same message, but does it in a far more organic way that results in me liking everyone in that game, even rival squadrons and my "buddy". Also, having a choice of special weapons gives it much more points in my book.
So...
Four: Best story, or at least the one I cared about the most. Literally, I have a Yellow Sqn patch. I like the 2D still shots with the narration and music over it; nothing to overcomplicate and more effort can be focused on storywriting, gameplay, and effects. Plus I like the idea that all the exploits of Mobius are seen through the eyes of the kid which makes all the impossible arcade shit appear more acceptable.
Zero: Best music hands down, and second best story with a cool partner and fun antagonist squadrons.
Five: Middle of the road. It was fun, and the most anime like storywise and I'm glad it basically kickstarted the Strangereal universe.
Six and Seven: Six had some really cool mechanics that I'm bummed didn't make it to seven, like airfield capture, having sub-missions within the main one, and of course the OP mass attack command. And the big dogfights were a lot of fun, especially attacking the flying carrier. Story was irritating. Seven has the best visuals so far but the story was...disjointed, it could have really been better.
Assault Horizon: It was fine. It did something different which I appreciate and I thought some of the heli stuff, the spooky mission, and the bombing run were enjoyable, but it tried too hard to be a CoD flight sim.
This is pretty much my take too, though like I said I flip Zero and 4. But it really is a photo-finish sort of difference, so its not like we disagree too much there (4 being just barely lower because it shows its age a bit more and its too short for my taste).
And good to see I am not the only one who thinks that AH is not that bad. I know its a meme in the community that it is the worst thing to ever be invented, but I have argued for a while that it is perfectly fine as a game.
My argument basically boils down to "Its a good dogfight game, but a bad Ace Combat game" and I firmly believe that if it didnt have the Ace Combat badge on it it would have been much better received.
I've only tried Ace Combat 7, but it kept crashing near the start so I uninstalled it.
I'll check out Project Wingman, desperately want to try out this genre some day.