There is a setting in task manager to “always display on top”. You can’t change that setting if you can’t see task manager, but next time you start your Pc, go find that setting!
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HAHA! How did I not know about that setting after over 20 years T_T
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You don’t run windows on a MacBook Pro using boot camp?
why the hell is this not enabled by default
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DOOM: Eternal is pretty badass. The environmental storytelling is just really good, and it makes me want to read the lore.
Basically, there is a demon that is big. Evangelion big. It carries around buildings big. It can’t be killed until the evil demon priests who have psychic links with it are killed. You start the game by killing one of the priests (probably not actually dead, though). You also keep seeing the big demon in the distance doing stuff.
Anyway, the best thing are all the gigantic man-made mechs you see lying around that were destroyed. They were as big as the giant demon, but they clearly got their asses handed to them. If you don’t get to pilot one before the game is over, then the game sucks.
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I’m taking the opportunity to play through DOOM (2016) since I never finished it, but I may pick up Eternal anyway.
Ever since I saw the art for Titan’s Realm from the first game, I’ve had a burning desire to fight a titan. Sounds like Eternal is literally that game.
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I can’t stop playing the new Animal Crossing. Send help.
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I’ve only played one run so far, but One Step from Eden seems really neat. Imagine very fast, difficult Mega Man Battle Network-style combat, with Slay the Spire-style deck building and path selection.
Started playing FF7 Remake this weekend.
Overall: Enjoying it a lot.
Like: Nostalgia, new plot points, visual design, voice acting, motorcycle fight
Dislike: the camera, points where the game makes you walk at a glacial pace
Mixed: Battle system.
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Doom Eternal is basically the greatest thing ever. I particularly love the way that you start off as a badass. As Scott said, the environmental storytelling is awesome, and the pacing is definitely more urgent and action-packed than the 2016 version, which is saying something.
It’s giving me a feeling not unlike the first time I played Half-Life.
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I’m not normally into FPS games without a strong plot (Half-Life, Bioshock, etc.) but I’ve read reviews that Doom Eternal is actually more of a puzzle game because you need to use the right gun to kill specific types of enemies so you’re constantly changing and switching between your guns based on the tactical situation you’re in.
Is this true? Do you find that the game is more than just a mindless shooter?
I think I use super shotgun in 90% of fights. Pretty much the only time I switch is when I run out of shotgun ammo because I forgot to chainsaw.
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Thanks for the reply, but that’s also disappointing.
I picked up Doom 2016 during the recent PlayStation sale for $7.99 so I can play that for now.
The two new DOOM games definitely have lots of plots and lore, and it’s not half bad. So if that’s what you’re looking for, they got it.
The levels are also very maze-like and full of secrets to find. There is lots of Half-Life style platforming required to get many of these secrets. Doomguy has all sorts of extra moves like double jumps, dashes, climbing, etc. you have to use for that.
The way the games tend to flow is that you walk around the level and then you get literally trapped into a particular area and have to fight demons until you kill every last one. Then the level goes almost completely quiet and you can explore, find secrets, and restock your health, armor, and ammo. But if you proceed to the next area, you get locked in again.
The fighting itself is all about weapon switching and using the right methods on the right enemies. Chainsaw kills get you ammo, but only work on weak, or weakened, enemies. Glory kills are when you melee a weakened enemy to finish it off, that gets you a health refill. Then each enemy is weak to a particular kind of attack or particular strategy. Spider Demons you want to use explosive weapons like rocket or sticky bomb on their turret. Cacodemons you want to make them swallow an explosive when their mouth is open. Revenant you have to shoot off their shoulder cannons. Pinky, you have to dodge to get behind it and shoot it in the ass. Mancubus you have to shoot in the hands first. Armored mancubus you have to use a blood punch to knock its armor off first.
So in that sense, it’s not a mindless shooter. But it also is. You can still kill enemies with other weapons. It’s not like a super shotgun isn’t going to severely damage just about anything. And the reality is that you are tossed in an area with lots and lots of different enemies all at once. You are running around like crazy trying not to die, and also trying to kill the enemies quickly. It’s fast. If you stop to think too much, you will die.
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Cool! Thanks for the in-depth explanation!
Since I bought Doom 2016 for so cheap, I’ll play through that and if I like it, I’ll think about picking up Doom Eternal.
Definitely try the first one. Eternal is that game with the volume turned up.
The first game’s platforming is definitely like Half-Life. Eternal adds complexity that takes it in a Metroid Prime direction IMO.
As Scott said, there’s a lot of potential complexity for you to master, and if you do, you fight much more effectively. But also, it’s Doom, so guns still just work if you shoot em enough.
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Worth saying: I just really enjoy the feel of the super shotgun and the meat hook ability. Zipping around the map like a murdery Spider-Man is good feels.
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I spent the last week playing Prey (2017). I haven’t been playing too many big releases in the past couple of years, but with Covid-19 forcing a lot more time I can’t spend playing board games or Magic with friends, I am playing more video games and I found this game great. If you haven’t played it, you definitely should. But to talk about this game at length I need to spoil large chunks of it so be warned.
While I had played Bioshock and Bioshock infinite, I was never deep into the System Shock lineage of “Immersive Sims” and the two games I mentioned have some aspects of them, but are definitely a lot more linear shooters, never having played a Deus Ex or Dishonored game. I came to Prey after binging a ton of episodes of Game Maker’s Toolkit on YouTube where this game showed up repeatedly and seemed promising.
The initial attraction that had me was the “signature weapon”. Whereas Half-Life 2 had the Gravity Gun that let you pick up and fling various objects, Prey has the GLOO Cannon, which throws out white blobs of a sticky, hardening substance. This gun can do a bunch of things. It can freeze enemies in place for a moment so you can hit them easier, and destroys some small enemies directly. You can also shoot blobs on walls as footholds to climb, and you can use it to disable environmental hazards like insulating a broken electical switchboard so you can repair it, or plug up gas leaks that are on fire.
You use this gun (and an assortment of other, more conventional weapons) to fight an alien species that has overrun a space station. One type of alien you encounter is called a “mimic” and by now you should know that this name for an enemy is never a good thing. This enemy has the ability to turn into any physics object in the world. This gives the game a constant atmosphere of dread, but also facilitates a lot of jump-scares which I am less of a fan of. There is a certain element of horror throughout the game, particularly existential horror later on, as well.
Another mechanical aspect is the strong systametization of things. The gamespace has various systems that rub on each other, such as enemies, the space stations defenses, the physics system, etc. Which you can use to manipulate the world and play off each other, if that is your desire. You can also take on abilities of your enemies which have different ways to manipulate these systems. In my playthrough I did not utilize this very much but it is something I would like to explore a bit more in the future.
The game space is also relatively open. The space station has several different systems and modules you can move between freely for a large part, revisit and explore as you chose, though for narrative reasons there are large stretches of the game where you are confined to or from certain modules for some time.
After stating to play the game, what intrigued me more however was the narrative aspect of the game. And thus consider this a spoiler warning. I still highly recommend playing the game through on your own, sight unseen.
The game opens with you waking up in your apartment. After taking a short helicopter ride you meet your brother who tells you that you have to undergo a few tests but are going to join him to travel to a space station afterward. You do the tests, which has you answer some psycholog questions such as Trolley problems, and some physical tests which seem a bit odd. During the tests one of the mimics attacks the person administering the test and you are knocked out. You then wake up again in your apartment but things are off. Your computer has a bunch of messages that you should flee, the maintenance person in the hallway is dead, and the elevator to the helipad isn’t working. You try to get onto the balcony only to find out the balcony doesn’t exist. It is simulated by a video screen you just broke and you are in a recording studio like you are the main character of the Truman show, and that is a huge flash to my brain.
You find out that you are already on the space station, and that you have had your memory wiped several times before. You meet a robot that you built in the past and that helps you and gives you instructions. He wants you to destroy the whole space station and kill everyone involved, arguing that the alien race will otherwise destroy the earth. You are also contacted by your brother who has an arming key for the nuclear reactor that you need, but he is opposed, arguing that the reasearch is too valuable and he has another plan to stop the aliens.
Over the course of the game you do several tasks on the space station, trying to stop the aliens and find out what happened to you and what is going on, as well as giving some side tasks that involve other crewmembers that you can save (but don’t have to save). At the end of the game you have to choose which plan you follow, destroy the space station or put faith in your brother’s plan, but the two characters who give you the options physically get in the way, necessitating you to kill the person who is opposed.
But here comes the even bigger brain-flash. After the credits roll, you find that the entire game was a simulation, and you are not the main character, but a human-alien hybrid who was undergoing a test and all the choices you made in the game was a series of Trolley problems. Your “brother” and several other characters you meet in the game judge on how you did, reveal to you that the world is already overrun by the alien threat, and then decide whether you showed actual humanity.
Maybe I am a little bit too impressed with this considering similar things have been presented before, i.e. The Matrix, but the fact that you actually play through the game which does a pretty good job at making you emotionally invest into things and has you act out the actions rather than simply press A or B had me well hooked and not see through how this was testing my morals. There were several points in the game where I chose to do some bad things for the sake of self-preservation, but I did save people when I could despite the fact that I was supposed to kill them in the end anyhow by destroying the space station.
Let’s just say, I was impressed by how these moral questions were persented by the game.
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