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Now that the preliminaries are over, I would like to talk about something and I would prefer to have a conversation with someone about it. That something is the relatively new game called Bloodborne by From Software. I am having an engaged experience with it. This feeling of interest is something that I have not felt quite as much since Wolfenstein: The New Order and that was my game of the year for 2014. Gameplay feels like it has been balanced very well for the kind of approach it has. Sure, it is easy to die in this game, but with careful effort, it is a very rewarding game. while rewards are not physical currency, they are stress relievers. Specifically, health items are abundant as long as the player keeps a steady pace of defeating enemies and they are sufficient in number, granted the player does not allow himself or herself to get damaged too often.

At first, I had some difficulty because I did not observe enough. However, that changed after decreasing my movement to walking speed for most of the time. With this change, I now have plenty of opportunity to recover any fatigue I might have, mentally, for seeking to defeat the enemies in that game, quickly. Someone might argue that I could progress further if I ran more, but I feel that walking gives a different perspective on the game world and it helps me to the point that I play successfully. Ernest Hemingway, a famous American author and journalist, said that “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” I acknowledge the value of that statement, so for me, I am having a great time with it.

I actually beat the first boss a few hours ago and I am feeling confident that there are more amazing enemies that must be defeated. It seems like a sad story, though, with a foreigner forced to battle for his freedom from an unending death (like in Demon's Souls), does it not?

What are your thoughts on Bloodborne?

*Remember, use spoilers for revealing information*

My thoughts on Bloodborne are the same I've had with every Souls game I've played. I love exploring the nooks and crannies of the weirdly maze-like worlds of Souls, defeating the enemies, seeing the sights, taking in the atmosphere, uncovering the narrative etc. I don't even mind dying so much - it gives it their signature sense of danger.

However I find the bosses really get in the way of that. I haven't really enjoyed any boss battles in any Souls game I've played (besides Father Gascoigne, which was a fucking exhilarating fight). They really get in the way of what I like so much about them. I can certainly appreciate the imagery and the satisfaction of killing a giant boss and I can certainly understand why people find it so much fun, but for me it's a bummer every time I come across one.

I'm more intrigued by what Bloodborne's story has to tell me than I have been with any Souls game, primarily because there seems to be real intrigue this time. I'm barely able to keep myself from watching a video that explains it all because I know piecing it together myself will be much more fun, but I know I'm really just sprinting to the inevitable dead end of that one boss I'll never end up beating in my entire life, and never finding anything out after all.

TL;DR: Where is the Bloodborne novelization.

@wannabesbb: "Bloodborne novelization," you say. The first novelist that comes to mind when thinking about the sort of beings in Bloodborne is H.P. Lovecraft.

@BranKetra: Yeah, I was waiting for this response. I'm a fan of Lovecraft but I haven't read nearly enough of his stories. I can definitely see some similarities between Bloodborne and something along the lines of Shadow Over Innsmouth, which seems to be kind of a common sentiment anyway. I want to see what Bloodborne is all about though, which bums me out because I probably never will because I'll never spoil it for myself and also probably never see it through myself.

@wannabesbb: Alright. I know about some mythological ideas by H.P. Lovecraft, but I have not actually read any of his stories. In actuality, I am not really a fan of horror, but Bloodborne has an emphasis on action rather than things meant to scare an audience. The beings are similar in that they are grotesque and eccentric, sure and it is purposefully surprising at times, but not purposefully frightening as I understand H.P. Lovecraft's works are meant as similar to Steven King's works.

@BranKetra: The Lovecraft I've read so far has been a really different kind of horror. It's not really scary, but they're frightening on what feels like a more molecular level. Like something in the fabric of the universe is what's making me feel that way.

...obviously it's hard to explain

@wannabesbb: Could you explain a bit more?

I am poor

@BranKetra: Well, this is just to try to get you to read some Lovecraft, since you said you're not really a fan of horror. The things that scare me in Lovecraft stories aren't really entities or forces, more like concepts and images that I feel resonate in me and draw out a more spiritual disgust than more survival instinct-based stuff does. Seeing something and going insane, people making pacts with undersea fish monsters, and cults are more like oppressive blankets of terror that lie over a story of his, and I feel the things he shows me are somehow against the very cells of my body. Hardly anything happens in The Shadow Over Innsmouth, because a lot of it is comprised of three or four huge info dumps that span pages (you could argue that Lovecraft's prose was hardly terrific). Something about the information itself is weirdly blasphemous and that strikes a much deeper and stronger chord in me that I think transcends a lot of what people mean when they say "horror".

Speaking of info dumps... that was a long post.

Join the club, friend.

Time for a new Job?

Already got one a month ago. But I am being underpaid. :(

I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you find a new one that doesn't suck. I'm starting to hate the people I'm working around with me as of now.

I am not all that interested in being disgusted, spiritually, if there is such a thing.

been going back to SWTOR lately, it's fun

What are you playing, folks?

Been going back to SWTOR lately, you?

@The_Last_Ride: Wolfenstein: The Old Blood.

Looking forward to the Fatal Frame 5 release in Europe. I have also gone tired of western games lately and have decided to take a break from them in order to play Asian titles.

Currently playing Silent Hill 3 with widescreen patch on Windows 7

Do you play horror games regularly?

can any one in here help me out, im new to pc gaming and have just bought a Lenovo Y50-70 i5 4210h 2.9GH turbo 3.5GH with a GTX 860m grafik Card.

Will it run the witcher 3 in ok settings ? can anyone help me out ?

@BranKetra: no, it is a pretty much dying genre

why ask?

Okay.

I was interested in knowing.

@nightghost101: No.

Currently playing through the remaining title in The Master Chief Collection, Halo 4.

I played Combat Evolved Anniversary in the pack for the second time and took my time with it. When I got to Halo 2 Anniversary, I found it fresh and fun. The campaign got a lot of criticism back in the day but I'm amazed how well it held up, and actually out of the three campaigns it felt like the superior entry overall. I got through it over the span of a few days, then hopped right into Halo 3. I've played through the third entry numerous times but still found it a fresh experience. Overall though, it lacked the storytelling nuance of Halo 2 and just felt like it was going through the motions. After all is said and done, Halo 2 did stand out among the three as my favorite which surprised me.

And now I'm back in Halo 4. I was amazed when that game released at how much I enjoyed it and I was curious as to what I'd think about it after having just played the first three games again. After all, I have mentioned a few times that Halo 4 was my favorite campaign. I'm now halfway through the campaign and I can see why I felt that way in my first playthrough. Gunplay is tight, enemies are aggressive, and the story mixed with the world and the music just creates a wonderful feeling of urgency that Bungie never nailed in their games for me, which was a definite letdown even with their swansong Reach which should have had that.

I'm looking forward to moving on to either Sunset Overdrive of Wolfenstein: The New Order, but I'm savoring Halo 4 all I can. There's a reason Halo is one of my favorite series in gaming and The Master Chief Collection helped bring my excitement back to the forefront. I am so enormously hyped for Halo 5: Guardians.

@Zassimick: Are there any current issues with the MCC such as online multiplayer?

@BranKetra: To be honest, I haven't tried online multiplayer yet. :P Playing coop online worked out well.

I've been keeping up with the community online though and it looks like there are still some issues with matchmaking but nowhere near the ssues that there were months ago. Matchmaking is generally fast but the playlists are still being updated with stuff the public wants. All in all, it's better but not where it should be is what I've taken away.

@Zassimick: That is the message I got as well from reading about the community centered around the Master Chief Collection. That is a major factor in my decision to get that game because the original multiplayer components were so entertaining that I would be willing to support an HD remaster with improved servers which is why I bought Ultra Street Fighter IV for the PS4, this afternoon.

@BranKetra: I saw someone's comments over in System Wars about Ultra Street Fighter 4 on PS4 being a tad broken?

I think there's a community for Halo though, and a lot of good playlists have been added. I plan to play the online after I beat Halo 4 and will try to remember not to forget to mention how it is!

Unless his download speed is much faster than mine, they would have at least another six hours or so to download it for the first time as it became available for download around 2:00-2:30 CT.

@spot: u should be ok to play witcher 3 pc with that setup. Ppl play with gtx 660 and cpus at 3.0 so u are good.

Hi everybody, I'm new to this site and would just like to talk the price of games and the extortionate price of the DLC that in some instances should have already been part of the game. I'm 33 years old, I'm married and have 3 kids, my wife is also a gamer too. I have been playing games for ages. I remember the most expensive game I ever bought and it was Starwing or Star fox in other country's coming in at £65 in 1993 which in today's money works out at £120 or $184, madness right? Anyway it feels like we are heading that way again and for some people its just not feasible. I find myself looking for second hand games but when it comes to game/developer I like i might just break the bank for them. My point is does anyone else feel this way and is there a chance we can get them to drop the price to a respectable amount? Destiny's DLC is almost the same price as the full game for both parts and whats with CODs advanced warfare making you pay for zombies?

I don't think the user had actually played the game but had read that someone mentioned it was broken. Looks like user @charizard1605 has created a thread about it on SW here:

Ultra Street Fighter IV Broken on PS4 (UP2: EVO responds)

@Zassimick: Understood. I am reading it, now.

So what happen to the GamerGate Thread by The_Last_Ride?

@BranKetra Any reason why GamerGate thread is no longer on Game Discussion?

So I picked up Bloodborne when it was on sale, and this game has taken up my gaming time this week along with Sunset Overdrive. Surprisingly, the two games are very much alike! After customizing your character, you go to find your way through the world that has plenty of paths for you to take, utilizing unique weapons to take down grotesque creatures! Just don't worry about the one having color and one being dreary, Sunset being fast-paced and loose while Bloodborne is slow and refined. :P

But I know @BranKetra started out the thread talking about Bloodborne so I thought I'd throw in my two cents.

I tried and tried to get into Demon's Souls. I wanted to like it, but no matter how much I tried I died and died, and when I got through an area I died by the boss only to have to go do it again. So I had to give up, I just didn't have the time or the patience to endure the game. But Bloodborne is something else. The game feels faster and my dozens of hours with Demon's Souls prepared me well for a game focused less on shields and more on evasion.

I'm taking your advice and walking a lot. In Sunset, I'm just racing through the world and taking it all in like I'm driving a car through it. In Bloodborne, I'm surveying the world. I'm actually exploring it, and it's crazy to find hidden passages and just view the world this slowly. Halo is one of the few other series I'll just stop to take the world in, and it's very reminiscent of that.

There was an optional boss I tried to take on to which I perished. I've died three times so far which isn't bad at all, though I have yet to take on the actual boss of the first level. That will probably be what I achieve the next time I play. Overall, I'm really enjoying it. I want to jump back into the world and explore and fight, and that's a feat unto itself.

And who knows? If I get through this game maybe I'll be interested in going back to Demon's Souls or trying Dark Souls...?

I do not know. I shall look into that.

Edit: It is several pages back. We got a major influx of spam, recently, and the forum thread list formatting was disrupted.

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/games-discussion-1000000/gamergate-discussion-thread-one-and-only-keep-it-h-31795414/#1979

Well if people want the people to keep going, people need to post in it, otherwise it's going to dissapear. I won't bother keeping it alive if no one bothers with it even if i am passionate about it

I’ve decided that I’m looking for games that aren’t necessarily straight-up platformers, but rather ones that are mixed with beat ‘em ups, or have more action.

I wouldn’t necessarily mind just an action platformer, 2d or not, but a game I looked up that really caught my eye recently was Jackie Chan: Stuntmaster for ps1. It looks like a really fun mix of Beat ‘em up and platforming. Whatever you call it, the game looked fun.

I didn’t really find many games that were like it though. Gekido: urban fighters looked cool, but seems like more of a straight beat ‘em up

Thanks for game information.