Nedávné recenze uživatele JT

TL;DR - poor design decisions, a seemingly dwindling player base, and game imbalances. Bungie no longer deserves my money.

I have over 1000 hours invested into Destiny 2, and yesterday I made the decision to uninstall the game and wash my hands of it. I will not be spending any further money on the game.

To be fair, the stuff that Destiny 2 gets right, it does very well. The story is interesting and engaging, and the co-op elements are quite good. Clearly, given my time in the game, I found something that I enjoyed, and I have definitely gotten my money's worth. New content is added on a regular basis, although that does require a corresponding regular injection of cash (paying per season, or paying for regular season passes, DLCs, etc).

The problem is that even with all of that, the game eventually becomes a chore. Seasonal content is doled out week by week to spread the story out, and fair enough on that. But it does mean that once you complete the weekly stuff, and eventually the seasonal stuff, the game devolves into a grind of end-game content which starts to feel limited in scope. Sure, there are some challenging activities and end-game Raids, but you need dedicated teammates for much of it.

Most of the time, it becomes about chasing weapons and armor to get the perfect roll to eek out a slightly better stat build. But, for what? To be a bit better at the same raids or activities? It becomes a pointless self-perpetuating grind. Sure, knowing you overcame a challenging activity is great, but after the first time through, the second and third times feel less compelling.

So then players can turn to PvP for something to do, and the real nightmare begins. It is here that the sense of futility really sets in. Imbalances are felt everywhere. This weapon type versus that weapon type. This class versus that class. This subclass versus that subclass. This build versus that build. Mouse and keyboard versus controller. The more I play PvP, the more I get the feeling that I am being funnelled towards a small subset of builds and gaming choices in order to be competitive. There is the illusion of build options, but that is quickly dispelled.

Which would be all well and good if matchmaking worked well. The recent return to skill-based matchmaking did help a bit, but it only goes so far. The PvP player base seems very shallow, and so the matchmaking system has to make concessions in order to form games. Yesterday, I had a match where I, a casual PvP player that is ranked far down the rankings, was matched against someone ranked in the top 0.1% in the world. The results were predictably painful and hilarious, and that was the last straw for me.

Don't get me wrong, I am not upset about other players being better than me. If someone plays the game with that kind of time and commitment they should be better, and I tip my hat to their skill. But I don't want to see them in a match. I want to jump into PvP and play against others my level so that even if I lose, I feel like I am contributing and progressing. Getting slaughtered over and over by a Jedi-master-level player because the matchmaking system struggled to fill a lobby simply isn't my bag. This happens often enough to be noticeable, and thus even PvP feels like a pointless waste of time.

There are plenty of Destiny 2 players on YouTube lamenting the declining player base and these other problems. They are sounding the alarm bells, and I now see why. This is coupled with Bungie's propensity for making what seem like asinine decisions about game balancing and content. Yes, they have reversed course on the much maligned sun-setting decision (for example), but the fact someone at Bungie was actually paid real money to make such a silly decision in the first place is telling.

All of that has led me to conclude that Bungie no longer deserves my money. I am voting with my wallet. There is plenty to like in Destiny 2, but I am no longer going to play it, and no longer will I recommend it to friends.

You can read my full hands-on of Darkest Dungeon here: http://www.deathbybeta.com/2015/02/02/darkest-dungeon-hands-on/

In a nutshell, Darkest Dungeon is a brutal and unforgiving rogue-like RPG that will test the stress tolerance of both you and your heroes. You will curse and you will get frustrated. Your heroes will die and be replaced with other heroes that will also die. Defeat comes swiftly and often, and you will undoubtedly find yourself thinking more than once that the game is unfair.

But when victory comes, fleeting though it may be, it is oh so sweet and feels like a real accomplishment. Plus the artistic style and sounds effects are simply outstanding and really lend themselves to the dark and foreboding mood of the game.

Combat is turn-based like the classic video game RPGs, and for much of it you will be at the mercy of the random number generator for hitting, dodging, critical strikes, healing and the like. Your hero stats help with this, put for many battles victory is not assured. You really need to think about your turn carefully and what abilities you will use and how you will position your party. Proper positioning is vital in Darkest Dungeon because every ability in the game has required positioning for both your hero and the enemy target (and not being able to do anything because a hero is out of position happens all too often).

And then there is the stress system, which is difficult to manage and can take a good situation from good to very bad in an instant. Stressed out heroes can refuse to follow orders, refuse healing, and cause panic in the rest of the party. It is an interesting mechanic that definitely adds another layer of difficulty, although currently the stress system is quite harsh and I think misses the mark somewhat on being a creative push and pull during combat (i.e. you can’t stress out your foes in the same manner).

Overall though I enjoy the higher difficulty of the game. If you like challenging RPGs and can handle a bit of frustration then I highly recommend Darkest Dungeon. But keep in mind it is not for the gaming faint of heart.

Personally, I love it so far.

I played The Red Solstice a lot during the alpha test, and wrote up an alpha hands-on that explains why I like this game. Here is the link just in case anyone might find it useful since much of it still applies to the early access test:

http://www.deathbybeta.com/2014/04/09/the-red-solstice-alpha-hands-on/

What was great about the game then is still great now, and things will improve over time during the early access test. TRS is a challenging co-op game that pulls no punches. You will die a lot, and it can be frustrating. But, at the same time, it can extremely satisfying when your team pulls off a successful run. Not for the faint of heart or easily frustrated, but highly recommended if you like hectic co-op isometric tactical shooters.

In addition, there is a lot of tactical depth to the game that isn't apparent at first glance. Having eight classes, each with their own skills, means that team composition can vary widely and be tailored to the strategy. Faster marines for highly mobile teams and scouting, or slow but heavily armed marines for hunkering down. Each class shares a global XP rank that benefits all classes, but then has its own XP rank for just that class. This means that specializing can really pay off in the long run.

In game there is a large number of items that can be found and used (mines, turrets, medical supplies, ammo, tac-nukes, and so on), and proper use of these can also greatly affect the tactics.

All in all, a very exciting nail-biting game. The early access build is not without some glitches, and it is missing a lot of content, SO KEEP THAT IN MIND before purcahsing the game right now. Nonetheless I am very much enjoying the game just as much as I did during the alpha.

I played the game during the alpha, and it is quite fun. Granted, if you are looking for fast paced action this might not be the game for you. However, if you enjoy turn-based strategy games that require some thinking, planning, and a a dash of luck, then Interplanetary is well worth a look, especially for the price.

I wrote up an in-depth hands-on of Interplanetary during the alpha test in case anyone is looking for more info about the game:

http://www.deathbybeta.com/articles/interplanetary-alpha-hands-on/

I can't recommend it enough. I was in need of some budgeting software in order to get my finances in order, and just by chance I saw YNAB on Steam (it was on sale at the time as well). After reading some reviews online, I decided to give it a try and I haven't looked back! It has absolutely revolutionized how I see and deal with my money, and all for the better. With YNAB I have become absolutely sure where my money is going and will go in the future, and I am so much more at ease when dealing with my finances in terms of future planning.

I recommend that everyone get into the habit of using some kind of budgeting software, and YNAB should be given a serious look as the choice for that. There is a bit of a learning curve, but the YNAB community is fantastic for getting help, and the YNAB devs organize regular (and free!) online learning courses to get you started. I only needed the intro course to cover the basics and from there it was quite straight forward after that.

There are a few things that are a bit tricky (like importating banking information, if you require that), but overall it is a nice program to use. YNAB also has a number of built-in tracking tools for reviewing and tracking your monthly and yearly spending trends.

If you are in need of a budgeting software, or simply want to get your finances on track, you owe it to yourself to grab YNAB!