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Horizon Zero Dawn

Discussion in 'Gaming Forum' started by BlameItOnTheHenne, Jan 11, 2017.

  1. mor911

    mor911 pooping

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    i think Horizon is fantastic. If you've got a Pro and a 4k TV, it's one of the best looking games I've ever seen.
     
  2. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I don't have either, and its still fantastic!. The character models and faces are second only to TW3. Really happy and impressed.
     
  3. Deus ex dolphin

    Deus ex dolphin Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, 1080p and standard PS4.... and it looks incredible. I have a minor complaint about the riding controls (not up to the level of Red Dead) but you have to dig a bit to find even minor flaws with this game.

    Mass Effect Andromeda is on the, uh.... horizon, so my wife will be taking over my PS4 at the end of the month. So, I need to get my Horizon playing time in now. :)

    One other thought; I'd like to see more big games get a spring release, as the Holiday season is just too crowded.
     
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  4. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    The riding seems fine to me so far, but I've only ridden Striders, and then only to traverse long distances. Very similar to games like TW3, Skyrim or older AC games, and I was able to jump right into it.

    I'm loving the fact that they've put a lot of thought and detail into the quests. I had what appeared to be a 3rd tier fetch quest branch into multiple steps, at various points around the map, leading me to meet several new characters and involved a battle with a major (at this point, level 12) enemy. Maybe not up to Witcher standards, but they appear to have tried really hard to do a good, deep job with them, and its very welcome.

    I am hoping that the game allows you to eventually meet and make allies, because that's always one of my favorite aspects of a RPG. Thus far, almost everyone I've met (other than some minor NPCs) has either been hostile or indifferent towards Aloy.
     
  5. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    The difficulty curve is really, really high. Just took on a lev 8 quest at lev 14, died about 15 times, and then eventually killed the boss using the old Link-style roll and shoot. I earned it! Im guessing that there isnt going to be the possibility of being over leveled.

    http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2017/03/soapbox_why_we_need_horizon_zero_dawn_dlc

    Also, there are no plans for DLC for the game. So, what's there is what will be, aside from probably bug fixes if needed.
     
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2017
  6. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I have to say that I am really, really enjoying the game. 36 hours in, level 29, and its incredible. The graphics are among the best I've ever seen, and the controls are very good. I would estimate that I'm somewhere between 25-50% through the main story.

    -I want to reiterate that the difficulty curve is as high as any game I've ever played. At level 29, I just died several times attempting to complete a level 12 quest, and did so by finding a location I could shoot the enemies while I was basically safe. As you level up, you don't gain a whole lot of HP, and better equipment doesn't offer a lot of armor regardless, so even lower level enemies can kill you if they get behind you, or there are too many of them.

    -That being said, leveling up itself is actually so easy that its almost unavoidable. The amount of XP that you get for killing robots doesn't decrease as you level up, it just takes more XP to get to the higher levels.

    -The world is huge. Any worries that I had about the game being awesome and fun, but small, can be put to bed. While I can imagine someone trying to do a speedrun, and burn through the main quest as fast as they can, in maybe 30 hours, they would be missing a huge portion of the game by doing so. I'm only now digging into the main storyline, and I expect to spend 60+ hours in total.
     
  7. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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  8. BlameItOnTheHenne

    BlameItOnTheHenne Taking a poop

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    *Best selling new IP. It passed Bloodborne and Driveclub.

    Uncharted 4 is still far and away the best selling exclusive at nearly 9 million.
     
  9. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    True. I think that the quote meant to say that its the best selling First Party IP of a wholly new title since the start of the PS4 era. Not one that was a sequal to games that were on the PS3 or older.

    Either way, its an amazing game. I'm really digging into it. 49 hours played, 58% progress (13 main quests complete), only one machine that I haven't encountered yet. I'm at level 36, so I'm about double the recommended level for most of the quests on my que, but its still very challenging. Really loving how the story is opening up.
     
  10. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    After several hours of searching for a hidden entrance to an area, looking high and low all around, I finally gave up and looked for an answer online. It was the first time I'd used any help in the game, and felt like such a dolt afterwards, because the entrance was directly behind me when I first climbed down a mountain to approach the zone in the first place. I just needed to turn around. :lol:
     
  11. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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  12. Deus ex dolphin

    Deus ex dolphin Well-Known Member

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    So, I'm at about 25 hrs of play and level 21. Mostly following the main story -which has been fantastic. I could see a prequel game about the final days of the old world. I've gotten killed many a time, but almost always because I was using the wrong approach/weapon and once you figure out a better way you will find success.

    I love how vulnerable I feel when having to walk instead of ride. That mount has saved me more than a few times during a fight -or more often by riding past the danger. I go out of my way to "grab a ride" rather than walk now.
     
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  13. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I'm at level 50, after about 80 hours of play. Probably most of the way through the main story, and I tell you, I still get scared around the tough robots, because they can kill you in a heartbeat if you aren't careful. As you get deeper into the story, its clear that the material is there for a prequal if they so chose. They said they'll be making more in the universe, and may or may not have Aloy as the protagonist.
     
  14. Ohio Fanatic

    Ohio Fanatic Twuaddle or bust Club Member

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    Just started playing this and really loving it so far. ONly at level 16 right now, going to start slowing down so I can maximize exploration time. That Tall-Neck was pretty friggin cool.
     
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  15. PhinishLine

    PhinishLine Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Just stumbled upon this game after checking some reviews on gaming sites. Man am I glad I picked this up. Might be time to put Ghost Recon to bed.
     
  16. Deus ex dolphin

    Deus ex dolphin Well-Known Member

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    Put in another four hours or so last night, with a heavy amount of the main story (lots of voice recordings/holograms and reading docs). Followed by a long cutscene and then got dropped right into a major boss type fight. The pacing seemed a bit off with the heavy amount of story followed by an unavoidable battle. Of course, I was looking for a good stopping point so I could get some sleep! :)

    That said, even more impressed with the story and there are still plenty of questions left to find answers to.
     
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  17. Deus ex dolphin

    Deus ex dolphin Well-Known Member

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    Put in a lot of hours over the weekend and completed the main story. It took hitting level 38 and getting the very rare armor from one of the side missions to get it done.

    I had been busy doing a lot of side missions and exploring the Cauldrons to level up. It was good to know that the game resets a bit so you continue to explore and complete all the side missions AFTER you complete the main story. I'm at about 40 hours and will probably add another 10 hours or so to finish exploring. So many cool moments and fun interactions. They left enough that a sequel is very possible.
     
  18. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I just completed the game. About 80 hours of game play, level 51. (I had taken two weeks mostly away from gaming while ill, then traveling). Excellent, excellent game. Not perfect, but really good, and really, really well done. One of my favorite games of the last decade at least, and perhaps of all time. The games story, the mythos, Aloy, and every technical aspect were done amazingly well. In an age where many games have tons of issues at launch, it was virtually flawless in how it played and handled for me the entire time. If/when there's another game in the series, I will buy it sight unseen.

    Also, don't miss the post credits scene!
     
    Last edited: Apr 13, 2017
  19. Deus ex dolphin

    Deus ex dolphin Well-Known Member

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    Hit the remaining Cauldrons, went through the Redmaw story, hit the Vantage points, and did a few of the hunting challenges. Level 44 now and probably done playing unless I decide to start over. Yeah, I sat through the ending credits, just to see if they threw in anything and I was not disappointed.

    I'd like to see them do some DLC content, then start on the sequel with the PS5 in mind. I mean, it should take them three+ years to follow this up, so why not just plan on ONE Horizon game per console generation? I'd like to see Sony do a Spring 2020 launch for the PS5 and drop the next Horizon that Holiday season.

    Let me add that I've really benefited from switching over to Sony this generation and getting to play games like Infamous: Second Son, The Uncharted Collection, The Last of Us, No Man's Sky (I understand the hate some have for this one though) and Horizon Zero Dawn. These games are staying in my gaming library for as long as I have a working console.
     
    Last edited: Apr 14, 2017
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  20. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    Well, i guess we'll see how long this console generation lasts. The PS2 was king for just six years, the PS3 for eight. The PS4 haa been out for 3.5 now. I would think, now that they have the world of the game created, that they could probably put out another excellent game by 2019 if they chose.
     
  21. Deus ex dolphin

    Deus ex dolphin Well-Known Member

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    To me, five years is the standard length for a console generation, otherwise they tend to fall way behind in graphics and features. I can live with six years (and a 2020 Spring launch for PS5 would be close enough) but as much as I enjoyed my Xbox360, it was well past time to move on to new hardware when PS4/XboxOne finally launched.

    So, the thing with a second Horizon game this generation (and I'd take it happily I admit) is that you get "more of the same" so it never has the same thrill level as the first game. At least with new hardware you could get improved graphics and some gameplay that takes advantage of the increased power of the PS5.

    If they really want to do another Horizon game on the PS4 (to take advantage of the massive userbase), what about a multi-player focused side Horizon game? Get together with 3-4 friends and hunt down machines and do missions with an updated map. That could be done in two years or so, and you could still have the next chapter of the Aloy story on the PS5 to boost hardware sales early in the generation.
     
  22. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I can't currently do multiplayer, and don't think I'd want to even if I could. I really enjoyed that the game allows you to almost always be slow and methodical if you choose to be. I took great joy in finding spots where I could hide or be out of range to pick off both humans and robots, lol.

    But I agree that 5 years used to be the standard console generation length. That was true for the NES, SNES, PS1, and a little longer for the PS2. But the PS3 came out in October of 2006, and the PS4 didn't come out until the fall of 2013. 2020 would be seven years later again. Coming out with a new IP in the middle of a console's lifespan makes things a little murky, I agree. However, there were multiple games that came out at the tail end of the PS2's time on top that were excellent and maximized the system, FF12 being one of them. Frankly, those games from 2006 were often better than almost any 3rd party titles on the PS3 until about 2008.

    But, I could also see the logic in making a new HZD game a launch title for the PS5, which would ramp up sales for the new machine even more. I guess I'll hope that we get one before that, but not get my hopes too high. In the end, its all good. Over the last two years, we've now added Guerilla Games and CDPR to the list of companies making awesome RPGs. We don't have to wait around on Square and Bethesda anymore to get a new game. Add Bioware to the list, and we've got five good studios all competing with one another to be on top, and as gamers and consumers, we're the winners.
     
  23. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    This console generation has the disadvantage of not having been ahead of anything when it launched. In the past, consoles utilized custom forms of what became new PC hardware 12-18 months after release. This generation uses customized versions of older PC hardware, and was crippled from the get go. That's what necessitated this mid-cycle upgrade phenomenon in the PS4 Pro and Xbox Scorpio. Even then, they still won't really gain ground on the PC, they're just mainly focused on handling upscaled 4K content at 30 FPS.
     
  24. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    http://kotaku.com/a-spoiler-packed-..._source=Kotaku_Facebook&utm_medium=Socialflow

    A SPOILER PACKED discussion of the game, which is pretty good. DO NOT OPEN if you haven't finished it. But if you have, its a good read.

    Also, a tip if you haven't played much or any of the game yet, you'll probably have a better time if you take on most of the side quests as soon as you're strong enough after they become available. Kind of clear your que before taking on the next main story mission. Everything will flow better that way, and you won't miss any important data.
     
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  25. MonstBlitz

    MonstBlitz Nobody's Fart Catcher

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    After hearing a friend rave about this game and reading the reviews I picked it up yesterday. Pretty excited to get started. I haven't played anything except mobile games for months.
     
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  26. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I've yet to read any actual confirmation, but two Facebook pages I follow say that story DLC for the game is now in production.
     
  27. danmarino

    danmarino Tua is H1M! Club Member

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    I picked this game up for PS4 yesterday. I've loaded it up and did a little playing around and it does look fantastic. I can't wait to get into when I have some time.
     
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  28. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    Its absolutely fantastic. Take your time, explore every nook and cranny, and it will be worth the effort.
     
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  29. danmarino

    danmarino Tua is H1M! Club Member

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    I plan on it. However, with the kids and a 7 1/2 month pregnant wife it may be a little while. Or I may just forgo sleep on the weekends and stay up late playing. lol...Although, the wife sometimes gets perturbed when I come crawling into bed at 3AM...lol
     
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  30. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    Lol, i totally understand. Most of my gaming is done between 10pm and midnight, and i usually get 5 to 6 hours of sleep. Ive spent a total of about 160 hours between the beginning of February and now between HZD and MEA.
     
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  31. Deus ex dolphin

    Deus ex dolphin Well-Known Member

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    The sign of a great game for me? When I envy those who have yet to play it and get to experience all those epic moments for the first time.

    Seems like some significant DLC is in the works, but I'll try to wait for official confirmation before getting too hyped.
     
  32. danmarino

    danmarino Tua is H1M! Club Member

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    What a fantastic game. If I don't play anything else it will still be worth the money I spent on the PS4. lol

    I'm only about 6-7 hours into it, but I've been moving slowly and exploring everything. Great graphics, great story, great game play.
     
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  33. invid

    invid Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    Beat HZD in 65 hours. Max level, all collectibles except data points (didn't really feel like the hunt enriched the game enough to make it worth it). Thoroughly enjoyed it. The game got more fun as I stockpiled ammo-making mats to give me total freedom in combat. Sometimes lost on its open world format is just how great of an action game it is. I really appreciated the fact that I had to review a machine in my log to take it apart fast in the game. Environments were absolutely beautiful. I remember running along a mountain ridge to a scrapper site in the beginning of the game and that leaving an impression on me. Stealth was a little wonky. Machines were fine, sometimes the prompts against humans were a little late for me and screwed up a stealth run. Game begged for a multi-kill stealth mechanic like Far Cry (maybe that would have been too easy). Towards the end of the game I was just freezing machines and tearing them apart with the blast sling, that's when it was time to finish the game. How quickly you die was refreshing, surely took a lot of queues from Monster Hunter. I would recommend it to anybody that asked me about it.
     
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  34. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    As much as I loved the game, the nuances of the various weapons confused me. 90%+ of the time, once I gained them, I used a combination of fire, tear and hardpoint arrows to kill everything. Hardly ever used the ice or electricity ones except when forced to. And the various bombs and tie downs were so frustrating that I just gave up. I did enjoy using the confusion arrows on the big machines in the last 20% of the game or so. Have them off one another while I sit back and watch.
     
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  35. invid

    invid Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    I can understand why it'd be confusing. I didn't use the ropecaster until the second half of the game. What I did was chose one weapon and enhanced one element in it. So one of my slings was my "ice sling", my tripcaster was my "shock weapon" etc. etc. The great thing about the blast sling is you can just sink your best damage modifiers into it and call it a day. I put two damage mods and one fire mod in the standard bow. Fire is incredibly OP against ravagers, sawtooths, and glinthawks. The only other time I used the other bows were for tearblast arrows and shock arrows (against stalkers and the chicken machines).

    But my slings + caster combo absolutely destroyed thunderjaws. I would tearblast (this bow was modded for all tear damage) both disc launchers off, freeze the thunderjaw, tie it down (ropecaster also fully tear modded), grab one of the ejected disc launchers and go to town. You can repeat that method for the other disc launcher. Say goodbye. It usually was doing around 650 points of damage a disc. It takes a little micromanagement but that's what I loved about the game. If you understood the machines' weaknesses you could formulate your own plan on how to take it down. No method is right or wrong, the game allows you to choose whichever method is best for you. I almost never went for "core" spots on the enemies, for instance. It wasn't worth it. I could kill them other ways more efficiently.
     
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  36. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    I used a similar method. Tearblast any powerful enemy, knock as many parts off as I can, and if possible use its guns against it. I had a few fights against thunderjaws just like you described. One was over comically fast, I think I must have been hitting it in its weak points. I learned early on that the best way to survive was to limit what weapons they have to use against you.
     
  37. BlameItOnTheHenne

    BlameItOnTheHenne Taking a poop

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    Sales numbers have been updated. 3.4 million, 900k digitally. Very impressive for a new IP.

     
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  38. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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    The game deserves it. Its so awesome. Very much looking forward to story DLC, and an eventual sequel.

    I laughed so hard at an article that I read last week that slammed the game for "stealing" too much from other games with the mechanics. Sony haters I guess.
     
  39. Unlucky 13

    Unlucky 13 Team Raheem Club Member

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  40. Deus ex dolphin

    Deus ex dolphin Well-Known Member

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    Happy to see the DLC trailer. Yellowstone? Hoping for another 4-5 hours of gameplay.
     
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