K&AJones

I ended up grabbing this with the BF Sale going on in the PS Store getting the Deluxe. I'm sort of excited about finally giving this a go. Without divulging too much, what tips can a few offer that they had a "I wish I had done and known about_______ earlier".

And from what I've seen you pull up a combat wheel to swap items, is it thru the D-Pad or Touch Pad?

fujishig

The lesson here is, never buy a game on sale on PSN a few weeks before Black Friday, it's a trap. I wish I learned that lesson the last time I got hammered by it.

K&AJones

Well...in this case along with several others on the listing....it does say.....

"This price valid 11/21 through 11/28".....

...and a lot of others on the list are close in line to already known prices of various places and sites. The Standard Edition is on sale at $20.00 and that's the price it's going for on almost everywhere.

...and on top of that the game has six nominations in The Game Awards, the most than any other game,

slop101

Finished the DLC. It was pretty fucking great - got pretty intense towards the end there.
This is, by far, one of the most amazing looking videogames I have ever played, both technically and artistically. Here's to more console exclusives, which is what seems to push graphical boundaries more than anything else.

K&AJones

Well I finally fired this up this weekend taking a small break from Warframe and Neverwinter. I spent close to 6hrs on Saturday and seemed like everytime I wanted to save and quit, it was like, "naw...let me see what's around the corner"...did not want to put it down.

Loved the opening...and even better with young Aloy...nice twist adding that in along with choices. The Cave part was even good. Good choice on easing you in on some of the basics. Already the story sounds compelling with some questions ahead.

The world is top notch...and in fact I like the Day & Night cycle with the weather....really reminds me of Dying Light except it didn't have fog & snow but both are very close to each other. World detail is right there with Far Cry 4 IMHO.....just excellent.

I'm only Level 5 I think but did upgrade my Quiver to hold more arrows and resource pouch. I did choose certain abilities at the top but now trying to decide which way to go with (3) points on hand. I went with the Silent Strike for sure and that's been my number one killer used with Lure. The third was Concentration to slow Down Time that's been a must. I did put one in Precision to help knock off Armor better...but now trying to decide which paths to concentrate more on or spread out since the 2-3 tiers show some good stuff.

I didn't go much in Forager and the "Gatherer' looks like that could be useful in the long run and Lure Call with 50% overide is tempting.

In Brave I have Precision and Concentration but the Critical part later by adding more arrows shot seems to be a good damage dealer. But Precision helps knocking armor off more but to what extent?

In Prowler, Silent Strike seems to be a must and later even more so. Silent Drop I haven't unlocked but the Long Dodge Roll and Quite later on could really help.

I have to say overall-its been fun just for the short time playing. The Commerce, Craft & Trade is very well done; not too extensive or cluttered or useless but a good blend of needing to yet not useless. It has a bit of The Division feel...If Destiny had this it would be a huge improvement. The story with a Bow & Spear vs Machines is good....and I like how the Machines have a awareness.

The Questyen

Don't stress to much over choosing one ability path over another I unlocked all of them by the end of my playthrough.

mattysemo247

Yep, same here. And maybe someone that has played the DLC can chime in, but I believe more open up with the DLC too.

K&AJones

So it sounds a lot like Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor skill tree where you pretty much at the beginning have to picky but in the end it all opens up.....

Really impressed so far...but the Sawtooth deal was a bit touchy for me at first. I was seeing Level 5-8 machines and then this Level 15 comes a long and I was like, "Oh sh*t...are you kidding me". I ate thru Electric Traps and Fire Arrows but finally.....

I went to one of those Mother Towns on the edge of the map but I couldn't get in. But after Sawtooth I assume the area opens up but is that one Trader where I got the Trap Weapon it for now as far as trading & selling?

The Questyen

Yep more open up with the DLC and I unlocked all of those during my playthrough of that.

fumanstan

Finally getting around to this after buying it the middle of last year and never getting around to it. Really enjoyable, I can see why it was on so many GOTY lists. I feel like exploring the open world is more fun and engaging then say... Zelda was. The quests are simple but since they're quick to do it keeps the keep feel like there's momentum and continuing forward rather then side tracked for hours away from the "main" story which is nice.

I wish some of the voice acting wasn't so hit or miss, but a minor complaint. That said, I don't think the game is anything particularly unique. It's well put together and i'm curious how the story unfolds. The action mechanics are good and I like the use of traps, but moving around with Aloy just makes me miss how well Lara moves in Rise of the Tomb Raider.

K&AJones

I'm still early in the game but so far I really like it. I got around to messing with Photo Mode and that's always cool. I got some great shots using it in Infamous: Second Son. I haven't got out and messed with the more dangerous Machines too much just concentrating on the Watchers and others gathering parts and making my bags hold more.

I have no issue with the mechanics at all and the skill tree part has a bit of Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor in it. I played Rise of Tomb Raider and the mechanics and gameplay was solid. Both it and Zero Dawn have it down really well.

K&AJones

Now this would've been cool......

Early Versions of Horizon Zero Dawn Featured Two Player Co-Op

http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/...at-some-point/

fumanstan

The game says i've played about 30 hours now. I have Aloy up to Level 32, so it's funny that the main quest says level 14/15 for me right now. I'm starting to get bored of the side missions and errands now though; I have trouble with these big open world games, I tend to get bored of them while craving to do as many of the side missions as I can.

musick

spot on for how I feel about open world games that aren't very linear
this one I held my interest much more than most but I never got around to completing it and don't know that I ever will bother to

slop101

Agree with the boredom setting in on these open world games - the only one I recall really bucking that feeling was Witcher 3.

K&AJones

The Open World Syndrome is like a Double Edge Sword and Damn if you want and Damn if you don't....

On one hand many don't don't like the "you have to go to point A...then B...then C" style limiting you to a pre-determined path and area. Then again you are given a "Open Sandbox" where after awhile you get the feeling of dread, being overwhelmed, not achieving and sometimes in this continuous Merry-Go-Round loop of doing the same over and over.

I think the key is not so much a all-in-one open world but divide it up with different settings, enemies and rewards.As much as I hate to say, Destiny 2 with it's various different worlds was close but they dropped the ball on the rewards, loot and characters. And one thing players like is a bit of....individualism. Several games out there are literally a huge Mall of countless choices of where you want to go, how to tailor your character(s), settings, enemies

If Zero Dawn took a bit of Fallout 4 it would be the near perfect game especially in the character creation. Zero Dawn has it's own story itself but in Fallout 4 it branches out all over. Fallout 4 is a huge open world but there seems to be so many stories and interaction along the way not to mention your companions....and games with companions always seem to have a slight edge.

fumanstan

I think i'd enjoy it more if the side quests weren't basically all pretty similar with NPC's that are insignificant; help this guy find whatever, and kill these things along the way. It's funny how these games feel like they're adapting the way quests were typically written for MMORPG's.

Which makes sense, since here I am unable to resist completing those last hunter trials and clearing all the bandit camps and arc things while thinking "oh, just one more errand"

mattysemo247

Honestly I wouldn't mess around with most of the side quests on this one. The game is plenty long as it is and the side quests didn't add much. And that's coming from someone who absolutely loved the game. The only thing I would focus on is the armor upgrades, which I think there are like 6 or 8 pieces to collect.

fumanstan

And... finished. Surprised the game got so many accolades for it's story, as I didn't think it was that amazing or particularly unique. As much as I dug the actual subject matter and set up, most of the revelations weren't very surprising and somewhat expected from the beginning, and the voice acting was still spotty throughout. I think it would have been better if so much of the story wasn't just based on standing around watching holograms or listening/reading those data things. It didn't help that Sylens was a shitty character that only seemed to exist to reveal things to Aloy, and to do so slowly for no reason whatsoever.

Anyway, it's still plenty enjoyable. I finished around level 48 i think, and maxed out all but one of the skills. I got bored and didn't bother with collectibles or clearing out corrupted zones, but finished almost everything else; hunting grounds, bandit camps, all the tallnecks, all the cauldrons. Don't really feel a need to go back and do more or play the expansion though.

Had fun, I can see why it was on so many GOTY lists. Probably one of my favorites for last year even if I thought there were things that could have been a little better.

slop101

Expansion was great! More of the same, but in a good way.

I think what helps some open world games is the actual world - if it's a cool world that you enjoy just walking around in (like Witcher 3), then the mundane tasks won't feel as mundane as they would in a less engaging setting.

Goldberg74

Just got this today... I'm an hour or so into it and it's pretty good so far.

My only gripe with these games is the hyper-realism is a bit distracting.

Beautiful world though.

Decker

You do know that it will be $19.99 next week, right?

Goldberg74

Yeah... but I didn't buy it (someone else did).

lwhy?

This is on sale at Gamestop right now for $9.99. I think I might buy it. I'm spending a ton on games this month....

The Questyen

Some would say it was the second best game of 2017.