[Gothos]

got XCOM at -66% price today off Steam. installing as we speak... hope it can keep me distracted from RL drama

[Aptorian]

Haven't had a chance yet. I just got my PC fixed but now I can't figure out how to install windows on the damn thing. Something about windows not being able to configure itself on the PCs hardware. I've been messing around inside the BIOS and am currently downloading some drivers for the Motherboard but until I figure this out I can't play anything on my PC.

On the other hand this has meant that I have chewed my way through a ton of PS3 games instead. I just started playing Ni No Kuni. It's fucking amazing is what it is. It feels almost like the first time I played Final Fantasy 7. I am that enamoured by the artstyle and characters. The combat system is terrible but the world itself is amazing. It's like a mix of little nemo and pokemon.

[Illuyankas]

Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Bioshock Infinite, Borderlands 2 (finishing it), Dark Souls, Dead Island, Dishonoured, Fallout New Vegas, Far Cry 3, Hard Reset, Metro 2033, Red Faction: Guerrilla, STALKER, Saints Row, Saints Row The Third, the Thief series, Dawn of War 2, and the X series is my To Play list. I will never finish this list.

[Defiance]

Ni no Kuni is amazing. The combat system isn't amazing, but it improves a lot the further you get into the game. I have a lot of fun just leveling up my different familiars. Still haven't beat it yet, though.

Been playing some XCOM today. I already feel like I need to start over because of stupid mistakes. This game is all about positioning and patience, one wrong move and one (or more) of your squad will get slaughtered. I also wasted a ton of money on armor upgrades, not realizing that they're something that needs to be equipped and replace a grenade slot. Plus I put a second satellite up in Europe; not sure that this was the best starting move, I think it might have been better to get a wider array of satellite coverage to start and then start focusing on specific areas based on what upgrades I need.

[Morgoth]

Also, the game really shines when you play it on Ironman. Suddenly a single mistake can cost you your entire squad, and with no loading the loss is enough to make you cry a little.

[Tapper]

I have 3 coupons for Shogun 2: Total War, 75% discount, on Steam. Anyone I can make happy with one of them?

[MTS]

I would be very happy with 75% off Shogun 2.

[Tapper]

MTS, on 14 May 2013 - 09:06 AM, said:

I would be very happy with 75% off Shogun 2.

If you could send me your Steam tag, I'll gift you

[Aptorian]

You know how I called Ni No Kuni amazing a couple posts ago? Yeah. Half a dozen hours later and I would perhaps find the terms mediocre and frustrating a better description. The combat system is terrible. TERRIBLE. And the gameplay is horendously Japanese in the sense that they prefer to show you what is happening, or telling you what you need to do, in stead of just letting you do it. I am not playing the game I watching things I could be doing. Every time I need to take and give a heart I first need to go through 10 lines of dialogue where the fairy calls me an idiot for not understanding things or vice versa praises me for pressing X after I was just told EXACTLY what to do. I get that this game is obviously intended for the very young but god damn it.

This post has been edited by Aptorius: 15 May 2013 - 04:52 PM

[Gothos]

Ran into an infuriating bug in X-COM. Every so often firing a laser rifle crashes the game. With no autosave it's really, really frustrating.

[MTS]

Tapper, on 15 May 2013 - 07:11 AM, said:

MTS, on 14 May 2013 - 09:06 AM, said:

I would be very happy with 75% off Shogun 2.

If you could send me your Steam tag, I'll gift you

My steam tag is 'Tarkhan'.

[Tapper]

MTS, on 16 May 2013 - 03:12 AM, said:

Tapper, on 15 May 2013 - 07:11 AM, said:

MTS, on 14 May 2013 - 09:06 AM, said:

I would be very happy with 75% off Shogun 2.

If you could send me your Steam tag, I'll gift you

My steam tag is 'Tarkhan'.

Friendinvite sent & trade opened. I think gamertag Tappermalaz speaks for itself

This post has been edited by Tapper: 17 May 2013 - 11:34 AM

[Aptorian]

My PC is alive! ALLLIIIIIIIIVVVEEEEE!!!

Downloading Bioshock Infinite as I type this. Gaming weekend here I come.

[Lucifer's Heaven]

Gothos, on 15 May 2013 - 05:03 PM, said:

Ran into an infuriating bug in X-COM. Every so often firing a laser rifle crashes the game. With no autosave it's really, really frustrating.

My advice for X-Com, get one of the overhaul mods that makes the game better. One of the ones that makes it more like chess, and less like a slot machine
The standard game adds waaaaay too much luck into the mix, and really doesn't reward you much for strategy. The mod I had made cover far more effective, being flanked was devastating, and the basic enemies could no longer crit headshot your soldiers from across the map while behind cover

[MTS]

Just completed the ending of Tomb Raider - very enjoyable game I thought, quite fun and beautiful. The story ended up being a bit naff at the end, and it probably should have been 'Lara Croft exhibits extreme signs of PTSD and quickly dies of infected wounds and numerous skeletal fractures,' but oh well. Very similar to Far Cry 3, and it handled the evolution of innocent character into ultimate badass much better than FC3 did, although still ran into the same problems in terms of pacing that evolution. Still, great game.

[Silencer]

MTS, on 20 May 2013 - 09:28 AM, said:

Just completed the ending of Tomb Raider - very enjoyable game I thought, quite fun and beautiful. The story ended up being a bit naff at the end, and it probably should have been 'Lara Croft exhibits extreme signs of PTSD and quickly dies of infected wounds and numerous skeletal fractures,' but oh well. Very similar to Far Cry 3, and it handled the evolution of innocent character into ultimate badass much better than FC3 did, although still ran into the same problems in terms of pacing that evolution. Still, great game.

It's on my to-play list, but not having played it yet, I still have to pose this question: is the pacing issue present in both games representative of the storytelling chops of the writers, a by-product of an attempt at mass-market appeal (i.e. "people have shorter attention spans these days"-mentality) or the result of not enough development time?

I grant it could be (and likely is) a result of all three in varying degrees (plus possibly some other factor(s) I haven't considered yet) but I'm kinda interested in other people's thoughts on this matter. It's a relatively tricky development to pace out when the player is going to adapt to these things much faster (by virtue of it being "fake" violence, to them) than the character, and it would be incredibly difficult and possibly damning to try and force that development onto the player somehow...but it would have been interesting to see if it could be done (and a VERY interesting case study for the "video games desensitize players to violence" research...), and possibly really great to play...

[BAD]

Replaying Baldurs Gate 2 atm. Trying to do it solo for the first time ever with some dual class Bounty Hunter/Cleric guy. Was the closest I could get to a Grizzly Adams type character (wanted to set traps and be able to summon bears for the lolz). Wanted some Ranger/Druid type but couldn't get traps or couldn't dual class them. Just got to the Underdark part after doing the Sahaugin city. I imagine do the Beholder dungeon is gonna be pretty hard when I get there. Completed it twice last year including Throne of Bhaal with a good party (led by my Halfling warrior Pixie Lott ;p) and an "Evil" party (led by Shania Pain). Hardest part was that damn Ravager boss in your pocket Plane. Died so many times there.

[Gothos]

BG2 solo? pureclass wizard

[Aptorian]

Silencer, on 20 May 2013 - 01:11 PM, said:

It's on my to-play list, but not having played it yet, I still have to pose this question: is the pacing issue present in both games representative of the storytelling chops of the writers, a by-product of an attempt at mass-market appeal (i.e. "people have shorter attention spans these days"-mentality) or the result of not enough development time?

I grant it could be (and likely is) a result of all three in varying degrees (plus possibly some other factor(s) I haven't considered yet) but I'm kinda interested in other people's thoughts on this matter. It's a relatively tricky development to pace out when the player is going to adapt to these things much faster (by virtue of it being "fake" violence, to them) than the character, and it would be incredibly difficult and possibly damning to try and force that development onto the player somehow...but it would have been interesting to see if it could be done (and a VERY interesting case study for the "video games desensitize players to violence" research...), and possibly really great to play...

I haven't played Tomb Raider yet but in the case of Farcry 3, the asshat writer stands by the poor story and character development of the game, so I would say it is down to the universally inept story writers working in the game industry. It's kind of hilarious that Farcry 3: Blood dragon, whose designer intentionally set out to make a stupid and overdone 80s action movie story, is a more emotionally moving, better paced and far more satisfying game to finish than the auto-filating non-sense that the author of the main game managed to put together. Admittedly, it may also just have been the 80s kid in me that fell in love with pretty much everything about Blood Dragon.

As to the question of whether or not it is possible to make a game that tells such a origin story properly, it has been discussed a lot by various gaming podcasts. I'd recommend listening to the Idle Thumbs podcast episode where Brad Shoemaker guest stars as good example of this debate. It's certainly possible to tell such a story but you also have to ask yourself if you want that kind of story. How far do you have to go down that path before you enter into survival horror and sim like qualities, when the original Lara Croft fanbase are probably clamoring for action and puzzles.

As I mentioned I haven't played the game yet so I wont pass judgement on the competency of Tomb Raiders story.

In other news I finished both Bioshock Infinite and Farcry 3: Blood Dragon is an epic 3 day weekend video game marathon. Probably the most satisfying gaming sessions I've had in a long, long time. Both those two game are an absolute delight to play with. I'd go so far as to say that Bioshock Infinite and Blood Dragon are probably the two best FPS games I have ever played. Hell, they might be two of the best games I have ever played, period. Yeah, both games have their faults, but they both manage to do something that other great games I have played the past year, like Dishonored, Farcry 3, Assassins Creed 3, etc. have failed to do and that is to combine great, believable storytelling with likeable characters and great gameplay. I've played a great many games over the years that were extremely entertaining and satisfying to play but few of them managed to impress me with their attempts at telling a story, in fact most, like Farcry 3 and AC3 sorely disappointed me with their bumbling attempts at telling a "real" story.

All I can say is go out and buy Bioshock Infinite and Blood dragon. They are worth twice the amount of money the publishers are asking for them.

[BAD]

Gothos, on 20 May 2013 - 03:07 PM, said:

BG2 solo? pureclass wizard

How do you do the traps? Just cast that spell all livelong day? And I was trying to roleplay it as Grizzly Adams. ;]