Games Discussion Thread

[OAMP]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

Someone missed what he did there...or hasn't beaten Portal yet....

Oh facepalm. How am I supposed to get that so late at night and when not even thinking of portal at the time x.x

Fallout 3 was actually very far on the list of never-coming-outs. The last game that was SUPPOSED to be fallout 3 was called Van buren, you can google a wiki on Van Buren fallout if your more interested.

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That's slightly different in that the eventual Fallout 3 was totally different. DNF may be a case of that too, but Black Mesa isn't.

 

[Darmy647]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

If you've played through new vegas and already are enjoying it, thats due in part because new Vegas has A ton of leftover and story elements that were never added to fallout 3's game at all, so you can keep an eye out for any van buren flashbacks lol.

 

[OAMP]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

If you've played through new vegas and already are enjoying it, thats due in part because new Vegas has A ton of leftover and story elements that were never added to fallout 3's game at all, so you can keep an eye out for any van buren flashbacks lol.

Yeah, they did reuse a ton. Sometimes I have to do a double take though because I've read the all the Fallout Bibles which go into some pretty big details about what the original team planned and played a mod for a strategy game based off that (that's now highly inaccurate, but still quite memorable). Of course, the new games have changed things, as to be expected, and I'm not complaining, but having read all that stuff long before Fallout 3 came out it leaves a bigger impression the the changes New Vegas made.

(Fun fact, at one point Caesar's Legion was slated to be in Kansas, Illinois, or even Kentucky!)

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

As I said earlier, my thoughts on Knight's Contract:

A single-player, third person hack and slash for both 360 and PS3. This is a genre I usually rather enjoy, and so of course Knight's Contract had piqued my curiosity awhile ago. An immortal knight in a fantasy based medieval Europe who partners with a witch to hunt... well other witches who are harming humanity. Seemed up my alley, so of course I decided to give it a shot.

Before I start plowing away here, I'll say that I got about half-way through the game before abandoning it. I'm a fan of this genre and usually even the titles not so well received (Goldenaxe: Beastrider still sits in my collection), but this one didn't sit right with me.

First off, because you play a man who cannot be killed the entire game is an escort mission. While of course you can use Gretchen (the Witch you partner with) to launch spells that really help out in battle, for the most part you must simply defend her. The only health bar is Gretchen's health, and to heal her you must carry her around, during which you cannot fight back. You character can also be hacked to pieces, after which you must mash the A (or X for PS3) button to pull yourself back together. However this process just seems to take so damn long, and of course during which the enemies all rush after Gretchen who is shite at defending herself. All those spells you can get her to use are forgotten when you don't command her. And without any mana system (the spells just take a little bit of time to recharge) its not like it'd hamper your playing if she used them to damn well keep herself alive when you're pulling your legs and arms back in from the pile around you. There is of course, also no indication of how close your guy is to exploding into these various pieces, which is an annoyance.

The combat itself is actually rather smooth, but the lack of a block button is annoying. It prevents the use of counter attacks which I've always found helpful in these hack and slash games. The spells are easily thrown and can result in a quick little execution move if you are close enough to a targeted enemy.

The graphics are okay. Nothing special, and some folks would even call them horrible (I call those people spoiled), but graphics never make or break games for me. It's more the use of graphics... clipping issues and texture fade ins bother me more than poor graphics... and I didn't notice too too much of those two things in this game. Which was nice. I did like most of the set pieces too. Except the snow level was quite unclear on where to go next.

Quick Time Events... these things are bothering me more and more. They were nifty when I first saw them years ago, and they do result in some nice little action scenes... but they're getting over used in the industry (in my opinion), and in this game they can be stupidly unforgiving, forcing you to refight a boss battle but after Gretchen has lost half her fucking health...

The story seems rather silly to me personally. A whole group of people throw away their values, call the only one who sticks to them a traitor, and justify the actions taken against them before they threw away their values... throw in a somewhat boring main villain and no real development at all (most things are revealed in the very first level. You know almost exactly what is going on despite your character not...), I was left rather dissapointed with the story.

I think what ruined this game the most for me were some easy boss fights with unforgiving quick time event finishers... and the entire game being an escort mission. That was really odd.

Also, while I do support nudity in video games (The Witcher 2, and Dante's Inferno have used it quite well I found), this game's use of it just seems so out of place. Gretchen's super special suddenly makes her massive and blue and naked... and she crushes enemies with either her ass, breasts and thighs... and it just seems so off from the rest of the game (which tries to set itself up as dark and serious) that it threw me right out what little immersion I had to begin with.

In the end, I can't recommend this game for anyone, unless your a die hard fan for Medieval Europe turned into a fantasy world, or you really need to see some breasts (honestly, so many better games for that), then stay away from this title.

Later on: The Witcher 2 (PC), and Hunted: The Demon's Forge (Xbox 360)

 

[Exofluke]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

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Too much excitement this year.

 

[Copper]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

Yeah, I think that's part of the reason I kept away from Knight's Contract, Sin. And Enslaved, too. I hate escort missions with a passion. Definitely want to hear what you have to say about Hunted. It looks nifty and I need to actually get my hands on a copy to see if it's single or multi-player. Friend and I are always looking for things we can play together from the couch.

 

[Kusanagi]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

So, picked up Crackdown.

Spoiler

FUCK. YES.

Best moment so far: went to pick up an explosive barrel, but since the 'grab' and 'melee' actions are on THE SAME BUTTON, I kicked it. Hard. It went boom. And proceeded to cause a chain reaction with the barrels around it. Which took out 15 Los Muertes (sp?). I could not stop laughing. Especially after I thought of the line "Our hero, ladies and gentlemen."
Yeah, I might have laughed a little bit harder than I should have

ALSO, Got my strength up to 3 stars in... I think 6 hours, maybe less? ANYWAYS, point is, I CAN LIFT A SEMI AND HURL IT AT PEOPLE. Or just pick it up and cross over to the correct side of the road. Whatever I happen to need to do ATM.

ALSO Also: I'm liking the level-up system. Shoot someone? Level up your Firearm proficiency. Beat someone down? Level up your Strength/Health.
By far my favorite is the agility. Outrun most vehicles and able to jump HIGH AS SHIT by 3 stars? FUN TIMES.

ALSO Also also: Managed to beat the first gang within the first 4 hours, give or take an hour. Kinda felt 'meh' about that. I mean, it's not too hard a game TBH, but COME ON. It just felt... way too easy, even by first boss standards. And this is on the hardest difficulty, BTW.

Part Two.

Spoiler

Got some more time to play Crackdown the past couple of days, and managed to beat The Volk.

Funniest name: Robotnikov. Yeah, game, you can do what you want, but I know and YOU know that you wanted to use Robotnik.

GOOD GOD were the Russians hard. Okay, not THAT hard, but this is where the game decides to throw Rocket- and Grenade- Launchers into the mix. I'd be chilling on a roof when all of a sudden *KA-BOOM* and I'm flying off somewhere.

Though, since my Firearms got up to 3 star, I can efficiently snipe with the Assault Rifle they start you off with.
Then again, it's more fun to just use the Rocket Launcher

ANYWAYS.

Definitely felt like more of a challenge to beat this gang. Bosses were better hidden/protected, and the grunts had better weapons.

One thing I found out: can't do split-screen co-op. You NEED another system. Which is FUCKING STUPID since you can only co-op with ONE OTHER PERSON.

ALSO: The SUV is FAR SUPERIOR to the Sports Car. Oh sure, the car can go faster, but it has no get-up-and-go.

Going to try to get the third gang down after this weekend.

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

Yeah, I think that's part of the reason I kept away from Knight's Contract, Sin. And Enslaved, too. I hate escort missions with a passion. Definitely want to hear what you have to say about Hunted. It looks nifty and I need to actually get my hands on a copy to see if it's single or multi-player. Friend and I are always looking for things we can play together from the couch.

Yep... really did ruin the game for me.

As for Hunted, I'll give some more in depth thoughts when I'm further in, as I'm rather enjoying it at the moment. And during development there wasn't going to be any splitscreen, but people really wanted it, so the devs threw it in. I haven't tried it personally yet, but split screen is there. Which is awesome. I always prefer couch co-op with a friend to online co-op with a stranger.

 

[Copper]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

Especially when you're right there and you don't need a mike to yell "get it off me get it off me!" or something like that. Then again, that could just be how we play left 4 dead...

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

Especially when you're right there and you don't need a mike to yell "get it off me get it off me!" or something like that. Then again, that could just be how we play left 4 dead...

That is one of the main reasons I prefer couch co-op. Much easier communication. I can also just point at the screen too.

 

[Torakaka]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

I hate escort missions with a passion.

Exactly what pissed me off about RE4. D:<


Glad they fixed it in RE5. Now all we have to is wait for the glory that will possibly be Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City <3

 

[Nunu]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

RE4 was actualy done really well for its escort parts, mostly because it was really easy to keep her alive. RE5 did a lot of things wrong, many of which was because you went through with an AI player.

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

RE4 was actualy done really well for its escort parts, mostly because it was really easy to keep her alive. RE5 did a lot of things wrong, many of which was because you went through with an AI player.

RE5 was really good if you played with another person, making it excellent for couch co-op.

It's like Army of Two in that regards. The game was horrible when you played it by yourself, but throw in another human player and it was very fun.

 

[Exofluke]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

The game was horrible when you played it by yourself, but throw in another human player and it was very fun.

Heh... if you guys say so.

I beat professional mode solo (that's including both 'lost in nightmares' and 'desperate escape' dlc). Anytime I had issues, it always turned out to be my fault.

The AI worked like a charm, with the exception of one part. Chapter 5-3, where you have to save Jill. Doing that on professional was pretty difficult only because there was some kind of glitch with the AI. If you got hit from Jill (which you probably would), you go straight into down mode and even though the AI is next to you, they end up staying focused on Jill instead of giving out a heal. Course, this is easily remedied if you chose to save Jill in the manner which forces the AI to use the action button instead of you.

I do prefer to play co-op... just because it's fun playing with other people. Yet playing solo doesn't make it "not fun". Not to me at least.

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

Heh... if you guys say so.

The part you quoted me on was about Army of Two, not RE5. RE5 is a fairly decent game solo, I just compared it to Army of Two because the game does improve dramatically with an actual human team mate.

 

[Exofluke]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

The part you quoted me on was about Army of Two, not RE5. RE5 is a fairly decent game solo, I just compared it to Army of Two because the game does improve dramatically with an actual human team mate.

I believe I meant to quote Nunu.... oops...

 

[Darmy647]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

Playing Some more New vegas with Surplus of new mods, including Project nevada. Love that. Bullet time and sprint new features that consume AP, and a grenade hotkey, along with looking through visors for helmets that use them.

 

[Copper]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

So, in full abuse of Sony's generosity, I downloaded Little Big Planet and inFamous the other day. And then ran around zapping shit for about five hours.

It's...fun. It's not good if you have motion sickness or vertigo issues. And I dislike the main attack that you've got, mostly because I hate FPS like stuff on consoles. I could probably do better with a keyboard and mouse, but I can't see pulling off some of his moves with one. Freaking monkey.

But hey, for a free game, as long as I get some enjoyment out of it, I'm not truly going to complain. I do like, however, that they give you free PSN+ for a month and any free games that you pick up will cease to work if your PSN+ membership expires. From a business standpoint, I can see it, but still, that's kinda meh in my book. At least they warn you.

Also, the Escapist Extra Credit is taking on the Anonymous vs. Sony situation this week and they brought up some pretty good points, all told. I really like that show.

 

[Exofluke]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

Have you guys caught the news on ME3?

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.

I knew I bought one for a reason. I hope it plays as well as they showed at the convention.

 

[Kusanagi]

Re: Games Discussion Thread

I saw a couple of comments saying that the Kinect is better at voice recognition, so I guess if you already have one, that's awesome, but if I can't use a regular headset, I'll be disappoint, son.

Though not really, since I've never really used voice commands in games that had them anyways.

Now if it can recognize when you curse as well as if it's specifically at someone, and have the other party members/enemies/NPCs react accordingly, I'll be impressed.