What are you playing at the moment?

[Althea]

It has the most hilarious soundtrack ever. I wonder how much they paid the female vocalist to go "un nun nun nun" and "ah ha ha ha ha" for the many, many hours the soundtrack must have taken to record.
Try one of the best soundtracks ever.

[Bleekill]

Going on sick rampages in Hitman Blood Money. Got it for 2.50. After I destroy everything, I go back and try to only kill the targets and make it look like an accident if possible. Pretty awesome game, I only ever played a little bit of Silent Assassin years ago.

[DaftPunk]

RBR is weird, I mean its clearly lovingly crafted, its ugly without graphics card forced Anti aliasing, but that's quickly fixed.

What's weird about it is that you need to learn how to play it, and it offers no concessions, even the tutorials confounded me for a while, usually I only suffer that with flight simulators. I played with a 360 pad.


I just tried the game and the car is steering on its own,its also way too twitchy. What should i do to change that ??

[Heliocentric]

I just tried the game and the car is steering on its own,its also way too twitchy. What should i do to change that ??

Oh yeah, default xbox 360 pad drivers, contain no dead zones (they leave to games to manage) I had to install XKXD drivers (breaking xbox pad detection in many games) to play RBR, forgotten about that.

[DaftPunk]

Oh yeah, default xbox 360 pad drivers, contain no dead zones (they leave to games to manage) I had to install XKXD drivers (breaking xbox pad detection in many games) to play RBR, forgotten about that.


Gonna google that shit tomorrow and report back if i don0t know how or what to do.

[Heliocentric]

Oops, xkcd is a comic you want xbcd
http://www.redcl0ud.com/xbcd.html
It has guides to help set it up.

[Voon]

Quake and Doom in flash on a Mac. And no, I'm not replacing my rig for an overpriced PC, just using one in a library. And yes, playing them on the Mac is stll rubbish

I'd say Quake ran much better and smoother than Doom. Shooting everything with a shotgun with that glorius gunsound is pretty neat.

[airtekh]

I've put my playthrough of Fallout: New Vegas on hiatus in order to play Mass Effect 3. Going though forums on the internet is like a minefield trying to avoid spoilers, so I'm playing the game to put my mind at ease.

Early impressions are less than good. The combat seems to be ... faster (for want of a better word) than ME2 and I'm slowly adjusting to it. Also I haven't really fully invested myself in the story yet. Maybe once I start seeing familiar faces I'll have more love for it.

[Drake Sigar]

Got through the prologue of the fanmade Wing Commander Saga. Great game, takes me right back. At the end there I wasn't sure if I'd failed the mission or it was part of the script. Either way I was prepared to go out in a blaze of glory, possibly with 'Danger Zone' blaring away dramatically in my head.

I have to admit the missions may be more exciting than the actual Wing Commander franchise, it's a shame there's no cutscenes of the pilots verbally sparring over a game of poker within the carrier, the chatter being restricted to the missions themselves. An essay of text doesn't quite have the same impact. And no takeoff scene? I lived for that as a child.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI5bKzQL_UQ

Ooo, gives me goosebumps.

[DaftPunk]

I just got GT Legends from friend and wow,it works very well with xbox360 controller and also it runs quite nice on my ancient rig. Finally a good racing game for me woot woot :3

[vinraith]

I'm still playing Space Pirates and Zombies, but having put about 5 hours into the thing I'm starting to wonder if this is all there is. The combat isn't particularly involving and the universe seems to be an endless series of copy-pasted systems with the same two factions and the same little side missions. Consequently, both combat and exploration are uninteresting, and those seem to be all the game has to offer. I've been playing along hoping something might open up that makes the game more interesting but I'm losing patience. Is there any reason to keep going, here?

[Heliocentric]

Once you reach the inner systems (get the titan laser?) the game changes, and then changes again after a few more plot points.

Both the changes make it practically a new game. I wish the 3rd act had taken longer but nothing was forcing me to the end game.

Also, I want pvp and a customisable clockwork, maybe hopes to be left for a sequel

[vinraith]

Once you reach the inner systems (get the titan laser?)

About how long will that take, do you think? I've got the crystal for the laser, I guess the thing to do is concentrate on moving through the plot rather than treating this as an open world game where the plot isn't the point?

[Drake Sigar]

Space Pirates Vs Zombies - the NyQuil substitute. I quit after a few days.

[Heliocentric]

It's open like GTA not Elder Scrolls. Play plot missions until they are too hard, but try and get unlock stuff on the way.

Once you unlock the heavier ships combat is less twitchy and more interesting.

Tech suggestions :
Balistics,
Turrets (just for the size up one gun one or all the way to triple)
Shields
Minelayer (not that useful)

[vinraith]

It's open like GTA not Elder Scrolls. Play plot missions until they are too hard, but try and get unlock stuff on the way.

Once you unlock the heavier ships combat is less twitchy and more interesting.

Tech suggestions :
Balistics,
Turrets (just for the size up one gun one or all the way to triple)
Shields
Minelayer (not that useful)

Oh, is that why I hate GTA? I never could figure out why what everyone was calling an "open world game" seemed 100% linear to me.

Anyway, in SPAZ's case the plot missions seem far less rage-inducing than GTA's, so I'll give that a try and see if I warm to it. Thanks!

[Sketch]

GTA IV has a big open world, that's why it's called a big open world.

[vinraith]

GTA IV has a big open world, that's why it's called a big open world.

In all my previous experience with open world games, "open world" and "non-linear" were synonymous. An open world game with only a single mission, or maybe a choice of two, where the rest of the world was nearly totally empty was completely foreign.

[Sketch]

I think, Mafia 2 or LA Noire better suit that description. The open world is completely superfluous to the game experience and it really is just a linear path, whereas GTA while having a linear story progression, I'd argue the world is part of the gameplay as much as the rest of the game. It doesn't 'feel' linear.

[vinraith]

I think, Mafia 2 or LA Noire better suit that description. The open world is completely superfluous to the game experience and it really is just a linear path, whereas GTA while having a linear story progression, I'd argue the world is part of the gameplay as much as the rest of the game. It doesn't 'feel' linear.

I've always assumed the GTA games must open up more after the point where I lose patience with them (which is inevitably very early on). Not having played Mafia 2 or LA Noire at all, I wouldn't know how they compare.

[Sketch]

GTA let's you do very much what you want (the missions give you at max a choice of 3 different ones to complete in any order) with lots of side activities. The world is worth exploring. Mafia 2 and LA Noire however always put you on a mission. The world is fairly open but you are always progressing the main story with very little deviation from that.

[Heliocentric]

It's not like Noire because you do have plentiful subquests, and it's a tiny bit like elite because of hunting down tech to buy (and later violently steal) with long term intent.

After the first change its like being a war photographer, picking up the scraps of wars but also being a secret war criminal when it suits.

The third act is like playing a grand strategy on the smallest scale settings ever. Pro tip spoiler for the strategy:
Get your pop from level 3 colonies or hotels but mine your own rocks with the grinder(s) and it's default mining laser.

Wet your whistle on that.

[Doesn'tmeananything]

GTA let's you do very much what you want (the missions give you at max a choice of 3 different ones to complete in any order) with lots of side activities. The world is worth exploring. Mafia 2 and LA Noire however always put you on a mission. The world is fairly open but you are always progressing the main story with very little deviation from that.

This is so crap. Having to choose between this or that completely linear mission does not suddenly equals player's freedom. They are all tedious and stupid anyway, nevermind the whole narrative/gameplay dissonance. The world is a static backdrop that only really reacts to the player in the form of police chases (the only emergent thing in the game that 'lets you do very much what you want). And what exactly is worth exploring there? It's a recreation of a well-known city. There's nothing new from an artistic point of view. But in any case, what is exactly the point in looking at assets in a game?

Mafia 2 is an abomination that shares the same flaws. Having humbler budget and marketing campaign does not make it any more horrible.

[Nalano]

And what exactly is worth exploring there? It's a recreation of a well-known city. There's nothing new from an artistic point of view.

Except it hasn't been done before. That they squandered the assets is lamentable, but it hasn't been done before.

[Sketch]

I'm not saying it's a completely free game it's not - the mission progression is very linear (although you can tackle quite a few missions in a variety of different ways). But the point still stands that it's a big, open world with plenty to see and do. It's not like Mafia. Just because you don't find it artistically interesting, doesn't make it an entirely linear game.

[Wizardry]

Except it hasn't been done before. That they squandered the assets is lamentable, but it hasn't been done before.
What hasn't been done before?

[Tikey]

What hasn't been done before?

Whatever it is you're pretty sure that an obscure rpg from the 80s did it first, right?

[Althea]

What hasn't been done before?
A game that pleases you completely.

[Anthile]

Having played some more FO:NV and having acquired some wealth and status, I hereby declare Vault 34 to be one of the worst dungeons ever. I think I burned through roughly 20 RadAways with a fairly decent medicine skill and yet I barely made it out alive with a critical radiation poisoning. Didn't help that I also had to struggle with a literally crippling addiction and about four bitten off limbs and don't even get me started on the vault architecture that prevents your companions from assisting you.

[Lukasz]

...
that actually sounds quite nice. I steamrolled through whole Fallout 3 never encountering anything really hard except my first confrontation with deathclaws (while i was still using hunting rifle) so that dungeon seems like i quite a challenge. every corner can kill you but it will do that slowly, you can't rely on your backup.
i didn't play it myself yet but it does sound awesome what you posted.

[Nalano]

Agent Sasha: "The USSR has just recognized the new People's Republic of Desconocida to the UN. Hot debates are still raging as to whether you represent the old government or the new - but the USSR had to make a stand.

"Anyway, you jut pretend you're the new government and we will keep quiet. The US and Europe cannot do much, because they already recognized your old government and have seen our 56 nuclear submarines around your island.

"Welcome to the bright Socialist Future!"

[Voon]

Having played some more FO:NV and having acquired some wealth and status, I hereby declare Vault 34 to be one of the worst dungeons ever. I think I burned through roughly 20 RadAways with a fairly decent medicine skill and yet I barely made it out alive with a critical radiation poisoning. Didn't help that I also had to struggle with a literally crippling addiction and about four bitten off limbs and don't even get me started on the vault architecture that prevents your companions from assisting you.

Oh lawdy. I remembered that I once went in that place without a Rad suit or a T-51b and a limited supply of RadAway. Never again...

It's a bit unfair that all companions can't get their shit irradiated, other than Raul.

[Juan Carlo]

Finally finished Drakensang (it was awesome) and started "Drakensang: River of Time."

So far it's shaping up to be the perfect sequel--i.e. like the first, only it corrects all its flaws. Same combat and stat system, but this time there seems to be fewer junk battles (there is less fighting over all, but the fights that are there are better thought out and more challenging), new fast travel points (the first game's biggest flaw was having to run everywhere), better designed quests (including class specific quests at the start ala "Dragon Age: Origins"), and a better and more involved story (it still won't win any awards or anything, but it's at least not as embarrassing this time around).

It's a shame Radon Labs went bankrupt after releasing this. I feel like they hit their stride with the licence in this game so I would have liked to have seen more turn based RPGs in the Drakensang universe. I guess I might have to get the "Realms of Arkania" games from GOG (which I didn't realize until now are also set in the Drakensang universe).

Anyone know if the "Realms of Arkania" games are any good?

[Althea]

They're on a different edition of the ruleset, and they're more along the lines of the old Might & Magic games, so it's a completely different experience. I think they're supposed to be quite hard, too.

The Dark Eye is quite bizarre in those earlier versions. Okay, it's very bizarre.

[Voon]

More Quake today and remapped the keys to fit my playstyle. There's a mouselook option but it's a bit ass. Not that good.

[Okami]

It's a shame Radon Labs went bankrupt after releasing this.

You wouldn't be saying that, if you knew the owners...

The Realms of Arkania games are some of the best RPGs ever made, if you can stomach the glacially slow combat. It uses a much older version of the pen and paper ruleset and there are no special attacks or feats at all. Also Radon cheated a bit when implementing the combat rules for Drakensang to speed things up, compared to the P&P version(even when using the newer and faster rules), while the RoA games really use the old ruleset. Expect 40-60% of all attacks to miss and then have 50% of the attacks that do hit get parried. It is really really slow.


On the bright side, your whole party can die on the way to the dungeon, because you ran out of food and water, your fighters got the flu, which you didn't manage get under control, so now they've got a full blown lung infection and your druid doesn't seem to be able to find the correct herbs to get it under control. And your hunter has wound fever, which he got from that combat with the undead, in which he was only hit once. But it <i>was</i> a dirty and rusty weapon, so...

But then you make it to a town, which has a healer, only you don't have enough money, so your jester and rogue hit the local tavern, where you use their acrobatics, dancing, music, pickpocket and card playing skills to get the money you need. Just save before you do it, because if the skill checks fail, they'll beat you up and throw you out of the tavern.

Of course, beeing made by a small team of nerds in the 90s without any qa but a questionable sense of humor, there are things you can do, which, if you do them, will mean that you will never be able to complete the game, you just won't know it right away, but only a few hours later.

[Drake Sigar]

More time on the fanmade Wing Commander Saga. I've never really hated the Kilrathi, even on the official games, till now. Being forced to stand down while the operator of a station of 10,000 people screamed and begged for our assistance was painful, and when the station's own loyal fighters refused to break off like we did, I felt shame at obeying orders from command.

[Malawi Frontier Guard]

The Dark Eye is quite bizarre in those earlier versions. Okay, it's very bizarre.

Do you have a beard? If not, that might be the problem. Beards are required.

[Althea]

Do you have a beard? If not, that might be the problem. Beards are required.
I don't have a beard, on my neck, face or elsewhere.

[Scumbag]

More Quake today and remapped the keys to fit my playstyle. There's a mouselook option but it's a bit ass. Not that good.

Try Darkplaces (http://icculus.org/twilight/darkplaces/download.html) with it. Its not going to improve the maps or change things too much, but it makes the mouselook a little better.

[Tikey]

After finishing Mass Effect 3 I returned to Stacking. Lovely lovely game. I finished the main story and jumped straight to the extra campaign.

[Giaddon]

I finished Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days last night. Awesome, awesome game that fell victim to its own price. It is fair to say that it wasn't worth the (I assume) $50 it cost when it first came out, simply because the campaign is so brief. But $15? Definitely. And I picked it up for much cheaper than that.

Incredible art direction and sound design, with crisp, abrasive gunplay and a fantastic setting. I already picked up the DLC so I can play more maps in the arcade mode, and I was lucky enough to jump into a multiplayer game (which is pretty dead, these days), which was a total blast. Highly recommended for third-person shooter fans or aesthetes.

[Tritagonist]

I finished Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days last night. Awesome, awesome game that fell victim to its own price. It is fair to say that it wasn't worth the (I assume) $50 it cost when it first came out. But $15? Definitely. And I picked it up for much cheaper than that.

After the whole Gerstmann-controversy (http://kotaku.com/328244/gamespot-editor-fired-over-kane--lynch-review) I didn't pay much attention to the sequel, but your comments add to an already long line of rather positive things said about the sequel. I suppose I should put it on the Steam wishlist (a.k.a. watchlist) and wait for an opportune moment to see what it's all about.

[Heliocentric]

DXHR Missing Link is a fair bit bigger than I expected. Sure it's lacking in conversations and one of the only subquests so far bugged out.
But for the sale price I paid? Pretty good.

[Tikey]

It's a great value. I think my only complaint is that, conceptually, it doesn't add anything of value to game. It does add backstory. It provides more gameplay, but the ideas behind the game, the theme and concepts are left on the side.

[Kodeen]

I gave up on MDK2 HD. It's just broken.

Started up Planetscape Tournament instead. I put a lot more points into intelligence and wisdom then I usually do for a main character, mainly because this game puts more emphasis on dialogue and ... um, recovering memories (a standard RPG trope).

One thing I can't tell from the interface (so far), are there magic points or are spells free?

[Shane]

Playing ME3, it isn't absolute shit like I feared it would be, quite enjoyable actually.

Also, I've been thinking of getting BF3, is it too late to start now, still has a bunch of people playing it?

[alms]

More time on the fanmade Wing Commander Saga.

Noooo, stop! You make me want to play that game and I must ...resist! 32h into Avadon and I want to get to the bottom of it, but I'm losing a bit of steam... the running around is taking its toll.

If anyone's planning to give it a play, the normal difficulty level is quite easy going really, maybe a bit too much so. I only had two challenging fights so far (and one was a difficult sidequest which I delved in a bit early). Most of the time I don't feel the need to use special abilities, also to minimize the need for roundtrips to the pylons.

[Kodeen]

32h into Avadon and I want to get to the bottom of it, but I'm losing a bit of steam... the running around is taking its toll.

That's what caused me to quit about 44h in. You keep going to the same 3 or 4 zones over and over. By now you've probably seen most of the maps.

[alms]

44? Not bad! I'd read the whole game clocked in at about 40h, although I was expecting to last a fair bit more for me. Guess it all depends on how much sidequesting one does... I become almost a completionist when I like a game, and that means having to check back multiple times to see if there are new quests (OTOH it can ben frustratingly hard to remember who the hell NPC-X was and where to find him - it's a good thing there's a nice FAQ on the spider webs forums). That, and it's unlikely I'm gonna play it again, so I want to see as much possible. FTR I've just finished the first fight against the Mindtaker.

[Kodeen]

Yeah, I'm very slow when playing almost any game. I usually need to add at least 20% over the average completion time, usually more for an RPG.

[Heliocentric]

Planetscape Tournament, that would be the Planescape Torment Unreal Tournament mashup? Nameless ones double jump isn't high enough.

[Wizardry]

Anyone know if the "Realms of Arkania" games are any good?
Any good? They are perhaps the best RPGs ever made. You move around towns and dungeons in a first person perspective and you travel across the land on an over world map, facing random encounters that give you opportunities to use the skills of your characters. The games have many survival elements and long distance travel requires heavy planning. Combat is isometric and turn-based on a battle grid, and largely improves with each iteration of the game (you can only do ranged attacks along grid lines in the first game, for example). You can import your characters across games making for a mammoth trilogy of cRPG goodness.


They're on a different edition of the ruleset, and they're more along the lines of the old Might & Magic games, so it's a completely different experience.
Might and Magic? How did you arrive at that conclusion? They are absolutely nothing like each other. That's almost as bad as comparing Ultima to Wizardry.

[Althea]

Might and Magic? How did you arrive at that conclusion? They are absolutely nothing like each other. That's almost as bad as comparing Ultima to Wizardry.
The interface, the graphics and so on.

[Wizardry]

The interface, the graphics and so on.
Graphically the old Might and Magic games are cartoony, colourful and silly, while the Realms of Arkania games, although having a distinctive art style, are more realistic and gritty. The interfaces are sort of similar when walking around towns and dungeons, but during combat, over world travel and encounters the interfaces couldn't be much further apart. And the gameplay has very little similarity outside of both being cRPGs.

[Althea]

The interfaces are sort of similar when walking around towns and dungeons
That is what I meant.

[Tritagonist]

Been spending more than a reasonable amount of time on Army of Darkness Defense (http://itunes.apple.com/nl/app/army-of-darkness-defense-hd/id431739698?mt=8) on iOS after my attempts to start Drakensang: River of Time fizzled out because of some rather annoying, and sadly recurring, crashes.

http://i.imgur.com/TOZAk.jpg

[cosmicolor]

Lately I've been playing Avadon, which I got from that recent bundle. It's nice that you can carry over your save from the demo. Also been playing Dota 2 recently since I got an invite to the beta of such.

[eRa]

The Tribes Ascend beta (my free-to-play debut) and Battlefield 3. Both online man-shooters but so very different (and good!).

Also trying to put a little time into Fall of the Samurai. But not having played the base game I'm a little intimidated by all the Japanese stuff.

[SirKicksalot]

Still playing the Diablo 3 beta. I put more than 12 hours in it this week.

Today I got a DOTA 2 beta key. The main menu was sort of confusing. Then I started a bot game and... I might as well watch the Matrix code. I have absolutely no idea what's going on. I abandoned it after a couple of minutes. I played Demigod and that bad free game that was in the Steam Christmas contest, but DOTA 2 is overwhelming.

[Birdman Tribe Leader]

Been wanting to play SpaceChem, but my computer's been giving me problems, so going through a lot of old puzzle games instead. Played the first two Dr. Brain games--fun, but not all that satisfying. I played on the easier difficulty setting, but I got the sense that the "harder" settings just involved more repetition of the same tasks, not necessarily deeper puzzles.

Also played through good old Chip's Challenge, which I enjoyed quite a bit. There were a few really satisfying puzzles in there, although also some duds--some of the later levels had too much unfair trial and error, and there were too many mazes. I ended up using cheats to skip a lot of the maze levels or levels where I figured out the solution but it was too tedious to actually implement it, and I found I enjoyed the game a lot more this way.

Lastly, I started Oh No More Lemmings and gave up almost immediately because too many levels had only on possible solution and required dumb pixel-perfect clicking, but then I started Lemmings 2 and man it rules. There's so much variety in the tools you're given, the levels are hard but satisfying have generally multiple solutions, if you don't save all the Lemmings you can still go to the next level and go back to do better later. The music and beautiful pixel art is even better than Lemmings 1.

Anyone have other good puzzle game recommendations?

[Duckee]

The Tribes Ascend beta (my free-to-play debut) and Battlefield 3. Both online man-shooters but so very different (and good!).

Also trying to put a little time into Fall of the Samurai. But not having played the base game I'm a little intimidated by all the Japanese stuff.

Make sure you beef up your Shogun game with Darthmod. A hefty amount of improvements available in that mod.

[Drake Sigar]

I'm gonna' pack the Wing Commander Saga in for today, all those hours spent yesterday are starting to take their toll on me. I can't do 12 hour marathons like the rest of you freaks of nature. Depending on whether the number of missions mentioned in the RPS article also counts the prologue, I must be about a quarter of the way through after 3 days. It sure ain't short.


Noooo, stop! You make me want to play that game and I must ...resist!
One of us, one of us!

[Drayk]

I am curently playing Mass effect 3. I finally gave up my wait to be sure to have some people on the multiplayer part and because I can't avoid spoilers forever. So far I find the game pretty enjoyable.

I am also playing Amalur but it's secondary. And I am still trying to finish Bastion and Skyrim but I am a bit borred with both of them.

I am also playing Vanquish on my Xbox and Sword and sworcery on my Ipod.

That's about it.

[Doodier]

Eleven hours in Titan Quest IT and still enjoying it although I can't play it for more than 1,5hrs in one sitting. Well, I don't know if there's any game I can play for that long now.. What happened to me? :O I remember playing WoW for half a day, easily.

[trjp]

WoW - again - Scroll of ReAddicion and all that.

Path of Exile Beta - it's really rather lovely to look at and the combat is frantic and weighty - and the loot is endless - and it has some neat ideas (no currency, no potions to buy, spells are equipped into slots on armour and weapons and much more!)

Ridge Racer Unbounded - I was cautious about dropping £30 on what I thought would be Flatout (the good one, not the crap 3rd one which wasn't done by the original developers - they did this instead) with knobs on, but I risked £5 on a 360 rental of it and it's utterly and totally FANTASTIC. It's not Ridge Racer (aside from the music) - it's much more classic Burnout mixed with Split Second and it's really, really, really sharp and enjoyable to play. Not sure about the lastability (£30 is a lot of money these days) but I should rinse most of it for the £5 rental I reckon (and I'll pickup the PC version cheaper, later).

[agentorange]

Just finished Kane & Lynch: Dog Days. Have to say I thought it was weaker than the first one; less interesting set pieces, and the plot wasn't quite as engaging. I could tell they put a lot of effort into the Hong Kong locale, and it looks beautiful, but they neglected to set up some interesting scenarios to take advantage of atmosphere (like the bank heist and tower assault missions of Dead Men). The butt naked escape through the crowded streets was definitely the highlight, and I wish we could have gotten more stuff like that instead of one warehouse after another. Still, I enjoyed seeing Kane and Lynch again, refreshing to see such utter bastards when video games are flooded with righteous paladin main characters. I'd certainly like to see a third entry, to round the series off. I mean there's no way Kane and Lynch can survive for long after all the bad dudes they've pissed off.

[Drake Sigar]

I got promoted in the Wing Commander Saga and am absurdly proud of my shiny new button.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z4_2gfIiIk

[Rauten]

Playing quite a bit of DotA2 lately, since I got into the beta. Just Coop vs Bots for now, I don't yet feel confident enough in my ability not to muck up the game for everyone else horribly as to face human opponents in a ranked match, but for now, I'm having quite a bit of fun. It feels much more polished than LoL, despite being a beta. Then again, this is Valve I'm dealing with, so...

[DaftPunk]

I can not believe how sucky i am at football games,i'm playing PES06 (Modded so its 2012 season). So what do you think is better for controlling player,D-pad or thumb stick ?

[Vandelay]

I might be incorrect when I say this, but doesn't PES only have 8 direction movement, rather than the 360 degrees of FIFA? If that is the case, the d-pad is probably better, but would mostly be down to personal preference.

[DaftPunk]

Then how do you do 360 turn with d-pad,i can't do it even with thumb stick x(

[Doesn'tmeananything]

PES06 definitely has 8 direction movement only, and yeah, I played it using d-pad. Isn't there an elaborate training mode in the game? I remember learning all of the advanced moves without little trouble in that mode.

[Heliocentric]

So me and my son are playing just cause 2 (free with a graphics card but I couldn't believe play, until win 7) on the easiest setting.

After landing too far from the landing zone 7 times in the introduction, failing and being forced to restart I discovered that 'W' is not 'forward' but 'accelerate fall' it was fine after that. Beautiful, fun to play almost totally free of frustrating difficulty (so far, I hear it gets worse), but it's ace and I hated the original game.

[DaftPunk]

Well to be honest those practice moves didn't helped me at all,but i'll get better eventually.

[apricotsoup]

Picked up Gotham city imposters in the steam sale.

It's actually quite a lot of fun, love the manic nature of it and the glider pack gives me a similar feeling to the assault pack in space marine.

I also finished off infamous today, but that doesn't exist in pc land.

[Creaturemagic]

Finally finished Drakensang (it was awesome) and started "Drakensang: River of Time."

So far it's shaping up to be the perfect sequel--i.e. like the first, only it corrects all its flaws. Same combat and stat system, but this time there seems to be fewer junk battles (there is less fighting over all, but the fights that are there are better thought out and more challenging), new fast travel points (the first game's biggest flaw was having to run everywhere), better designed quests (including class specific quests at the start ala "Dragon Age: Origins"), and a better and more involved story (it still won't win any awards or anything, but it's at least not as embarrassing this time around).

It's a shame Radon Labs went bankrupt after releasing this. I feel like they hit their stride with the licence in this game so I would have liked to have seen more turn based RPGs in the Drakensang universe. I guess I might have to get the "Realms of Arkania" games from GOG (which I didn't realize until now are also set in the Drakensang universe).

Anyone know if the "Realms of Arkania" games are any good?
Well, its April 1st. So I can't guarantee its true but http://www.pcgameshardware.de/aid,874860/DSA-Satinavs-Ketten-Release/Rollenspiel-Adventure/News/

[Creaturemagic]

I've been playing some Sins of a Solar Empire, some Age of Mythology, some Day of Defeat Source and some Dota 2. Each of which are great.

[BillButNotBen]

Playing baldur's gate. It's a pretty ok hack and slash game, albeit with a terribly unbalanced combat/magic system and weird difficulty curve. I was expecting it to be an RPG though.... weird.

[Juan Carlo]

I just finished "Hard Reset" on "insane." I actually really liked that game. Don't understand why it got such a lukewarm reception. I didn't even really mind the checkpoints, as it's a very learnable game. At some point in the second half, everything just kind of "clicked" for me in terms of understanding enemy attack strategies and it became really easy and fun as I was more or less untouchable. I think the game is only difficult at the start when all you have is a shotgun, but once you unlock the more powerful weapons it becomes alot more fun and manageable. I'm looking forward to the (reportedly free) DLC being released at the end of April.


Also trying to give "E.Y.E" a fair shake, but it's just sooooooo awful. The stat system is neat, but there are so many stats, research, implants, and upgrades that it's basically overload and you have no idea what is good and what isn't. On top of it, the game plays like a shit FPS mod, so I guess I'm having a hard time seeing how the upgrades and stats even affect gameplay. I've been upgrading away for a few levels now and see next to no difference in gameplay. Plus, the worlds are huge and dead (which is just kind of depressing to me. It reminds me of some sad, old, multiplayer game that everyone has forgotten, so now it's just crawling with terribly programmed bots in the place of humans).

I usually have a "must finish everything I start" rule, but I'm not sure if I can do that with "E.Y.E."

[Juan Carlo]

Well, its April 1st. So I can't guarantee its true but http://www.pcgameshardware.de/aid,874860/DSA-Satinavs-Ketten-Release/Rollenspiel-Adventure/News/

My German's pretty shit (so I could be wrong), but from what I could make out Deep Silver and Daedelic are releasing a new game set in the "Dark Eye" universe in June?

That would be awesome if true, but June seems a bit too soon for the release of a game that hadn't been previously announced. So am I misreading something here?

[Althea]

My German's pretty shit (so I could be wrong), but from what I could make out Deep Silver and Daedelic are releasing a new game set in the "Dark Eye" universe in June?

That would be awesome if true, but June seems a bit too soon for the release of a game that hadn't been previously announced. So am I misreading something here?
It has been previously announced.

It's been known for a while that there's a Das Schwarze Auge adventure (yes, adventure) game in the works.

[Shane]

Also trying to give "E.Y.E" a fair shake, but it's just sooooooo awful. The stat system is neat, but there are so many stats, research, implants, and upgrades that it's basically overload and you have no idea what is good and what isn't.

It's the shitty interface that makes things appear convoluted otherwise the system's quite simplistic.


Plus, the worlds are huge and dead... It reminds me of some sad, old, multiplayer game that everyone has forgotten, so now it's just crawling with terribly programmed bots in the place of humans.

Exactly how I felt. The level-designing and art-style being shit don't help matters either.


I usually have a "must finish everything I start" rule, but I'm not sure if I can do that with "E.Y.E."
E.Y.E. is the first game in a long while that I couldn't get myself to finish.

[NathanH]

Playing baldur's gate. It's a pretty ok hack and slash game, albeit with a terribly unbalanced combat/magic system and weird difficulty curve. I was expecting it to be an RPG though.... weird.

Don't be an idiot, now.

[Althea]

Don't be an idiot, now.
http://alltheragefaces.com/img/faces/jpg/fuck-that-bitch-fuck-that-shit-female.jpg

[NathanH]

I'm not sure what that picture is supposed to signify, but nice hair.

[Arona Daal]

Since the Devs integrated Mumble i am back to a lot of Project Reality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=qvWXZhcjkxo

Every game should use Mumble,locational Speech, and aimed communication is damn useful.

Ah and replaying the full Company oh Heroes on Expert.

Tried a bit of Space Station 13,but it runs very sluggishly.Maybe anyone has a tip for that?

[agentorange]

Tried a bit of Space Station 13,but it runs very sluggishly.Maybe anyone has a tip for that?

I had the same issue. Felt like I was controlling a greased up turd.

Finally got Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai downloaded, after leaving my PC on for 2 nights, and lanned it with a friend; we played the co-op campaign for 6 hours straight. As Shogun loyalists of course.

[DaftPunk]

Playing UEFA Champions League with partizan,so far i had three mathces. Two were draw,and one i lost 0-1.

[Wizardry]

Playing baldur's gate. It's a pretty ok hack and slash game, albeit with a terribly unbalanced combat/magic system and weird difficulty curve. I was expecting it to be an RPG though.... weird.
Nice try, Ben.

[Nalano]

I'm not sure what that picture is supposed to signify, but nice hair.

Female version of this:

http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/17600439.jpg

[coldvvvave]

Monster Madness

Well, it's a pretty bad game, but I like it.

[Heliocentric]

Just finished rock of Ages last level "Saturday" my god that was a beautifully animated boss, so creepy.

[DaftPunk]

I was so close getting my first win in UEFA Champion League but they had to score goal in last four minutes..DAAAMN YOU!!

[Davkaus]

I've spent the afternoon playing Trine, comfortably the best game I've ever picked up for less than £1.50.

[The JG Man]

I was just playing some Sonic 2 and took a route in Hill Top Zone that I've never taken before. In some perspective, I first played the game over 15 years ago. I'm both chuffed and dismayed about this fact.

[Voon]

Spent the first 2 hours playing Duck Sou- I mean, Dark Souls. Here's some things I thought about it:

-Despite being a japanese game, it looks pretty western to me
-It's gorgeous to look at, even if it's pitch black in some places
-The controls are clunky. Clunkier than Monster Hunter, really. Why's jumping so hard in this?
-That said, swinging weapons around are slow even using light attacks (maybe because I'm using an axe)
-Camera's a bit bad and (although, t's my fault) I tend to miss hitting the lock on button before fights
-Enemies attacks are cheap. Not to mention bomb spams.
-Falling down to my death is so easy

[Rii]

Heavy Rain. I accidentally shot some guy and I can't go back. Goddamnit.

It occurs to me that overweight (realistic, human) protagonists are a rare sight in video games.

[agentorange]

Heavy Rain. I accidentally shot some guy and I can't go back. Goddamnit.

It occurs to me that overweight (realistic, human) protagonists are a rare sight in video games.

This is why I was happy to see the out of shape Max in Max Payne 3. But then everyone else seemed to throw a hissy fit.

[Bleekill]

Yeah I'm excited for Max Payne 3. Rightnow I'm playing CS GO beta,Tribes Ascend Beta and finishing off some stuff in Skyrim. Can't believe I put 110 hours into that game with one character.

[Kodeen]

Played some Sacred over the weekend. Pretty addictive, I'm really enjoying it. There are a couple issues with it, mostly a story I can only describe as "probably there" and the fact that gold is worthless. Otherwise very good.

Now if only Sacred 2 wasn't such a pain in the ass to buy here.

[Giaddon]

Now if only Sacred 2 wasn't such a pain in the ass to buy here.

$20 on Impulse (http://impulsedriven.com/sacred2).

[Kodeen]

Wow, thanks! I didn't think it was available on any DD's here. Still no expansion, which is the other issue. It was never released here, so if you want it in English you have to get the UK version. Which doesn't work with the US version of the base game, so you need to get the UK version of that too.

Still, another option on the table. Thanks again.

[Althea]

I think GamersGate might have Sacred 2 Gold.

[Kodeen]

Yeah, I saw that. Does Gamersgate let you redeem a gift code for and download games which aren't sold in your region? If so, then that'll be my best bet, I think.

[Althea]

You'd have to ask in the smuggling topic, I think. I've no experience of that stuff.

[Rii]

This is why I was happy to see the out of shape Max in Max Payne 3. But then everyone else seemed to throw a hissy fit.

I haven't being paying attention to MP3 but sure, I'll give it props for that.

Meanwhile I'm pretty impressed with Heavy Rain. No doubt the limits of the narrative logic are a lot more apparent on subsequent playthroughs, but its been reasonably seamless so far.

On a less positive note: Madison; or rather, Madison's ass. For a while I thought I was just imagining it, but no, the camera really does miss no opportunity to hang a little low and highlight those shapely curves. That one of her 'chapters' involves a leering motel manager is unintentionally ironic. Also the fact that her entire role in the story to date has been in playing nurse to Ethan is a bit lame, hopefully that side of things picks up further in.

I guess most of the female characters in the game thus far have been rather passive and largely of the maternal and/or victim moulds. Whatsherface that tags along with privateeyeguy being the only exception. Of course there's nothing wrong with telling a particular type of story, in this case one centred on a a variety of male characters. Ironically the issue only arises because the game contains enough female characters and characterisation to notice patterns on their depiction.

I recall some vague rumblings on these and related subjects when the game was released but didn't pay much attention at the time. I wonder what David Cage has had to say.

Anyway, back to the game!

[NathanH]

Just played the Rift level is SpellForce. Somehow I had managed to fail to pick up the Troll rune, which made life difficult. You're meant to fight your way across the map with Orcs, then your orc camp gets destroyed by a massive demon attack, and you use Trolls to fight your way back. I had no trolls. Fortunately my tower spam confused the demon counterattack and killed them all, but getting across the map with only 5 heroes and shitty Spearmen was hard work. Satisfying, though. I've still never managed to destroy all enemy spawn points on that map though.

[Drake Sigar]

I recall some vague rumblings on these and related subjects when the game was released but didn't pay much attention at the time. I wonder what David Cage has had to say.

Well he probably wouldn't try to fall back on the female character from his previous game Indigo Prophecy, since one of the bonus unlockables was a scene of him grind-dancing against her. :)

[Rii]

Well he probably wouldn't try to fall back on the female character from his previous game Indigo Prophecy, since one of the bonus unlockables was a scene of him grind-dancing against her. :)

This puts his recent "we're at the point that we need professional actors" comments in a different light entirely.

[SirKicksalot]

Rogue Warrior!
It's FUCKING HILARIOUS. 107 minutes of non-stop violence and Mickey Rourke telling cock-breath commie motherfuckers to suck his hairy balls and wrap them around their fucking mouths.*

On a more serious note, this isn't a bad bargain bin purchase (I paid two quid and one for transport). To put it in perspective, the action is better than Alpha Protocol's. Out of those 107 minutes I spent about three in menus. The dialogue is amazing, the finishing moves are cool and I liked the music. It looks bad but this adds to the hilarity; you can destroy most lights and sometimes it manages to have a pretty cool atmosphere. It's like a shitty action movie that you can't help but enjoy because stuff blows up, communists die and the protagonist is an awesome motherfucker.
I actually might replay it a couple of months from now because it's so funny and violent, plus it's short... and has many achievements.
It seriously made my day. As a full-price game it's highway roberry, but as a bargain bin title and if you know what you're in for it's awesome. There are many worse ways to spend two quid, that's for sure.

Next in my bargain bin adventures: Call of Juarez: The Cartel. I have a bad feeling about this...

*actual quotes

[sabrage]

League of Legends has 8-10 characters who severely outclass all others. The precipice of balance has been shattered so completely I'm not sure why I keep playing.

[Flint]

Finished Darksiders. Definitely far, far better than I expected. Like I said before, derivative as hell (from Soul Reaver and Zelda) but you could do much worse than to copy two amazing games. Greatly enjoyed my time with it. Oddly didn't get my "finished the game" achievement which is mildly annoying in a completionist sense of things.

Now to install Bulletstorm I grabbed from the recent sale.

[neema_t]

At the moment I'm playing a lot of stuff. Racing sims (I've just bought a G27 and built a cockpit for it), Fallout: New Vegas, Doom, Battlefield 3, Rainbow Six 3 and Descent, which I bought from GOG last night (along with Descent 2 and 3, Shogo and I downloaded Beneath a Steel Sky, a game I've always been curious in but never tried to acquire).

[Voon]

Unmanned (http://unmanned.molleindustria.org/) is one wierd game. Didn't finish it due to the internet fucking up all the sudden but man, this is wierd. Woke from a dream where angry people trying to beat me up whenever I get close, scratched my chin while shaving and accidentally killed some guy without authorization. Oh, and there's Queen.

[Juan Carlo]

Finished E.Y.E. and looking forward to never playing it again. Boy was that awful. Lots of good ideas, piss poor execution. Mercifully short, though.

[Arona Daal]

This one ,called Glitch , is quite good to waste half an hour.Turn Vsync off for smoother Mouse movement.

https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=1470


(https://www.digipen.edu/?id=1170&proj=1470)

[Drake Sigar]

Finally finished the fanmade Wing Commander Saga. Left my comments on the dev's website. Damn that game is long, and it drags towards the end with escort missions and some painful dialogue. Overall though, great game. Took me right back to the wonderment I had as a child playing the original Wing Commander. The scripting is really something, and delivers so many memorable moments. I feel odd getting this for free.

[cosmicolor]

Started playing Lands of Lore 1 again in the run-up to Legend of Grimrock (even though those two games are pretty different). Currently on the Urbish Mines having just got past the slug monster thing at the start.

[Heliocentric]

Finished E.Y.E. and looking forward to never playing it again. Boy was that awful. Lots of good ideas, piss poor execution. Mercifully short, though.

You finished it?
*golf claps*
How did you play it? I was considering classing up as a straight brawler (heavy armour + assault rifle) with points in hack to help situationally.

I'm plodding through Trine 2,it's beautiful and so classic in its management of talents and challenges that it's like a game from the future. Can't fault it.

[Olero]

Temple of Elemental Evil with the Circle of Eight modpack. Well, I'm not yet playing it, but merely creating characters... Which is time-sink nr. one in RPG's for me. Hopefully my new party (which contains the aptly named rogue Edge, cleric Hela, fighter Tanq and wizard Conjah... Yeah, I know :) will survive a little bit longer then the previous one that barely made it out of Hommlet.

[Flint]

I found medium armor/handgun/sniper rifle/cloak (fairly useful for getting out of trouble, if nothing else) to be a fairly nice and painless 'build' for EYE.

[Heliocentric]

Rogue should be called either 'Like' or 'rouge'.

[alms]

Started playing Lands of Lore 1 again in the run-up to Legend of Grimrock (even though those two games are pretty different). Currently on the Urbish Mines having just got past the slug monster thing at the start.

Good memories :)

Passed the 50h mark on Avadon, endgame not in sight yet.

[Juan Carlo]

You finished it?
*golf claps*
How did you play it? I was considering classing up as a straight brawler (heavy armour + assault rifle) with points in hack to help situationally.


I just ignored all the powers (most of which suck and are just distractions), put all of my money/research into the upgrade which gives you extra lives (I think it's "nervous system," or something like that) and tanked everything with heavy armor and heavy weaponry (occasionally switching to the heavy sniper rifle for taking down airships and Deus Exs in later levels). By the end I had 11 respawns, so I could basically just plow through all the opposition (and I even played on the hardest difficulty because I'm a OCD freak like that). This is probably the most boring way to play it, but it's also probably the most efficient and really the only way that works (given how terribly the AI sucks, rending most other upgrades and ways of playing useless).

Also, don't waste points in hack. From what I've read, having a high hack score doesn't change your chances of being successful at all, all it does is increase your radius. I hacked a grand total of twice during the entire game (both required for quests), and if you use the formula "shield, shield, shield, overdraw, attack" you can win every hack everytime anyway--no mater how low your base stats are. For attributes I just put all my points in accuracy (for damage) and endurance (for HP) and ignored everything else.

Anyhow, it really is a short game, so if you really want to finish it it shouldn't be too hard. It took me 8 hours total. There are only two very short levels after Mars, one of which has no combat (and Mars is the absolute worst level in the game. It almost made me rage quit and uninstall, but I eventually found a guide and if you know what you are doing you could probably get through mars in half an hour. You could probably even speed run the entire game in 5 or 6 hours once you know what to do--I don't see why anyone would want to replay it, though).

[Duckee]

Good memories :)

Passed the 50h mark on Avadon, endgame not in sight yet.

I did enjoy Avadon quite a bit too, but I just grew too annoyed with it because of two things. The soundscape is really annoying after a time, and in fact a bit weird + there is no in game music. Secondly, there was not really a good way of gauging whether you were strong enough to face enemy X or not. So I kept wiping at stupid things, because I kept entering wrong dungeons even though I had the quest for it. But then again, I don't have much fun with turn based RPGs sadly.

[Juan Carlo]

I did enjoy Avadon quite a bit too, but I just grew too annoyed with it because of two things. The soundscape is really annoying after a time, and in fact a bit weird + there is no in game music.

I love spiderweb, but they use the same fucking soundscape in every single game. Child crying, Child going "abababababa abbba bah," stuff clinking....in every single city you go in. It's really annoying. I'd rather they just cut them out entirely.

I'm hoping Vogle isn't going to be cheap with his new found humblebundle/steam cash and maybe try to increase the production values on his future games at least slightly. There is do it yourself spirit, and then there's just being lazy and cheap. I can't imagine it would be at all expensive or difficult for him to just get a digital recorder and sit in a park somewhere for 5 minutes to get some new ambient sounds.

[SirKicksalot]

Call of Juarez: The Cartel.
I'm basically starring in a Steven Seagal movie. Me gusta.
Why games like this are sent to dieat full price is a mystery to me.

[squareking]

Faerie Solitaire.

D:

[Doodier]

Faerie Solitaire.

D:
Me too! 5 hrs in now and it is pretty great! I can only play like one game (9 games) per day, then I lose focus but I am still enjoying it.

[Althea]

Faerie Solitaire.

D:
Yeah, the studio who came up with that need to be branded as "dicks". No way should a game like that be so addictive.

[Heliocentric]

I'm hoping Vogle isn't going to be cheap with his new found humblebundle/steam cash and maybe try to increase the production values on his future games at least slightly. There is do it yourself spirit, and then there's just being lazy and cheap. I can't imagine it would be at all expensive or difficult for him to just get a digital recorder and sit in a park somewhere for 5 minutes to get some new ambient sounds.

He could crowd source ambient noise for free. Seriously, a real fan would love "dog barks - Steve Smith" in the credits.

[Flint]

Bulletstorm, as mentioned before. It feels like something wild and zany that would love to frolic freely, but which is kept on a constant leash so it doesn't get too rowdy. The skillshot system is great, the guns are fun, the kick and leash are excellent additions, the locales are great and there's a constant feeling that the game could be crazy shooter extravaganza. Then the modern FPS tropes hit in (somewhat ironically, considering it was supposed to be a bit of answer to all the po-faced modern shooters) and spoil the fun: frequent corridors that are too tiny to really have any fun in, small waves of enemies that die before the shooting's truly began, constant accompaniment from 1-2 annoying AI buddies (can't I get a bit of my own time at all, please!?) who get in the way and often also lead the way to a frustrating degree, the miniscule amount of weapons you can carry at the same time, etc. I'd love to have this game more unhinged, mix the skillshot system and the armory with Serious Sam-esque fields filled with enemies or something. Right now it feels like it's being constantly held back. Enjoyable, nonetheless.

[Scumbag]

constant accompaniment from 1-2 annoying AI buddies (can't I get a bit of my own time at all, please!?) who get in the way and often also lead the way to a frustrating degree

An enemy stands before a unique, once in the game opportunity trap. I leash him and prepare to boot his head into said trap.
Ishi runs in and starts meleeing the guy before the girl (forget her name) shoots the guy up.
Ishi then turns to me and scolds me for something trivial. I want to talk back, I want to tell him "YOU RUINED MY SHOT!" He just stands there looking serious.
Thanks guys.

[Tritagonist]

I'd love to have this game more unhinged, mix the skillshot system and the armory with Serious Sam-esque fields filled with enemies or something. Right now it feels like it's being constantly held back. Enjoyable, nonetheless.

I haven't played the Serious Sam games, but I do recognize this about Bulletstorm. The ideas and mechanics are all there, but it seems they didn't want (or could, due to budget/schedule/etc.) to deviate too much from today's popular FPS tropes.

That said, as far as these linear FPS games go, I thought it was pretty enjoyable overall.

[Althea]

Bulletstorm does have some faults, and also some moments where it's a bit too reliant on visual aids that can go wrong.

There's a level near the end where you have a short amount of time to get from Point A to Point B. A visual effect happens, and if it malfunctions in any way, it is practically impossible to do that section.

I was stuck there for months due to GPU failure :(

[Endless Blockade]

Fallout: New Vegas (Ultimate Edition). The girlfriend bought herself a copy and one for me the other week, and I must say it's alot better than I thought it would be.

I didn't hate Fallout 3 but it didn't rank high for me personally but Obsidian sure managed to make something quite a bit better than Bethesda, shouldn't come as a surprise I suppose. Oh well, 25ish hours in, and only done one of the DLCs and maybe halfway through the main quest. Should be the game of choice for quite some time.

[gganate]

Replaying Serious Sam 3, trying to get into Bastion. I love the look and the narration, but the gameplay isn't really my thing. Thinking about trying Alpha Protocol again.

Other than the last two games, I have absolutely no back-log. I haven't bought a new game all year, unfortunately. Last year I enjoyed Portal 2, the Witcher 2, Bulletstorm, Batman Arkham City, Crysis 2, and Skyrim. It seems like 2012 is going to be a weak year for games.

[NathanH]

I'm now stuck in SpellForce. The Hard difficulty setting was added in a patch, and I'm not sure they actually checked whether it was possible to get past this particular section. I may have to do something extreme like inventory-hacking.

[icemann]

Currently playing:

.Hack GU 1 - Rebirth (PS2 via emulator). I had previously this year and last, been playing through 1-4 of the previous .Hack series. Whilst this new series at first annoyed the hell out of me (due to the annoying amount of tutorials compared to the 1st game of the previous series) this new series has really grown on me. A evolution in more ways than one and a game that feels a hell of alot more like you are playing a MMO that is in itself within another game (since you can "log out of the MMO and check your emails and read up on current news events of the fictional alternate future that you are in).

Arcana (SNES). A fairly generic old school dungeon crawler (think Eye of the Beholder, Might and Magic style) that I had been meaning to beat for a very long time. Fun to play in chunks. Not so much fun when played for long periods. After finishing off Skyrim recently, going back to a fairly standard RPG has been a big change of pace.

[alms]

The soundscape is really annoying after a time, and in fact a bit weird + there is no in game music.


I love spiderweb, but they use the same fucking soundscape in every single game. Child crying, Child going "abababababa abbba bah," stuff clinking....in every single city you go in. It's really annoying. I'd rather they just cut them out entirely.

True, some soundscapes being reused over and over also lead them to be fairly out of place in some of the settings. One of them (Dhorl Stead maybe?) even has a wind effect that to my ear is exactly like cars wooshing by in the distance and really broke the immersion.

"ababababa" really stepped on my nerves for some reason since the first time and still does with no fail :D Truth to be told, there should be an option to turn them off, but I haven't tried it.

FWIW I'm fine with it not having any in game music.


Secondly, there was not really a good way of gauging whether you were strong enough to face enemy X or not. So I kept wiping at stupid things, because I kept entering wrong dungeons even though I had the quest for it. But then again, I don't have much fun with turn based RPGs sadly.

My main gripe with difficulty is the main quest line is a bit too easy if you keep sidequesting, and that some sidequests are difficulty spikes, although I had the feeling that was pretty much the way it was meant to be, it still feels a bit wrong somehow: I can kick the current villain's ass to the moon and back and yet a freakking ghost or salamander in some forgotten dungeon somewhere forces me to plunge into the bag for consumables. Weird!


I'm hoping Vogle isn't going to be cheap with his new found humblebundle/steam cash and maybe try to increase the production values on his future games at least slightly. There is do it yourself spirit, and then there's just being lazy and cheap. I can't imagine it would be at all expensive or difficult for him to just get a digital recorder and sit in a park somewhere for 5 minutes to get some new ambient sounds.

Well I might be wrong about this but he reminds me of Scawen Roberts, he's like "this is my one man band and I'm not gonna hire people because that would turn me into a manager". While I understand that attitude fully, it will only take you that far: at some point you have to do things the Notch way, i.e. hire someone to do what you don't feel like doing (although yes being stuffed with money helps a lot in that regard)

-- FTR I finally got the medal for "Back in the Fold" and I've almost reached the level cap, 54h in.

[Ravelle]

Currently playing:

.Hack GU 1 - Rebirth (PS2 via emulator). I had previously this year and last, been playing through 1-4 of the previous .Hack series. Whilst this new series at first annoyed the hell out of me (due to the annoying amount of tutorials compared to the 1st game of the previous series) this new series has really grown on me. A evolution in more ways than one and a game that feels a hell of alot more like you are playing a MMO that is in itself within another game (since you can "log out of the MMO and check your emails and read up on current news events of the fictional alternate future that you are in).



I have the first .hack SIGN but then they stopped selling the games all together, maybe I should just emulate them like you did.

[Heliocentric]

I'm now stuck in SpellForce. The Hard difficulty setting was added in a patch, and I'm not sure they actually checked whether it was possible to get past this particular section. I may have to do something extreme like inventory-hacking.

Pfft, bad game, terrible game.

Can be beat with stuff like heal aura and melee focus, but really its a bad game

[icemann]

I have the first .hack SIGN but then they stopped selling the games all together, maybe I should just emulate them like you did.

Their certainly worth playing. Just be sure to get all games of the same region. I ran into issues with the 3rd .hack SIGN game due to the copy I got off ebay years ago being NTSC whilst my others were PAL. If their of different regions then you can't convert over your saved games which is a major annoyance. If you later on want to make the jump from SIGN over to GU, the same applies obviously.

Copies of the game seem to be quite difficult to get a hold of these days in stores. But ebay has quite a few copies available (as of a quick check I just did). Emulation is my preference for PS2 games these days due to the better resolutions you can do + the convenience of not having to worry about memory card space (since you can simply make yourself an extra one if you use the existing one up). PS2 emulation has improved quite significantly over the last few years which is another reason.

[Voon]

Remember that McDonald's management sim back in 2006? I don't know how many times I got fired being manager of everything, ever in that company... What. The. Hell.


Bulletstorm, as mentioned before. It feels like something wild and zany that would love to frolic freely, but which is kept on a constant leash so it doesn't get too rowdy. The skillshot system is great, the guns are fun, the kick and leash are excellent additions, the locales are great and there's a constant feeling that the game could be crazy shooter extravaganza. Then the modern FPS tropes hit in (somewhat ironically, considering it was supposed to be a bit of answer to all the po-faced modern shooters) and spoil the fun: frequent corridors that are too tiny to really have any fun in, small waves of enemies that die before the shooting's truly began, constant accompaniment from 1-2 annoying AI buddies (can't I get a bit of my own time at all, please!?) who get in the way and often also lead the way to a frustrating degree, the miniscule amount of weapons you can carry at the same time, etc. I'd love to have this game more unhinged, mix the skillshot system and the armory with Serious Sam-esque fields filled with enemies or something. Right now it feels like it's being constantly held back. Enjoyable, nonetheless.

Yeah, I feel ya man. Seriously, this game is the game that would've been some of the best FPS ever made in modern times. That satirical humour, that gameplay, skillshots, guns, they got a lot of things right but the thing is, it's like what you said: kept on a leach. All those QTEs up the ass, the narrow corridors, the linearity, GfWL, it's like they're holding back on us for a wider audience or something. Still love it, though. I really do.

[NathanH]

Pfft, bad game, terrible game.

Can be beat with stuff like heal aura and melee focus, but really its a bad game

SpellForce is awesome. Apart from the frost monsters. They suck.

[Heliocentric]

SpellForce is [...] suck. Paraphrased your post for you.

[NathanH]

At least make the grammar work! I am a gentleman of learning, you know! I resent being edited in a way that makes me appear illiterate.

[Labbes]

At least make the grammar work! I am a gentleman of learning, you know! I resent being edited in a way that makes me appear illiterate.

Don't you mean Ghentleman?

Also, Spellforce sucks. Spellforce 2 is way better, and you also get your own island. Unfortunately full of bugs.

[Heliocentric]

SpellForce is [...] the [...] suck.
Better? Really, you are stuck because despite the obvious effort invested in it its an abomination, just like E. Y. E

[NathanH]

Don't you mean Ghentleman?

Also, Spellforce sucks. Spellforce 2 is way better, and you also get your own island. Unfortunately full of bugs.

I thought SF2 sucked out all of the fun and uniqueness and didn't really leave very much behind of interest. It's just a decent RTS, which isn't that interesting. The original is a delightful mess of fun and wtfs.

[Kodeen]

I thought SF2 sucked out all of the fun and uniqueness and didn't really leave very much behind of interest. It's just a decent RTS, which isn't that interesting. The original is a delightful mess of fun and wtfs.

What would you say you missed in SF2? I was thinking of skipping ahead due in no small part to Helio's campaign against the first one.

[NathanH]

I don't have time to answer that now and might not until late tomorrow, but I will answer it eventually.

[Heliocentric]

What would you say you missed in SF2? I was thinking of skipping ahead due in no small part to Helio's campaign against the first one.

If you own it play it, just so you can join my chorus against it.

Spell force one was a massive what if, and the answer was never again.

What if you were forced to use your hero unit like a Diablo like?
What if no attention had been paid to balance?
what if there are a handful of quests in a desperate attempt to fatten up a barren world?
What if you could easily miss multi step quests pay off because you didn't see someone who is behind a wall with the default camera angle?
What if your opponents units spawn ceaselessly but your own resources only recover at a trickle?
What if the amount of exp you get is proportional to the difficulty making easy subjectively harder?
What if ranged units were reduced to punching any structure they mean to destroy?
What if every specimen of a class of enemy reduces a multiplier for the amount of exp you get for that class actively punishing exploration?
What if the game will whole hog make wide swathes of your abilities useless against wide ranges of enemies?
What if upon triggering a script by walking through a certain area or deploying a base you trigger the spawn of opponents which you'll lack the means to hold off unless you are ready for them and have explored the right areas first?

Its impressive in a handful of ways, but its a disgusting chimera of mashed together ideas and half hearted implementation.

When I finished the main campaign (I'd already checked the expansions and seen them to be more of the same) I smashed the CD into little pieces. NEVER AGAIN

[SirKicksalot]

I had a sudden urge to play Battlefield 3, which I uninstalled a month ago in disgust.
Reinstalled, played about 20 minutes online, uninstalled and made myself a promise I won't do it ever again. At least it runs better and I don't get stuck in every microscopical piece of debris.
I hate this game so much! I wish I was smart enough to make a separate Origin account for it. I borrowed it to a friend eager to try BF3 and he ended up playing Bad Company 2 instead lol

Well, back to Juarez I guess. Can't believe I'm having more fun with a third rate game than with Battlefield 3.

[Nalano]

I had a sudden urge to play Battlefield 3, which I uninstalled a month ago in disgust.
Reinstalled, played about 20 minutes online, uninstalled and made myself a promise I won't do it ever again. At least it runs better and I don't get stuck in every microscopical piece of debris.
I hate this game so much! I wish I was smart enough to make a separate Origin account for it. I borrowed it to a friend eager to try BF3 and he ended up playing Bad Company 2 instead lol

Well, back to Juarez I guess. Can't believe I'm having more fun with a third rate game than with Battlefield 3.

Why did you hate it so much?

[agentorange]

Finally purchased and started on Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The tutorial/prologue level was just atrocious, and everything I was hoping the game would not be (starting you off with a laser sighted assault rifle, no alternate routes, etc.); but the horror lasted only as long as it took to get to Jensen's transformation into Robocop. The first mission allowed me to choose a lethal or non-lethal entrance (and multiple options within those options!), and then I was left to find vents to crawl through.

Only gripe with the first mission was that, compared to the first mission of Deus Ex - in which you are on a similar hostage rescue mission - you get to wander around the very open Liberty Island and gaze at the broken Statue of Liberty (which really sets the atmosphere of the games dystopian future); whereas in Human Revolution you get dumped into some nondescript warehouse like structure, and for most of the mission you work your way through corridors. I'm hoping the venues get more interesting, because the intricately detailed locations are some of the most memorable parts of Deus Ex for me.

[Heliocentric]

Only gripe with the first mission was that, compared to the first mission of Deus Ex - in which you are on a similar hostage rescue mission - you get to wander around the very open Liberty Island and gaze at the broken Statue of Liberty (which really sets the atmosphere of the games dystopian future); whereas in Human Revolution you get dumped into some nondescript warehouse like structure, and for most of the mission you work your way through corridors. I'm hoping the venues get more interesting, because the intricately detailed locations are some of the most memorable parts of Deus Ex for me.
Once you have played Detroit, then judge the game that really is the high water mark here. It might be "non Descript" but its a warren of Missions, secret passages and conversations.

[Ian]

Been playing SWTOR. Did some grouping last night where my Bounty Hunter - Mercenary was required as a healer. I've no fucking idea what the logic* behind "shooting people to heal them with this magic ammo" works but it is good fun.

* In the game world, I mean. I think it's great that there's so much utility offered by the advanced classes.

[sonson]

After having been ill for some time and really incapable of enjoying the PC I’m having a blast coming back to all of these games that have stacked up.

Did my second run through of DA: O as a dual wield Human rogue. I originally bought the game on it’s release day because my brother bought me a GAME voucher and I had to spend it, having had no prior inclination or interest in beforehand, and ended up playing non stop more or less all long weekend and finishing it at 4.am before work first time round.

This sense of wonder and engagement I got form exploring the world on my first play through was obviously gone, and the Human origin doesn’t seem to affect the game nearly as much as being a dwarf does, but still enjoyed it very much.

It’s a remarkably well polished and presented game for something so vast, something which I think often gets overlooked, and the balance between variety of locations, characters, roles and quests is managed very well considering.

The second time round I reliased how the game, for all that it is a very enjoyable and rewarding experience, still falls someway short of what it should be, a point best explained through the plot device of the Deep Roads. They and Orzammar are exceptionally well realised in terms of aesthetic, law and narrative; all three convey a real sense of loss, history, tragedy, hubris and defiance, and on both play through it was joy to walk around both and discover their past speak to me through these devices. This is probably where the game is at it’s strongest, and sucked me in a way that few other games have managed.

Where it all falls down is that the gameplay, specifically the difficulty, doesn’t sufficiently scale to match the grandeur and weightiness of all this context. Yes, it is a substantially bigger stage than any of the others and yes, there are more Darkspawn, but that’s it. Ridding a tower of Demons seems sort of plausible, ditto a forest; the combat and level of slaughter there were reasonable enough.
But the Deep Roads, an ancient, crumbling under empire which the dwarfs have tried for centuries to reclaim, to no avail? I managed to essentially annex it back with the help of three dudes in what can’t reasonably be assumed to be more than a couple of months, at the most. As a result all of that epic fulfilment of the traditional Dwarf trope which was so strong in the codex and in the character interaction was lost, it made a lie of the whole history of the Dwarfs and the Dark Spawn and the whole thing seemed rather meaningless.

The best bit about Dragon Age, as John noted, was the sense of culture, society and antiquity that the game was so in steeped in; the later levelling mechanics, or failure of enemy presence to adapt to this, break this entirely as it places my character entirely outside of this history because hey, fuck it, I’m invincible (literally; due to the amount of points in my dexterity no one can even *hit me* ) and the forces that drive history, the big events, are more or less entirely for me to change.

The world is irrelevant to me, because it has no claim on me anymore. I can shape history all on my own, so there is no real reason for me to care about anyone or anything in Thedas unless I arbitrarily choose to want to do so. I singlehandedly have managed to accomplish within the space of, what, canonically a year at the very most what most of the ancient and revered paragaons, saints, generals and kings couldn’t do between them in several lifetimes.

There are plenty other games in which the character is literally larger than life of course, if not most; but having worked so hard to place me in a plausible, living organism with it’s own narrative and consequences which at times convincingly suggests that you are indeed merely a player strutting on the stage it’s all the more jarring when the gameplay says to you that in reality you’re actually the architect of it all anyway and that fate and posterity are yours to shape entirely as you wish. Porting my character into Awakenings I gave up half way through because this disconnect reached ludicrous proportions and I literally could not care less about anyone because I more or less existed on a whole other plane of existence to them, not being bound by anything apart from where the plot was taking me, which was no longer relevant to my existence as realised through the game’s mechanics.

Still an excellent game; but it could have been so much better still, if they had found a way of pairing mechanics with narrative. I want to play the story of Dragon Age Origins, but the game won’t let me.

[Rauten]

*snipped for the sake of mercy*

Maybe we've been looking at the wrong thread for the EA shrill?... >_>

[Drake Sigar]

Needed something to tide me over till Legend of Grimrock, so I ended up with Cthulhu Saves the World. All I can think is I've made a better game in RPG Maker. I mean fair enough it was only ten minutes long and there wasn't much combat, but you were able to get wasted on mushrooms with Batman and outrun sentient boulders while listening to the Indiana Jones theme.

Shut up.

[gganate]

Finally purchased and started on Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The tutorial/prologue level was just atrocious, and everything I was hoping the game would not be (starting you off with a laser sighted assault rifle, no alternate routes, etc.); but the horror lasted only as long as it took to get to Jensen's transformation into Robocop. The first mission allowed me to choose a lethal or non-lethal entrance (and multiple options within those options!), and then I was left to find vents to crawl through.

Only gripe with the first mission was that, compared to the first mission of Deus Ex - in which you are on a similar hostage rescue mission - you get to wander around the very open Liberty Island and gaze at the broken Statue of Liberty (which really sets the atmosphere of the games dystopian future); whereas in Human Revolution you get dumped into some nondescript warehouse like structure, and for most of the mission you work your way through corridors. I'm hoping the venues get more interesting, because the intricately detailed locations are some of the most memorable parts of Deus Ex for me.

Human Revolution is a worthy Deus Ex game, but the levels don't get more interesting, I'm afraid, and that was my major criticism. In the original, we got to visit Paris, Hell's Kitchen, Hong Kong, an undersea laboratory, and even Area 51. There's nothing as cool in HM, and maybe this is because the developers seemed to be gunning for a more realistic experience - there aren't any transgenics - as well as one set theme. Human Revolution is about the dangers of human augmentation, whereas Deus Ex was about a whole lot of stuff.

[Tikey]

All I can think is I've made a better game in RPG Maker. I mean fair enough it was only ten minutes long and there wasn't much combat, but you were able to get wasted on mushrooms with Batman and outrun sentient boulders while listening to the Indiana Jones theme.

Shut up.

I want that game.

[agentorange]

Human Revolution is a worthy Deus Ex game, but the levels don't get more interesting, I'm afraid, and that was my major criticism. In the original, we got to visit Paris, Hell's Kitchen, Hong Kong, an undersea laboratory, and even Area 51. There's nothing as cool in HM, and maybe this is because the developers seemed to be gunning for a more realistic experience - there aren't any transgenics - as well as one set theme. Human Revolution is about the dangers of human augmentation, whereas Deus Ex was about a whole lot of stuff.

The game just opened up into Detroit, very well designed, reminiscent of Hell's Kitchen from the original but even larger. They do seem to be cultivating a sense of realism though, plot and design wise; but I don't mind that, since the writing quality so far seems on par with Deus Ex. Only gameplay gripe I can think of is the Praxis system: being able to upgrade your augmentations in the middle of a mission, on your own, without the assistance of some kind of medi-drone seems to go against that sense of realism they've got in the story. But that's really nitpicking.

[Drake Sigar]

I want that game.
That'll be £9.99 please.

[Flint]

Only gameplay gripe I can think of is the Praxis system: being able to upgrade your augmentations in the middle of a mission, on your own, without the assistance of some kind of medi-drone seems to go against that sense of realism they've got in the story. But that's really nitpicking.
They (attempt to) justify it though, which is kinda nice; all the available upgrades are already in Adam but due to the extent of the rework and him being hurried back to his job rather than being given an extensive enough recovery period, most of his augmentations have been turned off so the biological parts of his body wouldn't go to shock from all the new parts. The upgrade system represents his augmentations coming to life one-by-one, rather than Adam picking up new parts.

--------

On topic, finished Bulletstorm and pretty much everything I said in my previous post apply to my feelings after finishing it. Enjoyable but flawed.

Now moved onto something completely different and replaying Fallout 1, something that's been on the back of my mind for a bit now. Whenever I'm in a Fallout mood I tend to go for Fallout 2 as that's one of the Best Things Ever, and thanks to that I've only played through the first one a very small number of times. Can't even remember the last time I did it, actually. Do love it, mind you.

Already gained a small moment of awesomeness as my low-level Vault Dweller foolishly decided to take on a deathclaw, and then proceeded to win the combat with an insanely lucky streak of critical rifle shots straight to the beast's eyes, killing the monster (with a liiiiittle help from Tycho's shotgun). I AM DEATH.

[Nalano]

but you were able to get wasted on mushrooms with Batman and outrun sentient boulders while listening to the Indiana Jones theme.

And in the game?

[Tikey]

That'll be £9.99 please.

I'm throwing money at the screen and nothing happens.
Any information about my retailer exclusive DLC?

[sonson]

@Rauten

Not that I even mentioned EA, or really anything relating to all of that in any way. Kind of odd that you would extrapolate that from a chain of thoughts on the tension between narrative as it is presented and played out in a game, while also stating expressly that it was a game I have very much enjoyed.

If you find a post looks overlong or verbose, just skip it? That's what I do. Rather than post a comment thereafter which suggest to others that the post is about something which is entirely misrepresentative.

[Duckee]

@Rauten

Not that I even mentioned EA, or really anything relating to all of that in any way. Kind of odd that you would extrapolate that from a chain of thoughts on the tension between narrative as it is presented and played out in a game, while also stating expressly that it was a game I have very much enjoyed.

If you find a post looks overlong or verbose, just skip it? That's what I do. Rather than post a comment thereafter which suggest to others that the post is about something which is entirely misrepresentative.

Pretty sure it was a moronic joke and that he just pulled your leg. There is another thread in the forum that discusses if this forum has an EA associate lurking around diverting EA hate in discussions.

[DaftPunk]

I just installed San Andreas for my sister and damn game feels so inferior to GTA4 in terms of core gameplay structure (Shooting,driving,fighting etc.).

[Heliocentric]

I just installed San Andreas for my sister and damn game feels so inferior to GTA4 in terms of core gameplay structure (Shooting,driving,fighting etc.).

It has a better selection of clothes and cycling a bike was legitimately awesome.

[DaftPunk]

It has a better selection of clothes and cycling a bike was legitimately awesome.


Need to agree that,SA have allot of nice little touches as you can get fat,fit,you can buy clothes,pimp your car and shit like that :D

[Heliocentric]

Need to agree that,SA have allot of nice little touches as you can get fat,fit,you can buy clothes,pimp your car and shit like that :D

Radio was better too, GTA4's radio was repetitive as hell, why does this station only play one song? I know its realistic but godamn.

[DaftPunk]

Oh i can't comment on raido thingy,i always play with custom radio station (my mp3 songs).

[trjp]

It has a better selection of clothes and cycling a bike was legitimately awesome.

I tend to think none of those made up for the sheer lack of FUN that game had.

It's predecessors were icons of massive laughs gameplay - SA was a grim chav simulator which was less enjoyable to play and more of a job (and GTA made that worse again).

[Giaddon]

Trying on some free-to-play games. The good ones are Blacklight Retribution (competitive FPS) and Vindictus (MMO-brawler).

Also playing The Darkness 2 (on sale for $12.50 at Amazon right now). Mega-violent, but gorgeous and very fun.

[Nalano]

It's predecessors were icons of massive laughs gameplay - SA was a grim chav simulator which was less enjoyable to play and more of a job (and GTA made that worse again).

I cannot think of a more hilariously mismatched use of that term.

[SirKicksalot]

I finished Call of Juarez: The Cartel. Goddamn. This is the most underrated game of 2011. It starts kinda shitty, unfortunately. The levels in the second part of the game are awesome and even the writing picks up. It goes from being a Steven Seagal movie to being Bad Boys 2. It's much better than Bound in Blood.

Next game to play - Operation Flashpoint: Red River.

[Voon]

Dark Souls and still stuck in Undead Burg with a level 14 Bandit. There's a Dragon waiting on top of a gate with some hollows trying to shoot me. I know I need to hide before it barbaques me to death but this is getting ridiculous. Need help, badly. Also, any weapon recommendations for a new guy in this game?

[trjp]

I cannot think of a more hilariously mismatched use of that term.

Howso? The entire game was about gangs, "the hood", "respeck" - 80s chavs perhaps but still chavs.

It could have been 'Spike Lee' but it aimed more at 'Ice-T' and no-one needs that level of 'fake gangsta' in their lives surely?

It was just grim and miserable.

[Nalano]

Howso? The entire game was about gangs, "the hood", "respeck" - 80s chavs perhaps but still chavs.

Because "chav" is a Bri'ish word with its own connotations (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2X_2sfM4bQg/T0qE4zxduvI/AAAAAAAAAjU/vOgE7t2Q960/s1600/chavs_final.jpg) and using it on LA hoods is hilarious.

That, and the game isn't about LA hoods so much as it's a parody of blaxploitation movies like Boyz n the Hood and Menace II Society.

[trjp]

Because "chav" is a Bri'ish word with its own connotations (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2X_2sfM4bQg/T0qE4zxduvI/AAAAAAAAAjU/vOgE7t2Q960/s1600/chavs_final.jpg) and using it on LA hoods is hilarious.

That, and the game isn't about LA hoods so much as it's a parody of blaxploitation movies like Boyz n the Hood and Menace II Society.

They're not blaxsploitation films (at least they're not widely seen as that) and someone the UK who appreciates the values of it would be a chav.

Hell I liked films like Boyz in the Hood at the time - but the game was just a dreary, repetitive grind - which they refined into a grimmer grind for GTA4.

Somewhere at Rockstar HQ there's a box under someone's desk mark "all the fun we forgot to put into our last 3-4 games).

[Nalano]

They're not blaxsploitation films (at least they're not widely seen as that) and someone the UK who appreciates the values of it would be a chav.

At best you're mistranslating the word for lack of a better one, because British chavs and American hoods are not the same thing.

Also, 'hood' films are a subcategory/continuation of blaxploitation; they just focus on, well, hoods.

[Malawi Frontier Guard]

San Andreas: Separating the weed from the chav.

[airtekh]

I'm still playing Mass Effect 3. I reckon I'm 3/4 of the way through the SP, so I'll probably get it finished this weekend.

I have liked it so far, but I don't think I've enjoyed ME3's singleplayer as much as I enjoyed Mass Effect 2, for reasons that I can't quite articulate.

I've been distracted from playing the singleplayer by the addictive multiplayer missions.


I finished Call of Juarez: The Cartel. Goddamn. This is the most underrated game of 2011. It starts kinda shitty, unfortunately. The levels in the second part of the game are awesome and even the writing picks up. It goes from being a Steven Seagal movie to being Bad Boys 2. It's much better than Bound in Blood.

Extra Credits gave it such a hammering (http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/call-of-juarez-the-cartel) that I decided to stay well clear of it.

[Giaddon]

San Andreas: Separating the weed from the chav.

Awesome.90

[Drake Sigar]

Howso? The entire game was about gangs, "the hood", "respeck" - 80s chavs perhaps but still chavs.


Chavs are more of a class than a gang.

[Heliocentric]

I'm still playing Mass Effect 3. I reckon I'm 3/4 of the way through the SP, so I'll probably get it finished this weekend.

Once you reach the (not really a spoiler ) beam of light just turn off the game, or play some multiplayer and call it a day, at least until the ending dlc comes out.

[alms]

Oh i can't comment on raido thingy,i always play with custom radio station (my mp3 songs).

The radio was hilarious and added a lot of personality to the game, I can't imagine playing GTA:SA without it. Plus, the music was also pretty good.

[Malawi Frontier Guard]

I bought Hack, Slash, Loot. I have to admit, I fell for the joke when I first started playing. Very funny, putting a simplistic roguelike parody minigame in there. Now, where is the real game?

[Althea]

I bought Hack, Slash, Loot. I have to admit, I fell for the joke when I first started playing. Very funny, putting a simplistic roguelike parody minigame in there. Now, where is the real game?
Is it a Wait For A Better Sale game?

[SirKicksalot]

Extra Credits gave it such a hammering (http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/call-of-juarez-the-cartel) that I decided to stay well clear of it.

That's fucking retarded.
Did they bitch about GTA's lazy-ass treatment of gang warfare and Mafia? Are we not alowed to have entertainment products inspired by real world events? Is there really a problem when in a mission where you attack a black LA gang on its own turf you shoot black dudes? There's a silly achievement for shooting lots of dudes in that mission, which is called Gang Bang. Oh the humanity! In the Mexico missions you shoot lots of Mexicans that are working for the Cartel... and also American members of a PMC.
They say the entire game is portraying minorities as villains - but the villains of the story are white fucking Americans. What starts as a story of bringing down a Mexican cartel turns out to be a story about corruption in American politics. I am not kidding. There are multiple endings and the one I got was very bleak: I played as McCall (the descendant of the previous protagonists) and ended up killing my team and rotting away in a prison for trying to demask the conspiracy. The very last thing that happens in this ending is that McCall receives a postcard with a snarky message from the main (American!) villain, whose plan goes forward.
The attempts to criticise the game for being a dangerous propaganda tool that will teach people bullshit facts about Mexico are so forced they're not even worth dissecting.
Look, this is a solid B-tier, microscopic budget COD-style shooter with a couple of spectacular missions and a rather shitty introduction. I see no reason why a shooter fan won't enjoy it as a bargain bin purchase as long as he pushes through the first hour or so.
Penny Arcade are just ranting and pontificating in vain. It's a classic case of self-absorbed game journalists finding a small, workmanlike title on which they can shit and bitch and evacuate all the bile from their systems. It brings this to mind:
"Critics who treat adult as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence." - C. S. Lewis.

[Malawi Frontier Guard]

It's a game you don't buy at all.

There is nothing interesting about it. It's like someone set out to make the blandest roguelike in the world.

The only strategy in combat is to stand and fight, there isn't even a reason to run away because enemies move as fast as you. Character progression is defined by random buffs and debuffs through consumables (that have to be used on the spot) and gear, with the latter basically boiling down to maximizing the damage of your chosen weapon type (Melee, ranged or magic). The resistances and weapon effects are just false complexity, the main decider between whether you are successful or not is the random number generator. Also you primarily unlock new classes by dying, which is probably one of the strangest design decisions ever.

I've only played it for an hour and honestly I see nothing at all of value here. Maybe there are subtle depths to it that I have yet to explore, maybe not. It's nice to see that the developer managed to finish a game and bring it to Steam, but other than that it's just not worth my time when there are plenty of free, more satisfying roguelikes out there.

[Drake Sigar]

Did anyone know Wing Commander 3 had ship morale and pilot morale influenced through the multiple choice conversations? I sure didn't until today.

[DaftPunk]

The radio was hilarious and added a lot of personality to the game, I can't imagine playing GTA:SA without it. Plus, the music was also pretty good.


You have a point,since yesterday when i started playing SA again,i left game radio on and its quite funny shit :D

[Juan Carlo]

There is nothing interesting about it. It's like someone set out to make the blandest roguelike in the world.



I bought it in the indieroyale bundle and I agree.

Unless you absolutely love rogue likes and are super hard up for something to play, I wouldn't bother. It really has no distinguishing features at all and is as barebones of a roguelike as you'll find.

And on top of it, the graphics are super hard on the eyes--not because they are retro (which I don't mind), but because everything is tiny. You can zoom in on the graphics themselves, but the text is a bitch to read at any size. I'd rather have ASCII graphics as they at least are functional and get the job done by telling you everything you need to know at a glance, but these are awful enough to actually impede your ability to play.

I actually can't believe Valve accepted this. It's exactly the sort of game they usually reject.

[Rii]

So it isn't really possible to fail at Heavy Rain, but insofar as it is possible, I did. By the time the credits rolled everyone was dead except the murderer.

I probably should've turned the (QTE) difficulty down at some point.

Regarding the QTE action sequences, I actually found them surprisingly thrilling. I guess that's not so much a testament to the mechanics themselves, but rather the strength of the characters and the knowledge that the outcome counts -- that it has implications beyond a reload screen.

Next up: Valkyria Chronicles.

[Drake Sigar]

This is a PC gaming forum. Don't tease us with titles we can't have. :(

[Rii]

It was either Valkyria Chronicles or Red Dead Redemption. ;)

I'm currently on a PS3 tear and yeah, all the titles are at least console exclusive if not PS3 exclusive. Sowwy.

[Heliocentric]

After buying it from steam for a quart of O+ blood I descended onto Bulletstorm. It's quite good, played it on hard and I felt like comprises between survival and trying skill shots is a good balance. The little and often purchase of ammo is very old school arcade.

The humour sits well with me, but I can't play it with the kids nearby (because it's sweary) so my progress will be slow.

[DaftPunk]

I don't understand how people can talk about no pc titles here,in pc section o.O Keep that shit out of here.

[Heliocentric]

Humbug

It might be the wrong board, but it's the right topic for the thread. I suggest we allow console posts but wag our fingers disapprovingly.

Some console games are 'very pc' be is the psp's old school rpg wizardry, the ds's turn based strategy of advance wars or the roguelike meets Diablo (diabetes? Thanks auto correct.) of dark souls.

These games might not be on PC, but they belong here.

[Voon]

The humour sits well with me, but I can't play it with the kids nearby (because it's sweary) so my progress will be slow.

Wasn't there an option to not only censor the dick swears from Grayson but to replace the lines entirely with different words?

[Labbes]

After buying it from steam for a quart of O+ blood I descended onto Bulletstorm. It's quite good, played it on hard and I felt like comprises between survival and trying skill shots is a good balance. The little and often purchase of ammo is very old school arcade.

Does that version come without GfWL? Because if so, I might need to find out who in my neighborhood has O+. Tonight.

[Althea]

Does that version come without GfWL? Because if so, I might need to find out who in my neighborhood has O+. Tonight.
No. All versions have GfWL.

[Ham Solo]

Ace of Spades

[Vandelay]

It might be the wrong board, but it's the right topic for the thread. I suggest we allow console posts but wag our fingers disapprovingly.

Some console games are 'very pc' be is the psp's old school rpg wizardry, the ds's turn based strategy of advance wars or the roguelike meets Diablo (diabetes? Thanks auto correct.) of dark souls.

These games might not be on PC, but they belong here.

Am I allowed to say that I'm playing Beneath a Steel Sky on my iPad via ScummVM without having fingers wagged at me?

[Casimir Effect]

Right. Another attempt to get into Company of Heroes has been made and I think I might give up now. It's strange, I can see it's a really good game and I've enjoyed what I've played so far (last mission was the Carentan Counter-Attack one) but there's no pull to keep me playing. I feel as if I've seen all the game has to offer. Maybe I'll dip in and out, and I still like watching the shoutcasts someone recommended on these boards a while back which is something I've never found interest in before.

So I've also given Titan Quest another go too, but that doesn't feel right either. Doesn't have the nice sense of constant progression that Torchlight has or that certain something Diablo 2 had. Right now I've a level 6 melee based character who is stuck in places where most enemies are higher level, meaning I end up having to soften things with a bow all the time. Every area has been cleared entirely so far with no re-doing to grind for more XP - which is what I feel I need to do but really cannot be bothered. I'll keep on trying for a while longer but if it doesn't get more enoyable soon I may drop it.

Bulletstorm has also been started and is a whole fuckton of fun, although some of the set pieces can eat a dick as can Games For Windows Live.

Finally, I picked up To The Moon yesterday and will start that tomorrow when I can relax more. Looking forward to that game so much I hope I haven't built it up too much in my mind.

[Heliocentric]

Right. Another attempt to get into Company of Heroes has been made and I think I might give up now. It's strange, I can see it's a really good game and I've enjoyed what I've played so far (last mission was the Carentan Counter-Attack one) but there's no pull to keep me playing. I feel as if I've seen all the game has to offer. Maybe I'll dip in and out, and I still like watching the shoutcasts someone recommended on these boards a while back which is something I've never found interest in before.I understand, scripted Strategy games are a contradiction in terms. Give all that choice but lay out a series of loops which MUST be jumped, the game does steadily open up and allow both doctrine and tactical choice but as a long time strategy gamer I usually just tap skirmish until I can take on someone made of meat.

The campaign does improve strategically, but for drama Carentan counter attack is the high water mark.

I Suggest you do as I do and play skirmishes, that's the whole game there, freeform with no blather. Play ranked matches against other people if you can take it, its the pinnacle of the form.

THQ published 2 strategy titles in a short space of time which couldn't have been more different, one was Company o Heroes, but I've been playing the other today, Supreme Commander (specifically Forged Alliance), my retail key activated on steam... Who knew?

The game is a beast, its truly monstrous. Dozens of strategically unique units, an economy which will not let you rest and a scale which allows things like a "temporary base" to actually make sense. The game is everything CoH rebuked about the genre (and DoW2 later outright rejected) turned up to eleven. It was a base building, formation moving, special weapon deploying, mind whithering apocalypse played out in real time.

CoH was exhausting to play against another person, but the scale and randomness forgave you, but Supreme Commander has no such mercy.


Note: The supreme commander campaign was a scripted mess cage for strategy once again but my praise is for Skirmish/Multiplayer.

[DaftPunk]

You know whats sad,i bought COH and Supreme Commander 1 with expansion pack for my mate's birthday and he still didn't even opened Supreme Commander,but we put dozens of hours into COH multiplayer together. Its a shame,because Supreme Commander is allot more deeper game then COH,even better in my opinion.

[Casimir Effect]

I understand, scripted Strategy games are a contradiction in terms. Give all that choice but lay out a series of loops which MUST be jumped, the game does steadily open up and allow both doctrine and tactical choice but as a long time strategy gamer I usually just tap skirmish until I can take on someone made of meat.
That's exactly it - the scripted nature is what puts me off. Or at least how heavily scripted the game is. It worked on the Carentan map but I feel it's a one-trick pony - maps like that would get draining/dull fast. When a mission is too scripted it feels like myself and the AI are playing by completely different rules, which in a strategy game is just silly. I'm pretty sure any CoH mission can be beaten just by memorizing what event will happen when and preparing for it appropriately, which is probably true of many strategy games but usually far less obvious. I'd prefer clever AI which constantly adapted to events, such as was prevelent in the past (or seemingly so at least) but sadly dead now (as it is in many genres).

RTS was my very first gaming love. When I was 5 Dune II was released, then 9 when C&C came out and I played each to death - even though I sucked. This love continued up to Rome: TW, Emperor: Battle For Dune (great game), Red Alert II and Homeworld II but then mostly fell off as the games seemed to change somehow. Nowadays the strategy genre is mostly dominated by tower defense and DOTA-likes, which hold no interest. There's still the odd TW game which I'll always look into, and King Arthur provides fun as well. I have DoW II on Steam but fear it'll be like you say. I think my last hopes for the genre will be King Arthur II and World In Conflict, which I have heard great things about. Else I'll consign myself to the past and hope for Emperor and the Homeworld games to appear on GOG someday.

I did try Sup Com but bounced right off the campaign. I can tell it'd be great in skirmish but I don't have the impetous to play against AI or the skill to play against real people (I need my strategic pause). Do you know of any Sup Com good shoutcasts as I would find such a thing enjoyable? Also, I have Sup Com 2 sitting in my Steam list so is that worth a go?

[Heliocentric]

I honestly never tried SupCom 2, it was apparently alot more C&C.

[cosmicolor]

Dota 2 again, managed to win my third game against humans. Surprisingly enough only one guy raged out and nobody left. Still also playing Lands of Lore 1 with a bit of Might and Magic 6.

[Voon]

I honestly never tried SupCom 2, it was apparently alot more C&C.

I did. It was fun

[crazy horse]

I finally got around to playing VVVVVV. The direct result of this is that I am now officially insane. I'm going to grow a beard and tie a bone in it.

A mere five minutes with VVVVVV is more horrible then every horror game ever made combined. This is because the game is made out of pure evil and it compels you to complete it and all side-challenges even if you don't want too. Do not let this game on your hard drive.

Now I must go back to pounding on my desk and booming "STOP DYING LITTLE SPACEMAN!" at my monitor.

[TailSwallower]

Just did a fresh install of Fallout with the FIXT patch/mod pack. Some screen flickering in the main menu, but it seems to be solid once in the game itself. Though it looks way uglier at 1024x600 than it does at 1920x1080 (which is what I last played one of the originals at). Still, it's better than 640x480.

[apricotsoup]

Trine 2, just before the final level.

My word this is lovely, very much like the first but with a number of new hazards, puzzles, enemies, etc.
The art has also been cranked up a notch and whilst the colours are a little garish in places the overall look is fantastic with new themed areas lifting it above the first in variety many times.

Highly recommended to all, especially fans of the first.

[Heliocentric]

Trine 2 is also quantifiably better thought out, gone are the puzzle breaking hidden items which you can equip, gone is the pointless mana bar, gone are compound death traps you can only solve through agility (except 1 you can bypass using the knights charge).
Yes I miss the knight picking things up and throwing them, but eh.

If Trine was ever too twitchy for you Trine 2 fixed it.

[Ravelle]

I did. It was fun

That game is pure chaos, hard but it's a lot of fun, seeing that Fire-breathing mecha T-Rex barbeque the enemies forces is priceless.

[apricotsoup]

Trine 2 is also quantifiably better thought out, gone are the puzzle breaking hidden items which you can equip, gone is the pointless mana bar, gone are compound death traps you can only solve through agility (except 1 you can bypass using the knights charge).
Yes I miss the knight picking things up and throwing them, but eh.

If Trine was ever too twitchy for you Trine 2 fixed it.

All very true, I'd forgotten some of that from the first. Bar the final level of the first game which was not something I was keen on.

Just completed the game now and it wrapped up well :]

[alms]

CoH is a game I should get back to playing: I only logged 4h in it because of some graphics issues which only appeared around Mountebourg, some kind of black squares IIRC that would not let me see part of the battlefield.

I've fired up Bit.Trip Runner for the first time yesterday. I "die" only marginally less than in VVVVVV but I really don't understand why they want you to replay the whole level from the beginning every freaking time you make a mistake. Took me 20m just to get through level 1-3 (yes I'm that bad) - unless a miracle happens chances are I won't be sticking with it much longer. Too bad because I love the art style.

[Juan Carlo]

I've fired up Bit.Trip Runner for the first time yesterday.


One of the worst games I've ever played.

I'd elaborate further but I already started an epic rant thread about how much I hate this game over at the steam forums, and the thread is still going strong (something I'm kind of proud of just because I hate this game so much).

So just go there and read my thoughts on why it sucks:

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2288861

[Vague-rant]

All very true, I'd forgotten some of that from the first. Bar the final level of the first game which was not something I was keen on

Just completed the game now and it wrapped up well :]

On the second to last level of Trine 2 now... And the reason I know that is I was forced to look up a walkthrough. It'd basically been a really good challenge, with the puzzles being just difficult enough to make me stop and think. But I feel like its only recently crossed into ridiculous.

[Sketch]

Playing the remake of Halo 1...man this game has aged quite well in my opinion. The levels are absolutely massive compared to what I'm used to in most modern day FPS games, I'm playing on the 3rd difficulty level up and it's just the right challenge. Plus the included new side story is really interesting if you like Halo lore. Couple that with (relatively) decent AI, a LOT of on screen enemies and some satisfying weapons it's adding up to be a great experience.

[Althea]

Playing the remake of Halo 1...man this game has aged quite well in my opinion. The levels are absolutely massive compared to what I'm used to in most modern day FPS games, I'm playing on the 3rd difficulty level up and it's just the right challenge. Plus the included new side story is really interesting if you like Halo lore. Couple that with (relatively) decent AI, a LOT of on screen enemies and some satisfying weapons it's adding up to be a great experience.
Halo was one of the best FPS games of its time for precisely those reasons, even on the Xbox.

[Sketch]

Especially on the Xbox! (in that it came out in 2001 and had great split screen)

Seriously, now with the upgraded graphics it plays like a really modern game.

[alms]

(something I'm kind of proud of just because I hate this game so much).

So that was your thread? I'd read through it yesterday, just after I gave up on 1-4, with a smile on my face. My favorite part was when someone announced that he liked the game because after two years he became good at it.

[NathanH]

I am playing Mass Effect 3, and it is really rather good.

[SirKicksalot]

Operation Flashpoint: Red River

I like Arma and I like this one too. It's less Sim Army, more focused on actually shooting dudes. Medium and long range combat is satisfying, although it lacks Arma's finer controls and "feel". The squad AI doesn't bother me, it was either patched or I'm doing a better ordering it around than most reviewers. It's rather shitty from a technical standpoint but still pulls off some beautiful views and atmosphere. A huge improvement over the piss filter of Dragon Rising. I can't help but compare it to Medal of Honor - that game pulled off a fantastic depiction of Afghanistan; Red River's Tadjikistan never comes close to it, and that's a damn shame because the potential is there and is gigantic.

The best part of the game is the squad leader. He reminds me of Jamie Foxx in Jarhead. Dude's an endless fountain of creative profanity. Fun.

[TailSwallower]

Playing the remake of Halo 1...

Would love for them to release it on PC, but it seems unlikely. Microsoft should just rename it the Gears of Halo Box and be done with it.

Haven't actually played the PC version of the original release - is it available for digital download anywhere? I know it's not on Steam or GamersGate. Otherwise maybe I should check at my local GAME, and trade it for a forged job reference for the poor bastards who are still working there.

[Cryptoshrimp]

Played a lot of SWTOR the past weeks, but now my modem's half broken (85 second ping, what the hell), so I've gone back to trying to beat Dredmor. It's ridiculous. I've spent so much time on that game, bought the DLC, but I still haven't managed to get past floor 6. And yet I keep coming back for more Diggle-led defeats.

[Sketch]

Would love for them to release it on PC, but it seems unlikely. Microsoft should just rename it the Gears of Halo Box and be done with it.

Haven't actually played the PC version of the original release - is it available for digital download anywhere? I know it's not on Steam or GamersGate. Otherwise maybe I should check at my local GAME, and trade it for a forged job reference for the poor bastards who are still working there.

Yeah I'd like a PC version, although with the actual original multiplayer. I haven't seen 1 or 2 available to download anywhere, so I'd bet an online store is your best bet.

Weird thing is playing the game, it looks like I remember it first time, despite it actually looking way better. How time changes things!

[Nalano]

(85 second ping, what the hell)

85000ms? That's not lag. That's play-by-email.

[apricotsoup]

With trine 2 done it's another recent sale game for me; blur.

Played about a hour, after some bad play from me (not used to racing games at all) it's pretty good fun.
Very odd seeing Brighton in a game like this but with the devs being from here (till the studio was shut anyways) it makes a lot of sense, I wonder if I can see my house from any bits of it.

[Duckee]

Fallout 1 :) I have never completed it, so I am having another go. I keep forgetting to save though, which means the random travel event spelled disaster when I was set upon by a ravenous pack of Radscorpions that quickly took me down to 3 hp. I was then about to use a Stimpack before killing of the last of the beasties, however my friend Ian put a bullet in my head because he missed the Radscorpion that was eating his legs and hit me instead. Yay!

[Voon]

Fallout 1 :) I have never completed it, so I am having another go. I keep forgetting to save though, which means the random travel event spelled disaster when I was set upon by a ravenous pack of Radscorpions that quickly took me down to 3 hp. I was then about to use a Stimpack before killing of the last of the beasties, however my friend Ian put a bullet in my head because he missed the Radscorpion that was eating his legs and hit me instead. Yay!

Oh god, my sides!

It's better to get Dogmeat instead of Ian as your first companion, really. Or Tycho.

[Sketch]

Without Ian, the male scorpions would be fighting over my fleshy carcass. He's a rough, tough lifesaver.

Doesn't help that my character can barely lift a gun for 30+ seconds.

[squareking]

I've also started a Fallout playthrough after not playing (and never finishing) for many years and I don't remember the beginning being this easy. I've come close to death a few times, but I've cleared out the first raider camp and racked up some caps/OK gear at level 3. Boosting small guns must be super beneficial.

[Voon]

I've also started a Fallout playthrough after not playing (and never finishing) for many years and I don't remember the beginning being this easy. I've come close to death a few times, but I've cleared out the first raider camp and racked up some caps/OK gear at level 3. Boosting small guns must be super beneficial.

Energy weapons and speech skills were also essential, late game in my experience. You'll get a bitchin' gatling laser, a turbo plasma rifle after an upgrade in Adytum, Los Angeles and an alien blaster from a random encounter nearby Mariposa Base. Speech? The Master.

[Flint]

Energy weapons isn't that essential. Sure, stuff like plasma rifle etc are deadly as heck and definitely a viable late-game option, but so is the sniper rifle in the hands of an experienced small guns user aiming for the eyes (especially if you have the Finesse trait).

I've just finished my Fallout playthrough, amazing as ever. Even managed to do something new this time (saving Necropolis; I wonder if the later patches altering the time limits have anything to do with that). Now sort of drifting along while waiting for Grimrock to release. Gotten a small bite for Dungeons of Dredmor again and bought one of the deck packs for Duels of the Planeswalkers from this weekend's sales so will probably chew on those before the 11th.

[TailSwallower]

I've also started a Fallout playthrough after not playing (and never finishing) for many years and I don't remember the beginning being this easy.

What kind of patches/mods are you playing with? I started playing with FIXT and got given a free set of Leather Armour (not a leather jacket, the leather armour) from someone in Shady Sands just for promising to go take care of the Raiders or the Radscorpions... Yeah, sorry modders but I don't like that. One of the things I love about the original Fallout is how slowly new items become available, and how expensive they are when you first come across them.

So now I've gotta decide what I want to do about my install - I picked up on this addition, but I couldn't be sure later on in the game if I was ruining it for myself.

[Voon]

Energy weapons isn't that essential. Sure, stuff like plasma rifle etc are deadly as heck and definitely a viable late-game option, but so is the sniper rifle in the hands of an experienced small guns user aiming for the eyes (especially if you have the Finesse trait).

True. But it's just that I prefer to to use something that cost as little as possible AP with as much damage as possible, especially with the Fast Shot skill. I can't aim and it'll cost me slightly more ammo but it won't be much of an issue with a Turbo Plasma Rifle. Plus, it's quick.

[squareking]

What kind of patches/mods are you playing with?

None at all! Totally vanilla starting options. I don't know of any secret caches or exploits either. I had a tough time in the radscorpion cave and had to resort to kiting, but then I ended up blasting the raiders in the face, solo, with the SMG I found at the nearby vault. Got some extra stimpacks from bartering/stealing, but that's it. So now I have several leather armors, a few magnums, Garl's metal armor and a bunch of ammo. I didn't want to wipe out the raider site, but I said something I shouldn't have to a guard and everyone turned hostile.

It could be that I'm a better gamer than I was at age 11.

[DaftPunk]

I'm having trouble completing this one specific mission in San Andreas,where you ride a motocross bike with that fatty big smoke and you follow train,and i tried to jump on train,i tried to be infront of train so he could shoot them,nada..Its driving me crazy so i'm off to play Jedi Academy :3

[Lambchops]

Finished Mass Effect 3 and am now considering a change of pace, perhaps by buying Offspring Fling.

[Giaddon]

Playing the New Game+ in The Darkness 2. Outstanding game.
Dabbling in Tribes: Ascend and Blacklight Retribution. Enjoying them both a lot.
Also playing Tron: Evolution, which is surprisingly decent. Very bargain Prince of Persia, except set in glowy Tron world. Good combat.

[Kodeen]

I'm having trouble completing this one specific mission in San Andreas,where you ride a motocross bike with that fatty big smoke and you follow train,and i tried to jump on train,i tried to be infront of train so he could shoot them,nada..Its driving me crazy so i'm off to play Jedi Academy :3

Just ride alongside the train, but give yourself a few feet between you and it so that Smoke's bullets hit the guys on top, instead of the side of the train.

[vinraith]

Still playing Space Pirates and Zombies, for reasons that elude me. I've hit chapter 3 (when you get some titular zombies) but have not seen the sea change in gameplay I was told to expect. Combat is somewhat less crap with the larger ships, though.

Also still playing Borderlands in co-op, which is absolutely fantastic once you hit "Playthrough 2.5" and the world starts scaling a bit better. Good loot, good experience, and good, challenging fights. Along with the dramatically improved AI (which flanks, retreats, takes cover, ambushes, and generally behaves very tactically) we're having a blast. I can't wait til the sequel.

Finally, as I'm losing interest in SPAZ, I'm setting up for another run at New Vegas with a few mods (Corvega, Project Nevada, DFB Random Encounters). I'm trying to figure out a good rate at which to set the experience multiplier for PN (I'm leaning towards 66% right now, I don't want to slow things down too much but I'd like to keep the game challenging for awhile). Any suggestions welcome.