What are you playing at the moment?

[Sketch]

Agreed on Crysis 2, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, despite it being more limited than 1. It was (for me) a better game in terms of fun factor, although I suspect it's because I'm not very good at utilising the first games suit powers very well.

[Tikey]

I don't see any reason why they'd do it this way, but it wouldn't be the first time it happens... After I finish Driver: SF story I can still go driving on the city, doing all the dares and challenges I didn't do yet, right?


Yes
/tenchar

[WitchfinderG]

Vanguard:SoH. Back in business!

[internetonsetadd]

Hitman: Blood Money. I enjoyed the first many years ago, and never touched the franchise again... until the summer sale. I'm finding it a little aggravating: construction worker urinates for two seconds and doesn't stop looking over his shoulder at me the entire time. Hey buddy, kind of hard to inject you with a sedative if you're not going to piss for a realistic amount of time.

[Juan Carlo]

Finally Finished "Call of Cthulhu." A terrible, terrible game. Yes, it has some good moments, but for every good moment it has several terrible platforming sequences, awful stealth sequences, or autosave points spaced way too far apart (so you have to repeat things over and over). It did have a pretty awesome ending and some neat parts, but not enough to make up for the gameplay.

And the bugs are really awful. Even with the patch that fixes the infamous "reef light" bug I had to replay several sequences over and over just because the game kept fucking its scripting up.

[Voon]

Say, how valuable are platinum coins in DF? I got a stockpile with those filling half of it and I want to trade using them.

[Gorzan]

The last time I played coins didn't really have a value, if ToadyOne implemented it platinum should be fairly valuable.

[Ash_firelord]

I'm playing Assassin's Creed 2.

At the halfway point I got bored with killing people left and right, so I became a semi-pacifist. From that point onwards, I only ever kill the mission target - I either run away from foot soldiers or use disarm / hand-to-hand.

So far I've been getting away with it, and it's much more interesting. :)

[Casimir Effect]

Finished Mass Effect 3 yesterday, with the Extended Cut DLC added in (finished it without the night before so I could tell the difference). I really enjoyed the game but (and here will be spoilers so whitetext):

The ending doesn't agree with me at all. The extended is definitely better than the original ending, but the whole plot of the game still bugs me too much.
Cerberus went from being a Black-Ops organisation to having the troop equivalent of a small army.
The Crucible was a massive deus ex machina as they'd written themselves into a corner by having the Reapers turn up.
The entire end conversation with the Crucible VI reminded me too much of the Neo-Architect conversation at the end of The Matrix Reloaded. The entire justification of the Reapers is plain dumb.

Mostly though, the game has the same plot as Dragon Age Origins. Let's see:
At the start there is an evil presence about to attack. It does so, decimating the forces of good. The player gets away though and becomes known as the hope for the land. He/She is then tasked with going around gathering allies, often having to choose between two races (ME3 allows for more happy-clappy everyone's friends now resolutions, and does this in a linear way throughout the story), and making friends - some of whom can also die (Leliana/Samara for example). There is a group among the 'good guys' who are trying to hinder the player (Logain/Cerberus) and have their own misguided agenda (protect against Orlais/control Reapers to attain human dominance). This gets resolved just before the finale (Landsmeet+Defend Redcliff/Illusive Man base) but unfortunately the main enemy have siezed the initiative (attacked Denerim/moved the Citadel) leading to the big final fight where your forces rally and semi-suicidally attack in the hope that the player can win (kill Archdemon/get to Citadel). The player does, but certain endings lead to death (mostly death in ME3, I think one of them implies Shepard lives).
There's a lot of plots in games which are similar, especially between Bioware games where characters are recycled more than cans, but ME3 and DA:O are way past that point. At least that's how I find it.

But I do like the game: great combat and characters - even Vega grew on me towards the end (still told Ashley to get tae fuck though). Preferred ME2 but it'd be hard to go back to the combat of that game (but I've played it through 3 times so am most likely done with it).

[Heliocentric]

So far I've been getting away with it, and it's much more interesting. :)
Absolutely, ass creed 2's poison is the best distraction causer ever, don't buy the fast poison downgrade.

[Ash_firelord]

Absolutely, ass creed 2's poison is the best distraction causer ever, don't buy the fast poison downgrade.

I do love poisoning my main target, then walking out past the door / gate Like A Boss, and getting "mission complete" once I'm halfway across the map.

[Drake Sigar]

Oh dear lord, how I loled. My character in KotoR 2 challenged Handmaiden to a friendly duel, and little did I realize the undergarmets changed to reflect alignment. I now have a pair of evil pajamas!

[Ash_firelord]

Oh dear lord, how I loled. My character in KotoR 2 challenged Handmaiden to a friendly duel, and little did I realize the undergarmets changed to reflect alignment. I now have a pair of evil pajamas!

I need to get a PC version of that.

[Drake Sigar]

I need to get a PC version of that.

An evil PC version?

[LTK]

I've seen MSI Afterburner, WeGame and XFire recommended in various places, but haven't tried any of them. I believe they're all free, though.
Of the non-free, Dxtory is apparently rather good, but also rather expensive.
MSI afterburner did the trick. So here we go:


http://youtu.be/G4loK47dKJ4

[Anthile]

Jade Empire. Jesus Christ. There's bad dialogue and clichee plots and then there is Jade Empire. It doesn't even seem like it was written by a human being but a random generator filled with phrases. Okay, the setting is fairly unique but then you have Chinese Darth Vader running around and I'll be damned if he doesn't turn out to be a relative of someone.
Having played the Mass Effect games it's really interesting to see that Bioware have come a looong way since then but I fear that Jade Empire just hasn't aged too well. You know how it is, some games age like wine and others age like meat.

[NathanH]

I dunno, I thought Jade Empire sounded shite when it was released too.

[Ash_firelord]

Jade Empire. Jesus Christ. There's bad dialogue and clichee plots and then there is Jade Empire. It doesn't even seem like it was written by a human being but a random generator filled with phrases. Okay, the setting is fairly unique but then you have Chinese Darth Vader running around and I'll be damned if he doesn't turn out to be a relative of someone.
Having played the Mass Effect games it's really interesting to see that Bioware have come a looong way since then but I fear that Jade Empire just hasn't aged too well. You know how it is, some games age like wine and others age like meat.

While the dialog might not be the strong point, the story itself is quite good. I credit Jade Empire with having one of the few plot twists that not only genuinely surprised me, but also made a lot of sense in hindsight.

Also, keep in mind that the movies from which the game draws its inspiration are not examples of shining dialog and good acting.

[Nalano]

Jade Empire. Jesus Christ. There's bad dialogue and clichee plots and then there is Jade Empire. It doesn't even seem like it was written by a human being but a random generator filled with phrases. Okay, the setting is fairly unique but then you have Chinese Darth Vader running around and I'll be damned if he doesn't turn out to be a relative of someone.

It's a game about Asian tropes.

[Ravelle]

Arkham City: 100% sidemissions 100% story and 100% all upgrades and collectibles.

I am at peace now and can move on at last.

There's still DLC campaigns and such but those I will do when I feel like it.

[Mohorovicic]

Jade Empire. Jesus Christ. There's bad dialogue and clichee plots and then there is Jade Empire. It doesn't even seem like it was written by a human being but a random generator filled with phrases.

Don't forget the trademark Bioware moral dialogue system, where you can pick between being a holy offspring of Mother Theresa and John Paul II or, basically, Satan himself.

Jade Empire didn't "age badly", it was always crap. The best thing about it was the random name generation. STRIKING DAOZHAN was possibly the best hero name ever.

[magnus1969]

I liked Jade Empire, does that make me a bad person?

[Heliocentric]

I liked Jade Empire, does that make me a bad person?

I think liking it makes you paragon/light side/open palm.
No decision is wrong as long as it's in a colour.

[Similar]

MSI afterburner did the trick. So here we go:


http://youtu.be/G4loK47dKJ4
hehe. Nice. The ending looks rather familiar. Seems to always happen when I try that plane.

[Lukasz]

Finally Imoen achieved level 8 as a wizard and got access to her thief skills. It was highly frustrating skipping locked chests, tanking traps. I've done the island (SPOILER: I killed the whole village. even little kids. I felt bad... that little girl... brought her a toy only for her to turn into monster and die by my hand 20 second later)
Next stop: Durlag Tower and later Baldurs Gate.

[Giaddon]

Playing through the Grand Ages: Rome campaign. It's good. Really digging it. Playing Lone Survivor when I want something more intense. Also good.

[Voon]

Traders ain't coming and it's still autumn. God, I need those metal bars... and some plump helmets and some booze and plump helmets and some animals and some booze and some axes and booze...

Err... before I get carried away with thinking about booze, how does one explore the caverns in DF? In Fortress mode?

[Shooop]

I got a hold of a working Max Payne 3 finally and working on reviewing that. Now raiding the docks for the kidnapped girl.

It's a great movie but there's much more watching than shooting and that's annoying. And the emphasis on cover instead of diving past bullets doesn't feel like MP at all.

Would have played STALKER with the MISERY mod but it will not run.

[Mohorovicic]

... you are running a DWARF FORTRESS and you need to BUY metalwork and booze?

[Voon]

Let's say my dwarves just ate all their supply of boozable plants and I can't find the specific ores to make bars of alloys that I want.

I'm still a newdorf, though

[Casimir Effect]

I liked Jade Empire, does that make me a bad person?
If it does then I'm one too. JE is a fun little game with a great colour palette and some interesting gameplay. It has its quirks and issues, but it also has Nathan Fillion and John Cleese.

[Ash_firelord]

What's the Mass Effect team up to now that the trilogy is closed? I'd take a new Jade Empire.

[Ravelle]

What's the Mass Effect team up to now that the trilogy is closed? I'd take a new Jade Empire.

Dragon Age III is next on their list.

[vinraith]

Dragon Age III is next on their list.

My understanding is that the DA series is developed by a different team at Bioware than the ME series. I think Ash is wondering what the ME team is doing next, with the assumption being that the DA team is handling DA3.


On Topic: Still New Vegas (I'm to town now, rapidly approaching the point where instability forced me to quit last time. So far so good) and Orcs Must Die 2.

[Ash_firelord]

My understanding is that the DA series is developed by a different team at Bioware than the ME series. I think Ash is wondering what the ME team is doing next, with the assumption being that the DA team is handling DA3.


That would be it; unless they decide to merge the teams - unlikely.

AFAIK, the core DA team has been at DA3 ever since completing DA2.

[Heliocentric]

Orcs Must Die 2.

Score out of a a fish tank filled with worn out teabags please.

[Scumbag]

The monitor on my main PC is dead, long live Samsung Caps! Time to grind through the low spec crap in my backlog.

Ys: Oranges
Not bad at all. Bosses are still a bit at odds difficulty wise compared to most of the game. Seems fair throughout though.

Fortune Summoners
The more cutesy the graphics, the more hateful the design. Presentation is fantastic both graphically and sound wise. Characters are so Moe laden it makes me want to hurt the people who made this. Levels and combat are littered with a constant stream of dick moves and really stupid ideas. Controls, while not bad in the long run, are really twitchy and take a lot of getting used to. Not something easily advised.

[vinraith]

Score out of a a fish tank filled with worn out teabags please.

Hmm, an Angelfish swimming in Early Gray?

I'm having an enormous amount of fun with it, but then I never played the first one so I'm ill-equipped to compare.

[Heliocentric]

I'm having an enormous amount of fun with it, but then I never played the first one so I'm ill-equipped to compare.To be fair the bolded segment will do fine, I need to bleed a few nightmare skulls out of OMD#1 before I can get the sequel in a good faith but its good to hear.

[SirKicksalot]

Jade Empire is my favourite Bioware game. You can turn into a MOTHERFUCKING HORSE DEMON!

[Casimir Effect]

Jade Empire is my favourite Bioware game. You can turn into a MOTHERFUCKING HORSE DEMON!
But those things were the BIGGEST MOTHERFUCKERS IN THE GAME!

[Fumarole]

Those are the best kind of horse demons.

[fiddlesticks]

MSI afterburner did the trick. So here we go:


http://youtu.be/G4loK47dKJ4
I love you.

Now do it in multiplayer with a friend and two planes. Plane hopping!


Next stop: Durlag Tower and later Baldurs Gate.
I enjoyed Durlag's tower, but it's very much a product of its time. I don't think I've seen any dungeon since it that holds has such thinly-veiled contempt for the player. Still beats Firewine Bridge though.

[Casimir Effect]

I enjoyed Durlag's tower, but it's very much a product of its time. I don't think I've seen any dungeon since it that holds has such thinly-veiled contempt for the player. Still beats Firewine Bridge though.
I don't know, Durlag is just trap after trap, many of which can toast your weaker party members on the spot. And then there's the Greater Doppelgangers, and Basilisks, and Cloudkill fucking everywhere.

[vinraith]

To be fair the bolded segment will do fine, I need to bleed a few nightmare skulls out of OMD#1 before I can get the sequel in a good faith but its good to hear.

I'll add that it's good enough that it makes me want to try out the original, despite having been underwhelmed by the original's demo way back when.

[LTK]

I love you.

Now do it in multiplayer with a friend and two planes. Plane hopping!
Yeah, that'd be great! Instead of boring old extraction, just ask someone to tether a Silverbolt to the back of a Leopard, and grab the second plane as it passes over. Or, provided that the multi-grapple mod is supported, tie a jet to a jet to a jet to a jet to a jet, get a person in each one, and see how far you get without being utterly destroyed.

[Sakkura]

Well I was playing Fallout: New Vegas. No prizes for guessing how that was interrupted...

[vinraith]

Well I was playing Fallout: New Vegas. No prizes for guessing how that was interrupted...

Err, how was that interrupted?

[Nalano]

Err, how was that interrupted?

It's Obsidian + Bethesda. How do you think?

Hint: A CTD.

[vinraith]

It's Obsidian + Bethesda. How do you think?

Hint: A CTD.

Oh, I thought he meant "interrupted" like stopped from playing, not "interrupted" like had to start the game up again.

I have to say, though, that in 35 hours of play since I started my new New Vegas game I've had exactly 3 CTD's. Not bad at all, especially compared to the playthrough I tried a year and a half back. It's difficult to isolate the individual variables, especially with a shifting mod set, but I really do think CASM helps stability quite a bit.

[Fumarole]

I don't think I've had any CTDs in 176 hours of New Vegas.

[Lukasz]

I don't know, Durlag is just trap after trap, many of which can toast your weaker party members on the spot. And then there's the Greater Doppelgangers, and Basilisks, and Cloudkill fucking everywhere.

Imoen handles traps really well but i must be careful as it takes sometimes even 5 seconds for a trap to be spotted (and i forgot to take perception potions only thief ones which are useless for traps)
and i am fully prepared to take basilisks down. have potions and scrolls.

Greater Doppelgangers are indeed pain. very strong and hit like a truck. still managed to lure one by one which made the fate much easier.


i wonder how close i am to the level cap. My main is level nine wizard.

[agentorange]

I don't think I've had any CTDs in 176 hours of New Vegas.

200+ and the only times I've had a CTD were my fault (conflicting mods, drivers, etc).

[Casimir Effect]

Imoen handles traps really well but i must be careful as it takes sometimes even 5 seconds for a trap to be spotted (and i forgot to take perception potions only thief ones which are useless for traps).

i wonder how close i am to the level cap. My main is level nine wizard.
Traps bug me the most in the Infinity Engine games as they're just so detrimental to the pace of the game. I'm okay with them in BG2 only because I've played that game so many times I get a shiver in my spine when a screen looks familiar.

If you're using Trilogy then there is no level cap, beyond most things in BG1 not providing enough XP to get the amounts needed to go from lvl 8->9 (for most classes) anyway. BG1 doesn't throw 5000XP monsters at you right from the start like BG2 does.

[Ravelle]

My understanding is that the DA series is developed by a different team at Bioware than the ME series. I think Ash is wondering what the ME team is doing next, with the assumption being that the DA team is handling DA3.


On Topic: Still New Vegas (I'm to town now, rapidly approaching the point where instability forced me to quit last time. So far so good) and Orcs Must Die 2.

Hmm I took a look at Bioware's release list, there was no mention of anything besides DA3.

[Lukasz]

Traps bug me the most in the Infinity Engine games as they're just so detrimental to the pace of the game. I'm okay with them in BG2 only because I've played that game so many times I get a shiver in my spine when a screen looks familiar.

If you're using Trilogy then there is no level cap, beyond most things in BG1 not providing enough XP to get the amounts needed to go from lvl 8->9 (for most classes) anyway. BG1 doesn't throw 5000XP monsters at you right from the start like BG2 does.
my wizard main and dynheir are level nine wizards. but they need almost double of xp what they have now to get to level ten. I might get Imoen to level nine as well (so she would be able to use her five level spell) if there is no cap on BGT...
won't I be overpowered for BG2 then?

[Ash_firelord]

Hmm I took a look at Bioware's release list, there was no mention of anything besides DA3.

They have to be working on something else, right?
My money is still on Jade Empire 2 / Jade Empire reboot.

[sonson]

I think I understand the Bioshock backlash now, to a point. For a game which has such excellent narrative qualities-subtext, world, voice acting, concept, general appreciation of what it is trying to do, both in meta terms and in game-it marrs and breaks them by relying on some of the most hackneyed game cliches-essential immortality, choices essentially reduant, overpowered and over supplied protagonist, non-plot characters inhabtiants of a shooting gallery.

It's still a very good game, better than many this past five years and many before, but it remains an ambitious but flawed orthodox game. There was enough substance and intelligence behind it to ensure that with proper execution it could have been spectacular and a real advancing of the medium. But while it's natural to mourn that it didn't evolve from that, it dosen't make it the most terrible thing in the world or anything remotley like it. So I sort of don't understand the backlash too. I'm very glad I bought and played it, and look forward to playing 2 after a few lighter games.

[johnki]

Hmm I took a look at Bioware's release list, there was no mention of anything besides DA3.
Well, they're definitely making C&C Generals 2. It's been confirmed.

[Ash_firelord]

Well, they're definitely making C&C Generals 2. It's been confirmed.

Is that Bioware though? Or just a studio branded as Bioware?

I mean, they like to say that TOR is Bioware's MMO, but really, 90% of it was the Warhammer Online guys.

I feel Bioware the brand and Bioware the people-who-make-the-rpgs-I-like have become quite distinct.

[sabrage]

Generals 2 is being made by the same bastards responsible for C&C 4.

[Rauten]

Finished Analogue: A Hate Story.

It was... wow. I didn't expect to enjoy it this much, but the story and writing really blew me over (not like the "game" has much more than story and writing to begin with, but still).

[Giaddon]

Yeah? You liked the writing? I liked Analogue a lot too, but every character sounded like a teenage girl to me. It was kind of a problem. The story (and, even more, the slow unveiling of it) was enjoyable, though.

[Rauten]

If by every character you mean the AIs, well, it's something that fits Hyun-Ae for horribly spoilerrific reasons, but Mute... meh. As for the actual family members depicted in the logs, I felt they were quite well fleshed out despite having absolutely zero interaction with them.

[motherpuncher]

I was playing skyrim, then GTA 4, and now Batman: AC for a second play through. Both recent Batman games are so much fun. I will return to Skyrim and GTA 4 before long I am sure. I got some great gameplay mods for skyrim that really improve things.

[DaftPunk]

Generals 2 is being made by the same bastards responsible for C&C 4.



Big ouch!


Otherwise my internet is going crazy for an hour or so,it went from 1200 ping to 60 then again to 1200,then to 800 and such.. its driving me crazy,i just wanna play few games of TF2 then go to bed because i work in the morning arghh -.-

[vinraith]

I don't think I've had any CTDs in 176 hours of New Vegas.


200+ and the only times I've had a CTD were my fault (conflicting mods, drivers, etc).

I can only be deeply envious of your incredible good fortune, I've never gotten performance like that out of any Bethesda RPG. I bet when you hit "exit" the game actually closes, too, instead of requiring you to go to task manager to shut it down.

I suppose, to clarify, I should say I don't get CTD's so much as hard freezes, but it amounts to the same thing. Fortunately, they've been few and far between this time, but I consider 1 hard crash per 10 hours amazing performance for a game like this.

Anyway, usual technical kinks aside I'm having a great time with FONV.

[DaftPunk]

Oh listen this,with steam turned ON,i have 250+ ping,when its turned off ping is 30-34 :|

How the fuck can i play TF2 now..

[Ash_firelord]

I bet when you hit "exit" the game actually closes, too, instead of requiring you to go to task manager to shut it down.

I always had this problem, too. Apart from that, I barely remeber any CTD or freezes. I'm sure I had a couple, but nothing in a remarkable scale.

I remenber that I had a lot of trouble installing the DLC for Fallout 3, but I blame GFWL for that, not Bethesda.

[Shooop]

Oh listen this,with steam turned ON,i have 250+ ping,when its turned off ping is 30-34 :|

How the fuck can i play TF2 now..

Is it downloading updates for one or more of your games?

[DaftPunk]

Is it downloading updates for one or more of your games?


Its really strange because i'm not downloading anything,i'll try game tomorrow,i'm gonna watch some x-files now.

[Ash_firelord]

I bet when you hit "exit" the game actually closes, too, instead of requiring you to go to task manager to shut it down.

I always had this problem, too. Apart from that, I barely remeber any CTD or freezes. I'm sure I had a couple, but nothing in a remarkable scale.

I remenber that I had a lot of trouble installing the DLC for Fallout 3, but I blame GFWL for that, not Bethesda.

[Sakkura]

I can only be deeply envious of your incredible good fortune, I've never gotten performance like that out of any Bethesda RPG. I bet when you hit "exit" the game actually closes, too, instead of requiring you to go to task manager to shut it down.

I suppose, to clarify, I should say I don't get CTD's so much as hard freezes, but it amounts to the same thing. Fortunately, they've been few and far between this time, but I consider 1 hard crash per 10 hours amazing performance for a game like this.

Anyway, usual technical kinks aside I'm having a great time with FONV.
Yeah it's the lockups for me too. Well I think I've had a clean CTD or two, but nothing that compares to the lockups. They were worst on my original playthrough, by the time I was about ready to finish the game, it felt like there was a 50% risk of a lockup when loading a game... including on startup.

The game is worth it. The ridiculously bad textures don't manage to ruin it either (and they can be modded anyway).

[magnus1969]

I remember trying to play Fallout 3 with an 8500GT graphics card, everytime I used VATS the game would crash and corrupt my previous 2 saves and quick-save.

[Heliocentric]

So many games crash to desktop when I shut them down... Silly windows error report tool.

[Ravelle]

So many games crash to desktop when I shut them down... Silly windows error report tool.

-Send report-

I still wonder where those reports end up. ;p

[DaftPunk]

Checked the UT2004 MP and works fine,ping is normal unlike in TF2. Also UT2004 is the real game,gonna play that now :3

[Mohorovicic]

I thought UT Gold was the real game?

[DaftPunk]

I thought UT Gold was the real game?


No way hoooseee,UT2004 it is!

[Casimir Effect]

my wizard main and dynheir are level nine wizards. but they need almost double of xp what they have now to get to level ten. I might get Imoen to level nine as well (so she would be able to use her five level spell) if there is no cap on BGT...
won't I be overpowered for BG2 then?
A bit, but only at the start. So long as you turned off getting XP for disarming traps and memorizing spells then you will only start BG2 a bit higher than normal. But taking a character from BG1 -> BG2 pretty much allowed for this anyway (XP cap for vanilla BG + Tales is 161,000, so that's what an imported character would start BG2 with. Otherwise starting XP of new character in BG2: 89,000).

The thing is, the difficulty in BG2 peaks and troughs so much that it's hard to be overlevelled for certain areas. Go to Firkraag or the Twisted Rune too early and you'll still get seven shades of shit kicked into you. Vampires can and will mess you up regardless of that extra level. And a mages can be just as invulnerable to everything you have and just as dickish with their spells. That extra bit of XP you got from BG1 soon becomes insignificant, so don't worry.

Advice for if you've never played BG2 before (it'll make sense later): giving the money to Gaelan or Bhodi will move you into Act 3. I'd advise completing every quest you can find before doing that. I think a few Act 2 quests get cut off once you get into Act 3 so it's worth being thorough if you want to do everything.

[NathanH]

Does anything get cut off by moving into Chapter 3? I suppose if you choose Bodhi some things probably will.

Anyway you probably shouldn't aim to do everything in a single BG2 playthrough, there is probably too much.

[Casimir Effect]

Does anything get cut off by moving into Chapter 3? I suppose if you choose Bodhi some things probably will.

Anyway you probably shouldn't aim to do everything in a single BG2 playthrough, there is probably too much.
I think there are a few quests that become unavailable and some graveyard areas get cut-off. It's not so bad but seeing as you don't have to give the money until you're ready then you may as well wait until done with Chapter 2. I also enjoy doing it after having done every single quest as it means I turn up to hand over the 15,000Gp - decked out in full-plate, dragon-plate, rings, belts, +3 weapons in every hand and a few hundred thousand Gp in the coinpurse - and the conversation options all bitch about how much money they're asking for.

I'd say it's hard to do everything in BG2 because some quests are kind of hidden, The Twisted Rune in particular. It's entirely possible though, and makes the game a great way to lose 200+ hours.

[postinternetsyndrome]

I'm sauntering through Alan Wake, just finished the second episode, but I seem to have missed one of the manuscript pages, grr! Apart from the collectible headache, this game is fantastic. The tone, the light, the sounds! And the episodic format is a really nice touch. Neatly divides the game into manageable playsessions.

[LTK]

Zineth (http://arcanekids.com)! So far, it's better than InMomentum, but pretty difficult nonetheless.

[Casimir Effect]

Splinter Cell: Conviction, Sam Fisher really likes beating the living shit into people in this game. And I'm liking it.

Mostly. The controls are taking some getting used to. And the whole *screen turns black & white when you're hidden* thing is very nice stylistically but often makes distinguishing between lit and unlit areas a pain in the ass.
Also, which idiot thought that Grim's chest should be modelled using beach-ball physics? That guy (probably) needs a good firing.

[The JG Man]

I dunno what, exactly, it is about the game, but whenever I can't decide what to play, just that I want to play something, Trackmania United just makes itself aware to me once more and I jam on it for an hour or so. What a damn good game it is.

[D-lusion91]

I'm playing Ghost Recon Future Soldier alot of the members from Tactical Gaming (TGHQ.ORG), I play on PC but TG supports PC,PS3, and 360. We have 2200+ members and always growing and looking for more people to join us! Feel free to look at my profile to learn more or PM me.

[Lukasz]

So long as you turned off getting XP for disarming traps and memorizing spells
i did not.

i am not abusing the system by relearning the same spell over and over again but when imoen was still a thief she did unlock, disarm everything we encountered (and she does that now too)

[Voon]

Splinter Cell: Conviction, Sam Fisher really likes beating the living shit into people in this game. And I'm liking it.

Mostly. The controls are taking some getting used to. And the whole *screen turns black & white when you're hidden* thing is very nice stylistically but often makes distinguishing between lit and unlit areas a pain in the ass.
Also, which idiot thought that Grim's chest should be modelled using beach-ball physics? That guy (probably) needs a good firing.

Bu-but! Fanservice! They wanted to expand their audience, right?

Anyway, I kinda like the game too. Though, Ubisoft can't seem to make up their mind of making their AI either painfully stupid or surprisingly smart, but they did make them annoying. And the stealth (in single-player) was mostly climbing pipes and then dropping/"marking-and-executing" but the co-op was better.

[augustuskent]

I have to agree that while Conviction was really different, it was one hell of a game

[internetonsetadd]

The Steam sale made it hard to sit down and focus on one game, but Grimrock finally sucked me in. I sampled it for about 15 minutes a month ago and didn't find it immediately compelling, but after buying it and investing just a couple minutes longer it's become a pretty compulsive experience.

[Mohorovicic]

Does anything get cut off by moving into Chapter 3?

The entire area under the Graveyard District gets changed when you go there to confront Bodhi for the first time, but that's about it.

[TechnoJellyfish]

Now I'm glad that I finished Saints Row: The Third running Windows XP. The performance with Windows 7 is horrible, no matter what settings or DirectX mode, whereas with XP I got a solid framerate well above the somewhat critical 40 - 45 fps.

On the other hand I was very pleased to discover that my dated hardware is able to run Max Payne 3 with Max(ed) out settings, considering all that fancy tessellation and HDAO stuff.

[Ravelle]

Now I'm glad that I finished Saints Row: The Third running Windows XP. The performance with Windows 7 is horrible, no matter what settings or DirectX mode, whereas with XP I got a solid framerate well above the somewhat critical 40 - 45 fps.

On the other hand I was very pleased to discover that my dated hardware is able to run Max Payne 3 with Max(ed) out settings, considering all that fancy tessellation and HDAO stuff.

It runs perfect on my Windows 7, no problems whats so ever.

[TechnoJellyfish]

It runs perfect on my Windows 7, no problems whats so ever.

I'm sure it does. As I've said, my hardware is quite dated, so I'm expecting no wonders here. But from the looks of it I could swear I get 10 - 15 fps less than before. I just can't see why ...

[Sakkura]

DirectX version? No idea if it even has support for DirectX 11 (or 10) though...

[Casimir Effect]

i did not.

i am not abusing the system by relearning the same spell over and over again but when imoen was still a thief she did unlock, disarm everything we encountered (and she does that now too)
See that's where your extra XP is mainly coming from. The +1000xp you get for learning a single level 1 spell is comparatively a lot in BG1, and there are a lot of 1st level spells. And if you happen to have more than 1 mage then...
Disarming traps and unlocking things gives less XP per time but there's loads of them in the game, so that's another whole load which the game never accounted for.
It'll all balance out later though, and Sarevok will still be a dick and a half to take down.

[Ash_firelord]

The Steam sale made it hard to sit down and focus on one game, but Grimrock finally sucked me in. I sampled it for about 15 minutes a month ago and didn't find it immediately compelling, but after buying it and investing just a couple minutes longer it's become a pretty compulsive experience.

Grimrock still stands has my best RPG experience this year. So awesome.

(and I did like Mass Effect 3 quite a lot)

[Hypernetic]

Something that has an NDA.

[Drake Sigar]

KotoR's biggest evil moment is gaming legend and made me feel monstrous, but some of the stuff I've done in KotoR 2 is horrifying. I used Visas, force choking my 'lover' to the brink of death in order to weaken her former master. After the battle was over Visas still praised my name, begging me to stay with her as she took her last breaths. I walked off in silence, content that she had served her purpose, and her cries became more desperate as my footsteps faded from the room...

In KotoR I did evil stuff for evil's sake. In KotoR there is more purpose behind the evil, and that's fucking scary.

Plus I never get tired of seeing the Sith Lords on the main menu screen replaced by me!

[Ash_firelord]

I am pondering if I want to submit myself to the agony of collecting the last 26 feathers in Assassin's Creed 2.

Or if I'll just get on with beating it and start another one from the pile of shame.

[airtekh]

Just started Dead Island. I'm really liking the tropcial setting; I don't think I've ever played a game set in a holiday resort so it feels very refreshing. The melee combat is interesting too and the open-worldy-ness of it came as a surprise to me. Very enjoyable so far.

Nearly finished Quantum Conundrum too. The comparisons with Portal are justified, but the setting feels completely different and I really like it for that. Some decent puzzles, but there's a lot of precision platforming in there too;. which doesn't bother me personally, but I can see why it could annoy others.

[Anthile]

Apropos poorly defined moral system. Jade Empire keeps being mediocre, sadly. I have condemned the ghosts of orphans to eternal suffering, had innocent men executed for cash, stole from children, murdered slaves for being in the way, robbed graves, sentenced a village to a slow death, not to mention the uncountable occasions of casual and unprovoked murder, thievery, torture, debauchery, betrayal and jaywalking.
The lesson here is being a complete monster comes easy to you while listening to


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhUkGIsKvn0

[Heliocentric]

Screw the feathers... ALWAYS.

[alms]

Beaten Sequence 100% at medium. Then started over at hard, which now seems totally approachable. Timer's past 20 hours now!

Half-Life 2, should be halfway through, but at this rate it'll probably take twice the average time or, in other words, I might set the new record for the longest time taken to finish it. Nonetheless, the bridge was a very cool setting, and I just realized it was totally effortless for me to find a battery (for the three batteries puzzle) that was in the least likely place, totally missing the one that was in the most logical place. I guess that says something about me, now I only have to figure out what.

I'm having a really hard time getting myself to play Stacking, I'll be likely dropping the completionist approach in favor of just get me to the end ASAP.

[Anthile]

I just finished Jade Empire. Well, that was sudden. After chapter 3 the game gives completely up on side quests and every chapter after that only took me about an hour to finish.
What has Jade Empire taught me? Every problem can be solved through the application of martial arts and people will love you even if you make the main villain look like a humanist in comparison.

That said, Jade Empire is also incredibly buggy and I couldn't finish multiple quests or had to re-do a couple of battles.

[vinraith]

Fallout New Vegas is paced so strangely. I'm about to confront Benny (right after this is where I stopped last time, due to technical issues) and the game makes it sound like I'm near the end of the main plot. That makes no sense, of course, as I've barely seen the game world and barely been much of anywhere. It's all rather odd, and kind of off-putting, and generally makes me want to blow the main plot off and go do something more interesting.

[Sketch]

Miles to go yet!

[Sakkura]

Fallout New Vegas is paced so strangely. I'm about to confront Benny (right after this is where I stopped last time, due to technical issues) and the game makes it sound like I'm near the end of the main plot. That makes no sense, of course, as I've barely seen the game world and barely been much of anywhere. It's all rather odd, and kind of off-putting, and generally makes me want to blow the main plot off and go do something more interesting.
Well it's the typical open-world game thing; the main quest is only a small portion of the game. You're technically a good portion of the way through (not as far as it sounds like you think, but still), but you're not "supposed to" just finish things off. IMO it has slightly better ways of prodding you into doing that other stuff than eg. Skyrim. It still does make the main quest experience a bit odd when you do the "and now for something completely different" thing.

[Casimir Effect]

I just finished Jade Empire. Well, that was sudden. After chapter 3 the game gives completely up on side quests and every chapter after that only took me about an hour to finish.

Standard Bioware, and most linear RPGs. And to be honest I prefer being able to get some momentum going with the story towards the end rather than getting to hub-after-hub and having more sidequests to clear out (ultimate example of this: The Witcher 1)


What has Jade Empire taught me? Every problem can be solved through the application of martial arts and people will love you even if you make the main villain look like a humanist in comparison.

That said, Jade Empire is also incredibly buggy and I couldn't finish multiple quests or had to re-do a couple of battles.
Don't remember ever hitting many bugs myself, but it has been a while. I get more annoyed by certain fights where you either can't avoid taking damage (Horse Demons) or the later boss fights where taking several hits is game over (spoiler:Master Li).

[Bankrotas]

or the later boss fights where taking several hits is game over (spoiler:Master Li).
Golem form practicly solves any issues with enemies.

[vinraith]

Miles to go yet!

Glad to hear it. Where am I actually, in terms of percent main story complete?

[DzX]

I am pondering if I want to submit myself to the agony of collecting the last 26 feathers in Assassin's Creed 2.


It's not worth it, just look up the cut-scene you're rewarded with on Youtube.

[sabrage]

I am pondering if I want to submit myself to the agony of collecting the last 26 feathers in Assassin's Creed 2.

Or if I'll just get on with beating it and start another one from the pile of shame.
Absolutely not worth it, but if you're gonna put up with that bullshit you might as well use this (http://www.msxbox-world.com/xbox360/guides/145/assassins-creed-2/index.html). I don't know what school of design allows "stumble around blindly searching for arbitrary collectathons", but I'd like to burn it down. At least JC2 has that radar thing.

[postinternetsyndrome]

I used a map to find the feathers and regret nothing. The feathers were extra silly since for all the other collectibles you could buy maps in-game. JC2's system was okay, pity though that it was only for items, not destructibles.

[Casimir Effect]

Golem form practicly solves any issues with enemies.
Storm Dragon all the way. Against any human enemies you could just stunlock them into oblivion. It may be cheap but it's nice to be the stunlocking bastard for once.

[eRa]

The first Darksiders. I tried playing it with a X-Box 360 controller but couldn't stomach it, the camera is unbearable without mouse look.

And Panzer Corps: Afrika Corps, currently trying to conquer Tobruk.

[Bankrotas]

Storm Dragon all the way. Against any human enemies you could just stunlock them into oblivion. It may be cheap but it's nice to be the stunlocking bastard for once.
Yes, funny how palaryzing palm is worse :/ Still damage wise, screw stunlocks, golem with 2 axes all the way.

[Sketch]

Glad to hear it. Where am I actually, in terms of percent main story complete?

It's hard to put a direct figure on it, there's a lot of choice when it comes to the main story. You could plow on ahead and complete it siding with one faction, but I did as much as I could for each faction before deciding. If you do that, there's a long, long road ahead of you.

[Sakkura]

Glad to hear it. Where am I actually, in terms of percent main story complete?
It can't really be nailed down to a single number because of spoiler stuff. Suffice it to say there's plenty left of the main story, and even more plenty of tangential or just plain unrelated stuff.

... or what he said ^

[DaftPunk]

I'm playing


http://shrani.si/f/3G/ml/2eeUiwvE/ut2004-2012-08-11-22-47-.jpg

[Mohorovicic]

The first Darksiders. I tried playing it with a X-Box 360 controller but couldn't stomach it, the camera is unbearable without mouse look.

Funny, when I tried Darksiders I quickly reached the conclusion that it's impossible without a pad...

[vinraith]

@Woundedbum & Sakkura

Thanks, that's good to know.

[Bankrotas]

On other note, starting to play Witcher. Don't really know why, first impressions kinda lame honestly.

[Sketch]

I thought TW1 had pretty weak first impressions too. Stick with it.

[Tritagonist]

Got caught up in an evening of World of Warcraft. I'm amazed by the continued appeal of the game after all these years of playing. Its graphics are becoming more dated with each passing month, but the core game mechanics continue to entertain in a satisfying and enjoyable way.

[Gorzan]

At the start everything seems kind of bland, then it suddendly falls in place, don't stop.

[sabrage]

On other note, starting to play Witcher. Don't really know why, first impressions kinda lame honestly.
I'm stuck at the part where some preacher wants me to light some candles. Mentally stuck, that is.

[Proctor Eldritch]

Played the Just Cause 2 multiplayer beta with a few other RPS denizens this afternoon. It's nothing to write home about. The novelty wears off after a few hours of messing around.

[Bankrotas]

I'm stuck at the part where some preacher wants me to light some candles. Mentally stuck, that is.
But but, you're stripping that priest naked for such simple job. I was happy enough with that and now, when witch want's to me to get some flowers to make some boy get high, so he could say me a target. But for that I need a god damn book, that I need to buy for 200 orens, which I spent on alcohol 30s ago...

[LTK]

I'm playing [this game]
Oh wow, I remember this. There was a lot of getting fragged all the time by people who mastered shock combos, yet I couldn't pull them off. And there was this one time where I found a modded server which gave you dual rocket launchers that you could load up with 8 rockets each, lock onto a target, and send a barrage of 16 rockets toward a hapless shmuck who would pointlessly try to dodge them by jumping.

So how is it? I'm a bit tempted to reinstall and see how it holds up.

[sabrage]

Oh wow, I remember this. There was a lot of getting fragged all the time by people who mastered shock combos, yet I couldn't pull them off. And there was this one time where I found a modded server which gave you dual rocket launchers that you could load up with 8 rockets each, lock onto a target, and send a barrage of 16 rockets toward a hapless shmuck who would pointlessly try to dodge them by jumping.

So how is it? I'm a bit tempted to reinstall and see how it holds up.
I played a lot of UT3 on a server like that. Rocket-jumping from tower to tower on Facing Worlds (especially in Greed mode with hundreds of skulls) was pure bliss.

[kstress71]

Stuck with only a laptop for the weekend, so I'm digging into some less pc-stressful games like Machinarium and Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes. Might try out Uplink too, just to shut a friend up about it :)

[DaftPunk]

Oh wow, I remember this. There was a lot of getting fragged all the time by people who mastered shock combos, yet I couldn't pull them off. And there was this one time where I found a modded server which gave you dual rocket launchers that you could load up with 8 rockets each, lock onto a target, and send a barrage of 16 rockets toward a hapless shmuck who would pointlessly try to dodge them by jumping.

So how is it? I'm a bit tempted to reinstall and see how it holds up.


Well multiplayer is honestly,a clusterfuck for me but still it can be enjoyable. There are still about 500-600 servers online,but even if you won't like multiplayer there are offline modes to keep you occupied for long,also sp campaign is quite good,and bot are actually very threating.

[Voon]

I never knew a character with a Slim build would be so very, very fast! Just made a third one in DaS (out of curiousity) and this time as a pure Pyromancer with a Dex build. He's doing wonders with a schimitar

[Ravelle]

Darksiders.

Kind of stuck and frustrated at Broken Stairs, that highway miniboss keeps butchering me with this impossible range and massive damage. The genius that invented the block function on the same button as the dash should burn in the depts of hell.

[The JG Man]

Just had to watch a vid to remind me of that one. Some tips: Stand at the front of your platform, so the cars he throws at you have a greater chance of landing on your platform. Pick them up and return them into his face. Secondly, from what I remember, his area of effect attacks only do damage if you're on the ground, so try and stay in the air while you fight him. In addition, when he does his AoE attacks, try and navigate around him. He only attacks at the front with his claw attack, so you can take him down without taking too much damage.

He doesn't actually have too much health, but yes, he does pack a punch. Don't even try to block his attacks, just dodge out of the way.

[SirKicksalot]

Made it to Hell difficulty in Diablo 3. Now I'll wait for 1.4 because it removes bullshit like champion packs healing after you die. I don't know how things like this or invulnerable minions made it into the game in the first place, but I'm glad Blizzard is fixing things.

I'm also playing Prince of Persia 2008. Some platforming sections in the later areas are amazing. Ubisoft's artists are godly! And it is challenging. The timing is generous, but you have to pay attention or you'll be forced to repeat sequences that last even more than a minute. I love how varied these long-ass sequences are. Sometimes I time them perfectly so that every animation flows naturally into the next and I get really excited lol

[bonkers]

Dowloaded Mechwarrior 4 - Mercenaries which is available for free, although this Mektek downloader thing is a pain in the a** to use.
Enjoying it a lot so far. Wanted to complete it only with looted mechs but I am now at a mission where that's just not possible as I don't have anything more badass then a Black Knight or Catapult. Well, I guess I have to buy one or two Atlas and fill them with railguns.
But that has always been my problem with the MW series, it's just an arms race and light/meds loose their viability very fast.



Darksiders.

Kind of stuck and frustrated at Broken Stairs, that highway miniboss keeps butchering me with this impossible range and massive damage as I lack of anything bigger then a Marauder or Catapult. The genius that invented the block function on the same button as the dash should burn in the depts of hell.
Don't block. I found blocking to be the most useless fighting mechanic in this game. Just dash and jump around.
Also you can try to catch the cars he throws at you and throw them back. One or two hits should bring him down to almost zero health.

[Ravelle]

Dowloaded Mechwarrior 4 - Mercenaries which is available for free, although this Mektek downloader thing is a pain in the a** to use.
Enjoying it a lot so far. Wanted to complete it only with looted mechs but I am now at a mission where that's just not possible as I don't have anything more badass then a Black Knight or Catapult. Well, I guess I have to buy one or two Atlas and fill them with railguns.
But that has always been my problem with the MW series, it's just an arms race and light/meds loose their viability very fast.



Don't block. I found blocking to be the most useless fighting mechanic in this game. Just dash and jump around.
Also you can try to catch the cars he throws at you and throw them back. One or two hits should bring him down to almost zero health.

I tried that but my timing is often horrible and get a flying car against my face, eating almost half of my health if not torpedo me off from the highway. I also tried jumping+ slashing but his attacks are in all directions and he manages to hit my mid-air as well.

[The JG Man]

Cherry-tap him then. Dash in, slash a few times, dash away. Slower, but it will work. Also, if you have the souls for it, see if you can purchase the ability that is...errrm, it might be called the home run, but basically you hit the enemy and send them flying. More importantly, even on enemies that are too large to send flying, it can set them on fire for a short time, doing last damage.

[Pertusaria]

Finally getting into Geneforge 1 after buying the series on GOG with the introductory discount a few months back. I'm interested, and really hoping it's much better than Avadon. It's earned some marks by putting me up against reasonably bothersome enemies from shortly after the introduction, rather than weaning me on rats. I don't really like Vogel's way of boxing you in so that you only have one or two choices of where to go next, though - fine in a dungeon, hard not to notice aboveground.

Other than that, having a great time with Dredmor since the Wizardlands expansion came out, though as I'd played fairly little of it beforehand, that's not necessarily a measure of the new material.

[Anthile]

Hexen. Rumour has it it's a FPS but it's actually a first-person metroidvania. It's also damn confusing because the game rarely bothers with telling you what flipping that lever even did. Maybe it opened a gate on the other side of the map or maybe it just released a horde of ettins right behind you. Besides from such frustrations, it's mostly fun but definitely less of a Doom clone than Heretic.
It's still basically a playable heavy metal album cover.

[Ravelle]

Cherry-tap him then. Dash in, slash a few times, dash away. Slower, but it will work. Also, if you have the souls for it, see if you can purchase the ability that is...errrm, it might be called the home run, but basically you hit the enemy and send them flying. More importantly, even on enemies that are too large to send flying, it can set them on fire for a short time, doing last damage.

I have the homerun move, tricky thing is though; it has a little bit of a charge up time before it actually hits, so I need to stand still for a moment plus the charge for the move, I'll try it. That checkpoint is also crazy, having to walk all the way back when you die.

[coldvvvave]

BF3

Had a good round in which I flew F35 and killed everything, dodged missiles, reparied on the carrier four times, never died. Sadly that didn't really help my team and we lost.

http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bf3/battlereport/show/40597031/1/294805510/

[DaftPunk]

Hexen. Rumour has it it's a FPS but it's actually a first-person metroidvania. It's also damn confusing because the game rarely bothers with telling you what flipping that lever even did. Maybe it opened a gate on the other side of the map or maybe it just released a horde of ettins right behind you. Besides from such frustrations, it's mostly fun but definitely less of a Doom clone than Heretic.
It's still basically a playable heavy metal album cover.


I always mix up Heretic and Hexen lol,but anyway would love to see any of these two remade with today's graphics :3

[Similar]

To show their appreciation for all that I have done for them, the people of Megaton pooled their caps and got me a ... box of Sugar Bombs. Woo.

Maybe I should have blown up the town after all.

[Fanbuoy]

To show their appreciation for all that I have done for them, the people of Megaton pooled their caps and got me a ... box of Sugar Bombs. Woo.

Maybe I should have blown up the town after all.

Felt the same way, but couldn't do it during my second run either. I suck at being evil. I start off thinking I'll be the Lex Luthor (the real one, not the wimpy Smallville one with daddy issues) of the Wasteland, but once I begin my mayhem spree of ultimate doom I start feeling awful about getting negative Karma because I stole someone's squirrel sticks.

The weird thing is, I don't have the need for everyone to like me in real life, but I can't stand the thought of anyone disliking my character. Maybe it's some sort of parental feeling because I "created a life!" or something. I don't know but I don't like it. All the cool kids are evil..

[vinraith]

The problem with the "evil" option in FO3, and most games, is that it's so poorly incentivized. I think you get 500 caps out of blasting a city off the map? What the hell is that?

Purely self-interested evil has always been more fun in games, IMO, than random psychotic killer evil. That is, I'll take neutral evil over chaotic evil every time.

[Lukasz]

The problem with the "evil" option in FO3, and most games, is that it's so poorly incentivized. I think you get 500 caps out of blasting a city off the map? What the hell is that?

Purely self-interested evil has always been more fun in games, IMO, than random psychotic killer evil. That is, I'll take neutral evil over chaotic evil every time.
hehe.
kotor 2 does the evil part really well. at the end you turn into a complete monster who had scarred the galaxy for thousand years...
the only thing missing was some nice genocide.

[Similar]

Felt the same way, but couldn't do it during my second run either. I suck at being evil. I start off thinking I'll be the Lex Luthor (the real one, not the wimpy Smallville one with daddy issues) of the Wasteland, but once I begin my mayhem spree of ultimate doom I start feeling awful about getting negative Karma because I stole someone's squirrel sticks.
heh. It's the same for me. I accepted the quest to enslave some people from the guy at Paradise Falls because I thought I should see that part of the game for once, but after thinking about it for a bit, I decided I couldn't do it after all (then I ended up slaughtering all the slavers. Which might be better than enslaving people, but...).

Tenpenny Towers is always rather problematic for me too; none of the solutions seem good.


The weird thing is, I don't have the need for everyone to like me in real life, but I can't stand the thought of anyone disliking my character. Maybe it's some sort of parental feeling because I "created a life!" or something. I don't know but I don't like it. All the cool kids are evil..
I think the only game I've managed to be evil in was Fable. Otherwise I also set out to be evil, but quickly find out I don't have it in me.

[vinraith]

hehe.
kotor 2 does the evil part really well. at the end you turn into a complete monster who had scarred the galaxy for thousand years...
the only thing missing was some nice genocide.

The most fun I ever had playing the Baldur's Gate games was with a ruthlessly self-interested fighter-thief. I recall getting into protracted street battles with the guards in the city of BG and carelessly blasting civilian bystanders to ashes trying to fireball our way out of the melee.

Good times.

[Nalano]

Holy shit I want to punch whoever designed Dirt 2 in the face. With my FIST.

I got it on sale during the Steam summer shit 'cuz I wanted to play a racing game. Only just now have I gotten around to it.

Here's a play by play of wrong:

- 10 minutes installing DirectX (whyyy) and some third-party audio program called Rapture3D (fuck what is this extra shit)
- Attempts and fails to log into Games for Windows Live. My connection is fine. Consequently, fuck you.
- Throws game into non-native screen resolution. What, you couldn't tell what my screen was at earlier? Fine, I'll change it in settings...
- ...just as soon as I get past this unskippable cutscene...
- ...and get dumped into an Obvious Console Splash Screen...
- ...and thrown into another unskippable cutscene, this time with horrible a fucking nu-metal soundtrack...
- ...which finally deposits me straight into a tutorial.
- While typing my name - which is automatically logged into the Games for Windows Live for some stupid fucking reason - the narrator tells me to hurry up.

DO NOT TELL ME TO HURRY UP IN A GAME THAT I AM PLAYING FOR MY ENJOYMENT. I WILL FUCKING MURDER YOU, YOU STUPID FUCKING NPC, AND I WILL PUT YOUR STILL BLOODY HEAD ON MY MANTLE because apparently that's what computer gamers do with heads.

- I'm still not given a menu, nor am I allowed to do anything but play the first race. I can't even hurry through the fucking introduction to every little pre-race submenu because I have to listen to this dick NPC explain to me the blindingly obvious.

I WILL HACK YOU APART WITH A RUSTY METAL BAR, ASSHOLE. I KNOW WHAT A RALLY IS. I BOUGHT A RALLY GAME, AFTER ALL.

- Yay! Unskippable cutscene of a world map.
- RACE. The narrator, while I race, tells me that "this is a cool track."

YOUR FAMILY WILL NEVER FIND YOUR BODY.

- I bumper-car my way to first place, because fuck these guys, and seven clicks, three more explanations, and another unskippable cutscene later, I'm finally in a menu I can't use my mouse on. I can't find Options in my cabin.

I CAN'T FIND OPTIONS IN MY CABIN. WHERE THE FU-- oh, it's outside the cabin. WHO MAKES THESE FUCKING MENUS?

- Ah ha! Resolution. Default 800x600? WHO THE FUC-- whatever. I don't care. Select 1920x1080 aaaand... it's in windowed mode. WHAT THE FU-- y'know what? I don't want to race anymore.

[Sakkura]

The problem with the "evil" option in FO3, and most games, is that it's so poorly incentivized. I think you get 500 caps out of blasting a city off the map? What the hell is that?

Purely self-interested evil has always been more fun in games, IMO, than random psychotic killer evil. That is, I'll take neutral evil over chaotic evil every time.
Well, it was early in the game, so they had to keep the reward small to avoid wrecking balance.

[Nalano]

Well, it was early in the game, so they had to keep the reward small to avoid wrecking balance.

Wait, did you use the word "balance" in reference to a Bethesda game?

[vinraith]

Well, it was early in the game, so they had to keep the reward small to avoid wrecking balance.

Nalano's point aside, this is part of the reason you don't put a choice that big that early.

[Nalano]

Hey, Codemasters, you know what I like about racing? Cars going fast.

You know what I hate about racing? Everything else.

I hate nu-metal soundtracks, I hate NPCs who act like I should give a fuck about them, I hate manufactured rivalries, I hate people attempt to tell you how much fun you should be having, I hate old shills who try to act like they have any cred with the youth market, I hate MTV quick-cuts, I hate ads, I hate the X Games, I hate corporate sponsorship, and I hate games licensed after real people.

You know what I want in a racing game? Cars, open tracks, and as little else as possible. Don't try to dress it up. Please, just stop. Stop attempting to justify your own existences. Stop trying to gussy up something that should be fun in its own right. I don't like having to hack through reams of tinsel to actually get the sole morsel of fun out of the fucking product. I don't want to feel like I just paid my own money for the privilege of having you attempt to sell me more shit.

I hate you so goddamn much, and you should be ashamed of yourselves, you useless, out-of-touch, joyless fucking pimples on the ass of the entertainment world. Die, you soulless fucking leeches.

[Heliocentric]

Hey, Codemasters

Reads like a 7/10. I liked the corporate logo stuff in grid, you didn't have to have any, but it was free ingame cash ^_^. But of you had them selecting colours, placement and the paint scheme itself gave a real of ownership, a good thing when your team mate was nearby.

[Voon]

Oh, god. There's too many dwarves for me to handle in this fortress, now. And the bloody goblins kept harassing me by snatching something

[resile]

Nintendo Video Games (http://xrl.us/bnkh73)

so exciting and wonderful games. especially use this Brand New and 1080p Full HD HDMI Converter for Nintendo Wii.

[Nalano]

Reads like a 7/10. I liked the corporate logo stuff in grid, you didn't have to have any, but it was free ingame cash ^_^. But of you had them selecting colours, placement and the paint scheme itself gave a real of ownership, a good thing when your team mate was nearby.

Hey Nalano, you won a race! Now you get the privilege of switching out your "livery" (read: so many ads you can't tell the original color of the car) to another livery that you'll never notice nor give a shit about. Don't you love these incremental unlocks of useless shit? It's just like the real rally races, except totally extreme (we're contractually bound to work that into every third sentence) And since it takes at least four minutes to go from one race to the next, you'll be seeing a lot of these ads as you listen to these whiny motherfuckers explain to you why you should be having fun here while you're supposedly having fun here!

We here at Codemasters combine the usefulness of Microsoft's Clippy with the cultural relevance of Hot Topic!

Uninstalled.

Maybe I should mail anthrax.

[Ravelle]

Hey, Codemasters, you know what I like about racing? Cars going fast.

You know what I hate about racing? Everything else.

I hate nu-metal soundtracks, I hate NPCs who act like I should give a fuck about them, I hate manufactured rivalries, I hate people attempt to tell you how much fun you should be having, I hate old shills who try to act like they have any cred with the youth market, I hate MTV quick-cuts, I hate ads, I hate the X Games, I hate corporate sponsorship, and I hate games licensed after real people.

You know what I want in a racing game? Cars, open tracks, and as little else as possible. Don't try to dress it up. Please, just stop. Stop attempting to justify your own existences. Stop trying to gussy up something that should be fun in its own right. I don't like having to hack through reams of tinsel to actually get the sole morsel of fun out of the fucking product. I don't want to feel like I just paid my own money for the privilege of having you attempt to sell me more shit.

I hate you so goddamn much, and you should be ashamed of yourselves, you useless, out-of-touch, joyless fucking pimples on the ass of the entertainment world. Die, you soulless fucking leeches.

Heeeeeeeey DJ Atomica here, and boooy do we get a sweet ass track for you here at the beach hoo boy!l

Every freakin' time 2 minutes before every freakin' race.

[Drake Sigar]

The problem with the "evil" option in FO3, and most games, is that it's so poorly incentivized. I think you get 500 caps out of blasting a city off the map? What the hell is that?

Purely self-interested evil has always been more fun in games, IMO, than random psychotic killer evil. That is, I'll take neutral evil over chaotic evil every time.
Indeed. Being a psycho might be a kind of evil, but it's certainly not the smart kind. Take New Vegas - doctor of a small town saves your life, locals help you out, you can go to a bandit and say "let's take this town over." Then he asks "why?" and you have no explanation, nothing except "err, free good, I guess?"

Being an asshole for the sake of it is stupid. It's much scarier when there's purpose behind the assholery.

[Lukasz]

Third level of durlag's tower in BG1. Damn. the game is brutal. Traps everywhere. Invisible enemies backstabbing you for 25 points of life.
i also collect shitloads of stuff and it pains me to throw anything away. even if i get rid of money makers (like diamonds or other precious stones) i still have problem with number of items i collect. can't threw away plus 3 chainmail just because it is weaker than anything my team wears.

[Similar]

Being an asshole for the sake of it is stupid. It's much scarier when there's purpose behind the assholery.
yeah, and in the case of Megaton and the choice to blow it up or not, you don't know enough at the point in the game where you're most likely to encounter Burke. You don't know what you might gain from triggering the bomb (aside from the silly amount of caps), or from disarming it, so the choice becomes one of being good or being an asshole for the sake of it.

It seems like a missed opportunity; it could have been a much deeper thing if they'd waited until the player could compare the advantages of one choice with the other.

[Heliocentric]

The third option should have been steal warhead. Letting you use it at your discretion.

[Bankrotas]

yeah, and in the case of Megaton and the choice to blow it up or not, you don't know enough at the point in the game where you're most likely to encounter Burke. You don't know what you might gain from triggering the bomb (aside from the silly amount of caps), or from disarming it, so the choice becomes one of being good or being an asshole for the sake of it.

It seems like a missed opportunity; it could have been a much deeper thing if they'd waited until the player could compare the advantages of one choice with the other.But in games defense. You're just out of a vault and you really don't know games economy. And Burke is just trying to use you cheapest way possible to him.
Bomb explosion on itself is not satisfactory. I wish it had more rewards in accessible questlines (i.e. wasteland survival guide available only if you disarm the bomb and Tenpenny tower had another questline witch would make tower even more powerful.

[Ash_firelord]

I choose to defy Heliocentric's sage advice and go feather-hunting for an afternoon in Assassin's Creed 2.
Interesting but ultimately useless reward; the mini-cutscene did give me a warm fuzzy feeling so overall I'm happy I did it.

That and my OCD is appeased, for now.

Playing next... I don't really know. I'm tempted to start an RPG but I have Arkham City installed with a couple of hours of play done already.



I think the only game I've managed to be evil in was Fable. Otherwise I also set out to be evil, but quickly find out I don't have it in me.

The first KOTOR did it quite well IIRC. Besides the KOTOR series and Fable 1 & 2, I can't think of anything else.
Fable 3 has no good/evil, just boring / asshole.

[Similar]

But in games defense. You're just out of a vault and you really don't know games economy. And Burke is just trying to use you cheapest way possible to him.
yeah, good point. Seen that way it does fit.


Bomb explosion on itself is not satisfactory. I wish it had more rewards in accessible questlines (i.e. wasteland survival guide available only if you disarm the bomb and Tenpenny tower had another questline witch would make tower even more powerful.
yes. It seems like wiping out (or not) one of the largest settlements of the wasteland should mean more.

[Lukasz]

I can't think of anything else.

Alpha Protocol.

Nothing apocalyptic evil. Yet. You can play as really immoral guy. Badass immoral guy. Nothing beats convincing the Leland that you are on his side and then killing him in cold blood.

[Ash_firelord]

Alpha Protocol.

Nothing apocalyptic evil. Yet. You can play as really immoral guy. Badass immoral guy. Nothing beats convincing the Leland that you are on his side and then killing him in cold blood.

True; I didn't think of that one because I don't think there's really a dichotomy there. You can actually role-play, for once.

Very underrated game. That it didn't do well enough to warrant a sequel is one of this generation's great tragedies.

[Drake Sigar]

Alpha Protocol.

Nothing apocalyptic evil. Yet. You can play as really immoral guy. Badass immoral guy. Nothing beats convincing the Leland that you are on his side and then killing him in cold blood. The mine, right? That was splooge-worthy.

[postinternetsyndrome]

I went back into Crysis after watching that COMPLETELY AWESOME ironman LP someone around here linked the other week. Not feeling as awesome as that guy looked though. :P It looks so easy when he does it, but then he has the position and patrol of every damn enemy in the game memorized lol.

[Voon]

Alpha Protocol.

Nothing apocalyptic evil. Yet. You can play as really immoral guy. Badass immoral guy. Nothing beats convincing the Leland that you are on his side and then killing him in cold blood.

You know what? Five playthroughs done and that's the only thing that I haven't done yet in that game. Oh, man, I think I need to start a new run

[fiddlesticks]

Anyone who's looking for a well-done evil path in an RPG should play Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer. Or, failing that at least read the excellent LP (http://lparchive.org/Neverwinter-Nights-2-Mask-of-the-Betrayer/) of it. It's the only game that made me feel genuinely bad for my decisions.

Planescape: Torment is another game where the evil path actually feels interesting and just as satisfying as the good one. The Fallout games come to mind as well, with the exception of Fallout 3.

[Ravelle]

Anyone who's looking for a well-done evil path in an RPG should play Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer. Or, failing that at least read the excellent LP (http://lparchive.org/Neverwinter-Nights-2-Mask-of-the-Betrayer/) of it. It's the only game that made me feel genuinely bad for my decisions.

Planescape: Torment is another game where the evil path actually feels interesting and just as satisfying as the good one. The Fallout games come to mind as well, with the exception of Fallout 3.

I tried NWN2 a while ago but the controls and camera are horrible, sadly.

[Heliocentric]

I choose to defy Heliocentric's sage advice and go feather-hunting for an afternoon in Assassin's Creed 2.
Interesting but ultimately useless reward; the mini-cutscene did give me a warm fuzzy feeling so overall I'm happy I did it.

That and my OCD is appeased, for now.Brotherhood let's you buy map markers for feathers later in the storyline. Genius really, much more satisfying hoovering the map clean.

[Ravelle]

Brotherhood let's you buy map markers for feathers later in the storyline. Genius really, much more satisfying hoovering the map clean.

Take my advise and stop it, the end reward is not worth it. :(

[Mohorovicic]

Anyone who's looking for a well-done evil path in an RPG should play Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer.

I keep hearing how MotB is a modern Torment, but every time I want to play it the completionist inside me reaches for vanilla Neverwinter Nights 2 instead.

And then I decide that reading all 6000 Dilbert strips again is a better use of my time.

[Drake Sigar]

I keep hearing how MotB is a modern Torment, but every time I want to play it the completionist inside me reaches for vanilla Neverwinter Nights 2 instead.

And then I decide that reading all 6000 Dilbert strips again is a better use of my time.
I have that exact same problem. It's also why I haven't managed to play Baldur's Gate 2 in about five years - BG 1 is a damn sleeping pill.

[The JG Man]

So has anyone else placed Kerbal Space Program? I downloaded the demo and was instantly hooked. Now I have that pang of regret that I should really buy it, but don't know if I really want to because it's one of those games I can see myself playing for a few hours one session and then never touching it again.

[Mohorovicic]

I have that exact same problem. It's also why I haven't managed to play Baldur's Gate 2 in about five years - BG 1 is a damn sleeping pill.

No badmouthing BG on my watch

[NathanH]

I have that exact same problem. It's also why I haven't managed to play Baldur's Gate 2 in about five years - BG 1 is a damn sleeping pill.

Uh... Play BG2 instead then?

[Drake Sigar]

Uh... Play BG2 instead then?
It's like you didn't even read the post I was replying to.

[NathanH]

I guess I filter out proudly-announced idiocy.

[Flint]

Some recent adventures. Literally - I've been in a sudden adventure gaming mood and have been clearing said part of my backlog.

Syberia. Lovely atmosphere, fascinating locales, interesting story that managed to get me really interested in the central 'mystery'. Buttttt.... weak puzzles, horrendous amounts of backtracking and an inane main character with equally inane circle of family and friends who keep interrupting the game with their incredibly dreary phone calls. Not exactly a great adventure game experience but the positive points were positive enough to make me feel like playing the game through. Unsure if I'll ever get around the second part - I may have liked the chase for Voralberg but I really don't know if I care enough to actually see what the story offers afterwards. Pretty and interesting, but average.

Jolly Rover. Indie adventure game that came along with some random bundle or another. I'm glad it did, actually. It's nothing groundbreaking and it won't offer any challenge to a seasoned adventure gamer, but it's got such a wonderfully innocent and adorable feel-good vibe. It's just a fun little adventure that always keeps a smile on its face and has enough personality of its own (even if in its core it's basically Monkey Island but with dogs) to keep the player enjoying the game. A positive surprise. Might not return to it again, but I'm glad I played it and would recommend it to adventure game fans as long as they're clear of the caveat that it's nothing that will test their braincells to their limits.

No idea where I'm headed next in my grand and completely random ADHD-esque adventures.

[Drake Sigar]

I guess I filter out proudly-announced idiocy.

I think you're supposed to be directing that at me, and instead you seem to have insulted Mohorvicic. Or maybe that was your intention and you have some beef with him that I'm not aware of.

Ah who cares, both mine and Mohorvicic's comments are fine, so stop being such a "zomg he doesn't like the games I like!" prick.

[Casimir Effect]

Anyone who's looking for a well-done evil path in an RPG should play Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer. Or, failing that at least read the excellent LP (http://lparchive.org/Neverwinter-Nights-2-Mask-of-the-Betrayer/) of it. It's the only game that made me feel genuinely bad for my decisions.

Planescape: Torment is another game where the evil path actually feels interesting and just as satisfying as the good one. The Fallout games come to mind as well, with the exception of Fallout 3.
Seconded entirely. With MotB Obsidian allowed you to be the type of manipulative, despicable, evil sociopath that they do so well. Seriously, the complete evil way of playing this is the thing of legends as that LP can show you. I've never been able to bring myself to be that much of a dick in a virtual world.

And you really don't lose much by not having played NWN2 first. There are a couple of throwbacks in the plot and a few conversation options which reference events in the first game, but otherwise that's it. You can even console your way up to level 20 when starting MotB so you aren't slightly disadvantaged (new MotB character start at level 18 I think) .

[NathanH]

If you think that "I want to play x but I feel compelled to do y first, and I don't want to do y, so I won't do x" is fine, you need to get a grip. Both of you are guilty.

[Drake Sigar]

If you think that "I want to play x but I feel compelled to do y first, and I don't want to do y, so I won't do x" is fine, you need to get a grip. Both of you are guilty.
I don't think something like that is good or bad, it just IS. I like to play games in order, what's wrong with that? I paid for them. BG 2 is such a vast improvement it makes the first game difficult to go back through.

Buying the last seven seasons of Scrubs just to complete a collection - now that would be wrong.

[NathanH]

I don't think something like that is good or bad, it just IS. I like to play games in order, what's wrong with that? I paid for them. BG 2 is such a vast improvement it makes the first game difficult to go back through.

Well make it not BE. If you want to play BG2, just play the damn thing. If you don't want to play it, don't make excuses like "oh noes, I have to play BG1 first because of some self-destructive principle that stops me from doing what I want!" Sort yourself out.

[Drake Sigar]

Well make it not BE. If you want to play BG2, just play the damn thing. If you don't want to play it, don't make excuses like "oh noes, I have to play BG1 first because of some self-destructive principle that stops me from doing what I want!" Sort yourself out.
My compulsion to play BG 1 first is heightened by the ability to transfer characters, and I looooove that shit. If you can play Mass Effect 3 with a brand new fresh character then more power to you, but personally I'd much rather take a single character through all three games, even if one of those games doesn't quite grab me like the others.

Once again - stop being such a prick. Lots of people do this. It's a common thing. You act like I dropped out of the sky.

[vinraith]

Add me to the "can't bring myself to play the sequel until I've played the first one" list for any games that continue a narrative, and especially for any game with an import function. I don't think there's anything weird about that, myself, and I've certainly had it stop me from playing well-recommended games due to an inferior prequel.

[NathanH]

Nah, I act more like I've sat listening to nonsense excuses from "completionists" for years and kept quiet, but sometimes you just have to let off steam. The character import from BG1 is basically irrelevant because nothing is actually imported apart from pantaloons. And if I for some reason liked Mass Effect 3 and not Mass Effect 2 then I'd replay ME3 without playing ME2, of course I would.

Seriously, just create a new BG2 character. Once character creation is over, you won't notice the difference.

[vinraith]

Seriously, just create a new BG2 character. Once character creation is over, you won't notice the difference.

Except, you know, for all the continued narrative threads, back references, and shared characters. Playing the sequel without playing the original is always a lessened experience, hence the hangup.

Playing ME3 without playing the first two would make no sense at all, for example. The narrative would have no meaning, the story threads would have no impact. Simply put, it wouldn't be the same game.

[NathanH]

I assumed from his post that he had already played the original, and the sequel. Hence, I am talking about replaying. If he hasn't played both already then I misinterpreted the post and apologize.

[fiddlesticks]

Jolly Rover.
I'm glad to see someone else enjoyed this title. As you said it's nothing groundbreaking, but it has a good sense of humour (though a bit too many dog puns) and a few legitimately clever puzzles. And for the most part it manages to avoid the absurd logic commonly found in point-and-click adventure games.


Well make it not BE. If you want to play BG2, just play the damn thing. If you don't want to play it, don't make excuses like "oh noes, I have to play BG1 first because of some self-destructive principle that stops me from doing what I want!" Sort yourself out.
You seem to be really angry at people for not playing games the way you do.

[NathanH]

You seem to be really angry at people for not playing games the way you do.

Not at all. I'm quite happy for people to, say, juggle five pineapples for a minute before they replay a game, but not for them to complain "I want to replay a game, but feel compelled to juggle five pineapples before playing, and I don't want to juggle five pineapples". Should someone say that, and I happen to be irritable, then I'm liable to become sad.

[TG brownie-t-lfc]

I am always on Ghost Recon Future Soldier!! Mostly with a couple of other guys and girls from a gaming community called Tactical Gaming. I am always looking to play with new people! So if you would like to play one day/night. Add me on steam (brownietlfc) or on uplay (brownie-t-lfc)

[Nalano]

Not at all. I'm quite happy for people to, say, juggle five pineapples for a minute before they replay a game, but not for them to complain "I want to replay a game, but feel compelled to juggle five pineapples before playing, and I don't want to juggle five pineapples". Should someone say that, and I happen to be irritable, then I'm liable to become sad.

In your example, juggling five pineapples have nothing to do with the game.

When a game depends heavily on a story arc, and that arc begins in another game, well...

...you wouldn't start the Mass Effect franchise at 3, would you?

[Casimir Effect]

Was about to say this. Perhaps a better example would be: "I really want to play (Morrowind) but I'd need to spend 10 hours getting it fully modded and I don't want to do this so I'm not going to play (Morrowind), even though it isn't necessary at all to spend that time modding in order to play the game".

[Nalano]

Was about to say this. Perhaps a better example would be: "I really want to play (Morrowind) but I'd need to spend 10 hours getting it fully modded and I don't want to do this so I'm not going to play (Morrowind), even though it isn't necessary at all to spend that time modding in order to play the game".

Well, you can play the game in a broken, buggy state that is criminally devoid of little bronies, but... why?

[arathain]

So the solution to having a compulsion to behave in a certain way is to just stop having the compulsion? Brilliant! Quick, tell your national association of psychiatry at once. You've aided humanity this day.

[vinraith]

I think a lot of you missed this, so I'm going to quote it here.


I assumed from his post that he had already played the original, and the sequel. Hence, I am talking about replaying. If he hasn't played both already then I misinterpreted the post and apologize.

[Sakkura]

I was thinking about playing that "ValveTestApp91620". It sounds like fun, anyone tried it?

[Tikey]

I finished Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands.
It was nice. Albeit a bit poor. It was annoying how the game always points the camera in the direction where you have to go so there is not much exploration or thinking how to get through the room.
The final setpiece even though is still mechanically weak it was great. Very well put together and exiting.
Now I have no idea what to play next.

[alms]

I was thinking about playing that "ValveTestApp91620". It sounds like fun, anyone tried it?

It should be Sanctum.

[Proctor Eldritch]

Played the Just Cause 2 multiplayer beta with a few other RPS denizens this afternoon. It's nothing to write home about. The novelty wears off after a few hours of messing around.

I take this back. Although, I do wonder how long the appeal will last.


http://youtu.be/dBm4CKwQVGM?t=6m55s

[Mohorovicic]

You seem to be really angry at people for not playing games the way you do.

Seriously.

Stop stealing my shtick.

[Oshada]

I finished Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands.
It was nice. Albeit a bit poor. It was annoying how the game always points the camera in the direction where you have to go so there is not much exploration or thinking how to get through the room.
The final setpiece even though is still mechanically weak it was great. Very well put together and exiting.
Now I have no idea what to play next.

That's almost exactly how I felt. What is this sorcery!

Seriously, it could've been much, much better with a few tweaks. I was hoping it would be more like Two Thrones but it lacked a bit of the scope of that game.

[Ash_firelord]

Brotherhood let's you buy map markers for feathers later in the storyline. Genius really, much more satisfying hoovering the map clean.

Seriously, that info just bumped Brotherhood up a lot of spots in my playlist.
However, while that is much better than no info at all, it would be perfect if it just gave you the general area, like some "locate the target" missions, and you had to find the feather in that limited area.

Finding them in AC2 was mostly annoying, but it did let me to apreciate the area design a lot more!


Take my advise and stop it, the end reward is not worth it. :(

The game end reward might not be, but keepign my OCD satisfied is a reward in itself. Plus, if it's marked on the map, it's trivial.




Jolly Rover. A positive surprise. Might not return to it again, but I'm glad I played it and would recommend it to adventure game fans as long as they're clear of the caveat that it's nothing that will test their braincells to their limits.


I did love that one. It made me think of Dumas by the way of old cartoons. A solid game.


Add me to the "can't bring myself to play the sequel until I've played the first one" list for any games that continue a narrative, and especially for any game with an import function. I don't think there's anything weird about that, myself, and I've certainly had it stop me from playing well-recommended games due to an inferior prequel.

Almost +1. An inferior sequel is no barrier to me. If anything, I enjoy playing a crap game every now and then, and I also enjoy experiencing the step up from previous game to sequel.

And Baldur's Gate is superior to BG2 in a couple of areas...


I finished Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands.
It was nice. Albeit a bit poor. [...]
The final setpiece even though is still mechanically weak it was great. Very well put together and exiting.
Now I have no idea what to play next.

That game was so forgettable (hah!) that I don't even recall that final setpiece. Gaming marmite.

[Drayk]

Still Playing Fallout New Vegas: The story is nice and I love the NPC, just met Cass, nice 'clin d'oeil' to Fallout 2. I still think that the environments are weak and the engine dated but I can live with that. But got, could they make a less intuitive inventory ? how can people complain about Skyrim's...

Just finished the Darkness on my Xbox, needed to finish it so I could start the second one on PC. I hadn't played on a console for a while and I must say it felt pretty good to play on a larger screen with a controler for a while. Do anyone knows if it's possible to play with a wireless xbox controler on pc ?

I started the Darkness 2, to early to say anything about it but it started strong, more action packed but faithful to the first one (lots of talking, loading cutscene, the metro, the humor...)

[Strazz]

...

Just finished the Darkness on my Xbox, needed to finish it so I could start the second one on PC. I hadn't played on a console for a while and I must say it felt pretty good to play on a larger screen with a controler for a while. Do anyone knows if it's possible to play with a wireless xbox controler on pc ?

...


It is, but you'll need an adapter to hook it up to the PC (http://pricespy.co.uk/category.php?k=712#rparams=l=s91127082). (That link should be useful if you're in the UK)

[Anthile]

I just played through Hexen (using zdoom), which was very good and I hoped I could start playing Sleeping Dawgs but for some reason it's only available here on Friday while the USians can already play. Not cool.
Oh well, I guess that gives me some time to play through the Hexen expansion.

[agentorange]

Still Playing Fallout New Vegas: The story is nice and I love the NPC, just met Cass, nice 'clin d'oeil' to Fallout 2. I still think that the environments are weak and the engine dated but I can live with that. But got, could they make a less intuitive inventory ? how can people complain about Skyrim's...


http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/34902
http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/44515
http://newvegas.nexusmods.com/mods/34950

Will all make navigating the inventory and text interfaces easier. They don't do anything drastic so it's fine for a first time playthrough.

You'll see some more intricate environment design in the DLCs, being that they are smaller and self-contained.

[Kellhus]

Recently started playing the Smite beta, which is my first encounter with a moba/dota game. The difference is that you're directly controlling your character in Smite (3rd person view, WASD controls), which draws you into the game immediately. Besides that it's almost similar to LoL/Dota2 when it comes to the mechanics, but I'm just more comfortable with WASD controls.

Also busy with a month's old BG2 game and returned to Vanguard: Saga of Heroes for a bit, as it just went F2P. It's not going to be a long stay though, as the game is still insanely laggy and has the same graphical glitches as it did in 2007. Sigh, the wasted potential on this one :(

[Tikey]

That's almost exactly how I felt. What is this sorcery!

Seriously, it could've been much, much better with a few tweaks. I was hoping it would be more like Two Thrones but it lacked a bit of the scope of that game.

Yes, It has some nice ideas, like the water thing. But the story is just uninspired. The combat too simplified and the unlocks thing just silly. PoP is about getting from one place to another while jumping, running and doing crazy acrobatic stuff. Thing is here getting from A to B is just a matter of timing the movements right. You don't get the satisfaction of figuring how to get through it, and that is it's biggest sin for me.

[Ravelle]

Seriously, that info just bumped Brotherhood up a lot of spots in my playlist.
However, while that is much better than no info at all, it would be perfect if it just gave you the general area, like some "locate the target" missions, and you had to find the feather in that limited area.

Finding them in AC2 was mostly annoying, but it did let me to apreciate the area design a lot more!



The game end reward might not be, but keepign my OCD satisfied is a reward in itself. Plus, if it's marked on the map, it's trivial.




I know what you mean, I collected everything besides those feathers as well, they weren't on my map or at least I don't remember they were. Thing is I did the feathers as last and since collecting all of them gives you a cape that makes you public enemy #1 it was pretty useless post-game.

I also played it on PC so no trophies for me.

[khaz]

The feathers thing in Brotherhood is a bit of a red herring. The feathers experience of AC2 is replaced by the Borgia flags in Brotherhood. Still the best of the AC games however and the Leanardo machines side quests are an excellent laugh.

[Heliocentric]

The feathers thing in Brotherhood is a bit of a red herring. The feathers experience of AC2 is replaced by the Borgia flags in Brotherhood. Still the best of the AC games however and the Leanardo machines side quests are an excellent laugh.

You can buy map markers from art shops for the regions flags too.

[PeteC]

Finished Saints Row 3 and it was great fun. Never played SR1 or 2 but really looking forward to SR4 now.

Looking through my game library at the stuff I've never played and noticed Overlord 2. I'd completely forgotten that I'd bought that. Anyone played it? Any good? It's either that or Terraria which I've also never played.

[Anthile]

Turns out the Hexen "expansion" is absolutely awful. No new weapons, no new enemies, no new environments. In fact, they even reused puzzles! All they did was turning up the difficulty up to 11. Not gonna bother beyond the first third.

[Ravelle]

Darksiders why must thee so be unforgiving.

[Casimir Effect]

Splinter Cell Conviction isn't really grabbing me as much. Proper stealth games (yes I know Conviction is very watered down from Chaos Theory) fascinate me for a level or two but then lose me in the repitition. I prefer stealth in things like Deus Ex, Alpha Protocol or even Skyrim - games where it is only one option of several.
Don't get me wrong, Conviction is a good game and I'm going to try and finish it. It's just not going to be played exclusively.

Hence me starting a new game of Sins of a Solar Empire Trinity. Quickly made a nice 2 Star / 60 planets map and am doing a 3v3 with some AI varying between Normal and Hard difficulty. I love how quickly the game lets you set something like that up - the map creator is a dream to use. Only about 3 hours into it but I'm already hooked again. And now that everyone seems to have inter-star travel unlocked things are going to get very interesting.

[khaz]

You can buy map markers from art shops for the regions flags too.


WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!!!??!?!

/rushes to his brotherhood save

[kstress71]

Overlord 2. I'd completely forgotten that I'd bought that. Anyone played it? Any good?

I played it and liked it, but not as much as the first one. Also, I played them on Xbox 360 (before I emerged from the primordial ooze into PC gaming), so I'm not sure how well the PC versions play.

[LutherBlissett]

Tower Wars - what on earth was I thinking. Online play is dull and slow. Matchmaking seems to be random or i'm just completely crap at it. Defender's Quest, Gratuitous Tank Battles and Immortal Defense still rule!
Guardians of Graxia (plus all DLC) - this seems actually pretty good so far. Complex card-based wargame - lots of variables - kinda like Etherlords meets Summoner Wars.
Hero Academy - hoping this is something I can play with the missus until Torchlight II comes out. Seems simple but fun.

[Kadayi]

Played through part one of the walking dead game. Have to say I quite enjoyed it (I did rewind chapters a few times to try out different things) and I'm looking forward to seeing how things play out in part 2, although I might play an alternative version of Part one as I'm interested to see how differently things could go. Thumbs up so far.

[Drake Sigar]

I played it and liked it, but not as much as the first one. Also, I played them on Xbox 360 (before I emerged from the primordial ooze into PC gaming), so I'm not sure how well the PC versions play.

The mouse feels surprisingly natural for controlling minions.

[Heliocentric]

Splinter Cell Conviction isn't really grabbing me as much. Proper stealth games (yes I know Conviction is very watered down from Chaos Theory) fascinate me for a level or two but then lose me in the repitition. I prefer stealth in things like Deus Ex, Alpha Protocol or even Skyrim - games where it is only one option of several.
Don't get me wrong, Conviction is a good game and I'm going to try and finish it. It's just not going to be played exclusively.

Deniable Ops is a fun time, better than the main campaign.

The mouse feels surprisingly natural for controlling minions.
The pad controls are spot on. Mind.

[Olero]

Just started with Jagged Alliance: Back in Action, and I'm mildly suprised to find it quite fun to play. I've played JA1, Deadly Games and JA2 (and 1.13) to tiny bits, but somehow JA:BiA does things right as well. The graphics, sounds (with the big exception of the voices) and atmosphere are all nice, and the game is a bit quicker now, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

However, it's not all sunshine and rainbows; the voiceacting (and portraits) are both a whole lot more "flat and dull". And the green glowing markers where I can blow up walls or find items are a very bad design choice. And why the hell can't I create my own Merc? (or can I?) And (not sure) do I only payed my hired Mercs only once?? Then why do I need income anyway? Or is this game suddenly impossible with just 2 or 3 Mercs? (JA2 sure wasn't). But.... I'm still happy to play this game, and somewhat excited how the other towns are modelled and if all old characters are there.

I've also played a very short bit of Escape Goat, but it was too little to form an opinion just yet. Can't say things about graphics as well, since it's not such a game, is it? Did love the cute little rat addition, and the ability to teleport to him with the Magic Hat.

Last but not least I've finally continued my play of Fallout New Vegas, but I'm starting to get annoyed by the sheer ammount of assasins the Legion sents after me, that I can hardly defeat each time. And even worse, they kill my companions too quickly. Luckily, with the Animal Friend perk, I usually lure the assasins to a nice group of critter to deal with them. Especially geckos are chewing them up nicely. But I do like some way of stopping them more permanently. Any suggestions?

[PeteC]

The mouse feels surprisingly natural for controlling minions.

Well I played a little bit of it last night and was having a lot of trouble controlling them while 'sweeping' the mouse. I'll turn down the mouse sensitivity later and see if that helps. Would have tried last night but you can't change any settings while in game which is pretty annoying.

The game itself seems fun though, and it's actually very pretty.

[tjv]

Half Life 2: First ever playthrough and must admit not enjoying it as much I though I would. Maybe had too high expectations. Not much variety in enemies and the sections tend to drag on a bit.
WWE All Stars: Playing this on 360. Don't care for wrestling too much normally, but this is lots of fun.

[postinternetsyndrome]

Half Life 2: First ever playthrough and must admit not enjoying it as much I though I would. Maybe had too high expectations. Not much variety in enemies and the sections tend to drag on a bit.I'm a huge fan of HL2, but I can admit that the selection of enemies is a bit thin, and since almost all the different types of opponents are also hostile to each other, they are rarely combined.

[fiddlesticks]

Last but not least I've finally continued my play of Fallout New Vegas, but I'm starting to get annoyed by the sheer ammount of assasins the Legion sents after me, that I can hardly defeat each time. And even worse, they kill my companions too quickly. Luckily, with the Animal Friend perk, I usually lure the assasins to a nice group of critter to deal with them. Especially geckos are chewing them up nicely. But I do like some way of stopping them more permanently. Any suggestions?
Wear NCR faction armour whenever you travel. Or failing that, any other faction armour. They reset your reputation with the various factions in the game, so while normal Legionaries will still attack, Caesar won't send anymore assassins after you. Just remember to unequip it if you're in NCR territory and have positive reputation with them, otherwise they'll treat you as neutral.

Assassins are kind of a pain until you're high levelled, at which point they become an easy source for rare weapons and ammo.

[Giaddon]

I'm playing Sleeping Dogs and Syndicate (2012).

Sleeping Dogs is very good. It's exactly what it seemed like it would be -- an urban open world game set in Hong Kong with a neat brawling combat system. I've played about four hours so far and have had a great time. The combat is really fun, Hong Kong is a great setting with lots of stuff tucked away in the corners, and the plot and voice acting is pretty engaging. Very happy with it.

Syndicate is also good! I picked it up from Gamersgate on sale and have had a lot of fun with it. I finished the campaign and am now replaying it on the hardest difficulty level, and also playing the online co-op, which is a blast. Super hard, and made hard by the fact that there is no chat of any kind, which makes it a pretty surreal experience sometimes. But fun.

[Tei]

Iron Brigade, Planetside 1 and Orcs Must Die 2.

Before you ask, my character in Planetside is focused in planting towers. So is towers, more towers and extra towers on top of that.

[Sakkura]

Wear NCR faction armour whenever you travel. Or failing that, any other faction armour. They reset your reputation with the various factions in the game, so while normal Legionaries will still attack, Caesar won't send anymore assassins after you. Just remember to unequip it if you're in NCR territory and have positive reputation with them, otherwise they'll treat you as neutral.

Assassins are kind of a pain until you're high levelled, at which point they become an easy source for rare weapons and ammo.
Pretty funny that they stop sending assassins after you if you dress like their mortal enemy.

[Bobble_Hat]

Currently slogging my way through Max Payne 3. It's...alright, I guess. I think me getting stuck at a certain part for far too long (that damn pier/boatyard bit) has lessened my enjoyment rather a lot. The flashback level is still by far the best thing about it.

[Spider Jerusalem]

i gave up on max payne 3. went back to playing the other two.

[DaftPunk]

I'm playing Sleeping Dogs and Syndicate (2012).

Sleeping Dogs is very good. It's exactly what it seemed like it would be -- an urban open world game set in Hong Kong with a neat brawling combat system. I've played about four hours so far and have had a great time. The combat is really fun, Hong Kong is a great setting with lots of stuff tucked away in the corners, and the plot and voice acting is pretty engaging. Very happy with it.

Syndicate is also good! I picked it up from Gamersgate on sale and have had a lot of fun with it. I finished the campaign and am now replaying it on the hardest difficulty level, and also playing the online co-op, which is a blast. Super hard, and made hard by the fact that there is no chat of any kind, which makes it a pretty surreal experience sometimes. But fun.


Wow didn't expect this,nice to hear that game is good so far!

[Ravelle]

Wow didn't expect this,nice to hear that game is good so far!

Got a 9 on Destructoid and a 4/5 star on Giantbomb so far, color me excited!

[sabrage]

What separates Sleeping Dogs from Yakuza? (besides the HK setting and PC release)

[DaftPunk]

What separates Sleeping Dogs from Yakuza? (besides the HK setting and PC release)


Vehicles ?

[Giaddon]

What separates Sleeping Dogs from Yakuza? (besides the HK setting and PC release)

I'm not familiar with Yakuza so I can't answer that, sorry.

[cosmicolor]

I've only played the demos of Yakuza games so I can only give slightly more of a view, but Yakuza games are somewhat less open world than Sleeping Dogs is. I see them get compared to a next-gen River City Ransom if that's your thing.

[Sakkura]

No, it's not cool to show me your strong device. At least buy me a drink first. Also, spam somewhere else please, or I'll hunt you down with my Shogun 2 armies and ninja.

Hmm, this got me in the mood for a little more killing tonight. But Shogun 2's not quite pulling me in the way Rome did. =(

[kstress71]

Currently slogging my way through Max Payne 3. It's...alright, I guess. I think me getting stuck at a certain part for far too long (that damn pier/boatyard bit) has lessened my enjoyment rather a lot. The flashback level is still by far the best thing about it.

I very much enjoyed MP3, but the difficulty spikes were just insane.

[postinternetsyndrome]

I very much enjoyed MP3, but the difficulty spikes were just insane.Same here, you're trekking through the game at a leisurely pace when suddenly you are up against a meat wall of 20 dudes firing at you directly after the checkpoint with no cover in sight. The core gameplay was nice, but I feel the level design mistreated that core gameplay.

[Nalano]

I'm playing Company of Heroes, because fuck yeah.

I'm also playing the jadequarry.com community server forums for Guild Wars 2. Currently, I'm in the runnings for most up- and down-votes.