Ensemble Backlog: Phase 2 voting

[sabrage]

January is almost over! That means we need to decide what game we all want to play together next month. I picked the items for this poll based solely on what we a large number of us own but haven't yet beaten (according to the list.) I'm also making a cognizant effort to choose games that were included in indie bundles; I find that these games are generally ignored as free pack-ins with a more desirable game, and also that the barrier to entry for anyone that doesn't already have it is quite low. If anyone has a particularly compelling idea for another game that can should be considered, by all means feel free to speak up. As should be fairly obvious, whichever game gets the most votes will be our official pick for February's Ensemble Backlog. I honestly have no idea how many people are participating, but seeing as a poll is the easiest option voting will be open to everyone and that may skew results one way or another.

This thread can also serve as a sort of post-mortem on Gemini Rue. How'd everybody do? The general consensus that I saw was that most people who played it quite liked the game. Personally, I've been so enamored with my SNES that I've yet to even launch the game, but I've got all day tomorrow to work myself through it. There's still a few days of January left, dammit!

I'd prefer to be able to pick specific goals to encourage people to play through the game by a specified time (e.g. finish chapter 2 this week) but as that would require prior knowledge of the game, it's not really a possibility.

[Heliocentric]

How do I vote "anything but meatboy"?

[DarkNoghri]

I kind of feel that this being RPS, Deus Ex and Stalker: SoC should be played at some point.

Out of these, I'm gonna say Aquaria. Or Super Meat Boy.

[ColOfNature]

I voted Shadowgrounds, cos I'm rubbish at Super Meatboy and I'm too much of a wuss to play much of Amnesia. And I don't have the other two. As for Deus Ex and Stalker I've started both on several occasions and never got far as newer, shinier things always distract me; peer pressure might encourage me to show some sticktoitiveness, so count me in if either comes up.

[ComradePenguin]

I know it won't matter till next month but are we free to throw up our backlogs on that sheet? Undecided what I'd vote for as I'd like to play Aquaria but I fear even with community support I may not find 20 hours next month for it.

[sabrage]

I know it won't matter till next month but are we free to throw up our backlogs on that sheet?

Feel free!

[LMon]

I've added myself to the spreadsheet and cleaned it up a bit so it is a bit easier to see the list of games. I've also used a bit of excel-fu to work out which games are owned by a majority of people. It seem that nothing is owned by 100% of everyone so I've highlighted those games over 80%.

I voted for shadowgrounds as I do not own Avadon, I don't think super meat boy is suited to this sort of thing (I think being pressured to try and finish it in a month would kill any enjoyment of it) and I'm just too plain scared of playing Amnesia. Aquaria could be a good choice (if a bit long), but I've played a bit of that a while ago and prefer shadowgrounds as it is totally fresh to me.

As for Gemini Rue, I enjoyed the bladerunner-esque setting, and the puzzles were generally pretty logical (although I admit to looking up a couple of steps). Does anyone have any thoughts on what the story is with the rain? I think they say Gemini is a gas planet, and the weather stations make it rain all the time so I guess they can mine the minerals from it? Or is it just to clear the air so they can mine the earth? Did anyone come away with a different understanding?

[Heliocentric]

They forced rain during the drilling to moderate smog and toxic substances in the air.

That's what I gathered.

I need to add my list, it's going to insane though.

[sabrage]

I ceded to my OCD and went ahead and added a good portion of my PC backlog. Pretty much everything I would conceivably want to play is on there now.

[Tikey]

I've been away on vacation, what's this list and how does it work? (I'm adding me to the spreadsheet).
I vote for shadowgrounds

[TailSwallower]

If people want to consider Deus Ex, I'm down, otherwise I'm going to cast my vote for... Shadowgrounds because I'm excited enough to get stuck into Avadon, but Shadowgrounds might fall by the wayside without some backup.

Also, a talked about my thoughts on Gemini Rue in a couple of places, but yeah, I enjoyed it. Got stuck in a couple of places and took to a walkthrough because I wanted to enjoy it and not bash my head against the desk, but even then I think it was only 3 or so times.

[ColOfNature]

Added a few: Hacker Evolution, SPAZ, Chronicles of Riddick, the F.E.A.R.s, the Far Cries, Steel Storm. Maybe we should institute a way of indicating what games have been added recently.

[DarkNoghri]

I'm removing all the Amnesia entries that aren't actually Amnesia entries, since we now have fancy percentages.

[Tikey]

On Gemini Rue. I must say I loved it but unfortunately I think that all the good things I have to say are about the story instead of the game.
The game has a great atmosphere, and I think it was a great thing the lack of exposition at the start of the game. The story is interesting but nothing great... until the first "what a twist" moment. After that I was sucked right in and with the second "what a twist" I came to love it. Both moments were amazingly well made. I couldn't have guessed them but they felt so obvious after knowing them. The first one is brilliant because it uses so well the player preconception of time.
Also I really liked that the game had something to say. It wasn't just about a deep subject (like most good sci-fi) it just had an opinion about it and wasn't afraid to tell it to you. This is a nice contrast with Human Revolution, which also has a subject (post-humanism) but it's too afraid of taking a stand that feels cold and detached.

Unfortunately the game part is just ok. Puzzles are mostly logic, a few random stuff only. The thing I hated was the "feet puzzles" Oh, you want to climb that ladder, you can't reach it unless you use your feet on that rail. What's next game? Youl want me to move each limb independently? I know it's not a big deal bit is seem so silly that I have to do that stuff, it's completely unnecessary. If you want to make the ladder puzzle harder you could just put two ladders, one with the rail and one without but making me "use feet on rail" feels stupid and cheap.
The shooty bits I played on easy, like someone recommended. I think they were ok, and they add to the characters, after all you can't have a game about a shooty assassin without shooting.
In the end I loved it, but I can't shake the feeling that I loved the just the story despite the game and not because of it.

Ok, that was long, I hope I was clear enough.