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Post by Draxas on Jul 18, 2011 8:49:28 GMT -5
So I have an XBox Live account now, gamertag Draxas018. If anyone else around here is on Live, post your gamertag and I'll friend you.
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Post by N3B on Jul 18, 2011 23:31:52 GMT -5
You should have an invite from me, even though you'll never see me online since I aint got a box.
I finished Portal 2. It's not as good as the first game, but I'm not sure if it was even possible to exceed the quality of the first game. P2 adds some nice characterization to GLaDOS while giving us more of an insight into the history of Aperture. The atmosphere and writing are all top notch, most of the new puzzle mechanics are quite fun. My main complaints deal with the pacing; you got three larger "puzzle sequences" separated by "long walks" between them with little to actually do.
And, 13 years later, I finally beat Half-Life. That game is far more enjoyable with the difficulty set to "Easy." Coz man I'd have really lost my patience dealing with some of the enemies in that game if it were on Normal. The final boss gave me a lot of trouble cause I wasn't sure what I was doing at first, and then two guides apparently gave me wrong advice that just kept getting me killed, and then I couldn't get the console to work to activate god mode to just make things easier for me. Eventually got it, though, no thanks to those guides.
I ended up basically quitting Siren cause I was just so damn pissed off with it. It's been a long time since a game failed that badly to make me deliberately quit playing after less than 90 minutes. Usually if I stop playing that early, it's because I had to take a break and couldn't pick up where I left off, or I just got distracted with something more interesting.
So I may end up going into Persona 3FES. I'd said I wanted something quick to break up the JRPGs, but having finished both Portal 2 and Half-Life I think that criterion has been met.
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Post by Draxas on Jul 19, 2011 8:50:43 GMT -5
I've added you. For someone with no X-Box, you have a lot of badges. Enjoy P3FES, but just be aware that "The Answer" will make scant little sense if you don't play "The Journey" first.
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Post by Draxas on Jul 21, 2011 9:10:45 GMT -5
I can't help but notice I'm stretching myself very thin again, trying to play too many games at once. The new X-Box is primarily to blame, of course, but I expect more than a few of those games will drop off my current list soon. Hell, of the two actual discs I bought for the system, I've only played about 5-6 hours of New Vegas and haven't even broken the shrink wrap on Mass Effect 2... But the XBLA games are just too good. Bionic Command: Rearmed is an amazing remake of one of the best NES games ever. Shadow complex is a top-notch Metroidvania, and probably my favorite of the bunch as of right now. Scott Pilgrim is a fun, mindless beat-em-up, which I think is a genre than needs more love lately because they're almost always fun to play. And Perfect Dark HD probably doesn't need any explanation around here (but I haven't played PD in so long, and I've become SO bad at it in the interim).
So yeah, I guess you could say I'm enjoying the new 360.
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Post by N3B on Jul 22, 2011 15:55:44 GMT -5
I've added you. For someone with no X-Box, you have a lot of badges. It's entirely from mooching off of other people's boxes. Multiplayer matches, sometimes getting some single-player in. I've only played about 5-6 hours of New Vegas and haven't even broken the shrink wrap on Mass Effect 2... How is NV shaping up for you? And have you even played the first Mass Effect?
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Post by Draxas on Jul 23, 2011 23:08:12 GMT -5
I haven't played ME1, and can't even find a copy. Apparently you can transfer your character from ME1 to 2 on the 360, which is a nice touch, but I should be OK; supposedly the plot of ME2 is unattached enough from ME1 that it can stand alone, from what I heard.
I honestly haven't played all that much of New Vegas yet. What I have done has been pretty good, but I'm just barely past the tutorial and haven't gone too far out of the first town yet. I'll have more to say once I've played some more, I'm sure.
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Post by N3B on Jul 24, 2011 18:07:25 GMT -5
I can't recommend the first Mass Effect in particular. I've already written on it in a few different places, but the whole experience was kind of "meh" as far as I was concerned. I guess it's an alright game, but it's not the messiah of RPGs like the common public seems to think. I've also spoken on New Vegas at length, but I found NV far closer in style to the originals than Fallout 3. I've just started Persona 3. I don't understand anything that's going on right now but I guess that's the point. I'm less than two hours in right now, watching my "popularity," "charm," and "academics" increase. I'm not even sure what all of this stuff is good for (aside from the vague pretense that it affect the personas, I guess), cause there's no in-game menu. Either way, I'm not turned off by anything so far, which is a good sign. I've also recently started a blag to document various thoughts that come into my mind. I've been looking into various writing positions and figured I needed to have some kind of "portfolio" of writing samples, so this seemed like an easy way to start. They always say "write about what you know," so of course it's turned into exclusively video game-related thoughts. Anyway, I'd appreciate it folks could check out some of the articles, leave some feedback or suggestions or anything. Some of the more original articles I've written so far: News Report: Violence Causes Video Games. This article examines some of the claims about video game violence causing violent behavior in real life, in particular reference to the recent news on the Danny Petric shootings, who shot his parents allegedly because they wouldn't let him play Halo 3. Video Games in TV: The X-Files. This article is part of a (hopefully) periodical series where I take a look at how TV shows represent gamers and gaming culture. This first one is about the X-Files episode "First-Person Shooter," where Mulder and Scully track down a cyberassassin in a virtual reality game. Trial-and-Error: Balancing on a Razor's Edge. This is a piece thinking about the pros and cons of trial-and-error in video games, mostly trying to examine ways in which T&E can actually add depth to an experience, but while noting the fine balance to not make T&E a tedious chore. Horrible Architecture/Engineering in Half-Life. And this one is basically a visual tour of some of the absurdly illogical architecture and engineering in the original Half-Life. Lots of pictures depicting really obscure places that don't make much sense from the context of the game. Most of it all makes sense from a gameplay/development standpoint, but I still find many of the spots peculiar.
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Post by Draxas on Jul 25, 2011 11:40:38 GMT -5
I've just started Persona 3. I don't understand anything that's going on right now but I guess that's the point. I'm less than two hours in right now, watching my "popularity," "charm," and "academics" increase. I'm not even sure what all of this stuff is good for (aside from the vague pretense that it affect the personas, I guess), cause there's no in-game menu. Either way, I'm not turned off by anything so far, which is a good sign. You may want to switch controllers: the menu button is triangle (I think, maybe square?). As for Charm, Knowledge, and Courage, those are secondary stats that subtly (and sometimes not-so-subtly) have an effect on how social situations play out; you may need high courage to do or say something especially ballsy, high charm helps you get more attention from others where they may ignore you before, high knowledge helps your performance on exams, etc. Ugh. That episode is both infamous and rediculous. Of course, if you want more fodder for future installments, NCIS is rife with awkward moments dealing with videogames (and sometimes, just computers in general), and CSI and Law & Order have had their share of these kinds of episodes over the years too. Videogame architecture, especially is FPSes, is notorious for being nonsensical for the sake of challenging the player. I still love PD, but GOD, some of the level designs make no damn sense. Lucerne tower, the Alaskan air base, G5, and Area 51 interior are all prime examples. Few games are exceptions to weird architecture, really.
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Post by N3B on Jul 27, 2011 23:44:39 GMT -5
It turns out the menu "unlocks" after you play through a certain number of in-game days. As do a number of other features.
So far I'm really appreciating the amount of decision-making that goes into the character development. Having only so many opportunities per day to increase certain skills, while having a multitude of different ways to do them, while raising one skill usually means missing opportunities for others, feels like it has genuine depth.
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Post by Draxas on Jul 28, 2011 8:47:59 GMT -5
Heh. Wait until you get to start working with Social Links. Raising stats is nothing compared to the time management that goes into making friends.
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Post by N3B on Aug 9, 2011 23:16:27 GMT -5
I've just finished Singularity, the FPS that feels like a cross between BioShock and Cryostasis. It's available for pretty cheap right now, and I guess it's an alright game. It's competent and doesn't outright suck, but it doesn't feel like a particularly noteworthy shooter otherwise. I was ultimately annoyed by stuff like Back-spawning enemies, Cheap-shotting enemies, Escort missions, Air-lock save system, Russian soldiers shouting constantly, and that the TMD is basically "press button to run script."
I haven't played Persona 3 in like a week, but I'm at a point nearing the end of my first month. So I think I have one more "boss" before I reach the next section of the Tartarus or whatever it's called.
That's about all I got to report. I'm still working on Mirror's Edge, and I've got Half-Life 2: Episode One installed. Plus I can install another game once I remove Singularity from the drive, so there's still plenty of games left.
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Post by Draxas on Aug 10, 2011 11:42:44 GMT -5
Mostly been playing Mass Effect 2 lately, which I've been enjoying quite a bit. The combat is alright (and from what I understand, done quite a bit more competently that ME1), you can get strategic with cover and/or powers and have to budget your ammo a bit, but except for a few troublesome sections has been ranging from manageable to "never actually in any danger" (though this is the lowest difficulty level). The real appeal has been exploration and character interaction; it's endlessly entertaining to me to see how Shepard is going to interpret the fairly simplistic conversation options, and as has been stated before, the alignment system is really well done. There are also only a few missions that use a ground vehicle, so the manual mining aspect is pretty much gone; it's been simplified to a simple "scan planet, fire probes at large deposits" scheme. It can get a little monotonous, but each planet takes a fairly short time to clear out, and there is likely no need to mine as extensively as I have; I could probably stop mining now and coast on my reserves for the rest of the game. It's been said before that ME seems to draw a lot of inspiration from Star Control, and I can definitely see it, and that's probably another reason why I like it.
I've set aside New Vegas for now, though I'm sure I'll come back to it before long. It's just frustrating to seemingly have no direction at all, other than "don't go here, you'll get killed." I'm sure I'll figure out what I'm supposed to do next before too long, though.
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Post by niff on Aug 15, 2011 17:53:55 GMT -5
been through borderlands a bit, completed saints row 2 and put my order through for deus ex: human revolution. desperately hoping dx3 will live up my impossibly high standards D:
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Post by N3B on Aug 15, 2011 19:02:06 GMT -5
I've set aside New Vegas for now, though I'm sure I'll come back to it before long. It's just frustrating to seemingly have no direction at all, other than " don't go here, you'll get killed." I'm sure I'll figure out what I'm supposed to do next before too long, though. That's the best part. A large part of the satisfaction for me came from having the freedom to explore at my own pace, learning things as I go along. I love wandering into deathclaws at a low level and realizing that I'll have to get stronger and come back there later. But as far as I recall, the main quest basically follow the road south before turning east and wrapping around north. I've recently played three free indie games that are pretty good and worth checking out: - The End: it's an online platformer that asks you "yes or no" questions about life, death, and the afterline, plotting your responses on a grid and comparing your answers to well-known figures and philosophers. The platforming is rough around the edges, but the questions gimmick is interesting for a while.
- Type Hard: a typing game where you type words to build combos, earns points, clear stages, and fight bosses. It's somewhat similar to Typing of the Dead. I found it to be surprisingly engaging and got my adrenaline pumping. There are also global leaderboards. I'm currently the top-ranked player in the US. Any challengers?
- Hide: a low-res first-person survival-horror game where you walk through a dark, snowy terrain searching for five signs while avoiding the death that stalks you in the night. It's surprisingly atmospheric and leaves a lot of room for interpretation, definitely worth checking out.
Still haven't hooked up my PS2 since moving out of my last apartment, so I've yet again made no progress in Persona 3. Did install Assassin's Creed and DarkSiders so those are also in the line-up. But I also finished Mirror's Edge. Man that game is short. Steam clocked me at 7 hours. But it was 7 hours well spent because I really enjoyed the style and scenery. The visual aesthetic is very crisp and refreshing, and the action/platforming all felt really rewarding. I can't think of any other games that are quite like it, but I'd recommend checking it out, especially since it's probably in bargain bins by now. I started Half-Life 2: Episode One. I'm about two hours in but I'm kind of annoyed right now. It's still hyping the gravity gun so I've spent 90% of the time with nothing but the gravity gun, not even a crowbar. There's an achievement for only firing a single bullet in the entire campaign. I kind of want to get that achievement, but I don't think it's worth the hassle of killing everything with the gravity gun. I's also written a few more articles for my blag: Making a Better Morality System: Basically examining the shortcomings of morality systems and how they ultimately detract from the experience, while talking about ways to improve them. What Really Determines a Game's Metascore?: Some of the thoughts that may influence game scores, beyond the simple "how good is it" question, considering why AAA games always score well and why smaller publishers' games tend to get mixed scores. Video Games in TV: NCIS: Another installment in the periodical series, this time looking at an episode of NCIS where an MMORPG is implicated in the death of a seaman. Except for the game itself looking terrible and a few odd things here and there, it's nowhere near as bad as that episode of the X-Files. And Warehouse 13 is airing a video game episode tonight, so I'll be watching that and writing something about it, as well.
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Post by Draxas on Aug 15, 2011 20:35:22 GMT -5
I typed out some responses to those, but I don't know if they took. If nothing else, though, know that NCIS is a goldmine of silly video game episodes, and silly computer stuff in general sometimes: www.youtube.com/watch?v=39CRw7zH_2A
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