Gaming General Chat Thread

[RedNightmare]

Yeah, finished Thomas was Alone a few weeks ago. Sorry, but the story really didn't hit me that hard. It was touching and very well written, but it didn't resonate with me like it has with some other people I believe (I might have Critical Miss to thank for this again).

[Utilitarian]

Dear game companies. Please stop making trailers for your games that are nothing but ult high resolution CG that has nothing to do with the gameplay whatsoever.

[Mara Kalat]

Dear game companies, stop making games that don't live up to the hype created by the pre-rendered trailers!
I agree that it's not good to have the difference between trailer and product, but I want games that good.

Mara.

[RedNightmare]

Dear game companies. Please stop making trailers for your games that are nothing but ult high resolution CG that has nothing to do with the gameplay whatsoever.

But that's the only part of Blizzard games that I still enjoy. The games don't really appeal to me, but damn can those guys make awesome CG cutscenes.

[Vigafre]

So I just bought a bundle containing Dragon Age Origins and Dragon Age II. Having never played those games (except the demo for DA2), how similar are these to Mass Effect, gameplay-wise?

[Jamfalcon]

Not very similar at all. DA2 has the same dialogue system, but even its streamlined combat is much more tactical and turn based than Mass Effects. DA:O is closer to Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights than Mass Effect. Very difficult and strategic, but a ton of fun.

[Geoff_B]

Story wise they are awesome. You have made a very wise investment.

[Kapol]

I wasn't a big fan of DA's gameplay myself. But the story seemed really good.

[Vigafre]

Okay, good to know. I assume I didn't just waste $8 then. However, since I'm pretty abysmal at actual strategy, I might have to consult you guys again.

[Geoff_B]

Pause, select attack, select enemy, unpause.

The other party members are pretty good at taking care of themselves so you only really have to worry about the guy in front of you. There are only one or two places where you have to micromanage and then only if you want the best outcome.

[Utilitarian]

The lack of ability to customize party equipment in DAII made me sad. A big part of those games is finding cool gear and suiting people up. By design 2/3 of the gear you find in DAII will be useless because you can only wear one class of equipment. This made me sad. I loved the story and characters in DAII but I felt like DAI had the more complete package.

[Jamfalcon]

$8 for just DA:O is a super good deal. I spent about 75 hours on my first playthrough, and I know someone who spent closer to an hour. It's easily in my top ten games. Haven't gotten around to finishing DA2 yet, but it's okay. Good characters, but the weakening of mages really put me off.

As for tactical advice, the most important thing to remember: if a single large enemy is giving you trouble, choose your best ranged character and just run around and stop to shoot when you get a chance.

[Geoff_B]

Oh. Yes. Please.

[empath]

"look at you, h-h-haaacker..."

[Geoff_B]

Yup. It even comes with a soundtrack, wallpapers and other goodies

[JackSlack]

Man. This year is actually looking really good for gaming.

Remember Me. State of Decay. Spy Party. Heck, I'm even excited about the new Tomb Raider, though I'll probably regret that.

There's some really, really good things looking interesting.

[Mara Kalat]

I'm really looking forward to Remember Me as well (and joining you in being cautiously optimistic about the new Tomb Raider)
For me Planetary Annihilation is also definitely on my to-watch list.

Mara.

[Kapol]

I'm playing Fire Emblem: Awakening right now. I was enjoying it. But I've reached the point where it's getting next to impossible to level up weaker characters who have become weaker than the others. They die whenever I try to use them. This means I can't further their relationships with other characters, thereby locking me out of experiencing parts of the story.

And I think it's absolute bollocks.

It's infuriating that I'm trying to level up these characters I want to interact with more, but can't because they'll die and stay dead. I'm playing the Classic mode, but treat it more as a 'whenever a character dies, restart the entire game to the last save point.' So it's not like I can level them, let them die, and just do it again next match.

The whole ordeal is ruining the game for me in no small way. It's frustrating to the point of rage.

[Valkyrie-Lemons]

Yeah, that's a problem with most Fire Emblem games, you either have to do an ongoing rotation system or just leave out most of the characters. I can't remember if the old games had this, but isn't there a replay system where you can carrying over the stats of your characters to a new game? Allowing you to level up those weaker characters in the process. I'm probably thinking of a different game entirely.

[Mara Kalat]

I HATED that about Fire Emblem!
Suppose it's my own fault for not researching the series more before giving it a shot, but permanent death and no level replaying?
That's not my idea of a fun experience...

Mara.

[Vigafre]

Well, Fire Emblem Awakening does have a non-permadeath option, if that's more your style.

[Valkyrie-Lemons]

I'm excited that MGR: Revengence (and yes, that is an actual word) comes out this Friday. I pre-ordered this over a year ago, that's how much I love the Metal Gear series. I mean, one of the main reason I bought my PS3 was to play MGS4.

I'm just hoping that Raiden doesn't drop the ball without Snake around to help make the game awesome. Although, to be fair, I didn't actually mind him in MGS2, I never really understood what all the hate was about to be honest.

But this poses and interesting problem, how much work time do I give up to play this game? Learn about Thatcher, or try and kick ass with Raiden. Tough choice.

[Valkyrie-Lemons]

Sorry for double post, but this about the PS4 release.

I'm not surprised that Squaresoft have used a cinematic demo instead of a mini game tech demo like Capcom. I think we can guess that Squaresoft aren't going to reverse their trend in having movies instead of games. Squaresoft, if you want to make movies, go make movies!

(Or SquareEnix, I guess I'm stuck in the good old days of Squaresoft)

Oh, and apparently a new FF title is going to be announced at E3 this year. Perhaps this is just going to be that FF versus title that seems to have been in the works for ever.

Ubisoft have a title called Watchdogs, which seems like Grand Theft Auto: Hackerz. A good concept, depending on how sandbox it allows you to be. (Tech Demo)

And I think that Diablo III is going to PS4...although I don't think I heard it right, but Blizzard are doing something for console.

And Bungie are coming to the PS4! A big scoop for Sony if Destiny is as big as a hit as HALO was. (Since there's going to be some exclusive content for the PS4...although if that's just a couple of small DLCs then that's really underwhelming)


Okay, I missed the first hour of the Sony event...but I don't think they actually even showed what the PS4 will look like...not even a first impression. Which is weird seeming how they showed the controller. : /

[Mara Kalat]

...

Okay, I missed the first hour of the Sony event...but I don't think they actually even showed what the PS4 will look like...not even a first impression. Which is weird seeming how they showed the controller. : /

I haven't caught anything of the event, so I'm relying on recaps like this (thanks ), but to me it makes sense that the controller is designed before the console case.
After all, you'll only be holding one of them in your hands for hours on end. The other is just there to look reasonably pretty and not overheat.
(That, and without looking, it probably looks a lot like every PS controller we had so far )

Mara.

[RedNightmare]

I just saw a short coverage on the news. Are they really going to do live-stream gaming? Because doesn't that fall apart in reality, once a lot of people are using the same service all the time (especially in the same house as surfing parents and gaming brothers & sisters?). Also, does this mean I need to keep paying to use the service? aka, a manditory PSN plus account, to keep the servers going? and what about playing games on it after it's lifetime?
(sorry if I was misinformed and this isn't the way Sony is moving "forward")