The Gaming Thread

[LostMyMind]

Just out of curiosity, did they really review the english version of the game or just rip reviews of the japan's version. I can't believe any reviewer actually got the game and reviewed it in the short time (4/4/08 was the release date for the english version). I don't believe any old-school type RPG can be fully played in that short of time. Since RPG usually means 5+ endings depending on actions took.

Plus, if those reviewers actually reviewed Doom today they would give it a very low score. Or any other legacy games. The reviewers aren't reviewing game play. They're reviewing how it compares to their favorite game. If it's a sand box game, they compare it to GTA. If it's a RPG, then they're comparing it to mass effect or oblivion.

Which is why I don't trust reviewers at all. Unless the reviewer has the exact copy of my personality, their review is not going to match up to my experience of the game.

[gunsage]

Well, here's the thing. If you played the game for 10 hours, you'd notice that you're flying right through the chapters, even if you do all the little goodies, optionals, etc. To a degree, there is some truth in what they're saying about the difficulty. Then, suddenly, THERE'S AN UNEXPECTED UPHEAVAL in difficulty. Read my review and you'll have a little more info on what I'm about to say.

You don't get exp, but rather, AP. This makes you pretty much not want to get into battles because enemies get tougher the longer you're in a dungeon with the day/night progression, even though it's the same goddamn'd enemies. Yeah, that's kind of annoying. Further, AP is necessary in order to develop your characters, but because of the way the grow book works, you can only access more and more things as you make newer and different alchemic recipes.

The problem here is often you've tapped out all you can make for a time because you need ingredients you'll find in the next chapter. As a result, there are only so many abilities left to buy, assuming you haven't already. In most cases, you have, so it's not really necessary to battle...at least, for the first few chapters. Again, the first 10 hours are fairly easy and hand-holding. After that, though, the game picks up.

The enemies get tougher, there are more and more abilities, etc. I mean, really, it's definitely a welcome addition to an already well done series, in my opinion. Further, the implication that the series is getting progressively worse? Yeah, total BS. There may have been people that didn't like 2 as much as 1. I don't blame people for not liking 3 much because of its quirks. But to say that MK is worse than ALL of those is very very wrong.

When I go to review something, I try to have as much experience as possible in it first. I mean, after all, if you only played, say, Final Fantasy 6 for 10 hours then reviewed it, you'd most likely miss out on...

- The branching storylines.
- World of Ruin.
- Possibly even getting espers.

There are some games you play that are very very long, but you have a decent idea of what the game is after 10 hours. This is the kind of game that you constantly get more and more and more things added to the gameplay. So yeah, you're right. I honestly don't think they got a good idea of what the game is/was about, but reviewed it anyway.

[Broomjockey]

I thought that was IGN, but I guess not. And the major controversy, if I remember it correctly, was there were a bazillion or so adverts for Kane & Lynch...suddenly it gets a 6 something from a reviewer who was notorious for being harsh in his reviews...and suddenly he's never heard from again and, hey! There's a new review for Kane & Lynch! Something like that.

Actually, you're leaving out large chunks of what make it a real controversy. First, he was let go almost the same day as the review, and he wasn't allowed to comment why. Then over a week later, GameSpot finally gave a news release talking about it. Only it was full of corpspeak basically saying "We can't tell you what happened." No one at any point denied that he was fired for giving a bad review to a game that was a huge source of ad revenue.

Then one of the guys who'd been there from the start quit, and basically said "I'm not allowed to say what's going on, but you're all right in what you suspect." He then went on to say it wasn't really gamespot's fault, but c|net's, but that doesn't exactly help solve anything. So you can't trust anything that Gamespot does for reviews anymore because if they're willing to axe a reviewer for threatening ad revenue, maybe they're willing to pad a review for a few extra bucks.

[gunsage]

Oddly enough, though, they're typically very close if not right where I'm at when it comes to reviews. Another thing that I liked up until recently was that you could "check prices," which was pretty handy for getting store locator engines and also seeing clear gaps in prices you could take advantage of via Amazon. In any case, I've come to not really "trust" professional reviewers, especially if I've already played said product or I'm interested in the game and a review won't really change my mind on the matter.

There are a number of games that I get on the fence about and that's where they really come into play. It's nothing I should sweat about, but it annoys me nonetheless.

[gunsage]

So yeah...I found a new fetish. This game, as lackluster as it is, is absolutely ADDICTING. The game is Decker, a cyberpunk title about hacking. It kinda falls along the lines of Uplink, but somehow maintains itself as being less complicated, yet more complex. What I mean by that is it's easier to understand and get better at, but clearly there's still an amazing amount of depth.

UN-fortunately, it's also very hard and unforgiving. Of course, that's another asset that makes it so addicting...there are times where you deck in, absolutely make a mess of the place, get all kinds of files you can sell later, etc...and it's all done oh so easily. Then there are other times, often on the same location, that you have difficulties even getting in the front door and get KILLED. Not dumped, disconnected, or otherwise...KILLED.

You see, your health wanes as certain things go on in cyberspace. Get dumped often and your health declines rapidly. Another unfortunate aspect is you don't simply rest one night and get full health. No, often if your health is VERY low, you may have to rest for months. The problem here is you pay rent...and if you can't pay, it's game over. >

As I said...VERY unforgiving. You really have to think ahead about how to develop your character. Are you going to buy a new program or make it yourself? How long will it take to develop if you do it yourself? Do you have that kind of time available before rent is due? Do you have multiple days, which can equal multiple attempts at a contract or just one day? Very fun, very addictive, VERY unforgiving.

And that's about it for now.

[gunsage]

Persona 3 FES. Release date is now the 23rd. That is all.

[marty]

I'm upset at the gaming community right now for continuing to overhype Call of Duty 4. That's all I ever hear about. Please, pleaaase give me a break from GO TO WAR MUST KILL TERRORISTS games..no wonder I abandoned first person shooters and got sucked into another RPG.

[Andara Bledin]

So yeah... I found a new fetish. This game, as lackluster as it is, is absolutely ADDICTING. The game is Decker, a cyberpunk title about hacking.

Whoa. Decker! I love that game!

It's disturbingly addictive for a freeware game. On the game's website, under Cost, it says "Free, but donations welcome. J (Actually, if you have money to spare, give it to charity.)"

This totally reminds me that I need to reload it onto my machine since my last drive failure. Oh, and Rogue, too. Mustn't forget Rogue. Oh, and Dwarf Fortress. Speaking of addictive... Roguelikes rock!

^-.-^

[RichS]

I have a new toy, and I'd like to get some games for it...

It was an impulse buy - I had to go to K-Mart searching for a graphing calculator (none), when the corner of my eye caught the 'Clearance' sign on the locked cabinets.

The store was clearing out the old PSP value packs for $110. I waited a week - they had 7, when I came back they had 2, so I bought one.

Pretty neat device. I got the firmware updated and it's on my wireless network. The 32MB memory stick is too light memory-wise for what I want to do, though. I'm hoping to transfer some of my kids' DVDs to it for those long trips. I already found a free program to do it, I just need a bigger memory stick.

Doesn't mean I'm not going to have any fun with it. So, anybody that owns one, I know I have a couple of games in mind (Loco Roco and Lumines) , but what's some other good games for it?

And, another question for all - who bargain-hunts when buying games and systems? Maybe the best deal you got? I know I rarely buy games if they're over $20, and if K-Mart wasn't clearing them out, I would've waited on the PSP.

[marty]

RichS - God of War, FF:Crisis Core, Patapon are some newer ones.

[gunsage]

I have a PSP and yeah, those are some good titles, but you may want to consider emulation before you upgrade the firmware. There are still a lot of excellent older titles for the PSP you may want to check out first. Just a thought. Also, I'm with you on the FPS deal...I don't find that many that I like anymore. This should give you an idea of what I mean...

ZOMG HALO!!!11 Yeah, okay, whatever. I didn't enjoy the original Halo all that much because you're always...walking...walking...walking...walking...O H HEY SOME ENEMIES!...walking...walking...walking. Sure, there's a lot of walking in, say, RPGs...but not FPSs. Not normally, anyway. I haven't tried any of the Call of Duty games, Medal of Honor, or whatever, but I have wanted to check them out...just to see if they're really worth it.

And yeah, Decker is great. Uplink is fun, too, but it's pretty easy to get caught without trying. Sure, it's easy to die in Decker, too, but in Uplink, you can be moments away from dying and not even know it. It's a situation where you almost don't want to save for fear of being stuck. That doesn't happen too much in Decker. Also, Nethack's kinda fun, too, but it takes some getting used to.

[Geek King]

I'm upset at the gaming community right now for continuing to overhype Call of Duty 4. That's all I ever hear about. Please, pleaaase give me a break from GO TO WAR MUST KILL TERRORISTS games..no wonder I abandoned first person shooters and got sucked into another RPG.

Okay, I'm playing alot of COD4 online now. I don't know why, but it just clicks with me. I normally don't like FPSs, and can count on one hand the series I do like. It just seems like this one is really well balanced in multiplayer, with an almost rock-paper-scissors thing going on with sniping, run-and-gun play, and stealth. The maps seem to work well without requiring too much play to learn. The perks system works well for customizing characters, and very few are totally worthless in all situations.

I should mention I'm playing on the 360, so PC may be different if hacks and aimbots have been cropping up. One more reason I've stopped playing FPSs on PCs.

The single player is a little weak, but that first time through had some great, "Holy S#&%! Did they just do that?" moments. I don't really care about the storyline on a FPS. Its kind of like going to a strip club and complaining about the music. If I want story, I play RPGs.

Others FPS I liked (for those who care):

Decent I/II --full 3-D movement makes for sneaky gameplay
Battlefield 2142 --Great game until the cheaters and whiners started cropping up.
Thief I/II/III --Not traditional FPS fodder and a great story, II was the best IMHO.
Portal -- Thinking and Dark Humor? So much win.
Duke Nukem 3-D --Weapons and wierd levels allowed for stategic play. You havn't lived until you rig an elevator to blow when the door opens. Pissed off a lot of friends in this one.

Yes, I played Doom, Half-Life and Halo. Bored me to tears after little bit. The games I listed I still play, or would be willing to play even today.

[gunsage]

I agree with you on the Halo part and could list reasons I actually didn't like them. But Doom and Half-Life? Ah man...I loved those. Sure, Doom 1/2 and Wolfenstein 3D followed the very simple format of "make your way through an apparent maze of death while collecting keys to unlock various doors until you beat the level" wash rinse repeat, but it worked because the level design was often pretty good and enemies were positioned at good locations.

In the same way, Blood was also fun like that...at least the first episode was, anyway. The computer I had at the time actually couldn't handle the second episode for some reason. While we're on the topic, here's the other shooters I highly recommend...

- Max Payne 1/2
- Shadow Warrior
- Deus Ex
- Gunstar Heroes
- Pretty much any Metal Slug game
- House of the Dead 1/2...3 and 4 are just okay IMO, though it is fun to see peoples' reactions when I use both 1P and 2P on the 4th, but ESPECIALLY on the 3rd. If you've seen the third, you already know why.

[RayvenQ]

I'm upset at the gaming community right now for continuing to overhype Call of Duty 4. That's all I ever hear about. Please, pleaaase give me a break from GO TO WAR MUST KILL TERRORISTS games..no wonder I abandoned first person shooters and got sucked into another RPG.

It's actually quite good, I'm hooked and I'm normally not a FPS player, though it does have its flaws such as the fact that bullets going through most things makes taking cover almost worthles sometimes and don't even get me started on Helo Strikes There's naff all you can do to save yourself from them.

I should mention I'm playing on the 360, so PC may be different if hacks and aimbots have been cropping up. One more reason I've stopped playing FPSs on PCs

There aren't really many if any hacks and aimbots around for it, at least, not ones that Punkbuster doesn't catch so playing on a PB enabled server means that you're 99% likely to not encounter aimbotters or other cheaters.

[Geek King]

It's actually quite good, I'm hooked and I'm normally not a FPS player, though it does have its flaws such as the fact that bullets going through most things makes taking cover almost worthles sometimes and don't even get me started on Helo Strikes There's naff all you can do to save yourself from them.

I like the blow through in the game. Makes it more realistic (and fun!) when you have to pay attention to what you hide behind. Also alows me to snipe people who let their gun barrels stick out of windows.

Helis can be avoided by keeping a wall between you and the chopper. It won't shoot unless it can see some part of you. You can move when it does, as the choppers usually only shoot from a hover. I do it all the time, and only get hit when I get caught out in the open. Some maps are harder than others to get cover, of course.

Gunsage: I wasn't hitting all shooters, just FPSs. And yeah, Half Life bored me for some reason. I played doom back in the day, but only because there wasn't that much else to compare to. I recognize it for inovation, but the series kinda stagnated. I did forget Blood. That game was too funny! I guess Call Of Duty II was okay too, but just got silly at times with the enemies respawning until you cleared the building they were in.

For regular/Third person shooters, I like Ratchet and Clank, and the main Jax & Daxter series. Max Payne was great too, even with the flaws.