Dark Souls: Beat the Gaping Dragon. My nerves. My poor little nerves.
At least the hardest part of the next fight it getting there... unless you were smart and took the Master Key gift, in which case you can basically avoid the 3/4ths of Blighttown that are completely awful.
I almost took it, but then my wife said "You should take Twin Humanities; that'll be useful."
I peeked at Blighttown before bed. At least it seems interesting, but I died by falling. At least the guy I was attacking fell with me
.The risk of falling isn't the worst part. The enemies that inflict Toxic are. I'd bring some Blooming Purple Moss. The Hallow Merchant in the aqueduct (shortcut between Firelink and Lower Undead Burg) sells it, I think.I almost took it, but then my wife said "You should take Twin Humanities; that'll be useful."
I peeked at Blighttown before bed. At least it seems interesting, but I died by falling. At least the guy I was attacking fell with me
Dragon Age: Inquisition: Like I've said, I'm not playing this, just watching my wife. The story just keeps getting better and better.
Somebody showed up
And the plot's taking turns, and stuff from Origins is lingering in the background.
Somebody showed up
Morrigan
And the plot's taking turns, and stuff from Origins is lingering in the background.
*nods and squees and giggles a bit* Oh just you wait.
Arkham City
Still a damn great game. I honestly can't remember how many times I've played through this in full since I first got it a few years ago, but it's yet to get old. There's just so much to do and it's all fun and exciting. There's just something very satisfying about laying the beatdown on The Penguin after all the trouble he causes you, hearing Riddler get more and more irritated with every riddle you find, or just beating up a bunch of thugs and getting some fun combos out of it.
Octodad
During Christmas season last year, I had a seasonal job at The Source (electronic store). They had a demo PS4 and I got to play the first level of this. Been waiting to play the full game ever since and it was worth it. This is a lot of fun. It's like Chicken Boo meets Katamari Damacy.
Skyrim
Killed my first dragon single handedly today and I felt like a total badass. Even cooler was it was right inside a small town and all the people came out in awe of my feat. Of course, earlier, I had tried to kill a dragon several times and kept getting killed. Not by it, though. In fact, a nearby giant went toe-to-toe with it and killed the dragon. When I went to scoop up the dragon's corpse, the giant kept killing me. So I had to just leave the area.
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (14-day trial)
Eh. I mean, it's very pretty? But it's just fetch quests and squirrel squashing. There's nothing really satisfying about it. Plus, the map is incredibly confusing and I was lost half the time just finding my way around town. Didn't help that the town's layout was also confusing on its own. But it was a very pretty game. I may still give it another chance before the trial is up. Either way, my quest for an MMO continues. Next up, RIFT.
Still a damn great game. I honestly can't remember how many times I've played through this in full since I first got it a few years ago, but it's yet to get old. There's just so much to do and it's all fun and exciting. There's just something very satisfying about laying the beatdown on The Penguin after all the trouble he causes you, hearing Riddler get more and more irritated with every riddle you find, or just beating up a bunch of thugs and getting some fun combos out of it.
Octodad
During Christmas season last year, I had a seasonal job at The Source (electronic store). They had a demo PS4 and I got to play the first level of this. Been waiting to play the full game ever since and it was worth it. This is a lot of fun. It's like Chicken Boo meets Katamari Damacy.
Skyrim
Killed my first dragon single handedly today and I felt like a total badass. Even cooler was it was right inside a small town and all the people came out in awe of my feat. Of course, earlier, I had tried to kill a dragon several times and kept getting killed. Not by it, though. In fact, a nearby giant went toe-to-toe with it and killed the dragon. When I went to scoop up the dragon's corpse, the giant kept killing me. So I had to just leave the area.
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (14-day trial)
Eh. I mean, it's very pretty? But it's just fetch quests and squirrel squashing. There's nothing really satisfying about it. Plus, the map is incredibly confusing and I was lost half the time just finding my way around town. Didn't help that the town's layout was also confusing on its own. But it was a very pretty game. I may still give it another chance before the trial is up. Either way, my quest for an MMO continues. Next up, RIFT.
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Been jumping around between a few games, most of which I just snagged off the Winter Sale. Still on WoW, of course.
Finding Mark of the Ninja pretty fun, though there's already been a few spots that're insanely frustrating to get by without setting off alarms. Still, good stuff and hard to argue with a 3 dollar price tag.
Ultra Street Fighter IV plays pretty much exactly like the first SF4, but holy shit there's a lot of characters now. Still playing around to see who I like before I really start digging into learning the game (haven't played a SF game consistently since SF3).
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger pretty much plays like you'd expect any of the ArcSys fighters to play. No online, which sucks, but for 5 bucks it'll be a fun time-killer.
Finding Mark of the Ninja pretty fun, though there's already been a few spots that're insanely frustrating to get by without setting off alarms. Still, good stuff and hard to argue with a 3 dollar price tag.
Ultra Street Fighter IV plays pretty much exactly like the first SF4, but holy shit there's a lot of characters now. Still playing around to see who I like before I really start digging into learning the game (haven't played a SF game consistently since SF3).
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger pretty much plays like you'd expect any of the ArcSys fighters to play. No online, which sucks, but for 5 bucks it'll be a fun time-killer.
Wife got me two games for Christmas.
Shadow of Mordor: As excellent as everyone has been saying. I am a terrible planner, but I will get better. I should probably do some more story missions though. But it's just so much fun involuntarily assisting the orc ranks.
Persona Q: I turned this on 20 minutes ago. Still at the naming screen.
Shadow of Mordor: As excellent as everyone has been saying. I am a terrible planner, but I will get better. I should probably do some more story missions though. But it's just so much fun involuntarily assisting the orc ranks.
Persona Q: I turned this on 20 minutes ago. Still at the naming screen.
Good. I was thinking of getting it for the PS4
Yeah, I was worried about this being a matter of over-hype. It's not. In fact, the stuff with the orcs is pretty deep, more so than it at first appears. I kind of went in acting like this was just some stuff slapped onto an Arkham's Creed system, but there are orcs that require forethought to be handled, and the more you die (like me) the harder it becomes to deal with them. When you die, time passes, meaning not only does the orc who killed you get a gold star, but things going on with other orcs get updated, gaining them power.
I think that happens with everyone. The batman controls make you go in thinking you're batman, and then you get your ass handed to you by some shmuck of a nobody orc, who suddenly becomes some big pimp captain and your arch nemesis.
Why yes, Assassin's Creed 3, I do find it entertaining to have to run from one end of the Davenport Homestead to the other, just to hear one line of dialog from an NPC, and then have to run back to talk to another NPC. This doesn't feel like artificially stretching the game at all. I particularly liked how you put a giant bay between my destinations, so that I need to circle around instead of running in a straight line.
Bloody hell. At least I got to drive a ship.
Bloody hell. At least I got to drive a ship.
I'm having fun with Ultra Street Fighter IV, but man I'm pretty terrible at it. There's a lot of games I think it's pretty easy to shake off the rust after some practice, but fighters just make me feel totally incompetent.
It's a good thing they changed this to a Middle Earth game from being a Batman game. For Batman, shit like that shouldn't be happening, but for Ranger McShmuckles the Generic, it's believable.
Democracy 3: This was 80% off on Steam, so I nabbed it and its DLC for dirt cheap. My first few games, my GDP kept failing because I taxed the FUCK out of the rich, which they didn't like one bit...and then I kept getting assassinated by religious groups.
But then, I tried keeping a few of those people a little happier. Taxed the rich only a little, but then gave them an incentive or two to keep them happy. Lowered the abortion law to 2-doctor approval, which kept the religious nuts off my back while I pushed science and education. I gradually reduced cars to non-existence as I first pushed bicycles and then public transit and eventually a national transit system. After pushing all sorts of subsidies on renewable energy, our oil dependence plummeted to almost nothing, to the point that pollution was eliminated. Crime - both regular and organized - was eliminated as I improved the poor's lifestyle, made the jail system better by improving rehabilitation, gave the youth more to do, and maxed the police spending.
After all that, I had a regular, ongoing 100% approval rating, my GDP actually created a surplus to the point that I eliminated my debt, and I kept getting reelected. Got to the point I could just hit next turn without anything catastrophic changing things.
But then, I tried keeping a few of those people a little happier. Taxed the rich only a little, but then gave them an incentive or two to keep them happy. Lowered the abortion law to 2-doctor approval, which kept the religious nuts off my back while I pushed science and education. I gradually reduced cars to non-existence as I first pushed bicycles and then public transit and eventually a national transit system. After pushing all sorts of subsidies on renewable energy, our oil dependence plummeted to almost nothing, to the point that pollution was eliminated. Crime - both regular and organized - was eliminated as I improved the poor's lifestyle, made the jail system better by improving rehabilitation, gave the youth more to do, and maxed the police spending.
After all that, I had a regular, ongoing 100% approval rating, my GDP actually created a surplus to the point that I eliminated my debt, and I kept getting reelected. Got to the point I could just hit next turn without anything catastrophic changing things.
Took a break from new games to hop back on Dark Souls. Beat Quelaag, and now I have no idea what to do next.
I could hike back through Blighttown to see what's happened on the surface after the bell, a thought that makes me cry inside, or I could go up against the lava discharge in the Demon Ruins. It killed me in one hit, but facing that might still be preferable to going up through Blighttown again, especially if I just have to come back down later to actually do the Demon Ruins.
I could hike back through Blighttown to see what's happened on the surface after the bell, a thought that makes me cry inside, or I could go up against the lava discharge in the Demon Ruins. It killed me in one hit, but facing that might still be preferable to going up through Blighttown again, especially if I just have to come back down later to actually do the Demon Ruins.
Lemme help you out: there's a shortcut into/out of Blighttown. You know that big water wheel thing? You can ride that up and jump off onto some platforms. Those platforms lead to several items (namely a Firekeeper Soul and a key) but they also lead to an exit that puts you out in the Valley of the Drakes. Directly across from where you go out is a grate you can unlock with that key you just got. This takes you into New Londo, where you can go right back to Firelink.
You CAN beat Ceaseless Discharge right now... in fact there is a way to kill him in a single combo string. But you won't be able to go much further because you need to so other stuff before the areas after him unlock. Right now, your goal is to head to Sen's Fortress then Anor Londo. You get to Sen's by going to the bonfire right before the blacksmith near the Undead Church, then going out that long path to the place that is now open since you range both bells. Once you've finished up Anor Londo, the game opens up significantly and you have a few areas you can hit.
I forgot how useless Relm is in FF6.
I think of the 3-4 worst characters in the game, all can be juggernauts if you invested time in them (Gau for example)... bur Relm? Holy shit, she was the preview of what was to come later in the FF series.
Useless.
Oh and the Sketch bug.... ugh.... I have to save between battles.... lost 10 minutes of work once.... no more.
I think of the 3-4 worst characters in the game, all can be juggernauts if you invested time in them (Gau for example)... bur Relm? Holy shit, she was the preview of what was to come later in the FF series.
Useless.
Oh and the Sketch bug.... ugh.... I have to save between battles.... lost 10 minutes of work once.... no more.
Relm is actually the best spell caster in the game by a fair margin. It's just she has a useless ability, so you'd never use her over Terra (who can go super saiyin and ruin bosses). But I'd use Relm as a caster over Celes or Strago any day and I'd take her over Cyan (who charges too slowly) and Setzer (until he has his Fixed Dice anyway).
Demon Ruins later, ride the wheel. I've been to the Valley of Drakes briefly, so I know there's a way through Deeproot, and an easy path back to the blacksmith, but I'll take the New Londo route just so I can open up more paths to the Firelink Shrine (and getting another Firekeeper Soul for my Estus Flasks sounds excellent). I met the weird-armored guy outside the gate. Thanks again, Ash.
You did Blighttown the Big Boy Way all on your own and everyone should do it at least once. I'm just letting you know that you NEVER HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN because FUCK THAT NOISE.
You're going into specifics.
I'll use character A as a B in case of a C.
She's useless.
Also clicking her ability by mistake may break your game. I can't have that happen again and I don't want to save scum.
I agree that Seltzer is useless, probably even with his Dice. Cyan is awesome lore-wise but yep, his ability charges way too slowly. Strago is decent, upgrades to good if you collect all his lores.
Personally, I love Celes though I don't play FF6 with the "powerhouses" for the sake of things.
I always used Edgar, every playthrough. His Tools are stupidly overpowered no matter how far into the game you are. Chainsaw and Drill hit like trucks, AutoCrossbow and BioBlaster are crazy good early game, and a surprising number of enemies aren't immune to Chainsaw's OHKO.
Basing characters off of Amano's designs is both a blessing and curse. His art is fantastic, but thanks to working in watercolor so often the costumes are always brightly colored and generally strange-looking when transferred to another medium.
GasBandit
Staff member
I beg your pardon, a lime green bathing suit with armored shoulderpads, and white boots and cape.
I googled up Amano's concept work (boy that sounds wierd to say, another forum I was on a long time ago, my handle was Amano) and I'm not sure how they got to those sprites from this.
I mean, she's wearing pants!
Huh, I went and looked up some other images, and yeah only like half the characters are similar to his designs. Maybe I was thinking of a different game he did artwork for.
I could rarely draw the line between Amano's art and the sprites. His images look like no one ever told him how tiny and low-detail the characters were going to be. I'm not surprised the art was sometimes ignored. Looking at Celes, it looks like she's supposed to have white hair, but the game-makers interpreted it as a cape.
I've been enjoying Shadow of Mordor so much that I decided, why not get the DLC expansion? It'll enhance the game, make it even better.
Nope, wrong. This isn't like the orc warbands that are merged with the overall game; it's a separate thing entirely that you choose to do instead of the main story from the menu, and is apart from it. Well, great. I guess I'll wait then.
Oh, the download was only a megabyte. -_- If I'd known it was on-disc DLC, I would've abstained out of principle.
Nope, wrong. This isn't like the orc warbands that are merged with the overall game; it's a separate thing entirely that you choose to do instead of the main story from the menu, and is apart from it. Well, great. I guess I'll wait then.
Oh, the download was only a megabyte. -_- If I'd known it was on-disc DLC, I would've abstained out of principle.
Here's what happened to Square-Enix and Final Fantasy: They went pretty. They went weird. And they never looked back. Specifically, Final Fantasy VII and VIII are what happened.
Final Fantasy VI had a coherent story featuring characters with generally understandable motivations and reactions, or if nothing else, were at least interesting and somewhat likable. There was no obnoxious minigame. It was a big fun world.
Final Fantasy VIII was a beautiful game that was a fucking chore to play. Monsters that leveled up with you, preventing any real sense of progress. A magic system that actively discouraged using magic instead of just using it to boost attributes. Main characters that you were supposed to love but were just fucking obnoxious (yes, you, Rinoa and Squall). A plot that didn't make a goddamn bit of sense, inter cut with a basically pointless subplot that also didn't make a lot of sense. And fucking Triple Triad.
The massive success of those two led directly to FFX, which I admit, I actually liked. It was fun. But the writing was garbage and for most of the game you just want to punch Tidus in the face every time he opens his stupid mouth.
I really like FFXII, and it has a legitimately interesting story, covering the themes of fate vs free will, and the price of revenge over peace. In a lot of ways, it's a smaller story, and I think that's actually a strength - it lets it be more focused, less apocalyptic. But the characters are kind of thin at times, almost like they just didn't finish. Fran, Penelo, and Vaan basically stop developing around 2/3 of the way through the game, Basch is awesome but is more or less just an archetype, Ashe is determined but acting on rather shaky motivation for much of the game, and Balthier is the best. It kind of feels like Vaan and Penelo were taped on late in development, when some executive said, "We need a shonen-type hero, that's what the kids want," and everyone else went, "Fine, whatever."
FFXIII is just a mess. It's gorgeous, but the characters are awful, the plot is incoherent nonsense, and the game itself feels like it doesn't really want you playing it. It's like, "No, no exploring, just move along to the next cut scene."
FFXIII is the point where Square decided to focus on how many visible strands of hair and tufts of feather are visible in the game engine, instead of making a game that human beings want to play.
Final Fantasy VI had a coherent story featuring characters with generally understandable motivations and reactions, or if nothing else, were at least interesting and somewhat likable. There was no obnoxious minigame. It was a big fun world.
Final Fantasy VIII was a beautiful game that was a fucking chore to play. Monsters that leveled up with you, preventing any real sense of progress. A magic system that actively discouraged using magic instead of just using it to boost attributes. Main characters that you were supposed to love but were just fucking obnoxious (yes, you, Rinoa and Squall). A plot that didn't make a goddamn bit of sense, inter cut with a basically pointless subplot that also didn't make a lot of sense. And fucking Triple Triad.
The massive success of those two led directly to FFX, which I admit, I actually liked. It was fun. But the writing was garbage and for most of the game you just want to punch Tidus in the face every time he opens his stupid mouth.
I really like FFXII, and it has a legitimately interesting story, covering the themes of fate vs free will, and the price of revenge over peace. In a lot of ways, it's a smaller story, and I think that's actually a strength - it lets it be more focused, less apocalyptic. But the characters are kind of thin at times, almost like they just didn't finish. Fran, Penelo, and Vaan basically stop developing around 2/3 of the way through the game, Basch is awesome but is more or less just an archetype, Ashe is determined but acting on rather shaky motivation for much of the game, and Balthier is the best. It kind of feels like Vaan and Penelo were taped on late in development, when some executive said, "We need a shonen-type hero, that's what the kids want," and everyone else went, "Fine, whatever."
FFXIII is just a mess. It's gorgeous, but the characters are awful, the plot is incoherent nonsense, and the game itself feels like it doesn't really want you playing it. It's like, "No, no exploring, just move along to the next cut scene."
FFXIII is the point where Square decided to focus on how many visible strands of hair and tufts of feather are visible in the game engine, instead of making a game that human beings want to play.