Nintendo released a demo for Code Name S.T.E.A.M. today. It's pretty fun and lets you do quite a bit. The game's not fucking around though. If you treat it like an action game and go plunging in, the enemy will gut you swiftly. They designed this with the intent that you pay attention to your surroundings (there's no mini-map) and proceed with caution and intelligence.
In other words, I'm getting it release day.
In other words, I'm getting it release day.
Dark Souls: I threw down a white sign to help people past the Anor Londo archers, which was fun, and then karma paid me back with my landing a pretty awesome player to help through them in my game. Then after the indoor bonfire, I snagged the same helper plus another, and they were kind enough to escort me on a secrets-hunt through the palace.
Then a fun message appeared: dark spirit invading.
I'd heard of this happening, but had never experienced someone invading me while I had two friendly phantoms. We kept moving through, and just as we approached a downward corkscrew stairwell, he appeared running up those stairs. He saw the line of us in the door, immediately turned and ran. Couldn't stop laughing
. He managed to take down one helper, but overall he stood no chance.
The remaining phantom helped me the rest of the way through. He distracted Smough, I took down Ornstein, both coup de grace the big guy. Now I just need the Pendant and I can take this new character to Oolacile.
Then a fun message appeared: dark spirit invading.
I'd heard of this happening, but had never experienced someone invading me while I had two friendly phantoms. We kept moving through, and just as we approached a downward corkscrew stairwell, he appeared running up those stairs. He saw the line of us in the door, immediately turned and ran. Couldn't stop laughing
. He managed to take down one helper, but overall he stood no chance. The remaining phantom helped me the rest of the way through. He distracted Smough, I took down Ornstein, both coup de grace the big guy. Now I just need the Pendant and I can take this new character to Oolacile.
King's Bounty: the Dark Side.
If you're in general a fan of the series, this is a great iteration - much better than Warriors of the North, and at least on par with Armored Princess. Some nice new ideas, some good evolutions of ideas already in place. Some of the same bugs and translation mistakes ("you gained 4 of experience" - it's been like that FOR FOUR GAMES STRAIGHT WARGARBL) as in the previous ones. A bit of a long-ish tutorial bit, but being able to play 3 different campaigns is fun - they're 80% or so the same but there's actually quite a bit of difference, not just in the first hour where you're playing "your" side, but later on as well. Some quests get different resolutions or are easier/harder,...
If you didn't like the previous games in the series, this one probably won't win you over. Though playing the baddies is always fun.
If you're in general a fan of the series, this is a great iteration - much better than Warriors of the North, and at least on par with Armored Princess. Some nice new ideas, some good evolutions of ideas already in place. Some of the same bugs and translation mistakes ("you gained 4 of experience" - it's been like that FOR FOUR GAMES STRAIGHT WARGARBL) as in the previous ones. A bit of a long-ish tutorial bit, but being able to play 3 different campaigns is fun - they're 80% or so the same but there's actually quite a bit of difference, not just in the first hour where you're playing "your" side, but later on as well. Some quests get different resolutions or are easier/harder,...
If you didn't like the previous games in the series, this one probably won't win you over. Though playing the baddies is always fun.
After finishing up DW 2.. I switched up to try out a 5FD copy of Dying Light... it's pretty good compared to the tragedy of the Dead Island series. The world is pretty believable, immersive and combat is difficult... numbers count. You don't go 1 vs 10... 1 vs 3 gets you killed.
I'd buy it but shit, 60$... plus the embargo, DLC, DRM fiasco going on... I'll wait.
I'd buy it but shit, 60$... plus the embargo, DLC, DRM fiasco going on... I'll wait.
I am in flavor country.
Battleblock Theatre
Eh, it's okay. It's yet another 2-D platformer, but this time from the guys that did Castle Crashers, which I love. But this just...isn't Castle Crashers. It's not immediately as fun and the gameplay really isn't all that enjoyable, either. I saw people raving about the humour but it's just stupid to me.
Eh, it's okay. It's yet another 2-D platformer, but this time from the guys that did Castle Crashers, which I love. But this just...isn't Castle Crashers. It's not immediately as fun and the gameplay really isn't all that enjoyable, either. I saw people raving about the humour but it's just stupid to me.
Dark Souls: WHY THE FUCK DID I VISIT THE PAINTED WORLD
That was a terrible hour and a half. And then, right when I escaped, I accidentally hit Examine on the painting and went back inside.
I've parked myself in Oolacile so I won't get distracted again.
That was a terrible hour and a half. And then, right when I escaped, I accidentally hit Examine on the painting and went back inside.
I've parked myself in Oolacile so I won't get distracted again.
I have tried and tried to get into Dark Souls.... but dying every 5 minutes and having to RESTART THE FUCKING ZONE EVERY TIME wears a little thin after the first dozen or so tries...
I know the "git gud" thing has become a dumb meme, but you actually do get better at the game. The beginning of the game was as much a scary dangerous mess to me the first time through as the rest of it. But on my second playthrough, I didn't realize I'd learned how to play until I reached the same areas as a lower level character and was dancing circles around the enemies.
That said, I'd think it's kind of hard to play a game where you can't pause when you're a parent.
There are basically 4 reasons to go to the Painted World.Dark Souls: WHY THE FUCK DID I VISIT THE PAINTED WORLD
That was a terrible hour and a half. And then, right when I escaped, I accidentally hit Examine on the painting and went back inside.
- Occult ember for making weapons that scale with faith and do Dark damage, which really fucks up certain, very tough mobs.
- Velka's Rapier, which scales with Int and does good magic damage.
- Acid Fog pyromancery, which is VERY nasty in PVP. It does huge durability damage, which can completely cripple some players.
- Killing Priscilla to try and get her tail weapon.
If I was playing a sorcerer or high Int character, I'd totally want that Rapier. As it is, my Int is 8 and staying there.
Maybe I'll go back for a couple of those other things at some point; I just didn't care for being trapped with a bunch of toxic-spewing enemies and me without a way to combat that. I just wanted to see the place since I hadn't before. I'm trying to do stuff I didn't do last time. I even gave 30 Humanity for the Chaos Covenant, something I never thought I'd do, but I seemed to be overflowing with Humanity for a change.
That's because you stopped dying all the time
If you ever need more, you can farm it from rats but the best place to get it is from the black spirits in the Oolacile Abys, who drop it like candy (for good reason).As for Toxic... that's easy to fight. You want Blooming Purple Moss, when I believe you can buy off of the Undead Merchant woman in the aqueduct between Firelink and Lower Undead Burg. She's behind that gate that leads to the area by the upper entrance to the Depths. She's the one that sells the drop stones and poison arrows. If you can't find her (and she' not hard to find) you can also farm the plant dudes in Darkroot.
But while already stuck in the Pained World, I was SOL for those.That's because you stopped dying all the time
As for Toxic... that's easy to fight. You want Blooming Purple Moss, when I believe you can buy off of the Undead Merchant woman in the aqueduct between Firelink and Lower Undead Burg. She's behind that gate that leads to the area by the upper entrance to the Depths. She's the one that sells the drop stones and poison arrows. If you can't find her (and she' not hard to find) you can also farm the plant dudes in Darkroot.
I also might've ... killed that merchant.
Hope you like killing trees then!
GasBandit
Staff member
"SCORPIO! SCORPIO! SCORPIO! SCORPIO!"So, I recently went on a nice vacation in Thailand. To recreate some of that southeast Asian charm, I decided to reinstall Just Cause 2.
"My name is Bolo Santosi, leader of the revolutionary army known as the Reapers..."
Ahhh....
Spec Ops: The Line
THIS is the game that got rave reviews? A generic military shooter with swarms of the same enemies and duck and cover shooting?
Maybe I just haven't reached the part of the game that's supposed to be a big gut punch. At the rate it's going, I'm honestly not sure if I'll even bother to get there.
THIS is the game that got rave reviews? A generic military shooter with swarms of the same enemies and duck and cover shooting?
Maybe I just haven't reached the part of the game that's supposed to be a big gut punch. At the rate it's going, I'm honestly not sure if I'll even bother to get there.
GasBandit
Staff member
Do you know what the gut punch of the game is? It's been pretty hard to avoid the spoilers, but I don't want to spoil it if you don't already know.
Just keep playing it.
Only vaguely. I've managed to avoid the spoiler. Something about mortars or something.
GasBandit
Staff member
I ain't sayin' shit.
This.
Nick, play through to the end, without reading spoilers. I felt the same way as you did when I played it, and I figured the game had been overhyped, so I read a plot summary on Wikipedia. Boy do I regret that.
There's a gut punch, and then it sort of follows up with a series of jabs to the face, until it goes for the haymaker knockout punch.
There's a gut punch, and then it sort of follows up with a series of jabs to the face, until it goes for the haymaker knockout punch.
Would it help if I told you the generic military shooterness is on purpose, and it becomes more apparent later?
Yeah. Spec Ops goes places. You just haven't seen them yet.
Don't tell him it turns into a first-person Final Fantasy IV remake at the halfway point.
So, I got to the part that I assume is all the controversy:
And I get it. It's horrible and graphic and I felt like a monster doing it.
Except the game only then continues on being a boring military game of reverse whack-a-mole with waves of generic targets. As horrible as the aftermath of the scene was, at least the gameplay was different for a change.
Why is this considered such a breakthrough game? One scene, no matter how well done, does not save it from the drudgery of boring ass gameplay.
Using white phosphorous on every target in sight, only for it to be revealed you also hit civilian targets.
And I get it. It's horrible and graphic and I felt like a monster doing it.
Except the game only then continues on being a boring military game of reverse whack-a-mole with waves of generic targets. As horrible as the aftermath of the scene was, at least the gameplay was different for a change.
Why is this considered such a breakthrough game? One scene, no matter how well done, does not save it from the drudgery of boring ass gameplay.
Keep going. Please trust me, it pays off.
It's just such a slog. It's barely even enjoyable. And I don't mean that as the horrors of war making me uncomfortable. It's the horrors of boring gameplay where I just roll my eyes when the enemy shows up again.
For example, I HATED the first Uncharted because of the endless waves of enemies and constant duck and cover shooting. But at least that game mixed it up with climbing or puzzle sections. Here, it's just endless duck and cover shooting gameplay. I don't care how good the story is or how good it's supposed to get. It's still a game and the gameplay sucks.
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The game is a commentary on military shooters more than itself a good game. The generic gameplay is on purpose, because you're supposed to feel like you're playing a generic game, but it shifts the focus through the story. "What if the character portrayed in Call of Duty was an actual soldier, what would he be like?*"
The gameplay is lackluster, yes. It's more an experience rather than an -enjoyable- experience. I certainly wouldn't fault you if you decided you didn't want to slog through it. Lackluster gameplay, even on purpose, is still lackluster. For me, it was the story that kept me playing, and the moral choices you start facing later in the game.
*spoiler, he'd be a monster
It's wrong to consider Spec Ops as a game you're supposed to enjoy. How "enjoyable" is Dear Esther as a game? Or Depression Simulator? As Ravenpoe said - consider it more of an experience and a commentary than a game in itself.
*edit* I don't mean to sound snarky or rude, and obviously, no matter how you approach a game can't be "wrong".
The point of the game is either to go in completely unaware, usually pass that scene without blinking an eye, and so forth, or going in aware and considering it an art piece. If you're not the dudebro who enjoys "generic warfare combat", well, you probably won't enjoy it overly much as a cover based shooter, so...Try to appreciate it for the story it tells.
And saying the gameplay's not perfect and the story won't hold you isn't entirely fair - I've seen you rave about games with arguably worse gameplay before
*edit* I don't mean to sound snarky or rude, and obviously, no matter how you approach a game can't be "wrong".
The point of the game is either to go in completely unaware, usually pass that scene without blinking an eye, and so forth, or going in aware and considering it an art piece. If you're not the dudebro who enjoys "generic warfare combat", well, you probably won't enjoy it overly much as a cover based shooter, so...Try to appreciate it for the story it tells.
And saying the gameplay's not perfect and the story won't hold you isn't entirely fair - I've seen you rave about games with arguably worse gameplay before
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The idea that a game needs to be fun to be meaningful is crap. Go play Pathologic (the Ice Pick Lodge one). I would NEVER call it fun. In fact, I stopped playing for a bit because the atmosphere was so oppressively depressing I literally couldn't go on. But that doesn't make it a bad GAME, just a depressing one.