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General => Video Games => Topic started by: harv on February 23, 2012, 03:43:45 PM

Title: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 23, 2012, 03:43:45 PM
Bloody hell, an updated forum and we still have crap emoticons. You couldn't make it up!  :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Gado on February 23, 2012, 04:05:29 PM
 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: genadmin on February 23, 2012, 04:12:01 PM
Bloody hell, an updated forum and we still have crap emoticons. You couldn't make it up!  :o

all in good time...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on February 23, 2012, 04:26:36 PM
I don't even know what half of these emoticons are meant to represent, to tell you the truth.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 23, 2012, 04:46:11 PM
Damn, thought we might of got rid of harv for a second then  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 23, 2012, 06:06:46 PM
Judging by the amount of threads I started I was probably the first one here lol

We need a puking emoticon and a ninja emoticon as a matter of urgency!

News has just popped up that Monolith Soft, the dev team behind Baten Kaitos, Xenosaga and Xenoblade, have started work on a 3DS title. Baiten Kaitos 3D, perhaps..? The touchscreen and choosing cards fit nicely together. They've also been working on a U title too. :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on February 23, 2012, 06:23:35 PM
Can we have a Wii and related crap thread as well please.

ps well done Harv, I was sure spelling a word backwards would have been your undoing
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 23, 2012, 06:33:51 PM
Spelling a word backwards..? What on earth are you on about..? :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 23, 2012, 09:07:01 PM
Lol, I got that, you had to spell a word backwards to prove your not a bot upon registration
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 23, 2012, 09:09:30 PM
Well no wonder I didn't have a clue what he was talking about, I had to add 3 and 4 lol :P

Edit: Aaaaaargh!!! The Last Story is available to download now, for those that haven't heard of it the game is a Wii JRPG developed by those Mistwalker fellahs. Got way too many epic-sized Wii games to play now: Xenoblade, Skyward Sword and now The Last Story. That's what I love about a console coming to the end of its life, you always get the best titles appearing during the last year. 8)

Oooh! Look at this lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 24, 2012, 01:23:44 AM
Crytek UK have a U demo running on CryEngine that they're eager for people to see, will probably be behind closed doors at the GDC on the 5th of March. No news whether it's CryEngine 2 or 3 though but even if it's only CryEngine 2 it should still be gobsmackingly pretty on the next-gen hardware. We'll probably get to see it at E3 in June though.

What are you guys hoping for news of at GDC..?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 24, 2012, 08:46:43 AM
Nintendo folding...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 24, 2012, 10:41:02 AM
More chance of that happening to Sony at the moment :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 24, 2012, 01:13:22 PM
Finally received all my games.. up to 93 now.

StreetFighter 4 - looks good.. cant see it lasting very long though
Fracture - looks and sounds crap - will give it a go though
Bionic Commando - only looks a bit better than Fracture.. not expecting much though.
Guitar Hero 5 - Probably gonna play this tonight, love the GH games  ;D

Cost me on average a little over £4 per game though, so value for money is great  :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 24, 2012, 02:28:55 PM
Apparently Epic have impressive demos to show too, no mention of the U so I'd imagine they've scaled down Samaritan for all 3 platforms. If so then I expect U > 360 > PS3. The demos have made people gasp according to Mark Rein. :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on February 24, 2012, 02:59:31 PM
Got a copy of modern warfare 3 on ebay.

Didn't like mw2 but a few mates have it so hopefully it'll be ok
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 24, 2012, 03:39:24 PM
Going to be interesting to see what Treyarch are going to do with their next Call of Duty offering. I'd love them to do a WWI game just to make a change, or maybe a Korean War or Vietnam War game. We'll probably get Blops 2 though. Unless that's already been confirmed..?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on February 24, 2012, 04:34:02 PM
Got a copy of modern warfare 3 on ebay.

Didn't like mw2 but a few mates have it so hopefully it'll be ok

I like MW3 alot, especially given the fact I hated MW2. Elite finally starts for PS3 users next week, with gang operations live from tonight.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on February 24, 2012, 05:52:42 PM
Loved MW2, shame there was so many glitchers on it. Couldn't get into MW3 at all. Hated the maps.  :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 24, 2012, 06:33:25 PM
Well I think we can expect Treyarch to bring something new and interesting to the table, they're the best developers out of the two imo. Blops 2 would be favourite imo but I'd be disappointed if that is the case. I'd love to see a WWI game, or maybe even the American Revolution. Plenty of other wars in history to choose from too.

Perhaps even go right back to wars involving the Greeks, Persians or Romans? Medieval times, Vikings, Saxons, the Hundred Years War, Vietnam, Korea...the list goes on and on. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 24, 2012, 07:13:06 PM
Personally I hope they do something else... boring games the lot of them..  :P

I tried out Metro 2033.. its rubbish lol, got to chapter 2 and was a bit bored.. just seems like too many cutscenes and then when you do play, you're either walking from one point to another or you have a short section of actual FPS...the gameplay just doesnt seem there for me.... good story.. or good attempt.. just bad execution.. also not a game where a silent protagonist is needed... doesn't work at all... maybe I need to give it more time but not impressed so far.

Streetfighter 4 on the other hand is great, really enjoying that, even if I am just button bashing most of the time...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 24, 2012, 10:14:16 PM
Just 10 days away from GDC now. Will probably hear some details about the Nintendo Network, first party titles for the U and 3DS, maybe see something of Halo 4 or at least hear of a few details about it, news from Sony about upcoming Vita titles too. And as I mentioned there'll be news of new Unreal Engine and CryEngine demos...but it wouldn't surprise me if that all takes place behind closed doors. We probably won't get to see them until E3.

I quite liked Metro but didn't finish it as I got Duke Nukem soon after...haven't finished either of them though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 24, 2012, 11:03:32 PM
SF4 is rock hard..  >:(

So put GH5 in.. and yeah, its the best one so far.. love it.. my hands are killing me now though lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 25, 2012, 04:37:19 PM
A bloke called Johnny Minkley from Eurogamer has Tweeted the following yesterday:

Quote
Amazing gaming week with Journey & Vita. But the top, top secret thing I saw t'other day... The internet will go bananas when it's shown.

Quote
That is a very annoying tweet, I realise, it's just that I'm SO EXCITED by what I saw. Shouldn't be too long for you to wait.

Quote
@ShogunDarius The internet will go bananas at how impressive it is.



TimeSplitters 4, perhaps..? :o

GDC can't come soon enough!!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on February 25, 2012, 07:06:19 PM
Well I think we can expect Treyarch to bring something new and interesting to the table, they're the best developers out of the two imo. Blops 2 would be favourite imo but I'd be disappointed if that is the case. I'd love to see a WWI game, or maybe even the American Revolution. Plenty of other wars in history to choose from too.

Perhaps even go right back to wars involving the Greeks, Persians or Romans? Medieval times, Vikings, Saxons, the Hundred Years War, Vietnam, Korea...the list goes on and on. :o

Good ideas but unfortunately I doubt they would interest people today like the idea of Modern Warfare or wars going back as far as WW2.  I'd love to see a game though involving the five Greek epic battles with the Persians at Thermopylae, Salamis, Marathon, Plataea and the other one I always forget. Might interest people a bit after the film '300' which was all about Thermopylae.

IW tried to make MW3 too big. They couldn't handle an event such as WW3 in such a short campaign mode. It felt very disjointed and just didn't work for me.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on February 26, 2012, 01:23:06 AM
Mw3 arrived while i was golfing. jammed it in the machine tonight. straight into multi player and managed 8 kills 9 deaths in my first game. well impressed with those stats as i usually get massacred in my first few games.

Will play more soon :-)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 27, 2012, 03:56:04 PM
I'm really liking RAID mode in Revelations so far, hopefully it's going to be included as bonus content for Resident Evil 6 along with Mercenaries. Am halfway through the story and it's pretty good so far, great idea to have a T-Virus derivative bunged in the sea and even better idea to have the cruise ship designed by the same nutjob that designed the Mansion.

Tried RAID mode online last night and had a little lag but it was mostly due to me downloading something on my PC at the time and it wasn't game breakingly bad.

Definitely the best Resident Evil game released in a long time and bodes well for Resident Evil 6 if they do the same sort of thing. ;D

Edit: Looks like Nintendo are taking their online goodness seriously, the WiiWare limit was 40-odd MB of compressed data and now the 3DS Ware limit has been raised to 2GB :o

They also have digital distribution functionality in place for the 3DS which should have a larger file size restriction of 4GB if not more. It wouldn't surprise me if Nintendo implement a firmware update to replace the dreaded Friend Codes with usernames at some point too. ;D

Another Edit: Bollocks, have just come across 2 bloody great big ugly mofos that are taking everything I can throw at them lol. Great enemy design because they're real monstrosities!!! I've tried frag grenades, pulse grenades, a machine gun, shotgun, a blade and melee attacks when I've stunned them but they keep on coming lol. Have died 4 times on the trot, going to have a break now but will have a few more goes later before I take the coward's way out and run away lol. I always make sure I kill everything when playing Resident Evil games and I'll be mightily pissed off if I can't do that in this one lol. The very first one was a challenge because you had bugger all ammo so I had to take a knife to kill a lot of the buggers!!!

Resident Evil Revelations is worth buying a 3DS for alone, best Resident Evil game I've played in years. If Resident Evil 6 follows the path this has taken I'll be a very happy bunny indeed, although there's still a little too much ammo around for my liking, guess I'm just a little too old-school :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on February 28, 2012, 12:20:35 AM
Ross, what set up should i be aiming for in mw3?

In waw i liked a silenced mp50.

What are the best boosts etc.

Got my arsenal kicked tonight. lots of gangs online
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: larry on February 28, 2012, 09:25:31 AM
Ive not really got into MW3 myself, but i really should give it another go. But i dont seem to be able to take GT5 out of the PS3 at the mo.

Ive still got shed loads of games that havent even been started,

Uncharted 3
Dead Space 2
Tomb Raider Trilogy
Prince of Persia Trilogy
God Of War 3
Red Dead Redemption (only played 2hrs)
And the first Batman to finish off

I dont think ill be buying any new games soon!  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 28, 2012, 02:49:27 PM
Another leak about the U from a Frog journalist saying that the U is capable of producing visuals twice as good as the 360 and that on paper some of the specs are 4 or 5 times more powerful. So we could end up with the U producing visuals on a par with the PC SKU of Battlefield 3 at the highest settings at 720p at least. Nice. 8)

On the not so good side of things a developer has said that V5 of the dev kits, currently being tested by Nintendo, isn't having a next gen quality performance boost in his eyes running a demo on a big name current gen engine that remains nameless due to the bloke not wanting to get the sack lol. He does however say that it was running unoptimised so that could explain it. :o

Good to see that Nintendo are testing the dev kits with popular middleware before sending them out to developers and publishers though. I expect they'll release V6 as the final dev kit with another small boost in power, possibly late next month which means we're looking at a release date between August and November. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 28, 2012, 08:27:57 PM
Street Fighter 4 is so gay.... theres a character you have to beat (called Seth) and he is way too overpowered its unreal, just spent the last 30 minutes getting nowhere...... makes the game a little bit pants imo
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 28, 2012, 08:58:46 PM
Nope, you're just a bit of a poof :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 28, 2012, 09:22:49 PM
Nope, definitely too hard on medium, looking on the net and its a common complaint about SF4... even if your blocking, he can drag you into him and then smack you for an 18 hit combo.. and you've lost half your life in about 5 seconds flat lol... I tried him on easy and got him down to the last drabs of health... before he unleashed his ultra combo which is unblockable and takes at least half your health bar off..that killed me, so just gave up, got bored...

...always preferred MK to SF anyway.. combos are for gays.. give me blood, weapons and gruesome fatalities any day of the week  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 28, 2012, 09:38:39 PM
I'm not overly keen on fighting games tbh, I prefer Tekken because I like the characters more but I always tend to button mash and as a result get my arse kicked lol. The only fighting games I really like are the Fight Night franchise and The Fight Lights Out.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 29, 2012, 08:56:31 AM
Seems somewhat pointless having a whole section dedicated to Video Games.. then with one general all purpose thread in it...

Anyway.. looks like someone at CryTek has been a bit naughty and tweeted the following last night..

(http://www.mcvuk.com/static/images/assets/1639/3364_Durangolong.png)

For anyone that doesnt know.. Durango is the RUMOURED xbox 720 codename...

Probably just a wind-up, but it got taken down shortly afterwards
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 29, 2012, 09:33:45 AM
Got the house to myself on Saturday but game development on my XBLIG is going a bit slow at the moment, mainly because i've been busy drawing the sprite sheets for the past 2 weeks now... so hoping I can finish off the main sprite sheet for the player by the weekend and should receive my 360 wired controller today, so the aim by the weekend is to have a controllable sprite for the player which animates depending on what they are doing... actually booked a few days off work in March to work solely on the game.. but I expect I wont have anything worthwhile to show for another 4-6 months from now lol...thats if I dont lose interest in it all.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on February 29, 2012, 04:30:58 PM
Lol, Apparently, GAME and Gamestation aren't able to stock Mass Effect 3......Alot of people are saying they're just outright refusing to stock anything made by EA, details are conflicting atm though. Story is here;

http://www.ps3trophies.org/news/news-5996-GAME-and-Gamestation-Won-t-Be-Stocking-Mass-Effect-3-[Updated].html
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 29, 2012, 04:35:52 PM
They're not stocking a great deal of new games. They're going to go bust soon, I'm surprised this hasn't happened sooner given how expensive their prices are. Might be able to get some bargains when they have closing down sales ;D :P

Edit: Have just had a look at the sales figures for last week in Japan and the Vita is still struggling over there. Not a single Vita title in the top 20. Sony desperately need one of the Big 3 franchises for the Vita over there...there were rumours of a Monster Hunter on the way, perhaps we'll have some news of it in a few days at the GDC. :-\

The 3DS has currently got Monster Hunter 3G with Monster Hunter 4 on the way and a Dragon Quest game on the way. It's only missing a proper Final Fantasy RPG then it'll have all 3. Sony need to moneyhat Square Enix to secure a Final Fantasy killer app if they haven't done so already. :o

Haven't seen any Vita sales figures in the West yet but given the price and available titles for the Vita I can't see it doing a great deal better tbh, although the Western oriented titles available so far may do it a few favours. I'm personally waiting for a price cut before I start looking at getting one.

Another Edit: Apparently Sony have sold 1.2m Vitas so far which is quite surprising, interesting to see if they can keep sales momentum going in the West as like I've mentioned it's dying a death in the East, particularly Japan. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 01, 2012, 10:37:15 AM
Europe has been sonys strongest market for years mate.. then america.. they dont need to worry about the japs.. in fact the whole idea of Sony pushing western games into japs faces is great..

Sony might be a japanese company.. but the PS3/Vita are about as much japanese as I am... just because the Vita was released in Japan first, doesnt instantly make it their strongest market nor the market they are expecting to sell well in... GT5 Prologue (the 2nd best selling PS3 game) was released months in advance to the japs... and in the end it sold a piddly amount compared to Europe and America.... and if you look, hardly any of the PS3 best selling games are made by japanese developers anymore.. only the long running franchises (GT, Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy) are the only ones who continue to sell well.... A stark contrast to the PS1 best selling list which included tons of japanese made games

Quite simply, japanese gaming has died out in the past decade.. its no longer the force it once was...and sony have finally realised that and marketed the Vita towards western gamers... I think you'll see in the next couple of weeks that the Vita sales stay strong in the west... and that any dip in sales will be down to their price point being too high rather than not having the demand for it
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on March 01, 2012, 12:20:54 PM
The Japanese are only interested in games that are ridiculously long, have stories no one understands and always involves scenes with Cherry Blossom blowing across the screen.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 01, 2012, 01:42:54 PM
And games with characters that have ridiculous names and games that feature school girls with humongous breasts too...  ;D

Shenmue was awesome though... alongside Final Fantasy 7... my two favourite jap games...  they really need to make a Shenmue 3 as was planned..... and prehaps do an orange box type thing and release the previous 2 alongside it... I reckon it'd sell like crazy...

All this talk about jap games made me remember one I played a long while back on the Xbox called "Shadows of Memories" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_of_Memories) - dont know if anyone ever played it... its probably one of those games you've never heard of or played but should of... its a very story-driven action/adventure type game - I'd say about 60-70% of the game is cut-scenes... you start as this guy and you are killed in a diner, then brought back to life somehow and given the chance to time travel back in time to prevent your murder and work out who killed you... you only time travel through one town in germany (where you died)... so if you do something in the past.. it will reflect in the future kind of thing... the gameplay is basic.. but the story is excellent and it has multiple endings too... might try and get a copy on the pc.. I wouldnt mind playing that again...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 01, 2012, 02:20:26 PM
Might have to check that Xbox game out, sounds right up my street :)

I've got serious doubts that the Vita will keep any sort of sales momentum in the West too unfortunately, and whilst Sony have said they're happy with Vita sales so far it hasn't sold as well as the GBA, PSP, DS and 3DS when they started their lives. :-\

I think the Vita is d00med to have as small a marketshare as the PSP had last gen unless they pull a rabbit out of the hat. :(

Edit: We need some better emoticons - Ninja, Devil Smiling, Devil Angry, Puking, and animated ones too. >:(

Beat those two nasties in Revelations, a few grenades and a few shotgun blasts sorted those gits out. There's still a little too much ammo around for my liking but I have had a few instances of near panic where ammo looks to be running out. ;D

This game has the best use of 3D I've seen so far, the depth is amazing. Looks as if all the gameplay is happening an inch and a halfish beyond the screen, although there isn't a great deal of stuff appearing to pop out apart from the rain right at the beginning which is pretty cool.

This game is worth buying a 3DS for alone imo, they've managed to squeeze in a shedload of content, entertaining online play both locally and online with RAID mode cooperatively which can also be played offline as a single player game. 8)

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 02, 2012, 10:54:44 AM
Expect the US to be the setting for Assassin's Creed 3 - set around the time of the Revolution. Have fun killing Brits. (Come on Desmond - switch sides and change history!)
Box Art link. (http://www.dealspwn.com/writer/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ac3-boxart.jpg)
Still haven't played the last one, but I'm in no rush - happy to wait until it drops to around £10.


Playing Saints Row 3 at present...
SR2 didn't take itself seriously, and as a result was great fun to play. Seems to me the developers saw that a bit of silliness resulted in a good game so assumed that making the next game ridiculously silly would mean the game would be even better.
It doesn't. It's just gone too far.
It's still good fun to play - but it's definitely not as good as Saints Row 2.
Once again I find myself playing a sandbox game I've been looking forward to for ages, and being disappointed, and once again I find myself pining for the new GTA. That's probably a bad thing - if I'm building it up in my mind I'm setting myself up for a major disapointment if RockStar don't come up with the goods...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 02, 2012, 11:59:42 AM
Another assassins creed game.. how original.. that would be the 5th major AC game in as many years then...  :o 

This is the one they started after AC2.. so a normal development team would of had a 2-3 year hiatus before their next game released.. Ubisoft have tried to be clever and just repeated AC2 with brotherhood/revelations in the inbetweening years after AC2 released... probably made a bit of money out of it.. but has definitely damaged and diluted the brand image of assassins creed for me... I might not even bother with Revelations now
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 02, 2012, 12:15:33 PM
I consider Brotherhood and Revelations to be akin to DLC for AC2. It's only a new game when they introduce a new protagonist and era.
Probably gonna have to play them, though, to keep up with the underlying Desmond story.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on March 02, 2012, 01:55:49 PM
Should i download the elite dlc for mw3?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 02, 2012, 02:02:44 PM
I consider Brotherhood and Revelations to be akin to DLC for AC2. It's only a new game when they introduce a new protagonist and era.
Probably gonna have to play them, though, to keep up with the underlying Desmond story.

But surely the underlying protagonist is Desmond.. who is present throughout all of the games... if Brotherhood/Revelations would of been totally different spin-off games which didnt involve Desmond or had Desmond doing something that didnt affect the main story line then I can see your point about them being akin to DLC.... but at the end of Brotherhood.. theres a big plot twist that definitely affects the main story line... so you cant go from just playing AC1 to AC2 to AC3... thats just wrong in my books... if I dont buy Revelations.. I aint gonna buy AC3 either.. no point.. thats the way Ubisoft have made it unfortunately...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 02, 2012, 05:42:48 PM
Personally, I consider Altair/Ezio/whoever to be the main character. The Desmond stuff is just a distraction.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 02, 2012, 07:34:39 PM
Ooooops....

94: NFS : The Run
95: Lego Harry Potter Yrs 1-3
96: Star Ocean

 ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on March 02, 2012, 08:15:20 PM
Expect the US to be the setting for Assassin's Creed 3 - set around the time of the Revolution. Have fun killing Brits. (Come on Desmond - switch sides and change history!)
Box Art link. (http://www.dealspwn.com/writer/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ac3-boxart.jpg)
Still haven't played the last one, but I'm in no rush - happy to wait until it drops to around £10.


Playing Saints Row 3 at present...
SR2 didn't take itself seriously, and as a result was great fun to play. Seems to me the developers saw that a bit of silliness resulted in a good game so assumed that making the next game ridiculously silly would mean the game would be even better.
It doesn't. It's just gone too far.
It's still good fun to play - but it's definitely not as good as Saints Row 2.
Once again I find myself playing a sandbox game I've been looking forward to for ages, and being disappointed, and once again I find myself pining for the new GTA. That's probably a bad thing - if I'm building it up in my mind I'm setting myself up for a major disapointment if RockStar don't come up with the goods...

Yeah that was my issue with SR3 it's still a very good game but it's got rather silly now. But then who wouldn't want to run around killing people with a giant purple dildo.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on March 02, 2012, 08:21:04 PM
Should i download the elite dlc for mw3?

Yes, only for the reason you get an overall discount of around 12 quid if you buy it right now though.

http://simplysupreme1.blogspot.com/ - Latest update talks about the 2 new maps /ShamelessPlug  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 03, 2012, 01:08:23 AM
Christ on a fucking bike, Episode 7 was a bit bloody intense :o

Had a 5 minute time limit to reach a target (no spoilers!) and a right bitch of an enemy in the middle of a load of enemies plus traps, and she was quite happily taking rifle bullets up the bum and shrugging them off lololol.

I'm gonna need a bigger gun lol :P

The producer of Revelations is very keen to do another one for the 3DS after he's done Resident Evil 6 so hopefully we'll see another one in 18 months or maybe even 2 years. Can't wait!!! 8)

Edit: Oooooh! I've just used the touchscreen to register my fingerprint lol, I love little things like that! Might try and use a different finger to open the door if it doesn't open automatically lololol :-[ :P ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 03, 2012, 02:52:51 PM
So far im liking Harry Potter Lego 1-4.. much better than the batman one imo... although I can see it getting annoying again after so many hours playing it... done the first film/book whatever... and put NFS:The Run in...

....bit disappointed with it tbh... not that I really knew what to expect but its like the cannonball run.. which is all kinds of awesome...its San Fran to New York as fast as possible.... but I dont like the way its been executed... a limit of how many cars you can overtake in each part of the race.. or having to do checkpoint runs... just seems too restrictive to me.. maybe I need to press on a bit...only just reached Las Vegas... one good thing was that the online pass was unused in my pre-owned copy... but then blockbusters didnt put or didnt have the booklet for it.. which annoyed me as didnt check until I got home... they did the same thing with portal 2 which I bought from there too.

Yet to play Star Ocean.. but sure I'll have time for it a bit later... havent played a Star Ocean before.. so not sure what to expect.. except a JRPG type game...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 03, 2012, 04:22:53 PM
I quite like what's happening to JRPGs these days. Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story appear to have brought JRPGs into the 21st Century finally. No more annoying turn-based combat. 8)

Revelations is just getting better and better. Outstanding, absolutely pisses all over Resident Evils 4 and 5. If 6 is anything like this then you're all going to love it. Can't believe that it took Capcom so long to sort the franchise out again! :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 04, 2012, 10:28:01 AM
Just took the tutorial on battle in star ocean, think I need to lay down for a bit!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on March 04, 2012, 02:36:36 PM
Star Ocean is my favourite JRPG series. The Last Hope wasn't the best, but is still a solid game. Prepare yourself for seriously annoying voice-acting if you get into it though!  ;D The awesome battle system trumps turn-based battle.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on March 04, 2012, 03:20:03 PM
Loving the mw3 online play.

Still not sure what my set up should be though
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 04, 2012, 08:36:57 PM
Hmmm...plenty of speculation on the RAM that the U is going to have. My money would be either 1.5 of GDDR3 or 2GB of DDR3, would be 6 chips for the former or 4 chips for the latter with the eDRAM on the CPU taking care of preventing bottlenecks.

GDC starts in 9 hours or so, there's bound to be a few leaks/rumours doing the rounds tomorrow or Tuesday about the U, 720 and the rumoured Steam Box. Can't see the latter being all that successful tbh :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on March 04, 2012, 09:43:13 PM
Loving the mw3 online play.

Still not sure what my set up should be though

I like to switch up guns alot......I'm not rabidly obsessive over my K/D like your average CoD player (Even though mines still a sturdy 1.00 considering I always use different guns...)

With perks though, I tend to stick to favourties.

Slot 1 - Blind Eye usually, but I go for Extreme Conditioning when using an LMG or Sniper rifle.

Slot 2 - Assassin, always.

Slot 3 - Marksman 90% of the time, but I've found a recent love for SitRep.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 05, 2012, 02:27:03 PM
New forza announced for this year... titled "Forza Horizon"... looks like development is being passed from Turn 10 to Playground Games... and that microsoft might be trying to annualise the franchise.... I never really got into Forza though, great games... but always plumped for PGR over Forza and prefer the arcadey type racing games better anyway...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 05, 2012, 07:55:48 PM
I'm quite looking forward to Project CARS, should give both GT and Forza a good run for their money and the options you have during Career Mode will give it plenty of replay value. I'm tempted to invest in it but don't want to be the kiss of death on the game lol :P

Definitely the best looking driving game I've seen to date, and the U SKU should be the prettiest console version. We might also see the U controller being a steering wheel, it's the right shape for the steering wheel of an F1 car :o 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on March 05, 2012, 08:36:49 PM
AC 3 confirmed as America late 1700's there's a trailer on YouTube.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 05, 2012, 09:35:19 PM
And I was talking about Call of Duty needing to shift to other wars in history not so long ago naming the American Revolution as an example! ;D

Have just finished Revelations and it gets an 8.5/10 from me, best Resident Evil game I've played in years. There's a few design issues that I'm not entirely happy with such as ammo not quite being scarce enough and the Genesis scanner not keeping logs of enemies you've scanned but nothing dealbreaking. A good story, great enemy designs, a new character called Parker who I'm hoping will return in Resident Evil 6 or Revelations 2 and a return to survival horror for the most part with some nice scares along the way.

Took me around 13 hours to complete the single player on Normal difficulty and now I've unlocked Hell difficulty I'll be more than happy to play it again.

RAID mode is also excellent, it wouldn't surprise me if we see it returning in Resident Evil 6, although I'm hoping that they're going to keep Mercenaries as well because I've always enjoyed it.

I'm very tempted to carry on playing Resident Evil games now I'm in the mood for it...Remake is next followed by Zero, 2 and 3. Might also go through the Resident Evil Chronicles franchise too. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 06, 2012, 11:08:52 AM
Star Ocean is my favourite JRPG series. The Last Hope wasn't the best, but is still a solid game. Prepare yourself for seriously annoying voice-acting if you get into it though!  ;D The awesome battle system trumps turn-based battle.

Not sure about that to be honest... I haven't really thought about it until now.. but I actually think I hate real-time battle systems... all the JRPGs I have.. Infinite Undiscovery, The Last Remnant, Eternal Sonata and now Star Ocean.. I cant see myself ever finishing them.. because I usually find real-time battle systems are way over-complicated and you can usually just spam attacks making battles less strategic... however.. Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon I have both finished which are both turn-based..

FF13 uses its own variant on turn-based.. considering its such a poor game in nearly every aspect... the battle system is one of the finest I've played for a long time... again its another game I've got to the end on.. (stuck on the final boss)

Oddly enough though, I really enjoyed Tales of Symphonia which used a RT battle system... maybe that game just nailed it!!

I'll give Star Ocean a bit more time.. as I've only done the tutorial so far.... I dont mind hammy voice acting.. I bet its not as annoying as Blue Dragons.. that was the worst ever
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 08, 2012, 07:50:14 AM
Christ on a fucking bike, Nintendo have done some sort of deal with Havok and Autodesk that's giving developers Havok physics and Autodesk's Kynapse, HumanIK and Scaleform for free. That deal must be worth bloody millions. :o

There's also rumours of UE4 running on the U, although I'm more than 24 hours and 19 pages behind the U speculation thread on Gaf...the show floor at GDC opened around 2 hours ago so there must be some sort of leak somewhere during these next 24 hours.

Looks like Nintendo's new philosophy of embracing third parties since before the 3DS launched is paying off, particularly in Japan. Capcom in particular are raking in the cash. Bodes well for the future of the U's third party support, especially now that we know that developers are getting tens of thousands of pounds worth of middleware for free with their dev kits. That's a really big deal. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 08, 2012, 11:17:16 AM
Well Epic said they cant name the console that UE4 is running on... but have already stated that UE3 will be powering some games on the Wii U... so by that.. I'd say its more likely to be the Durango that is running UE4...  besides.. the Wii U isnt even on the showfloors GDC going by some reports.. only 3DS stuff there....so doubt there will be any reliable leaks

But best (confirmed) news I've heard so far... they are making a sequel to Sim City 4... obviously entitled Sim City 5 !!!  I loved them games... from the screenshots I've seen of it.. it looks pretty funky.. that would be a definite first day purchase for me.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 08, 2012, 01:37:43 PM
Yup, anything U related is behind closed doors with strict NDAs in place. How they've managed to keep leaks to such a minimum is bloody astonishing. Although any news of anything major from anyone isn't going to be on display because it's a developer event rather than a press event. :(

Still, that middleware news is bloody huge and unprecedented. I hate to think how much it's cost them. Not going to make a great deal of difference to the big developers but it's going to be a major thing for smaller developers. Major.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 08, 2012, 09:54:03 PM
Got a particle engine working in my XBLIG.. its pretty cool... but it severely lags when I get to anywhere near 700-800 particles on screen at any one time... something wrong there then... should be able to have thousands without any drop in FPS.. I know its my code.. its hard-coded crappy and written very sloppily and quickly.. so it works as a concept test..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on March 08, 2012, 10:36:39 PM
Sad to see that GAME are having a massive firesale in order to try and "raise funds"....You know you're in trouble when you start selling stuff for less than a quid. Will be a shame to see their demise, they've been my first stop for games for as long as I can remember.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 08, 2012, 11:17:04 PM
Sad to see that GAME are having a massive firesale in order to try and "raise funds"....You know you're in trouble when you start selling stuff for less than a quid. Will be a shame to see their demise, they've been my first stop for games for as long as I can remember.

Then you've been paying well over the odds for your games mate. With their ridiculous prices compared to online shopping it's no wonder they're going down the toilet. I've very little sympathy tbh :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 09, 2012, 12:14:53 AM
Now here's an interesting thing (http://ww..w.youtube.com/watch?v=pTCTlLhzNTc). A tech demo of CryEngine 3 with what looks to be something very similar to the Japanese Garden tech demo from Nintendo. Could be a coincidence, because Nintendo have always used their own graphics engines in the past, but there was a leak a while back that said that Nintendo were trying out a big name engine on the 5th dev kit that hasn't been released to third parties yet. :o

Perhaps it's time that the Mario64 engine (although to be fair it's probably changed so much over the years that there's bugger all sign of it in existence any more) was laid to rest..? :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 09, 2012, 09:05:12 AM
Think im more inclined to agree with harv over the GAME situation...

GAME have been stifling the retail marketplace for the past 2 decades with their high profit margins on everything they sell... you even have to pay for your own loyalty card now for christ sake... I never really understood that.. your pay GAME to give you discounts.. but only if you spend shit-loads with the company.  I still have my free reward card from back before EB took them over lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 09, 2012, 11:07:44 AM
Ruthless company or not, it's not nice to see so many (mainly young) people with their jobs on the line.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 09, 2012, 01:53:24 PM
Talking about GAME.. I just voted in their stupid award thingy for best game in 2011...

http://www.baftagameaward.com/Voting/Voting.aspx (http://www.baftagameaward.com/Voting/Voting.aspx) if you want to vote yourself...

...I picked Skyrim naturally.. nothing on that list comes anywhere near it... unless you played Skyrim on the PS3, then you might have a different opinion lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 09, 2012, 09:57:10 PM
Turns out that both my bulletstorm orders with gamestation got cancelled... ordered again and that got cancelled as well...

So just ordered it from GAME instead at same price and accidently added

#99 Crackdown 2

to the basket as well...  ;D

I thought I might aswell get rid of all my reward points aswell seeing as I was there.. so paid less than a fiver for both games.. bargain!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 11, 2012, 12:24:04 AM
Looks like that behind closed doors UE4 demo was running on the U, Nintendo have upped the specs of the U especially for it according to someone on Gaf yesterday. Probably means that Epic were one of the first third parties to get hold of V5 dev kits. Great news if true. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 11, 2012, 11:07:55 AM
The first time someone's tried to do something on the U they've had to get Nintendo to improve the system's specs to make it work?
You see it as good news, I see it as bloody worrying - sounds like they're trying to push some shit underpowered console on us. Again...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 11, 2012, 01:52:40 PM
It's not that worrying mate, they did exactly the same thing with the 360. They had Microsoft double the RAM from 256Mb to 512Mb. I suspect they've done a similar thing upping the RAM from 1.5GB to 2GB of DDR3. :D ;)

I see Nintendo getting feedback from third parties, acting on feedback from third parties, trying the latest dev kits on all notable middleware and, best of the lot, supplying third parties with free use of Autodesk and Havok middleware as a good sign that they're taking third parties seriously and are encouraging development. How could that possibly be worrying..? :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 11, 2012, 01:54:14 PM
I expect you have a credible source and link for this news then harv.. have you heck lol.. its just some speccy four eyed geek on one of the gaming websites you visit...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 11, 2012, 02:16:32 PM
Well it's certainly not beyond the realms of possibility, the Ninja Gaiden 3 developers have confirmed that Nintendo are paying attention to and acting on feedback so if Nintendo are paying attention to them I can't see why they should give Epic the cold shoulder.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on March 11, 2012, 05:24:06 PM
Got Skyrim yesterday....goodbye life!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 11, 2012, 05:56:50 PM
I'm still waiting for it to drop in price, I'm trying to limit my spending on games to under 20 quid per game. :-\

I might just wait for the inevitable GOTY Edition too :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: gldntrmite13 on March 11, 2012, 08:22:37 PM
Got Skyrim yesterday....goodbye life!

LOL.... it's very addicting...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 11, 2012, 08:52:15 PM
Got Ninja Blade a few months back (second hand)  and finally gave it a go today.
Might've been a reasonable enough game but for a few problems. Loads of QTEs (which I detest) and no saves mid level (can be a few hours for a level).

Can't recommend it really,  but I think it cost me about £2 so I arguably got value for money in the 2-3 hours I played.

Still got one game left to play from that pre-owned batch (Quake Wars).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 11, 2012, 09:13:56 PM
Conversation in the Gaf U Speculation thread has now gone on to who Nintendo should buy. One name that keeps cropping up is THQ. Plenty of strong IPs including Saints Row, Metro, Darksiders, Warhammer 40,000, WWE, UFC, Red Faction and de Blob. Around $50m would purchase THQ and all studios, including Western studios that Nintendo needs.

Or perhaps Sony could pick them up, although the timing of that wouldn't make it likely given their financial situation.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 12, 2012, 09:00:55 AM
At 99% on finishing harry potter 1-4... missed one Student In Peril and one Gold Brick.. and it's taking me ages to track the lil' buggers down... even looking at a guide I dont know which ones I've missed  >:( 

But I will find the buggers and hopefully 100% this game in the next few days.. I've found it less annoying than most lego games.. but also less enjoyable too... better than batman.. but not as good as star wars or indy... will pick up years 5-7 eventually... but in no hurry whatsoever.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 12, 2012, 02:24:10 PM
Went into Gamestation to burn any credit I have left there, today.

Don't really know anything about them, but picked up the following for £0.90 (came to about £11 but I had about £10 credit).
Bulletwitch (55% Feb'07)
Blacksite (62% Nov'07)
Devil May Cry 4 (84% Feb'08)
Star Ocean (72% Feb'09)

Probably all crap, but I'm sure I'll get some entertainment from them (and might even love one of them), but there was nothing I fancied - and I didn't want my credit going to waste.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 13, 2012, 08:47:19 AM
I completed harry potter yesterday.. just 3 more achievements to 100% it.. then back onto NFS:The Run.. I'll complete that by the weekend definitely.. not gonna bother with online or story replay.. dont think its worth it.. disappointing game.

Think DMC4 is a very much an acquired taste late... think Bayonetta acquired taste...

Star Ocean is now on the bottom of my new game pile.. not gonna surface for a while yet.. if it had a more accessible fighting system then I'd probably be playing after NFS:The Run... but cant see that happening now I have Final Fantasy XIII-2... old school JRPGs are still the best.... lost odyssey & blue dragon are the best RPGs on the 360 by a long shot imo.. Lost Odyssey was fantastic I really enjoyed that...

I havent played Bullet Witch.. but pretty sure thats in the Bayonetta style as well... not something I'd be buying in a hurry  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 13, 2012, 10:02:11 AM
Urgh - two games that are something like Bayonetta but without Liz Hurley in a very skimpy (occasionally disappearing) catsuit?

Meh, I'll give 'em a shot over the next few weeks.
My stack of unplayed games had dwindled from about 8 in December to only 1 this week - but with 5 from gs online and 4 from instore the pile's looking substantial again. Even if most of them are crap it should keep me entertained for a while.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 13, 2012, 02:02:05 PM
Might have to pop into Game and Gamestation to see if I can pick up a few bargains at some point but I've got way too much stuff to play as it is. It's quite addictive for some reason. Am also going to have to put up some more shelves at some point too. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 13, 2012, 04:41:11 PM
I wouldn't hang around. Rumour has it they've got about 2 weeks left - quarterly rent bill 25 March is likely to be the killer blow.
Share prices dipped to half a pence yesterday (they later recovered to around 1.5p*), which is horrendous when you consider they were £3 around 2/3 years ago.
Around a quarter of the deals on hukd seem to be games/consoles/peripherals from game/gamestation, lately - with a lot of the offers being nationwide/online but loads of others being store specific as each manager scrapes in as many pennies as he can.




*By my reckoning that recovery from 0.5p to 1.5p means the 8'000 or so staff are still screwed but someone on the stock exchange has just made a fortune by tripling his investment. Horrible to see the vultures can still make a mint from the misery of others. Just the way the world works, though...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 13, 2012, 06:24:01 PM
I've decided to give the Halo franchise another go. What order should I play them in..? I'm assuming the Xbox Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 should be first up, but what about the others..? :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 13, 2012, 07:40:26 PM
The order they were released in of course...

Halo CE
Halo 2
Halo 3
Halo 3 ODST
Halo Reach

Spin offs are Halo Wars and Halo Anniversary.. but they aren't really necessary to play... although I do have them all still :D

Halo 4 will spawn a whole new trilogy with Master Chief in, although less excited about that due to the development passing to 343.. im sure it will be great and everything.. but its not bungie y'know
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 14, 2012, 08:21:13 AM
100%ed HP last night...

Also finished NFS:The Run... much quicker than anticipated... overall run time or gameplay time was only like 2 and a half hours... it still took weeks to complete the game.. the loading screens take ages.. also the reset times (if you go off the course) should be instantaneous but they take like 10 seconds as well... so I probably stared at more loading screens than I did playing the game... had a quick go at the challenge series.. and it looks like it'd take too long to get those achievements.. so I think Im done with that game...

Next up.. undecided.. either FF XII-2 / Crackdown 2 / complete one of the crappy games (Metro, Fracture, Bionic Commando)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 14, 2012, 09:44:41 AM
I'm undecided on whether to get Final Fantasy XIII-2. I didn't bother with it's predecessor due to all the reports of how linear it was (for the first 15 hours or so anyway).

Lately I've been hankering to play the older FF games, though. Sold all my ps2 games a few months back, but still have the ps2 itself as well as my ps1 games, and I feel FF7 calling out to me.
Not sure it'd be a good idea though. Whenever I go back to play previous gen games I used to love I always feel disappointed, and end up slightly spoiling my memories of it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 14, 2012, 10:49:44 AM
Yeah I wouldnt bother with FF XIII... whether you need to play it to play FF XII-2 I dont know yet... I will finish the first one before I start the second one.. but only because I am on the final boss... I've forgotten most of the story anyway, but good to have a refresher I think..

In regards to FF XIII though... the battle system is one of the best since FF7 and FF8 imo.. but you just go from one battle to the next.. over and over again.. even when you get to the bit where the game isnt supposed to feel as linear.. ultimately, your still just battling... but you just get to choose who you battle and you get to run around a bit.... you dont even have to do the optional stuff at this stage.. you can just carry on the story.. (which is what I did) and then your straight back to linear battles again...

Im hoping the second one addresses the linearity.. the first one just felt like half a game because of its monotony... the graphics are truly superb though... some of the best I've seen on a console.

I think I've lost the first disc on FF7 though.. think I left it in a broken portable PS1 which I was testing out.. chucked the console out with the game still inside... am such a douche  :o  way to ruin my whole FF collection and lose one of my favourite games ever made... Im hanging on to my PS final fantasies for the long run... I reckon they will become a collectors item within 20 years...gonna have to repurchase FF7 at another date though.. would have to lose the most expensive one too!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 14, 2012, 11:20:27 AM
Lol I love game fails...

Battlefield 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4ciswjqbFk&feature=relmfu)
Skyrim (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uBibYILDIE&feature=related)
GTA 4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eef-JaGhSto&feature=relmfu)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 14, 2012, 03:07:34 PM
Well I'm now Haloed up to the eyeballs ;D

Got Halo, Halo 2 and Halo 3 ODST from CEX for 14 quid and Halo 3 and Halo Reach from Gamestation for 15.96. Not as cheap as I was hoping for but can't complain too much. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on March 14, 2012, 04:20:11 PM
Downloaded the early release of FIFA Street. Fairly enjoyable but probably lacks longevity. Online features are very limited compared to the original FIFA series. Won't be buying it on Friday.

Gonna pop into Gamestation tomorrow and hopefully use up my remaining credit on a few bargains. Heard they were pricing new PSPs as pre-owned so wouldn't mind picking up a cheap slim & lite if they've got any.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 14, 2012, 04:33:54 PM
Was toying with the idea of possibly getting a psp myself, but they still haven't reduced the pre-owned ones at in my local (I think they were around £99, but not sure what model).
Not too bothered, though. I have a DS-lite (sic) and an android tablet and get all my games on both for free so it never really made much sense for me to get a psp (I assume piracy's not as easy on the Sony handheld, but I've never looked into it).

I saw they had bundles of the Wii with balance board and wii fit, for £55 all in. Torn on whether to get that for my dad - he borrowed ours for a while last summer and enjoyed it. £55 is a cracking price for that bundle - but of course it's old tech and may be available cheaper later this year when the Wii-U comes out.
Should just give him ours, tbh. Bloody thing is still in the carrier bag I brought it home in, despite the wife nagging me for ages to get it returned to us.
Women. ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 14, 2012, 04:46:55 PM
You should blow the dust of your Wii and download Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story mate. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on March 14, 2012, 05:14:25 PM
Currently level 8 in Skyrim. Haven't bothered much with the main storyline quest been doing lots of side missions for the companions and the Mage college. Doing pretty well tried to take on a mammoth it didn't end well also same outcome when I took on a giant. Just up to the bit where the dragon appears outside Whiterun in the main storyline.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 14, 2012, 05:47:17 PM
You should blow the dust of your Wii and download Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story mate. ;D
I really want some last gen graphics and dodgy control interfaces in my life, so I'll go do that now.


Currently level 8 in Skyrim. Haven't bothered much with the main storyline quest been doing lots of side missions for the companions and the Mage college. Doing pretty well tried to take on a mammoth it didn't end well also same outcome when I took on a giant. Just up to the bit where the dragon appears outside Whiterun in the main storyline.
If you can find a well positioned log or rock to stand on you can take on giants and mammoths without fear of being hit. Takes a while at low levels, of course.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 14, 2012, 07:59:02 PM
Two of the best JRPGs released in years, you're missing out. Xenoblade in particular is astounding, the scope of it is bloody huge. :o From a design standpoint alone it's very impressive.

Edit: Aaaaaargh!!! Now I remember why I stopped playing the first Halo early on. Driving the Warthogs is beyond crap!!! Very bad design decisions made with the steering, whoever decided that the camera movement steers the bloody things deserves to be shot!!! Why on earth couldn't they do the sensible thing and have acceleration, deceleration and steering done with the left stick..?!!?!? :o Forward and right to turn right, forward and left to turn left. It's simple, it's intuitive. It's good design. I blame it entirely on the industry requiring all designers to have a design degree before getting employment. I don't know what they teach during these courses but it certainly isn't common sense. >:(

It drove me to quit the game when I first played it. Terrible design decision. :-\ I'll persevere with it this time around, maybe I'll get used to it after a while. Bloody frustrating though!!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 14, 2012, 11:20:31 PM
You must just be crap at it, warthogs are so easy to drive, great intuitive design imo, the vehicle design is one of the best in any game
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 14, 2012, 11:32:06 PM
More intuitive to use the left stick to steer and be able to move the camera independently. There's a reason why 99% of games are controlled that way.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 14, 2012, 11:41:54 PM
Personally I don't remember many fps games before halo that had vehicles in for a start, not ones as good as halo anyway
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 15, 2012, 01:35:35 AM
It was the first one as far as I remember but that's no excuse for the bad design. It's a vehicle. It should control the same way as vehicles in driving games before it. A ridiculous decision imo. It was game breaking for me when I first tried the game years ago.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 15, 2012, 07:08:36 PM
I started playing Bionic Commando today.. its not that bad actually... the save system is a bit whack... you die on a level, you have to go back to the beginning/checkpoint BUT you lose all the challenge rewards that you've earnt from that point and any collectibles you've picked up along the way too which is the bugger..... game is as linear as anything.. if you exit one area you can never go back to search for collectibles for instance... but considering it cost me in the region of £2.50.. its not a bad 3rd person shooter...  I'm using a guide on my first playthrough for the collectibles and I am playing on the hardest difficulty.. hopefully I can get all achievements in one go.. but it will be tough.

Also finally finished Gears of War 3 today.. finished off the end boss which was giving me the headache on hardcode mode... also had a little go on Horde mode and I love that... Gears 3 is definitely the best of the series.. its a superb game considering everything.. I just prefer halo matchmaking to gears multiplayer though...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 15, 2012, 07:52:14 PM
Sod it, decided to drown my sorrows by ordering Arkham Asylum GOTY Edition for £14.99 for the PS3. Thought I'd better play the first one before getting the U version of Arkham City later this year which, according to Rein at Epic, has good use of the U controller. Hopefully it'll have a bump in native res and AA too ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 15, 2012, 08:46:13 PM
Lol at FIFA 12 ultimate team appearing on watchdog, can't believe someone would spend £80 on dlc for it!!

And they used the Carroll/fabianski kiss footage too lmao
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on March 15, 2012, 11:00:08 PM
Sad to see that GAME are having a massive firesale in order to try and "raise funds"....You know you're in trouble when you start selling stuff for less than a quid. Will be a shame to see their demise, they've been my first stop for games for as long as I can remember.

Then you've been paying well over the odds for your games mate. With their ridiculous prices compared to online shopping it's no wonder they're going down the toilet. I've very little sympathy tbh :-\

I haven't payed over the odds for my games at all. The GAME reward points scheme has been an excellent incentive down the years, and I've gotten many games free with the points I've accumulated.

I'll take that statement with a pinch of salt though, given the fact you're a complete knock-off when it comes down to games, anything that equates to the price of above "£0.00" is considered over the odds to you..........The prices aren't ridiculous, they're fair, not to mention they support developers who work hard to give us hours of entertainment.

If you truly appreciated games, you'd buy every single one of them, which you don't, so yeah....
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 16, 2012, 12:03:29 AM
I buy my PS3, 360 and 3DS games and before they started these panic sales you could always find games cheaper elsewhere. And it should be noted that I've also bought a few Wii games over the years despite having my Wii chipped in 2007. Their games and consoles are overpriced compared to their competitors, and always have been.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on March 16, 2012, 03:05:47 AM
http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news/news-11151-No-New-Xbox-Reveal-at-E3--Says-Microsoft.html

No Xbox details at E3
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 16, 2012, 07:35:01 AM
Not 100% convinced in that at all, I still firmly believe the nextbox will be released next year, whenever they reveal it
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 16, 2012, 08:09:10 AM
Just like most retailers, Game and Gamestation are often more expensive than the competition, and regularly have a number of games considerably cheaper than elsewhere. That's not just with the recent "firesales" - it's always been the way. I've bought loads from there, and you know what  bargain hunter I am...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 16, 2012, 07:14:28 PM
Not 100% convinced in that at all, I still firmly believe the nextbox will be released next year, whenever they reveal it

Yup, I'm expecting both Sony and Microsoft to release their next gen consoles next year, either at the end of Q3 or the beginning of Q4. You'll see them both being announced at E3 next year imo. They can't afford to let Nintendo have more than a years head start next gen, particularly now that Nintendo are targeting the hardcore demographic and are going back to releasing a high tech console again after a 1 gen hiatus with the Wii. I've already seen a fair few people on other forums that have said they're thinking of just owning the U next gen due to the U being pretty much guaranteed a SKU of all next gen multiplatform titles.

The U should have an installed userbase of 10-15m by the time the PS4 and 720 are released and should have a few notable exclusives by then as well as being ripe for a price cut if necessary. :o

Edit: Looks like GTA V is coming next year (http://wiiudaily.com/2012/03/grand-theft-auto-5-coming-to-wii-u-in-2013/), and it's coming to the U as well. Was hoping to see it in November myself though.

The touchscreen will be great for GTA V, no need to faff about with the pause menu to set waypoints if the pause menu is on the touchscreen at all times. Very handy.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: theegr8mightyp00 on March 17, 2012, 04:20:36 AM
Anyone here with at least a 2 kd on cod that wants to play on the box or station?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 17, 2012, 01:49:06 PM
I started Crackdown 2 and enjoying it.. probably not as much as the 1st one.. but I do like the addition of the freaks/zombie type things... shame they use the same map, same gameplay, same objectives... feels like I've played this game already!!  But I enjoyed the 1st one anyway and only paid £4 for the 2nd one.. so good value.  Also received Band Hero in the post today.. thats #100 in my collection now  :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: gldntrmite13 on March 17, 2012, 05:33:41 PM
Anyone here with at least a 2 kd on cod that wants to play on the box or station?

Got Battlefield 3 for Xbox..... prefer it over COD
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on March 17, 2012, 05:40:12 PM
I started Crackdown 2 and enjoying it.. probably not as much as the 1st one.. but I do like the addition of the freaks/zombie type things... shame they use the same map, same gameplay, same objectives... feels like I've played this game already!!  But I enjoyed the 1st one anyway and only paid £4 for the 2nd one.. so good value.  Also received Band Hero in the post today.. thats #100 in my collection now  :D

I played Crackdown 1 I liked the game but not the story. The ending was not done well. The Voiceover guy says "Haha it was us who set up these gangs so people would let us create super soldiers muahaha." and so I thought great now I get to take them down now but no it just ends.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: theegr8mightyp00 on March 17, 2012, 06:53:57 PM
Anyone here with at least a 2 kd on cod that wants to play on the box or station?

Got Battlefield 3 for Xbox..... prefer it over COD

Actually I do and oddly enough my gamertag is GR8MIGHTYP00.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: gldntrmite13 on March 17, 2012, 08:56:24 PM
I'll shoot you an invite next time i'm on....
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 17, 2012, 09:40:38 PM
Good to see some new faces in the Geeks With No Social Life To Speak Of Thread 8) :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: larry on March 17, 2012, 10:41:47 PM
Ive been getting back into MW3 at the mo, im crap though to be fair but add me if want?

SSB-72 On PS3

Ive also been dipping back into Red Dead Redemption, brilliant game but i keep finding myself falling asleep whilst playing it!!!  ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: gldntrmite13 on March 18, 2012, 02:02:01 PM
Battlefield 3 is the main game i play right now, then Skyrim, if my son bugs me enough i'll play Call of Duty MW3 with him. after that it's sports games.... MLB, FIFA, Madden...... still throw in Fallout from time to time just to shoot up the place... LOL
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 18, 2012, 09:07:55 PM
Lol, type 'do a barrel roll' (without the quotes) into Google. ;D

Pretty cool 8)

Talking of Fallout, I can't wait for Fallout 4 on the U, having a Pip-Boy in the palm of your hands will be seven kinds of awesome ;D So glad they changed the genre for Fallout 3 onwards, having everything turn-based, including bloody movement, was a major pain in the arse for the first two games. Am still seriously pissed off that the Acquisitions Department at Eidos turned their noses up at Fallout 3...bloody idiots >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: gldntrmite13 on March 18, 2012, 10:38:05 PM
Huge fan of he Fallout game series.... however i'm hoping some of the improvements they showed in Skyrim make their way over to Fallout plus some for the next edition...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 19, 2012, 08:37:19 AM
Got a 490GS achievement the other day... think thats the single biggest point achievement I've ever earned... it was for finding all the secret notes on Band Hero.. you also get 5G for finding each one.. so a total of 585GS for simply playing the songs 100%... easy!!

Still enjoying Crackdown 2... although its way too easy...see they couldnt be arsed to fix the crappy targeting system from the first one.. its lousy when you try and lock on to a guy right in front of you pumping you full of shotgun bullets and it locks on to an enemy miles away.... so you try and switch targets and it targets a bloody car instead... or anything that isnt the target you want... annoying you cant switch targets whilst locked on... also having LB as reload is ridiculous.. X should be reload.. instead its change gun.. which should be LB..  so many times I've changed to a rocket launcher and blown myself up because I wanted to reload to shoot the guy in front of me...

Still the orbs are quite addictive to collect.. although I cant see myself collecting them all... just like I couldnt be bothered in the first one... the renegade orbs are seriously stupid..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 19, 2012, 08:39:02 AM
Lol, type 'do a barrel roll' (without the quotes) into Google. ;D

Pretty cool 8)

Doesnt work on IE or Android.. gay
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 19, 2012, 12:35:49 PM
Still the orbs are quite addictive to collect.. although I cant see myself collecting them all... just like I couldnt be bothered in the first one... the renegade orbs are seriously stupid..
As you say, those orbs are bloody addictive.
You'll likely find the majority, but the last few can be a bugger to find - but I recall there's a way to make that easier...

If memory serves, the mini-map shows nearby agility orbs. (Can't remember if it shows all types of orb.) And when you pause/unpause the game the mini-map briefly zooms right out to show the whole map for a fraction of a second... They flash on the screen very briefly but if you're looking at the right spot on your tv as it happens you'll get a good indication of what direction the remaining ones are (and of course that gets more accurate/easy as you get closer).


Have started playing Fortress Craft again lately. For those not familiar with it it's a minecraft rip-off and the biggest selling game on the xbox live indie games market. No real aim to it other than building structures etc. out of blocks, but it's bloody addictive. Nice to see it's still getting lots of support - there's been a few updates since I last played.
My world is, of course, looking totally awesome. Ish.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 19, 2012, 01:30:19 PM
I dont get the obsession with Minecraft... it doesnt look addictive.. it just looks shite lol...

Have you seen the latest DLC for Defence Grid though Late... apparently its features GLADoS from Portal... I was gonna try it out.. and then forgot...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 19, 2012, 06:04:47 PM
Will have to have a look at that. Love both so it sounds ideal :D

Speaking of GLADoS, she's the voice on my sat nav.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 20, 2012, 07:39:17 AM
Gonna have to stop playing Crackdown 2... it does give you a feeling of vertigo when your high up and suddenly fall.... my stomach has turned a few times playing that game... but all I was dreaming of last night was bloody falling... and catching those pissin renegade orbs lol  Had a terrible nights sleep... partly due to the fact I have a stinking rotten cold too... so taken today off work and would be back in bed now.. but I have a bloody dentist appointment at 8:45, which I dread to think how much that would cost to cancel.... just what I need though  >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 20, 2012, 03:54:09 PM
Bloody hell, another 'leak' about the U, although this really does seem way too good to be true. An 'insider' has blabbed about the titles in development for the U's eShop:

Nintendo Wii U eShop Titles In Development

Level 5

Professor Layton Chronicles (Level 5)

Activision

Tony Hawk Pro Skater HD-Complete (Activision) (Launch)
Goldeneye 007: Reloaded (Acitivsion) (Launch)
World of Warcraft (Activsion) (Launch)

Capcom

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries Bio Ops (Capcom)
Okamiden HD (Capcom) (Launch)

Electronic Arts (EA)

Boom Blox Wii U (EA)
NFL Blitz Touchdown (EA)
Burnout: Rush Hour (EA) (Launch)
Shank 2 (EA) (Launch)
Crysis (EA) (Launch)

Gaijan Games

Bit Trip Runner 2 (Gaijan Games) (Launch)

Namco Bandai

Tank! Tank! Tank! (Namco Bandai)
Meteos (Namco Bandai)
Pac-Man Battle Royal (Namco Bandai) (Launch)

Nexon

Dragon Nest (Nexon)

Nintendo

Big Brain University (Nintendo) (Launch)
Super Mario Strikers Unlimited (Nintendo) (Launch)
Fluidity: Toxic (Nintendo) (Launch)

Sabarasa

Protocol (Sabarasa) (Launch)

SEGA

Rodea the Sky Soldier (SEGA)
Renegade Ops 2 (SEGA)
Phantasy Star Online 2 (SEGA) (Launch)
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 (SEGA) (Launch)

Spicy Horse

Big Head Bash (Spicy Horse) (Launch)

Square Enix

Demon's Score (Square Enix/Epic)
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Wii U (Square Enix)

Telltale Games

The Walking Dead (Telltale Games) (Launch)

Ubisoft

UbiArt Presents: Sketchtarium
Red Steel 2: Locked a Reloaded (Ubisoft)
I Am Alive (Ubisoft) (Launch)

Valve

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve) (Launch) DotA 2 (Valve)




Too good to be true I think, source of the article is here (http://www.dualpixels.com/profiles/blogs/rumor-major-wii-u-eshop-games-leak-includes-world-of-warcraft-cou). If anything I think there are too many titles available on launch day, some of the titles will cannibalise each other imo. :-\

Edit:have just seen that Xbox Live has finally joined the 21st Century and got iPlayer lol. Who would have believed that the Wii would have had one up on the 360 in terms of online features for so long lololol :o :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 20, 2012, 08:28:45 PM
That list of U games is pretty dire, actually.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 20, 2012, 11:21:05 PM
That list of U games is pretty dire, actually.

Counter Strike and World of Warcraft are not dire by any stretch of the imagination. The latter is a HUGE coup if Nintendo have managed to secure it. :o

And Counter Strike if it happens means that the U is going to have its rumoured full Steam support which is another big deal. Okamiden HD is also going to be fantastic.

A wide variety of support from plenty of different publishers and developers, sounds pretty good to me. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 21, 2012, 03:16:04 AM
??? If I heard that list of games was coming out on the Xbox I don't think there's a single one I'd be interested in...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on March 21, 2012, 11:28:52 AM
World Of Warcraft on a console. It makes sense as apparently they are losing subscriptions. But would you have to pay a monthly fee like you currently do on PC.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 21, 2012, 12:48:58 PM
I would assume so. I'm guessing we haven't seen it on the current gen consoles so far because they're not powerful enough to make it possible despite having online infrastructures suitable.

I'm bloody stuck on the RAID part of Revelations, I was getting quite cocky after completely pwning one level, I got a 'Trinity' - 100% accuracy, no damage taken and a Genocide bonus...so I was really pumped up, but then I played a right bitch of a level. There's mutant after mutant after mutant and a mini-boss and I keep on getting my arse kicked lol  :P >:(

I really hope that RAID mode makes it to Resident Evil 6, you'll all love it. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 21, 2012, 03:41:38 PM
Have you seen the latest DLC for Defence Grid though Late... apparently its features GLADoS from Portal... I was gonna try it out.. and then forgot...
Fell asleep playing fortresscraft last night (not cos it's boring :P ), but when I woke up I remembered to download the Defence Grid DLC. Turns out I didnt' have the previous DLC, so got those 4 packs while I was at it. (2 levels each, and 80 msp each - I'm more than happy to get a loads of levels for what works out to be about 27p each.) Didn't get a chance to play them though - was knackered - so I'm looking forward to playing them tonight :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 21, 2012, 05:26:01 PM
Let me know if its worth downloading as I havent done so yet... been playing Bulletstorm instead... I was wrong about this game... I played the demo and thought it was crap... but I'm actually enjoying it a bit more as Im progressing.. it is very linear though.. feels claustraphobic playing it after crackdown 2.. it also feels weird as the game is first person but your character cant jump.. you cant jump in gears too.. but that feels natural.. just feels out of place in Bulletstorm...still £3.. cant grumble...

I've just been lazing again today... I wish this pissing cold would sod off.. as much as I whinge about my job sometimes...beats sitting around doing nothing all day.. cant stand it... although I have managed to finally finish off Crackdown 2, FF-XII and Halo:CE Anniversary in the past few days which has reduced "the pile" somewhat



Also WOW on a console would be stupid... unless they implement it so console gamers can play with pc gamers... which wont happen.. so the servers wont be very full... plus.. how many people would be interested in WOW.. and not already be a member or played it already... cant be that many....it will means there wont be hardly anyone to play with on the console servers.. which means the game becomes crap, boring and a total grindfest... and it will most definitely be subscription based.. no reason to think why it wont.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 22, 2012, 12:23:12 AM
Lol, it's a big coup and you all know it, and of course it will be subscription based...it's not the first time that a title on a Nintendo console has needed a subscription after all. And if it does end up being true, along with the other titles in the list, it means that the Nintendo Network infrastructure is not only sound but also will have a major 1Up on both Live and SEN - full Steam support.

We'll have to wait and see I guess. ;)

Edit: Finally managed to complete that RAID level I was stuck on but only managed an A grade. Think I'll have to level up Jill Valentine a couple more times and use a bigger gun or three before I can get an S grade. I'm not too sure which of Mercenaries or RAID I prefer tbh, they're both excellent...I'd love Resident Evil 6 to have both I think. Revelations is the best Resident Evil title I've played since Code Veronica, certainly puts Resident Evil 5 to shame. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 22, 2012, 08:15:09 AM
Quote from: jman on March 21, 2012, 05:26:01 PM
Let me know if its worth downloading as I havent done so yet...
Had a quick go or three of the first level last night. Seems I'm rusty - I was rubbish. Need to replay the original campaign I think.
The level had a portal look to it, but no GLADoS. She probably turns up in a later level, but can't say how much she's in, of course. Conversations between her and your computer guide should be great - but all I've seen so far is pretty much just another regular level.
Haven't tried Bulletstorm yet, but glad to hear it's playable. Have shifted it to the top of the pile.

Quote from: harv on March 22, 2012, 12:23:12 AM
Lol, it's a big coup and you all know it...
Yeah, we're all super excited about it really, but lying to you. It's a big conspiracy.




Harv, if you wanted to play WoW you'd have it on the pc - as countless millions do. I don't imagine many wouldn't want to scrap their character and fork out several hundred pounds so they can start afresh on a new platform.
And if you're not interested in WoW, as is the case with myself, there's no way you're going to dash out to get the new machine so you can play a game you don't want on a console you don't want. If you think Warcraft, or any other game you've mentioned, is going to sell the console you're deluding yourself.

Steam support is a separate issued, and I'm sure the U isn't the only next gen console that'll have it.





Balls. Edited in error.
Managed to retrieve the post, but can't be arsed to sort the bbcode out...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 22, 2012, 08:56:39 AM
I didn't say I was interested in it, but if it happens then it could be huge for Activision. It could be the boost that the franchise needs. And the U controller is ideal for RPGs and MMOs too. And who's to say that characters can't be transferred from one SKU to the other..? It's all username and password based, all the U SKU needs is to share the same fields in the server database and you can switch from one to the other. But you're more likely to have new subscribers anyway, there must be millions of console gamers that don't use their PC to play games for various reasons.

As for full Steam support next gen we'll have to wait and see, particularly for the 720. Developers find the restrictions that Microsoft impose on them a right pain in the arse, and SEN can be a pain too (although nowhere near as bad as Live to be fair) apparently. Developers and publishers have been singing the praises of the openness of the NiN.

Christ on a bike, iPlayer has only just been available on Live and it's been on the Wii since 2009 lol.

Most importantly, those titles being available for digital distribution is a sign that they're taking their online infrastructure responsibilities seriously...assuming that this rumour is true of course.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 22, 2012, 09:56:02 AM
How is the U controller ideal for MMOs... that can only come from someone who has never played an MMO in their life... keyboard with macros beats any controller any day of the week...

Dont forget that WOW is also something like 15-20gb too... so you'll have to buy a dedicated hd to play it on the Wii U
Not only that, but the servers will be empty unless they implement cross-platform play which is unlikely.
You also wont be able to mod WOW on a console... a massive disadvantage and why wouldnt WOW already be on consoles if they wanted there?
Blizzard are already in the process of making a new IP for Q4 next year... and J. Allen Brack.. lead producer of the game recently said.. "I think it's unlikely that WoW comes to the consoles"

And finally if the source was reliable.. you'd expect them to spell Activision correctly...  ::) ::)

Thought you'd know better than to listen to (what are quite obvious fake) rumours... now where did that that thread about the Wii and all of its bollocks rumours go ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 22, 2012, 10:59:53 AM
We don't know how much flash storage the U is going to have, 32GB is quite possible these days. And someone that is likely to buy the likes of WoW is likely to have a spare hard drive handy anyway. And the U also has the advantage that you won't be forced to buy an overpriced proprietry drive, any USB drive will do...although I'm personally hoping for a USB 3.0 connection but it'll add a bit more to the production cost.

Like I've said, we'll have to wait and see but Counter Strike is likely to come to the U anyway assuming that the rumours about Steam are correct.

Any game that requires a character to level up, involves any sort of inventory handling, weapon and armour allocation is ideal for the touchscreen. Of course a keyboard would be preferable but we're talking about WoW on a console. ;) Like I've said, RPGs and MMOs are going to benefit from having a touchscreen, this has been proven by Monster Hunter 3G on the 3DS in Japan.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 22, 2012, 10:23:38 PM
Apparently Sega have been sitting on an hd remake of shenmue for a year now, and also has a shenmue 2 hd remake done, but are discussing whether there will be a shenmue 3 before they release them, sounds baloney to me, but if they do have the remakes done, get them released already!!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 23, 2012, 02:57:59 AM
Whoops, Game have now gone into administration. Surprised it didn't happen years ago tbh. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 23, 2012, 09:03:20 AM
Haven't tried Bulletstorm yet, but glad to hear it's playable. Have shifted it to the top of the pile.

Yeah its good.. the game is basic.. go from point A to point B.. with a few different types of collectibles to look out for.  The environment is of the type that you cant destroy and it also has invisible walls so you cant jump off cliffs for example.. (you cant jump at all)... but the most annoying thing is how 99% of the environment is used as obstacles for you to go round... because you cant jump, anything that is not connected to the floor cant be accessed.. anything that looks small enough to jump.. cant be jumped.. so basically you always feel like your being funneled through the game.. its exactly like FF XIII ..so you'll understand why FF XIII got such low scores when you play Bulletstorm.. the linearity kills a lot of the fun...its forgivable for a 6-8 hour FPS.. but not a 40-60 hour RPG !!!  Also I've had problems with getting stuck on environment.

The best bit of bulletstorm is that as you progress you find a leash which bonds to you and they try to explain that this leash is grading you, blah blah blah... basically trying to make a story as to why you have a hud on screen.. unnecessary really.. but anyway... once you get your hud.. you also get access to weapon scoring.. so for different types of kills you get scored, the more points you get, the better guns/bullets you can buy.. and if you kill an enemy in a certain way with a certain weapon.. these are called skillshots... there are 131 I think... and the idea is to get them all before the end of the game...some are bloody tricky to get.. (took me ages to shoot someone in the balls with a sniper lol)... and some are best to get in certain areas.. which I only realised half way through the game lol... Im finding it quite addictive to try and get them all though.

...Im hoping when I finish the game, if I start again, it wont reset all my skillshots.. otherwise I dont think I can be arsed to play it a 2nd time through... I could be tempted to play it on the hardest difficulty afterwards regardless though as the plot is quite stupid (in a good way) and it doesnt take itself seriously and I've found that casual approach quite refreshing to play.  Im quite suprised Epic sold over a million copies of this game though and didnt make a profit on it though... its a shame EA published it because I would probably of tried out the multiplayer had my online pass code not already of been used... bloody online pass codes are just ridiculous..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 23, 2012, 10:07:07 AM
Buggering flip, Ninja Gaiden 3 is getting absolutely slaughtered in reviews :o

I was really looking forward to it as well :( :'(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 23, 2012, 01:27:06 PM
If you went solely on review scores... you wouldnt even have a wii  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 23, 2012, 02:37:08 PM
I think the review summary by IGN in particular is pretty damning:

Quote
Ninja Gaiden 3 is a gash on the face of the franchise and one of the worst games the action genre has yet suffered...It's a nightmare that's as easy as it is uninteresting, and it abandons what used to work for awful new ideas that don't work together. Under no circumstance should you ever waste your time on this self-indulgent and abysmal wreck.

 :o :o :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 23, 2012, 04:24:24 PM
If you went solely on review scores... you wouldnt even have a wii  ;)

It's a nightmare that's as easy as it is uninteresting, and it abandons what used to work for awful new ideas that don't work together. Under no circumstance should you ever waste your time on this self-indulgent and abysmal wreck.

Like I said..  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 27, 2012, 10:49:33 AM
[troll]

Interesting what the Darksiders 2 dev said this week regarding the Wii U...

Quote
So far the hardware’s been on par with what we have with the current generations. Based on what I understand, the resolution and textures and polycounts and all that stuff, we’re not going to being doing anything to up-rez the game, but we’ll take advantage of the controller for sure.

 ;D

[/troll]
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 28, 2012, 08:42:43 AM
No longer L33T on halo reach..  :( got some new achievements on it last night.. but they did push me past 75,000 !!!  Am gonna try and get all the 'chievements on reach.. only got multiplayer ones left... some of them seem a bit hit/miss though.. as in, I did one last night and it didnt pop... probably wasnt playing on the correct map.. or the correct mode.. so it might take a while...

New South Park game out on xbla on friday, "Tenorman's Revenge".. doesnt look as fun as the tower defense game, but I'll be giving it a go as I love South Park, so I bet its hilarious... also looking forward to South Park : The Game in the summer...

Daytona USA and Sega Rally Online are down to 400 MS pts this week.. I might give Daytona a go.. I loved that in the arcade..and I bought it for the Saturn back in the day... I loved Sega Rally in the arcade too but I would rather buy the full disc based Sega Rally.. been meaning too.. just havent seen it cheap enough on ebay yet..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 28, 2012, 04:17:13 PM
No longer L33T on halo reach..  :(
lol  ;D That was a great score to land on - can't believe you ruined it!


Let me know if its worth downloading as I havent done so yet...
Finally got the chance to have a proper go on Defence Grid, this week...

Positives - GLADoS is beautifully voiced, and the scripting is pretty decent - with a few great lines for both computer systems.
Negatives - the layout on the new levels isn't as clever as the original maps, generally, and some of the new features are just irritating (for instance, sometimes all of your towers just disappear, sold by glados, and you've got to frantically rebuild).
All in all the "You Monster" map pack is good in a "more levels is good" way, and there's a lot of fun in there for the price - but tbh I prefer the original maps. Thoroughly enjoyed playing through those ones again, to get back into the swing of things. They've changed the scoring system since we played it a few years ago, btw Kieron, (you now get 24k extra points for finishing a level) which has resulted in our scores looking completely crap. Mine are okay now that I've replayed all the levels, so it's just yours looking embarrassingly low now... ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 28, 2012, 07:16:22 PM
lol... I was top of each level im sure.. I will probably download the DLC at some point.. its just that getting back into the swing of things that puts me off...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 28, 2012, 07:30:22 PM
You were only ahead of me on a couple of levels.


Rumours abound today about the Sony Orbis (aka ps4) coming out in 2013...
All unsubstantiated of course.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 28, 2012, 11:13:59 PM
Very odd decision if both Sony and Microsoft give pre-owned software the finger. These online passes are bad enough but if you can't play a single player campaign when you buy a title pre-owned then I'm not going anywhere near them.

I can see Nintendo utilising the NFC technology in the controller to deter piracy but can't see them doing anything to discourage pre-owned software use. Pissing off retailers in this industry isn't a good idea. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 29, 2012, 09:23:00 AM
But if microsoft/sony did stop the use of pre-owned games and piracy and also implemented digital purchases of all retail games... dont you think the RRP of their games will go down in price (like the PC).. and therefore make the Wii U games the more expensive... something that would be a massive disadvantage for nintendo.

...as much as I dont want MS/Sony to kill the pre-owned market.. I think if they both did... that still wouldnt tempt me to buy a Wii U..  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 29, 2012, 10:36:28 AM
They won't go down enough to beat pre-owned prices though mate unfortunately. And you should wait for the Wii U information blowout at this years E3 before making up your mind mate. A great deal of people are going to be pleasantly (and some fanboys unpleasantly lol) surprised by what we're going to see.

A Nintendo console with good third party support is too much for most gamers with any sort of sense to resist. The best quality first party titles combined with the best third party support any Nintendo console has had since the SNES :o

2D and 3D Mario games, Metroid FPA, Eternal Darkness sequel, Donkey Kong, F Zero, Wave Race, Punch Out, Zelda, untitled Retro game (although this may be Metroid), untitled Monolith Soft game (the developers behind Xenoblade, considered by many to be the best JRPG released this gen), Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros..

And then you've got the third party multiplatform titles that will be a better experience on the U...the most important 2 of note imo will be Tiger Woods and Aliens Colonial Marines. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 29, 2012, 01:05:51 PM
Killing off the second hand market will require a big drop in rrp.
As I've said before, I have no brand loyalty - cost and quality are my biggest concerns. If the U has a second hand market and the new sony and microsoft don't then I'd have to seriously consider my options. That's assuming all of the next gen consoles have similar price and similar specs. Can't see that assumption being correct, but even so - I'd have to consider going with the inferior product if I know the games are going to be cheaper (ie buy new and sell second hand, or buy second hand and keep). If Sony/Microsoft games are considerably cheaper they stand a good chance of getting my custom. If they're priced at a similar level to the U, though, I'll be one of the umpteen million who abandon them and get a nintendo instead. Much as it pains me.



Can't see hardware or software publishers benefiting from this, tbh. We're all on a budget, and if punters can't sell their originals or buy second hand ones they're either going to have to pay a lot less for each game or buy a lot less games. (Or defect to the console that allows a second hand market.)

Net effect is they're reducing profit margins, and killing a rival industry (which will mean more companies struggling and more lay-offs for young people). Way to go.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 29, 2012, 04:58:38 PM
Why would it pain you to get a U..? They seem to be doing everything right - releasing a true next gen console with high-end components, making attempts to get their online infrastructure up to snuff, paying attention to feedback from third party developers regarding development of the hardware and making great efforts to get third party support.

Seems to me that they're going out of their way to win back traditional/enthusiast/hardcore/dudebro gamers. :o I can't think of anything more they could possibly do to attract third parties to the platform - they're even giving away tens of thousands of pounds worth of middleware and software for U development for free. Wouldn't surprise me if that's ended up costing them a few million altogether. It's certainly an industry first.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 29, 2012, 10:18:54 PM
Apart from the stigma (Nintendo being a slightly more gay brand than KY these days) you mean?

The tech. Despite your protestations to the contrary, everyone knows the rival consoles will be massively superior to the U.
As I say, the U might be a viable option though.  Only time will tell...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 30, 2012, 12:42:00 AM
We'll have to wait and see about the power of it. On paper, from what we can glean from the very few leaks, it's around 3 times more powerful than the 360 in some areas - 3 times the RAM (although I still think we'll see 2GB of DDR3 myself), 3 times the L2 cache for the CPU, 3 times the eDRAM on die for the GPU. One huge thing going in the U's favour is the CPU being OoOE rather than IoE like the 360 and PS3 are stuck with. I can understand why Microsoft chose IoE, because they rushed their CPU development to be first out of the gate but I'm really not sure what Sony were thinking tbh. :-\

Taking everything into account we're looking at a console around 4 times more powerful than the 360 which is pretty much a traditional leap in power from one gen to the next. And I really can't see Sony and Microsoft 'doing a PS3' next gen. The U will be the least powerful of the lot but we're not going to have a Wii situation next gen thanks to Nintendo getting rid of the TEV Unit and replacing it with traditional programable shaders. It'll be easy as pie for developers to up-port to the PS4 and 720 if the U is the lead platform (which should be the case mostly) or down-port from the PS4 and 720 if either one of the other two is the lead platform. :)

I can't wait for next gen to start tbh, this gen has gone on for far too long.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 30, 2012, 08:30:50 AM
Personally for me.. its the fact the Wii U is going to be fully motion controlled.. thats what puts me off the most...
Then you've got the fact Im not interested in ANY of their 1st party franchises anymore...
Their 3rd party support, whilst it maybe improved, it wont be as good as what the power twins offer..
The fact it has no inbuilt media functionality or hard-drive isnt a massive issue.. but I do get full use of the 360's streaming and playback capabilities
It will be the least powerful console available, I like to have up-to-date gadgets..
Also the fact, none of my mates will buy a nintendo console...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 30, 2012, 12:33:30 PM
Taking everything into account we're looking at a console around 4 times more powerful than the 360 which is pretty much a traditional leap in power from one gen to the next....

We've had nothing but rumours, as is usually the case with Nintendo, and it's impossible to do a direct comparison and say a console is "x" times as powerful as another - but around half the rumours seem to put it at about three times as powerful as the 360, and half the rumours have it about equal with the 360.
I'd imagine both are right, with some elements three times as powerful and some only on a par. And that's a woeful increase in anyone's eyes but Harv's. They've had about seven years to come up with a contender for the next gen crown, and they've come up with something that only just shades the current gen.

Not sure where you get the impression each gen is usually around four times as powerful as the last. I'm pretty sure that most benchmarks have each gen at significantly more than ten times as powerful as the last. And that's when they have around 3 or 4 years to come up with a new gen - this time we've had double that, and could arguably expect to leap forward the equivalent of two generations.
Now I'm not saying the next consoles from Sony and Microsoft will be a hundred times as powerful as their current ones - but they'll surely blow the Nintendo machine out of the water.

As for motion control - I really don't like it, but I can't say whether it's a deciding factor for me at this time - because there's a high probability that all three consoles will have it in one form or another. Hopefully they'll not be the norm on the Sony/Microsoft machines, though, but again we can only speculate at this point...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 30, 2012, 02:42:47 PM
Most people just compare the likes of RAM, GPU, CPU number of cores, number of SMTs and CPU clockspeed. The last two are a complete waste of time when comparing CPUs from one gen to another. It's also pretty pointless looking at those other comparisons and ignoring the fact that the CPU and GPU both have on die eDRAM, the fact that the CPU is OoOE not IoE, the fact that the CPU and the GPU are more efficient and the fact that the GPU is going to have all of the features of SM 4.1 if not 5.0.

The CPU having OoOE is what's bringing my average of 3x to 4x though, this is a huge difference.

In Order Execution means that all processes are in a stack and they need to be processed in order. If the information needed to process that process cycle then the process cycle is idle and the CPU waits for the next cycle to check things out.

Out of Order Execution means that, again, all processes are held in a stack. But this time if the information isn't there then the CPU looks at the next instruction in the stack, or the next, or the next. Meaning that there are a great deal fewer idle processes going on.

OoOE is a very big deal, and one thing that a great deal of people don't think about when comparing CPUs.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 30, 2012, 03:40:44 PM
You're not even considering NaGaS or M-CaW in your argument, though, which is a big deciding factor for most people.
Nintendo are Gay and Shite.
Motion-Controls are Wank.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 30, 2012, 04:27:51 PM
You're not even considering NaGaS or M-CaW in your argument, though, which is a big deciding factor for most people.
Nintendo are Gay and Shite.
Motion-Controls are Wank.

Okay, I'll bite lol. What are those two acronyms you've just made up ;D

Edit: Just got back from Tescos with my 2.1 PC speakers. I've been relegated to my PC running through the Sega branded Conduit speakers I got for free when pre-ordering the first game since Georgie Porgie chewed through the wires on the 2.1 speakers I was using before.

*Shakes fist at Georgie Porgie*

They give surprisingly good sound quality as it goes ;D

Another Edit: Just looked at your quote lol. Sneaky bugger! For the first one opinions may change now that Nintendo are targeting the hardcore/dudebro/enthusiast [delete as applicable]. There are plenty of Nintendo IPs that are untapped this gen that will attract that demographic - Wave Race, 1080o, F-Zero, Eternal Darkness, Kid Icarus, Star Fox and probably a shedload that I've forgotten about.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 30, 2012, 04:35:58 PM
You're not even considering NaGaS or M-CaW in your argument, though, which is a big deciding factor for most people.
Nintendo are Gay and Shite.
Motion-Controls are Wank.

Okay, I'll bite lol. What are those two acronyms you've just made up ;D
/me sniggers
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 30, 2012, 04:43:18 PM
lol...  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 30, 2012, 04:51:50 PM
*Shakes fist at late*

...but remains happy because he can finally use superscript to display the degree symbol lol :P

Edit: Forgot to add that for the second acronym the U controller has all the functionality of a traditional controller with the added bonus that it has a touchscreen that's ideal for a number of genres - RPG, RTS, sports games, action RPGs, sandbox games, puzzle games...the list goes on and on. Gearbox have already stated that the U SKU of Alien Colonial Marines is going to be the definitive version to own, partly due to better IQ but mostly due to the controller.

Epic's Mark Rein has also stated that Rocksteady have also implemented some cool uses for the touchscreen controller.

Just because the controller also supports motion controls due to having an accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer doesn't mean that all games will be motion control based. Developers have plenty of options to use - a traditional control scheme, a traditional control scheme with motion control elements and a return to full motion controls thanks to the U being compatible with the remote and nunchuck.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 30, 2012, 07:47:09 PM
If it's resistive it'll be crap, and will be significantly more expensive than current generation controllers.  If it's capacitive it'll be ridiculously expensive if you want to use more than one controller - assuming you actually can use more than one controller. Either way it'll be a lot heavier and less ergonomic than current controllers.
And if the tech is there of course motion controls will be incorporated - however badly it's done. Companies will add stupid pointless features that actually detract from the game just so the tech is used - as has happened with games on any platform before it (wii and vita both prime examples).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 30, 2012, 08:33:51 PM
Resistive touchscreens are better suited to gaming mate. Capacitive touchscreens are useless for gaming because they're not accurate enough. Resistive touchscreens are pixel perfect, I've lost count the number of times that I've had to press above or below a link on my phone because clicking on the link itself doesn't do bugger all.

The only advantage that capacitive touchscreens have over resistive is that they're multitouch but having a multitouch touchscreen isn't necessary for gaming when you have two analog sticks and a multitude of buttons available.

All you need to do is play any game on a mobile phone or use a mobile phone to surf the web to realise how crap capacitive touchscreens are.

Edit: Just found out something interesting from Gaf, the 360 always keeps one thread reserved for processing sound. The U has a DSP that handles the audio, meaning that the U CPU is going to have 16.6% more power than the 360's CPU before you take the OoOE and extra eDRAM into account. Am really surprised they decided to do that tbh, but again, it could be due to them rushing to release it :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 30, 2012, 09:22:45 PM
Damn but you need a new phone
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 30, 2012, 09:54:33 PM
Getting a new one in a few months, got my HTC Desire HD on a two year contract.

Even if they have improved they're still not going to be pixel perfect due to being unsuitable for stylus use.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 31, 2012, 11:24:27 AM
A desire hd should be pretty accurate. Way fancier than my phone, which is perfectly fine.

Don't know why you'd want to use a stylus. If a game or app requires accuracy to the degree you need to use a stylus it's very poorly designed.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 31, 2012, 03:56:29 PM
It's actually one of the Lot Checks that a DS, DSi and 3DS game/app has to be playable without using a stylus, but there are some things, such as SwapNote or anything that involves drawing or writing, that need accuracy. And as I've said, a capacitive touchscreen isn't necessary because the Nintendo consoles have buttons, sticks and d-pads. If there's no need for a capacitive touchscreen then it's pointless having one and upping production and retail costs unnecessarily.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 31, 2012, 04:52:50 PM
Resistive is crap - I'm not trying to convince you, it's just true.
I assume you agree with the rest of my post.

If it's resistive it'll be crap, and will be significantly more expensive than current generation controllers.  If it's capacitive it'll be ridiculously expensive if you want to use more than one controller - assuming you actually can use more than one controller. Either way it'll be a lot heavier and less ergonomic than current controllers.
And if the tech is there of course motion controls will be incorporated - however badly it's done. Companies will add stupid pointless features that actually detract from the game just so the tech is used - as has happened with games on any platform before it (wii and vita both prime examples).



Tried GRAW 1 a few days ago - couldn't get into it.
Put Bulletstorm in the machine today,  and thoroughly enjoying it so far.




Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 31, 2012, 07:27:35 PM
So apart from multitouch, which isn't needed for gaming purposes, how exactly is a capacitive touchscreen better..? Resistive touchscreens are more accurate, can detect and distinguish between different amounts of pressure, can be used both with and without a stylus and are cheaper.

The only thing I can think of that a capacitive touchscreen can do that a resistive touchscreen can't is allow your fingers to zoom in and out. The benefits I've listed above outweigh that disadvantage imo, because a browser, which is really the only app that I can think of that this feature is handy for, can be given + and - buttons on the touchscreen to zoom in and out.

Resistive touchscreens are better suited to gaming, just because it's older technology does not mean it's 'crap'. ;)

Edit: And no, I don't agree with what you've posted. All hands-on reports have stated that the controller is light and ergonomically sound. It remains to be seen whether the U can handle more than one controller but there was a significant power difference between dev kits v3 and v4 and another small increase between v4.2 and v5. They're not selling them separately at launch but when they do decide to do so it won't be any more expensive than a remote and nunchuck combination, there isn't a great deal of hardware inside the controller.

As for motion controls I can see developers having motion controls as an option, like using the controller as a steering wheel or to aim a weapon but the majority of developers will prefer to use the touchscreen feature. Having maps, inventory handling, puzzle solving etc. Rocksteady have some great uses for the touchscreen for Arkham City apparently, and Gearbox have stated that the U SKU of Alien Colonial Marines is going to be the definitive version. All sounds good to me.

I'm just hoping that developers are going to continue to have a remote and nunchuck control scheme for FPS and TPS games. It'll feel like going back to the Stone Age after using superior pointer controls for so long.

Another Edit: Have just started playing Arkham Asylum and it's a million miles better than the demo which really didn't float my boat for some reason. Looking forward to playing the sequel on the U, using the controller for Detective Mode is one obvious use for the new controller but Rein was singing Rocksteady's praises for what they'd done with it so there must be other less obvious and cooler uses for it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 02, 2012, 10:16:52 AM
Oh don't make me do this...

So apart from multitouch, which isn't needed for gaming purposes, how exactly is a capacitive touchscreen better..?
If Nintendo intend their next gen console to be used only for gaming they've made yet another monumental screw up. You don't think the screen on the U controller will have a browser, and other apps which would benefit massively from a capacitive screen? Of course multi-touch will be important.
And who's to say multitouch couldn't be used in games? You seem to be under the impression that Nintendo don't use capacitive because multitouch isn't needed - whereas the reality is multitouch isn't used in games because the screens aren't capable of it. And before you say "we don't need it because there's buttons on the side that'll give you those functions" don't bother - that's like saying my car doesn't need an engine because it's got no floor - so I can power it Fred Flintstone style.

Resistive touchscreens are more accurate..
You're hung up on accuracy, but capacitive screens are more than accurate enough. Sure, resistive can have almost pixel perfect accuracy whereas capacitive is more "within a few pixels" but in what games are you going to need to be accurate to within a pixel or two? That's not going to be fun - that's a chore.
I'm surprised at your quest for accuracy when you've spent the last five years extolling the virtues of the wii - which spent the first half of it's life ridiculously inaccurate, and the second half was merely stupendously inaccurate thanks to it's "plus" peripheral.

Resistive touchscreens ... can detect and distinguish between different amounts of pressure
Oooh, that's nice. Gets used a lot, that, does it?
Actually, I've never heard of that, and I can't see how it'd work - unless you had multiple layers of flexible screen - in which case the cost would rise and the accuracy would diminish. You could conceivably simulate the effect with a finger or softer stylus by saying a touch with larger surface area is equivalent to touching harder, but that's going to be a poor approximation of the effect you're touting.

Resistive touchscreens ... can be used both with and without a stylus
You want an input method that's accurate to the nearest pixel and can be used by a finger? A finger that presumably covers several hundred pixels with a touch? How's that better than capacitive? It really isn't.
And using a stylus when gaming on the big screen and using the tablet controller definitely doesn't sound smooth. I can picture it now. I'm cornered in a massive multiplayer FPS war online, and I want to use a smoke grenade to hopefully aid in my escape. I ask everyone to hold on for a minute while I relinquish all control over the right side controls. I'm no longer able to shoot, turn, jump, duck, change weapon, etc - but I do now have a hand free to extract the stylus from it's handy little housing so that I can pick the utility I want from my inventory. Putting the stylus back away I tell the internet folks they're okay to carry on shooting now...

Resistive touchscreens ... are cheaper.
That's the only thing resistive has in it's favour. You can't use that in an argument against me, though, when I was clearly saying capacitive screens are more expensive than resistive ones.
I suspect Nintendo will use resistive - and price will be the main reason. Price is a massive deciding factor, of course - but if you cut corners to save money then you're shooting yourself in the foot. The 3ds would've been more expensive had they included a second analogue stick, so they decided to just use one. Stupid stupid move.

The only thing I can think of that a capacitive touchscreen can do that a resistive touchscreen can't is allow your fingers to zoom in and out.
Tis the main thing, aye - and a major thing at that. Don't belittle it - it's fantastic and is already used well. There's also the tactile factor. Moving your finger across a piece of glass is so much nicer than doing so across a piece of flexible plastic. Urgh - it's like trying to distort the display on your old lcd school calculator. /Shudder.

The benefits I've listed above outweigh that disadvantage imo...
They don't imo.
Opinions, eh.

... a browser, which is really the only app that I can think of that this feature is handy for...
Really? That's very short sighted of you.

... a browser... can be given + and - buttons on the touchscreen to zoom in and out.
(http://i-love-cartoons.us/snags/clipart/Hanna-Barbera/Flintstones/Fred-Flintstone-Barney-Rubble-Car.jpg)

Resistive touchscreens are better suited to gaming...
No they're not. And again I refer you to the "If Nintendo intend their next gen console to be used only for gaming they've made yet another monumental screw up" point I made earlier.

just because it's older technology does not mean it's 'crap'. ;)
Just because something's newer and might replace your favourite stuff from yesteryear it doesn't mean it's rubbish or evil. Try to embrace new and superior tech, Harv...


I can't carry on like this, pointing out all the problems in your entire post. It's taken an hour so far and I'm barely a third of the way through.
A brief rebuttal of the remainder of your post:
Light and ergonomically sound? No, it's much heavier than current gen controllers, and much less comfortable and intuitive. That third part will partly be because it's new and different, of course, but the weight and comfort will remain.
If it can only support one controller it's a massive failure.
If it can support multiple controllers but they're over £40 each it's too expensive.
If you need a controller plus a wiimote plus a nunchuck they're taking the piss.
Motion controls are not superior to dual analogue. Most folk find them frustrating and inaccurate.
Arkham City was very good, and most folk thoroughly enjoyed it toward the end of 2011. Not sure why you'd deliberately wait until 2013 to get it.



Edit - BBCode error
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 02, 2012, 10:22:15 AM
lol.... certainly agree with late on this...

in fact Im going to piss on your parade a bit more and give you 3 more reasons why the Wii U controller is going to suck....

1.  The thumbsticks are not analog thumbsticks.. they are circle pads.. this means you cant "click" the thumbsticks in and it also means they lack the resistance and smoothness that an analog thumbstick gives you... the only advantage circle pads have over analog sticks.. circle pads are flat and dont stick out of the controller.. woooo!!!

2.  The right hand circle pad is positioned above the buttons.. have you ever noticed that on every dual thumbstick controller ever made, the right hand thumbstick is directly located south-west of the buttons... this isnt just coincidence.. this is design for practicality and ergonomic use... think about it.. playstation controller, xbox controller, gamecube controller, even the wii's arcade controller (or whatever its called)... to put the right hand thumbstick above the buttons lacks foresight and it will feel awkward playing FPS games and the like with these controls.. they only did it to save space.. but the controller is already too bulky...

3. The triggers on the Wii U controller... they aren't analog triggers.. they are just back buttons... so basically they lack the functionality a trigger will give you... (they are not pressure sensitive in other words)... tell me the last REALISTIC racing game you played where a trigger didnt replicate the acceleration function in a car.. how awkward would it feel if you played Forza or Gran Turismo if you just had a GO and a STOP button.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 02, 2012, 11:58:07 AM
Ughhh - I didn't know about the digital shoulder buttons. That's a bit backward. Any idea if that's confirmed for the production model?
I'll lol my effin pants off if Nintendo end up having to bring out a strap-on for the u controller like they've had to for the wiimote and the 3ds.

Good call on the circle pads. Have only had a few quick goes on the 3ds down our Asda, and I really don't like those pads.

I'm not so bothered about the button layout, personally. I loved the ps2 controller but switched to the xbox360 controller easily enough, despite the left analogue stick seeming too high for the first few days. I'd imagine the right one moving up, too, wouldn't cause any real problems.

On a related note, I've been playing on the ds a bit lately, and keep hitting the wrong buttons because A and B are the opposite way 'round to those on the 360. :D Only really a problem if you're constantly flitting between the two consoles, as I'm doing lately.
Thoroughly enjoying Final Fantasy 3 on the ds, at the moment.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on April 02, 2012, 12:32:15 PM
Google have an exclusive on their maps site. Go to Google Maps and select the Quest View to see what Google Maps will look like on the Wii U.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 02, 2012, 12:40:49 PM
lol!  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 02, 2012, 01:03:30 PM
Ughhh - I didn't know about the digital shoulder buttons. That's a bit backward. Any idea if that's confirmed for the production model?
I'll lol my effin pants off if Nintendo end up having to bring out a strap-on for the u controller like they've had to for the wiimote and the 3ds.

Nothings final until nintendo say it is of course... which wont be until E3.. but I would imagine that because the 3DS doesnt have pressure sensitive triggers.. the Wii U controller probably wont either....



LOL.. the Circle Pad Pro - worst hardware accessory - EVER!!

(http://www.revogamers.net/xtranet/js/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/imagemanager/files/circlepadpro_4.jpg)

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 02, 2012, 01:25:52 PM
Blimey, so much to cover.

Firstly the weight and ergonomics of the controller. How do you know it'sheavier than a traditional controller..? The 360 controller weighs a tonne. And, again, all hands-on reports say that it's light. And it's very comfortable to use. I haven't read any complaints about the placement of buttons or sticks either.

Now for the sticks. They're not the same as the circle pads on the 3DS, they're taller, meaning that you're going to have more precision and they have a ridge around the outside to prevent sweaty thumbs from slipping off. And it remains to be seen whether they're clickable or not, if enough developers request it they'll give them that functionality. If they're not clickable then developers have the option of having crouch or ADS functions as buttons on the touchscreen. I strongly suspect that they'll be clickable when the final design is revealed at E3 in June.

The triggers, according to rumours, are now analog triggers because developers have requested it.

The console and controller we've seen so far aren't final, the console is still in development. In fact, the console on display at E3 was just an empty box apparently with the dev kits hidden behind lol.

And I didn't say motion controls, I said pointer controls when I was talking about FPS and TPS games. If two players of comparable skill were playing each other, one with dual analogs and the other with pointer controls, the player with pointer controls will always beat the player with dual analogs. The only advantage that dual analog users used to have was a superior turning speed but now that pointer controls have evolved fully for the last 4 years that advantage is no longer a factor. They're faster, smoother and more accurate than dual analogs. That isn't an opinion, it's a fact.

Just wait until E3, some of you will end up changing your mind about the U when you see what it can do, see and hear hands-on reports on the final controller, and, most importantly see the games that are going to be available.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 02, 2012, 02:32:53 PM
Not sure if Nintendo have announced the weight yet (I'd imagine not) but early reports said it felt lighter than it looked (which isn't saying much, as it looks bulky). However those early reports were from using an early wired controller with no rumble/feedback. Once they stick a battery and rumble motors in there it's going to be a lot heavier.
I'm assuming they'll add both. It'd be a massive step backward to drop either feature.

Putting virtual buttons on a touchscreen does not compensate for lack of buttons or features elsewhere on a controller. Clicking a thumbstick in is intuitive and easy. Looking away from the action to see whereabouts on a touchscreen a virtual button is would be a pain in the arse. Even if you've memorised it because it's in a very convenient spot it still means taking your thumb off the stick.

I'll agree with your final point, though. There's every chance I'll change my mind after E3.
At present I'm open minded and seriously considering getting one - but that may well change once we have some more solid information (or rather some slightly more accurate guesses and inferences.



I appreciate you're a busy man, but you've neglected to respond to the vast majority of my earlier points. I'll summarise some of the bits you missed, to make it easier for you...
1. Is the screen just for gaming, or might it be used for other purposes?
2. Don't you think multitouch might be handy in some of those other purposes?
3. You really don't think multitouch could be incorporated well into games?
4. Aside from the possible exception of drawing, in what instances would a capacitive screen be too inaccurate to use?
5. Has varying pressure on a capacitive screen ever been incorporated into a game?
6. How could such a tech be possible? (It may be, but I genuinely can't see how, other than the dodgy method I mentioned previously.)
7. If the touchscreen can be used without a stylus is a resistive screen really more accurate than a capacitive one? I suspect it's actually less accurate, as it's more likely to just count the upper-leftmost pixel you're touching, whereas capacitive is effectively using the centre of the point of contact.
8. If you can only have one tablet controller per console are Nintendo ditching local 2 (or more) player games?
9. If you can only have one tablet controller but other people can play, does the player with the new controller have an advantage over the other players? If not, then the controller is pointless of course.
There's loads of other parts of the argument you're falling short on, but if you can offer rebuttal/opinion/insight to the above we're making a step in the right direction.


I'm happy to be proven wrong on any misconceptions I have about the U.
"Proven" doesn't mean guessing at something or retelling a rumour, and then following it with "and that's a fact!", however.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on April 02, 2012, 02:44:42 PM
Started sky rim.

These games worry me cos of the scale of it. i found a mine and ended up spending 45 minutes in it. levelled up and did a bit of work on weapons forging

lot of gameplay, doubt I'll ever get the time to finish it
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 02, 2012, 03:05:27 PM
Heh - I was the same. ;D  After the initial scenes where you end up in Riften I was supposed to go North to Whiterun, but meandered in a NW direction and ended up at a camp (Secunda's Kiss). Probably spent about two hours there, fighting the two giants.
Ended up playing the game for months, and still only ended up doing around half of the obvious quests (and I'd imagine there's a multitude of other stuff I'm not aware of).
I think that's what put me off Oblivion. Too many things to do, too many choices - it just overwhelmed me, and I was scared to make decisions in case they'll cause me problems a few days or weeks later. Never really got going in the end.
In Skyrim though I just adopted more of a "screw it - let's have fun now, and if I miss out on a few things by making bad decisions then so be it" attitude.


My best advice, then:
(1) don't feel pressured to do the quests in any order (or at all) - if you prefer to just wander around and have fun your own way that's fine, and worked really well for me. If you later decide to do some quests you'll find them pretty easy to do, because you're a higher level than most folk are when they do that. And fairly often you'll end up completing quests without realising you're doing so. (For instance, I regularly got quests to find something but it turned out I already had it in my inventory - and my character still has loads of items in his backpack that I can't put down because they're essential for some quest or other that I've never actually started. Tis all good, though.)
(2) don't buy a horse. They're expensive, keep wandering off, die easily (sometimes without you noticing) and don't actually speed you up all that much.
(3) save frequently. It's bloody annoying if something goes disastrously wrong and your last save was a few hours back.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 02, 2012, 03:23:59 PM
1) It's primarily for gaming but it'll also be handy for other uses such as a browser, drawing, writing and viewing messages, viewing photos...the list is endless. And whilst a multitouch capacitive screen would be better for browsing and zooming in and out of photos it would be useless for writing and drawing purposes. I'm expecting a SwapNote equivalent on the U which would be useless unless you want your messages to look like pants. But primarily the touchscreen is going to be used for gaming purposes, it is a game console after all.

2) See above. Why would you need multitouch for writing or drawing..? Why (apart from zooming with your fingers) would you need multitouch for viewing pictures..? Reading manuals? Reading game guides? It isn't necessary.

3) Again, I can't think of an instance where having a multitouch touchscreen will be necessary in a gaming application. Multitouch is only used in smartphone gaming because you don't have sticks, buttons and triggers.

4) Drawing and writing are the only ones I can think of, but there the only times I'd use a stylus over my finger. The thing is that this is an option, and one that you don't have with a capacitive touchscreen.

5) The 3DS has a pressure sensitive touchscreen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3o3NS538sc) and so does the DSi as far as I remember. If their last two handhelds have pressure sensitive touchscreens I can't see why the U controller won't have one.

6) No idea how they do it

7) My point was that it's more accurate when using a stylus, they're both as bad as each other when not using one

8) It remains to be seen, I suspect that part of the power jump between v3 and v4 dev kits was due to implementing the use of 2 controllers. And no, They're not ditching local multiplayer. They're adopting assymetrical multiplayer - one player having the touchscreen controller and up to 4 opponents using remote and nunchuck controllers.

9) Yes, during assymetrical multiplayer the player using the touchscreen controller has an advantage, we've seen how this can work during demos of Chase Mii and Battle Mii as well as the Freaks proof-of-concept demo. The Freaks demo in particular shows how much of a game changing experience the new controller can be.



It should also be noted that if the U can support the use of two touchscreen controllers that this would mean, during local multiplayer, that you will need your opponent to bring his touchscreen controller to your place as they aren't planning to sell them separately the last we've heard. When they do decide to sell them I can't see them selling for more than the price of a remote and nunchuck combination which people have been quite happy to do for years, despite being more expensive than the average controller. Of course this may change drastically if Nintendo announce haptic technology lol.

Also the use of two touchscreen controllers will mean (assuming that the screen display contains a complex 3D rendering) that the main screen and screen display IQ may have to be downgraded, the same way that splitscreen displays are. However I'm expecting most games to use the touchscreen to show maps, inventories, objectives and tactics when they're using more than one touchscreen.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 02, 2012, 04:52:59 PM
So in summary, you agree the U will be crap?*
Glad we finally got there in the end.

Plenty of rumours about the new Microsoft and Sony machines today. If they're to be believed, both plan on releasing in 2013. The ms is expected to have a blu ray drive (thank gawd) rather than just using digital distribution, but both consoles are still heavily tipped to have anti- piracy and anti- preowned measures with the nextbox touted as requiring a steam-style "always on" internet connection.

There's a lot of talk about the technical side of things, too, but it's beyond my very limited understanding. I don't know what a GPU is (I'll hazard a guess it's a processing unit dedicated to graphics, though), but so long as a console has more of them than the Ninty I imagine it's all good. The Nintendo has only one, right?





* Hate to be the one to back down, as it looks like I'm giving up on my points, whereas the reality is that I'm right but banging my head against a brick wall - but I really can't afford to spend all day arguing with you over this. You've decided the U will be great and won't be swayed. I'm pretty much as neutral as one can be, but lately I find myself focussing more on the negatives on all three next gen consoles. If I seem down on the Nintendo it's only a combination of it seeming to have more negatives, and my posts being countered by a fanboy who'll argue that every negative is a positive. If I mention a shortcoming in the other consoles they're met by the community with more reasoned discussion...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 02, 2012, 05:05:30 PM
I didn't say anything of the sort. ;)

And I think we can safely rule out this rumour of the 720 having 2 GPUs, especially if they're saying they're going to both be 7000 series lololol. Unless of course you want to fork out over a grand for a console lol.

You've also got to consider that they'll probably be including Kinect 2.0 with the console which will have the CPU they removed from Kinect 1.0 bunged back in.

People expecting the PS4 and 720 to be drastically more powerful than the U are going to be very disappointed. Most people aren't knowledgeable enough about hardware to know that Nintendo are making efforts to produce a next gen console with high end hardware. Having a gap in power between the U and PS4/720 comparable to the gap in power between the Wii and PS3/360 is impossible after the confirmations that both IBM and AMD made last year.

The Nerd Rage is going to be hilarious when Sony and Microsoft fanboys realise that next gen is going to be more traditional and similar to last gen in terms of the difference in power between the 3 consoles.

I'd also take this talk of having the 720 always connected to the internet with a pinch of salt too. Whilst internet connections in homes these days is commonplace there will still be casual gamers, who Microsoft are now targeting, that don't have an internet connection. We'll have to wait and see I guess.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 02, 2012, 05:21:14 PM
And I wouldn't classify myself as a fanboy either. I like the Wii and 3DS, and am really liking the sound of the U but if I were to be classified as a fanboy of one of the three platform holders it would be Sony, not Nintendo. ;)

I've owned a Sony console for the last 3 console generations, have owned a Sony portable last portable generation and if the Vita was at a decent pricepoint, had decently priced memory expansions and decent games then I'd own a Sony portable this portable generation too. Plus I much prefer Sony IPs to Nintendo IPs too. The only Nintendo IPs I would say are on a par with Sony IPs are Zelda and Metroid. Uncharted, Killzone (apart from the first one which was shite), God of War, Resistance and LittleBigPlanet knock the socks off of any of the other Nintendo franchises...although Super Mario Galaxies 1 and 2 are on a par in small doses, but Mario being the most annoying character in video game history means I can only play them in small doses.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on April 02, 2012, 08:42:26 PM
You are such a fan boy
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 02, 2012, 09:37:22 PM
Then how come (Wii aside) I prefer Sony consoles and franchises to Nintendo ones. If Resident Evil Revelations was a Vita title and Sony hadn't seriously cocked up with the Vita I probably wouldn't have got a 3DS...and I'm still planning getting a Vita as soon as Sony see sense, bring the price down and have some decent software available for it.

The Wii is the first Nintendo console I've ever owned - I've never owned a NES or SNES thanks to gaming on my Speccy, I bought a PS1 over an N64, a PS2 over a Gamecube, a Game Gear over a Gameboy and a PSP over a DS.

I like what Nintendo have done this gen with motion controls at a time when gaming for me had started to become stale and I've also liked what they've done with the 3DS...playing Resident Evil in 3D without glasses is excellent. And I also like what they're doing with the U, although to be fair I wasn't too keen on it when the leaks first started before E3.

Just because I'm a fan of 1/5 Nintendo home consoles and 1/6 Nintendo portable consoles doesn't make me a fanboy. I'm a fan of the Wii, I'm a fan of the 3DS and now I'm a big fan of the U. But Nintendo..? No, like I've already stated I tend to prefer Sony as a company than Nintendo.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 02, 2012, 11:06:51 PM
Then how come (Wii aside) I prefer Sony consoles and franchises to Nintendo ones.

It's not fanboyism to like the playstations - all three have been superb machines. If you own one and you tell people it's good that's only fair.

The wii, on the other hand really is crap. It's okay that some people (kids, old people, casual gamers) like it, because it really is clever - in its own niche way - but it's not a proper gaming machines and if an adult male "proper" gamer likes it there's definitely something amiss. Pretty much a classic definition of fanboyism.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 02, 2012, 11:39:33 PM
The Wii has missed out on plenty of big name multiplatform titles but it makes up for it due to the exclusives and Tiger Woods, Pro Evo and Guitar Hero being considerably better on the Wii platform.

Now the U is guaranteed third party multiplatform titles (for publishers that have any sense) at the end of this year/beginning of next year, will be guaranteed third party multiplatform titles next gen (thanks to Nintendo ditching the TEV Unit in favour of a GPU using programable shaders) and, unless Sony and Microsoft 'borrow' the touchscreen idea, will have superior versions of some of the third party multiplatform titles - Tiger Woods, FIFA, Pro Evo, Alien Colonial Marines, Resident Evil 6, Fallout 4, any RTS game and any game that uses an inventory/map waypoints/puzzle solving.

I really wasn't keen on the touchscreen controller when I first heard about it but the idea has grown on me now that I've thought of the advantages compared to a bog standard controller. And if there's a game where a touchscreen controller isn't necessary then it can double as a traditional controller anyway. It gives developers and designers more options, and that's a good thing imo.

I'm still hoping for haptic technology myself but it wasn't present in v4-4.2 of the dev kits and, despite the 3DS not having 3D screens until the very las minute, I can't see it happening at this late stage. Shame because it would be very cool indeed. 8) :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 03, 2012, 08:58:09 AM
Harvs not a Nintendo fanboy!!!!

(http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/1/3/3/2/3/6/0/a_med_4.jpg.jpg)

He's just misunderstood!

Seriously though harv... read this in an article about fanboyism... who on this forum do you think it describes the best...  ;D

Quote
Of course, real fanboys have grown out of ascribing anthropomorphic sexualities to inanimate gaming hardware. They've packed up their $ signs and clever rhyming puns featuring the word "gay" and moved into the comments threads about Serious Business, like quarterly financials and profit forecasts and corporate lawsuits and pixel shaders and alpha transparencies and shadow mapping and cabbages and kings.

Let's face facts - you don't know a damned thing about any of that stuff. Not really. You've read a few articles on the internet, and you've seen some phrases repeated often enough that you can blab them back out again like a parrot (possibly with some extra swearing added to show just how serious this all really is).

But if you really understood market economics, or corporate law, or modern graphics processing hardware... Well, you'd be earning a lot more money, you'd be able to afford to buy all the consoles you wanted, and you wouldn't have to engage in competitive online urination contests to prove the worthiness of your purchasing decisions.

The problem for the rest of us - the reason you're an annoyance, not just an amusement - is that you make so much bloody noise the games media, the whole conversation around games, ends up catering to you.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 03, 2012, 09:21:02 AM
(http://forum.performancebmwmag.com/images/smiles/mutley-pmsl.gif)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 03, 2012, 12:11:26 PM
Lol, that's about right...except I do know about console hardware ;)

A couple of anonymous developers have stated that the U is less powerful than the PS3 and 360 but I'm pretty sure it was a late April Fools joke yesterday lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 03, 2012, 12:24:02 PM
They missed (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-04-02-wii-u-less-powerful-than-ps3-xbox-360-developers-say) April 1st by quite some margin if that's the case.

Tis all rumour and anonymous sources, as usual - but worrying nonetheless...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 03, 2012, 01:01:56 PM
Nah.. Im not buying that for a second... just a couple of fanboys trolling..  ;D

I downloaded South Park : Tenorman's Revenge, Daytona USA and You Monster DLC for Defense Grid the other night.. gonna give them a proper go later this week.. although first impressions of the south park game are not good... its funny.. but the gameplay is pretty bad.. and I heard it doesnt get any better... serves me right for not downloading the demo I guess..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 03, 2012, 07:25:38 PM
Retro have been snapping up developers from the now defunct Zipper Interactive and also Gearbox. That plus developers from Crytek and another developer known for mature titles whose name currently escapes me would point to a mature FPS/TPS title from them at some point imo. A mature FPS from Nintendo..? Bloody hell, given the quality of their first party offerings compared to both Sony and Microsoft we could very well end up seeing the best FPS game of all-time :o

Edit: Naughty Dog, knew it would come back to me eventually!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on April 03, 2012, 11:52:59 PM
Harvs not a Nintendo fanboy!!!!

(http://images.eurogamer.net/assets/articles//a/1/3/3/2/3/6/0/a_med_4.jpg.jpg)

He's just misunderstood!

Seriously though harv... read this in an article about fanboyism... who on this forum do you think it describes the best...  ;D

Quote
Of course, real fanboys have grown out of ascribing anthropomorphic sexualities to inanimate gaming hardware. They've packed up their $ signs and clever rhyming puns featuring the word "gay" and moved into the comments threads about Serious Business, like quarterly financials and profit forecasts and corporate lawsuits and pixel shaders and alpha transparencies and shadow mapping and cabbages and kings.

Let's face facts - you don't know a damned thing about any of that stuff. Not really. You've read a few articles on the internet, and you've seen some phrases repeated often enough that you can blab them back out again like a parrot (possibly with some extra swearing added to show just how serious this all really is).

But if you really understood market economics, or corporate law, or modern graphics processing hardware... Well, you'd be earning a lot more money, you'd be able to afford to buy all the consoles you wanted, and you wouldn't have to engage in competitive online urination contests to prove the worthiness of your purchasing decisions.

The problem for the rest of us - the reason you're an annoyance, not just an amusement - is that you make so much bloody noise the games media, the whole conversation around games, ends up catering to you.


Lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 04, 2012, 12:52:29 AM
And Vigil too, forgot about them. ;)

Not just me that thinks the U controller will be perfect for MMOs/MMORPGs (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/342534/wii-u-may-be-1st-console-to-run-mmorpgs-without-making-sacrifices/) 8)

Edit: Game have now been bought by OptCapita and they say that some of the people that were made redundant will be getting their jobs back. Good to hear, there's nothing more demoralising than being made redundant.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: gldntrmite13 on April 04, 2012, 02:25:02 PM
2 Major updates for Battlefield 3 came out yesterday.... cleaned up a few glitches and added custom servers etc....
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 04, 2012, 02:44:36 PM
Yup.. but you have to pay to play on the custom servers.. so its not free..... been like that on the PC for ages.. and its bollocks to be honest... one of the major reasons I loved BF2 so much was the ability to host private servers for free, create bots.. and all the rest... BF3 is a great game dont get me wrong... but I have hardly played it because multiplayer sucks compared to the possibilies you had in BF2..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: gldntrmite13 on April 04, 2012, 07:52:36 PM
Well to host your own server it costs however i found plenty of great games last night hopping on others servers that were open to the public... played a match of Conquest with 2500 spawn tickets... game went on for ever, ended up with over 150 kills in one match... LOL

I agree that paying for it sucks however like i stated, the few glitches they had have been corrected, "shotgun frag round long range killing" being the #1 fix that i'm happy to see.... getting sniped from 300 yards by a guy with frag rounds and a 12g shotgun was getting old..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 05, 2012, 09:17:27 AM
Nah I'd rather just play with a bunch of people I actually know and against the computer with bots... I knew about 7/8 people that would all play BF2 on a private server which was hosted at work... and it was great fun... plus Im crap at flying, so I'd like a server where I could just practice without annoying other people...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 05, 2012, 09:30:37 AM
I started playing Daytona USA the other day... realised that I have actually bought this game on 3 different consoles now lol...

I bought the original arcade version on the Saturn back in the 90's....I paid a full value retail price for the game back then... but it was seriously awesome back then.. the graphics were so good!!!

Then I bought the updated version on the Dreamcast, I remember it being a lot smoother, having more tracks, the graphics were much better and you could play 2 player split screen...

And now I've bought it on XBLA... which is the original version complete with arcade like graphics and seriously bad pop-up, its got a load of extra options on it... yet to try out multiplayer.. but will give it a bash... the achievements are easy peasy...

However the XBLA game has answered one of those mysteries I have always wondered about though as it has a karaoke mode in (although I could of easily looked it up on t'internet)..... in the Daytonnnnaaaaaaaa song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1WlBBVPMJo).. wtf is sang after the "Daytonnaaaaaa" bit.... well its "Lets Go Away"... yup as thought...I'd been singing the wrong lyrics for the past 2 decades...  ;D   (I thought it was "Its On Its Way"... but its actually easy to understand what's sung when not playing the game at the same time... but I always sang "Gaytonaaaa" anyway... ahhhh the childish humour I found funny... lol)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 05, 2012, 10:42:21 AM
Finished bulletstorm this morning. Whilst it's not outstanding, it's certainly a fun game, and I fully enjoyed it. In fact I'm considering playing it again.  I won't 100% it, but I'd like to get a few of the skillshots etc that I missed.
Definitely recommend the game if you see it cheap (I paid £2.97 second hand).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 05, 2012, 10:56:47 AM
How many skillshots did you get in the end late... cant remember what I got up too but your skillshots do carry over... your best bet to get them all is to do the challenge mode (rather than replaying the story) as you can add to your skillshots in there and obviously you can replay sections over and over if you mess one part up... I might go back to it when I have time - I know I didnt have many left...

dont know if you can add to the electric flies/news bots accumulations on challenge mode... but I missed one news bot along the way in the story which was incredibly annoying...  >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 05, 2012, 06:58:36 PM
Didn't get the achievement for 75% of skillshots, but I must've been bloody close.
Missed a few flies and 2 newsbots - and only got about half the beer bottles.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 05, 2012, 10:21:12 PM
Hmmm...Nintendo seem to be employing more Naughty Dog employees. This time Hirokazu Yasuhara, one of the co-creators of Sonic the Hedgehog, has joined NST. He worked on Uncharted 3. Going to be interesting to see what they come up with. Retro has employed a lot of devs recently but it's looking like NST are getting in on the action too.

Who's next..? EAD..? :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 05, 2012, 11:50:13 PM
Nintendo (http://m.yahoo.com/w/news_america/developers-claim-wii-u-weaker-ps3-360-nintendo-210201325.html?orig_host_hdr=news.yahoo.com&.intl=us&.lang=en-us) declined the opportunity to rubbish reports their new console is less powerful than the ps3 - instead pretty much saying they're not interested in power...  :/
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 06, 2012, 12:54:59 AM
We already know it's more powerful than the PS3 and 360. A Power7-based tri-core CPU with 2 SMTs per core, 3 times as much L2 cache as the 360 and, most importantly, an Out of Order Execution processor. Anywhere between 2-4 times as much RAM. A GPU that's at least 2 generations ahead of the RSX and Xenos with slightly more than 3 times as much eDRAM (32GB as opposed to 10GB) on die compared to the Xenos.

Someone on Gaf has theorised that the developers complaining about the CPU have been lazy buggers and ported directly to the U from the 360 without optimising the code: the 360 has at least 1 out of 6 threads dedicated to sound at all times and it's not unusual for developers to use 3 out of 6 threads for sound. The U has a DSP (Digital Sample Processor) that deals with sound without taxing the CPU. If they've ported it straight across then they're wasting 16.6%-50% of the U's processing power unnecessarily lol. Lazy gits. :o

We've already seen that the U is more powerful than the PS3 and 360 from the Zelda and Japanese Garden tech demos, and they were done on underclocked Alpha dev kits in a rush.

Some of the reactions from fanboys of all descriptions are hilarious though...there's been bannings all over the place on Gaf lololol

This is quite amusing though, just hit refresh for a new developer's comment lololol (http://vooks.net/wiiupower.html) ;D :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on April 07, 2012, 02:46:22 AM
http://gamecenter.grantgalitz.org/

Quality little link there. A few old Gameboy games to play in your browser.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 08, 2012, 03:01:35 AM
Talk now of a LucasArts MMO for the U (http://nintendoeverything.com/86035/lucasarts-wii-u-mmo-listed-on-e3-2012-floor-plan/). Looks like people in the industry are agreeing with my opinion of the suitability of the touchscreen to MMOs and MMORPGs. The U might end up being the console to go to for that genre, particularly when you consider that gamers can switch to playing the game on the controller whilst their other half watches crap on the telly. :o

This thing might end up saving marriages lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on April 08, 2012, 09:04:01 AM
Yeh they already have an app you can download to your iPhone/iPad that allows you to use it as a controller for MMORPG's so Nintendo are lagging behind on that.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 08, 2012, 09:12:36 AM
Except that the control scheme will be superior due to having 2 sticks, buttons and 4 triggers in addition to the touchscreen and the eye candy will be superior due to the U being a dedicated games console ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on April 08, 2012, 09:34:12 PM
Except that the control scheme will be superior due to having 2 sticks, buttons and 4 triggers

Sony have done that for about 15 years.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on April 08, 2012, 10:22:06 PM
So essentially the Wii U controller will be an iPhone taped to a PS controller.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 08, 2012, 10:30:07 PM
So essentially the Wii U controller will be an iPhone taped to a PS controller.

Better than that according to hands-on reports...the screen is supposed to be sharper and clearer than an iPad screen apparently. :o

Definitely going to be interesting to see what it looks like 'in the flesh' so to speak.

It's also going to be interesting to see what the final form factor of the console itself is going to look like. I'm hoping that they're going to have 2 different coloured SKUs, black and white. A black U will match my telly, PC and PC speakers. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on April 08, 2012, 10:34:43 PM
Surely it's going to be a pain in the arse to switch between looking at the tv and looking at the screen on the controller.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 08, 2012, 11:01:52 PM
Can't see it being a problem myself...flicking your gaze from one screen to another is quite common these days, I do it all the time when watching the telly and surfing the net on my smartphone. Can't see it being a problem tbh. ;D

It also helps that I'm used to doing the same thing with my 3DS too. Am now on stage 14 of Raid mode, Capcom really need to bring this to Resident Evil 6 as bonus content along with the obligatory Mercenaries game. Have got mostly S grades but have got A grades on the rest so far. Definitely the best game I've played so far on the 3DS. It's excellent. ;D 8)

Have also stumbled across a video converter so that I can download and convert the myriad of 3D films that are available, will have to get a bigger SD card first though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 09, 2012, 03:16:19 AM
Can't see it being a problem myself...flicking your gaze from one screen to another is quite common these days, I do it all the time when watching the telly and surfing the net on my smartphone. Can't see it being a problem tbh. ;D
I, too, spend half my time with a smartphone or tablet in my hand whilst watching tv - but that's not the same as playing a game, is it. If you look away from the screen at the buttons on your controller you'll suffer badly. It's going to be even worse if you're looking at a changeable screen.

...the screen is supposed to be sharper and clearer than an iPad screen apparently. :o
Clearly both you and the person who informed you of this are on drugs if you believe that nonsense.
There's no way a screen with 0.4 million pixels (854*480) will have a display that's anywhere close to the ipad's 3.1 million (2048*1536). It's just not possible.

The U might be quite good*, but please stop trying to make out it's god's gift to gamers. You're trying to make the U sound good but you're having the complete opposite effect by making this succession of wild claims. :-\
I've wondered in recent years whether you're on a commission with Nintendo, but it now seems pretty clear they'd have shut you up by now if you were on the payroll - you're damaging them with this ridiculous bluster...





*It almost certainly won't be.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 09, 2012, 03:46:42 AM
You need to forget about the resolution of the screen. Portable display quality isn't judged on resolution, the important factor is the pixel density. We don't know the PPI value of the screen for certain but all hands-on reports have stated that there's very little difference in IQ when switching from a HD telly display to the controller. This isn't me making stuff up, I'm going by hands-on reports from people that have actually used the thing.

It wouldn't surprise me if it had a pixel density below that of the iPad but going by feedback there isn't much in it, and if it has a lower PPI value than the iPad then the smaller size of the screen will do it a lot of favours.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 09, 2012, 10:25:18 AM
Two doors down from me is the edge of town (or village, actually). The next house after that is a farmhouse about a mile away. The tenant of that farm breeds cattle.

The fields in which he keeps his stock contain significantly less bullshit than your forum posts.

You really haven't got a clue what you're talking about, have you... ::)



If a small screen has the same ppi as a bigger screen it does NOT mean it's got a comparable picture. It has a much lower resolution. I know maths isn't your strong point, but that's a ridiculous standpoint you're taking, there. More pixels means higher resolution.
Even if your massively flawed understanding of ppi was right, you'd still be wrong - because the ipad has massively superior pixel density than the wii u (ipad 264, wii u 143). That's not a narrow "win" for the ipad - that's a massive difference.

(btw I've never owned an apple product, and have no real interest in doing so.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 09, 2012, 01:50:44 PM
Again, resolution isn't important for portable displays. A high PPI value means you're less likely to see individual pixels on the display. And you're still not taking the physical dimensions of the screen into account.

Hands-on reports have stated that there's little difference in IQ when switching between a 1080p display on the telly and the 480p display on the controller and that it's very difficult to see said individual pixels. I haven't read a single hands-on report that says the opposite. And you've also got to take into account the brightness of the display and how vibrant the colours are.

The display is a high quality display by all accounts, you'll have to live with that unfortunately.

Edit: And you should also take note that the comparison was made between the U controller and the previous iPad (iPad 3..?) because the latest one wasn't released at that time.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on April 09, 2012, 02:59:01 PM
Didn't we have this discussion about resolution and screens in the past. iirc late knows his onions when it comes to this so i am expecting another epic fail by harv
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 09, 2012, 04:24:09 PM
I'm talking sense here and just reiterating everything said by hands-on reports. ::)

The fact that they've all said that there's very little loss of IQ when switching from a HDTV to the screen on the controller speaks volumes. ;)

Nintendo have always used good quality screens for their portable consoles so I can't see them doing things differently for the U controller. They've always gone for Sharp screens in the past if I remember correctly, will be interesting to see if they carry on with them...but I suspect we'll have to wait for those iFixit fellahs to take one apart to find out lol. They're certainly dedicated, they snuck a 3DS into a hospital to x-ray it to find out that it had FCRAM as memory lololol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 09, 2012, 04:36:43 PM
Bloody hell, have just seen that the estimated BOM for the U including the controller is around $180...they're certainly not messing about :o We'll probably see it retailing at $350/£300 when it's released unless Nintendo want to upset investors and make a loss on each unit sold. :-\

Edit: Have decided to play through the Revelations single player campaign again, this time on Hell difficulty, wish it was available at the start tbh, I can see this being a real challenge later on. It really is back to old-school Resident Evil again due to the baddies taking a shedload more damage before dying so those familiar with the first three games will remember having to take a few shots and edging back when they get too close. I can see this getting pretty hairy later on, although there's still too much ammo floating about to capture the panic that the first three games had...you're not going to be faced with the prospect of having to desperately using your knife because you've run out of bloomin bullets lololol :P

I really can't wait for November and Resident Evil 6, the U controller is perfect to use as a Genesis Scanner, and hopefully they'll add some sort of log to add scanned items and enemies to like there is for the Metroid Prime games. I suspect that they planned on having this available for Revelations but didn't have room for it on the 4GB cart which is disappointing tbh :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 10, 2012, 09:23:49 AM
And you believe that rumour about the cost then harv... the controller is rumoured to eat up about $50 of that cost according to the source.. so that puts the wii U hardware unit at around $130... which is only $30 more than the unit cost of a 3DS...  but the wii U is rumoured to be 3x/4x/5x more powerful than the 360??... *sniggers*  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 10, 2012, 12:25:29 PM
The article also says they got a bargain price for the CPU and GPU ;)

It's going to be at least 3 times more powerful than the 360 going by what we know so far, and the OoOE CPU and DSP should boost it to around around 4 times more powerful imo.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on April 10, 2012, 03:11:25 PM
What you know so far is rumour and speculation. Web pages claiming to have the inside scoop. Until Nintendo release the full specs you know nothing for certain.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 10, 2012, 04:47:16 PM
Didn't we have this discussion about resolution and screens in the past. iirc late knows his onions when it comes to this so i am expecting another epic fail by harv

Aye, I'm definitely getting deja vu. I think it was the 3ds screen last time.

Harv - a Nintendo DS (http://pixeldensitycalculator.com/?h=256&v=192&d=3) (107ppi) has a much higher pixel density than your 42" full HD tv (http://pixeldensitycalculator.com/?h=1920&v=1080&d=42) (52ppi). Are you of the opinion that the DS has the superior picture?
Of course it doesn't. It's not even close - the DS picture is massively inferior.

You need high pixel density on a small device, of course, otherwise it'll look appalling - but the reality is less pixels means lower quality. That's not a rule of thumb, or some sort of generalisation - it's just common sense.




I had intended to go back through Bulletstorm and get some of the stuff I missed, but I did one level and couldn't be arsed to continue...
Instead I had a go on a few more of the cheapo second hand games I recently picked up, over the long weekend. Bear in mind all ore old, and generally low rated games.
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter was first. Had a quick go on two player splitscreen, and then an hour or two on single player campaign, and couldn't get into it at all. I have GRAW2 in the stack of games - hopefully that'll be better, but I'm not optimistic.
Then I tried F1 2010. I'm not a big fan of F1 but used to quite enjoy it about 10-20 years ago. Also I'm not a massive fan of racing games, especially realistic simulator type ones - I prefer arcadey ones. But I'm quite enjoying this, and have played it for a couple of days. Only actually got two races done in that time, mind, because I'm the kind of cheating git who'll reset the race if things aren't going to plan. Must've done the Australian GP about 30 times before I won the bugger and allowed the season to progress to the next race. (Yeah, I should be ashamed - but I'm not.) I might end up going back to this game...
Next was Alone In The Dark. That was another one where I played for an hour or two but couldn't get into it. The graphics looked rather dated (fair enough, it was 2007, I think), the camera angles were annoying, and the controls weren't at all intuitive. After a while my character was confronted by some sort of zombie demon thing, and I just put the controller down and enjoyed seeing the annoying git get ripped apart.
Took that out of the machine, and put BulletWitch in. Not a great game, by any stretch of the imagination. But it's okay, and enjoyable enough that it's still in the machine now. If I get a few days play out of a £1 or £2 game I'll count that as a resounding success. It's not dissimilar to Bayonetta (which I wasn't a big fan of - I recall I got more than half way through it but never finished it), but the levels are more open and sprawling. Decent enough purchase at the price.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on April 10, 2012, 04:53:21 PM
What was that thing Jman posted about a fanboy reading a few articles and declaring himself a technical expert? That's Harv.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 10, 2012, 05:20:39 PM
These rumours are from verified sources, and I'm personally expecting the RAM to be increased from 1.5GB to 2GB at the last minute too.

And late, like I've previously mentioned, I'm just reiterating the positive feedback from hands-on reports. I haven't read a single thing negative about the quality of the display and, again, I'm not saying myself that the display is brighter and clearer than an iPad 3 screen, just that it has been reported so by someone with a hands-on report. ;)

We'll have to either buy one or try one out in a demo in a shop to see for ourselves. But like I've said, the fact that journalists have noticed very little change in IQ when switching from a HDTV to the controller speaks volumes.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 10, 2012, 10:59:56 PM
What was that thing Jman posted about a fanboy reading a few articles and declaring himself a technical expert? That's Harv.

Yup exactly... doesnt matter what we or others say.. he knows best of course ... this is the guy who tried to convince us the Wii was capable of producing xbox 360 like "eye candy"  ;D  it was that game he was raving over for ages about... The Grinder (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxyCTENeznc&feature=related), the one that looked nothing like a 360 game... even compared to a 360 launch game Condemned (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MW2tZGatwSA).. The Grinder looks pretty pathetic...

The Grinder got canned in the end... presumably because of bad feedback and the fact that wii sales have gone down the toilet in the last 2 years...  but that didnt stop him going on about it for ages and ages...  ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 10, 2012, 11:10:28 PM
I'm just reiterating the positive feedback from hands-on reports. I haven't read a single thing negative about the quality of the display and, again, I'm not saying myself that the display is brighter and clearer than an iPad 3 screen, just that it has been reported so by someone with a hands-on report. ;)
Do you have a link to where the idiot with hands on experience says the u controller screen is sharper and clearer than an ipad?  I'm intrigued to see what sort of imbecile is making these claims, and look forward to laughing along with the inevitable multitude of subsequent posts mocking him.

Repeating his ridiculous ramblings on here serves no purpose other than to make you look as biased and ill-informed as the original poster btw. Don't take peoples' opinions as gospel, especially if what they're saying is a physical impossibility. You can't afford to lose credibility when you're extolling the virtues of a new Nintendo console, because you're automatically starting on incredibly shaky ground...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 11, 2012, 12:14:45 AM
The new controller is an impressive thing to hold in your hands. It feels solid and comfortable, and nothing about it marks it as a weak link. The screen itself is bright and beautiful, much clearer than the screen on an iPad, and even small details of the games are able to be seen clearly. (http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/01/wii-u-ces/)

Engadget also said the same thing at E3 last year but I can't find the link now. And I'm talking about the iPad and iPad 2, before Apple started using Retina displays from the iPad 3 onwards. Can't believe that Apple have gotten away with releasing different versions of the iPhone and iPad every 5 minutes for so long. The iPad and iPad 2 may also have an inferior pixel density which could explain Engadget's opinion, although I will stand to be corrected on that.

Zooming close to the controller's screen, we found it rather difficult to discern individual pixels. Nintendo didn't reveal what resolution the screen runs at, but it's sufficiently high as far as we're concerned. Even at a distance of mere inches, it was very difficult to pick out the pixels. (http://uk.gamespot.com/special_feature/e32011-wiiu-controller/image-feature/index.html?image=3)

The above quote is from Gamespot after a hands-on at last years E3, the last sentence speaks volumes for the quality of the screen display.

After the Wii this gen a great deal of people are under the misapprehension that Nintendo always release low spec consoles when the opposite is true. The NES, the SNES, the N64 and the Gamecube were all powerful consoles, and there are going to be plenty of people surprised by what we're going to see at this years E3...and even more people are going to be disappointed by the next gen consoles from both Sony and Microsoft. The Nerd Rage over the PS4 rumoured specs has been hilarious lol.

Edit: Apparently there's been a change to the screen of some description since E3 last year so this could be a moot point. Hopefully they haven't downgraded the quality because everyone that's used the controller has been fapping over the IQ. :o :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on April 11, 2012, 02:25:08 AM
Level 7 in skyrim. yet to do much of anything tbh. have learned trolls shouldn't be attacked yet!

Also i need to stop picking up everything i can. advice on that front is welcome!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 11, 2012, 11:48:23 AM
The new controller is an impressive thing to hold in your hands. It feels solid and comfortable, and nothing about it marks it as a weak link. The screen itself is bright and beautiful, much clearer than the screen on an iPad, and even small details of the games are able to be seen clearly. (http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/01/wii-u-ces/)
That guy is clearly either an idiot, or has a badly damaged ipad.
Ditto for anyone else who thinks it likely that a low res screen has clear graphics than a high res screen.

Zooming close to the controller's screen, we found it rather difficult to discern individual pixels. Nintendo didn't reveal what resolution the screen runs at, but it's sufficiently high as far as we're concerned. Even at a distance of mere inches, it was very difficult to pick out the pixels. (http://uk.gamespot.com/special_feature/e32011-wiiu-controller/image-feature/index.html?image=3)
It's difficult to make out individual pixels on any handheld device, because they're so small. Small pixels just means high ppi, though, and unless there's millions of them the picture will inherently have relatively low resolution.

Not sure how I can make it clearer. Less pixels means lower resolution. More pixels means higher resolution, and sharper images.
Claims to the contrary are the sole domain of imbeciles. It's akin to saying "I'm shorter than you so it's much easier for me to reach stuff on the top shelf", or "My car's heavier and less powerful than yours, so will always win in a race". It's completely contrary to logic, and quite frankly bollocks.


Level 7 in skyrim. yet to do much of anything tbh. have learned trolls shouldn't be attacked yet!

Also i need to stop picking up everything i can. advice on that front is welcome!
I had the same problem.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 11, 2012, 12:05:53 PM
He was talking about the iPad 2 which does have a lower PPI. PPI is more important than resolution for portable displays. Apple didn't start to use Retina screens until the iPad 3 and 4. And as I've already said there isn't a single hands-on report that's complained about the quality of the screen. Nintendo historically are known for high quality and high tech hardware for their home consoles, and it's looking like the U is going to carry on that tradition. The only home console not to follow this is the Wii.

Please feel free to find a hands-on report that's complaining about the display quality if you can lol.

Edit: Here's a list of the PPI values of various devices (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=35217613&postcount=7933). The iPad 2 has a resolution of 1024 x 768 on a bigger screen with a lower pixel density. The U controller has a superior pixel density compared to a 21.5 inch monitor at 1080p.

Everyone that's laid eyes on the thing has said there's very little loss of IQ when switching from a 1080p HDTV to the screen. Everyone. Are you saying they're all blind or stupid fanboys...? There seems to be a hell of a lot of them lololol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 11, 2012, 01:27:25 PM
Just adding to lates suggestions on Skyrim...

..find Riften.. (SW of the map)... you'll find the start of the thief questline there.. which might not be an attraction but if you do the inital quests for them... you'll be given light armour with carrying capacity enhancements.. which is pretty good if you wear light armour... but even if you can wear heavy armour.. keep the light armour and equip it when your weight is full up.. always good to have an option of not chucking things away by just equipping a different set of armour....
..also you'll find a lot of traders in Riften to sell all your stuff too.. so having the fast travel ability to go there is good to get rid of stuff...
..definitely find the stone which gives you extra carrying capacity (it is definitely located near the very NW of the map).. 
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 11, 2012, 01:28:59 PM
Oh Jesus, you're just not getting it, are you...
(http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/fighting/beating-head-against-the-wall.gif)

PPI has to be high for hand-held devices, because you're significantly closer to the screen, and has to be much higher on small screens otherwise you're only going to get a handful of pixels on screen and you'll end up with something akin to a gameboy.

At normal viewing distances, ppi is completely irrelevant.

Resolution is the main thing you need to be concerned with, for picture sharpness/quality. (Other factors include the panel, the processors, etc. They do NOT include pixel density.)


Breakdown time...




He was talking about the iPad 2 which does have a lower PPI.
So you were using out of date info when you said it's better than the iPad. (Incidentally, the U has only fractionally higher ppi than the ipad 2. The ipad 3 blows both out of the water. But that's completely moot...)


PPI is more important than resolution for portable displays.
No it isn't!
High pixel density is essential on small devices - the smaller the screen the more important it is to get the pixels smaller. That's just common sense.
At normal viewing distances, ppi is completely irrelevant. COMPLETELY.


Apple didn't start to use Retina screens until the iPad 3 and 4.
There's an ipad 4 now?
That snook in under the radar, didn't it. Surprising, as Apple usually make a big deal of their new releases.
Either way, that sentence is irrelevant.


And as I've already said there isn't a single hands-on report that's complained about the quality of the screen.
I imagine there'll be some, but I'm not arguing about whether the screen is good quality. I'm arguing that the screen isn't better than that on an ipad.


Nintendo historically are known for high quality and high tech hardware for their home consoles, and it's looking like the U is going to carry on that tradition. The only home console not to follow this is the Wii.
Preston North End are historically known for the high quality of their football team. Doesn't mean they're any good now, though, does it.
Casting aside that argument, though, lets get back on track. The screen on the U is not better than that on an ipad...


Please feel free to find a hands-on report that's complaining about the display quality if you can lol.
Why do you want reports complaining about the display quality?
Lets stick to the subject. The screen on the U is not better than that on an ipad...


Edit: Here's a list of the PPI values of various devices (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=35217613&postcount=7933).
That's fascinating. Thanks. No really.
Nah, I'm joking. It's not.


The iPad 2 has a resolution of 1024 x 768 on a bigger screen with a lower pixel density.
Exactly. It has a bigger screen, and a higher resolution. It doesn't matter what the pixel density is. You're now proving that the ipad has a better screen. Thought you were trying to prove the opposite?


The U controller has a superior pixel density compared to a 21.5 inch monitor at 1080p.
Well of course it bloody does. It'd look a bloody mess if it had bigger pixels than a television. You're really not getting this, are you!


Everyone that's laid eyes on the thing has said there's very little loss of IQ when switching from a 1080p HDTV to the screen.
I'm detecting a significant drop in IQ, but I guess you're talking about image quality rather than intelligence quotient...


Everyone.
Thanks for clarifying that. Didn't know you'd surveyed everyone that's laid eyes on the new controller, but I'll take your comment at face value. You've genuinely asked everyone, and they've all said there's a little bit of a loss in picture quality when they switch from a screen with two million pixels to a screen with only four hundred thousand pixels.


Are you saying they're all blind or stupid fanboys...?
If they think an image (or video) doesn't lose a lot of clarity when it switches from a screen with 2,000,000 pixels to one with 400,000 pixels then yes, they're blind or stupid fanboys.
It's physically impossible to retain clarity when switching to a screen with 80% less pixels.

There seems to be a hell of a lot of them lololol.
Indeed.
I think part of the problem is that that particular minority make so much more noise than normal folk. Bless their enthusiasm, but it's tiring, especially as they're so blind to the reality.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 11, 2012, 02:46:30 PM
Lmfao, the screen on the U controller is of high quality. Live with it lol.

It all comes down to opinions at the end of the day. Someone in the gaming press, I'm sure it was Engadget but I can't find the bloomin article, had the opinion that the screen is brighter and clearer than an iPad 2 screen (which at the time wasn't out of date, it was the latest one) in his opinion. We'll have to see it with our own eyes before we can judge it for ourselves.

Like I've said before, I'm just reiterating the glowing hands-on reports. I haven't seen a single hands-on report that has complained about the quality of the screen; one person even thought it was in 720p rather than 480p for gawd's sake. :o

Oh, and the iPad 4 is due out in October, difficult to keep track when Apple release these things every 5 minutes...I really can't believe they get away with it tbh. :-\ :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 11, 2012, 03:15:37 PM
Lmfao, the screen on the U controller is of high quality. Live with it lol.
It hadn't got a clearer picture than an ipad screen.

It all comes down to opinions at the end of the day.
It really doesn't. We're not talking about something that's subjective - we're talking about plain cold facts. It has less pixels so the quality's lower. Can't see how you're struggling with this concept.

Someone in the gaming press, I'm sure it was Engadget but I can't find the bloomin article, had the opinion that the screen is brighter and clearer than an iPad 2 screen
Brighter? Entirely possible. Depends partly on what you set the brightness to.
Clearer? Not a chance. Physical impossibility.

...an iPad 2 screen (which at the time wasn't out of date, it was the latest one)
You claimed that there are reports the wii u screen is cleared than the ipad. You didn't say there are reports the wii u screen is clearer than the old ipad. (Either way you'd be wrong, though, as both ipad screens have better resolution than the u.) Your post fully indicated you were talking about current tech, not previous generation.

We'll have to see it with our own eyes before we can judge it for ourselves.
We won't. A high res screen has more detail than a low res screen. We don't need to see it to know that. It's the whole point of high res. It's why everyone's buying high def tellies. Did you buy it just to conform, or did you acknowledge it's got a better picture than a standard def tv BECAUSE IT'S GOT MORE PIXELS?

Like I've said before, I'm just reiterating the glowing hands-on reports.
Yes, I think that's the problem. You've read something that's wrong (or misunderstood something) and have taken it as gospel.
The reports might well be good - I'm not denying that. But anyone that thinks a low res screen looks better than a high res screen is a dribbling imbecile.

I haven't seen a single hands-on report that has complained about the quality of the screen
I'm sure it's good. It's massively inferior to the ipad and most decent phones, though.
You'll not find many people moaning about it on iheartnintendo.com though.

one person even thought it was in 720p rather than 480p for gawd's sake. :o
Wow - you're now listening to complementary posts from someone who can't tell the difference between 720p and 480p? I'm sure he's a veritable treasure trove of insightful observations...

Oh, and the iPad 4 is due out in October, difficult to keep track when Apple release these things every 5 minutes...I really can't believe they get away with it tbh. :-\ :P
Pretty sure that's just a rumour.
iPad 1 - March 2010
iPad 2 - March 2011
iPad 3 - March 2012
If I were a betting man I'd say we're unlikely to see iPad 4 this year...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 11, 2012, 04:42:27 PM
The person from Engadget that claimed he thought that the screen was brighter and clearer than an iPad was reporting after E3 last year. The iPad 2 was the latest iPad on the market, albeit identical to the first one in every respect apart from the thickness of the screen panel. When I reiterated what some guy in the gaming press said, I didn't stipulate which model he was referring to.

And again, I''m not saying that this is my opinion, just an opinion of someone that has actually used the thing. There could be a number of reasons why this guy thought the display was 'better' than an iPad/iPad 2 display, perhaps he didn't word things right - the screen could indeed have a higher brightness level, the colours could be more vibrant and it could have a higher contrast ratio. Who knows..?

The fact remains that everyone that's written a hands-on report after using it since E3 last year has been fapping over the quality of the display.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 11, 2012, 05:05:01 PM
Looks like I may be right about the U being the PS2 equivalent of next gen. The difference in power between the PS2 and Xbox is around the same as the difference in power between the U and the latest version of the 720's latest dev kit. Can't see Sony bunging out a console more powerful than the 720 so we'll probably be looking at the PS4 being the Gamecube equivalent. And there's confirmation that Microsoft are going to be using their own tablet controller too. What with that and Kinect likely to be bundled it's not going to be cheap. :o

No idea if the tablet controller is going to be bundled with it though.

Will be interesting to see what Sony's response to the U controller is going to be though, we could end up with all 3 platform holders having very similar user interfaces which would make porting code between them a great deal easier when it comes to features.

Edit: Bloody hell, things continue to go downhill for Sony in Japan with the Vita, it's sold less than 9000 units last week. Can't see much of a future for third party support if Sony can't turn things around. I'm having second thoughts about buying one now, they need a system seller ASAP. :'(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 11, 2012, 05:49:58 PM
(http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/attachment.php?s=5a00400f730e3a9895c3bb1a64d70ffb&attachmentid=55242&stc=1&d=1142920093)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on April 11, 2012, 07:04:32 PM
(http://img-cache.cdn.gaiaonline.com/4062787aa61491bc3131893ac993d53e/http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i473/drinkchan/DoubleFacePalm.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 11, 2012, 07:57:32 PM
It's actually quite a big difference as it goes, around 2-3 times more powerful. The Xbox was quite a beast in its day. Hopefully the fact that the U is using traditional programable shaders will prevent the visual difference being so great. And it's looking like Microsoft have opted for having the CPU doing the grunt work for audio rather than having a DSP which is an odd decision given that they're not rushing the thing out of the door like the 360 was.  :-\ We're probably looking at a quad core with 4 SMTs per core too, and it would be a ridiculous decision to go for an IOE CPU again so I'd say it's a safe bet that Microsoft are opting for an OoOE CPU this time. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on April 11, 2012, 08:06:36 PM
NO ONE UNDERSTANDS YOU!!!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on April 11, 2012, 10:42:26 PM
Thanks to late and jman for the skyrim tips.

Thanks to late for making me pee myself laughing at harv. i did predict an epic fail didn't i?!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 12, 2012, 01:21:58 AM
NO ONE UNDERSTANDS YOU!!!!

The CPUs in the PS3 and 360 are In Order Execution. This means that there's a stack of processes waiting to be executed. If the first process in the stack takes too long to be run in the current process cycle the CPU remains idle and waits for the next cycle to begin so it can be checked again, and carries on being idle until there's enough time to run the process.

The CPUs in the Gamecube, the Wii and the Wii U are Out of Order Execution. There's a stack of processes as in the example above but this time, due to it being OoOE, if there isn't enough time to run the first process in the stack the CPU looks at the next process in the stack and the following processes until it finds a process that can be run before the next cycle begins. This means the CPU spends less time being idle and is a great deal more efficient. Because of this OoOE CPUs are faster than IOE CPUs, and are better suited to gaming.

SMT stands for Simultaneous Multi Threading, the number of SMTs per core in a CPU tells you how many processes the CPU can do at the same time (although strictly speaking it isn't actually simultaneous but that's a longer and more complex explanation lol).

A DSP is a Digital Signal Processor which is a chip dedicated solely to handle audio. Again, the Gamecube, Wii and Wii U all have DSPs. The 360 and PS3 don't, which means that the grunt work is done by the CPU. Microsoft lock 1 thread out of 6 to handle audio, but because sound is so important (you see graphics messing up all the time and you don't register it but if the sound of a game isn't perfect you can't help but notice it...that's why sound in games rarely cocks up!) developers often use half of the 360's processing power (3 out of 6 threads) to deal with sound. Because the U has a DSP the U's CPU doesn't have to handle sound, so it has 16.6% more power at least before a line of code has been written.

In a lot of ways the Gamecube was ahead of it's time, and in some ways it was completely backwards lol, although I never owned one because I've always favoured Sony consoles over Nintendo ones. That's beginning to change now though.



There you go, you should understand what I'm talking about now. 8)

Edit: It should also be noted that the 360's lack of a DSP could be the reason why those anonymous developers claimed that the CPU of the U wasn't up to snuff - the silly sods probably ported it straight across using the CPU to sort out the audio without using the DSP. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on April 12, 2012, 04:39:20 AM
What I find quite funny is, in one post, Harv will go on about how we don't know much about the next breed of consoles, so we can't possibly make accurate conclusions, then in the next post, he'll waffle on like a jargon-fuelled woodchipper and spit out details left, right and centre as if they're concrete, and if they're specifications that make the U seem more powerful, it's obviously not gospel anymore and MUST be legit because we all know the U will wipe your arse and cook you dinner!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 12, 2012, 07:37:31 AM
The only thing I've said that's impossible is for the difference in power between the U and PS4/720 to be anywhere near the difference in power between the Wii and the PS3/360. The hardware simply doesn't exist.

You'd be more than welcome to join in a next gen tech discussion, but you should remember that I've seen the targeted specs for all 3 consoles that are given to developers from a good source ;)

I can't give you any details but it's safe to say that all 3 consoles are in the same sort of ballpark in terms of power and the U is the least powerful of the 3. We'll end up seeing the other two consoles being at least 2 or 3 times more powerful. I have my doubts that all 3 console's GPUs will be clocked as high as the target specs though unless all 3 platform holders want people frying eggs on them lol.

The PS4 and 720 have the advantage, due to them releasing later than the U, of having their GPUs on a 28nm process whereas it's likely that the U's GPU will be on a 32nm process. The smaller the process for a chip, the cooler it will run so they can safely up the clockspeed without things overheating.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 12, 2012, 09:21:42 AM
What I find quite funny is, in one post, Harv will go on about how we don't know much about the next breed of consoles, so we can't possibly make accurate conclusions, then in the next post, he'll waffle on like a jargon-fuelled woodchipper and spit out details left, right and centre as if they're concrete, and if they're specifications that make the U seem more powerful, it's obviously not gospel anymore and MUST be legit because we all know the U will wipe your arse and cook you dinner!

Yes its called trolling...  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 12, 2012, 09:51:22 AM
Not trolling at all, just pointing out leaks from journalists with sources, ex-journalists with sources and developers that have been working with the dev kits and U SDK. These leaks are from verified sources. I've also mentioned hands-on reports too.

Just relaying information and giving my opinion on the hardware of all 3 next gen consoles based on information I've received. Those target specs may change for the better but imo both Sony and Microsoft are going to want to keep production and retail costs down, particularly with the U having a years head start in terms of marketshare. Nintendo finally using a GPU with traditional programable shaders is a very big deal and because of that the U is guaranteed a SKU of all next gen multiplatform titles, albeit with a graphical downgrade, one very important thing that the Wii has missed out on this gen. I've seen quite a lot of people considering just having a U and a PC to take care of their gaming needs next gen on a fair few other forums I frequent. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 12, 2012, 10:13:43 AM
Yawn...

We should all play a drinking game...

Next time harv uses any of these phrases, we all have to down a shot... and then punch harv square on in the face..

"Wii U SKU is going to be the best of the lot"
"These leaks are from verfied sources"
"Looks like I may be right about the U"
"The Wii U controller is going to be perfect to use for.."

(Feel free to add your own!)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 12, 2012, 11:24:25 AM
The only game so far that has the U SKU being confirmed as the best of the lot is Aliens Colonial Marines, and that's straight from the horse's mouth :P The U controller is perfect for a motion detection device :P 8)

Gearbox are quite hyped up for the U version, although to be fair the lighting on both the PS3 and 360 SKUs are impressive. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 12, 2012, 11:29:36 AM
The 360 and ps3 versions will have alien xenomorphs coming out of the walls, and the U version will have horsies?
No wonder you've got a boner for that version.




I might've only skim-read your post...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 12, 2012, 03:42:10 PM
Wish it did. I've still got the right hump about Skyrim not having mounted combat. It's not as if it's impossible to do, Mount and Blade did it without a problem.

I've wanted someone for bloody years to remake Defender of The Crown, the jousting was excellent. Mount and Blade has the rest of it, mass battkes, laying seige to and attacking castles and forts but is missing jousting tournaments. >:(

That game was excellent ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 12, 2012, 04:39:59 PM
Bloody Windows Vista keeps on messing about with my screen display after updating. Doesn't do it all the time but it's bloody annoying >:( Mind you, I do have the settings at a level my telly isn't supposed to be able to handle (1080p at 24Hz, 50 and 60 is for wimps lol) so I guess Windows is attempting to save my telly from blowing up lololol. :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on April 12, 2012, 08:06:14 PM
Yawn...

We should all play a drinking game...

Next time harv uses any of these phrases, we all have to down a shot... and then punch harv square on in the face..

"Wii U SKU is going to be the best of the lot"
"These leaks are from verfied sources"
"Looks like I may be right about the U"
"The Wii U controller is going to be perfect to use for.."

(Feel free to add your own!)

lol, that's my favourite
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 13, 2012, 09:47:29 AM
You were only ahead of me on a couple of levels.

Bollocks mate.. I checked the other day... Im beating you on nearly all of the modes (I've attempted) on all of the stages (I've attempted) ;D

Its just story mode that you are beating me on.... and thats only because I havent played it since the update... lol  (some of my scores seem to of disappeared though.. I have medals on some stages with no score attached to them ??? )

I only just finished the first level of the DLC the other day - took a while to get back into it, had to replay it about 6/7 times to do it without losing a core... but the next level looks hard!!!  Enjoying playing it again.. but probably wont get another good go on it until sunday night now..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 13, 2012, 12:45:37 PM
... Im beating you on nearly all of the modes (I've attempted) on all of the stages (I've attempted) ;D
Challenge accepted!
It is so on.*









*Forgive the vernacular. I confirm I'm a white male heterosexual, despite that comment...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 13, 2012, 02:52:32 PM
No peep outta harv today on how great the Wii U is ?  :o  ;D

Maybe he's read the rumour that Resident Evil 6 release date has been pushed forward to October for all formats and there wont be a Wii U version for the time being...

Quote from: Capcom
“Unfortunately, RE6 will not be available at this time on the Wii U [...] Right now we’re concentrating on the PlayStation 3 version, 360 version and the PC version of the game.”

Awwww. he was so looking forward to something or other on the Wii U version of RE6 as well...???  I should really pay more attention to his posts*



* I really shouldn't
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 13, 2012, 05:21:44 PM
Haven't been well today, have spent most of the day sleeping. Unusual decision from Capcom tbh, they've had a very good relationship with Nintendo these last few years. Of course there's always a chance that they're held back by an NDA or that they've been working on an exclusive U title. We'll find out at E3 I guess. We should at least hear about news of a Monster Hunter on the way in June, and there are plenty of people keeping their fingers crossed for Nintendo vs Capcom, that would be a licence to print money but Nintendo themselves could be stopping that from happening. :(

Capcom are certainly going to be supporting the U in some way at least, they are a Japanese publisher after all. ;)

Edit: I'd be quite happy for a superior SKU to be launched at a later date too, there are too many quality titles on the way as it is lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on April 15, 2012, 10:23:04 PM
So far I've spent 45 hours playing Skyrim. Still haven't bothered much with the main storyline. I've done the Thiefs Guild, Companians, Dark Brotherhood, Mages College and now doing the Stormcloaks quests. I've done abut of the main story but not much.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 16, 2012, 12:37:28 AM
I'm still waiting for either the price to drop or the inevitable GOTY Edition before I get it. If they had added mounted combat I would have bought it day one. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 16, 2012, 01:04:57 AM
Your loss. One of the best games every made, in my opinion - and at £22 a fortnight after release it was an absolute steal.
The game has ridiculous amounts of stuff going on - enough to keep you busy for months without dlc - and we won't see a GOTY edition any time soon (has the first dlc even been released yet?)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 16, 2012, 01:22:48 AM
22 quid..?!?!?!!? :o

Haven't seen it that cheap, certainly not that soon after release, might have to start looking around again.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on April 16, 2012, 05:04:41 AM
The only reason it came down in price so quickly is because it had game-breaking problems...These are apparently fixed now, though I haven't touched the game since I bought it way back in November....It cost me £40 when I got it, enjoyed it up until I couldn't take 4 steps without hitting a crippling wall of lag and just couldn't play it.

Then you find it's dropped it price and it takes them 4 patches to finally fix it all.....Not that I really care though, Bethesda are dead to me now after the way they constantly rip customers off with products that don't even work as intended. I might go back to it if I'm bored one day, but we'll see.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 16, 2012, 09:43:49 AM
Bethseda rip people off....    and Activision dont ? ? Yearly COD games which cost more in retail and DLC than any other game..  ;D

No DLC for Skyrim yet late.. I think its coming in a week or two.. exclusively timed for the 360 of course  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 16, 2012, 02:40:27 PM
No DLC yet..? Blimey, thought they'd have some of it out by now :o

Have had a look and have seen it going for 24 quid...might wait a little longer because I'm trying to spend less than 20 quid per game these days. :P

Has anyone got Kingdoms of Amalur yet..? Is it any good..?

Edit: Bugger, the Fatal Frame spinoff, Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir, is getting slated by reviews. Looks like I'll have to wait until the Fatal Frame 2 remake is released on the Wii for my next Fatal Frame fix. :(

Fatal Frame IV was excellent, very spooky in places and plenty of well placed and effective stingers. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on April 16, 2012, 03:12:37 PM
Skyrim has so much to do that it doesn't really need DLC. Most story modes last 8-10 hours. I've been playing for 45 hours and I'm no where near done. That's why it's taken them a while to release DLC.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 16, 2012, 03:25:37 PM
It was £22 (half price) in Gamestation (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/skyrim-xbox360-ps3-22-49-pc-19-99-instore-online-gamestation-1082090) a few weeks after release. Was a totally unexpected price drop, lasted about a week, and was nationwide (and was the only reason I bought it - I hadn't been remotely tempted until that point. So glad I did!). I believe Amazon briefly dropped the price to match GS.

The offer had nothing to do with bugs or crippling problems in the game - was just a great price (though in retrospect I imagine it was probably to relieve cashflow problems, since it happened in December, just before their quarterly rent payments were due - of course the company effectively went bust the next quarter, when it's March payments were due).
The 360 version had lots of bugs, but I don't think any were game-breaking - most were just minor annoyances or amusing. And when I say "lots of bugs" it's not like everyone suffered or even noticed any. I probably played over 100 hours, and I don't think I suffered anything in that time other than one npc wild animal bouncing around amusingly after it's death. If you were unlucky enough to be affected by a bug most folk just ignored whatever quest it was for a while and did some of the hundreds of other quests - or just free-roamed etc. for a while.

The ps3 had major game-breaking problems in the way it saved data, but I think that's since been fixed - together with the vast majority of other bugs on all platforms.

I stand by my original assertion - a truly incredible game.
Will get back into it at some point. I've a load of unfinished missions, plus I'll want the dlc...

And I want to see how much time I actually did spend playing it. Didn't think it says anywhere in-game, but I recently read you can see it in your save game file name or something. Tisn't fully accurate as it doesn't count the times you replay due to dying and going back to the last save, etc., but should give a vague idea all the same...




Had a quick look at the leaderboards on Defence Grid and you don't appear to be ahead on very many, Kieron (hard to be certain as there's hundreds of leaderboards and each takes a few seconds to load - you don't appear to have played many at all, tbh!). I usurped you on one of them, tried but failed on another, then realised there's a load of maps I've not even tried yet (Resurgence Map Pack, I think they were called) so I moved on to those. Will polish those off (on normal story mode), then I'll probably try some of the alternative modes. So many to do, though!

I definitely prefer (and rank higher on the leaderboards on) the levels where it's pretty much wide open, and you use towers to direct the flow of aliens. It's possible to come up with some fantastic layouts which mean the beasties have to go for bloody ages before getting near the power cores.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on April 16, 2012, 04:11:28 PM
I based my 45 hours figure on the save file but if it doesn't take into account replaying after death it's probably closer to 50 hours.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on April 16, 2012, 04:17:44 PM
Bethseda rip people off....    and Activision dont ? ? Yearly COD games which cost more in retail and DLC than any other game..  ;D

No DLC for Skyrim yet late.. I think its coming in a week or two.. exclusively timed for the 360 of course  ;D

Buying a game/DLC through choice is one thing, buying a game through choice that doesn't even work is another thing entirely.

If you don't agree with Call of Duty, then don't buy it, but at least you get a product that works as intended.....Bethesda have dropped the ball 3 times in a row with Fallout 3, New Vegas and Skyrim...That's 3 strikes in my book and I'm officially done with them.

I'll probably pick up the New Vegas Ultimate Edition when it's dirt cheap, since you get all 5 DLC packs in them, but all future Bethesda games have a big, fat strike through them as far as I'm concerned.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 16, 2012, 04:48:12 PM
Pshaw!
I've loved the COD games over the last few years, and put hundreds of hours into each (apart from the current one) - but you've a very blinkered view or selective memory if you think they've all been bug free!
Some instalments have been worse than others, of course, but every single one has been besieged by glitchers and cheats. At times I put the game away for weeks or months at a time until a new patch was released, because so many people were zipping about through the skies or under the floor, shooting you from outside the map - and many problems (particularly on the MW2) never did get fixed.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 16, 2012, 05:17:28 PM
CoD started going downhill from the third game onwards imo. I think I remember hearing that Treyarch were going to do something different with the next game, hopefully it's going to be something that's going to make the game seem fresh again. It's just the same old same old lately. Treyarch did the franchise a lot of favours when the introduced Nazi Zombie goodness, so hopefully they're going to do something else just as awesome.

Who knows, perhaps the CoD franchise won't be the in-thing next gen and we'll have something different to attract gamers that enjoy online multiplayer..? :-\

There's only so much that a publisher can milk a franchise, surely we won't see another CoD game every year when all 3 next gen consoles are out..? :o

Edit: I've decided to join the 21st Century and have upped my internet connection from 10 Meg to 60 Meg, and in October it'll be going up to 100 Meg 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 17, 2012, 09:21:32 AM
Had a quick look at the leaderboards on Defence Grid and you don't appear to be ahead on very many, Kieron (hard to be certain as there's hundreds of leaderboards and each takes a few seconds to load - you don't appear to have played many at all, tbh!). I usurped you on one of them, tried but failed on another, then realised there's a load of maps I've not even tried yet (Resurgence Map Pack, I think they were called) so I moved on to those. Will polish those off (on normal story mode), then I'll probably try some of the alternative modes. So many to do, though!

I definitely prefer (and rank higher on the leaderboards on) the levels where it's pretty much wide open, and you use towers to direct the flow of aliens. It's possible to come up with some fantastic layouts which mean the beasties have to go for bloody ages before getting near the power cores.

I only played enough modes/maps to get the achievement for getting a certain amount of gold stars.. hence why I havent played a lot.. but some maps where I have gold stars I have no scores against them anymore  ??? .. maybe I didnt have a connection at the time.. seems weird though.. but definitely beating you on the majority on maps that I do have scores on... hopefully I'll get chance to do the 2nd level on DLC tonight.. I might download the extra single maps too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 17, 2012, 10:37:49 AM
Downloaded a game on xbla last night (called splatter - getting great reviews but I've not tried it yet). Took a while to d/l, mainly as I was using uTorrent on the pc, so while it was downloading I played a particularly tough level of Defence Grid. Got about three quarters of the way through wave 25 of 25 when a message popped up to say my download's complete - and the machine froze.
BAAAAALLLLLLSSS. Rather annoying, that!...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 17, 2012, 11:59:43 AM
(thats late's excuse for not beating my scores  :P  ;D)

Defense Grid has got a nasty habit of freezing though.. when I was applying the update the other day it froze in the middle of it.. when I turned it back on and started playing the DLC for the first time.. the whole map was missing some textures and everything was a deep shade of purple.. but theres me playing it thinking thats what it was supposed to be like as the "john cleese" robot says something along the lines of trying out a new training program he found... lol... in the end I had to delete the update and redownload it...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 17, 2012, 12:25:50 PM
Oooh, just noticed my gamerscore is 43200 (assuming the sig generator's correct).
Gonna have to get me 10 more, then avoid achievements for a while...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on April 20, 2012, 05:14:39 AM
CoD started going downhill from the third game onwards imo. I think I remember hearing that Treyarch were going to do something different with the next game, hopefully it's going to be something that's going to make the game seem fresh again. It's just the same old same old lately. Treyarch did the franchise a lot of favours when the introduced Nazi Zombie goodness, so hopefully they're going to do something else just as awesome.

I don't get how CoD went downhill after 3, when it changed the direction of First Person Shooters forever. Modern Warfare became the blueprint for practically every FPS available in this generation, even now.

I can't stand the CoD single player, and I'd never buy if it was still shipped without Multiplayer, because the MP mode IS CoD these days...I'll literally spend about 2/3 days on the CoD single player experience, just to harvest the trophies and move on quickly.

Zombies was only fun when it was simple, imo. They went into overkill with the new gameplay features in Black Ops....Should have kept it simplified and not introduced all this bullshit with teleporters, pack a punched weapons, dozens of perks and massive maps with secrets and shortcuts.

Infinity Ward Spec Ops missions are quite good, but the new survival mode they introduced this year is just boring. It's OK for the first couple of times, but it's just your standard horde mode that you've seen dozens of times in other games.

CoD will always be about the Multiplayer as far as I'm concerned, and I'd actually thumbs up any planned notion to cut the single player completely if it means further focus on Competitve/Co-operative Multiplayer.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 20, 2012, 06:25:02 AM
I didn't say after 3, I said from the third game onwards - meaning that the first two were good and the third one and any others following it weren't as good. I just don't like perks and prefer a solid single player campaign to online competitive multiplayer and absolutely despise online co-op. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

I still want the franchise to go into different timelines than the obligatory WWII and modern warfare bollocks. It's just the same old same old  year after year after year. I'm surprised it still flies off shelves tbh.

The main problem I have with FPS and TPS games these days is regenerating health. No more exhilaration of flying by the seat of your pants, with a whisker of health left praying that your next killed enemy drops a health pack. You just hide behind cover and wait for your health to go up again these days. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 20, 2012, 10:14:36 AM
As Ross says, you're definitely in the minority there, Harv. COD is a multiplayer game with a campaign thrown in to round it off - and was effectively born with COD4:MW. It's purely about the online experience.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 20, 2012, 11:37:40 AM
I don't get how CoD went downhill after 3, when it changed the direction of First Person Shooters forever. Modern Warfare became the blueprint for practically every FPS available in this generation, even now.

Thats hilarious.. COD did nothing innovative from MW onwards.. how exactly has it changed the direction of FPS games... COD has never been innovative and never set any precedents... cant believe your even think that, would love to hear your reasons lol... personally I think it just shows what a blinkered view you have on gaming as a whole.. ever heard of Counter Strike/Battlefield/Medal of Honor - all around way before COD.. Battlefield 2 changed tack and changed from WWII to a fictional modern day shooter back in 2005 with a strong multiplayer implementation.. guess what COD does 2 years later with the release of COD:MW ??? lol.. the only advantage COD ever had over Battlefield was its graphics.. and now look at BF3.. knocks the socks off anything COD has produced.

You just dont want to agree with the widely accepted belief that Halo is responsible for most successful FPS games on consoles these days because its a microsoft branded game... love or hate the game.. it doesn't matter.. it made the FPS genre what it is today and yes it would of definitely had a direct influence on the success of the COD franchise.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 20, 2012, 11:43:07 AM
Gonna have to get me 10 more, then avoid achievements for a while...

That didnt last long then.. lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on April 20, 2012, 04:11:17 PM
I don't get how CoD went downhill after 3, when it changed the direction of First Person Shooters forever. Modern Warfare became the blueprint for practically every FPS available in this generation, even now.

Thats hilarious.. COD did nothing innovative from MW onwards.. how exactly has it changed the direction of FPS games... COD has never been innovative and never set any precedents... cant believe your even think that, would love to hear your reasons lol... personally I think it just shows what a blinkered view you have on gaming as a whole.. ever heard of Counter Strike/Battlefield/Medal of Honor - all around way before COD.. Battlefield 2 changed tack and changed from WWII to a fictional modern day shooter back in 2005 with a strong multiplayer implementation.. guess what COD does 2 years later with the release of COD:MW ??? lol.. the only advantage COD ever had over Battlefield was its graphics.. and now look at BF3.. knocks the socks off anything COD has produced.

You just dont want to agree with the widely accepted belief that Halo is responsible for most successful FPS games on consoles these days because its a microsoft branded game... love or hate the game.. it doesn't matter.. it made the FPS genre what it is today and yes it would of definitely had a direct influence on the success of the COD franchise.

I never said anything about how they innovated from MW1 onwards, stop with the selective reading BS  ::)

Modern Warfare 1 was revolutionary, and like I said, it's the blueprint for every modern FPS game.

Counter Strike was incredibly basic and watered down, and was never available to console users...Look at every FPS that is released these days, they all have elements ripped straight from the Call of Duty online mode back in 2007.

Even Treyarch used the exact same engine...They chucked whatever plans they originally had out of the window in the favour of the Modern Warfare engine, which speaks volumes.

Battlefield is nothing like CoD...Did you ever play Battlefield 1? It couldn't be any more different than Modern Warfare 1...Now, Battlefield 3 has ripped out so many gameplay changes that are influenced by CoD, it's close to laughable how they want to be seen as a "competitor" given how much they've actually taken from MW and tried to make it their own.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 20, 2012, 05:01:58 PM
Right.. so you didnt say they were innovative... but they are revolutionary... interesting, not quite sure how those two terms differ.. but whatever...

How can it "change the direction of FPS games forever" without being innovative LOL.. where exactly did it take it - on an amble down generic road.. ??  How about higher retail & DLC prices, shorter single player campaigns and annualisations of non sport games... maybe the direction your talking of is downwards!!

And what elements of multiplayer did MW offer (that Halo & no other game before offer) that every FPS game is using as a blueprint nowadays?? Maybe give some examples.. im struggling to think of any that have been crucial to FPS game development here.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on April 20, 2012, 05:24:38 PM
Right.. so you didnt say they were innovative... but they are revolutionary... interesting, not quite sure how those two terms differ.. but whatever...

How can it "change the direction of FPS games forever" without being innovative LOL.. where exactly did it take it - on an amble down generic road.. ??  How about higher retail & DLC prices, shorter single player campaigns and annualisations of non sport games... maybe the direction your talking of is downwards!!

And what elements of multiplayer did MW offer (that Halo & no other game before offer) that every FPS game is using as a blueprint nowadays?? Maybe give some examples.. im struggling to think of any that have been crucial to FPS game development here.

They differ hugely, Modern Warfare 1 was definitely revolutionary, how can you deny that?

The CoD franchise, whilst innovative at first, is not innovative anymore, it doesn't change enough of it's core features year after year to be considered innovative.

Also, as examples, Resistance 2 used a 3 perk system, Battlefield used the exact same concept as Demolition and just called it "Rush", Bioshock 2 had the lobby layout, with things like challenges, custom class sets and party system.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 20, 2012, 06:34:43 PM
Hopefully Sony and Microsoft are going to lessen the restrictions imposed on developers by both SEN and Live so that we can have Counter Strike on consoles next gen. Halo online and the online for CoD 1 and 2 were great but nothing, not even Goldeneye, compares to Counter Strike on the PC for online goodness. Nothing. 8)

If that rumour of Counter Strike on the U, and the rumour of full Steam integration, are true then I'm going to be a very happy bunny indeed. Online multiplayer doesn't get better than Counter Strike imo. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 20, 2012, 07:00:58 PM
Gonna have to get me 10 more, then avoid achievements for a while...

That didnt last long then.. lol
Oops lol.

LOVING Trials Evolution (1200msp on xbla). Same concept as Trails HD of course, but better level design, beautiful graphics, and much improved 2.5d vantage.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on April 20, 2012, 08:23:19 PM
Anyone played AC Revelations?

Tried to polish off all the offline trophies lately, and i've found that 1 (maybe 2) trophy is glitched. Just wondering if anyone else has had the same problem.

1. Craft Maniac - Craft 30 bombs. I've crafted way more than 30 and still no trophy.  ::)

2. Tax Evasion - Get your money back from a templar tax collector. (something like that) I've played through and completed the story, and carried on playing after the story for quite a while and not once have i seen one...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on April 20, 2012, 09:30:36 PM
Level 11 in skyrim now.

Great game. time can just fly past though!

Im enjoying it the way bealec is. no race to finish at all so enjoying as many of the quests as possible and taking the main story slowly.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 22, 2012, 06:39:51 PM
Has anyone played Homefront..? Have just seen the Ultimate Edition for £12.95. Is it worth getting..?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Chris on April 22, 2012, 08:37:25 PM
Evening :)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 22, 2012, 09:38:47 PM
Buggering flip, where have you been..?!!?!? :o :P

Stick your Live and SEN usernames down so we can add you.

And I'd like to publicly apologise for being the Kiss of Death on United's challenge for the Premiership this season. I was giving it the biggun a few weeks ago when we were 8 points clear and now things are going a bit pear-shaped lol. Not as much as amber/gladdy/gladys donkeys years ago but not too far off either lololol :-[ ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Chris on April 22, 2012, 09:55:46 PM
Im only on XBL, it's ChrisChros87

I couldn't be bothered to re-register and saw you were still banging on about the Wii so didn't bother :p
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 22, 2012, 10:20:20 PM
I couldn't be bothered to re-register and saw you were still banging on about the Wii so didn't bother :p
lol

Bought a twin pack (http://www.simplygames.com/info/19523/Metro-2033-and-Darksiders-Double-Pack-Xbox-360) of games a few days ago - Metro 2033 and Darksiders. It's unlikely I'll get a chance to try them any time soon, but worth adding to the pile at £9.99 for the pair.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 22, 2012, 11:01:09 PM
Im only on XBL, it's ChrisChros87

I couldn't be bothered to re-register and saw you were still banging on about the Wii so didn't bother :p

I'm banging on about the Wii U and 3DS now though mate. I'd be banging on about the Vita too if Sony hadn't completely lost the plot :-\ :( :-\ ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on April 23, 2012, 12:13:50 AM
LOVING Trials Evolution (1200msp on xbla). Same concept as Trails HD of course, but better level design, beautiful graphics, and much improved 2.5d vantage.

Me too!!! It's so addictive. Well worth the 1200 points. Graphics are top draw but it's a little frustrating to have all your friends' names near you letting you know how they got on! Makes it a lot more competitive!  :P

Beating some of your times too, Late.  :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 23, 2012, 01:02:24 AM
Will have to revisit some levels i guess :p
Want to get at least bronze (preferably silver) on every level first though. Am just about to start on the extreme levels...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 23, 2012, 09:09:59 AM
Who'd of thunk it... 30 years ago to the day, the ZX Spectrum was born.. wow.. I can still remember the awesome games we used to play...

my dad bought us the base model second hand, with a crate full of games for £100...my first home console.. my first addiction.. at the tender age of 5... we later replaced our base model with the ZX Spectrum + 2.. with built in tape loader... awesome!!!

So for today, my top 5 ZX Spectrum games...

1.  Chaos - The Battle of Wizards (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTFITF0ofF0)
2.  Rampage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St3EAVAIYX8)
3.  Advanced Soccer Simulator (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRNaMxYEjMY)
4.  Skool Daze (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6BxBfk0LY4)
5.  Atic Atac (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLf0M6ChtJo)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 23, 2012, 01:38:41 PM
Happy Birthday Spectrum!

My top five is a bit skewed, as my favourite three were all made by the same guy...
1. Laser Squad (yeah, I've mentioned it a few times :P )
2. Rebelstar (loved all three versions of this, Rebelstar, Rebelstar Raiders, and Rebelstar 2)
3. Lords of Chaos (this was the sequel to the Chaos game Kieron mentioned - though I did love the original too)
4. Bubble Bobble (spent forever on this, playing two-player with my brother. Never did complete it, though we did get to the final level a few times.)
5. Elite (damn but I got through reams of paper playing this, scribbling down prices of goods etc.)



Honourable mentions to the following, in no particular order, who didn't quite make the top five:
Hypersports (loved it, but was responsible for the destruction of umpteen joysticks)
Monty on the Run (enjoyed most of the Monty Mole games, but "on the Run" was definitely my favourite)
Tetris (I've probably spent more time playing Tetris than any other game, if you count all the different platforms I've played it on)
Wheelie (never did find out why I'm trapped in a cave with a motorbike, but I had a lot of fun trying to escape!)
and most of the Dizzy games.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 23, 2012, 02:16:48 PM
Does anyone remember Earth Shaker (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SohLgHJjc9s) - I had totally forgotten about that one.. it was rated as one of the best games too.. I loved it..  I just realised you can download it on Xbox Live too... HAPPY DAYS!!!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on April 23, 2012, 03:13:27 PM
We had one but we had kiddie games on it like Fireman Sam and Postman Pat. I was quite young as you can imagine.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 23, 2012, 05:57:08 PM
1) Elite
2) Manic Miner
3) Lords of Midnight
4) Jetpac
5) Wheelie

Elite is the best game ever made. I've been waiting for bloody years for someone to remake it, it would a perfect MMO. 8)

Edit: Bloody hell, the U Speculation thread on Gaf is bloomin mental - 10,000 posts in 11 days :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on April 23, 2012, 07:36:50 PM
level 12 now.

a bandit leader keeps hacking me to pieces. is it better to just go around?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Chris on April 23, 2012, 07:57:21 PM
Kenny, you're still in nappies!

My first gaming experience was an Amiga Commodore with 200+ games, most being demos that came with various magazines. Had a SNES too but that only had a handful of games then after that came PSOne, PS2, PSP and X360.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 23, 2012, 09:57:22 PM
You're all still in nappies compared to me - Binatone Pong, have been playing video games since the mid-late 70s. Back in the days when arcades only had Space Invaders and Asteroids in black and white and when some clever bloke decided to put clear coloured perspex on top of the Space Invaders screen it turned the game into glorious technicolour lol :P

Binatone Pong > Atari VCS 2600 > 48K Speccy > 128K Speccy > PS1/PC > PS2/PC > PSP/PC/Wii/PS3/360 > 3DS with the U soon to follow with the Vita when Sony have their panic price cut and there are more games worth playing on it. ;D

I also had a very addictive Battlestar Galactica game which had 3 columns of LEDs and you had enemy ships that used to come down to shoot. I hate to think how many hours I ploughed into that!!!

Don't think I'll be getting a PS4 or 720 next gen because the U will end up getting a SKU of all multiplatform titles, albeit at a slight graphical downgrade. Certainly makes you wonder what third party support the Wii would have got this gen if Nintendo had ditched the TEV Unit. :o

Edit: Found the Battlestar Galactica game here on Ebay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mattel-Electronics-Battlestar-Galactica-Space-Alert-Game-1978-/300699220381?pt=UK_Toys_Creative_Educational_RL&hash=item460311f99d). Am tempted to buy it lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 23, 2012, 11:08:14 PM
How did you go from 128k speccy to ps1 era without having anything in between though, that's two whole gens missed out, nigh on 10 years, home consoles didn't really get start till the speccy, so at least I can say I've had a console each gen :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Chris on April 23, 2012, 11:13:04 PM
oh and i had/have a gameboy 'color' somewhere too
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 23, 2012, 11:20:34 PM
PCs I think, with alcohol filling in the gaps lol. :P

Edit: Whoops! Forgot about my Atari ST in the early 90s! :-[ :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on April 24, 2012, 01:18:02 AM
level 14. some enemies are sooo much powerful than me!

got the book and now a dragon is having me for breakfast - run away again?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 24, 2012, 02:14:59 AM
Bloomin chicken!!! :P

Just realised that my PS3 plays PS1 games :o :-[ ;D

Just started playing Deathtrap Dungeon, but there's no sound effects or music for some strange reason. They're there when selecting menu options and stuff but they mute themselves when I actually start a game. Bloomin annoying >:(

Now that I know it plays them I'm going to replay the first three Resident Evil games. I was planning on playing the Gamecube REMake but it's much better to go old-school imo. I love retro gaming 8)

Still annoying about the sound though >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 24, 2012, 08:16:11 AM
I downloaded Earth Shaker last night.. great game... brought back some nice memories...

Also downloaded the new Trials.. and as a result.. beat loads* of late's and kenny's times already.. yeah bitches!!


* actually only about 3 or 4
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 24, 2012, 09:51:38 AM
level 14. some enemies are sooo much powerful than me!

got the book and now a dragon is having me for breakfast - run away again?
On the bright side, you'll get a nice boost (experience as well as tangible goods) if you beat it...
There's a few different types of dragon, some of which are a lot tougher than others - but I can't remember the types.
As I always saved regularly I generally had a save just before encountering a dragon and another at the start of a battle - so it was always an easy decision. Have a pop at it - if it all goes pear shaped I can go back to just before the fight. When low level I often saved at the start then again another 3 or 4 times throughout the fight, and could be there for bloody ages - but there weren't many fights I backed away from. I think they're all winnable - if you're prepared to hit/save/hide regularly throughout (but some might consider that cheating or unfair).


I downloaded Earth Shaker last night.. great game... brought back some nice memories...

Also downloaded the new Trials.. and as a result.. beat loads* of late's and kenny's times already.. yeah bitches!!


* actually only about 3 or 4
The "Extreme" levels are a complete nightmare.
Didn't get much time to play last night, so only did one level in the end. It did take me around 25 minutes and over 350 faults, though! (Bear in mind there's maximum limits of 30 minutes and 500 faults - and to get silver required completion with less than 35 faults - can't remember the time requirement, but might've been 12 mins.)

Haven't got many platinums yet. They only become available after you've gotten 135 medals (or thereabouts), but at that point it tells you they're available and also lets you know whether you've got any already. I had one at that point and have gained another few since - but all are from the puzzle/skill games section, none from the actual normal levels.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on April 24, 2012, 10:17:19 AM
level 14. some enemies are sooo much powerful than me!

got the book and now a dragon is having me for breakfast - run away again?

I always kill the dragons for the dragon souls and because the bones and scales net you lots of septims.

I'm at level 26 now. I joined the Stormcloaks despite being an Imperial (They didn't seem to notice or care) and won the civil war. I'm now doing a bit of the main storyline.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 24, 2012, 09:33:23 PM
There you go, not just me that thinks that the U controller is perfect for MMOs (http://www.develop-online.net/news/40405/Funcom-Dev-Wii-U-first-MMO-capable-console). ;)

And you were all poo-pooing the idea a few months ago. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on April 24, 2012, 09:56:58 PM
level 14. some enemies are sooo much powerful than me!

got the book and now a dragon is having me for breakfast - run away again?

I always kill the dragons for the dragon souls and because the bones and scales net you lots of septims.

I'm at level 26 now. I joined the Stormcloaks despite being an Imperial (They didn't seem to notice or care) and won the civil war. I'm now doing a bit of the main storyline.

septims??
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on April 24, 2012, 10:07:26 PM
Gold. The currency is called Septims. I could've just said gold but I bowed to the nerd.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on April 24, 2012, 11:22:53 PM
tf for that lol

were did u sell them? Im weighed down with crap. should i carry around next to nothing most of the time? surely i don't need to harvest every snow berry i find lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 24, 2012, 11:29:32 PM
Lol, the first thing I upgrade when leveling up my character in Elder Scrolls or Fallout games is Strength so that I can carry more spoils of battle. ;D Also handy when using melee weapons too. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on April 25, 2012, 12:46:29 AM
After picking up a cheap PSP 2000 Slim & Lite back when GAME were struggling I decided to pop on amazon and order a few games yesterday:

Star Ocean: First Departure & Star Ocean: Second Evolution (Remakes of Star Ocean 1&2 on PS1)
GTA: Liberty City Stories
GTA: Vice City Stories
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Final Fantasy 1
Final Fantasy 2

7 games for a total of £40! Not bad IMO considering the amount of hours of fun there! Will pick up the other FF games and maybe God of War at some point. Big exams coming up next month though so probably won't get into them until after.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 25, 2012, 01:03:13 AM
Each main town has a shop to sell your crap in. You should be able to insta-travel to town, sell your excess rubbish,  then insta-travel back to where you where (or very close to there). Ingredients can be bloody handy when you start brewing potions and take up virtually no space so so I personally hung onto most (some of the pretty worthless items are worth a lot when combined with others into a potion) but whether to keep or sell is personal preference.
Definitely worth getting a house if you want to keep and store a lot of stuff...

_________________________________________________________________

Just completed one of the extreme Trials - with 496 faults (500 is max allowed). I've said it before, I'll say it again - extreme levels are a complete nightmare!
Then my competitive streak kicked in and I re-did some of the early levels to regain top spot...  :p
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 25, 2012, 09:48:45 AM
Some of the levels you have no chance in beating my times  ;)  But how the hell did you get so far on that icarus game in the skill circus.. is there a trick to it or what ???  I love some of the skill games.. good luck trying to beat my score in the one where you wear ski's  :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 25, 2012, 12:52:07 PM
Credit where it's due - I was astounded when I saw your time for the rollercoaster level. WAY better than mine, and well into Platinum territory (which you probably suspected at the time but won't have known for sure, I guess).

Took me a while to beat that one... ;)

On the Icarus level you need to alternate X and Y (the instructions don't make that clear) when you're in the air. The initial short drive and launch aren't really important - it's just a button bashing exercise. I personally found it easiest to put the controller on a surface (my leg) and use my forefinger to furiously zig-zag slide across the two buttons.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 25, 2012, 07:38:10 PM
lol... I wasnt sure which one was the rollercoaster level because I dont spend too long getting the times so dont pay too much attention to the level name ;).. I checked tonight though and like you say though.. it was an astounding time..

...a bit like my phenomenal new time that has just got me into the top 1000 for the track  ;D

Theres bloody loads of stuff to do in this game.. im heading into the harder tracks now though  :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 26, 2012, 03:11:33 PM
Bloody hell, the Japanese charts have gone a little bit insane - 8 of the top 10 are 3DS titles, 1 DS title and 1 PSP title. And 4 of those 3DS titles and the DS title are all third party. Vita hardware sales continue to drop, although not by much this week to be fair. Sony really need to do something to save the Vita in Japan, it's pretty much dead in the water. :(

Pretty annoying that they haven't learnt a single lesson from the PS3 and PSP. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 27, 2012, 11:08:59 AM
Just completed one of the extreme Trials - with 496 faults (500 is max allowed). I've said it before, I'll say it again - extreme levels are a complete nightmare!
Then my competitive streak kicked in and I re-did some of the early levels to regain top spot...  :p

I've just unlocked extreme.. like you say.. they are a complete nightmare...

...then I beat the level your talking about in about 60 faults - lol... good luck beating that one..

Tell you what I hate.. you get to the final obstacle on an extreme level and for some stupid reason you press select instead of B and restart the whole track again..  ;D done that twice now including the sin city inspired level.. one of the last hurdles on that level (jumping a board with numbers on) - is a PAIN.. I got my bike over in about 5 go's.. but it sat directly on top of the scoreboard and I couldn't push it off.. havent got anywhere near getting the bike over again in about 200 tries... then I pressed Select  >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on April 27, 2012, 03:15:03 PM
Bloody hell, the Japanese charts have gone a little bit insane - 8 of the top 10 are 3DS titles, 1 DS title and 1 PSP title. And 4 of those 3DS titles and the DS title are all third party. Vita hardware sales continue to drop, although not by much this week to be fair. Sony really need to do something to save the Vita in Japan, it's pretty much dead in the water. :(

Pretty annoying that they haven't learnt a single lesson from the PS3 and PSP. >:(

http://www.ps3trophies.org/news/news-6515-PlayStation-3-is-Best-Selling-Console-in-Europe-This-Year--Reckon-Nintendo.html

Sony also announced All Stars Battle Royale today; http://www.ps3trophies.org/news/news-6513-Sony-Officially-Unveil-PlayStation-All-Stars--Battle-Royale.html
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 27, 2012, 03:38:16 PM
I was referring to the Vita mate. The PS3 was a complete failure until they cut the price...christ on a bike the GBA even outsold it for a few months lololol. The bad sales of the PS3 in the first year or two of its life caused Capcom to can Monster Hunter 3, which was then a PS3 exclusive, and switch development to the Wii.

The Vita is too expensive, and that's after they cut the memory in half, and the software isn't there to make a purchase worthwhile at the moment. And just like the PS3 before it Japanese developers are canning Vita development in favour of 3DS development. It's completely dead in Japan and not a great deal better in Europe and the States...it's only just sold over 2m units worldwide since launch which is bloody terrible :o :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 27, 2012, 03:50:05 PM
Just started a new game of FM2012.. havent really been able to get into it until today...

2nd game in though, playing Dover in league game.. and BOOOM!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj6OGd1xrVA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj6OGd1xrVA)

For anyone who cant be arsed to watch.. I win 8-0, Sam-Yorke scores a hattrick in 10 minutes and 5 in the first 39 minutes!!!

Im bloody awesome!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 27, 2012, 05:14:14 PM
I used to love football management games before I started testing Champ Man but won't go anywhere near them now. Playing a game like that from 9-6 5 days per week plus overtime will do that I guess lol. In a way I'm quite glad I ended up getting stuck with it because if I'd had to play FPS or TPS games for the same sort of time every week I'd be sick of playing those too. ;D

Just had a look at my PS1 games and could have sworn I owned RE3 but I've only found 1 and 2. Just ordered 3 from eBay for £10.99. Going to play them right from the beginning after the goodness of Revelations has inspired me.

Latest news on the U software front is that someone from Crytek has said there is 'fat chance' of a U SKU of Crysis 3 which has really surprised me tbh. We know that CryEngine 3 is running better on the U compared to the PS3 and 360 and it's surprising that EA aren't bringing the game to every possible platform they can. Very odd. :-\ There's always a chance that Nintendo's NDA is preventing talk of it, but then he would have said he couldn't comment on it, surely. :(

Edit: Just started playing the PS1 SKU of Resident Evil 1, the graphics at the time and the FMVs were way ahead of their time. Capcom have always pulled the stops out for the Resident Evil franchise in terms of eye candy...can't wait for number 6! ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on April 27, 2012, 08:35:16 PM
Quite far behind you guys (Late & Jman) on Trials, working through the Hard levels at the moment. Managing to beat your times though.  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on April 27, 2012, 11:52:07 PM
level 16 now. getting better
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on April 28, 2012, 11:19:41 AM
I'm at level 27 I've been doing some of the Deadra artifact quests. I like the Hangover inspired one.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 28, 2012, 03:29:31 PM
Still can't believe it's still retailing for 30 quid :o

Going to wait for it to drop to less than 20 quid before I get it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 30, 2012, 01:23:28 AM
... the sin city inspired level.. one of the last hurdles on that level (jumping a board with numbers on) - is a PAIN.. I got my bike over in about 5 go's.. but it sat directly on top of the scoreboard and I couldn't push it off.. havent got anywhere near getting the bike over again in about 200 tries... then I pressed Select  >:(

Hate that bloody level!
Haven't had a chance to put the xbox on much this week, but when I have I've usually tried that one - and failed over and over and over again. Have definitely spent over two hours trying to get over that scoreboard, to no avail.  >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on April 30, 2012, 07:55:36 AM
Have encountered a slightly annoying glitch in Skyrim. I have finished the Civil War quest line and now the doors to the important buildings in Solitude are always locked. I can pick em but they are expert level so I waste a few picks.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 30, 2012, 08:41:59 AM
... the sin city inspired level.. one of the last hurdles on that level (jumping a board with numbers on) - is a PAIN.. I got my bike over in about 5 go's.. but it sat directly on top of the scoreboard and I couldn't push it off.. havent got anywhere near getting the bike over again in about 200 tries... then I pressed Select  >:(

Hate that bloody level!
Haven't had a chance to put the xbox on much this week, but when I have I've usually tried that one - and failed over and over and over again. Have definitely spent over two hours trying to get over that scoreboard, to no avail.  >:(

I found the nack to it in the end.. (as you can probably tell by my relatively low fault score  :P )... when you die you dont get enough run up, so you need to reverse your bike back.. basically you can land your bike with both tyres on the top wooden pallet with a big enough run and a good jump, you need to get the landing angle inch perfect for a good jump over the scoreboard but thats how I did it.. everytime I landed with one tyre on the top and one on the bottom it seemed impossible to get to the point of getting two tyres on the top.. so I'd just restart the checkpoint if you dont get two tyres on the top pallet from the initial jump...

...theres actually quite a few more obstacles after this one.. another one which is nearly as annoying as the scoreboard one too (Im sure you'll work out which one it is when you reach it).... but most of my faults actually came on the last obstacle which is relatively simple, but you can see the finishing line and I was just getting too excited over finishing it lol


I tried the two levels afterwards and failed both on 500 faults, they are deadly  :o

Think I have gold on all the first 3 levels now.. except a bronze on the mega-run track.. whoever got 12 faults on that.. thats good.. Im not sure I'll have the patience to attempt to beat that, but Im in the process of converting my medals to at least silver on every track (up to expert)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on April 30, 2012, 07:09:02 PM
level 20 now but like bealec i am in the midst of an annoying glitch.

i am a vampire. have figured out what i need to do when i am level 4 and everybody tries to kill me but its a real pain in the neck (boom boom). can't get the cure either as the guy who is supposed to perform it seems to have forgotten he is supposed to be curing me. on the plus side it made killing a frost dragon piss easy!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 30, 2012, 11:20:20 PM
I found the nack to it in the end.. (as you can probably tell by my relatively low fault score  :P )... when you die you dont get enough run up, so you need to reverse your bike back.. basically you can land your bike with both tyres on the top wooden pallet with a big enough run and a good jump, you need to get the landing angle inch perfect for a good jump over the scoreboard but thats how I did it.. everytime I landed with one tyre on the top and one on the bottom it seemed impossible to get to the point of getting two tyres on the top.. so I'd just restart the checkpoint if you dont get two tyres on the top pallet from the initial jump...

...theres actually quite a few more obstacles after this one.. another one which is nearly as annoying as the scoreboard one too (Im sure you'll work out which one it is when you reach it).... but most of my faults actually came on the last obstacle which is relatively simple, but you can see the finishing line and I was just getting too excited over finishing it lol
Top man - thanks Kieron. That got me past the scoreboard. I then had about 150 unsuccessful attempts at the high wall (I lost 150 lives but it was probably about 500 attempts tbh as I tended to fail the jump but survive to reverse and retry) before accidentally hitting back instead of B. :|
TBH it's not a massive loss, as I only had about 7 minutes left at the time.
Gonna have another go now - hopefully I'll suss it out or (more likely) fluke it this time!
If the high wall isn't the hard part you referred to I might as well just give up. The extreme levels are borderline between fun and chore, to be honest.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 01, 2012, 03:59:27 AM
Decided to give Mercenaries 3D another go and just got a high score of 108,910 with Jill Valentine on level 4.1. I really love this game but after playing Revelations the graphics don't look quite as good as they did before I played it. Revelations has depth of about an inch or maybe more beyond the screen and Mercenaries only has around a cm or so. I'd love them to patch it to increase the depth but can't see it happening unfortunately.

My RE3 arrived today, another one to add to my retro gaming list 8)

Edit: Now got 114,670 with Krauser ;D I bloody love score-based games but they're too addictive, particularly when you have 8 characters with 8 different weapon sets and 2 different outfits for each character. My completist nerves are twitching lol. So many skills to unlock too although I haven't worked out how to unlock everything yet...probably tells me somewhere lololol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 01, 2012, 09:30:50 AM
If the high wall isn't the hard part you referred to I might as well just give up. The extreme levels are borderline between fun and chore, to be honest.

Aye it is.. lol.. I spent about 10-15's goes thinking this is going to be impossible and preparing myself for the long haul and then just did it.. fluke more than anything... I cant really remember if there is a trick to it or not though, but there arent any really hard ones after it...

I agree the extreme levels are not that fun.. they werent in the 1st one either though to be fair.. Im enjoying trying to beat yours and kennys time more than doing the extreme levels..

One thing that is quite funny about trials though.. I seem to regress to a childlike state when playing it.. eyes wide open concentrating.. mouth open.. tongue out... moving and rotating the joypad to the left and right to try and get my biker to go a bit further and make that landing.. its quite funny... this picture also brilliantly shows how I play trials too.. lol..

(http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/i-kMvdrfK/0/L/i-kMvdrfK-X3.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 01, 2012, 04:45:40 PM
Some of those Penny Arcade strips are excellent lol.

I've now experienced the agony and ecstasy of score-based gaming again. Had a few goes on 4-1 last night and kept on missing the SS grade by a couple of hundred points, bloody frustrating lol. But every now and then you get into your Zone and you obliterate every single thing in your path, including mini-bosses. I've always liked the Village map from RE4, a great piece of level design. Now got a high score of 152,160 8)

Those mini-bosses with their eyelids sewn shut and the bloomin great big metal claws take a hell of a lot of damage, and there's no bells to hit to distract its attention :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on May 01, 2012, 05:05:48 PM
lmao Jman that's brilliant! That happens 75% of the time I try to land on the back tyre to accelerate faster! It reminds me of the water pipe level where you basically have to slide on your back at one point as you get flipped over like 3 times by one of the pipes!

I'm gonna start the extreme levels tonight and see how I get on.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on May 01, 2012, 05:25:01 PM
finally cured of vampirism  :-\

very very irritating to get rid of.

I have far too many miscellaneous quests on the go and am working through them, doesn't help that I ask every inn keeper I meet if he has heard any rumours, thats what I do in real life as well lol!

Another thing I don't like is that I had a nice sword and was fighting some boss and it just disappeared.  This has happened a couple of times.  Where do i find a nice weapon? (said the actress to the bishop)

It really sucks you into it, you can want to do one simple task but end up running into a bandit hideout as you cross the map and spend 20 minutes killing them all off!

I've been reduced to using a timer to allow myself only an hour at a time lol!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: shellyboy100 on May 01, 2012, 07:06:54 PM
Can someone tell me where the best deals are going so I can find the following games/console?

Xbox 360, 250GB
Wireless Adapter
Fifa 12
WWE 12
Tiger Woods 13

Any help would be much apprieciated  :)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 01, 2012, 08:33:22 PM
finally cured of vampirism  :-\

very very irritating to get rid of.

I have far too many miscellaneous quests on the go and am working through them, doesn't help that I ask every inn keeper I meet if he has heard any rumours, thats what I do in real life as well lol!

Another thing I don't like is that I had a nice sword and was fighting some boss and it just disappeared.  This has happened a couple of times.  Where do i find a nice weapon? (said the actress to the bishop)

It really sucks you into it, you can want to do one simple task but end up running into a bandit hideout as you cross the map and spend 20 minutes killing them all off!

I've been reduced to using a timer to allow myself only an hour at a time lol!

The big bosses can disarm you. You just drop the sword. If you look around on the floor it should be there.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: larry on May 01, 2012, 09:12:08 PM
Can someone tell me where the best deals are going so I can find the following games/console?

Xbox 360, 250GB


Any help would be much apprieciated  :)

This maybe a good starter? Im a PS3 man myself, but this deal seems hot hot hot

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/morrisons-xbox-360-250gb-forza-4-for-140-1206290


As for game prices i used to use this website

http://www.find-game.co.uk/

Not sure if its the best, but a good guide
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 01, 2012, 09:14:29 PM
My 360 membership expires in a few days if anyone has seen a good deal recently.. its the first time I've taken it off auto-renewal
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: shellyboy100 on May 01, 2012, 09:25:56 PM
Can someone tell me where the best deals are going so I can find the following games/console?

Xbox 360, 250GB


Any help would be much apprieciated  :)

This maybe a good starter? Im a PS3 man myself, but this deal seems hot hot hot

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/morrisons-xbox-360-250gb-forza-4-for-140-1206290


As for game prices i used to use this website

http://www.find-game.co.uk/

Not sure if its the best, but a good guide

Wow, £140 for the Xbox 360, I'm definatly going to morrisions tomorrow! Thanks for the heads up mate :)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on May 01, 2012, 11:07:56 PM
cheers.

i figured it was something like that. will my sword be still there even though i left the area?

know where i can pick up a real nice one handed blade?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on May 02, 2012, 01:43:23 AM
22 now.

wanted to clear my miscellaneous quests so travelled by foot to rathkar to deliver a purchase note. ended up clearing a few places song the way and picking up another load of quests! the more i play this, the more there is to do!

great game tho, weeks could pass by playing this.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 02, 2012, 11:32:50 AM
Another generic COD game on its way... Boring Ops 2 slated for 13th november...

... a week after Halo 4 lands on november 6th..  :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on May 02, 2012, 04:49:33 PM
another hour this morning playing a few quests.

Went on to google to look at guides so not using any cheats, just advice to start levelling up my spell abilities which I've just used as needed until now.

I don't have the patience to do all of the things they suggest but it is clear to me my character is nowhere near powerful enough and I need to start putting effort in.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 03, 2012, 03:00:27 PM
Just out of interest, for those that can remember that far back, what's your favourite location in Resident Evil 4..? Would have to be the Village for me where you have to ring the bell, second on the list is the Battlements of the Castle. Am on the latter in Resident Evil Mercenaries 3D and those big fellahs with the bloomin great big axes are a right pain in the arse lol, the big fnargers eat explosives for breakfast :o

Am going to play RE4 again when I go through the first 3, then 5 and finishing with 6. Is Raccoon Citeh any good..? It's been selling well ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on May 03, 2012, 05:56:08 PM
Black Ops 2! ;D

Will give Halo a miss like all the others.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 03, 2012, 07:46:36 PM
Hopefully Treyarch are going to come up with something to breathe more life into the franchise, it's just the same old same old every year for a while. They need to do something imo. I can't believe that it continues to sell like hotcakes tbh :-\

I've mentioned it before but I'd love to see a different time zone for the game. Having either WWII or modern warfare is getting a bit tiresome for me.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 03, 2012, 08:49:45 PM
Details (including era and choice-dependant branching story) have already been announced - and a trailer was released a couple of days ago...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 03, 2012, 10:05:57 PM
Bollocks...era...that's the word I was looking for :-[ Hate it when that happens lol ;D

Edit: Hmmm...have just read on the Gaf U speculation thread two interesting pieces of info:

1) There's a feature of the U dev kits missing because Nintendo are still working on it. Devs know what it is but have no idea how it's going to be implemented. And it's not haptics either unfortunately. :( The rumoured built-in Vitality Sensor perhaps..? With Eternal Darkness possibly on the way..? :o

2) Someone there is in the know and knows what the launch lineup is, and agrees with Satterfield, a guy from Gametrailers with an almost excellent surname lol, in that the lineup is looking very good indeedy 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 04, 2012, 12:23:23 AM
Bio but no rumble? I swear nintendo's going backwards...


Ordered Assassin's Creed Revelations today (Ottoman ed.n with the dlc). I like the AC games but don't think they're worth full price. Happy to pay £17.95 though ;)
what's your favourite location in Resident Evil 4..?
That's like asking what's your favourite part of being stabbed. There's no good bit - it's all bad.
RE4 was okay in its day but it's been a decade or so...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on May 04, 2012, 01:11:21 AM
dlc coming soon for skyrim
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 04, 2012, 02:15:47 AM
Bio but no rumble? I swear nintendo's going backwards...


Ordered Assassin's Creed Revelations today (Ottoman ed.n with the dlc). I like the AC games but don't think they're worth full price. Happy to pay £17.95 though ;)
what's your favourite location in Resident Evil 4..?
That's like asking what's your favourite part of being stabbed. There's no good bit - it's all bad.
RE4 was okay in its day but it's been a decade or so...

Who says there's no rumble..? The units they showed at E3 were alpha dev kits, they didn't even have a proper case lol. The consoles on display at E3 were empty boxes, similar to the 360 when that debuted (although the alpha dev kits for the 360 were Macs rather than PCs). The final form factor for both the U console and the DRC will be shown at this years E3, and they should have rumble - there's no reason for them not to have it. ;)

And RE4 is still a good game, the level design in particular is excellent, although it changed genres from survival horror to action. RE5 on the other hand is pants. Hopefully Capcom are going to have RE6 being more like Revelations, with co-op only being used in Raid Mode as bonus content. If RE6 has a proper survival horror single player game, less ammo than Revelations with Mercenaries and Raid Mode as bonus content then I'll be a very happy bunny. ;D

Edit: The U is also believed to have 2GB of RAM now but it's unclear what the size of the OS footprint is. Could be 512Mb to begin with leaving 1.5GB of RAM for devs to play with. No news on the type of RAM yet though. If the density of GDDR5 is doubled then we could end up with the PS4 and 720 having 4GB which would make the U the PS2 equivalent and both the PS4 and 720 being the Xbox equivalents, about 2-3 times the power of the U which would make Nintendo quite happy. ;D

Of course, if Nintendo are using DDR3 then they can opt for 4GB but I can't see that happening lol.

Another Edit: It's now looking like more than one DRC (Display Remote Controller) is possible according to an ex journalist on Gaf. Great news although it remains to be seen how much this will affect the eye candy of games. Should be similar to games running local splitscreen multiplayer I reckon.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: larry on May 06, 2012, 08:27:40 AM
I still cant keep off GT5, i dont think i can ever get bored of racing round the Nurburgring. No matter what car your driving, fantastic  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: theegr8mightyp00 on May 06, 2012, 10:53:29 AM
Just beat RE4, now working on RE5, and can't wait for RE6 and the new movie which I hear will have Leon!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 06, 2012, 08:48:21 PM
Who says there's no rumble..?

Once again I think you find yourself at crossed purposes with someone because you've used big words to try and sound clever...


You've moaned about the lack of haptic feedback on the U for ages.
What does haptic mean to you? Cos as far as I'm aware it's just a pompous way of saying rumble/force feedback, but maybe I'm missing something. I often am.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 06, 2012, 10:01:47 PM
Completely different mate. I was hoping for a haptic screen not a haptic controller. There are basically two different types of haptic technology. The first, developed by Senseg, is for use on a touchscreen and enables users to feel the textures on the screen. The second, developed by Artificial Muscle, is for use on the device itself...and is pretty much Rumble 2.0 that gives a more tactile rumble based on sound. Just because it doesn't have Rumble 2.0 doesn't mean that it doesn't have Rumble 1.0. Like I've said there's no reason why Nintendo won't have traditional rumble. ;)

Also have read a leak regarding the PS4 and 720. Sony and Microsoft appear to have not learnt any lessons at all this gen. Both consoles are going to be using 3D stacking for it's RAM so you're guaranteed to have more than 2GB of RAM and the PS4 is going to have a GPU capable of producing 1800 GFlops (compared to the U's expected 600-800 GFlops (depending on clockspeed)). And the 720 is going to be more powerful than that. :o

So, in layman's terms, the PS4 is going to be around 10 times more powerful than the 360, the U between 3 and 4 times more powerful than the 360 and the 720 should be around 12 times more powerful than the 360. Which should give us next gen being on a par with last gen - U = PS2, PS4 = Gamecube and 720 = Xbox.

Wasn't expecting Sony and Microsoft to go for that sort of horsepower next gen, particularly the former due to their financial situation. :-\ We'll probably be looking at them both retailing for around £400 which could end up biting them both on the bum. Microsoft won't be having any problems but Sony could end up being right in it, especially if the Vita continues to fail hard in Japan for the next year.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 07, 2012, 10:25:12 AM
Thats the extreme tracks in trials done, that box on the slope on the track called "the wreck" is by far the hardest obstacle in the whole game, here's a hint, you need a run-up  ;)

Been preoccupied with football manager this week though, but might try and finish some more of those achievements on trials now extreme is out of the way  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 07, 2012, 10:01:32 PM
Another glitch with Skyrim. I have a bounty in Markarth that I can't get rid of. None of the options I select get rid of it. Even my influence as Thane doesn't get rid of it. I'm just killing guards now it's my only way around it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 07, 2012, 10:15:12 PM
Yep, I did warn against that glitch on the old forums as I had it, there is a way round it fortunately, complete the stormcloak quests
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 07, 2012, 10:18:32 PM
Yeh I've already done the Stormcloak quests that's the problem.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 07, 2012, 10:30:01 PM
Lol unlucky then, I'd restart it from before that jail quest then if you can as I spent ages trying alternatives to completing the stormcloaks quest and nothing worked
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on May 07, 2012, 11:10:23 PM
those markath lot are after me as well. lol

Im level 26 now and working hard on the college quests and trying to level up specific skills.

i still event killed enough dragons either
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 08, 2012, 01:04:05 AM
Urgh, I feel sick...

To get within a tenth of a second of gold on any level on Trials is frustrating - but to do so on the eight minute "Gigatrack" level is just ridiculous.  :'(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 08, 2012, 07:48:49 AM
Lol unlucky then, I'd restart it from before that jail quest then if you can as I spent ages trying alternatives to completing the stormcloaks quest and nothing worked

It's weird though because I did the Cidna mine quest ages ago and I've been to Markarth so many times since then and nothing happened till last night. Problem is my bounty is now so high the guards attack on sight.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 08, 2012, 08:37:08 AM
Shame you can't wear a disguise lol :P

Really annoying having bugs like that, that's why I always have several staggered saves when playing any Elder Scrolls or Fallout game. And the annoying thing is that you can't always figure out what causes these bugs so that you can avoid them later. Way too many variables involved, must be as much of a bitch to test as Champ Man was. :o >:(

I still have nightmares about testing Champ Man now lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 08, 2012, 09:04:45 AM
This is why you should buy all of these type of games on a pc really.. with the modding ability, you can get round any glitch, Elder Scrolls has always been a PC game first and foremost

You can use invisibility potions to get through Markarth.. but its a real pig trying to do any quests that involve doing something there or just handing a quest in there... its probably the biggest glitch in the game along with all the dragon glitches they fixed..... I only thought it came from that jail/mine quest (if you hit a guard when escaping).. and didnt think it could happen if you completed the stormcloak quest.. guess I was wrong.. I would suggest waiting until they fix it then, there really is nothing else you can do I dont think..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on May 08, 2012, 09:09:06 AM
obvious question but have you Googled it to see if there is a solution? i got out of Markath cos all the guards were after me cos i killed three of them who were foresworn or something. i didn't think the rest would be after me tho once i killed the others, even said there were no witnesses.

i must try to see what my bounty is, hope I've not the same problem lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 08, 2012, 09:54:34 AM
Have you been back to Markarth since you completed that quest... I didnt realise it had happened to me until I went back.. and by then I had progressed quite a bit and didnt want to waste all that by reloading a save... I tried loads of solutions online.. none of them worked.. only when I completed the stormcloak quest did the guards go back to normal behaviour.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on May 08, 2012, 12:25:30 PM
what triggered it?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 08, 2012, 12:25:56 PM
I did google it but the only solution that seems to work is the one Jman mentioned which is the Stormcloak one but I did those quests before the Cidna mine quest. Apparently it stems from resisting arrest in the Temple of Talos. If you submit it shouldn't happen. Oh well killing guards will raise my 1 handed and light armour skills.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 08, 2012, 04:05:40 PM
Ordered Assassin's Creed Revelations today (Ottoman ed.n with the dlc). I like the AC games but don't think they're worth full price. Happy to pay £17.95 though ;)
They've not dispatched it yet, and Amazon are now doing it for fifteen quid - so cancelled the original order (sorry zavvi - you snooze you lose) and re-ordered from Amazon. Can't argue with £14.97 (same price on both consoles) (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/assassin-s-creed-revelations-ottoman-edition-ps3-360-14-97-amazon-1212962#post14437233)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on May 08, 2012, 07:01:56 PM
I did google it but the only solution that seems to work is the one Jman mentioned which is the Stormcloak one but I did those quests before the Cidna mine quest. Apparently it stems from resisting arrest in the Temple of Talos. If you submit it shouldn't happen. Oh well killing guards will raise my 1 handed and light armour skills.

ah right, that's what i did. i always resist arrest lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 09, 2012, 09:08:34 AM
Did the Unyielding II achievement on trials this morning.. (doing Rock Steady without fault or moving rider position)... its not as hard as it sounds, but it will take you tons of trial and error to get it right.. if anyone needs any help/tips on how to jump certain bits just let me know although Im sure you can just as easy watch a video, but I didnt  8)  I also "platinumed" it and beat both your guys times  :P

I think I am going to have to watch videos for the squirrels achievement, havent even found one yet lol.. no idea what they even look like..

Could probably get all achievements for this game.. although need a new live subscription for the multiplayer ones, still havent bothered to renew it yet.. I did see a 2 months for £2 offer on the 1st tab on the dashboard, clicked on it and it took me to a trailer for max payne 3 ..  :o lol  Let me know if anyone spots any good deals


Also took a audit of my games last night.. took me a while, listed 50 games that Im definitely never going to play again to sell on flea-gay..  :(  Hoping for about £3 each.. £150 would go quite nicely towards a new pushbike  :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 09, 2012, 12:20:13 PM
Found another supposed fix for the Markarth guard glitch. Haven't tried it yet but have you heard of it Jman as you mentioned you'd tried a few. Apparently you go to Markarth and get to the Tenple of Talos without being seen by the guards go inside and there will be three guards. Two will attack you and one does the Cidna mine speech. You run through the dialogue with the third guard then he goes to act. Sheaf your weapons like you do when you submit to a guard and it reverts to the normal arrest speech and you can just pay your bounty and it fixes it.

As I mentioned I haven't tried it so don't know if it works. I'm going to give it a go later.

Here's a YouTube video Incase my explanation isn't clear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4cgvCPRunU&nomobile=1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4cgvCPRunU&nomobile=1)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 09, 2012, 12:56:22 PM
That was the first fix I tried doing, but when I got into the temple, no-one was there.. just 3 dead guards on the floor lol.. I had already killed them previously... in fact Im sure the first time I went into the temple...all 3 attacked me and wouldnt stop, so didnt have much choice but to kill them all.. and then I did the jail/mine quest afterwards when I surrendered to a random guard outside the temple.... so I cant tell you if that fix will work or not because the guards were dead.. but good luck!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 09, 2012, 03:17:49 PM
I killed them also so they may already be dead. I'll have a look.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 09, 2012, 06:12:56 PM
Am I the only one here that gets gaming ants in my pants..? Generally I'm fine, I'll play a game to completion without a problem but every now and then I just can't seem to settle on playing just one, I'll be playing something for 5 or 10 minutes and then switch to something else. :-\

Have just started Dead Island and am really liking it so far...but the mood I'm in, as described above, I won't be playing it for too long lol. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 09, 2012, 06:27:10 PM
Golden Week in Japan has seen sales increases for hardware for every platform apart from the Vita. :-\ Not good. Sony need to announce some sort of system seller at E3 next month otherwise the platform is in serious trouble for third party support in one or two years time. :o >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 09, 2012, 08:19:44 PM
Tried the fix. It didn't work I made it to the shrine without being seen and the guards inside were alive but they just started with the looped speech.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on May 09, 2012, 09:27:00 PM
...And this was GOTY worthy?  ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 09, 2012, 09:31:13 PM
People are saying that it would stop them playing the game. It hasn't stopped me. I think it bothers the achievement/trophy hounds who need to go there to get certain things but for me I'm not fussed I just kill all the guards.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on May 09, 2012, 09:32:34 PM
It stopped me, I was enjoying it up until I couldn't take 5 steps without hitting a massive wall of crippling lag.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 09, 2012, 09:35:03 PM
Yeh but that's a game breaking issue. The guards always chasing me isn't.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 10, 2012, 12:35:00 AM
It stopped me, I was enjoying it up until I couldn't take 5 steps without hitting a massive wall of crippling lag.

Hasn't that been sorted yet..? :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 10, 2012, 09:43:03 AM
Bioshock Infinite's release date has been put back to the end of Feb 2013. >:(

Maybe releasing a trailer for the game in summer 2010 was a bad idea if it's not going to materialise until 2013.
Really looking forward to this game, but they've learned nothing from the likes of Duke Nukem, Gran Turismo, et al - you can't keep delaying a game for years to keep polishing it. The industry, technology, and competition are all moving forward while you're still tweaking a game that's three or four years old...





It stopped me, I was enjoying it up until I couldn't take 5 steps without hitting a massive wall of crippling lag.
Hasn't that been sorted yet..? :o
Aye, months ago
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 10, 2012, 11:34:47 AM
Well stop bloody complaining then ross lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 10, 2012, 04:26:28 PM
Sony today posted losses for the year of approx £3.7bn.
Holy hell but that's a lot of moolah!


Wouldn't be surprised if Apple and/or Google are sniffing round Sony's financial records around about now...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 10, 2012, 05:40:03 PM
Yup, they're in right trouble at the moment and 10,000 jobs are going too. The only money they're making is from films and gaming I think.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on May 10, 2012, 08:56:53 PM
probably get to level 30 tonight. I've much more of a clue these days lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 10, 2012, 10:27:08 PM
Christ on a bike, Activision have sold over 30m Skylander thingummybobs :o

Going to be interesting to see how many Pokemon cards/figurines with NFC tech inside that Nintendo can sell when the inevitable Pokemon U title is released. It's going to be a licence to print money. :o :o :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 11, 2012, 08:53:12 AM
Yeah something I'd be very worried about if you were considering buying a Wii U.. you know what the skylanders thing is right.. a kiddy toy that screams tack.. Ubisofts trailer for the rabbids game shows it being used like the skylanders toy.. lol its gonna be so gayzor!!!   Your probably right though, it could sell a lot if used with Pokemon/other annoying bollocks..  it definitely wouldnt appeal to "hardcore gamers" which is the market nintendo are supposed to be after right ??


Done a bit of research on ebay to see how much I could be getting from my game sale.. looks like I should be expecting between £250-£300 for 50 games.. thats based on the average selling price of the games im selling over the last couple of days - some of the games I have are worth quite a bit now  :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 11, 2012, 09:40:28 AM
Should probably do something similar myself, this year.

When I upgrade to the new gen of console I always either keep the games "just in case I want to play them again" (has only happened once or twice and every time I've been disappointed with them now that I'm used to the improvements in the next generation) or I sell the games a year or two after getting the next console - at which point the old games are worth very little.
Makes sense to recoup some cash now while the market's still there.

That said, I did buy a load of bubble wrap and padded envelopes toward the back end of last year so that I could sell my ps1 games on ebay (most are worth about £2, but a handful are worth about twenty quid each - which adds up when there's a few). Haven't gotten round to doing so yet. It's on my list of things to do...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 11, 2012, 10:24:09 AM
Portal Turret (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTSWjkXBHOs).
Well done sir!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 11, 2012, 10:25:01 AM
Latest rumour is that the U is getting a SKU of Final Fantasy XIV :o

Not too bothered myself as I personally think the franchise is overrated but that would be huge news for Nintendo in Japan. That would mean they've managed to secure three huge system sellers over there. The biggest of which is Dragon Quest X, the Japanese government don't allow Square Enix to release those games on a working day apparently lol. :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 11, 2012, 11:12:30 AM
Should probably do something similar myself, this year.

When I upgrade to the new gen of console I always either keep the games "just in case I want to play them again" (has only happened once or twice and every time I've been disappointed with them now that I'm used to the improvements in the next generation) or I sell the games a year or two after getting the next console - at which point the old games are worth very little.

Makes sense to recoup some cash now while the market's still there.

The market will pretty much disappear just before the new system is out.. which will be next year.. Im not worried about that.. I just need to make a bit more space on the book shelf and I do have far too many games, some of which will never get played again for certain.. there is no point hanging onto them...

Just a few games I was suprised at the price on...

Mass Effect sold on average for £8.00
Guitar Hero 2 sold on average for £10.00
Lego Indiana Jones/Kung Fu Panda sold on average for £11
Batman: AA sold on average for £13.00
LOTR:BFME2 sold on average for £16.00

Some of these games I wouldnt expect more than a fiver from, so more than happy to get rid of them for a good price - all of these had £2 P&P on too which IMO is way too much... especially when they send them 2nd class after all that.

I tell you what though, it was a bit of a gut-wrench to choose 50 games to get rid off.. I listed 15 down quite easily.. but then I was finding it hard to list the others...I tried not to get rid of games that are part of a collection of games.. so if I wanted to keep Dead Space 2 for example.. I wouldnt want to sell Dead Space 1... although that just wasnt working as I have quite a few like that.. I had to tell myself a few times that it didnt matter what collections I had.. because as soon as the NextBox/PS4 comes out.. I will be getting rid of pretty much all of them.. (I think Im just gonna keep my collection of Halo games and thats it)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 11, 2012, 11:36:36 AM
Latest rumour is that the U is getting a SKU of Final Fantasy XIV :o
The crappy MMO from a couple years back?  ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 11, 2012, 12:22:20 PM
It'll be the (next) new one (14).. but then nintendo have had exclusive final fantasy versions on the DS for ages now, so its not major news if it does happen.. its certainly not a system seller over in the west anymore.. mainly because the quality of Final Fantasy games have gone down hill since Final Fantasy 11 and with the reinvention of western RPGs such as Fallout & Elder Scrolls series.. people have turned away from traditional JRPGs and want something else now.. Final Fantasy is no longer the powerhouse it once was.. (but I'd sure as hell buy re-releases of FF7, FF8 and FF9 anyday of the week).

I finally got my 2 months for £2 offer from xbox live.. so gonna go for 100% on trials evo achievements.. whose with me !! ??  Lets have a race!! (P.S. I'd already be winning) ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 11, 2012, 03:08:13 PM
I finally got my 2 months for £2 offer from xbox live.. so gonna go for 100% on trials evo achievements.. whose with me !! ??  Lets have a race!! (P.S. I'd already be winning) ;D

I've not used the features on my gold account in ages (probably since early Nov 2011, when I tried MW3 and BF3 and wasn't massively impressed with either), so might have a look at the online on this just so I don't feel the cash I'm paying for my subscription is a complete waste of money. :(
I did try local multiplayer on Trials Evo, though, and was thoroughly unimpressed. Was very week - hopefully online's different.

Still haven't got my gold medal on the Gigatrack, despite a ridiculous number of attempts. Part of the problem is I'm putting it on at midnight when our lass goes to bed, but am knackered and falling asleep shortly after that. I keep snapping awake to find I'm half-way round the track with no faults but about half an hour on the clock.

Ignoring the Extreme levels, I think there's only three tracks I've not got gold on, yet (and that hasn't changed in days). First is the aforementioned gigatrack. Next is called Warehouse 24 (or something like that). Has an inverted U bend on an air-con system near the end of the level which I find a complete nightmare to get past. You're allowed 5 faults - I could probably do the course with zero faults if not for that one jump, which usually kills me about 30 times. Can't remember the third track that's got me stumped (possibly Bridge of Trails?) - but all three are currently at Silver.

If you've still not seen any squirrels, re-do the very first test ("D Licence"?), and just watch the end sequence after the finishing line - there's a squirrel there if you wait for about ten seconds. I had to use a guide to find them all.
Most are pretty simple to do once you know about them, but a couple of them are tricky - for instance one involves going backwards at the start of the "Meltdown" level to set yourself on fire, then completing the track without fault so you're still alight as you cross the finish line...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 11, 2012, 03:40:24 PM
I've had one go in an online race.. but I quit before I finished because I was doing embarrassingly bad compared to the others LOL.. one of the achievements is to win 5 online races.. cant see that happening straight away.. it is good fun racing 4 players though, Im just popping the easy achievements at the moment though.. so just jumped online to get the 5 different clothes/parts one... I'd classify 5 wins online, completing extreme, and the no faults on a tournament the hardest of the achievements, but they are easily do-able given time....the squirrel one sounds more time consuming than hard.. I found if your downloading tracks by the way, (for that 'chievo) I wouldnt stray too far from the RedLynx recommended ones.. some tracks are just absolute cack and dont work properly.. so your wasting your time playing them... I did the "Snake" track and it was great.. got a bit boring after a while though...

...I havent really attempted the Gigatrack since my first run on it.. it takes too bloody long lol... if your having trouble with extreme... you can look at replays on the leaderboard to find out how the top players have done each one (if it doesnt feel like cheating to you).. I cant believe some people's runs.. they almost look like they just held accelerate down the whole way through...

..for 1200MSP though, this game is an absolute steal because theres so much to do.. its such a bargain, I've been playing it on and off for about 3 weeks now.. that rarely happens with arcade games.. usually finish them within hours of purchasing..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 11, 2012, 04:53:31 PM
...I havent really attempted the Gigatrack since my first run on it.. it takes too bloody long lol... if your having trouble with extreme... you can look at replays on the leaderboard to find out how the top players have done each one (if it doesnt feel like cheating to you).. I cant believe some people's runs.. they almost look like they just held accelerate down the whole way through...

..for 1200MSP though, this game is an absolute steal because theres so much to do.. its such a bargain, I've been playing it on and off for about 3 weeks now.. that rarely happens with arcade games.. usually finish them within hours of purchasing..

Aye, I've had a look at a few of the top players' goes on the extreme tracks - and as you say, they just seem to hold down accelerate and play just with balance. At first you think that's gotta be at least partly down to fluke - but then you look through the other leaderboards and keep seeing the same names. Those people have either got incredible dexterity, or they've found some way of cheating. Probably the former, but I can't help but wonder (which probably says more bad stuff about me than about them...)

As you say, it's a fantastic bargain at 1200msp (which works out at between £8 and £12 depending on where you buy your points).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 11, 2012, 08:07:52 PM
Latest rumour is that the U is getting a SKU of Final Fantasy XIV :o
The crappy MMO from a couple years back?  ???

Yup, but if it turns out to be true that means that Nintendo have secured the 3 biggest franchises in Japan - Dragon Quest, Monster Hunter and Final Fantasy. And all 3 are system sellers, they won't be able to make the things quick enough over there :o

The most important is Dragon Quest X, it's going to be bloomin huge over there. I may have underestimated the installed userbase that the U will probably have before the PS4 and 720 are released, the U is going to be ridiculously popular in Japan due to a combination of those 3 franchises and the fact that Japanese homes are generally small and most only have 1 telly. I did originally guesstimate 10-15m worldwide but it could very well be more than that. ???

Edit: And it seems that a leak on Gaf has now confirmed that the DRC will have clickable sticks, although I'd personally prefer it not to because I tend to click them by accident when playing with my 360 and PS3 controllers lol. And if they've opted for clickable sticks I'd say that it's pretty much given that they'll use analog triggers too. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 11, 2012, 09:45:40 PM
Why do we care what sells in Japan? The Wii U may sell well in Japan but it'll be bottom of the pile everywhere else.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 11, 2012, 10:51:29 PM
The more a console sells in each territory the more worldwide third party support it'll get. That's why Sony are crapping themselves over the sales of the Vita in Japan. Capcom, Square Enix, Tecmo Koei, Namco Bandai, Konami and Sega are all important publishers with IPs with worldwide appeal. If one or more of those aren't on board then a platform holder has a serious dent in third party support.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 11, 2012, 11:36:20 PM
Apart from Ubisoft though,who always back Nintendo, the Wii U has no other confirmed 3rd party making a new ip or exclusive for the console. And for a console that is supposed to be focusing on getting 3rd party on board, it doesn't sound like they are doing a great job of it

All of the supposed leaks are usually all bullcrap as well, I don't know why you bother to take notice of them
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 11, 2012, 11:53:48 PM
The Japanese market is a weird one though. They like their JRPG's but developers who don't make JRPG's aren't going to give a crap what console is selling in Japan when the majority of people who play their games live in Europe and America. Surely they will go with which console is selling best in Europe or America which will be either the 720 or PS4.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 12, 2012, 01:25:54 AM
Apart from Ubisoft though,who always back Nintendo, the Wii U has no other confirmed 3rd party making a new ip or exclusive for the console. And for a console that is supposed to be focusing on getting 3rd party on board, it doesn't sound like they are doing a great job of it

All of the supposed leaks are usually all bullcrap as well, I don't know why you bother to take notice of them

There haven't been any third party titles announced due to Nintendo's strict NDAs, but there was a great deal of third party support demonstrated at last years E3.

The launch and launch window list from third parties is looking particularly impressive:

Lego City Stories (published by Nintendo but developed by a third party dev)
Assassin's Creed 3
Dragon Quest X
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
Batman Arkham City
Aliens Colonial Marines
Darksiders 2
Ghost Recon Online
Killer Freaks From Outer Space
Untitled Rabbids game

And the following are confirmed on their way:

Metro Last Light
Rayman Legends
Formula 1
Untitled Tekken game
Untitled Battlefield game

And the following are pretty certain imo:

Resident Evil 6
GTA V
CoD BlOps 2

And those were announced before Nintendo went mental with their NDAs. You can probably add another few exclusives there after E3. There's going to be a major information blowout next month. Love them or hate them you have to give Nintendo a great deal of credit for how they've managed to keep the lid on things, it's quite remarkable tbh. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on May 12, 2012, 09:35:44 AM
level 31 now ;D

got Markath sorted as well - by accident! had a drinking game with some guy in falkrith and woke up in markath. went outside and instead of fightingallowed myself to get arrested. sent to jail and did the breakout quest.

downside is that there will be foresworn everywhere now but that's ok.

other good news is that i unlocked all the shouts i have found to date. was only using the original ones the greybeards teach you. didn't realise everytime you kill a dragon you have to choose which shout to unlock! had 7 stored and unlocked all of them, which to use now though??? Which ones did everyone else use?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 12, 2012, 11:17:06 AM
I use Unrelenting Force to fling enemies across the land. Im level 44 now. I killed all the guards in Markarth and they haven't respawned so I can just wander freely.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 12, 2012, 02:07:27 PM
You're all a bunch of poofs with all this use of magic :o Real men use a proper weapon 8)

I always play Elder Scrolls games with minimum use of magic myself, although I'm not sure if that's possible in Skyrim faced with giants and dragons..? I only use magic for healing usually. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 12, 2012, 03:34:28 PM
You're all a bunch of poofs with all this use of magic :o

Wii.



Need I say more?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 12, 2012, 03:37:32 PM
At least I fight with a sword yer big woofter :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 12, 2012, 04:22:21 PM
Plus it's not magic it's just talking in dragon language. The technical term is Thun.

Pfft newbs.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 12, 2012, 05:17:25 PM
Plus it's not magic it's just talking in dragon language. The technical term is Thun.

Pfft newbs.

Same bloomin difference lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on May 13, 2012, 09:06:06 AM
level 32 now.

makes sense to use magic. i usually use fire in my left hand and a sword in my right. Im a demon archer tho as well, i love sneak attacking and capturing souls mwahahaha
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 13, 2012, 12:30:42 PM
I do the same fire in one hand sword in the other.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 13, 2012, 12:50:56 PM
Ditto - fire left hand, weapon right hand.

I had my wife/companion use a soul-capturing bow - those filled soul gems are great, combined with a bit of smithing and enchanting. Gives you fantastic weapons/armour which can be used or sold for a lot of money. Just a shame the shopkeepers don't have much money.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on May 13, 2012, 02:48:57 PM
one of the mini quests just netted me 3k and I have started the dark brotherhood quests as well so am getting the loot up rightly. i have been storing any dragon bones in preparation for making dragon armour later in the game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 14, 2012, 08:50:11 AM
Apart from Ubisoft though,who always back Nintendo, the Wii U has no other confirmed 3rd party making a new ip or exclusive for the console.

Sorry harv.. did I miss something.. can you just highlight which of the games you listed are CONFIRMED 3rd party exclusives for the WiiU then ??

Lego City Stories (published by Nintendo but developed by a third party dev)
Assassin's Creed 3
Dragon Quest X
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
Batman Arkham City
Aliens Colonial Marines
Darksiders 2
Ghost Recon Online
Killer Freaks From Outer Space
Untitled Rabbids game
Metro Last Light
Rayman Legends
Formula 1
Untitled Tekken game
Untitled Battlefield game
Resident Evil 6
GTA V
CoD BlOps 2
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 14, 2012, 09:40:24 AM
You forgot to include the first important sentence of my quote that you've quoted. Nintendo are being unbelievably strict with their NDAs. You'll see plenty of exclusives announced in a few weeks.

They've made great efforts to garner third party support, particularly from smaller developers. They're including Autodesk, Havok and Greenhills middleware and IDE with each dev kit. That's tens of thousands of pounds of software.

You'll see just how good the third party support is going to be in a few weeks, both at retail and digital distribution channels.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 14, 2012, 10:19:08 AM
I know my limitations - and I think I've now reached them. I can't do two of the extreme levels on Trials Evolution. It's now stopped being fun and has become too much of a chore.

On the bright side, though, I do now have gold (or better) on every beginner, easy, medium, and hard level. Wanted to got Platinum on all Beginner levels, but I'm struggling on one (the first level).
Had a few goes on the online mulitplayer. It's definitely better than the local multiplayer, but still rather unsatisfying.


Decided to crack out the AC:Revelations I bought last week. Being the Ottoman Edition (with 3 lots of dlc) it's the normal game in normal packaging, but that packaging is then in a cardboard sleeve, together with some download codes. Took the outer cellophane off to open the cardboard sleeve only to find the game case inside is mangled. If it were just a crack I'd put up with it, but it's like it'd been jumped up and down on by an elephant. Completely decimated, with loads of bits rattling around in there.
I've returned it to Amazon (effectively still sealed - the microsoft seal and cellophane on the game itself are still intact - it's only the outer wrapping I opened.
Unfortunately it's returned for refund, as they don't have it in stock now :(

I did have the common sense to put the dlc codes into my machine, though - so now I just need to buy the standard game... ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 14, 2012, 12:04:28 PM
Can't think of the last crossover from tv to game that worked well (if any) but I like the idea of Sons of Anarchy - the game (http://www.dealspwn.com/sons-anarchy-creator-proclaims-video-game-works-102111). Could be great, if done well. I'm thinking GTA style sandbox game with plenty of gang/turf wars, courier missions, businesses to control, etc. Admittedly I'm more Piney than Jax these days, but playing as a member of SAMCRO definitely appeals.
First mission for me - take control of the strip club.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 14, 2012, 04:54:45 PM
I'd be all over that, the idea of designing and building your own bike would be a great imo. Particularly if you could download images from the internet or use Kinect/Move/DRC to take pictures and put them on the petrol tank. I'd be all over that!!! ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on May 15, 2012, 01:45:43 AM
Just completed Star Ocean: Second Evolution! (Remake of Star Ocean 2 on PS1) :D Well, the main part of the game anyway and the crazy bonus dungeon (13 levels and NO save points!). Now I have to level up at least 50 levels to take on the final ridiculously tough boss - Iseria Queen. :'(

Then I'm ready to work my way through the early FF games!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 15, 2012, 02:59:30 AM
Halo on the Atari VCS 2600 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdpdkUA69IE) lol :o ;D 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 15, 2012, 08:54:23 AM
I know my limitations - and I think I've now reached them. I can't do two of the extreme levels on Trials Evolution. It's now stopped being fun and has become too much of a chore.

On the bright side, though, I do now have gold (or better) on every beginner, easy, medium, and hard level. Wanted to got Platinum on all Beginner levels, but I'm struggling on one (the first level).
Had a few goes on the online mulitplayer. It's definitely better than the local multiplayer, but still rather unsatisfying.

Think Im reaching the end of my tether with trials now too.. great game but losing playability factor each day now.. Did the Lab Rat achievement after a few hours swearing at the poxy game.. and just got the Tournament no faults achievement left to do (on the single player side of the game)... although its the 5th level of 6 in that tournament that really does me in.. cant seem to do that faultless.. 13 faults is my best attempt so far.. annoying to get that far and then make a easy slip-up though.. Think I'll do that chievo and then move on..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 15, 2012, 10:17:29 AM
Gave up on Bullet Witch yesterday. I've done the first four levels - in fact I did them twice, as I accidentally hit the default "new game" option at one point instead of "continue" and there's no option to restore to a save point when you've made that mistake, though it does let you keep the weapons and skills you've accumulated to that point so the second run of those 4 levels went pretty easy.
But then I tried level 5 (I think there's only 6 levels) a few times and kept getting killed by snipers. You get about a second's notice that someone's targeting you - if you don't hit the button combo to throw a magical wall up in the right place/direction to protect you you're back to the checkpoint you reached half an hour ago. Not fun.


Just completed Star Ocean: Second Evolution! (Remake of Star Ocean 2 on PS1) :D Well, the main part of the game anyway and the crazy bonus dungeon (13 levels and NO save points!). Now I have to level up at least 50 levels to take on the final ridiculously tough boss - Iseria Queen. :'(

Then I'm ready to work my way through the early FF games!
Didn't realise there was more than one Star Ocean game. Pretty sure I've never played one before, but coincidentally I put "Star Ocean: The Last Hope" in the 360 yesterday. It's one of the games I got for about a quid a couple months back but put in the pile.

To be honest I might have to restart it. I started it last night but fell asleep during some long boring cut scene. My stats on the game now show that I've played for over 4 hours, and in that time I've explored my spacecraft and had one fight.
Haven't much idea what's going on. We've apparently crash-landed somewhere... we were setting off from Earth; next thing I wake up to see a couple hours have passed and half the crew's dead or unconscious. I think I might've been the pilot, so I'm guessing I'm to blame for nodding off at the helm. Bloody clever programming, that... ;)
Anyway, I've been pining for FF a bit lately, so will give this a shot - hopefully it'll fill that void. The voices don't much fit the characters, but that's forgiveable. Don't much like the fighting (prefer the old Final Fantasy turn-based combat scheme) but hopefully it'll grow on me.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on May 15, 2012, 06:12:08 PM
I'm a right Star Ocean fanatic. Used to have all the games but sold the PS1 version of Star Ocean 2 on eBay for £75. Sony decided late on not to release it outside Japan so not many PAL copies were ever made, making it pretty hard to get hold of.

Personally I prefer them to the FF games (bar FFVII, which is the best JRPG ever, hands down) due to the real-time battle system, item creation and I generally prefer the storylines. The Last Hope is a decent game which I put about 100 hours into but it's probably the weakest in the series. Long cutscenes and annoying voice acting are a certainty in every SO game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 15, 2012, 06:50:34 PM
Can't stand turn-based combat, although it appears that with Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story real-time combat is starting to be a popular choice by developers these days. About bloody time too.

Has anyone tried the first episode of The Walking Dead..? Love the art direction, beats Red Steel 2 as the most convincing animated graphic novel, I'm surprised that more developers haven't opted for this evolution of cel-shading tbh. :-\

I was thinking about getting Raccoon City but it's been absolutely slaughtered by reviews, it's got a Metascore of 52. A great deal of games with Metascores in the 60s and 70s are worth playing but once you drop into the 50s that's really not a good sign. Has anyone got it..? Is it as bad as the Metascore implies..? Capcom have sold 2m so surely it can't be that bad, can it..?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 18, 2012, 10:44:42 PM
Have started to play Ocarina of Time 3D again, I really like what Grezzo have done with the art style - they've improved the IQ but have still retained a close proximity to the N64 original art style, it works really well. A great amount of depth to the 3D too, looks like the action is going on at least an inch behind the screen. There's also some great pop-out here and there too, particularly when you grab the second stone thingy from the Gorons, and you frequently see Navi's fairy dust appearing to pop out of the screen.

I thought that the novelty of the 3D effect would have worn off by now but there are still, 'Whoa, that's pretty cool' moments when playing games. The 3D media content is also pretty good, supplied by various partners through Nintendo Video. We've got Shaun The Sheep and Big Buck Bunny at the moment which both have genuine laugh out loud moments, they're only a few minutes long but you tend to get a new thing to watch every week which is pretty cool. Just a shame you can't save them to your SD card though. :(

Am about to start the second dungeon I think, I really missed out on some quality gaming by only owning a PS1 and PS2 the last two gens. Although to be fair they did both also have some real quality software too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on May 19, 2012, 03:23:01 PM
I bought the New Vegas DLC bundle thats on offer in the PS store.....£17.99 for the lot, which is 6 packs in total.

I wouldn't have bought it all seperately, and the bundle works out at £12 cheaper, so it's not a bad deal really. Might aswell make the most of their deals, since I won't be buying another game associated with Bethesda ever again.

I also bought Minerva's Den for Bioshock 2...It wasn't advertised in the deals of the week, but it was sneakily slashed in price too, good job I've been checking over the last few weeks since I've been wanting to finish up all the Bioshock 2 trophies for some time.....Got it for £3.49 reduced from £6.49.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 19, 2012, 03:47:42 PM
I still haven't finished the first Bioshock, let alone the second. On my list of things to do lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 19, 2012, 07:08:17 PM
I think im going to take Skyrim out and play something else as ive been playing it for 75 hours now. I need a break so I'll play something else and come back.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 20, 2012, 01:59:22 PM
Hmmm...it appears that Nintendo have redesigned the DRC, replacing the slide pads with traditional analog sticks. Not too sure how I feel about that tbh as I've got to really like the slide pad on the 3DS, all they needed to do was have similar sort of grips that the 360 analog sticks have to stop your fingers slipping. Should have plenty of people happy though, particularly now we know that they're clickable. ;D

Some idiot at Travellers Tales in the QA department must have got fed up with working in the industry because he posted the pic on Twitter. There's no way he's kept his job over that, and nobody in the industry will touch him with a barge pole. :o

(http://i.imgur.com/vCz92.jpg)

They've moved the + and - buttons which is a great improvement and there appears to be two squares without any sort of label, the one on the left may be the NFC doobrie I guess but the one on the right looks like an actual button. The Home button also has a light. 8)

For the sake of comparison, here's the DRC before the redesign:

(http://i.imgur.com/hnjVl.jpg)

Looks like they've reduced the screen size too which I'm disappointed with...unless they've increased the size of the buttons..? :-\ :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 20, 2012, 05:17:29 PM
That controller looks massive. It won't be very comfortable to use.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 20, 2012, 05:42:37 PM
Not according to all hands-on reports, it's supposed to be light and ergonomically sound. If there's one thing that Nintendo have done right these last two gens it's designing controllers that are comfortable to use.

Edit: And now confirmation that the U can support two DRCs. Nice. Today is just getting better and better. :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 21, 2012, 08:39:46 AM
If there's one thing that Nintendo have done right these last two gens it's designing controllers that are comfortable to use.

Its a wonder theres been so many cases of people smashing things with such a comfy controller then.  :o
Never heard of Wii Elbow.. comes about from using the controller so much..
Even nintendo warn you at the start of every game about overexertion of playing.. that doesnt indicate that playing a game with the wiimote is "comfy"

And I didnt think you had a gamecube.. not sure how you know how comfy the controller was in that case.. I had a gamecube.. and I can tell you for a fact that it is nowhere near as comfy as the xbox360 controller... the Z trigger was awkward for a start (and not pressure sensitive).. all of the buttons on the pad were different shapes too meaning that most games had to go with A as the dominant button because it took so much room up on the joypad - bad design... the yellow C stick was plasticky crap and not as comfy as just having two thumbsticks.. the D-pad never got used because it was in an awkward position and the start button was unreachable by fingers unless you moved your hand..  sorry harv.. but the gamepad was crap.. probably the worst of the gen.. (if you dont take into account the jumbo xbox original pad)

I wont even start on the three pronged monstrosity that was the N64 controller..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 21, 2012, 09:32:54 AM
...If there's one thing that Nintendo have done right these last two gens...
There isn't.



Thanks - that was the most easily won argument I've ever been in!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 21, 2012, 03:55:00 PM
Regarding the remote I was talking about ergonomics, not whether idiots had let the things go. And when I was referring to the Gamecube controller I was talking in a previous gen context so you can't compare it to current gen consoles' controllers.

And yes, I do have a Gamecube controller thanks to the 100% backwards compatibility that the Wii has.

Like I've said, everyone that's used one has said it's ergonomically sound and that was before the moved the buttons. Moving the positions of the sticks and buttons should only improve the user feedback, wait until E3 and you'll see it being so. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 21, 2012, 04:48:30 PM
So you're saying everyone that touched the controller said it was great and everything was perfectly sized and positioned - then Nintendo moved and resized everything?

 ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on May 21, 2012, 05:49:34 PM
Pretty funny recording from a CoD session the other day. My mate rages pretty hard at some bloke who keeps killing him LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvrvaJPG9-M
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 25, 2012, 12:33:28 AM
Blimey. Apparently Nintendo have got so much to reveal that they can't squeeze it all into one 60 minute conference like they normally do. They're having their usual 60 minutes on the 5th and then a developer discussion on the 6th and a software showcase on the 7th. :o

Edit: Glad to see that Manhunt 2 has deservedly been named as the goriest video game of all-time (http://www.gameranx.com/features/id/5255/article/top-25-goriest-games-of-all-time/). Of course, to play it properly you need to play it uncut using Homebrew goodness, the ESRB and BBFC ruined a fantastic game by censoring it. Was definitely deserving the 94% score that NGamer awarded it in their world exclusive Uncut review. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 25, 2012, 10:56:41 AM
Ordered Final Fantasy XIII-2 from play.com.
£9.99 on 360/ps3. (http://www.play.com/Games/Games/6-/Search.html?searchstring=final+fantasy+xiii-2&searchtype=&searchsource=2&searchfilters=s{final%20fantasy%20xiii-2}+c{362}+ae233{5-9.99}+)


I didn't bother with Final Fantasy XIII, due to the poor reviews (mainly I'm put off by the idea of a completely linear first ten hours or so). FF XIII-2 got better reviews, but I'm not sure how much sense it'll make if you've not played it's predecessor - though I'm told there's a synopsis at the start, to bring you up to date.
But I've been missing the series lately and am enjoying the Star Ocean game I started last week, so I figure it's definitely worth a punt at that price.

Won't get it played for a while, though. Haven't got very far into Star Ocean yet (I'm about 50 hours in - but if you exclude the time spent asleep but with the game timer still ticking away, and the time spent grinding I'm probably only about 8-10 hours in), and haven't yet started Metro 2033, Darksiders, or Assassins Creed Revelations.
There's about 6 or 7 other games I've not yet played, but they're all old cheapo ones that I'm in no rush to try.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 25, 2012, 11:36:27 AM
I've never understood the appeal of the Final Fantasy franchise tbh. Has never floated my boat. JRPGs in general don't interest me apart from the odd exception here and there. At least they've joined the 21st Century nowadays for the most part and tend to have real-time combat. Turn-based combat is a real major turn off for me. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 25, 2012, 12:13:14 PM
You're aware you're in the minority, there, though?

Did you ever play FF 7/8/9?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 25, 2012, 12:18:14 PM
I didnt get very far in FFXIII-2 before turning it off late lol.. Im about 4-5 hours in and it still seems pretty linear to me.. not as much as its predecessor though.. nowhere near as much... theres no point even trying to understand it.. I finished the one before and dont understand very much to be honest..  the battle system is much more up my street compared to that of Star Ocean which just seems pants.. I dont know if you played Lost Odyssey but I found it more retro FF-esque than the later final fantasys.. that might settle your cravings if FFXIII doesnt

I just bought Prince of Persia : The Forgotten Sands.. I totally forgot about this game.. but I loved the revamped Prince of Persia game.. and I enjoyed the xbox version of Sands of Times (which is the prequel to this game) ergo I should enjoy The Forgotten Sands..

Also bidding on a few cheapos on ebay.. I'd get Resident Evil 5 but still unable to find it for under a fiver, and not paying more for it, because its not worth it with its annoying gameplay mechanics.. also on the lookout for Fight Night 4 for £3-£4 as played the others in the series and wouldnt mind playing a boxing game now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 25, 2012, 12:22:07 PM
You're aware you're in the minority, there, though?

Did you ever play FF 7/8/9?

Final Fantasy is rubbish because the best ones didnt appear on a nintendo console .. therefore harv doesnt like it.
Ask him about JRPGS on the wii like Xenoblade or Monster Hunter Tri.. and they are the best things since sliced bread... lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 25, 2012, 01:43:53 PM
I dont know if you played Lost Odyssey but I found it more retro FF-esque than the later final fantasys.. that might settle your cravings if FFXIII doesnt
Cheers Kieron - will be sure to pick that up.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on May 25, 2012, 07:44:14 PM
Good shout there, Jman. Lost Odyssey is a cracking game.

Don't mind turn-based combat, it just seems a bit archaic to me. The real-time combat in Star Ocean seemed revolutionary to me as a kid and was much more fun than taking turns to attack! In real-time combat low-level characters actually have a chance against high-level enemies with the right strategy.

Having said that, FF7/8 will always be the best JPRGs for their superior stories. Couldn't get into FFIX but X on the PS2 was incredible. Since then, I haven't really enjoyed any of the recent FF games.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 25, 2012, 07:47:03 PM
You're aware you're in the minority, there, though?

Did you ever play FF 7/8/9?

Final Fantasy is rubbish because the best ones didnt appear on a nintendo console .. therefore harv doesnt like it.
Ask him about JRPGS on the wii like Xenoblade or Monster Hunter Tri.. and they are the best things since sliced bread... lol

Erm...the Wii is the first Nintendo console I've ever owned. The last two gens I've had a PS1 and PS2. And like I've said, JRPGs usually tend to have turn-based combat which these days is old hat. Xenoblade and Monster Hunter have real-time combat thankfully, and Xenoblade is considered by many to be the best JRPG released this gen.

I like the Monster Hunter franchise, always have done since they started to release it on the PSP. I love the idea of killing creatures and creating armour and weapons from a creature's body parts.

And unlike most JRPGs the combat in Xenoblade is excellent, but where it really stands out is with it's scope and terrain design. It's a very well put together game.

I tend to prefer WRPGs to JRPGs tbh.

I still can't understand the fuss about FF7, there are plenty of better PS1 games out there including Resident Evils 1, 2 and 3, the first 3 Tomb Raider games, Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, Syphon Filter and Alien Trilogy are prime examples.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 25, 2012, 11:07:58 PM
"Tomb Raider is better then FFVII" I can tell why you don't work in the games industry anymore.

Final Fantasy VII is one of the greatest games ever.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 25, 2012, 11:18:50 PM
I just can't see the appeal myself. The first Tomb Raider game was groundbreaking at the time and capitalised on the popularity of Indiana Jones. It was fantastic. I've just never felt the love for Final Fantasy, mainly due to turn-based combat being so 'Eighties'...it was bad enough then, but is a great deal worse nowadays.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 26, 2012, 09:09:27 AM
Cant believe you havent played Lost Odyssey yet late... your in for a treat.. im actually jealous!! :(   

Actually its one of the older games I didnt sell so I still have it despite finishing it and all its DLC a long time ago.. I havent 100% the achievements though.. some are missable and are a total bugger to get.. but I might play through it a 3rd time, going for 100% completion, it really is a great JRPG.

Will give Star Ocean another go at some point, the battle tutorial was overly complicated though, they should of really introduced you to different parts of the battle system as you progress through the game and not just give one massive tutorial.. it was just too much to take in for me....by the time I had finished it, I was bored lol.

If you like real time and turn based kenny, have you tried Eternal Sonata, it uses both.. its a bit cutesy wutesy in terms of graphics and its characters... I got about 6 hours in before I stopped playing.. but the storys not bad (just a bit weird) and been meaning to get back into it at some point.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 26, 2012, 10:16:37 AM
Keeping it real like Ian Beale, Kenny?
You're a strange feller.


At risk of sounding a tad racist... are all Japs pervs? I don't think there's a single female character in Star Ocean who's not wearing skimpy/fetish gear.
Meracle (http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=star+ocean+meracle&hl=en&sa=N&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=iJvAT-LpK6ik0AWtv4S_Cg&ved=0CFQQsAQ&biw=1680&bih=961).
Reimi (http://www.google.com/search?q=star+ocean+reimi&hl=en&sa=N&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=uZvAT_iDEcjs0gXU4bioCg&ved=0CHMQsAQ&biw=1680&bih=961).
Myuria (http://www.google.com/search?q=star+ocean+Myuria&hl=en&sa=N&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=2pvAT7KNPM3a0QWJwfiqCg&ved=0CFkQsAQ&biw=1680&bih=961).

Agreed about the battle tutorial, Kieron. Bored the tits off me. You can go back to it at any point, though (from the main menu or just walk into the battle training room within the game) so feel free to rush or skip the tutorial. You can get by fine just by spamming A in most fights. I never bother with the sidestep/dodge crap.
Incidentally, the fact you can manage by just spamming A is one of the reasons I think real time combat doesn't work as well as turn based combat in these games.
Real time means mashing buttons. Turn based is more tactical/strategic.


You never answered, Harv... Did you actually play FF 7/8/9?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 26, 2012, 01:01:15 PM
Tried FF7 and it didn't float my boat.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on May 26, 2012, 03:32:08 PM
Can't stand the Final Fantasy games, I hate games that have millions of things to get your head around in order to understand whats happening, both in terms of the story and gameplay....It makes them incredibly inaccessible, imo.

I remember playing one on the PS2 (think it may have been X-Part 2)...I only bought it to tide me over into the PS3's release but I did end up playing it for a few months. Eventually hit a brick wall with it because I got to this ridiculous fight section with this monster that just wouldn't die.....Spending about 45 minutes trying to defeat a single enemy, only to die to it because it has a ridiculously unnessecary amount of health? Yeah, massive CBA with all that.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on May 26, 2012, 04:38:35 PM
Keeping it real like Ian Beale, Kenny?
You're a strange feller.


At risk of sounding a tad racist... are all Japs pervs? I don't think there's a single female character in Star Ocean who's not wearing skimpy/fetish gear.
Meracle (http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=star+ocean+meracle&hl=en&sa=N&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=iJvAT-LpK6ik0AWtv4S_Cg&ved=0CFQQsAQ&biw=1680&bih=961).
Reimi (http://www.google.com/search?q=star+ocean+reimi&hl=en&sa=N&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=uZvAT_iDEcjs0gXU4bioCg&ved=0CHMQsAQ&biw=1680&bih=961).
Myuria (http://www.google.com/search?q=star+ocean+Myuria&hl=en&sa=N&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=2pvAT7KNPM3a0QWJwfiqCg&ved=0CFkQsAQ&biw=1680&bih=961).

Agreed about the battle tutorial, Kieron. Bored the tits off me. You can go back to it at any point, though (from the main menu or just walk into the battle training room within the game) so feel free to rush or skip the tutorial. You can get by fine just by spamming A in most fights. I never bother with the sidestep/dodge crap.
Incidentally, the fact you can manage by just spamming A is one of the reasons I think real time combat doesn't work as well as turn based combat in these games.
Real time means mashing buttons. Turn based is more tactical/strategic.


You never answered, Harv... Did you actually play FF 7/8/9?

Cheers. ;D Beale is about as reem as it gets!

Button bashing does work to some degree in real-time combat, but later in the game you wouldn't last long against the tougher bosses, and eventually, the bonus dungeon bosses with like millions of HP! At that point you need to be micro-managing your party constantly as the AI isn't clever enough to heal you when a boss deals a devastating attack. As long as you know how to blindside/double-blindside in The Last Hope, 90% of enemies aren't a problem!

The Japs are definitely pervs! At least, the guys at Tri-Ace are!

Star Ocean 3:

Sophia (http://images.wikia.com/starocean/images/6/6a/Sophia6.jpg)
Nel (http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/190/201526-so3_nel_zelpher.jpg)
Maria (http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/1976/278718-so3_maria_traydor_large.jpg)

Star Ocean 2:

Rena (http://static.zerochan.net/full/07/10/815507.jpg) - She actually gets pregnant in the game's ending - she looks about 10?!
Celine (http://shrines.rpgclassics.com/psx/so2/images/celine.jpg)

No FF characters stick in my mind apart from Lulu from FFX - some rack!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 26, 2012, 04:42:58 PM
What I've always found a bit odd is the fact that 99.9% of the time it's very difficult to tell the difference between men and women :o

Mind you, I've heard that late has a penchant for ladyboys so that would explain his love for JRPGs :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 26, 2012, 05:21:09 PM
No thanks.


/me backs away from Harv.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on May 26, 2012, 05:54:28 PM
LOL!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 29, 2012, 09:13:37 AM
Well started playing Prince of Persia : The Forgotten Sands... only for about 30 minutes, but its exactly how I imagined it to be.. slightly more annoying than the other Prince of Persia as when you die.. (which is often for me as Im still finding the controls fiddly - especially for wall runs).. you have to go back to a checkpoint.. whereas the othe Prince of Persia.. you cant die...

...dunno if that will change as I progress further as I know in the original Sands of Time game you have the ability to rewind/fast forward/pause time etc...

Also bought Forza 3, NFS: Shift 2 and Fight Night Round 4... just some cheapo bargains to tide me over.. just havent got the time to play many games at the moment so it seems a bit pointless buying new ones.. but would love to play Future Soldier & Max Payne at some point though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 29, 2012, 04:49:08 PM
Trials Evolution gets a big patch (http://www.dealspwn.com/trials-evolution-title-update-leaderboard-reset-tomorrow-103256) tomorrow morning. Mostly relates to multiplayer, including all leaderboards being reset.

Fortunately, single player is pretty much unaffected (but a few "scoring loophole" bugs are fixed in some of the skill games).



Moved on to disk 2 (of 3) on Star Ocean TLH last night so I'm guessing I'm about a third of the way through the story.
Need to put a bit more thought into my characters, I think. I'm still not sure which four to have as my main party.
I now have 7 available to me and it looks like there's 2 more to add (Sarah and Arumat), but there's only 8 character slots in the status screen - not sure what I'm missing there, unless someone dies. (Hate that - I remember them doing that in a couple of the old FF games, which is incredibly frustrating after you've put loads of work in on that character.)
I'm mainly controlling Edge, with Meracle, Baccus and Reimi in the party with me, but I've been advised Sarah and Arumat are both great characters to use (healer and melee). I'm not overly taken with Reimi so I'll probably bin her. I guess I'll have to scrap Edge or Meracle too, which is a shame as I've given them some nice stat boosts.
I don't rate Faize much. Lymle has some powerful spells but is so incredibly annoying, 'kay. Myuria's only just become available to me, so I've not had a chance to properly gauge her yet - but I can't see her breaking into the top four if Sarah and Arumat are already gearing up to do likewise.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 29, 2012, 06:19:02 PM
For Prince of Persia you can't beat the 2D platformer original imo. A classic. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on May 29, 2012, 09:16:14 PM
No one dies Late, don't worry about that. I won't spoil it for you.  :P

I'd highly recommend Arumat though. I loaded up my old save file the other day just before going into the final bonus dungeon and had him in my party. His melee abilities are outstanding.

I just tend to stick with the characters I like on the first playthrough though... In this case Edge, Reimi, Myuria and Arumat. Planning to play through on Universe Mode again after exam season is over. Won't be long before I want to rip my ears off everytime Lymle speaks, kay. Most annoying voiceover EVER.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 30, 2012, 09:47:43 AM
Wrong.. the little yellow guy who looks like Pikachu out of Blue Dragon (Marumaro)...surely nothings worse than that...

if you havent played it.. you can hear it on this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nNEJBtaUZM) at the start lol..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 30, 2012, 11:31:59 AM
Annoying, but not annoying as Lymle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNpla6xNMsY), kay?

And apparently she's supposed to be fifteen years old?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 30, 2012, 01:06:43 PM
LOL.. that is some bad voice acting... montoneous and dull I can handle though.. a character that sounds like a 3 year old on drugs screaming ALL the time... nah.. fraid Marumora is still more annoying for me... most annoying character in any game I've played in fact... I ended up skipping some of the parts where he had dialog.. he was driving me up the wall..

I think honorable mention has to go to Hope in the new Final Fantasys as well.. he's depressed the whole way through the first one and you just want to phsyically hurt him everytime he speaks.. I havent met him in the 2nd one yet thank god...
Also Cooke and Mack are slightly annoying in Lost Odyssey if you get round to playing that.. but nowhere near as bad as the ones mentioned...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 30, 2012, 03:27:05 PM
The worst voice acting in the entire history of video games has to be that found in the very first Resident Evil. The last three Resident Evil games (4, 5 and Revelations) have been disappointing in that regard because they had decent voice acting. It's just not the same, bad voice acting and tank controls are what makes Resident Evil games Resident Evil games, the franchise just isn't the same without them imo. :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 31, 2012, 04:06:44 PM
Nice trailer for Skyrim dlc Dawnguard (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3PjBSicSVqI). Looks great.
Appears to include crossbows and mounted combat, amongst other new features - as if a host of new quests wasn't enough.

Will be 1600msp* when it releases on the 360 this summer (pc and ps3 versions to be released a month later).




*That's around £12 or £13, depending on what you paid for your points.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on May 31, 2012, 05:31:31 PM
Trailer looks awesome! Was that a dragon smashing through the ice and diving underwater?  :o Given how erratic their behaviour is in Skyrim, I can see some comical glitches coming from that. ;D

 I'm nowhere near done on the original game, still got plenty of quests to do but will get back into it soon.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 31, 2012, 06:10:42 PM
Mounted combat..? :o

Consider me sold!!!!

About bloody time too!!! >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 01, 2012, 05:47:43 PM
Woo hoo!!! Lego Lord of The Rings has been announced!!! Nice 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on June 04, 2012, 07:36:14 PM
Platinum #9 the other day - Assassins Creed Revelations  ;D

Looking forward to AC3 but personally I liked the era the last 3 games were in and don't want the series to catch up to modern times...  ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on June 12, 2012, 08:05:34 AM
left Skyrim alone for a week or so there but got back into it the last few days. Making good progress now. up to level 40 and breezing through most quests.

Great game. Is the Dragon story the main quest? I have started completing all the other quests so as not to finish the game with loads of stuff undone as I'll not likely finish it if I do!

The best thing about being levelled up is you don't die anywhere near as often lol!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 12, 2012, 11:29:30 AM
Aye, the dragon quest is considered the main story, if that makes any difference. To be fair, I considered all the quest lines about equal, though. Really need to get back to Skyrim at some point, but once I take a disk out of the machine it's rare it goes back in.

I've got a similar scenario on Star Ocean TLH. Finished the main story on that a few days ago, but there's still loads to do. Took the disk out and started on Assassin's Creed Revelations (enjoyable, but a bit samey so far - which is to be expected and is why I always wait until the AC games are around £10-£15).
I have every intention of getting back to Star Ocean at some point, but I often fully intend to go back to a game and then end up forgetting it... Disk swapping on Star Ocean was getting irritating toward the end, too. It's 3 disks, and throughout the story you're pretty much on disk 1 then 2 then 3 - but if you're mopping up bits near/after the final story battle you're switching disks far too frequently for my ageing lower back to happily deal with.

Ordered Rayman Origins from Sainsbury's online a week or so back. They've run out of stock but will honour it at the posted price of £9.99 when they get stock in. Can't complain - it's supposed to be a good game and the price is great, but I wouldn't get it played any time soon...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on June 13, 2012, 12:41:03 AM
Sailing through the mini quests now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on June 13, 2012, 08:53:33 PM
Man Spends Decade Playing Epic PC Game

The gamer - known only as Lycerius - posted details online about his epic adventure on the strategy game Civilization II, in which players control a nation through world history.
The detailed game begins at the dawn of civilisation and should end in 2020, but he has continued cultivating his virtual world for another 1,971 years.
He says the three remaining nations have been at war for 1,700 years - and endless nuclear wars have melted the ice-caps and left huge swathes of the world uninhabitable.
"The world is a hellish nightmare of suffering and devastation," he said.
"Roughly 90% of the world's population has died either from nuclear annihilation, or famine caused by the global warming that has left absolutely zero arable land to farm."
Scores of different tribes begin the game, each seeking world domination. The only three superpowers left in his simulation are the Celts - controlled by Lycerius - the Vikings, and the Americans.
"Between the three of us, we have conquered all the other nations that have ever existed and assimilated them into our respective empires," he said, adding that the nations had been locked in an "eternal death struggle" for almost 2,000 years.
"Peace seems to be impossible. So I can only assume that peace will come only when they're wiped out."
Civilization II was released in 1998 by MicroProse. Players have to fight wars, develop technology and forge peace treaties with other nations.
Lycerius said he has had to transfer his save file to each new computer over the past decade to continue playing the game.
"I thought that it might be interesting to see just how far into the future I could get and see what the ramifications would be," he said.
"Naturally I play other games and have a life, but I often return to this game when I'm not doing anything and carry on."
He posted details of his lengthy conquest on social networking site Reddit, where users were quick to draw comparisons between the game and George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984.
The book features three nations locked in an eternal war that no one can remember the beginning of, and where borders always change during minor power grabs.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on June 14, 2012, 01:17:44 AM
Up the celts!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 14, 2012, 11:13:15 AM
Civ 2 is a great game though.. I've got all the Civs.. (I love them more than Age of Empires.. but less than Sim City)... can just waste away so many hours on them.. I always end my games with total domination though... the games not over until you blow the crap out of everyone else IMO
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 18, 2012, 06:19:24 PM
nextbox leak (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=478668)

Would be more inclined to believe it if it weren't for the ridiculously low price ($300).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 18, 2012, 07:18:01 PM
Yup, there's 12GB in the dev kits at the moment so we're looking at at least 6GB in the retail version but developers have 8GB in the target specs. Am pretty sure that's fake though. If not then it's in line with the 720 being 3 times more powerful than the U, as I've been saying for a while now. ;D

That amount of memory is going to be very expensive, even if they only use DDR3.

If Sony have any sense they'll have the PS4 retailing for as close to 300 dollars/pounds as they possibly can, there's no way in hell that Microsoft will be able to have their console retailing anywhere close to that. We're more likely to see it going for 500 or 600 dollars/pounds. They've completely lost the plot tbh :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 19, 2012, 09:38:47 AM
Question about the Wii U controller harv, maybe you can answer this, as its bugging me as it seems like an obvious flaw to the Wii U Controller.... when the Wii U controller is used as a HUD, inventory system, radar in games.. which we have seen working... what happens when the player wants to stream the game to their wii u controller and play on its screen (so not using the tv at all)... how will the radar/hud/inventory system work then???   We've seen them stream 2D Mario to the controller, but then that game wasnt using the screen for vital information.  In games like ZombiU, its going to be impossible to use any of the extra functionality the wii controller gives you, if your streaming to the controller... will they disable streaming in games like this or will developers develop for this particular scenario.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 19, 2012, 01:21:30 PM
It all depends on the developers mate. It's quite easy for a developer to switch to the subscreen only, only takes one line of code apparently. If it's just being used as an inventory or map then they can enable the start or select buttons to bring the map or inventory map, like you would with the other games on the PS3 and 360.

Something like ZombiU though will be unable to be played using the subscreen only for obvious reasons.

Games that can be played on the subscreen only will have it marked on the box. Going to be very handy for playing games whilst having a dump lololol :P

All Wii games will of course be playable using the GamePad only.

It's a really good idea tbh, one or two of you guys on here and plenty of other people on other forums have complained about their other half interrupting their gaming sessions to watch crappy reality TV bollocks. ;D

Where it's going to be really huge though is Japan. Surprisingly the vast majority of homes over there only have one telly for some reason.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 19, 2012, 02:45:36 PM
Well no doubt about it, the only good thing about the Wii U is the fact you can play away from the tv.. but if theres games where you wont be able to use the subscreen as your main screen then thats just ridiculously crap.. its a feature they should of made as standard.. and avoided the gimmicky motion control features which really dont add much to the gaming experience..

Im quite excited about the prospects of Smartglass myself.. I know it wont be possibly to stream a game from the 360 to a tablet using the technology at present, but thats mainly a limitation of the aging 360 hardware rather than the tech, I've no doubt the nextbox will be able to stream games to tablet devices.. this is far better than nintendos solution because the Wii U gamepad has no processor so its just a dumb terminal really which means the main console's CPU/GPU has to do all the work - hence why it can only support a maximum of 2 gamepads (and there may even be problems with 2 gamepads)... using a tablets processor to do some of the work is going to be far more cost effective for everyone involved, especially due to the fact that anyone living in this century has some kind of device capable of connecting with a 360 already
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 19, 2012, 03:28:42 PM
Did you see the "Surface" tablets Microsoft announced yesterday?
It is of course another part of the whole "take over the front room and multimedia experience" masterplan Microsoft started a decade or so back with the first xbox.

Seems to pack a fair bit of punch, so I doubt it'll be cheap. It's 10" screen and windows 8 interface looks perfectly geared toward smartglass type applications and integration between devices.
Should be fine for watching film/tv and playing games on, but you'd want something smaller as a controller/peripheral whilst gaming on your tv.
(I also like the soft keyboard/protector, which clips on magnetically. Gimmicky, but a nice touch.)

MS seem to be making quite a few inroads into mobiles/tablets lately. Taking on Android is a bloody big ask, but it looks like they're gearign up to give it a real go.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 19, 2012, 03:50:11 PM
Yup I nearly posted about that, but couldnt be arsed.. it does look nice, I really like the sliding keyboard thingy.  Windows RT on lower priced models or full version of Windows 8 on the higher priced models I believe.. although I've used Windows 8 and I found it to be a total pig if Im being honest - no start button :(  Of course, compared to IoS there are bugger all apps available so I dont expect it to be challenging the Ipad in terms of sales or anything, but if its cheap enough then I cant see why it wont sell for the reasons you mentioned.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 19, 2012, 06:27:59 PM
The one problem that the U won't have compared to the PS3, PS4, 360 and 720 is virtually no latency thanks to the U using Ni-Fi to communicate between the console and the GamePad. There's less than 1/60th of a second lag, which would be impossible using any of the Wi-Fi alternatives. 8)

I can see both Sony and Microsoft 'borrowing' the idea, even cloning the GamePad the same way that Sony cloned the remote and nunchuck. But if they can't use a Ni-Fi equivalent then the lag would make it impractical, no matter what sort of power the consoles have under the hood.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 20, 2012, 09:22:02 AM
Or they could just create some kind of wired connection for direct streaming ?  :o ::)

Rather that than an ugly bulky controller which you have to buy for that purpose only..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 20, 2012, 09:31:07 AM
"Ni-Fi"? Wahahahahaha.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 20, 2012, 06:35:20 PM
Or they could just create some kind of wired connection for direct streaming ?  :o ::)

Rather that than an ugly bulky controller which you have to buy for that purpose only..

A wired connection is doomed to failure after a generation of wireless controllers...if Nintendo had a wired GamePad you would all be slagging it off like mental lol ;D

What's going to be interesting next gen is going to see what Sony and Microsoft are going to do with IO and sound. Both the PS3 and 360 are partially crippled by having the CPU dealing with IO and sound whereas the Gamecube, Wii and now the Wii U have separate processors to deal with them, freeing up a fair amount of processing power. Developers for the 360 for example are forced to use at least 1 thread out of 6 for sound but it's quite common for developers to use 2 or even 3 threads for sound. That's anywhere between 16 and 50% of processing power dealing with sound :o :o :o

And, yes, Ni-Fi lololol ;D :P ;D

Edit: Woo hoo!!! Was in central London today for my ESA medical and got my first StreetPass for ages. Have been waiting for bloomin ages to get 1 piece to complete the Metroid puzzle...it's been driving me mental for ages!!! Also my first StreetPass encounter with someone from another country too, someone from Dakota in the States ;D

Medical went really well, the guy I talked to was really nice and very helpful and must have had some sort of experience either firsthand or secondhand as he was very understanding. Told me that I had nothing to worry about and that my ESA will continue which has been a big weight off my mind tbh as I've heard all sorts of horror stories.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 21, 2012, 11:14:46 AM
Horror stories.. what.. like returning to work ??  :P

A wired connection wouldnt be that bad... if it was only required for direct game streaming to the tablet.. video/music streaming can all be done wireless and lag free....all my network stuff at home is still wired because I dont want the lag.. I even still play with a wired controller from time to time too... besides.. gaming on a tablet wont become the future of MS or Sony.. its just more options to have.... will nintendo be able to stream content to a smartphone.. no didnt think they could  ;)

(Im unconvinced about how much lag there really would be anyway.. Ni-Fi is just nintendos equivalent of Wi-Fi.. it still follows the same basic architecture of Wi-Fi.. and anyway.. I said Im excited about the prospects of smartglass.. the foundations that MS are building look much more promising for the future than nintendos rigid plans)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 21, 2012, 01:03:27 PM
Why on earth would Nintendo want to stream to a smartphone or tablet..? ::)

And Ni-Fi is a great deal quicker. There's less than a sixtieth of a second worth of lag, which is bloomin impressive.

The major problem that SmartGlass will have compared to the GamePad is support.

And you're probably the only gamer on the planet that prefers a wired controller lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 21, 2012, 02:16:28 PM
Additional content.. mini-maps, strategy guides, all sorts of things... I've been at a game before with a laptop by my side mopping up achievements using maps, strategy guides and allsorts.. would be very handy to just have an app on your phone which hooked up to your 360 and could display all that information in one place for you... gamepad cant do that.. its a dumb terminal.

And tell me why Ni-Fi is so quick then harv... what have nintendo actually done to the wi-fi architecture to reduce latency between devices.. and tell me why microsoft/sony cant implement a suitable alternative.  Obviously tablets and such come in all kinds of brands/makes.. what if microsoft says.. ok well you can only do direct (wireless) game streaming with MS tablets (which have a built in stand so no need to hold) and they build something akin to Ni-Fi to talk to those devices... its not beyond the realms of possibilities is it... I love the fact that its all optional with MS though.. you cant even use more than 2 gamepads with the Wii U - thats how rigid and restrictive nintendo are being..

And why wont smartglass have support.. no actual reason there.. its promising technology that will be used throughout most live games..

And nope, loads of people I know still have wired connections and use wired controllers.. for a start the wired controllers are considerably lighter than the wireless ones... plus you never have to worry about batteries.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 21, 2012, 02:31:03 PM
No idea why it's so quick, but it's patented which makes it impossible for both Sony and Microsoft to copy. The method of Ni-Fi's communication must be different to that of Wi-Fi, hence the difference in response time.

And all of those uses of SmartGlass on a pad or smartphone can be replicated on the GamePad subscreen. That's probably part of the reason why Nintendo are using the total of the 360 and PS3 RAM for the OS alone. And with the GamePad you don't even need to put the controller down to pick up and use the pad or smartphone. You can do it all at the press of a button. Using one device is going to be much smoother than using 2 different devices.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 21, 2012, 03:53:27 PM
You're wasting your breath (or fingertips?), Kieron. He just doesn't get the fact that something that's flexible can be better than something that's got a "U" logo in the corner.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 21, 2012, 07:38:30 PM
nextbox leak (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=478668)
Would be more inclined to believe it if it weren't for the ridiculously low price ($300).

MS lawyers get the leaked doc removed... (http://www.dealspwn.com/microsoft-demands-censorship-leaked-xbox-720-roadmap-document-105496)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 22, 2012, 12:08:43 AM
Have just had a quick go on Dead Island for the first time in ages, got a trophy because I hadn't played the game in 28 days or more - nice tribute to 28 Days Later lol. There's probably a few more cultural references through the game too I expect. I really like things like that.

The game is pretty rough around the edges but good entertainment so far. Have just done a few missions so far but am definitely going to finish the game. I like the RPG part of it too. Hopefully Deep Silver have made a few quid out of this as I thought that Cursed Mountain was pretty much the last throw of the dice for them, looks like they just managed to scrape together enough cash to release Dead Island. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 22, 2012, 08:00:42 AM
nextbox leak (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=478668)
Would be more inclined to believe it if it weren't for the ridiculously low price ($300).

MS lawyers get the leaked doc removed... (http://www.dealspwn.com/microsoft-demands-censorship-leaked-xbox-720-roadmap-document-105496)

Still not entirely convinced its the real thing.. but if so, the Fortaleza glasses sound uber cool !!
And if its 6 times more powerful than the 360.. well thats.. err.. hmm.. 6 times more powerful than the Wii U too !!
Blu Ray is to be expected anyway and in-built DVR would suit me..
Expected price they put £299..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 22, 2012, 12:03:07 PM
3 times more powerful than the Wii U ;)

Edit: Nintendo announced the 3DS XL today, looks a bit too big to me personally...doesn't look like it will fit in your pocket which could be a problem for some people. :-\ They've also announced that NSMB 2 will have a million coins to collect lol :o and that it's going to have DLC.

Heroes of Ruin is going to end my Eidos/Square Enix boycott, I downloaded the demo and it's excellent. Very Diablo-esque. Nice 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 23, 2012, 01:36:10 PM
No second circle pad on the 3ds xl.
Nintendo are completely feckless lately.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 23, 2012, 02:29:19 PM
It's too big as it is imo, adding another pad will make it bloomin huge :o

They'll have to make another Circle Pad Pro for it now I guess as the original one won't fit. Still, an odd decision by Nintendo not to a second one. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on June 23, 2012, 03:15:39 PM
Have just had a quick go on Dead Island for the first time in ages, got a trophy because I hadn't played the game in 28 days or more - nice tribute to 28 Days Later lol. There's probably a few more cultural references through the game too I expect. I really like things like that.

The game is pretty rough around the edges but good entertainment so far. Have just done a few missions so far but am definitely going to finish the game. I like the RPG part of it too. Hopefully Deep Silver have made a few quid out of this as I thought that Cursed Mountain was pretty much the last throw of the dice for them, looks like they just managed to scrape together enough cash to release Dead Island. ;D

I like it too, started almost a few months ago with two mates, but obviously haven't played it too much because progress is dependant on all of us being available at the same time for at least a few hours. Although I think it's a good game, I can definitely understand why people would get bored of it on their own...Alot of the quests are just esentially, "go here, get this and return" and if you're not finding an item for them, you're only finding a person or something...Same shit, different disguise.

Most of the fun comes from the fact you're with 2 mates (in my case anyway) and the general banter and camaraderie of all strolling round killing zombies and progressing deeper into the game. It's still quite a good game, I'm just not sure I'd be enjoying it anywhere near as much if I had ti play it alone though.

Envrionments and enemies are nicely varied and fresh, and even though the quests are all quite samey, you can get alot of different rewards from them that make them worthwhile. Combat is solid, dialogue is iffy....Some people will hate the OTT accents, but I find some of them quite hilarious so I guess that's a positive....?, the skill tree is done excellent, plenty of weapon and mod variety and an engrossing levelling system.

All the negatives are just niggles tbh, aside the awful technical errors that plague the online and connectivity...Sometimes we get into games first time, and sometimes it takes half an hour...Completely kills any urges you had to play when you're taking that long to do something as simple as just get into the same lobby with each other.

It's a shame it got mixed reviews, because most reviewers probably played the whole game alone. It's quite explicitly advertised as a co-op game, and theres no doubt you'd get way more enjoyment out of playing this with a few mates, rather than on your lonesome, so it seems harsh to judge a game on a category that doesn't truly reflect the game at it's best.

I like it though, great fun.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 23, 2012, 04:42:50 PM
Any game involving killing zombies gets a thumbs up from me, which is why I'm really surprised that I can't seem to get into Dead Rising for some reason. :-\

Left 4 Dead is one of my favourite games released this gen so far but I can see me enjoying ZombiU more because it's more of a survival horror game than an action game. Never would have thought that Ubisoft of all publishers would be releasing a game that showcases the new controller better than any Nintendo title. :o

The Resident Evil Chronicles and House of The Dead franchises are also a favourite of mine, and I'm pretty annoyed that Midway are a bit buggered...I'd love to see a port of CarnEvil, probably my all-time favourite on-rails shooter of all-time. Hate to think how much money I ploughed into that in the arcades!!! Left 4 Dead 2 has a nice level tributed to it though. 8)

Might have to fire up Left 4 Dead 2 again at some point, but it isn't as good as the original imo. The writing on the walls in the safehouses was a nice touch and we didn't see that in the sequel as far as I remember. ;D

Edit: An interesting report on the U from EG's Digital Foundry here (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-hands-on-with-wii-u). Going by what they've said about the lighting Nintendo may have opted to use Gamecube-esque fixed functions for lighting. Not too sure how popular engines such as Unreal and CryEngine would deal with that though. These engines always deal with lighting themselves so developers will need to do a bit of extra work when porting current gen stuff. I wonder how they've managed to do it..? I guess they've worked with the likes of Epic, Crytek, EA and Capcom to make it work.

What's more interesting is how the next gen engines will deal with things. Now that all 3 platform holders are using the same, radically different architecture compared to current gen it's going to be easier for developers to port to and from the PS4 and 720 than it is to port to and from the PS3 and 360. ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 24, 2012, 12:28:04 AM
Enjoying Rayman Origins at the moment. Nothing radical in the game, you get what you expect - a cute/fun platformer with loads of levels. You can sail through most of the levels, but if you're a completionist you'll need to do each several times over to find/collect everything.
Decent fun, nothing outstanding - a bargain at £13.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 24, 2012, 04:21:24 AM
Aaaaaaargh!!! Square Enix, what are you doing to meeeee..?!!?!?!? :o

I downloaded the Kingdom Hearts 3D demo and it's pretty bloody good. Another JRPG that's joined the 21st Century with real-time combat. They've also got Theatre Rhythm Final Fantasy up as a demo too, hopefully I'm not going to like that one too because Heroes of Ruin and Kingdom Hearts are going to end my 4 year boycott of Eidos/Square Enix products lol >:(

They're certainly showing the 3DS plenty of support, will be interesting to see what sort of support Japanese developers are going to give the Wii U, there's a Japanese conference of some sort during the next few weeks, I reckon we're going to see a Monster Hunter title of some description and a Final Fantasy title too to go along with the already confirmed Dragon Quest X. That would give the U in Japan the three biggest franchises, Nintendo won't be able to make the things quick enough lol. They go so mental for those 3 franchises over there that the Japanese government forbid both Capcom and Square Enix to release those games on a working day of the week. :o

Namco Bandai have been confirmed to be working on the new Super Smash Bros. game for the U and 3DS, not too bothered about that myself, gave Brawl a go and wasn't too impressed. Still, Namco Bandai have plenty of experience developing fighting games so I doubt that the majority of people will be disappointed.

Another Edit: Gave Theatre Rhythm a go last night and it's pretty good, makes me wish that Tecmo Koei would release another Gitaroo Man game. I really loved that on the PSP but it didn't sell a great deal, it ended up being a cult classic though. Theatre Rhythm isn't good enough to add my third Square Enix title though. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Chris on June 24, 2012, 02:20:41 PM
Long time no post, nothing has changed here by the looks of things!

Ni-Fi - wow, how original

loving Kenny's new(ish) gamertag

BF3 is better than CoD

aiming in Max Payne 3 is awful

Turn10 are milking Forza 4 (and the franchise) too much.

Still hate the dashboard

Nobody wants a Wii/Wii U except for kiddy fiddlers and weirdos.

That'll do for now, ff to see if Ghost Recon is as good as Im expecting.

Ciao.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 24, 2012, 04:53:54 PM
 :o ;D

Have a look at the ZombiU hands-on reports mate, might change your mind about the Wii U. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 24, 2012, 11:57:28 PM
Tenner says it won't...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 25, 2012, 02:16:25 AM
I did say might. ;)

ZombiU is going to be a system seller, no doubt in my mind about that. Every single hands-on report that I've seen has been glowing. And it also happens to be a game that will greatly appeal to the 'hardcore' demographic given how difficult the game is, the average time of survival was around 5 minutes at E3 lol.

I'm just glad that we're finally seeing a proper survival horror game again, ironically it's going to be more Resident Evil than Resident Evils 4, 5 and 6. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 25, 2012, 07:55:55 AM
Nobody wants a Wii/Wii U except for kiddy fiddlers and weirdos.


Harvs not a weirdo!!!

 ;D



ZombiU is going to be a system seller, no doubt in my mind about that.

Yeah sure.. the wii had 2 big system sellers.. Wii Sports and Wii Fit... I think that says enough about nintendo's target demography for anyone to understand that ZombiU is not going to be a system seller... your living in dreamland if you think it will... how many millions are you predicting for it then.. cmon we want numbers so we can laugh at how little you know!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 25, 2012, 09:42:44 AM
...cmon we want numbers so we can laugh at how little you know!

There's no need for that.


We already laugh at how little he knows.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 25, 2012, 10:50:36 AM
Just about every launch title for every console sells over a million. ZombiU should double that in LTD sales and will also shift systems. And it isn't a Nintendo title, it's a Ubisoft one. ;)

I never would have thought that a Ubisoft title would showcase the GamePad better than anything from Nintendo. Pretty gobsmacking tbh :o

Ubisoft are going to do very well with the U - Rayman Legends, Rabbids Land, ZombiU and Just Dance 4 will all fly off shelves.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on June 25, 2012, 12:43:53 PM
Oh that hardcore gamers favourite Just Dance 4!

I already fell for the Nintendo trap and brought my girlfriend a Wii it's not been used in over a year now. I think either Drags or Jman said get a kinect instead. I regret not listening to them.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 25, 2012, 04:00:21 PM
Oh that hardcore gamers favourite Just Dance 4!

I already fell for the Nintendo trap and brought my girlfriend a Wii it's not been used in over a year now. I think either Drags or Jman said get a kinect instead. I regret not listening to them.

That's your fault for being too tight to buy any games to go with it lol. There are plenty of good quality Wii games that will appeal to both the casual and hardcore gamer. Super Mario Galaxies 1 and 2, Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Metroid Prime Trilogy, Zelda Twilight Princess, Zelda Skyward Sword, Punch Out, Sin and Punishment 2, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Xenoblade Chronicles, Pandora's Tower and The Last Story from Nintendo alone. If you haven't played all of those games then you're missing out.

Then you've got a wide range of exclusives from third parties - Cursed Mountain, Deadly Creatures, Silent Hill Shattered Memories (although that is available on the PSP and PS2 as well), Mario and Sonic At The Olympics, de Blob, Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles, Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles, Dead Space Extraction, Trauma Center Second Opinion, Trauma Center New Blood, Trauma Team, Madworld, Manhunt 2, Rayman Raving Rabbids 1, Fatal Frame 4, House of The Dead Overkill, Red Steel 2 and Muramasa Demon Blade.

Then you've got a few multiplatform games that are a better experience on the Wii such as Godfather Blackhand Edition, Guitar Hero, Pro Evo and Tiger Woods.

If you or your girlfriend haven't played all of those titles then you're both missing out on some real quality gaming. ::)

And that's before you take Homebrew and the plethora of emulators available into account. :o 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Chris on June 25, 2012, 10:58:44 PM
Tenner says it won't...

Harv owes you a tenner
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 26, 2012, 12:23:53 AM
Have you checked it out yet..? Looks fantastic so far, for the first time in donkeys years we've FINALLY got a video game with genuine scares and tension. You're probably too much of a scaredy cat to play it you big wuss :P ;) :P ;D

It's basically the Demon's Souls of FPS games. One bite and you're dead. No aim assist, no automatically regenerating health, no checkpoints, no saving the game. :o

Not too sure how they're going to make those last two points work tbh...they would need to have saves between levels at least, surely..? Otherwise you'd have to start right from the beginning every time you start the game... :-\ :o :-\

And the multiplayer is especially looking like good fun. 8)

I haven't seen anyone saying or writing a bad word about it. Ubisoft are going to make bucketloads of cash out of it. A publisher generally shifts over a million units of launch titles but I can see Ubisoft doubling that in LTD sales.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 26, 2012, 08:19:37 AM
A publisher generally shifts over a million units of launch titles but I can see Ubisoft doubling that in LTD sales.

No they dont, where do you get this garbage from ??

If we go on U.S. launch titles (as a console usually releases in that region first)..

DS - 1/7 sold over 1 million
3DS - 1/15 sold over 1 million
360 - 2/18 sold over 1 million
PS3 - 3/13 sold over 1 million
Wii - 5/20 sold over 1 million

So even with the Wii which was pretty much sold out for over a year after its launch.. only 5 games reached 1 million.. Red Steel.. the mature game from Ubisoft which everyone was going crazy about prior to the Wii's launch.. managed 0.64 million.  Oh and 2 million.. thats not a system seller.. your looking at more like 4+ million in sales (at least) to classify a game as a system seller.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 26, 2012, 09:21:24 AM
I was talking about LTD worldwide sales, and a great deal of sales going back that far on vgchartz are missing European and Japanese sales figures ;)

All a publisher needs to do is release a launch title with decent marketing and they'll have sales figures over 1m. And Ubisoft are going to advertise the shit out of ZombiU. :o

Christ on a fucking bike, the latest rumour is that the U is going to support playing two games at the same time lol. Can't see that happening in a month of Sundays lololol. ;D It will also allow someone to use the browser or read an ebook on a second GamePad which is a great deal more likely. Two games at the same time, thought I'd heard it all lololol. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 26, 2012, 02:51:04 PM
Yeah, strange the vgchartz figures are missing a lot of data on a few games... but still like I said.. your looking at 4+ million at least to be classified as a system seller.. most launch games still struggle to reach 1 million though.. the 3DS figures are all correct and only 1 first party game has made it...

I'd predict about 800k-1million LTD sales for ZombiU on the account that its the wrong demography for most potential buyers, its 3rd party and the Wii U will suffer slow sales at the start of its lifecycle because its not really a true next-gen console, its launching in a recession and it had a poor E3 showing trying to demonstrate what it can actually do
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 26, 2012, 02:57:44 PM
I already fell for the Nintendo trap and brought my girlfriend a Wii it's not been used in over a year now. I think either Drags or Jman said get a kinect instead. I regret not listening to them.
That's your fault for being too tight to buy any games to go with it lol....
Roughly what percentage of your wii games have you paid for?...




Christ on a ... bike, the latest rumour is that the U is going to support playing two games at the same time lol. Can't see that happening in a month of Sundays lololol. ;D It will also allow someone to use the browser or read an ebook on a second GamePad which is a great deal more likely. Two games at the same time, thought I'd heard it all lololol. ;D


Surf the internet, read a book, or play a game on a tablet, whilst someone else plays a game on their TV?
Wow, wonders will never cease.
 (http://files.myopera.com/supernonsoboy/albums/6254481/wow-wow-shock-surprise-smiley-emoticon-000325-large.gif)

(Harv, we can all do that now...
We can even take the tablet out of the house and continue to use it, if we're so inclined...)




Dawnguard (http://www.dealspwn.com/skyrims-dawnguard-dlc-releases-xbox-360-today-105949) reminder, folks.
Skyrim's DLC is out today on the 360 (30 days later on other platforms), costing 1600msp.
I've a stack of other stuff to get through, so will give this a swerve for now - though it does look great. Hopefully it'll be at a reduced price some time in the next few months, but I've no problems with paying full price tbh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 26, 2012, 06:22:44 PM
Not on the same console. ;)

If they've managed to enable people to play two games at once on the same console then that would be pretty huge...but you're going to need a ridiculous amount of power to do that, noj even the grunt behind the 720 will allow that to happen. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on June 26, 2012, 08:26:52 PM
Why would you want to simultaneously be able to play 2 games at once....Seems incredibly counter productive to me, I wouldn't be able to keep focus on both games at once.

Even if you could have two people playing different games at once, it would still be incredibly distracting to be fully focused on your own game. Seems like an awful idea, and if Sony ever did that with a Playstation, I'd be facepalming hard.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Chris on June 26, 2012, 09:27:33 PM
off topic but meh

Over the last few weeks, google chrome has stopped saving passwords even when the 'remember me' box has been checked. gone into the settings and everything is as it should be, also uninstalled then reinstalled but still no fix.

SL is unaffected, FB, 106oc, even ebay and autotrader mean i have to log in/change settings etc everytime i turn my computer on.

any suggestions?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 26, 2012, 09:53:38 PM
Why would you want to simultaneously be able to play 2 games at once....Seems incredibly counter productive to me, I wouldn't be able to keep focus on both games at once.

Even if you could have two people playing different games at once, it would still be incredibly distracting to be fully focused on your own game. Seems like an awful idea, and if Sony ever did that with a Playstation, I'd be facepalming hard.

You obviously don't have kids lol

And of course it will be for 2 different people unless you want to control the second GamePad with your feet.

I can't see it happening anyway, you'd need a ridiculous amount of power to make that possible...even for having one person playing a retail game and the other person playing a NES or SNES game. And it wouldn't be distracting at all if one of the people is using the headphone socket on the GamePad. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on June 27, 2012, 06:40:27 AM
Just got up and Dawnguard is downloading!! Buzzzzzzz
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 27, 2012, 07:40:21 AM
Getting a bit bored of Fight Night 4 in Legacy mode.. the training sessions are just stupidly hard to master.. one mistake and its hard to champion any of them, which means slow gains in your boxers attributes... which means harder fights... my fights seem to always go the full distance too... think I'll start Legacy again, but on a different weight and also make sure I do auto-training all the time (except on the one training mode I am actually good at).

Must get back to Prince of Persia soon too.. was enjoying that before I switched to FN4.

Will probably forget about both of them when Lego Harry Potter 2 turns up though lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 27, 2012, 10:06:15 AM
Surf the internet, read a book, or play a game on a tablet, whilst someone else plays a game on their TV?
Wow, wonders will never cease.

(Harv, we can all do that now...
We can even take the tablet out of the house and continue to use it, if we're so inclined...)

Not on the same console. ;)
You say that like it's a good thing. It's not.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 27, 2012, 03:34:39 PM
How can playing 2 games on the same console at the same time not be a good thing to someone with kids..? Will save plenty of sulking. I can't see it happening myself because even if it's a retail game and VC game you're going to need a ridiculous amount of power under the hood just to get the sound working right let alone anything else. :o

I think that  Nintendo are going to concentrate more on players freeing up the telly so that housewives can watch crappy reality telly whilst their dudebro other halves can continue to play Call of Duty or FIFA uninterrupted.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 27, 2012, 04:49:29 PM
How can playing 2 games on the same console at the same time not be a good thing to someone with kids..? Will save plenty of sulking. I can't see it happening myself because even if it's a retail game and VC game you're going to need a ridiculous amount of power under the hood just to get the sound working right let alone anything else. :o
You're making out playing one game on a tablet controller and one game on tv/console would be amazing, and I'm saying we can already do that with a console and a tablet/phone - things most folk have lying around already.
I'm not saying the ability to play two games simultaneously on two different devices isn't a good thing. It's great. But it's something we've always been able to do - and tbh we've always been able to do it better than we would with Nintendo's potential upcoming solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
BTW if you think you'd have an end to sulking and bickering amongst the kids if one gets to play on the tv and one on a handheld device then you don't have much idea about kids. ;)


I think that  Nintendo are going to concentrate more on players freeing up the telly so that housewives can watch crappy reality telly whilst their dudebro other halves can continue to play Call of Duty or FIFA uninterrupted.
If you're happy to give up your high def gaming on the big screen to instead play on a crappy SD handheld display so your wife can watch soaps or reality tv then you're no gamer - and if you're playing cod on an sd display you'll be at a massive disadvantage.
("Dudebros" can have wives btw?)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 27, 2012, 09:33:23 PM
The difference is in the software, and if Miiverse takes off (and I can see it being huge), the online infrastructure ;)

And as for the display it's an ED display, not an SD display. And all hands-on reports have praised the IQ of the GamePad saying that there's very little difference in quality between gaming on a HD screen and gaming on the GamePad. You should be able to play the likes of Call of Duty without a problem. All you need to do is look at the demoes of Rayman Legends to see how good the display is.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 28, 2012, 09:44:11 AM
I was gonna say.. why the hell would I let my other half watch total shite on my huge tv with surround sound so I can be confined to a small display and terrible sound on a gamepad?.. LOL... its a feature that would come in handy if it was a last resort - not nintendos future plans lol.... do you know what you call gaming that is not done on a tv.. handheld gaming.. I think you'll find nintendo are already in that market..  ::)

And who cant see arguments between kids happening when they both want to be the player with the gamepad.. and there is only one gamepad... and the reason there is only one gamepad is because they are bloody expensive and there are no 2 gamepad games developed because nintendo didnt have the foresight to think that actually people might actually want to play together at the same time!!!  If there is no tv available.. how do you play a 2player local game... oh wait..you cant.. the fact that nintendo are LIMITING the way you play games just highlights what a poor overall design it all is

(God knows the amount of fighting me and my brothers had over one of the old megadrive controllers because it had turbo functions and switches and played a lot better than a standard one  "Mummm, he wont let me have the turbo controller".... usually ended up with  "Right Im not playing anymore!"... :D )
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 28, 2012, 10:30:10 AM
The difference is in the software, and if Miiverse takes off (and I can see it being huge), the online infrastructure ;)
The difference is in the software? What sort of reply is that? You've completely ignored the point I'm making and made some irrelevant comment instead.
The difference is in the limitations. With a tablet the things you can do are incredible. With a wii controller the things you can do are extremely limited, and you can't wander too far from the console.

And as for the display it's an ED display, not an SD display.
You think ED is better than SD, but you don't think HD is better?
ED has 18% more pixels than SD. Which is a step up, but not much of one.
HD has six times as many pixels as SD.
SD (720×480) = 0.35 million pixels
ED (852 × 480) = 0.41 million pixels
HD (1920×1080) = 2.07 million pixels.

That's not an invitation for you to start with your pixel density bollocks, which is completely irrelevant and you clearly don't understand.

And all hands-on reports have praised the IQ of the GamePad saying that there's very little difference in quality between gaming on a HD screen and gaming on the GamePad.
Anyone who thinks 0.4 megapixel is the same quality as 2.1 megapixel is an idiot. Don't trust them. Don't associate with them any more. When they spout such nonsense please feel free to raise one eyebrow (if you're lucky enough that you can do that), slowly shake your head, and walk away from them - perhaps muttering insults under your breath at their glaring ineptitude.

You should be able to play the likes of Call of Duty without a problem.
Talking out of your arse, son.
I was massively into COD at the time when I finally upgraded from SD to 720p. The difference is incredible - you can see the enemy much more easily. 1080p is even better (though I've only played at that resolution when I had my 360 hooked up to the computer monitor).
If you're playing on a standard definition screen and your opponents are playing on high definition screens you're screwed.

All you need to do is look at the demoes of Rayman Legends to see how good the display is.
(I'm loath to call anyone "dude", but I feel it's warranted on this occasion...)
Seriously, dude? You're comparing Rayman with Call of Duty now?
You don't need to be constantly looking around a virtual 3d environment for a tiny movement in a window or bush which will mean your imminent death.
(The Rayman demo looked fairly pretty, btw, but aside from slightly improved lighting it didn't look significantly different to the Rayman Origins game I've been playing for the last week or so. It's main difference is that nfc crap - and nobody in their right mind wants to clutter their gaming area up with loads of little collectible figurines that make shit happen when you put them near your controller. It's a gimmick, and a bad one at that. But I digress...)


Take a look at this (http://www.spiresvideo.com/images/hd_comp.jpg) comparison between SD and HD. At a glance you might think there's barely any difference. But HD means significantly more detail. For instance, if you take a closer look at the crowd (http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/6411/golfcrowd.png) near the scoreboard, surely even you can see there's a massive difference. If you're playing something like Rayman on SD while your friends are on HD versions it's not going to make much difference.
If you're playing something like COD or Battlefield, though, you're screwed...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 28, 2012, 12:12:49 PM
Circle pad pro xl (http://andriasang.com/con1pd/3ds_circle_pad_expansion/) now confirmed.
Half the time I wonder if Nintendo are a pack of feckless idiots.
The other half I wonder if they do these things on purpose, to maximise income. (e.g. sell the 3ds, sell the circle pad pro, then sell the 3dsi which includes an integrated second pad...)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on June 28, 2012, 02:02:25 PM
Harv doesn't like answering points. He simply copies and pastes his info and "knowledge" from NeoGAF and other forums here. That explains why he has trouble discussing the detail.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 28, 2012, 02:45:21 PM
Of course the difference is in the software. It's not going to happen anyway, even for VC games imo, but if it were possible having you playing Call of Duty on your GamePad, having your missus watching crappy reality telly on the HDTV and a kid playing NSMB U is more attractive than playing games on a smartphone or tablet. And even if you think that the quality of games on smartphones and tablets is good enough you've got to take into account the better control options that the GamePad gives you. Proper sticks and buttons. :o

And like I've said, I'm going on every hands-on report I've read regarding the IQ of the display. People using the things have said there's very little drop in IQ when switching from a HDTV display and the subscreen and that it's very difficult to spot individual pixels. Given the hands-on reports you shouldn't have any problem playing the likes of Call of Duty and spotting enemies at long distance.

Feel free to find a comment from anybody complaining about the display IQ and prove me wrong, but I personally haven't seen anything but positive and glowing reports.

And I remember one of you complaining that you were having problems with your missus watching crap on the telly a while back and either interrupting your gaming or relegating your gaming to a different room. Won't be a problem with the U. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 28, 2012, 03:44:52 PM
Of course the difference is in the software. It's not going to happen anyway, even for VC games imo, but if it were possible having you playing Call of Duty on your GamePad, having your missus watching crappy reality telly on the HDTV and a kid playing NSMB U is more attractive than playing games on a smartphone or tablet. And even if you think that the quality of games on smartphones and tablets is good enough you've got to take into account the better control options that the GamePad gives you. Proper sticks and buttons. :o
Fine, if you don't like the control methods on a tablet, pretend it's a ds or vita instead.
I restate - two people playing two different games on two different machines (one on the tv and one on a handheld) is nothing to shout about and is something we can all do already - and can all do better than you could with the U if that rumour were to come to fruition.
You seem to be under the misapprehension that if this did happen the U doing all the calculations for both machines (console and handheld) would be better than the two devices doing their own. It wouldn't be. It'd just be restrictive. The U is already underpowered - it can't afford to forgo part of it's processing power like that.

And like I've said, I'm going on every hands-on report I've read regarding the IQ of the display. People using the things have said there's very little drop in IQ when switching from a HDTV display and the subscreen and that it's very difficult to spot individual pixels.
You're arguing with the laws of physics, Harv. The image quality of something with less pixels can not possibly be anywhere near as good as something with six times as many pixels, when both are at normal viewing distances.

Given the hands-on reports you shouldn't have any problem playing the likes of Call of Duty and spotting enemies at long distance.
You'll have a vague idea of where they are just after they've shot you.
You're not great with the laws of physics, are you.
If you read on one of your fanboy forums that owners of a wii u will be able to light candles underwater you'd come on here and spout that rubbish, wouldn't you, instead of actually engaging braincells...

Feel free to find a comment from anybody complaining about the display IQ and prove me wrong, but I personally haven't seen anything but positive and glowing reports.
(Feel free to find me a report that says the U won't enable it's owner to light candles underwater.)
We've been here before. Just because lots of people say the picture quality is fairly impressive doesn't mean they think it looks like high def. Anyone who does think it looks like HD needs to get their eyes checked.
It's impossible to retain image quality when you lose over 80% of your pixels. Seriously, Harv - I can't believe you're arguing that the image quality would be comparable. It's physically impossible!
To which you're now tempted to reply with something brainless along the lines of "I don't know how they did it, but they did - everyone says the picture quality's fantastic".
Seriously - I don't care how clever you think those clever chaps at Nintendo are - they can't defy the laws of physics.

And I remember one of you complaining that you were having problems with your missus watching crap on the telly a while back and either interrupting your gaming or relegating your gaming to a different room. Won't be a problem with the U. ;)
Once again - if you switch your gaming from the big telly to a handheld you're going to lose a lot of detail.
Better the wife sods off to watch Corrie on the gamepad while the bloke plays his games on the high def tv.


They'll be able to do that, right?...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on June 28, 2012, 03:49:09 PM
The stupid thing about it is the fact I'd have to share a gaming experience with someone...It's actually a very backwards method of gaming for the day and age were in, imo.

Forget about specs, and tablets, and fnarging pixel density....The fact that I'd have to demote myself to a gamepad and vacate my 42" HD TV is nothing but a backwards step for my gaming experiences...The only time I want to associate with people when I'm gaming is through an internet connection using seperate consoles. If you genuinely think chopping the screen in half, or using a secondary display that is 10 times smaller is the way forward, or in any way an enhancement to your gaming experience, then you're bonkers.

It's quite ironic how Harv chimes on about the hardcore market...You think hardcore gamers would take kindly to this sort of thing? "Oh yeah, I'll just move aside and let the missus watch Emmerdale, after all, I've got my swanky Gamepad to continue slaughtering people and prestiging on!"

Get real, it's very much a family orientated idea, just more evidence Nintendo aren't gonna stray from their roots.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 28, 2012, 04:08:32 PM
Late, I'm just going on reports from the gaming media with regards to the quality of the screen display, not fanboys on forums. Once it hits the market you'll have fanboys on forums agreeing with the gaming media journalists. They've said there's very little difference in quality when switching from a HDTV to the subscreen. This isn't me making things up.

And one of you did complain about the missus interrupting your gaming a while back. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 28, 2012, 04:32:50 PM
Laws. Of. Physics.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 28, 2012, 04:55:50 PM
Reactions. From. Gaming. Journalists.

I'm quite surprised by the positive feedback myself tbh. Although to be fair the image quality is going to be helped by the size of the screen.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 29, 2012, 08:10:04 AM
Just a question.. has Call of Duty even been announced for the Wii U yet ?  ;)  ;D ;D

Dont get too far ahead of yourself again harv.. remember when you said you couldnt wait to get Resident Evil 6 at launch for the Wii U - you'll be waiting a while on that one too Im afraid  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 29, 2012, 09:19:53 AM
This is Activision we're talking about here, they'd port it to a pocket calculator if they could get away with it lol. They've brought Call of Duty to the Wii, so I can't see the U being any different tbh. There are still announcements to come from third parties before launch, EA are announcing 2 U games next month...although there are rumours that Dead Space 3 for the U has been cancelled, but I'm not buying that on any platform now that EA have decided to 'do a Capcom' and ruin the franchise. >:(

We're going to hear about Japanese publishers' plans for the U during the next couple of months too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 29, 2012, 09:29:33 AM
Laws. Of. Physics.
Reactions. From. Gaming. Journalists.
;D You say that like you've played a trump card.
Guess which one of those two quotes is grounded in immutable fact; and which is an opinion and completely subject to change at a whim...

...the image quality is going to be helped by the size of the screen.
(http://i607.photobucket.com/albums/tt157/Ravesault/th_457-stick-computer-typing-blood-ang.gif)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 29, 2012, 11:21:48 AM
Well you'd of hoped the Wii U would get more than 2 EA games harv since theres Fifa, Madden, NHL, NBA, Tiger Woods, NFS, Crysis 3, Dead Space 3, Medal of Honour.. and so on and so on... seems a bit poor just getting "2" games.. but we'll see...


lol, love that gif late.. sums up talking to harv (about anything) perfectly  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 29, 2012, 03:10:13 PM
FIFA, Madden and Mass Effect 3 have already been confirmed, they're bringing 5 titles to the platform. Two of which have been unannounced ;)

I'm still highly pissed off that they've decided to ruinthe Dead Space franchise though. It's one of my favourite franchises released this gen. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 29, 2012, 07:10:08 PM
Well if they reveal two next month.. they will be sports games.. as its EA Sports Open House... and its only a couple of unannounced game comment came from being asked why they only showed 1 Wii U game at E3.. well Fifa and Madden weren't announced nor shown at E3.. so I wouldnt be too sure that theres going to be 5 in total.. that hasnt been confirmed in the slightest.. still even with 5 that would be a pretty poor amount considering I named 9 off the top of my head..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 29, 2012, 10:08:48 PM
FIFA and Madden were announced at E3 2011, I think that Microsoft may have had E3 exclusivity on EA Sports titles as they didn't get a look in at Sony's conference either. Even if it's only 5 launch window titles that's still quite respectable, developers and publishers only have so many resources to go around.

There's also an unnamed CryEngine 3 title on the way, no news on the developers or publisher yet though.

The U's launch and launch window lineup is looking pretty good imo, and that's before we know about anything from Japanese publishers.

Two big first party titles in Pikmin 3 and NSMB U, new IPs from first and third parties such as Project P-100 and ZombiU, big name third party titles such as Assassins Creed 3, Aliens Colonial Marines, Sega All Star Racing, and late ports (which certainly didn't do the PS3 any harm) with improvements such as Arkham City and especially Ninja Gaiden 3, the Betrayalton of the latter has been particularly amusing lol. And casual titles such as Just Dance 4 with exclusive content.

The support from Ubisoft has been marginally better than EA with 7 or 8 titles during launch and launch window but EA having 5 titles is pretty impressive.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on July 02, 2012, 07:43:42 AM
Bit of skyrim last night. My character has definitely reached a point where dying happens rarely, saves loads of time on saves!

Mopping up all the miscellaneous quests before getting back on main story.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 02, 2012, 03:58:50 PM
I've just bought Samurai Sword Destiny and Fun! Fun! Minigolf Touch! from the 3DS eShop and they're both pretty good. The former is a '2D' side scrolling hack and slash with RPG elements and the 3D effects are probably the best I've seen on an eShop game so far, plenty of good pop out and nice depth. Can't believe it has such a low Metascore, 55, it deserves better than that from what I've seen so far. The latter is crazy golf and whilst it doesn't have a great deal of content you still get good value for money.

I've noticed that this portable gen the majority of reviews have rather harsh review scores on both the 3DS and Vita. Very strange. To get a fair review score for 3DS and Vita games you have to add anywhere between 5 and 10 percent for some reason. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 02, 2012, 06:24:58 PM
Done with Fight Night Round 4 now.. just the online achievements I couldnt be arsed to get...

Started HP:Y5-7 and got bored after 1 level.. oh I dont know why I bother with these lego games sometimes... not in the mood to play them at all now  >:(  Back to Prince of Persia for a bit I think.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 03, 2012, 04:48:15 PM
Started HP:Y5-7 and got bored after 1 level.. oh I dont know why I bother with these lego games sometimes... not in the mood to play them at all now  >:(  Back to Prince of Persia for a bit I think.

I started it 2 nights ago, too. Was tired and fell asleep halfway through level 1. Woke up to see I had an achievement for falling asleep whist playing!
(It was for standing still for 5 minutes or something like that.)

Seems a decent enough game, but I prefer the older ones. These latest ones you spend forever wandering around inbetween levels. If, like me, you kick lumps outta everything you see (to maximise income and find hidden stuff) it can take about an hour to wander from the end of level 1 to the start of level 2...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 03, 2012, 05:07:35 PM
Yup, I have the same problem lol ;D

The Lego GTA game is going to take me bloody years to complete considering it's open world lololol. Shame that Take Two didn't allow Travelers Tales to use the name, Lego GTA sounds much better than  Lego City Undercover. Still, we all know it's GTA anyway lol. ;D :P

Edit: Very well researched and very well written article by Emily Rogers here (http://www.notenoughshaders.com/2012/07/02/the-rise-of-costs-the-fall-of-gaming/). It's quite a long read but well worth it. She's written a fair bit of crap over the last year or so due to some useless 'sources' but this is pretty much spot on imo.

As much as I hate to say it regarding home console gaming I can see publishers dropping retail releases in favour of digital distribution to try and offset losses otherwise we're going to see more publishers and developers biting the dust next gen. :o Sega and THQ are on their last legs as it is, although Sega have got a big earner coming early next year with Aliens Colonial Marines and the Olympics should boost the Mario and Sonic franchise.

Can't believe that so many decision makers in the industry get things so wrong so often. I knew after playing the demos of Vanquish and Singularity that they would both flop and the mistakes that twat Ian Livingstone and his department over the years are laughable. Tomb Raider 6..? Escape From Bug Island..? Highlander..? Letting the Lego franchise go, turning down Bioshock and Fallout 3 meaning that Eidos missed out on the sequels and DLC too..? I used to love the Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson books in the late 70s and early 80s but I'd put good money on Jackson doing the majority of the work for them lol.

Anyway, there goes another rant lol, read the article because it's quality. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 04, 2012, 08:59:48 AM
Article sounds like complete bollocks to me.. I ascertained that from the first paragraph where she wholly declares she is a nintendo fanboy/girl/whatever and that despite the "Fall of Gaming" ... bringing out a "next-gen" machine in a worldwide recession and when so many developers are going down the pan.. is a great idea by nintendo.. I presume thats why the article glossed over Nintendo's recent massive annual loss too..

And comparing game budgets to movie budgets.. im sorry but isnt the Call of Duty franchise worth more than the Star Wars franchise or the LOTR franchise for example ??  I think you'll find it is... so why the big hoo-hah about it.. oh I see.. she's only really talking about games that spent big on budget and flopped... how is that technologys fault.. I think you'll find thats the fault of the developer for not delivering a game worthy of that budget... because there are a ton of examples where companies spent big on budget and succeeded.. like RDR.. but of course, that was a fluke according to her..

This is my favourite part of the argument though..

Quote
People said third parties didn’t jump on the Wii bandwagon even though Xbox 360/PS3 were expensive to develop for.   But I believe this is a different situation.  We are living in an age where developers can’t break even on their costs for current gen games, and they are becoming more cautious about what projects they’ll take risks on.

Actually the Wii had plenty of 3rd party support, the problem was it wasnt good 3rd party support and any games that had any sort of budget on the wii just didnt sell.. Dead Space Extraction for example..  thats what makes it all the more laughable when she suggest the Wii U is going to be the saviour of gaming..


If you want a non-biased opinion folks.. dont bother reading the article.. save yourself 10 minutes!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on July 04, 2012, 12:41:21 PM
Harv are you just whacking on a blind wig and calling yourself Emily Rogers now then?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 04, 2012, 12:53:02 PM
She actually makes some very valid points, 120 developers have gone out of business this gen and you'll see even more going down the toilet next gen.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 04, 2012, 01:38:29 PM
Again that was that debunked in the comments section...

Quote
Consider that in the giant list of closed studios are places like GRIN, who earned their shutter with back-to-back poorly received titles, or Hudson, which didn’t close, it was simply purchased, and lost its North American distribution centers due to redundancy. All sorts of publishers are listed, rather than just developers. MTV Games closed because it no longer existed once Harmonix was spun off.


So we know the list is a misrepresentation already with some bloated figures.. and 120 developers/publishers out of how many exactly??  There is no percentages to say.. wow thats a large chunk, (I'd hardly heard of many of those studios)... there are also no comparisons to earlier gens to say that the number has increased/declined/whatever to support her argument, and where are the figures to say how many independents started their business in this gen... there are none.. usually when studios go under.. you'll get fragments of that studio go off and create new ones.. so Bizarre Creations who are on the list after a myriad of successful titles - definitely got canned by Activision because of poor sales of Blur (which was quite underated I thought).. I think they started 5 different studios between the lot of them now.. they will all start small and work their way up again... so does that count as -1 or +4 developers ??

Sorry but its a blind one sided argument which pulls at reports to support her underlying theory which is total cobblers anyway because she's a raving nintendo fangirl...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 04, 2012, 02:00:36 PM
How about Sega and THQ..? The former has only been kept going by the Mario and Sonic Olympics franchise and the latter is definitely on its last legs. And there are loads of publishers announcing losses all over the place. Got my guitar kit delivered today, I'm going to post some pics in a minute. A bargain for £68 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 04, 2012, 03:46:39 PM
Yup Sega in financial troubles has nothing to do with rising production costs or anything that dozy bitch goes on about though....  Sega just make average games that dont sell a lot.. thats the reason they are in trouble.  Ok they are streamlining - great.. Football Manager/Total War and Sonic are always going to sell... like you said, sales of Mario & Sonic have been good... but never enough to keep a massive company afloat.  Aside from these core IPs theres bugger all Sega have actually made in the last 3-4 years that has been any good... despite that, I cant see Sega going out of business anytime soon, the plethora of IPs they currently hold are worth a lot and they have a good core of IPs to make money from.. they desperately need to restructure and stop wasting money on mediocre games though...

The main reason THQ are in trouble is mainly down to the failure of UDraw.. again nothing to do with next gen graphics or anything like that.. they produced too many units which didnt sell.. a massive mistake.. if you dont know what UDraw is.. its a drawing tablet used in conjuction with the Wii.. (sound familiar??).. sales started well and then completely fell away... THQ also dont have triple AAA games to hold them steady if things do go awry.. like Ubisoft has with AC, EA has with its sports titles and Activision has with COD... It has Saints Row and WWE.. and whilst they both make profit.. its not enough when you lose that much money on other things..  I dont think THQ will go under either to be honest.. not if they can restructure themselves properly and not make massive mistakes again.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 04, 2012, 04:51:07 PM
They were fine with the Wii version of UDraw, bringing it to the PS3 and 360 combined with poor sales of other products has got them in trouble. PS3 and 360 development has cost publishers and developers a small fortune and things will get worse next gen.

Won't be too bad for indie developers next gen though as long as all 3 platform holders reduce the hurdles that they have to overcome and if Sony and Microsoft follow Nintendo's lead and include tens of thousands of pounds worth of middleware with each dev kit.

Let me know what you think of my guitar, thread is in the Music sub-forum. Am getting some tools I need at the mo. ;D

Am going to update with pics as I go along 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on July 05, 2012, 02:10:05 AM
Dead Space Extraction was so good, it was bundled in completely free with Dead Space 2....And that was released in January 2009...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 05, 2012, 03:15:50 AM
Who mentioned EA and Dead Space Extraction..? We were talking about developers and publishers struggling to survive after venturing into HD gaming, not Wii titles. Quite the opposite in fact. For some strange reason known only to themselves EA decided to stealth release it, but it was a comparative low budget title anyway so they probably made a profit on the Wii SKU. It deserved to sell more than 410,000 though.

Publishers have done very well from Wii development due to needing to shift less units to make a profit, most of them got away with not advertising their titles but if they think they can get away with that next gen with U titles then there are going to be plenty of disappointed execs lol.

Didn't have the patience to wait a couple of days for my tuner so have bunged the strings on and done a makeshift setup. Am very tempted to try plugging it into my Marshall base head but I borrowed it off a friend years ago and don't want to run the risk of doing it any damage...tubes are bloody expensive lol. Sounding good so far (albeit without an amp), will have to see how it has kept in tune tomorrow morning. There's a bit of fret buzz but I couldn't get a steel ruler so not sure if I need to adjust the truss or bridge, I suspect the former. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 05, 2012, 08:15:13 AM
Completed Red Dead Redemption last night. Had it lying around for ages and finally decided to give it a go. Unbelievably good story and such a sad ending. :'( The epilogue mission afterwards caps it off perfectly.

Going to download the 'Undead Nightmare' DLC and play through that since it's only 800MS points.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 05, 2012, 08:18:41 AM
Who mentioned EA and Dead Space Extraction..? We were talking about developers and publishers struggling to survive after venturing into HD gaming, not Wii titles. Quite the opposite in fact. For some strange reason known only to themselves EA decided to stealth release it, but it was a comparative low budget title anyway so they probably made a profit on the Wii SKU. It deserved to sell more than 410,000 though.

Publishers have done very well from Wii development due to needing to shift less units to make a profit, most of them got away with not advertising their titles but if they think they can get away with that next gen with U titles then there are going to be plenty of disappointed execs lol.

I mentioned it.. as an example of a wii game that had a relatively higher budget than most (wii) 3rd party games.. and was a game that flopped - big time... no matter what sales figure it stands at now.. first week & month sales were appauling.. whether it sold under a cheaper price later on down the line is a different matter... in fact I doubt very much that EA made any profit from the game whatsoever.. but if you have the production costs or any proof they made profit.. feel free to show me, otherwise the general assumption will be that they lost money on it.. especially when you consider that they cut all 3rd party support from the Wii after it bombed - why would they do that if they made a profit ??

I was highlighting the stupidity of the article by claiming that "the wii was the only console worth developing for.. and the only reason developers didnt.. is because they had lost all their money on the ps3/360"... I have already stated.. there was plenty of 3rd party development on the wii.. most of it was shovelware that didnt sell and most of the titles with higher budgets didnt sell either... DSE, Muramasa, Madworld, Conduit, Cursed Mountain for example... of course there are games that did sell OK (mostly girly, poofy games).. and Im sure you could name a few off the top of the head, but it doesnt change facts that the main reason the Wii didnt have the support was because most 3rd party games just didnt sell on the system..budget or no budget.. its the same with pretty much any nintendo console....

Doesnt matter about "stealth releasing" either.. did the article mention anything about not advertising games when it was talking about all those studio closures.. using the example I used previously.. Blur was released alongside Split/Second which definitely effected sales.. she doesnt mention specifics in her article though.. just that gaming is dying in general... and its microsofts, sonys (or anyone that supports those companies) fault for wanting to move technology along... dont you just think she has the hump with Epic because UE4 doesnt run on the Wii U... sounds that way to me  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 05, 2012, 08:26:36 AM
Completed Red Dead Redemption last night. Had it lying around for ages and finally decided to give it a go. Unbelievably good story and such a sad ending. :'( The epilogue mission afterwards caps it off perfectly.

Going to download the 'Undead Nightmare' DLC and play through that since it's only 800MS points.

You only just finished RDR.. wow, thats a great game.. I was fixed on finishing that as soon as I started playing it... amazing game

I finished Prince of Persia : The Forgotten Sands last night.. its good for a fiver.. but linear as anything.. controls take a while to get used to... frustrating (harder) parts towards the end of the game make the gameplay feel like a chore and no real replayability.. however the story is quite good and I like PoP games so I enjoyed most of it... got most of the achievements in 1st run, cant see myself replaying it again unless Im completely bored though.

Would love Ubisoft to ditch Assassins Creed for a while and focus on a quality Prince of Persia game instead though, just think theres so much scope there.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 05, 2012, 10:28:05 AM
UE4 will run on the U...just not with as many bells and whistles that the PS4 and 720 will have. And apart from the PC no other platforms have been announced anyway. Now that the U has been confirmed, via leaks, that it's going to have a GPGPU and hence a similar architecture to the PS4 and 720 we know that next gen engines are going to have no problem running on the U - and Nintendo have been working with the likes of Crytek, Epic, Capcom and EA to make sure that their next gen engines will be able to take advantage of the rumoured fixed functions that are implemented in GPU7 imo.

That's assuming that the patented part of the GPU is using a combination of compute shaders, programable shaders and fixed functions.

As for EA and Dead Space Extraction you've also got to take into account the PS3 sales from the PSN Store because it was only included in the LE SKU of Dead Space 2.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 05, 2012, 10:55:51 AM
And when did I say that the U is going to be 'way behind'..?
You've indicated your belief, numerous times, that that the next Sony/Microsoft machines will be about 3 or 4 times as powerful as the U.

If the U was only 80% as powerful as it's rivals it'd be below the curve. If it were only 60% as powerful as it's rivals it'd clearly be the runt of the litter. But you're estimating it to be around 25%-33% as powerful as it's rivals. That doesn't just make it the number three console in a field of three. That makes it an embarrassment. (And that's based on YOUR estimates and assumptions i.e. that the sony/microsoft machines will be only three or four times as powerful as the wii. I imagine the difference will be more than that, but I'll stick with your figures for this post.)

...we know that next gen engines are going to have no problem running on the U...

We know cross platform games will be weaker on the U. Significantly weaker.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 05, 2012, 11:20:04 AM
We know now that the 720 is going to be around 6 times more powerful that the 360. We know that the U is going to be around 3 times more powerful than the 360. Both the U and the 720 are going to be in the same sort of ballpark in terms of power, there isn't going to be a 'significant' gap in power at all. It's looking like the difference in power between the U and the most powerful console next gen, the 720, is going to be very similar to the difference in power between the PS2 and Xbox last gen but the most important and biggest difference between the two pairs is that the PS2 and Xbox comparison involves a huge difference in terms of eye candy thanks to the latter being able to use programable shaders, and the U and 720 comparison won't have as much of a huge eye candy difference thanks to both GPUs having traditional programable shaders and compute shaders. Like I've said before this is impressive (and quite surprising!) forward thinking by Nintendo.

As for multiplatform games next gen that all depends on the alleged fixed functions, how they're implemented and how well the next gen engines can implement the fixed functions. The GPU7 is going to have a big disadvantage in pushing less GFlops but assuming that Nintendo have done things right this will be offset by giving engines free use of AA or HDR lighting, which is quite a big deal in development terms.

Going to be interesting to see how it all comes together tbh. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 05, 2012, 11:22:27 AM
You only just finished RDR.. wow, thats a great game.. I was fixed on finishing that as soon as I started playing it... amazing game

Haha, yeah. I tend to only play FIFA and COD as they're easy to play and you don't have to invest a lot of time into a single playing session. To play a single-player mode to completion it needs to be very engrossing for me not to get bored and stick FIFA in. :P Luckily, RDR had one of the best stories I've experienced on a video game!

Getting through the first 15 hours of FF13 was one of the toughest experiences of my life.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 10, 2012, 09:51:16 AM
Been playing NFS:Shift2 recently.. as a simulation racer its crap, the handling is terrible.. prefer Forza and PGR to this.... also feels a bit cheap re-using a lot of tracks from the first NFS:Shift.. the fact I know most racing tracks corner for corner now means that I've either played too many racers in my life (which I havent).. or they all use the same tracks.. the Nürburgring is one of the best tracks in the world.. but im sick of playing it in racers fer gawds sake!

I was quite pleased to find the DLC worked within the game though.. it gives you double XP for the first 24 hours of playing.. I managed to get up to level 11 of 16 within 2 hours.. which has completely taken the challenge out of the game really.. I have tons of money and can buy pretty much any car I have unlocked so far..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on July 11, 2012, 04:18:11 AM
I quite like Shift 2, though I haven't actually completed it yet...It's one heck of a gruelling trophy list, and I tried to finish it a few months back and just got a bit burnt out by it all, so I'll return to it at some point in the future. Funny you should mention the handling, because that was the hardest thing about getting back into the game for me...I wouldn't say the handling is bad, because if you know anything about driving, it's realistic, but that never really makes for good racing games if you try and make it too true to real life.

I like simulation racers, because I prefer the way races are more about technique and intricacy, rather than by winning via the fact you're smashing into others and stopping them getting ahead of you in games like Burnout lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 11, 2012, 10:36:41 AM
And I thought my collection was badass.. look at this one (http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item4605501c13&item=300736846867&nma=true&pt=FR_Jeux_Vid%E9o&rt=nc&si=hRiEN5YgEUvt%252F5VM5Hbyeqt6gHU%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc)
(every nintendo console from the nes to the gamecube + every single game released and every sega console from the master system to the dreamcast + every single game released + all NEC consoles (american only).. with all their games too .. slightly impressive)


Ive just added a few more back to my collection.. slowly working my way back up to 100 again lol...

The Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition - £21.99 preowned (http://www.graingergames.co.uk/games/xbox-360/xt1275-the-witcher-2-assassins-of-kings-enhanced-edition)
and
Mafia 2 - £8.95 preowned (http://www.thegamecollection.net/mafia-ii-xbox-360-preowned-p-6355.html?keywords=mafia)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 11, 2012, 10:50:17 AM
Tempted by Witcher 2 at that price, but I'll wait - by the time I work through my games backlog it'll almost certainly be available cheaper.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 11, 2012, 12:43:20 PM
Yup, but I've been itching to buy a more recent game for a while now.. it was either The Witcher 2, Max Payne 3 or Ghost Recon:Future Soldier.. but I can see myself getting totally immersed in The Witcher 2 and it was the cheapest of the 3.. it sounds like a great game thats right up my street and the graphics looks superb.. so why not.. Should be able to sell it for at least as much as I paid for it on ebay if its crap.

Been on the hunt for a cheap copy of Mafia 2 for a while now.. didnt get the best price ever.. but then cheaper than the rest.. still looking for a cheap Resident Evil 5 copy though.. refuse to pay more than £5/£6 for it as I know I'll get pissed off playing it with the dodgy controls.. but I want to play it before RE6 comes out..  Also wouldnt mind a simulation game to add to my collection.. R.U.S.E/Civilization/Tropico 4 something like that maybe.. Still waiting for Saints Row 3 & Assassins Creed Revelations to hit less than £10 too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 11, 2012, 10:08:10 PM
Woo hoo!!! The guys that developed the wonderful World of Goo are working on a new game, Little Inferno. Nice. World of Goo must have made them a small fortune, so I reckon they must have increased their staff a bit...most of the game was developed by two people :o ;D

Definitely one of my favourite games so far this gen, mainly due to it being so delightfully Burton-esque. Hope they're getting the same guy to do the music.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 12, 2012, 07:40:35 AM
World of Goo was great - bought it on both pc and wii.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 12, 2012, 07:47:57 AM
Harv loves "a World of Goo developed by 2 people".. im sure you do.. dirty devil...


I bought 'I Am Alive' last night.. it was 1200 points but I was impressed by the demo.. however what I will say, that whilst the story is very engaging indeed and the graphics are very good for an arcade game.. it feels a bit linear.. the combat in particular doesnt feel right.. the combat feels more like a puzzle, a puzzle you have to do in the correct way (so this adds to the linearity).. rather than the free-flowing combat the game should have..

However, Im pleased with my purchase and spent about 3 hours on it last night not getting very far.. its a horror game, set in an apocolyptic world with puzzle and survival elements and would recommend checking out the demo
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 12, 2012, 04:23:49 PM
Two new GTA5 screenies. Looking very pretty.
One (http://media.rockstargames.com/rockstargames/img/global/news/upload/newswire_1342100464.jpg)
Two (http://media.rockstargames.com/rockstargames/img/global/news/upload/newswire_1342100433.jpg)

From a Q&A (http://www.rockstargames.com/newswire) today. Still no news of when to expect the game. :'( 
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on July 12, 2012, 05:19:02 PM
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b8/Gta3-pc-police.jpeg)

Apparently it'll look like this on the Wii U.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 12, 2012, 07:43:07 PM
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b8/Gta3-pc-police.jpeg)

Apparently it'll look like this on the Wii U.

Image fixed.

And if they do decide to do a GTA on the U it should look stunning. Higher resolution, better lighting and shadows, better depth of field and AA. But going by recent comments they're not going to. Bad business sense not to spread the development costs over a fourth platform imo.

Shin'en are working on a U title, given how impressive their WiiWare titles have looked considering that they were restricted not only by the Wii's hardware but also by being forced to squeeze their games into a compressed 40MB file we should have something looking very good indeed. Here's screens of their two WiiWare efforts:

(http://assets2.ignimgs.com/2010/03/04/jett-rocket-20100304044121144-3148968.jpg)

(http://images.nintendolife.com/news/2011/01/feel_the_g_force_with_these_new_fast_racing_league_screenshots/attachment/0/large.jpg)

Can't wait to see what they can do with hardware 3 times more powerful than the 360 with suspected free use of depth of field, lighting and shadows. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 12, 2012, 10:20:11 PM
Wish you could hear yourself.

"If they made a version for the U it'd be fantastic, but they're not."

Yeah, the U is awesome...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 12, 2012, 11:14:05 PM
If they did decide to release a U SKU it would be the definitive version. I still think they're insane not to do so because their finances in between GTA releases aren't too clever. Even if you ignore the superior processing and graphical horsepower the touchscreen would be a huge advantage, setting waypoints without having to pause the game would be excellent.

Aliens Colonial Marines and Ninja Gaiden 3 will be the definitive versions, and there'll be plenty more where they come from.

I'm looking forward to the next Fallout game more than anything, a Pip-Boy in the palm of your hands is going to be seven shades of Awesome. 8)

I really wasn't keen on the idea of a touchscreen on a controller when I first heard about it but I'm completely sold on the idea now. Going to be interesting to see if Sony and Microsoft 'borrow' the idea for their controllers next gen.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 13, 2012, 08:23:57 AM
I would imagine the next machines from Sony and Microsoft will have touchscreens. Doesn't mean they're copying Nintendo - touchscreen tech has become cheap and pretty much inevitable in the last couple of years - even the ouya will have it, and in the last couple years millions of people have purchased their first touchscreen devices (mainly ios and android, be they phone, tablet, or both). It also doesn't mean touchscreens on controllers will improve gaming like you think they will (though I can't put into words how cool the idea of the motion detector for Aliens is - but that's more the exception than the rule).


Even if you ignore the superior processing and graphical horsepower the touchscreen would be a huge advantage, setting waypoints without having to pause the game would be excellent.
To me, you've got your priorities completely backwards there.
I'd be impressed with the improved draw distances and increased flops, but I have no interest in being able to set map waypoints on the fly instead of pausing. If you're looking at the map you're not looking at the game, so what does it matter if the game's paused or not? I'm looking forward to next gen because games will look prettier and have more going on. Not because the controllers will have a new feature that'll be of limited use whilst making them less ergodynamic and more expensive...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 13, 2012, 11:35:37 AM
Well it's quite a big deal for me personally. Having to pause the game whenever you want to set waypoints in GTA, whenever you want to rearrange your inventory in Resident Evil and whenever you want to look at a full sized map in just about every game is a major bugbear for me personally, I've always found that doing so causes a slight loss in immersion.

And if you think the PS4 and 720 controllers would have touchscreens on them if Nintendo hadn't done it first then you're living in Cloud Cuckoo Land lol. Even if they do implement their own touchscreen solutions it remains to be seen whether they can do so without any lag. Not only do Nintendo have Ni-Fi patented they also have their method of streaming to the controller whilst adjusting to compensate for the telly's input lag patented too.

Mind you, at least you're not denying that both platform holders are going to implement their own touchscreen features - you were all refusing to believe that both would use motion controls when I said it would happen a fair few years ago.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on July 13, 2012, 12:10:12 PM
So instead of pausing the game to set waypoints and look at your inventory you'd rather look away from the screen and duck about with a touchscreen whilst the game is still going on unaided?....that's a sure fire way to end up dead especially in survival horror games.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 13, 2012, 12:19:03 PM
It only takes a split second to flick your gaze down to the screen. You could quite easily do this whilst driving in GTA  without bashing into anything.

As for survival horror games ZombiU has demonstrated that more concentrated use of the touchscreen is excellent for increasing tension and even causing a certain amount of fear. There are some theories going around since the demo at E3 that the U is also using facial recognition so that the game knows whether you're looking at the screen or not. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 13, 2012, 01:08:01 PM
Pressing a button to bring up a menu takes about the same time as glancing down at the controller. As I've said repeatedly, there's no benefit in having the map on there instead of on the TV. In fact you're arguably better off having it on the tv because you can more easily scroll and zoom (assuming the controller screen is crappy resistive instead of capacitive).
If you think you'd be able to accurately set a waypoint on a touchscreen map of GTA in a split second whist glancing down from your telly then you've not thought it through. You're moving your hands away from the driving controls, you're evaluating a massive map on a small and relatively low resolution screen, and you're trying to pinpoint a specific location...

Lots of people already use touchscreen android devices (phones/tablets) to control their wifi-enabled tvs and peripherals. Technology's been moving toward that for a while, now, and it's long looked likely that the next gen consoles would incorporate it. It's not a Nintendo thing.
And there's no guarantee the next gen machines' controllers from Sony and Microsoft will have touchscreen built in. I perhaps worded it badly in my last post if I gave that impression. I meant their machines will support and interact with touchscreen devices. Whether their primary controllers will have touchscreens is another matter entirely, and I've no idea - nobody does.

I know nothing about Ni-Fi, but from a quick look around it seems to just be Nintendo's name for their wifi - which operates on exactly the same principle as all wi-fi. I can see no suggestion that "Ni-Fi" is faster. Fair enough - there's no reason why Nintendo's wifi tech would be better, faster, or more reliable than anyone else's.


Mind you, at least you're not denying that both platform holders are going to implement their own touchscreen features - you were all refusing to believe that both would use motion controls when I said it would happen a fair few years ago.
Touchscreen and motion control are the same thing now?  ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 13, 2012, 01:19:48 PM
The same thing as being the main focus for Nintendo consoles of course. And as I've mentioned before, both Sony and Microsoft may 'borrow' the idea of touchscreen use next gen but they'll both more than likely suffer from the same problem that each of their motion control solutions have suffered from, namely lag.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 13, 2012, 03:07:04 PM
Actually harv, what you said was that Microsoft and Sony would release consoles which were both motion-control only.. instead of the optional system they both plumped for in the end... you were the only one who got that wrong Im afraid.  You also said (after they came out) that Kinect would be a massive failure.. *cough cough* fastest selling gadget in the history of the world *cough cough* ...  and both motion-controlled solutions needed to be more like the Wii solution to succeed... even though Wii sales have now totally dried up...

Maybe you should answer why the wii u is borrowing the 360's control system with the Pro Controller... surely as a progressive company nintendo are taking a step backwards there dont you think...  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 13, 2012, 03:44:36 PM
I previously said I can't see me reaching 55555 gamerscore before the nextbox arrives, but I passed 46k this week - so it's now looking like a distinct possibility.
Naturally the milestones of 50000 and 54321 should be bigger, but since I use fives in my gamertag that's the bigger milestone for me. (Not to mention the 54321 inevitably being a right tw@t to land on.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 13, 2012, 06:34:49 PM
Actually harv, what you said was that Microsoft and Sony would release consoles which were both motion-control only.. instead of the optional system they both plumped for in the end... you were the only one who got that wrong Im afraid.  You also said (after they came out) that Kinect would be a massive failure.. *cough cough* fastest selling gadget in the history of the world *cough cough* ...  and both motion-controlled solutions needed to be more like the Wii solution to succeed... even though Wii sales have now totally dried up...

Maybe you should answer why the wii u is borrowing the 360's control system with the Pro Controller... surely as a progressive company nintendo are taking a step backwards there dont you think...  ;D

I said no such thing. It was clear that I was talking about the current gen, not next gen. And you all were saying I was talking nonsense when I said that both Sony and Microsoft would jump on the motion control bandwagon. And Kinect as a device has sold a shitload, no surprise given the $500m ad campaign...software though is a different kettle of fish altogether. In terms of Kinect software sold for the most part it's been an absolute failure tbh.

The motion control solution from Sony has seen more implementations into hardcore games than Kinect and as a result is more popular amonst hardcore gamers, particularly when used in FPS and TPS games. I frequent plenty of forums and I haven't seen a single person that's actually tried pointer controls saying that they prefer dual analog sticks. Quite the opposite in fact.

If Microsoft hadn't decided to remove the CPU from Kinect (which is the cause of the half a second worth of lag) and implemented their own remote and nunchuck clones the way that Sony have then the best motion control solution would be on the 360.

There's a few bad decisions that Microsoft have made this gen, the first two I've outlined above but the third, and most important one that will have implications next gen, is not being the first platform holder to release a next gen console. They should have released the 720 last year with a CPU-enabled Kinect. They're not going to have the benefit of a year head start next gen and if they (and Sony) release the 720 for more than 400 dollars/pounds next year they haven't got a hope in hell of catching up to the U's installed userbase, and with Nintendo's choice of architecture you're going to see the U getting a SKU of multiplatform games next gen with only a slight graphical downgrade. The most powerful console of the three next gen is going to be the 720 and it's only going to be around three times more powerful than the U which in terms of processing power makes it a PS2->Xbox equivalent without it having the disadvantage that the PS2 had in terms of GPU feature sets.

The confirmation that the U is using a GPGPU is huge news that confirms that next gen all three consoles are not only in the same sort of ballpark in terms of power but also that all three will share a similar architecture, meaning porting between each of them will be easy as pie.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 13, 2012, 09:26:12 PM
You'd always been adamant that motion control was the future of gaming.. the fact that the wii died off and kinect/move software hasnt really shifted is proof that its not...

You dont half talk some bollocks though... "microsoft have made some mistakes this gen"... like releasing a gadget so terrible it became the fastest selling gadget in the history of the world... bet they were fucking gutted...   ::) 



Anyway.. back to games.. I started The Witcher 2 tonight.. its great... some annoying pop up in cut-scenes which are rendered in realtime.. and the combat seems a tad archaic.. they are the only negatives so far... the story is good though.. really good and in the first hour, I witnessed violence with blood and gore, profanity with usage of varied swear words and nudity with beaver and titty shots (NICE!) - I love 18 rated games - it feels like a adult fable type game.. mixed with a bit of skyrim lore....  Im still stuck on the prologue kind of level though so its a tad linear but its looking really promising for when I have time to delve further in..  Also I bought it preowned but its in great condition really... and the Enhanced edition comes with loads of little extras including a game guide - pretty chuffed with it overall!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 13, 2012, 11:07:09 PM
Like I've said, the gadget itself has sold great but the software is hardly selling at all. Move has been much more successful, Sony have done a much better job all round. Publishers will be dropping Kinect support soon whilst Move support is going to carry on going strong. It's mainly down to Microsoft limiting the system so much, if they hadn't removed the CPU and used their own remote and nunchuck clones you'd have both hardcore and casual gamers buying games for it in droves.

You'll see Microsoft ending up in third place next gen behind Sony with the U having the largest installed userbase. If they had released the 720 in 2011 with a CPU-enabled Kinect and remote and nunchuck clones they'd end up with the largest installed userbase before next next gen starts.

Now they've left Nintendo, of all companies, releasing their next gen console first leaving both Sony and Microsoft playing catch up for a couple of years. If Microsoft had continued to press their advantage that they had this gen they'd end up 'winning' each gen that follows this one by being the market leader as long as there isn't another sales phenomenon like the Wii, which is highly unlikely.

Nintendo are in that position now, and you can bet your bottom dollar that they're going to continue with the traditional 5-6 year lifespan for a console. 8 years between generations is ridiculous tbh. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 14, 2012, 01:23:34 AM
I'm a proper pirate now. Decided to download a few emulators for Android and now I can't stop downloading ROMs! So far I've got the Atari, Amiga, Mega Drive, SNES, GBA and Playstation emulators! The games run perfectly on my Sensation XE.  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 14, 2012, 02:31:42 AM
I'm still waiting for someone to develop a PS2 emulator, the only console this gen powerful enough is the PS3. Am pretty peeved that the Homebrew scene was so short lived tbh. If those Homebrew geeks had the guts to go all the way to court there was only a slim chance that Sony would have won. >:(

Silly sods should have taken steps to remain anonymous anyway tbh, very easy to do these days if their egos don't get in the way.

Going to be interesting to see how the U holds up, the 3DS hasn't been cracked yet which has surprised me tbh.

Edit: Bloody hell, I knew that the E3 show floor demo of ZombiU was an early build but these two latest trailers (http://www.gameinformer.com/games/zombiu/b/wii_u/archive/2012/07/13/see-zombiu-in-action-with-two-separate-trailers.aspx) are a huge improvement. The lighting and shadows in particular are stunning, probably not pre-baked either. I'm about 70% certain that Nintendo have implemented fixed functions for HDR lighting and depth of field. If they have done this then the 720's GPU may only be three times more powerful than the GPU7 in terms of GFlops only with said fixed functions closing the gap a little because HDR lighting and shadows and depth of field will take up bugger all processing power.

Can't wait for someone to take one apart lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on July 14, 2012, 05:11:16 AM
MGS4 is finally getting a trophy patch...Strange given the fact Kojima said some time ago that it would never happen. Expected to land in august some time, so looking forward to that one.

I also saw that Angry Birds is getting an Ultimate Trilogy Collection HD release for consoles later this year too...That'll be an excellent package, and given the fact it's a retail release, some extra effort will have gone into it to make it much better than it's iOS version.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Chris on July 14, 2012, 11:08:22 AM
Anybody remember a couple of years ago Microsoft had Age of the Empires 3 as a free download? Quite a few of you guys got it too. Just went to reinstall it and Ive got files missing, anybody send me the whole thing if you've still got it?

Pretty please with a cherry on top? :p
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 14, 2012, 04:39:45 PM
MGS4 is finally getting a trophy patch...Strange given the fact Kojima said some time ago that it would never happen. Expected to land in august some time, so looking forward to that one.

I also saw that Angry Birds is getting an Ultimate Trilogy Collection HD release for consoles later this year too...That'll be an excellent package, and given the fact it's a retail release, some extra effort will have gone into it to make it much better than it's iOS version.

Has that been officially confirmed or is it yet another rumour..? There have been regular rumours floating about for years that it's going to happen but it hasn't appeared yet. I'll believe it when I see it lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on July 14, 2012, 07:48:24 PM
100% confirmed. There was an interview with a Japanese magazine where Kojima said they had something special lined up for MGS 25 year aniverrsary in august...Konami then put a tweet out on their official page saying it would be a trophy patch for MGS4.

http://www.techday.co.nz/assets/static/images/news_image/MGS_4_trophy_tweet.jpg
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 14, 2012, 09:20:31 PM
Blimey, took them long enough :o

May blow the dust of mine and give it another go, struggled to get into it when I first played it, although I think I interrupted my playthrough because I bought Fallout 3 and didn't go back to it. ;D

Edit: Someone's created a gif of the lighting in the nursery kitchen of the latest ZombiU trailer:

(http://h9.abload.de/img/zombiunurserytrailer0b7zz8.gif)

Bloomin amazing :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 17, 2012, 08:30:34 AM
Was resting up yesterday from playing in an ice hockey tournament all weekend and managed to finish Mafia 2.. to be honest, if the gameplay was a bit more varied and the game had a few tweaks here and there, it would probably of been one of the better games of this gen, I still enjoyed it, but it had so much potential to be a truly great game... the story is probably one of the best I've seen in a game for a long while and it even has nods to Goodfellas and Shawshank Redemption - awesome..  the story loses its way a bit towards the end of the game.. but its strong enough to hold the game up on its own as the gameplay is fairly weak.. most of it involves driving from point A to point B and unlike GTA or LA Noire, the missions you do aren't that varied and just involve getting into gun fights and/or melee fighting.. feels like a generic sandbox game in that aspect with no redeeming feature.. well like I said, the story is the redeeming feature really - definitely worth a play if you like mob/mafia films/storylines and havent played it already.

One of the collectibles in the game are playboy posters, so got plenty to do on the game still lol  ;D

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 17, 2012, 09:47:24 AM
I found Mafia 2 to be frustrating because it was too linear. You could drive anywhere you wanted but you couldn't really do much but the next mission - the only alternative being robbing shops or selling stolen cars on the docks. I seem to recall taking some time out from the missions to try and build up my cash a bit (selling stolen cars), and then 2 missions later it wiped my cash to zero as part of the story. I nearly threw my controller through the telly.
Compelling story though.

Completed Lego HP2 to 100% last night. Worryingly I have now got 100% on four games - and all four are lego ones. (I did get 1000/1000 on Tomb Raider, and perhaps one or two others, but they then released new versions or dlc so I'm now on 1000/1250 or something and don't show as having gotten 100%.)

Played the first two levels of Devil May Cry 4 last night (took about an hour). Got zero achievements on that one, and I think that's how it's going to stay. I found the style annoying, the controls counter-intuitive, the story ridiculous, and the camera angles frustrating. If you're not bothered about style, controls, story or camera angles then I'm sure it's a very nice game, but it's not for me. Definitely a bit "Bayonetta", as Kieron warned me.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 17, 2012, 01:29:10 PM
Yup, if it had proper side missions and money actually meant something in the game, plus the gameplay was a bit more varied, like I said, it would of been one of the best games around for me... I love some of the intricate detail the game had.. like when you robbed a store and if you went to it again shortly afterwards, the police have put up a crime scene barrier...but it doesnt mean much when there are major gameplay elements missing...

...still it deserved praise for its great storyline... I didnt even realise it was a sandbox game until I started it up, I think I played the first Mafia on the PC, wasnt that more of a strategy point and click game??.. I didnt get on with it whatever it was, hence why I never really looked at Mafia 2 until now... good game though, glad I bought it, despite only lasting a week... makes me want to play GTA5 even more though!!

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on July 17, 2012, 04:18:49 PM
Last week or so I've been going through all the New Vegas DLC...As usual, it's pretty uninspiring stuff, but thankfully does have easy trophies.

It's daylight robbery for them to price these packs at £7.99 each...They're barely worth half that (which is what I roughly ended up paying with the bundle). Too short and just not enough content.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 17, 2012, 05:07:50 PM
Mafia 2 also has the World Record for the most swear words in a video game, although House of The Dead Extended Cut might have got that back now that I'm thinking about it. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 18, 2012, 09:13:12 AM
Archived DMC4 and started "Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands" last night.
Much better! Seems fun so far and I expect I'll complete it (not 100% achievements, though. Tis rare I can be arsed with all that.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on July 18, 2012, 12:28:13 PM
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/118496-Michael-Pachter-Predicts-Wii-U-Failure (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/118496-Michael-Pachter-Predicts-Wii-U-Failure)

Oh dear.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 18, 2012, 12:42:34 PM
Yeah I read that yesterday lol... to be fair he is wrong a lot of the time.. but then I completely agree on pretty much everything he has written.. he's bang on about the control pad being the answer to a problem that doesnt exist... not too sure that one of the sole reasons for the joypad was activision and the like.. but it definitely needed a "normal" joypad or it would lose so many potential games... now it just means that a Wii U customer has to buy 3 control pads to get the best out of the system.


Theres a new trailer of "Forward Unto Dawn" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca3Y8Ws3plI) thats been around for the last couple of days, its a new web series created in the halo universe.. im not one for this sort of stuff.... but I have to say it does look awesome.. and still cant understand how they have not made a film out of the franchise yet.. it would seriously kick ass.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 18, 2012, 01:04:11 PM
lol @ Nintendo could put out a piece of cardboard and say that it'll play Mario and still be successful with their fanboys.

 ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 18, 2012, 05:13:47 PM
Wii U ridiculous success confirmed lol.

It's going to be the first Nintendo to launch with a 2D Mario title and has at least one third party title that will also be a system seller, ZombiU, with another one - ,Aliens Colonial Marines - early next year as a launch window title. The sales of Mass Effect 3 and Arkham City aren't going to be great but Assassins Creed 3 should do well given that it's not being released too far away from the other SKUs.

He's also said that only hardcore gamers will buy it despite the likes of NintendoLand and Wii Fit U being launched either on day one or during the launch window with the likes of Just Dance 4 joining them.

And the success of ZombiU and Aliens Colonial Marines (and possibly Assassins Creed 3) combined with the comparative failure of Mass Effect 3 and possibly Arkham City are going to show the decision makers at third party publishers (if they have any sense) that half-arsed delayed ports won't cut the mustard and that multiplatform titles released in the same sort of timeframe and titles making good use of the GamePad are good ways to make money from U development.

Pachter is a fool ;D

There's an EA event of some sort today, am expecting news of FIFA and Madden with a slight possibility of Tiger Woods too. Thought that we might hear of unannounced titles but the event is EA Sports only I think.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 19, 2012, 08:24:42 AM
It's going to be the first Nintendo to launch with a 2D Mario title

Thats if you forget Super Mario Bros which was packaged in with the NES

and you forget Super Mario World which was packaged in with the SNES

and you forget that everything went 3D from the next nintendo console onwards and 2D games have never had the same appeal since then

... so what exactly are we supposed to take from this comment.. apart from the fact its not entirely true and even if it was totally true - it would still suck  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 19, 2012, 09:03:33 AM
Meant to put *for 16 years ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 19, 2012, 09:04:25 AM
Still gonna suck  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 19, 2012, 10:49:32 AM
Not with games like ZombiU. ;)

A game more Resident Evil than the last 3 Resident Evils (including Resident Evil 6). 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 19, 2012, 11:51:09 AM
So its unoriginal and has even shitter voice acting then.. cool beans!

Not that I agree with you at all.. ZombiU is an FPS game is it not.. which resident evils were FPS games again ??
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 19, 2012, 04:16:15 PM
I'm talking in terms of being a proper survival horror rather than an action game. Plenty of scares and tension, limited ammo and supplies and a zombie apocalypse. If anything it's pretty similar to Resident Evil 2, albeit mostly in first person perspective. Just substitute Raccoon City for London.

It's also the first non-generic zombie game in years, and the first zombie game in ages that doesn't have the word 'Dead' in the title.

And it's looking every bit a next gen title too, the lighting is beyond anything that the PS3 and 360 are capable of. It's looking stunning even 4 months before release and it's only going to look better on launch day.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 19, 2012, 04:44:12 PM
How is it non generic exactly, don't you just run from point a to point b in the game, sounds as generic and as linear as they come, wasn't dead island a zombie fps too?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on July 19, 2012, 05:05:35 PM
Hate to break it to you Harv, but Dead Space is everything you've just described...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 19, 2012, 06:05:32 PM
Hate to break it to you Harv, but Dead Space is everything you've just described...

Too much ammo and whilst the atmosphere is pretty good it's nowhere near as tense as ZombiU. Christ on a bike, even watching someone playing the game at E3 for the first time was nerve wracking lol.

The Old School Resident Evil had very scarce ammo, and with Dead Space 3 going the same way as the last 3 Resident Evil games it can no longer be considered a survival horror. Co-op does not belong in a survival horror game. Dead Space 3 is going to be an action game not a survival horror game, and I'm boycotting it as a result..

And ZombiU is about as non-generic as you can get. One bite kills, having to find your last zombiefied self to get your stuff back. They've basically got the bastard child of Resident Evil 2 (zombie apocalypse set in a city) and the Souls franchise and given it more tension, scares and stress. :o

And it's going to sell an absolute shedload.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on July 19, 2012, 07:31:01 PM
As many as your last prediction sold? What was it called again?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 19, 2012, 08:09:29 PM
It will easily sell over a million, and it'll be a system seller too. Same goes for Aliens Colonial Marines too early next year. And you'll probably find those two titles being of the select few third party titles that Nintendo are going to match marketing for.

Mass Effect 3 will do badly, don't know what EA were thinking tbh, Arkham City will do poorly to average and as long as Assassins Creed 3 isn't released too far away from the other SKUs it should do fairly well.

And whilst I'm doing predictions, assuming that the PS4 and 720 are released the same time next year, the U should have a 10-15m head start by the time they're released and thanks to the strong sales of ZombiU and Aliens Colonial Marines third parties will have worked out that year old lazy ports are a waste of time and money and that new IPs and multiplatform titles released at the same time as the other SKUs will sell.

You'll also see the Indie scene thriving on the U's eShop too given Nintendo's unprecedented middleware deal.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on July 19, 2012, 11:10:30 PM
Harv, go back and play Dead Space 1 or 2 on Zealot setting...Then come back and tell me theres too much ammo.

If you want the ultimate challenge, do Dead Space 2 on Hardcore mode...You get 3 saves all game, and as soon as you die it's either game over or you go back to your last save. That ramps up the survival horror element by tenfold.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 19, 2012, 11:51:26 PM
You shouldn't have to play the game on the hardest difficulty setting to make it a challenge. The whole point of a survival horror, and the name is the big giveaway, is that it's a challenge to survive right off the bat. Forcing you to play the game on the hardest difficulty setting before it's a proper survival horror game is ridiculous imo.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on July 20, 2012, 05:04:01 AM
You shouldn't have to play the game on the hardest difficulty setting to make it a challenge. The whole point of a survival horror, and the name is the big giveaway, is that it's a challenge to survive right off the bat. Forcing you to play the game on the hardest difficulty setting before it's a proper survival horror game is ridiculous imo.

Lol, noone in the their right mind would only make the game accessible to anyone but the hardcore player...

Theres still nothing stopping you popping the disc in and playing on the hardest difficulty straight off the bat...You want a true survival horror, go and play any Dead Space game on the hardest setting and you'll get it...The only different between the difficulty levels in Dead Space are the health of the enemies and the amount of the ammo you find...Probably the 2 biggest elements of survival horror anyway.

You defeat the purpose of the genre if you want to be able to have no ammo, but still play the game on casual...It doesn't work like that...Wheres the "survival" element if you've got no ammo, but then you realise you don't need it because you're playing on casual and the enemies do barely any damage, and have little HP...You could get by on just melee alone...Lol

Hardcore mode is the truest reflection of survival horror....Knowing you get a limited amount of times to save your game, and also knowing that one wrong move could see you die and end up giving you an instant game over and no respawn...It has a more authenticated feel to it, and is always making you think carefully about your next move...It's more immersing and makes you think about what you might be doing in that situation more...

Players are always going to be more care-free knowing that death is inconsequential, so having a mode that actually makes you reflect more and care about what your characters next move is, is what brings the survival horror elements and makes them more profound.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 20, 2012, 07:53:48 AM
You shouldn't have to play the game on the hardest difficulty setting to make it a challenge. The whole point of a survival horror, and the name is the big giveaway, is that it's a challenge to survive right off the bat. Forcing you to play the game on the hardest difficulty setting before it's a proper survival horror game is ridiculous imo.
You play all your games on easy/normal?
Pussy.

Call yourself a gamer? You're letting the team down big style there.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 20, 2012, 08:42:31 AM
I agree with Ross.. Dead Space 2 on the hardest difficulty is much harder than Resident Evil was... especially in terms of ammo conservation... I didnt have a memory card at the time Resident Evil came out.. still managed to complete at least 50% of it in my first sitting before dying.. (I died in the first 10 seconds of playing Dead Space 2 on medium level LOL)

Dead Space is also more survival horror than Resident Evil ever was.. mainly because Resident Evil used loads of puzzle mechanics which turned it into more of an action game.. plus it wasnt very hard as I already stated.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 20, 2012, 09:31:10 AM
Looks like Ubisoft aren't in their right mind then lol. They're billing it as a hardcore experience, same as the Souls franchise. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on July 20, 2012, 12:26:11 PM
If all games were set to the hardest difficulty all the time people wouldn't play them. You have to make the game accessible to all. That's why you can choose to make it more difficult.

If I get a new game, especially one I'm not familiar with, I put it on Normal and play for a bit. If it seems to easy I crank it up.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 20, 2012, 12:54:36 PM
I usually start on the hardest difficulty - and turn it down if I'm struggling.
Used to do it like you, but half the time if I found a game easy I couldn't be arsed to go back to the start. I find there's more incentive to go back to the start if you're struggling on hard and need to make it easier than if you're cruising through on medium and want to make it more difficult.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 20, 2012, 02:58:14 PM
It's just the way the industry has gone for the last 10 years or so. Publishers want testers to make at least one playthrough during a working day, it's also why the average playthrough time for a single player campaign is only 5 or 6 hours. It used to be twice that last gen.

Even the hardest difficulty setting is easier than it was years ago.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 23, 2012, 10:30:57 AM
Prince of Persia wasn't the longest of games, but entertained me for a few days.
Toward the end it was getting rather repetitive, so I'm glad it wasn't extended -or if it had been it definitely would've needed some new ideas so as not to become irritating.


Started Metro 2033. It's okay - not great, not terrible. It just seems to be confused what kind of game it's supposed to be. It's not a survival horror - there's way too much ammo. It's not your usual wargame fps - it has RPG elements. It's definitely not an RPG though. I'm not saying all games should be pigeon-holed - "pick a genre and make sure you don't deviate". In this instance, though, you're left with a disjointed hodge-podge...
 
I'm not terribly far into the game yet (maybe a quarter of the way through) and there's lots of scavenging bodies and crates for weapons and ammo. And when you're in a "town" there's places to trade before you move on (but it seems if you buy a better gun you're wasting your currency, as it'll inevitably be available free on some corpse in the next area). So in those respects it's a bit Borderlands. Except Metro's pretty linear - you can roam each area but once you move to a new area that last one's gone.
There's shocks/horror aplenty - lots of mutants coming at you in the dark, occasionally turning up right in your face as you turn round. So maybe comparable to the FEAR games.

If you like the Borderlands and FEAR franchises you'll probably like this.
Personally, I found both to be a bit "meh". Playable, but forgettable.
Ditto Metro 2033.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 23, 2012, 11:02:31 AM
Metro's crap.. played 3/4 levels.. havent played it since.. has terrible controls and graphics, way too linear.. and not exactly a riveting storyline either... I wouldnt put FEAR in the same bracket as Metro, FEAR at least went some way to making the game interesting and it had some cool physics at the time of release.... no, I'd put Metro in the same vein as Wolfenstein/Jericho - crappy FPS games which could of been made so much better with a bit more thought.

Probably get back to Wolfy at some point though as it was half interesting... although still going for the 100% on Mafia 2.. annoying that the Playboy mags are chapter specific.. it means I have to go through the whole story again.. although I had to do that anyway to finish it on hard.. its just not very fun replaying the game s'all.. be OK when I can free-roam to finish up the other achievements.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 23, 2012, 04:22:52 PM
Wolfenstein was excellent, although I am talking about the first two games because I haven't played the third one. The only thing better than killing zombies is killing Nazi zombies, you wouldn't have had zombies in the Call of Duty games if it wasn't for the second game, it was an obvious major influence.

I quite liked Metro, keep on meaning to go back to it but I was seriously pissed off about getting robbed by a filthy whore early on lol. :-[ ;D Plus something else appeared on the horizon that distracted me. Can't remember what game it was now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 24, 2012, 04:10:43 PM
PSN will be down (http://www.dealspwn.com/psn-maintenance-set-thursday-night-108533) for scheduled maintenance Thursday evening/night. You won't be able to log in, but apparently you will be able to play online if you log in before the maintenance begins.


I quite liked Metro, keep on meaning to go back to it but I was seriously pissed off about getting robbed by a filthy whore early on lol. :-[ ;D
lol. I'm embarrassed to say I quickly exited the game when that happened to me, so it wouldn't be saved. Screw losing all my wealth! ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 24, 2012, 05:55:13 PM
Yup, I think I started the game again lol. Good job it was right at the beginning :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 24, 2012, 10:46:44 PM
I fell for it too.. lol... bugger starting the game again, it was painful enough to get that far...

Finished with Mafia 2.. just couldnt be arsed to get the last 3 achievements... 160 collectibles.. no thanks..

So put The Witcher 2 back in the machine.. blimey the language in that is strong... example here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nQANo7qYrY) for the nosey nellies...just make sure no kids are around when you play it lol....  I did that bit earlier, your escaping a dungeon and can look into a cell on your way out.... that bit is in the prologue which seemed way too long... I did finally manage to get to chapter 1 tonight and reached the first town and then -blam- millions of side quests to do.. am getting far too sidetracked for my liking..

You can definitely see the game has really suffered from being a pc port though... the graphics arent exactly brilliant and a lot of textures take far too long to load.. but it doesnt effect the gameplay that much, loading times are minimal.. for me, theres something about the game that still seems a bit crap though but I cant put my finger on it.. maybe its the combat system which is very archaic in nature.. or prehaps its just slightly too much of a hardcore RPG than what I prefer... I do feel its about 5-10 times more accessible than mass effect or dragon age though.. those games are for nerds only.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 25, 2012, 02:54:42 AM
Starting to get frustrated with Metro, now.
Was stuck on one of the chapters for bloody ages. Tried doing it stealthily, but there's a lot of trip wires etc. and if you try to take someone out with a knife from behind suddenly everyone in the level's after you so you end up "going loud" anyway.
Get into a one on one with someone and often you can empty most of a clip into them without them going down, and they'll kill you with 1 or 2 shots. It's not that it's too hard exactly (I've heard you get the same problem on Medium and on Easy) - more like it's just not as well designed as it should be.
What's the point of silent weapons if you get detected when you use them? And not only do they know you've used them - they also usually know exactly where you are, even if you've backed up and skirted 'round...



Edit: typo
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 25, 2012, 04:23:37 AM
Best. Bug. Ever. :o

(http://i.minus.com/iDxrf3lJIgUXR.gif)

Fantastic lololol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 27, 2012, 11:20:38 AM
Everyone naturally assumed Skyrim's Dawnguard DLC would be released on the PS3 and PC thirty days after the 360 (as is usually the case with xbox's timed exclusives) - but it's now been more than 30 days and there's no sign of it.
They've now said, via that there Twitter (https://twitter.com/DCDeacon/statuses/228527108681502720?tw_i=228527108681502720) that they "...have not announced Dawnguard for any other platform, nor given a timeline for any such news..."

Most curious.
At 1600msp it's presumably been a big money-spinner for them on the 360. The development costs for bringing it to the ps3 and pc should be low, so bringing it out on the other two platforms would be a massive earner. It makes no sense not to release it...  ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 27, 2012, 12:01:18 PM
Depends on the size of the moneyhat lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on July 28, 2012, 04:48:05 AM
Everyone naturally assumed Skyrim's Dawnguard DLC would be released on the PS3 and PC thirty days after the 360 (as is usually the case with xbox's timed exclusives) - but it's now been more than 30 days and there's no sign of it.
They've now said, via that there Twitter (https://twitter.com/DCDeacon/statuses/228527108681502720?tw_i=228527108681502720) that they "...have not announced Dawnguard for any other platform, nor given a timeline for any such news..."

Most curious.
At 1600msp it's presumably been a big money-spinner for them on the 360. The development costs for bringing it to the ps3 and pc should be low, so bringing it out on the other two platforms would be a massive earner. It makes no sense not to release it...  ???

I'd be extremely suprised if they didn't...They did it with both Fallout games, so I see no reason why they'd stop now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 29, 2012, 12:00:45 PM
Gave up on Metro. Too frustrating putting a full clip into someone to no avail while they simultaneously sound an alarm and take you down with two rounds. And that was after lowering the difficulty.

Am now playing Darksiders. Seems to me like it's Zelda for Goths/Emos. Explore, collect souls/gil by smashing every object and killing every baddie with your sword, clear a dungeon, buy new weapons and health etc from a shop/demon in each town. Pretty decent game, to be fair. I don't like the controls - seem a bit confusing - but I should get to grips with it a bit better as the game progresses.
Don't fully understand the story, but who cares - it's fairly incidental.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on July 30, 2012, 05:03:37 AM
Gotten back into Skyrim as of late, Just recently finished the Mages quest-line...So boring...Every mission was just a dungeon fetch quest, and you're always running into the same enemies and every dungeon looks the same too.

Started the Companions quest-line...Not too far into it, but guess what, the first proper mission had me doing an incredibly long winded dungeon fetch quest...YAY!  ::)

If it continues like this, I'll probably put it down again and come back another time...Can't be arsed with games that are heavily reliant on questing missions and just throw you the same shit with a slightly different lick of paint constantly...Though I do wanna get into the Dark Brotherhood and do their missions, they were by the far the best questline in Oblivion.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 01, 2012, 03:37:29 PM
Link (http://www.ea.com/1/summer-showcase) to EA's live showcase tomorrow evening. Highlights will include:
BF3: Armored Kill;
MoH: Warfighter;
FIFA 13;
Madden NFL 13; and
SimCity.

Personally, only psyched about SimCity from those titles, but with such a list of blockbusters there's something for almost* everyone.





*No sign of horsies - sorry Harv.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 02, 2012, 08:15:38 AM
SimCity 5 is gonna be awesome.. cant wait for that... I will literally plough hundreds of hours into it.

82% on Lego Harry Potter 2.. this game is dragging.. it'll be finished by the weekend, but its just getting on my tits now.. probably should of used a guide on this one, would of been so much faster to finish.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 02, 2012, 01:06:03 PM
Found it too easy that instalment, tbh. You get one of the multiplier red bricks very early, so all the "True Wizard" things are done easily, without trying, and pretty soon you have the bricks for "advanced guide", "locate character studs" etc. - so a second playthrough of each level and a sweep of the castle pretty much completes everything.
Did have to have a look at a guide for one character stud, mind. Was in the castle's woods where they keep the thestrals. I knew exactly where it should be, thanks to a flashing indicator, but turns out I needed to jump on a nearby rock for it to appear. :|  Not in the slightest bit difficult, but bloody frustrating because it seems to deliberately make you look in the wrong place.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 03, 2012, 08:15:28 AM
Sweet.. EA announced Army of Two : The Devil's Cartel last night - Link (http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/games/907239-army-of-two-the-devil-s-cartel-due-out-march-2013)

For offline co-op games.. AoT is one of my favourites along with Gears.. so definitely happy about this news.. although Salem and Rios wont be the lead roles anymore.. Visceral Games (Dead Space) are developing it this time and it'll use the Frostbite 2.0 engine.. so new stuff had to be expected - good stuff hopefully.. but I'd be suprised if they dont at least continue some of the story of The 40th Day and show what happened to Salem and Rios afterwards.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 03, 2012, 09:10:37 AM
Reply #666. Evilness abounds.
_______________________________________________________________

Skyrim's "Dawnguard" dlc is now available on PC.
Apparently (http://www.bethblog.com/2012/08/02/dawnguard-ps3-update/) there's issues on the PS3 version, so that'll be delayed a while longer:

Quote
We are not satisfied yet with Dawnguard’s performance on the PS3. We would like for everyone to have a chance to play Dawnguard, but we aren’t going to release it for PS3 knowing that some people’s experience in Skyrim will be worse. We do everything we can to have our content available to all; from our free updates, to user mods, to paid DLC. We’re as disappointed as our fans when that isn’t the case, but we’ll continue to push for that reality.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on August 03, 2012, 09:53:57 AM
Anyone played the skyrim dlc?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on August 04, 2012, 03:09:35 AM
MGS4 trophy patch is out monday!

Looks like an expectedly tough list too - and yes, you have to collect all 40 emblems!

(Edit : There isn't a trophy for collecting all 40 emblems directly, but you need to collect all iPod tracks, of which there is a track awarded for achieving all 40 in game emblems, just incase anyone is wondering!)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 04, 2012, 06:42:50 PM
Finished Harry Potter this morning.. only got stuck on one thing.. a missing SIP which eventually I found...

so I should of started back on Witcher 2... but went down blockbusters and ended up buying 4 games for £20* instead  ;D

RUSE - 78% - (the only game I actually wanted out of the deal)
Alpha Protocol - 63% - (sounded a bit like Deus Ex)
Dirt - 83% (played before.. never got round to buying any of them though)
Call of Juarez : The Cartel - 47% (oops.. serves me right for not checking before purchasing - bought the wrong one)

Put me back up to 71 games.. I feel a 2nd set of culling is in order soon  :o


*actually cost me £18 as two of the games didnt have manuals.. and refused to pay full price for them..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 04, 2012, 06:56:03 PM
I was going to continue my playthrough of Halo after watching the Mars/Curiosity Horizon but my bloomin batteries ran out...normally have some handy just in case but forgot to charge my spare pair. My 15 minute charger died on me a while back too so I'm having to wait 10 hours to charge my batteries now. Might have to get another one of those 15 minute jobs I reckon!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 04, 2012, 07:55:09 PM
Cant recommend these Rechargable Battery Packs (http://www.play.com/Games/Xbox360/4-/11998365/Venom-Xbox-360-Controller-Twin-Rechargeable-Battery-Pack-Black/Product.html?_%24ja=tsid:11518%7Ccat:11998365%7Cprd:11998365) enough... had mine for over 2 years, no problems whatsoever... no need to wait for the recharge, plug and play!!! You can get them less than that price too if you look in the right places.  I have a spare wired controller just in case anything does go tits up with them though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 04, 2012, 08:17:33 PM
Cheers for the suggestion and link but not necessary for me as long as I remember to recharge my AA batteries. Going to get another 15 minute charger though I reckon, will be better because I can recharge both AA and AAA batteries in next to no time ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 04, 2012, 11:49:10 PM
Well, RUSE is as expected.. good strategy fun.. 2nd world war.. you move your troops like a general would around a scale model of the battlefield.. easy so far but good... only played a few levels.. probably far better on the pc..

DIRT is great, I had played it before, but forgot how good the rally mode was... takes me back to the good old days of Colin McRae and V-Rally.. used to love those games.. disc is mega scratched though and twice now my console has been unable to read it... hopefully I can finish it quite quickly, then take it back for a refund/exchange.. because I wont get much for that game if I try to sell it on.. especially without a manual, not sure how blockbusters can accept shit like that tbh.

Alpha Protocol - wondered why this game got rated so badly at first.. the tutorial and training at the start is great and it does remind me a lot of deus ex with the hacking and such.. the dialogue options in the game are plentiful, a bit like Mass Effect.. and your responses and actions do have an effect on the future plot.. or so Im led to believe...you can choose how to respond (in real time) to questions.. I was using "Suave" for all the conversations with women, but it was more Dirty than Suave lol.. as an effect, all the women hate me in the game, so probably missed a load of stuff already, dont really care though.  Also dressed my character up in a beret and aviators, proper gay boy... LOL..

Anyway, its quite apparent when you get into the real missions why the game got some bad reviews, the AI is proper dodgy and the controls are a bit fiddly, I managed to blow myself up by throwing a grenade at a wall instead of around the wall... then got stuck on a part of the level trying to run away... however I reckon I can see past the niggles... the plot is quite good and I like the deus ex elements... it also stands out from deus ex with its excellent dialogue feature... glad I got this one now!


Edit : Also forgot, I bought Enslaved : Odyssey the other day for £6.. heard differing reports on it.. but cant grumble for the price really..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 08, 2012, 01:15:25 PM
You all know how I love the Lego games. I usually wait for a year or so and pick them up for about £15, but I couldn't resist ordering Lego Batman 2 (£22.99 @ Sainsbury's Online (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/lego-batman-2-xbox-360-ps3-22-99-using-code-sainsburys-entertainment-1283215)). Got good reviews, and it's less than 2 months since it came out. Screw waiting another 6-12 months to see if I can save about eight quid.

Still enjoying Darksiders. Been taking my time, finding hidden stuff and doing a bit of grinding to unlock extra moves etc. I think I'm very near the end on that, now. Will definitely get Darksiders 2 - but I'll wait 'til it's sub £20 (it's released next week).

Torn on whether to get the new COD when it comes out in November. I swore I wouldn't, as the single-player is a short experience and I didn't get into the multiplayer at all on the last instalment - but Blops 2 is looking good...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 08, 2012, 01:54:37 PM
You only love the lego games cos you can get 1000GS out of them  :P lol

Any lego games which dont follow film franchises dont really appeal to me.. nor does Lego Indy 2 (because it only contains one more film from Lego Indy 1)... I think Lego Pirates will be my next (lego) purchase... PC World/Currys have it on sale for £9.98 (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/disney-lego-pirates-of-the-caribbean-the-video-game-for-xbox-360-10490925-pdt.html?srcid=369&xtor=AL-11&cmpid=aff~HotUKDeals~) so Im tempted.. although I should probably finish what I have first... (besides I've just bought Dirt 2 for £7.50 off ebay today too)

Lego:LOTR will be excellent though, probably the one Im most looking forward too, they need to do a Lego Matrix and a Lego Rocky aswell..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 08, 2012, 02:21:08 PM
I love the lego games because I get 1000gs.
I get 1000gs because I love the lego games.

Lego Matrix sounds good. Can't see Rocky working though. With the usual Lego games format you need six memorable scenes, each in different locations (with a cut scene linking each). You'd struggle to do that for each of the Rocky films.
Will almost certainly get Lego LOTR, but I'm not too fussed about it. Don't like any of JRR Tolkien's books, and didn't like Jackson's film interpretations of LOTR. If anyone can do a likeable version of Lord of the Rings it's Lego, though ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 08, 2012, 03:13:14 PM
Nahh.. most of the harry potter stuff happened in the same location - prehaps Lego Rambo would be a better alternative to Lego Rocky anyway... probably be more fun lol...

or Lego Ghostbusters (although only two films (for now))...
or Lego Back To The Future.. (classic)

..I think they should attempt the ultimate movie franchise though... Lego James Bond!!!

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 08, 2012, 03:45:16 PM
Lego James Bond!!!

Oh hell aye!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 08, 2012, 05:08:25 PM
Omfg, Lego Back To The Future and Lego James Bond would both be awesome!!! :o Matrix would also be cool. Am also really looking forward to Lego City Undercover, although I suspect the name change from City Stories to Undercover would stem from Take Two having problems associating the GTA franchise/trademark with a Lego game so hopefully it's not going to stop the game from becoming Lego GTA.

I'd quite like to see other game franchises getting the Lego treatment - Zelda, Metroid, Gears of War, Half-Life, God of War, Splinter Cell and Assassins Creed would all be excellent. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 09, 2012, 12:31:52 PM
The olympics inspired me to play Track and Field last night... lasted about 10 minutes before my fingers gave in lol, still got 3 achievements to get on that.. I cant do the high jump for love nor money though!!  Cant believe nobody cashed in and released Daley Thompsons Decathlon though... that was always my preferred olympic type game.. does anyone remember geoff capes strongman.. whilst not strictly an olympics game.. it was god awful lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 09, 2012, 02:25:39 PM
(http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showscreen.cgi?screen=screens/load/d/gif/DaleyThompsonsDecathlon.gif)

Broke loads of joysticks (mainly Kempston ones) playing Daley Thompson's Decathlon on the Spectrum.

(http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showscreen.cgi?screen=screens/in-game/d/DaleyThompsonsDecathlon.gif)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 09, 2012, 06:44:58 PM
One of the best games released on the Speccy, brilliant stuff. Ocean were probably the best publisher for games on the Speccy, closely followed by Ultimate. I miss those days :(

Edit: Marketing and promotional stuff for the U has arrived at retailers, we could be looking at an October release :o

Have got around 600 quid saved up thanks to my betting winnings. Nice 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 12, 2012, 04:01:12 PM
Really enjoying dirt 2 but I preferred the rally sections of dirt 1, they seemed more realistic. Am probably gonna have to buy dirt 3 now too  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 13, 2012, 08:27:47 AM
Looks like Doom 3 is getting a re-release on the 360... Doom 3 : BFG Edition.. contains Doom, Doom 2 and a remastered version of Doom 3 (with all the add on packs plus new stuff)...

...despite already having Doom and Doom2 downloaded from XBLA.. and owning Doom 3 on the xbox.. I still want this game... love it !!  :D  October 16th release, will be one of those reduced price games though so should be able to pick it up for £25 or lower on release.. absolute bargain if you ask me..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 13, 2012, 09:25:04 AM
Started Duke Nukem Forever last night.
Pretty crap self-indulgent 90s throwback, but playable - and it'll tide me over for a couple of days.

Start of the game you're peeing in a urinal, and have a little bit of control of the flow. Cos that's the height of humour. Cross over to the toilet stalls and grab a floating turd and you get an achievement. Shortly later it cuts to twin blond girls' heads bobbing up and down in the Duke's lap. They're setting their stall out pretty early in the game, then. Low end smut and poor humour being the name of the game.
If you're getting loads of low-brow gags and puns etc. a few are bound to hit home, so hopefully it'll remain playable for a while and perhaps even be genuinely funny at some point.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 13, 2012, 11:41:30 AM
When has Duke ever been anything else than self-indulgent.. its a great game which was unfairly reviewed by critics who expect every new FPS game to be a COD or Halo clone.. it has some faults.. long loading times were my main gripe.. but overall it provided a good gaming experience for me.. Dukes toilet humour and his sexist sadomasochism are some of the best parts of the game though, but then some critics even panned that stuff...  ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 13, 2012, 12:44:23 PM
I enjoyed it back in the day - perhaps I'm just getting old.
Aye, those load times are annoying.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 13, 2012, 02:33:16 PM
LEGO The Lord Of The Rings Gamescom Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZduL8Nh7rU&feature=player_embedded)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on August 13, 2012, 10:07:43 PM
I loved Duke Nukem Forever! It got a bit weird when you have to enter that alien hive with the boobs on the walls. The loading times were a pain too.

The humour in it is about as unsophisticated as you can get, but that's Duke. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 13, 2012, 10:12:59 PM
Wasn't too impressed with it myself tbh, but that's probably because after all that wait I was overly hyped. The least they could have done was include the original game with it in glorious HD-o-vision. :(

Edit: A new ZombiU trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaqOAEzWyf0&feature=player_embedded#!) has appeared. Looking very nice indeed. And you get to walk around a zombie infested Buckingham Palace too. Hopefully you'll be able to kill the zombiefied Royal Family and corgis lololol 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 15, 2012, 08:00:41 AM
Surpassed 80k GS last night playing Dirt 2... love that game, despite the rally mode feeling a bit nerfed..... dunno when I hit 70k but I've done the last 20k in 17 months...so on that basis.. if the nextbox comes out xmas 2013 I should be hitting 100k around about that time.. oooh will I make it or not!!.. 'citing!!!  ::) :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 15, 2012, 09:41:45 AM
My gamerscore seems to be accelerating, too. Probably because in most years I'll spend 90% of my playing time on COD, whereas this last year I've picked up a load of cheap games instead.

80k gamerscore is incredible.
I'm not far off 50k now. Should finish off Duke this weekend (but not to 100% completion), then I'll move on to Lego Batman 2 - which will probably give me a nice GS boost but leave me a few hundred shy of 50k. Then I'll probably crack out either Final Fantasy XIII-2 or Lost Odyssey (both of which I'm guessing release gamerscore fairly slowly, as is usually the way with long RPGs).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on August 15, 2012, 01:18:02 PM
What's the deal with gamer score?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 15, 2012, 02:25:32 PM
I'd imagine it's similar to trophies etc. on Playstation, but I'm not certain how that system works (best guess each game has a single platinum, a few golds, a load of silvers, something like that, each depending on difficulty to obtain).

Most full priced games have 1000 gamerscore possible - generally split into around 20-30 achievements. I think I usually get around 600 on most games that I enjoy (and around 100 on games I try for a day or so but never get into). So you could theoretically get 50k gamerscore by exhaustively playing just fifty games - but I've actually played about three times that.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 15, 2012, 02:53:04 PM
What's the deal with gamer score?

As late has said it's a similar sort of thing to the PSN trophy system but is score-based instead of level-based. The RPG-esque nature of the trophy system makes it much more addictive imo. Going to be interesting to see what sort of model Nintendo adopt for their Accomplishments system for the U. Knowing them they won't adopt a score-based or level-based model and go for something completely different lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on August 15, 2012, 03:33:13 PM
Thought the trophy system was very unappealing when I had a PS3 tbh. Gamerscore isn't much better. I've only got about 12.5k in 3 years on XBL.

Then again, I only really play FIFA and COD. If I complete a game, I find that, like Late, I get around 600 GS. Never got 100% achievements on any game. The thought of spending hours doing the same objective until I've done it well enough/enough times solely to get an achievement doesn't appeal to me.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 15, 2012, 08:41:29 PM
Nintendo have announced that all first party U games will be locked to 720p max resolution.

This console's getting to be more and more of a laughing stock...


(Announced a week or so back, but I missed it)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 15, 2012, 08:53:54 PM
Hardly a big deal if it was true. But it's not. Scribblenaughts and Toki Tori 2 have been confirmed to be in 1080p.

You'll probably find most games on all 3 platforms next gen being in 720p anyway. The 720 is going to only be twice as powerful as the U going by leaks, and the PS4 slightly less powerful than that. We're looking at all 3 consoles being in the same ballpark in terms of power next gen as they were last gen. There are going to be a great deal of gamers disappointed by the difference in eye candy quality compared to current gen eye candy quality next gen.

Edit: Oops, my bad misread first party as all titles. And like I said above it isn't a big deal. What's going to be more interesting is whether the GPU7 will upscale everything to 1080p the way that Xenos does.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 15, 2012, 10:21:47 PM
Several YouTube videos of off-screen footage of ZombiU from IGN:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SWFcvd0JJg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thzzjGiYvAY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjfWQxGJlkY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gXMbqzjQ0M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRbQMuFAHEo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEiAmBAFbyg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4lF0KQNdMg

It's an early build of a new demo so some of the textures are a bit rough and there's no AA by the looks of things but the lighting and shadows are looking excellent. The crosshairs that were missing from the story trailer have reappeared unfortunately...hope there's an option to turn them off, playing it without crosshairs will be bloody insane lol.

There's a fair few people on various boards that are buying a U after seeing this game. Going to be a definite system seller. Can't believe that a Ubisoft title is looking so good, better than anything that Nintendo are coming up with so far. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 15, 2012, 10:27:01 PM
Of course it's a big deal if you have a tv that's capable of displaying 1080p video but first party games on your next gen console are locked to 720p! It means more than twice as much detail. If consoles nearly a decade old could do 1080p before people had high def tellies it's ridiculous to release a console now that can't output in full HD when most people now have high def.

You can be damned sure the nextbox and ps4 will both be native 1080p. And much more than twice as powerful as the U. I don't know where you get your ridiculous notions.

And it's pretty much irrelevant whether the processor will upscale from 720p to 1080p, as your tv will do that anyway - and if it's a decent tv it'll likely do a better job of it than the console.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 15, 2012, 11:31:04 PM
I get these 'notions' from leaks. The 720 is going to be 6-8 times more powerful than the 360. The U is going to be 3-4 times more powerful than the 360. Anyone expecting a huge leap in eye candy quality next gen on any of the 3 consoles is going to be very disappointed.

And if developers do decide to opt for 1080p native next gen I'm fine with the U SKU being 720p thanks to the GamePad adding to gameplay. Even having a map or inventory on the touchscreen is going to be a major plus for me personally. Having to pause the game every time I want to look at a map or access an inventory makes a game disjointed and ruins immersion for me.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 16, 2012, 12:20:33 AM
You're not a gamer at all really, are you. You're someone not even slightly interested in games who pretends just so he can troll and post general bollocks, to see what reaction he can get. Sussed it thanks to some subtle clues - like you thinking Nintendo can make games consoles and you generally being completely clueless.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on August 16, 2012, 12:47:24 AM
Cat games is fubar if it has "hero member" beside harvs name lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 16, 2012, 01:08:18 AM
They seem fine at making games consoles so far. I missed every single N64 and Gamecube game the last two gens due to owning a PS1 and PS2 but thanks to the Wii having backwards compatibility, the VC and the Homebrew scene being so strong I've played a fair few of the games that I missed out on - including the best rated game of all-time, Ocarina of Time - and have been quite impressed.

The Wii is also the only seriously underpowered console they've ever made, and even so it has inspired both Sony and Microsoft to copy motion controls and Miis. The NES, SNES, N64 and Gamecube were all powerful consoles.

The U is going to have none of the disadvantages that the Wii has had this gen thanks to their choice of hardware components and architecture. It's got a ridiculous amount of quality third party support at launch and during the launch window and is going to sell a shitload.

All sounds pretty good to me, Sony and Microsoft may have serious problems shifting units given their chosen amounts of RAM...buying a PS4 and 720 is not going to be cheap. And if they don't shift enough units they may find the consoles being in the same sort of position as the Vita which is having trouble getting third party support.

Edit: Bloody hell, just noticed that Arkham Citeh is still selling well and was wondering why the GOTY Edition wasn't selling anywhere as good. The bloody thing isn't even released over here yet :o It's not due out until next month. What the buggering flip is going on with that..?!!?!? They had it in May in the States :-\ Looks like the U SKU is only going to be a month or two behind the PS3 and 360 SKUs. Not a bad result for Nintendo.

Going to have to continue my playthrough of Arkham Asylum soon in preparation for the U GOTY Edition. :)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on August 16, 2012, 05:00:06 AM
Thought the trophy system was very unappealing when I had a PS3 tbh. Gamerscore isn't much better. I've only got about 12.5k in 3 years on XBL.

I've never experienced GamerScore, but I do find the concept of the trophy system to be a much more engaging one.

As Harv said, you've got the RPG style levelling system...It's gonna be excellent when they finally give people rewards for hitting the next level, and then you've got the Platinum trophy...It's better to finish a trophy list and then get rewarded with a physical aesthetic that shows you've actually finished the game...Some Platinum trophies look amazing too and it's just that extra step that is so simple, yet incredibly effective, rather than just unlocking every trophy and then leaving it at that.

I find the Platinum trophy encourages completion more too...The crowning glory for trophy hunters is the Platinum...On the 360 it's just more about racking up as many points as possible towards your overall score, so you can afford to skimp out on harder games and just move onto something else that will increase your score quicker, thus the system somewhat loses prestige.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 16, 2012, 08:37:07 AM
I dont think theres much difference to be honest... both systems aren't indictative of skill at all....but if your picking a winner, I'd go with the 360 system simply because the achievements are better in-built into the 360 dash, they are easier to access in-game, far easier to compare gamerscores on games between friends....plus its supported on far more games than the ps3 system. 

The problem with the trophy system is the platinum trophy.. if theres one trophy thats bugged, or one trophy that requires a ridiculously stupid amount of time to get.. then its a very unappealing system... Plus, if someone took several hundred hours to get one platinum in COD... I could be the same level as him if I got a platinum in a game like a Lego game - which will take about 20 hours.... shows the massive flaw in having a levelling system... levels should indicate skill, but trophies will never indicate skill because there is no standard difficulty to a trophy across games.

With the 360, yeah its much more simple.. and its just a score... its not trying to be something it cant be.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 16, 2012, 10:04:57 AM
They seem fine at making games consoles so far. I missed every single N64 and Gamecube game the last two gens due to owning a PS1 and PS2 but thanks to the Wii having backwards compatibility, the VC and the Homebrew scene being so strong I've played a fair few of the games that I missed out on - including the best rated game of all-time, Ocarina of Time - and have been quite impressed.
They were capable of making consoles in the 80s and 90s. That's a LONG time ago.
Yes, Zelda was good - in the nineties. Still is, to some people who are stuck in the past.
FF7 was better. At the time. We're talking about hardware though.

The Wii is also the only seriously underpowered console they've ever made
So far. Give it another 3 months.

and even so it has inspired both Sony and Microsoft to copy motion controls and Miis.
Whether companies are copying controls and avatars is debatable. Lets just go with the legal position.
Courts worldwide: have you fined Sony or Microsoft for copyright infringement, or banned the sale of their consoles?
Thought not.

The NES, SNES, N64 and Gamecube were all powerful consoles.
Nintendo made good consoles in the 80s and 90s, yes. I don't think anyone's arguing with that. I loved the NES and SNES back in the day. But then quarter of a century happened.

The U is going to have none of the disadvantages that the Wii has had this gen thanks to their choice of hardware components and architecture.
Wii - massively inferior graphical output, RAM, and processing power, incredibly weak online system, and beset by shovelware.
Wii U - massively inferior graphical output, RAM, and processing power, untested fledgling online system, and likely to be beset by shovelware.
The U is all set to have most of the problems the Wii had - plus it's own new problems.

It's got a ridiculous amount of quality third party support at launch and during the launch window and is going to sell a shitload.
Yeah, the Wii had ridiculous amounts of third party support, too. Mainly shovelware.

All sounds pretty good to me, Sony and Microsoft may have serious problems shifting units given their chosen amounts of RAM...buying a PS4 and 720 is not going to be cheap. And if they don't shift enough units they may find the consoles being in the same sort of position as the Vita which is having trouble getting third party support.
Buying a ps4/720 is going to be cheaper than buying a U and a dozen peripherals, playing it for a few months, sticking it in a cupboard to gather dust before going out to buy a ps4 or 720.
It's worth paying the bit extra to get quality. Buying cheap shit to save money is often a false economy - as was the case with the Wii and will be the case with the U.

And if they don't shift enough units they may find the consoles being in the same sort of position as the Vita which is having trouble getting third party support.
The nextbox and ps4 will sell by the bucket load, and will have no problems getting third party support. As with the last generation.

Edit: Bloody hell, just noticed that Arkham Citeh is still selling well and was wondering why the GOTY Edition wasn't selling anywhere as good. The bloody thing isn't even released over here yet  It's not due out until next month. What the buggering flip is going on with that..?!!?!? They had it in May in the States  Looks like the U SKU is only going to be a month or two behind the PS3 and 360 SKUs. Not a bad result for Nintendo.
Going to have to continue my playthrough of Arkham Asylum soon in preparation for the U GOTY Edition.
Aye, having a game that's over a year old as one of your launch titles is a cracking result.  ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 16, 2012, 12:26:31 PM
The U is not going to be in the same position as the Wii because it isn't going to have massively inferior RAM, processing power and especially graphical output due to Nintendo's choices with regards to hardware components and architecture. It will have no problems both supplying up-ports and receiving downports to and from the other two consoles. It's going to be in the same sort of ballpark as the other two consoles, as the PS2 was last gen but will have the advantage that the PS2 didn't have in that the GPU7 will have the same feature set as the PS4 and 720.

As for the shovelware, of course it will get it - all consoles with a vastly superior marketshare always does. The PS2 last gen had the same problem.

And copyright infringement..? No. That would only apply if they had named their motion controls the remote and nunchuck and the avatars Miis. Even Move isn't a patent infringement due to that system having the light and camera in opposite positions compared to the Wii's motion control solution. You wouldn't have Miis and motion controls if Nintendo hadn't caused a great deal of stir, hype and success doing it first. Sony and Microsoft both copied motion controls and Miis from Nintendo, that's an undeniable fact, and that copying is the main reason why Nintendo have been so strict with the release of information by third parties - I've a feeling that Nintendo have held something back about either the console or the GamePad for this reason, we'll find out either next week or next month.

And a dozen peripherals..? If you have a dozen bits of plastic golf clubs, tennis rackets, steering wheels etc that's your own fault. None of those are needed to play the Wii. All you need to play the Wii and Wii U are additional controllers, and if you have a Wii all controllers are compatible with the U. I really can't see a problem here.

And as I've already mentioned, Arkham City Armoured Edition isn't going to be a year old port - it's only going to be a month or two behind the PS3 and 360 SKUs in Europe and 5 or 6 months behind in the States. I'm still baffled by that...4 months for localisation..? Very odd.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 16, 2012, 01:15:06 PM
The U is not going to be in the same position as the Wii because it isn't going to have massively inferior RAM, processing power and especially graphical output due to Nintendo's choices with regards to hardware components and architecture.
You're constantly telling us that the nextbox and ps4 will have loads of ram, but you're now asserting that the U won't have massively inferior ram? The U's processing power is widely acknowledged to be a lot lower than everyone expects for next gen - with a lot of reports saying it's on a par with the 360/ps3. The next consoles from Sony and Microsoft will be significantly more powerful. And if graphical output on all first party games is locked to 720p it's going to be behind the other consoles in that regard too.

It will have no problems both supplying up-ports and receiving downports to and from the other two consoles. It's going to be in the same sort of ballpark as the other two consoles, as the PS2 was last gen but will have the advantage that the PS2 didn't have in that the GPU7 will have the same feature set as the PS4 and 720.
It will not be in the same sort of ballpark as the other two consoles. The other two consoles are likely to be around 3-5 times as powerful as the U. If they were 10% more powerful than the U you could say they're in the same ballpark. 20% and you could still argue it. 50% more powerful and you're not going to convince anyone. But we're talking 300% here. Not only is that not in the same ball park. It's playing a different game, in some poverty-stricken backwater somewhere, dreaming of playing with the big boys.

As for the shovelware, of course it will get it - all consoles with a vastly superior marketshare always does. The PS2 last gen had the same problem.
The ps2 did not have the same problems last generation. Never in the history of mankind has anyone or anything been subjected to the amount of shite under-produced cash-ins as the Wii was.

And copyright infringement..? No. That would only apply if they had named their motion controls the remote and nunchuck and the avatars Miis.
(http://www.funlokam.com/images/smiles/EmoticonLaugh.gif)Where do you get these ridiculous notions from? I've only had a limited amount of experience with copyright and patent law, so I'm no expert, but you're talking out of your arse.
Surprising, isn't it, that the judges in all the copyright/patent suits around the world between Sony and Samsung haven't said "there's no case here - that tablet of Samsung's isn't called "ipad"...! Just one example (picked as it's high profile).

Even Move isn't a patent infringement due to that system having the light and camera in opposite positions compared to the Wii's motion control solution. You wouldn't have Miis and motion controls if Nintendo hadn't caused a great deal of stir, hype and success doing it first. Sony and Microsoft both copied motion controls and Miis from Nintendo, that's an undeniable fact, and that copying is the main reason why Nintendo have been so strict with the release of information by third parties
Nintendo didn't invent motion control, nor avatars.

I've a feeling that Nintendo have held something back about either the console or the GamePad for this reason, we'll find out either next week or next month.
Aye, me too. I think they're going to call a press conference and announce something like "sorry - we've realised it's crap so we're going to scrap this poorly conceived console and start again. We'll get back to you in a few years..."

And a dozen peripherals..? If you have a dozen bits of plastic golf clubs, tennis rackets, steering wheels etc that's your own fault. None of those are needed to play the Wii. All you need to play the Wii and Wii U are additional controllers, and if you have a Wii all controllers are compatible with the U. I really can't see a problem here.
Didn't bother with golf clubs, tennis rackets, etc. Did get a steering wheel boxed with Mario Kart, and found that actually was useful.
Some of my wii peripherals:
wiimote 1
wiimote 2
wiimote 3
wiimote 4
nunchuck 1
nunchuck 2
nunchuck 3
nunchuck 4
balance board
mario kart steering wheel
unofficial steering wheel 1
unofficial steering wheel 2
guitar hero guitar 1
guitar hero guitar 2
guitar hero drumkit
zelda gun
generic poundshop gun
There'll be others, but I can't think of them off the top of my head. And that list of 17 items is from someone who doesn't even like the wii. I'd imagine lots of folk have more. I've not included the plethora of coloured and padded "condoms" for all the wiimotes and nunchucks.

And as I've already mentioned, Arkham City Armoured Edition isn't going to be a year old port - it's only going to be a month or two behind the PS3 and 360 SKUs in Europe and 5 or 6 months behind in the States. I'm still baffled by that...4 months for localisation..? Very odd.
It's a port of a game that's more than a year old.
Who cares that the SKU you're talking about was only released recently. It's just the first time all the dlc has been packaged together - but the game and the vast majority of that dlc have been available since last year.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 16, 2012, 02:25:25 PM
Real Life Goldeneye 64 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RR5V0rmN4o) LOL - brilliant!!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 16, 2012, 02:39:22 PM
I'm quite right about the patents and copyright. If Nintendo had patented gaming avatars then Sony and Microsoft wouldn't have been able to copy them. And it's impossible to patent a generic 'motion control' idea. To get a patent granted you need specifics, and those specifics weren't copied. And, again, if Nintendo hadn't had a ridiculous amount of success with Miis and motion controls you wouldn't have them on the PS3 and 360.

And Nintendo aren't even announcing their new ideas for software and IPs until the last minute because Sony and Microsoft keep on copying those too - look at the Wii Sports, Smash Bros. clones and Halo Prime 4 as prime examples. How long before we see a SonyLand and MicrosoftLand next gen lololol..? :o

Again, the PS4 and 720 aren't going to be significantly more powerful. The most powerful of the two, the 720, is going to be twice as powerful. 1.75-2 times more RAM, around 3 times as much GPU processing power (without the advantages that the U GPU will have thanks to their patented more efficient algorithms) and 2-2.66 times more cores. However, a fair amount of that processing power is going to be unavailable to developers thanks to Microsoft being obsessed with this media centre bollocks and having DVR functionality unless Microsoft decide not to allow gaming and DVR functionality at the same time which will be about as useful as a chocolate teapot. That isn't significantly more powerful, that's in the same sort of ballpark - in last gen terms that's about the same as the difference between the PS2 and the Xbox, but as I've already mentioned the U GPU will have the advantage that the PS2 didn't have with the GPU having the exact same feature set.

And most of those are extra controllers rather than useless pieces of plastic and if you already have a Wii with those controllers you won't need to buy any more for 5 player local multiplayer. And the Guitar Hero stuff would be there if you had Guitar Hero on the other two consoles. The useless pieces of plastic - the steering wheels, guns etc are your own stupid fault.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 16, 2012, 02:44:28 PM
Real Life Goldeneye 64 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RR5V0rmN4o) LOL - brilliant!!!

Fucking brilliant lololol  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 16, 2012, 04:04:32 PM
I think I can save myself some time here, by skipping the pertinent stuff (facts and most likely scenarios) and following your example of "my impression is the same as fact".


Or better still, save even more with the following rebuttals:

I'm quite right about the patents and copyright.
Wrong

If Nintendo had patented gaming avatars then Sony and Microsoft wouldn't have been able to copy them.
Wrong

To get a patent granted you need specifics, and those specifics weren't copied.
Wrong

if Nintendo hadn't had a ridiculous amount of success with Miis and motion controls you wouldn't have them on the PS3 and 360.
Wrong

And Nintendo aren't even announcing their new ideas for software and IPs until the last minute because Sony and Microsoft keep on copying those too
Wrong

the PS4 and 720 aren't going to be significantly more powerful.
Wrong

The most powerful of the two, the 720, is going to be twice as powerful.
Wrong

the advantages that the U GPU will have thanks to their patented more efficient algorithms
Wrong

media centre bollocks
Wrong

isn't significantly more powerful
Wrong

that's in the same sort of ballpark
Wrong

in last gen terms that's about the same as the difference between the PS2 and the Xbox
Wrong

And most of those are extra controllers rather than useless pieces of plastic
Correct. However, I never said they were useless pieces of plastic, so I'm not sure who you're arguing with there. I was talking about the costs of "...buying a U and a dozen peripherals..."

if you already have a Wii with those controllers you won't need to buy any more for 5 player local multiplayer.
You will, however, have some significant expenses if you're planning on buying a U to play the best games available. As I said, you'll need to buy a U and control pad, and then you'll have to buy a sony or a microsoft.
My point is it's going to be cheaper to just buy the ps4/nextbox, and just forgo the Leapster Nintendo.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 16, 2012, 05:19:25 PM
A console being twice as powerful as another isn't a significant difference. The only generation with a significant difference in power between consoles is this one. We probably won't see that happen again, this generation has been very unusual.

1-4 are correct.

5 is correct, Iwata himself has said that they're not announcing new titles until the last minute to give competitors less time to copy them. Look at the games I listed.

As for the controllers, you get a GamePad with the system, and given Nintendo's focus on asymmetric local multiplayer there's a good chance they'll bundle a remoteplus and nunchuck too. And again, why would you need a dozen peripherals..? If you want to play 5 player local multiplayer you'll need extra remotes and nunchucks but the same can be said for any game on any system. The only difference is that the Wii and U have two separate controllers but that really isn't a big deal, especially when most of the asymmetric gameplay shown so far uses the remote only. ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 16, 2012, 05:44:21 PM
Boxart for Arkham City GOTY/Armoured Edition:

(http://www.nintendo-master.com/fichiers/2012/8/16/1345111951.jpg)

Not too keen on the blue lightning thing he has going on but it certainly looks better than the US version for pretty much the same game. Has to be the worst boxart I've ever seen:

(http://blog.gadgethelpline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/BACGOTYXBPS3.jpg)

There's always a chance we may see something different next month when it's released considering the hoo-hah it's had. I really can't understand how some of these people in the industry keep their jobs. The mind really does boggle :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 16, 2012, 06:14:57 PM
A console being twice as powerful as another isn't a significant difference.
Wrong.
And if you really believe what you've posted there, why bother getting the U - which isn't even twice as powerful as the ps3/360?

The only generation with a significant difference in power between consoles is this one.
Wrong.
We'll have it next generation too.

We probably won't see that happen again, this generation has been very unusual.
Idle speculation. If Nintendo are still making consoles in the generation after this upcoming one they'll probably do the same thing again.

1-4 are correct.
Wrong.
On four counts.

5 is correct, Iwata himself has said that they're not announcing new titles until the last minute to give competitors less time to copy them. Look at the games I listed.
Wrong.
You're claiming Nintendo are being elusive and secretive about unveiling new stuff because they think it'll be copied, but you're doing so whilst talking about the U - which is, by most folks' reckoning, one of the most screwed up launches ever with a "reveal" waaaay too early.

As for the controllers, you get a GamePad with the system, and given Nintendo's focus on asymmetric local multiplayer there's a good chance they'll bundle a remoteplus and nunchuck too. And again, why would you need a dozen peripherals..? If you want to play 5 player local multiplayer you'll need extra remotes and nunchucks but the same can be said for any game on any system. The only difference is that the Wii and U have two separate controllers but that really isn't a big deal, especially when most of the asymmetric gameplay shown so far uses the remote only. ::)
You've missed the point. If you want to play balanced games on a powerful console with state of the art graphics then you'll end up scrapping the U and getting a playstation/nextbox.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 16, 2012, 06:43:02 PM
A console being twice as powerful as another isn't a significant difference.
Wrong.
And if you really believe what you've posted there, why bother getting the U - which isn't even twice as powerful as the ps3/360?

The only generation with a significant difference in power between consoles is this one.
Wrong.
We'll have it next generation too.

We probably won't see that happen again, this generation has been very unusual.
Idle speculation. If Nintendo are still making consoles in the generation after this upcoming one they'll probably do the same thing again.

1-4 are correct.
Wrong.
On four counts.

5 is correct, Iwata himself has said that they're not announcing new titles until the last minute to give competitors less time to copy them. Look at the games I listed.
Wrong.
You're claiming Nintendo are being elusive and secretive about unveiling new stuff because they think it'll be copied, but you're doing so whilst talking about the U - which is, by most folks' reckoning, one of the most screwed up launches ever with a "reveal" waaaay too early.

As for the controllers, you get a GamePad with the system, and given Nintendo's focus on asymmetric local multiplayer there's a good chance they'll bundle a remoteplus and nunchuck too. And again, why would you need a dozen peripherals..? If you want to play 5 player local multiplayer you'll need extra remotes and nunchucks but the same can be said for any game on any system. The only difference is that the Wii and U have two separate controllers but that really isn't a big deal, especially when most of the asymmetric gameplay shown so far uses the remote only. ::)
You've missed the point. If you want to play balanced games on a powerful console with state of the art graphics then you'll end up scrapping the U and getting a playstation/nextbox.

The U on paper is going to be 3 times more powerful than the 360. 3MB of cache on the CPU compared to 1MB of cache on the Xenon. 2GB of RAM compared to 512MB. 32MB of eDRAM on the GPU compared to 10MB. Take the DSP, Out of Order Execution CPU and separate chip handling IO and you'll have it being around 4 times more powerful in terms of real-world performance before you think about the GPU7 being more efficient and having a far superior feature set. And everything so far is pointing to the 720 being 6-8 times more powerful than the 360.

In terms of generational technology having the 720 twice as powerful as the U really isn't a big deal even if you ignore that some of that power will be reserved for DVR thanks to the GPGPUs having the exact same feature sets. You'll have a difference in eye candy quality for multiplatform titles of course but unlike the Wii it's going to be easy for developers to port to and from all 3 consoles. You'll have a slight downgrade in texture quality, more jaggies, more pop-in and longer loading times but nothing too drastic. And that won't happen until 2014 at the earliest due to developers working with unfinished/underpowered PS4/720 dev kits for most of the development of PS4 and 720 titles (as the U will have until late 2013/early 2014) and developers doing development on final dev kits for most if not all U titles that year. You then also got to take into account that developers for the U will have learnt to squeeze more out of the U hardware due to being more experienced.

We've already seen the likes of Pikmin 3, Lego City Undercover, Assassins Creed 3 and ZombiU having visual effects ahead of anything the PS3 and 360 are capable of and it's going to get better as time goes on.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 16, 2012, 07:34:32 PM
Finally we have something akin to agreement. The u will be slightly better than the 360. The 720 will be much better.

Took you long enough to get here.

Why, then, would serious gamers consider the u?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 16, 2012, 07:56:47 PM
We're not in agreement at all. There's no problem with the 720 being 1.75-2 times more powerful than the U, and even less problems with the PS4 being less powerful than that. Have a look at the PS2 and Xbox last gen, same difference in terms of power and a huge difference in terms of GPU feature set. The U is going to get a SKU of the majority of next gen titles without a problem, albeit with a slight graphical downgrade, and due to a far superior installed userbase will also get a fair few exclusives too.

Microsoft and Sony may end up with serious problems if they have the pricepoints too high. You said earlier they'd both sell no matter what...but people said the exact same thing about the PS3 which was a commercial failure for the first two years of its life until they cut the price and about the Vita which is also failing hard - even in Europe where Sony tend to sell well. The Vita is starting to lose third party support because of it with Vita titles being switched to the U.

If Sony and Microsoft don't end up selling well right at the start they could be d00med :o

Rayman Legends boxart here:

(http://www.thehdroom.com/images/news/11077a.jpg)

Hopefully the boxart next gen is going to remain at such a high standard, if there's one thing that's really disappointed me this gen it's the quality of the boxart.

Screens also here:

(http://www.thehdroom.com/images/gamescreens/large/8068.jpg)

(http://www.thehdroom.com/images/gamescreens/large/8069.jpg)

(http://www.thehdroom.com/images/gamescreens/large/8071.jpg)

Looks quite nice ;D

Can't believe that Ubisoft, of all publishers, appear to be bringing so much quality software to the U. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 17, 2012, 09:03:45 AM
At the end of the day its gonna be what it'll be... after owning a Wii theres no way Im going near a Wii U... you may think thats foolish harv.. but I think you'll be suprised by how many people are going to do the same thing... I dont usually sell consoles or games straight away... but selling the Wii after just one year kinda shows the genuine disinterest I had in it.

And you can harp on about the power of the Wii U compared to the 720 or ps4.. but you dont know really.. your guessing... you dont even know 100% what is in the Wii U, nevermind whats in a console that hasnt even been announced!!  Your guesses & predictions are usually dead wrong.. especially when it comes to gaming...its because you listen to too much of the hyperbole/crap on fanboy infested forums.. you actually cant take a reasonable and neutral take on gaming anymore.

Said my peace, not going to get drawn into an argument because you obviously have your stubborn and crazy opinions... just chill out, not everyone on here is that interested in the Wii U.. in fact, I dont think anyone apart from you is interested in it at all... (and stop posting massive pictures.. if you have to, small ones at least?!?)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 17, 2012, 01:33:13 PM
It isn't guesswork, it's feedback from developers that have been working on the systems in question. And anyone claiming to be a developer or claiming to have sources on Gaf is always verified by a mod. Unlike most 'fanboy forums' Gaf has plenty of people working in the industry and plenty of gaming journalists as members, how do you think I first heard about it..? ;) That's why we know that what little we've gleaned about the U's specs being 3 times more powerful than the 360 on paper is true and the 720 being 6-8 times more powerful is true according to target specs, although the current dev kits for the latter have placeholder components this early in the console development lifecycle so won't be anywhere near as powerful as the target specs yet...you won't have the components themselves finalised until 6 months before launch and developers won't have final dev kits until a month or two before launch.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 17, 2012, 02:13:05 PM
Can't remember if I mentioned it before but Sony have confirmed that they're not going to cut the price of the Vita until sometime next year. They've gone insane. At some point during the next couple of months there'll be more than 10 times more 3DS consoles sold than Vitas. Christ on a bike the original PSP is outselling it regularly and even the original DS isn't too far off either. Hopefully the PS4 isn't going to be as much of a disaster because unless Sony have completely lost the plot it's going to be cheaper than the 720 given what's going to be under the hood. Can't believe that they still haven't learnt any lessons from the PSP and PS3. Madness. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 17, 2012, 06:29:15 PM
Gaf has plenty of people working in the industry and plenty of gaming journalists as members, how do you think I first heard about it..? ;)

Affiliate link from iwanttobumnintendo.com
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 17, 2012, 07:18:58 PM
The forum is a gaming forum, not platform holder or platform specific.

Lol, got banned from the GT forums for calling a troll that created a troll thread an idiot. The dozy fuckwit was suggesting that Nintendo should launch the Wii U with two separate SKUs - one with the GamePad and a cheaper one without lol. He then went on to say that they did the same thing with the Wii and that Wii Sports Boxing wasn't playable unless you bought a nunchuck lololol. I responded by saying, and I quote, 'The Wii came bundled with 1 remote and 1 nunchuck, idiot' and got a 48 hour ban. Ridiculous lol. ;D :o ;D

Never mind, Gaf is a better quality board anyway, if a little odd. It seems you can troll all you want, but get banned for port begging lol. Bizarre.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 19, 2012, 11:55:33 PM
I struggle to think of a forum I've ever frequented without picking up a suspension on.

Finished Duke Nukem on Saturday. I had to lower the difficulty to normal toward the end - I was getting sick of one of the boss fights, and wasn't enjoying the game enough to continue trying on hard. Naturally it was then way too easy, but that's usually the way with these things, and I'm quite happy to toss the game in the cupboard, never to be seen again.

Started Lego Batman 2, which suffers one of Duke's problems - very long load times.
That aside, though, it's all good. Large open map, okay story (so far predominantly Superman and Batman working against Joker and Lex Luthor), loads to do. Each stage is a lot longer than in previous Lego games, but there's save points periodically throughout them so they've swerved the main pitfall that longer stages could've heralded.
Initially it's a little disconcerting having the lego characters speak (in previous games they've always been silent) but they're excellently scripted and voiced. An absolute must for fans of the series. Still surprised I got it for around £20 less than two months after release. They usually take best part of a year to drop that low. Certainly isn't because the game's poor.
Unless there's something ridiculous in the achievements I definitely expect 1000/1000 on this one.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 20, 2012, 10:53:48 PM
Omfg, someone on the GT forums has just brought up something about ZombiU. Each time you die the game becomes more difficult because you add another enemy to the ranks. But now Ubisoft have said that as part of the ZombiU online component, every time one of your friends dies a zombiefied version of himself/herself appears in your game too making it a race of sorts to kill the offending rotting corpse and nick the stuff in their backpack. She's just said that her boyfriend is going to get himself killed over and over again to sabotage her game lol :o ;D

Ubisoft must have something in place to limit the amounts of zombies spawned though, otherwise you'll end up with a Dead Rising situation lololol :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 26, 2012, 02:46:37 PM
Finished with Dirt 2 now... just one single player achievement that eluded me... the one to finish 1st in all the events.. still had 21 to do.. easy enough to do, just time consuming...

I swapped Dirt 1 for Rage the other day, so will probably play that next.. or back to RUSE... and will order Dirt 3 after I've finished a few more games... have refound my love for Rally games!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 28, 2012, 12:05:01 AM
Finished Lego Batman 2.
Fun game, as always with the lego games, but I found it dragged on in a few places. Some of the last few gold bricks and mini-kits were just tiresome.
Ended up with 980/1000 gamerscore. The final achievement, for 20 gs, requires playing a level co-op. Did so splitscreen but it didn't register, so I guess you need to do it with someone online... ::)

Not sure what to play next. I'd been toying with FF 13.2 or Lost Odyssey, but I'm not feeling it at the moment so will probably just grab something from the pile of unplayed cheapo 2nd hand games.

Got the new Xbox Dashboard update today. Not sure when it's out officially - I'm on the beta. Some nice additions there. Style wise it's not changed much - still "Metro" - but the panes are slightly smaller, so there's more icons onscreen at once. There's a new "pin" option, so you can create shortcuts to your favourite apps etc. There's some sort of fancy (but expensive) PAYG tv service. And there's the long overdue Internet Explorer - a welcome addition, and it works well, aside from the obvious slowness in using a gamepad to type on a virtual keyboard - but if you use it regularly you can always use a keyboard I guess.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on August 28, 2012, 12:35:53 AM
Picked up Platinum 43 last week with FIFA 12, and I've almost got it to 100% with the Euro 2012 DLC...Such a massive grind, but I only have a few loose ends to tie up, then I've got every trophy and I can lie in wait for FIFA 13!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 28, 2012, 08:32:20 AM
I started Rage yesterday.. played about 6 hours of it in fact.. simply because I was at a loose end and hadn't played anything for nigh on 2 weeks.... im not actually sure I like it that much...  I'd say if you took the best parts of Bioshock and mixed it with the worst parts of Bulletstorm..then added the best graphics you've probably ever seen in a console game... you'd pretty much have the FPS part of Rage right there.

The FPS stuff is hidden behind a rather weak WRPG system though... you have half open ended towns you can explore, a map to explore in your vehicles and loads of NPCs to get quests from.  The problem is.. the quests are pretty much all the same - Fetching quests.. or rather quests that require you to go to this location, kill everyone and come back for a unique reward.  The vehicle part of the game is boring.. the vehicles are only used from going from point A to point B in terms of the main storyline.. and you get the same enemies in the same places everytime you go down the same paths.  You can race your vehicles in towns.. but to be honest, its not that much fun.

Overall, its a good game.. definitely worth a fiver.. but I was getting a bit bored of doing similar quests over and over... Im only on disc 1 of 3 still too.. so it seems to be a pretty lengthy game too..  ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on August 28, 2012, 03:32:48 PM
The problem is.. the quests are pretty much all the same - Fetching quests.. or rather quests that require you to go to this location, kill everyone and come back for a unique reward.

That's exactly what Skyrim is though...I've almost finished Skyrim and the vast majority of the quests in the game just involve going to a dungeon, clearing it out and then killing a key character/retrieving something...Nobody ever said that was a problem for Skyrim though... ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 28, 2012, 07:28:33 PM
Speaking of Skyrim...

New DLC "Hearthfire" has been announced for the 360.
Not a major DLC like Dawnguard, this one seems to be more about designing and building your own home rather than being a new quest line. Consequently it's a lot cheaper at 400 msp - Dawnguard was 1600 msp.



dealspwn (http://www.dealspwn.com/skyrim-hearthfire-dlc-announced-dated-xbox-360-112115)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 29, 2012, 08:36:31 AM
The problem is.. the quests are pretty much all the same - Fetching quests.. or rather quests that require you to go to this location, kill everyone and come back for a unique reward.

That's exactly what Skyrim is though...I've almost finished Skyrim and the vast majority of the quests in the game just involve going to a dungeon, clearing it out and then killing a key character/retrieving something...Nobody ever said that was a problem for Skyrim though... ???
You do know Skryim has a plot.. you have the main questline which involves slaying dragons, you then have about a subset of 10 other main questlines, which involve the Mages College, Dark Brotherhood, Daedra, etc etc... ...Im just thinking.. are you actually paying any attention to any of the plotlines or are you just accepting every quest you can find and then just doing it?  To say every quest is a dungeon fetch/kill quest is a lie.. the thieves guild have a plethora of quests which involve stealing stuff and not killing anyone for a start... with Rage, 100% of the main storyline quests are fetch/kill (so far).... did you not think it cool to climb the biggest mountain in skyrim to reach the greybeards for help in slaying dragons... there was a point in my game where I had to kill two dragons at the same time.. and it was an unscripted moment of brilliance.

Plus the magnificence of Skryim (apart from being set in one of the best expansive maps ever made), is it can be played any way.. you've obviously played it, not paying any attention to the storylines and gone in killing everything you can and doing loads of dungeon quests.. not to say theres anything wrong with that.. but your complaining because you played it that way... how about playing it again with stealth perks, or just magic perks, or an archer... your still going to kill the same things.. sure, but then isnt that the same as every FPS/WRPG game ??
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 29, 2012, 02:26:51 PM
Have just read on Gaf that developers working on the U have seen 'great' improvements in their project performances since the spring. Looks backed up by the difference between the E3 2012 build of the ZombiU Nursery demo and the Comic Con build which were streets apart in terms of eye candy quality and things should continue to get better as the weeks go by. I'm quite surprised that Ubisoft have got that looking as good as it is tbh, it actually looks like a next gen title. It could end of being the Condemned title for the U. Technically very impressive so far, can't wait to see what improvements they make to the Buckingham Palace demo at TGS. Probably AA and ansiotropic filtering, can't see them improving the lighting and shadows that much more though as it looked on a par with the Comic Con Nursery demo. :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on August 29, 2012, 09:32:32 PM
You do know Skryim has a plot.. you have the main questline which involves slaying dragons, you then have about a subset of 10 other main questlines, which involve the Mages College, Dark Brotherhood, Daedra, etc etc... ...Im just thinking.. are you actually paying any attention to any of the plotlines or are you just accepting every quest you can find and then just doing it?  To say every quest is a dungeon fetch/kill quest is a lie.. the thieves guild have a plethora of quests which involve stealing stuff and not killing anyone for a start... with Rage, 100% of the main storyline quests are fetch/kill (so far).... did you not think it cool to climb the biggest mountain in skyrim to reach the greybeards for help in slaying dragons... there was a point in my game where I had to kill two dragons at the same time.. and it was an unscripted moment of brilliance.

Plus the magnificence of Skryim (apart from being set in one of the best expansive maps ever made), is it can be played any way.. you've obviously played it, not paying any attention to the storylines and gone in killing everything you can and doing loads of dungeon quests.. not to say theres anything wrong with that.. but your complaining because you played it that way... how about playing it again with stealth perks, or just magic perks, or an archer... your still going to kill the same things.. sure, but then isnt that the same as every FPS/WRPG game ??

I'll break it down then;

Main Quest - Some shit about chasing a Dragon called Alduin, you have to traipse around various dungeons finding out secrets...Very little variety in the missions though.

Mages Quest - Easily the most boring quest-line in the game...Practically every quest is a dungeon crawler quest...I think I actually posted about my dissapointment in this one earlier in the thread.

Companions Quest - Again, incredibly dull...You just go around clearing forts occupied by the opposition side before you lay siege on their main fort and have all points conquered...It actually starts OK, there is a bit of variety, but it soon just degenerates into a big copy and paste job in regards to the mission structure.

Dark Brotherhood - Even though theres a bit of variety in the Dark Brotherhood questline, the lack of inventiveness is seriously dissapointing...Oblivion had so many interesting tasks and contracts, with a number of ways to kill targets and different scenarios you're put in...These are just mostly "go to this location and kill this person as blunt and directly as possible". That was never the Dark Brotherhood type of questline I loved in Oblivion, there was always innovative ways to kill your enemies and that just isn't here this time.

Thieves Guild - I'd agree the thieves guild is the most varied, but even still, you still get to a point in the questline where you have to do the same quests about 20 times to unlock the final missions...Why? Just to add some artificial longevity?

Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed Skyrim, but GOTY? No chance, not for me anyway.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on August 29, 2012, 09:47:46 PM
Just logged in for the first time in a while, and the first post i read was Harv saying the exact same thing as he was about 6 months ago. Lol  ;)

How's everyone?

Lot of games coming out the end of this year but think I'm going to wait to get them, apart from FIFA 13, as I still have games I haven't played or finished from christmas or before...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 29, 2012, 10:20:19 PM
Are you thinking about getting a Wii U..? Looking pretty good so far, Nintendo seem to be doing everything right so far even down to the online infrastructure, although I think taking on Facebook and Twitter is a little bit too ambitious imo.

Miiverse aside, it's looking like they're including all of the features from PSN and Live including Friends and usernames, and Accomplishments...their Achievements/Trophies equivalents. And they've also taken great inspiration from Steam regarding the share of proceeds from transactions, they're taking a similar cut so it's going to encourage digital distribution and indie devs. Going to be very interesting to see if Sony and Microsoft are going to follow suit otherwise there's a chance that the indie scene will steer away from the PS4 and 720. :-\

A trailer for the Scribblenaughts Unlimited Creation Tools here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niTzNbSH4s8&feature=player_embedded). Pretty cool, they're basically giving people the developers have used for the content to design their own stuff. You can create new stuff from scratch or edit stuff already there or stuff that friends have made. Scribblenaughts was definitely one of the best DS games out there...Aaaaaaargh!!! Another game I need to spend money on lol :o ;D

Edit: Have just played the demo of Lego Batman 2 for the 3DS and whilst it was as good as other Lego games before it the 3D usage wasn't great, probably the worst I've seen on a 3DS game so far. The cutscenes appeared to be only half a cm into the screen and the gameplay was a lot better but nothing appearing to pop out at all. Nothing like the screen you get when your cursor is over the demo itself, the top screen shows Lego Batman flying around the logo and he appears to be a couple of inches behind the screen when furthest away and pops out around a cm or so outside the screen. Still amazing to see that without glasses, I'm surprised the novelty hasn't worn off yet. :o

If the 3D was better utilised I would have bought it :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 30, 2012, 08:16:04 AM
Just logged in for the first time in a while, and the first post i read was Harv saying the exact same thing as he was about 6 months ago. Lol  ;)

How's everyone?

Lot of games coming out the end of this year but think I'm going to wait to get them, apart from FIFA 13, as I still have games I haven't played or finished from christmas or before...

Aye, it's like we're stuck in some sort of time loop, Harv forever repeating how great the U is going to be, everyone else repeating how shit it'll be... ;)

Looking forward to X-Com: Enemy Unknown (released mid Oct). I loved the original on the ps1, and it's predecessors on the Spectrum are my favourite games ever, so I'll probably get this remake at release.

Haven't played the last COD since the week it came out, and said I probably won't get this year's instalment, but as it draws closer I'm tempted. I do prefer Treyarch's efforts when it comes to COD, in recent years, so will probably give Black Ops 2 a chance (released mid Nov). If it's expensive I'll probably wait a while though.

Despite the quite ridiculous bouncing boobs and skimpy costumes, me and the kids enjoy the DoA games so I'll probably get Dead or Alive 5 (released end of Sept).

Will probably wait for all other games (including Assassin's Creed 3), and pick them up when they've shed around half of their price.




Speaking of COD Blops 2 - the Collectors Edition (http://www.youtube.com/verify_age?next_url=/watch%3Fv%3D7qQtCsR8-6I) looks great. I'll not be getting it - circa £150, but includes remote control drone, and day one dlc. Nuketown Zombies should be epic.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 30, 2012, 08:21:36 AM
Mages Quest - Easily the most boring quest-line in the game...Practically every quest is a dungeon crawler quest...I think I actually posted about my dissapointment in this one earlier in the thread.

Again its not about whether the quests are dungeon fetch/kill... its the plot involved... in fact, I thought the Mages quests had one of the more interesting plots in the game and therefore enjoyed the Mages Guild more so than others...whilst most of the quests are dungeon fetch/kill and its a shame the quest line didnt last longer, and prehaps had more college type quests in it... it was still enjoyable!

You might have a point if Skyrims battle/looting system wasnt up to scratch.. I played over 100 hours and didnt get cheesed off with it once though... its perfect for this type of game.

You also forget the Daedra quests which provide by far the most varied subset of quests.

GOTY by a long shot for me... prehaps if you didnt have the PS3 version you might of seen it differently.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 30, 2012, 10:31:19 AM
Skyrim is definitely game of the year for me - and I only did about half the quests. Will get back to it at some point.

As Kieron says, and without wanting to get into a "my console's better than your console" argument, it does appear to make a big difference playing it on the 360 rather than the ps3.
There were a few bugs on the 360, but nothing to compare to the problems the ps3 had. Most people on the xbox could probably play for over 50 hours and never experience a single problem - I'd guess I racked up about 80 hours, and I only experienced one bug, and that was nothing to complain about (a mammoth spawned in the distance up in the air, and plummeted to the ground. Funny, but not a problem in the slightest).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on August 30, 2012, 12:35:14 PM
The technical issues are irrelevant...I played Skyrim well after the patches and fixes and I've had no problems (Which is a first for a Bethesda game, and I'v actually played it solid over the last 3/4 weeks too, so I have a very fresh reflection of the game)...I just found it to be way too 1-dimensional and rigid in regards to the quest design...Loot is meaningless aswell, I found the game to be fairly easy for the most part, and this is playing "hard" (Second from highest difficulty), so the only time I'd pick up a good weapon was to sell it and get the trophy for having 100,000 coins on hand, because the weapon I was currently using always seemed to do the trick in any given situation.

The only times I've switched (Two-handed, Bow etc.) was to level up skills because there's a trophy for hitting level 50...I'm also not one for straying off and exploring...Maybe if the dungeon designs were more interesting (Oh look, "Another" puzzle where you have to rotate plates with animal pictures and match them to the wall ::)), but as it is, if you've seen 1 dungeon, then you've seen them all, and that's a fact...If you like that sort of thing, then fair enough, but you can't deny there's a heck of alot of recycling in regards to the dungeon design, and the various quest lines have you trawling through enough dungeons as it is.

The Dark Brotherhood quests in particular disappointed me...They were so interesting in Oblivion, but far too restrictive in Skyrim...I'd always look for different ways to kill my targets, and use some initiative myself, but it's quite clear the game just wants you to walk straight in and kill someone where they stand, because the alternatives to be creative don't exist, which was the original basis of the Dark Brotherhood.

Since I'm airing out problems with the game...Dragons...Yeah, they're kinda cool to begin with, but eventually they just become a nuisance, and you just end up running away from them, which presents a problem in itself because you can't fast travel unless you shake them off which is incredibly hard to do, meaning the only remedy is to turn around and kill them....Maybe if Dragon Souls could be used for other things, such as Enchanting Weapons or creating powerful potions, then it may have been worth sticking around for a fight, but I've got over 25 dragon shouts, most of which are maxed out and I still have over 10 souls stored doing absolutely sweet F.A

I'm quite close to the Platinum anyway, and although I have enjoyed it, I think OPM UK got it right with their 7/10 verdict which people cried about.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 30, 2012, 01:52:33 PM
I think OPM UK got it right with their 7/10 verdict which people cried about.

A few quotes from the OPM UK review (http://www.officialplaystationmagazine.co.uk/review/skyrim-ps3-review/) which was made a few weeks after launch...

Quote
I love this game, I really do, but I can’t give it the score I want in its current state.
The most amazing game of the year is in there somewhere.
That experience is in there somewhere, but choked and held under by a bug that slows the frame rate as your save file expands.

Its quite clear that the OPM reviewer was bent out of shape over the technical issues you said were irrelevant... he didnt mention any of the gripes you have.. so how can you agree with their review.. you cant - if your just agreeing with their review score then your experience with Skyrim obviously hasnt been the same as ours.. or anyone elses on the planet - your gripes all seem minor and in some cases, non-existant to me.  I probably have better memories of playing Oblivion than I do Skyrim - mainly because I played Skyrim non-stop until I finished it rather than enjoying it over a period of time... even still...Skyrim is a much better and accomplished game than Oblivion (which was also GOTY too).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 30, 2012, 02:23:13 PM
Vive la difference, as they say in Frogland. (Actually, I'm pretty sure they probably don't.) Everyone has opinions, and nobody can say certain ones are right or wrong...

Harv thinks the Wii is great, and the Wii U will be fantastic.
Ross thinks Skyrim's too samey throughout.



Of course, in this instance they're both clearly bonkers.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on August 30, 2012, 02:42:07 PM
Oh come on, every dungeon is just the same thing with a different shade of brown being the only justifiable difference each time!

I've played through nearly the whole game and felt it was an average experience, I've already told you what I liked and disliked about it, some of which you can't argue against (Such as the fact certain questlines are incredibly repetitive in their missions and structure, and dragon fights end up being made redudant because you end up having a ton of dragon souls stored up with absolutely nothing to do with them).

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 30, 2012, 03:32:13 PM
To be honest, I see where you've coming from and I partly agree with you. There is a lot of repetition in there - which is probably why I only got about half the quests done.
All games repeat after a while, though, and there's a staggering amount of stuff in Skyrim - so I maintain it's by far the best game we've seen this year and perhaps in a few years.
I played the game for weeks, maybe months, loving all the new experiences in it (despite some being slightly less new after a while) - and if you can play and thoroughly enjoy a game for weeks and weeks before you get bored with it then it's a winner. Arkham and Portal were great games, and arguably contenders for GOTY - but both were extremely limited in how much play you can get out of them. You think Skyrim got repetitive - try getting hundreds of hours out of another game without it getting repetitive. You'd have to play through the aforementioned Arkham or Portal dozens of times from start to finish, each game being largely the same as the last. Now that's repetitive.
You can perhaps argue that FIFA and COD will give you hundreds of hours of gameplay with every game being different. They're not, though - essentially they're pretty much the same every time (and certainly differ less than each dungeon and quesst in Skyrim).
Like COD and FIFA, every game of Tetris is different, but you'd struggle to convince anyone that Tetris is a varied game.

No, Skyrim definitely wins hands down, for me.
Out of interest, what game(s) do you put above it from the last year or so?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on August 30, 2012, 04:19:09 PM
I'd rank FIFA and CoD above Skyrim, though in all honesty, they're 2 extremely addictive games when you play in an online competitive environment with or against friends and, as such, never get boring for me anyway, but Skyrim obviously relies on single player immersion.

I mean, as far as single player experiences go, it's quite an indulging one, but I still think Uncharted leads the single player games market by a country mile, and also in regards to last year, Dead Space 2 was also a very good single player game.

I've actually finally started getting bored of this years CoD, but FIFA games will never bore me...I understand what you mean by how repetitive they can be, but you work within very rigid parameters that lack dynamism in single player games...No matter how many times you play out a game, or a part of it, it will always be the same experience, which is something that playing with and against other people online definitely remedies, and manages to significantly increase a games shelf-life.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 30, 2012, 04:41:44 PM
As a massive fan of COD, until the last one, I agree you get the most longevity out of that and FIFA.
As each instalment on both games is effectively the same as the last, though (let's be honest, they're more like DLC than new games), I couldn't in all conscience put either forward as game of the year. There's nothing new, no innovation.

Loved by many, yes. Hundreds of hours of multiplayer, every year, yes. Game of the year, no.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 31, 2012, 11:24:14 AM
Bethesda not sure if they'll be able to successfully port Skyrim DLC to the ps3. (http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1407614-update-on-ps3-dlc/page__pid__21469935)

Dayumn but that's gotta smart.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 31, 2012, 11:47:10 AM
Well I'd actually rank Skyrim as one of my favourite games ever - definitely top 10.. quite possibly top 5 even... so not just GOTY for me... its no suprise (to me) that you've chosen a sony exclusive as your GOTY ross.. lol... but each to their own.  The only slight issue I had with Skyrim was that the game was too easy towards the end game, but then I attribute that down to me having a bad-ass character rather than the game itself  ;)

Still thinking about downloading the Skyrim DLC.. as a rule, I dont tend to download DLC unless its heavily discounted - has anyone tried Dawnguard yet ?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on August 31, 2012, 03:50:07 PM
I never said Uncharted 3 was my GOTY, but I'll definitely say that every single player game can learn a thing or two from Uncharted...You might think I'm biased, but the Uncharted series is a masterclass in single player games and that's just a stone cold fact.

And yeah, I wouldn't say I have a "bad-ass" character...I've still literally waltzed through the game with the equipment I've managed to find...The importance of loot is lost in Skyrim because of the fact you can beat practically everything without ever needing to change your equipment...I'v wielded the Dawnbreaker which I got quit early on from a Daedric quest I accidently stumbled upon and I went all the way 100 one-armed skill with that weapon alone lol

The only times I've felt the need to change my weapon is to level my skills so I can reach level 50, even when doing this and using weapons I'm unfamilar with, I still had minimal troubles. I'd definitely consider that to be a design fault, not being able to scale your game appropriately to make sure finding new and better weapons is more rewarding is just poor design.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 31, 2012, 05:51:27 PM
Whenever playing Elder Scrolls games I always keep the use of magic to a minimum, only using it to heal. If they've made the game too easy with using melee weapons then I might give it a miss. I'm still waiting for a price drop or GOTY Edition before I get it anyway.

Edit: Hmmm...the latest on next gen specs is that Sony have gone for a GPU pushing 1.8GFLOPS and Microsoft have gone for a GPU pushing 1GFLOP. Has quite surprised me tbh as I was expecting those to be the other way around given the PS3 and 360. And we're looking at the U GPU pushing between 600-800GFLOPS with the added advantage of Nintendo's patented features, most likely more efficient algorithms.

Something strange appears to be going on with the RAM too. The U is looking like 2GB in total, with perhaps half reserved for the OS and features. The PS4 is looking like 2-4GB and the 720 a ridiculous 6-8GB, although the latter has a fair old chunk reserved for their DVR, OS and features. The silly sods are probably going to have the resource hog that is Windows 8 behind it. Daft decision imo. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 03, 2012, 09:05:49 AM
Finished Rage... far earlier than I thought too.. the third disc is only used for mulitplayer, so there was only 2 discs worth of gameplay... by the time you get the 2nd disc.. its all pretty straight-forward stuff too.. dont think I actually died once in the whole game (despite having it on hard).. it had missable achievements.. so Im happy with completing 7/10's of it achievement wise in one run...wont be playing it again though.

...moved back to Shift 2 (which I forget I hadnt finished).. its bloody awful compared to a Dirt game... handling is seriously gimped.... its just not as fun either... gonna get to level 20 (6 levels to go) and then its going back on the shelf.

...then its back on to RUSE, which Im enjoying more as Im progressing further, love strategy games.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 03, 2012, 09:37:34 AM
Started Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars back end of last week. I've had that on the shelf for about a year, now, (got it cheap, 2nd hand). I used to love the C&C games, and Dune before them, but as they progressed they ended up getting more convoluted and harder to play on a console controller. Definitely one of those franchises that's better on the pc.
So after failing one of the campaign missions several times I decided this isn't fun, just give up and move on.

Now playing Lost Odyssey. Thanks for the recommendation, Kieron. Enjoyable game so far (though it's irritating that you have a cut scene you can't skip at the start of every random battle) so this should keep me busy for a while. Hope the disks are all good. I noticed disk 1 was quite scuffed - I've not looked at the others.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 03, 2012, 02:37:54 PM
Well I did say it was a classic JRPG... including all the annoying bits, like unskippable cut-scenes before battles !!  If I remember correctly, the game does start off fairly slow for a good few hours... but once your at the end of disk 1 you'll be hooked!

Probably gonna pre-order NHL 13 this week for release next week... I need a good game to break up the crap I'll have left on my shelf from next week lol.  Shame I never got into The Witcher 2 really!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 03, 2012, 05:43:34 PM
It's the combat in JRPGs that gets on my tits, although thankfully with the likes of The Last Story and Xenoblade Chronicles recently it appears that JRPGs are finally joining the 21st Century and doing away with archaic turn-based combat. Certainly bodes well for JRPGs in the future given the overwhelming positive feedback from both reviewers and gamers. 8)

It's worth blowing the dust off and firing up your Wii to play them both late, a fine swan song for a dying console. The scale of Xenoblade Chronicles in particular is technically very impressive, have no idea how Monolith Soft managed it on hardware that weak. You've basically got a huge world with infinite draw distance. They've had to sacrifice the quality of the character models in the game to pretty much PS2 levels but the huge scale of the game world more than makes up for it. It makes the likes of Oblivion and Fallout look small. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 04, 2012, 12:12:55 PM
Black Mesa (http://blackmesasource.com/)

8 years in the making and finally its here (well Sept 14th it will be).... a fan mod for Half Life 1 - basically a complete overhaul (well the first 14/18 chapters) of HL1 using the source engine from HL2.. and its completely free! ;)

My pc is up the knackers yard at the moment.. priority to get it fixed by the weekend in preparation!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 04, 2012, 12:59:19 PM
Just picked up Assassins Creed: Revelations for £6.20 (inc. postage) from ebay... quite a bargain that.. wouldnt of got it otherwise...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 04, 2012, 01:53:29 PM
It's the combat in JRPGs that gets on my tits, although thankfully with the likes of The Last Story and Xenoblade Chronicles recently it appears that JRPGs are finally joining the 21st Century and doing away with archaic turn-based combat. Certainly bodes well for JRPGs in the future given the overwhelming positive feedback from both reviewers and gamers. 8)
It's worth blowing the dust off and firing up your Wii to play them both late, a fine swan song for a dying console. The scale of Xenoblade Chronicles in particular is technically very impressive, have no idea how Monolith Soft managed it on hardware that weak. You've basically got a huge world with infinite draw distance. They've had to sacrifice the quality of the character models in the game to pretty much PS2 levels but the huge scale of the game world more than makes up for it. It makes the likes of Oblivion and Fallout look small. :o
I don't like real time combat in my JRPGs, and I don't like the wii. So your suggestion is I should try the new real time combat JRPGs on the wii?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 04, 2012, 04:42:17 PM
Well it's said by many to be the best JRPG released this gen. You should check it out. Absolutely no idea how they managed to squeeze it all onto a Wii, it really is a technical marvel. Can't wait to see what they're going to be able to produce with hardware as powerful as the U. Should be stunning. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on September 04, 2012, 05:46:57 PM
Have you tried C&C: Red Alert 3, Late? I think it's a lot easier to play on a console than the other C&C games of this gen. Also, I've always preferred the Red Alert series for its humour and hot women. ;D

Lost Odyssey is a cracking game but when real-time combat is done right, it's awesome. There's so much more strategy involved. I guess it could be argued that with real-time combat, it's more about your skill and ability rather than your character's, which isn't really the point of a role-playing game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on September 04, 2012, 08:36:14 PM
About games being too "samey" it really depends on if you like what it is I guess. If you like something, then more of the same is good right?

I never played Assassins Creed 1, but AC2, Brotherhood and Revelations are all pretty much the same, and yet I loved all of them. My second favourite series of games now.

Another example is Uncharted, my favourite series of games, they are all pretty similar. But they are brilliant, especially the single player, I've never got so much into a game as I have with Uncharted.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 06, 2012, 08:00:32 AM
Have you tried C&C: Red Alert 3, Late? I think it's a lot easier to play on a console than the other C&C games of this gen. Also, I've always preferred the Red Alert series for its humour and hot women. ;D

This is true, C&C 3 had some really annoying missions.. I never finished it.. in fact I sold it.... however Red Alert 3 was much better.. mainly because it was easier.. but there was some quite tasty hot totty in it.. I dont think I finished that one either, but will definitely have to add it back onto the pile now I think of it.


NFS: Shift 2
Pretty much finished this now.. well I say finished.. I've reached Level 20 (highest), done all the GT races too.. theres a few achievements I would like to get before I put it back onto the shelf... but if they take too long I probably wont bother...

5/10 - technically nothing wrong with the game, its a NFS game after all.. but it sits between simulation and arcade and Im afraid there are much better simulation and arcade racers out there (Forza/Dirt).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 06, 2012, 10:35:36 AM
DLC for Trials Evolution is on the way. 400msp, 36 new tracks.
I'll probably go for that. I'm not a big fan of the "insane" difficulty tracks, but I love all the others, so I'd guess there's around 25-30 fun tracks and a handful of nightmare ones to have a go at (which are still fairly fun - the first couple of times you try them. They just get annoying if you can't complete them after 3 or 4 goes each at half an hour!).
I'm happy to pay £3 for all that.

dealspwn (http://www.dealspwn.com/trials-evolution-paid-dlc-origin-pain-113249)

____________________________________________________________________________________

I like the bird in Tiberium Wars, but she's definitely no stunner. Fans of House* will know her as Dr Cameron.
Was nice seeing Michael Ironside in there, too, following recent discussions about Total Recall.

Will keep an eye out for Red Alert 3.
Edit - ordered (ebay)



*The Hugh Laurie tv show, not the dance music genre or the domicile.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 06, 2012, 10:31:03 PM
Bugger... just realised both my hard-drives in my main pc are both dead... none of them spinning up... hence why my pc is up the knackers yard  >:(  One shows some kind of life (some minute noise can be heard from it.. and the PCB gets a bit hot)... but the other just seems dead, lifeless...

Thing is I put them in a Raid-0.. so no use just getting one working again... absolutely gutted... just lost absolutely everything.. had a lot of work on there that took me a long time to do.  Gonna open them up at the weekend, see if I can see anything that is burnt out.. possibly try the freezer trick.. but I think Im clutching at straws here...

... just bought a nice new gaming case to house everything in as well.. looks like I'll be going back down to novatech at the weekend and upgrading to some SSDs as well.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on September 06, 2012, 11:14:17 PM
I like the bird in Tiberium Wars, but she's definitely no stunner. Fans of House* will know her as Dr Cameron.
Was nice seeing Michael Ironside in there, too, following recent discussions about Total Recall.

Never realised that! She was alright, but definitely upstaged by Thirteen!

IIRC, Jenny McCarthy, Gemma Atkinson and Gina Carano (UFC fighter) are all in Red Alert. http://www.cncgames.com/redalert3_gals/RA3Girls.jpg - Some cast!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 07, 2012, 07:44:28 AM
Oh hell aye!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 07, 2012, 09:01:42 AM
Im suprised Harv hasnt picked it up either.. considering his bumming lover Tim Curry plays a massive part as one of the faction leaders... Im suprised he hasnt furiously masterbated all over it.. screw Red Alert.. harvs on Brown Alert...  ;D  ;D


 :o Erm OK, back to the hot ladies... I believe Holly Valence is in it too  :P only a very minor role though... if Red Alert 3 was an FPS - it'd of sold a shit load with the awesome cutscenes!!

Damn I want to play that game again now!!  But have just ordered NHL 13 for next week.. so maybe I wont get a chance.

Edit : Just won Dirt 3 on ebay too for £7.50 all in.. have got two pretty good bargains on ebay this week.. unusual!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 07, 2012, 12:08:34 PM
I watched Alice, a two-part miniseries, with Tim Curry in last night as it goes. Only a bit part though, also starred Kathy Bates as the Queen of Hearts. It was quite good ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 07, 2012, 06:35:28 PM
Red alert 3 received. Can't fault that service!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 08, 2012, 11:25:33 AM
Blimey, plenty of people are fapping over NSMB U now. Looks to be another Super Mario World style game...have never played the first one because of my dislike for Mario but it's certainly got people excited. Looks pretty too.

Also more news on more of the attractions in NintendoLand too, that's 7 out of 12 revealed now. The lighting in Metroid Blast looks fantastic and the game should be a blast too. Just a bit annoying that they don't have an online multiplayer component for the games, NintendoLand would have been a perfect opportunity to showcase their new online infrastructure. I know that their focus has been on asymmetric multiplayer but having a single player experience, local multiplayer experience, online multiplayer experience and a combination of local and online multiplayer experiences would be the best of all[/] worlds. They've missed a trick there imo. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on September 08, 2012, 03:40:06 PM
Most reviews of the new Mario have said its shit. It's just about collecting as many coins as possible....wow innovative.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 08, 2012, 03:59:55 PM
That's not the one I'm talking about ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on September 08, 2012, 05:57:17 PM
Oh so they're bringing out another "New" Mario? The innovative part of my comment still stands.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 08, 2012, 07:14:05 PM
Well there's only so much you can do with 2D platformers, if they innovate it too much it won't be a 2D Mario game. The advantage that the 2D and 3D Mario games have over other 2D and 3D platformers is the level design. You won't find any better.

And people keep on buying them in droves so they must be doing something right.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 10, 2012, 08:13:15 AM
Started 'Enslaved : Odyssey To The West' at the weekend.. completely different game to what I was expecting.

I was expecting an RPG, but its more of an action/adventure platformer with RPG elements in it... its all linear though, so no open world and a set path to follow with set enemies to destroy.  The story is simple but great and the relationship between the two main characters really add to it.  It runs off Unreal Engine 3, so the graphics and enivronments are quite nice and the story, graphics and voice overs are really the stand-out elements of the game.

If I had to describe the gameplay.. its like a very simplistic Prince of Persia, there are acrobatic sections - although they dont really require any skill at all compared to PoP... and the combat is very akin to PoP.. nice and simple.. X for light attack, Y for heavy attack.  As you progress through the game though, it becomes apparent that the gameplay doesnt quite match up with the other ambitions of Enslaved.. the game is mainly about getting from point A to point B and killing everything on the way.. there are boss battles and technical scenarios where you have to figure out what to do... and these do break up the gameplay somewhat.. but not enough.. after 6-7 hours playing Im beginning to get annoyed and bored of it all.. its the story thats definitely keeping me going.

Theres a few other bugbears with the game.. the camera is a tiny bit suspect at times (most of the time its ok).. and the controls definitely seem to have some kind of lag to them (which can make some battles quite annoying)... I also managed to fall through the floor of the game world at one point which meant starting the checkpoint again.. the checkpoint (auto)saves are often enough so that you never have to replay massive sections though.. so it wasnt a big issue.

For a fiver.. Im glad I got this game though, would recommend it to anyone for that price.. and definitely to anyone that liked PoP.  Will probably end up finishing it this week and will give it a score then.. at the moment its a solid 7.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 10, 2012, 10:05:21 AM
Played that just over a year ago. Way too linear but, as you say, it's playable and it tells a decent yarn. For sub-£10 it's definitely worth it.


Still enjoying Lost Odyssey - I'm now on disk two of four. I gave up watching the boring dream sequences (optional/collectable) and I'm kinda missing the usual JRPG grinding. It's possible on this, but there's no "world map" to roam/explore so you're usually pushed to the next objective. To grind you've effectively got to go backwards a bit - there's no "I'll head toward my next objective but I'll take my sweet time, explore a bit, level up a bit..."

It's got a compelling story, well-balanced characters, and turn-based combat (which of curse I love). It's perhaps clichéd but but a couple of melee/tanks in the front and a couple of magicians in the back is always a winner of course. And I love the way the immortals can learn skills from others.
The graphics are definitely the weakest part of the game, but it's nearly five years old so they're forgiveable.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 10, 2012, 01:43:50 PM
Yeah the dream stuff is pants.. I skipped all that too..

Without saying too much, you'll be able to grind as much as you like without going backwards in disc 4... you dont really need to before that, although I think I did at various points... but disc 4 is the daddy.. 'da bomb... its the one where everything happens ;)

I also loved the skill/combat/ring system.. more so than most final fantasies too!  Also the fact they called one of their characters "Ming" is just awesome lol


Edit : If you do end up finishing and enjoying Lost Odyssey.. you might want to try Blue Dragon out too.. its not as good as LO.. the story is a bit gay.. but it is another game with solid JRPG roots.. I spent a god awful time on Blue Dragon (as I 100%ed it)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 10, 2012, 02:28:37 PM
I've only gone back once so far on Lost Odyssey. Picked up some item that gives immunity to paralysis just before I encountered a big boss that likes paralysing his opponents (spooky coincidence, eh!). After failing against him a few times I went back slightly and fought a few lower beasties until one of the immortals acquired that immunity.

Will pick Blue Dragon up - you're the second person to recommend it to me this week. No rush though. After Lost Odyssey I'm planning on playing C&C Red Alert 3, then Final Fantasy XIII-2, so I'll probably want to squeeze another game or two in before playing another JRPG.

I also need to play some CoD. I've never been all that good at Call of Duty (I think my K/D ratio is usually around 0.90-1.00), and I've not played Modern Warfare 3 since about a fortnight after it came out - and barely played it in those two weeks - but I'm seriously considering getting Black Ops 2, and I don't want to be too crap at it.
I did say last Nov/Dec that I'm unlikely to buy the next COD, but it sounds very good so I'm now thinking I'll probably get it (so long as it's not too far above £30...).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 10, 2012, 03:28:53 PM
Yeah well I've tried quite a few of the JRPGS on the 360... Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey are the only ones I've really truly enjoyed.. LO is by far the best..

Infinite Undiscovery, The Last Remnant and both the Final Fantasies are a bit shit to be honest...
Undecided on Star Ocean as Im yet to really play it.
Eternal Sonata is OK.. but its not turn based combat..its also a bit gay and the voice overs are annoying... I did about 5 hours before giving up a while back.. still might go back to it, but doubtful.

Would like to give Enchanted Arms a go.. dunno if anyone has played it.. its a fairly old game... its looks alright though.
Resonance of Fate sounds OK too.. although unsure about it.

Would love to play Tales of Vesperia.. but its going for crazy prices on ebay due to a limited release over here... I think you can pick it up digitally, but its still gonna set you back 20-30 odd quid

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 11, 2012, 12:38:34 PM
Bollocks.. paid £150 for new hard-drives and my pc still doesnt work...the monitors dont seem to work anymore.. the good news is that the graphics cards definitely work as I tried them both in another setup... the bad news is that it looks like my CPU or mobo (or both) are up the duff... I reckon its the CPU.. Im gonna try cleaning it up, along with the fan and reapplying the thermal paste at the weekend.. see if that makes any difference... feels like the whole RROD thing all over again - lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 11, 2012, 06:15:07 PM
You'll be better off getting a Multimeter mate. Will show you what's got power running through it.

I'm lucky with mine because it's got status lights for all components. :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 12, 2012, 08:13:17 AM
Yeah I know.. I know its definitely either the CPU or mobo though, I've tested most other components in another setup and they all work... I dont have a spare AM2 CPU to test nor another mobo with an AM2 socket.. the mobo lights are on though but that just indicates power I think.. I suspect its the CPU contact with the heatsink because I've found before when the monitors wouldnt work.. wiggling the fan on the heatsink would sometimes make it work... but then if the CPU is too hot or somethings wrong with it, I would expect beeps from the mobo.. but not getting any.. which makes me think the mobo is dead instead.  Could try removing all the RAM, I think that forces it to beep... got a few things Im gonna try at the weekend, its just such a pain in the arse - not something I really enjoy doing.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 12, 2012, 10:51:55 AM
Have to admit I've been tempted to buy a Kinect recently...  :o 

Am borrowing my friends one tomorrow just to see if its even going to be playable where the 360 is set up.

£50 pre-owned at gamestation is not bad.. but I would only get a few games for it.. fruit ninja and kinect sports 2 being the main two I want to play... missus would appreciate the dancing shit.. but Im not that bothered about that.

When winter starts, its gonna be hard to keep up the cycling to work routine Ive got myself into in the past few months, wouldnt mind doing some light exercise at home when I cant get out on the bike and Kinect seems ideal ... it could be a complete waste of money though!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 12, 2012, 11:20:44 AM
You do right to borrow one.
I didn't fancy it at all, but was impressed when I borrowed one for a day or two. Would've bought one at that point if it weren't for the fact my front room's a bit too small. The xbox kept trying to get me to move back or sideways slightly, to get into the optimum area, but it just wasn't possible to do so.
Rumours abound that Kinect 2 will have more cameras and therefore be able to track objects much more accurately and in smaller rooms.


Speaking of rumours and the future of Kinect... I read a canny rumour about future generations of Kinect-based gameplay, yesterday. Microsoft apparently have a patent filed for something vaguely akin to a star trek "holodeck". Kinect detects where you are and what you're doing. HDTV shows the main action. Projector fills the rest of the room in with background/peripheral info. AR glasses show virtual/holographic 3d objects within the room. (None of it addresses the issue of the user hitting walls/furniture if they take a few steps in any direction, mind.)

Of course, it's just a patent and the big companies file thousands of them every year with most amounting to nothing. Nice concept though :D

(https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT86-eelvZExBWDFmYaatKzv8CEAhVf09me0WcGq4OY3t8ZWbfp_A)


patentlyapple.com (http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2012/09/microsoft-envisions-where-gaming-is-going-and-its-wild.html).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 12, 2012, 11:27:49 AM
We're years away from that patent coming to fruition but that would be awesome lol. Kinect is pretty good but the lag is a major dealbreaker for me. They should have that sorted out for Kinect 2 when the 720 is released by putting the CPU back in, but I'll be getting a U and PS4 next gen I think.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on September 12, 2012, 06:53:22 PM
Fired up skyrim for The first time in 3 months today.

Still enjoying it. Would love to crack on through the story.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 12, 2012, 08:12:56 PM
Omfg, Trine 2 on the U is looking bloody gorgeous (http://uk.ign.com/articles/2012/09/11/trine-2-enter-the-wii-u-dragon) :o

If a third party can get a game looking this good at launch I can't wait to see what the Nintendo developers are going to be capable of producing in a year or two. Same goes for ZombiU and Rayman Legends too, all 3 are looking stunning. ;D

Oops, forgot to post the link lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 12, 2012, 09:28:35 PM
Harv's seen a game he wants to shag.
Guess what platform it's on...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 12, 2012, 09:56:20 PM
Lol, its a 2d sidescroller as well, not exactly the best type of game to showcase graphical power for obvious reasons, besides which there's a plethora of them on xbla with similar type of graphics, harv limits himself too much in gaming I'm not suprised he doesn't realise that
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 12, 2012, 11:07:43 PM
Not looking as good as that, that's on a par with the PC SKU...albeit at 720p. I thought the screenies shown at E3 were of the PC SKU but it's looking like they're the U screens right from the start...although there's always the possibility that they're bullshots which will be very disappointing :-\ >:(

Another one on my ever growing list of games to buy :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 13, 2012, 08:26:10 AM
You think it going to be on par with the PC SKU when its running at 720p LOL... it looks exactly like the 360 / PS3 versions.. which are also running at 720p... the fact that a small game like this is limited to 720p on a "next-gen" console tells you all you need to know about the Wii U's capabilities  ;)

And Shadow Complex and Bastian.. two games that look equally impressive in the graphical stakes me thinks.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 13, 2012, 08:32:00 AM
Finished Enslaved last night...

I think the story loses a bit of momentum throughout the middle of the game (when you meet Piggsy)... it kinda turns from its serious roots and introduces a bit of comedy to the game.. but it finishes strongly.. and the epilogue finishes things off well... overall I enjoyed the game.. the gameplay was quite linear and simplistic.. but the story was fantastic and worth the play. 

7.5/10


Didnt realise it had chapter select.. so will possibly mop up a few achievements before consigning it back to the shelf.. wont 100% as theres one achievement that will take far too long to get... have got NHL 13, Dirt 3 and Enchanted Arms on their way now.. so no time to faff around... have bought way too many games in the last few weeks now  :-\  I feel a sale coming on again (although definitely not as many as last time!)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 13, 2012, 10:01:37 AM
The U SKU of Trine 2 looks better than the PS3 and 360 SKUs.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 13, 2012, 11:22:30 PM
BETRAYALTON (http://i.imgur.com/OJNIF.png) :o ;D ;D ;D

Lmfao :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 14, 2012, 01:38:49 AM
Didn't like Bayonetta personally, but I know a lot of folk did - and I can see how they'd be massively pissed off right now. Nintendo need exclusives that'll draw in huge swathes of punters like that, though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 14, 2012, 02:25:38 AM
Loads of people ordered the Premium SKU for £199.99 and it's being honoured by Amazon. :o Didn't get in there in time but wasn't too concerned because I didn't think they'd honour it lol. Some very lucky people out there!!! It's particularly annoying because I pre-ordered one a couple of months ago for the same price which got cancelled. >:( ;D

Am looking at getting the ZombiU bundle, you get everything in the Premium bundle, including NintendoLand, plus ZombiU and a Pro controller for £330. Still around £50 more than I was planning but sod it lol. Now I've got to decide if I'm going to pre-order it now or wait for a better deal to come along.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 14, 2012, 02:36:32 AM
Aw ffs, the Wii U is d00med (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=42090175&postcount=1) :o ;D :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 14, 2012, 08:31:57 AM
Jesus.. the uk retailers have really gone to town.. averaging £259.99 for the basic package.. and £309.99 for the premium  :o :o 
Think amazon have priced themselves £10 lower than that.. wow.. its still massively overpriced.. I said before, anything over £250 was a mistake.. even the 360 wasnt as expensive as this at launch!

It will be sold out over xmas into the new year.. wouldnt suprise me if nintendo screwed up with distribution though.. cant see it selling fast over here after the new year though.. not at that price.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 17, 2012, 08:44:56 AM
Well, tried out Kinect.. dont really have the room for 2 players in my gaff, it can be done, but its a bit squashed.. it works fine with 1 player OK though.

Downloaded Fruit Ninja and its great.. really good implementation of Kinect and apart from one spac-attack.. it worked seemlessly with players dropping in and out.. it knew exactly who everyone was.. I think its better than the phone implementation too.. harder.. but much more fun... and thats what kinect should be about... best game on Kinect (that I've played) by far...how long the game will last for.. I dont really know... but I do love Fruit Ninja  :D

Disappointed with Kinect Sports Season 2 though.. its not terribly bad, in fact its as good as the first one.. but its just.. been here.. done that.. its a bit boring at this point.. the fad of these party games is wearing thin already.. and I only played it for about 30 minutes.

Ive got the hardware for another 3 weeks before I have to give it back, so I've downloaded a few demos (Rise of Nightmares, Gunstringer and a few others)... which I will try out before then...but  in general, I dont think there arent enough games.. or rather good games to make it a definite purchase. 

Saying that though, I still might get one as £50 definitely lands itself in the easily affordable category... whether it gets used beyond the initial 1-2 months, who knows!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 17, 2012, 11:32:59 AM
Pre-ordered my Wii U over the weekend with Zavvi, £299.99 for the ZombiU bundle. Was hoping to get 5% off as a first order discount but must have ordered something off them before because I didn't get it. Hopefully I'll be able to find a better deal closer to launch though. :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 17, 2012, 12:30:52 PM
Does it include Nintendo Land? Not interested in getting a U myself, but some sites seem to indicate it's included and others seem to indicate it isn't...


Our lass set the old wii up in our front room a couple of weeks ago, and had a go on wii fit. I think she did it two days in a row, then had a day off - then another and another... You know how it is. It's now not been turned on in weeks. I played a bit of Super Monkey Ball that first day with the family, but haven't been on since.
Hate having that console sat there doing nothing, so I've made the same mistake I've made a dozen times before. I've bought a game for it. The thinking is of course, hopefully it'll get us using the machine again. The reality is usually more like we'll use it once for a couple of hours, then it'll go back to gathering dust again. Still - the game (De Blob 2) was only £4.24 (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/de-blob-2-wii-4-24-delivered-amazon-1311913), so no harm done.
Quite enjoyed the De Blob game I played on the DS. I think I might've played it on the wii, too (not sure if it was the first game or the sequel) back in that short spell where I could get backups to play on the machine.

Game arrived today, so hopefully I'll give it a look tonight. As I say, it'll inevitably be played once or twice then put aside - but at least I've given the console a go. Not sure how many chances I've given it now. And there's always the remote chance we'll love this game, get back into the wii, and then end up playing some of the stack of games that have been barely touched.
Extremely remote.


Also bought a budget game for the 360, today. "Space Marine" (aka Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine). Got so-so reviews when it came out, Sept 2011. Got to be worth a punt at £5.81 (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/space-marine-xbox360-del-amazon-for-5-81-1312770)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on September 17, 2012, 12:42:31 PM
Seems the Wii in my house has a similar life to yours Late. Got it a couple of years ago for my girlfriend to use Wii Fit (She's a little self conscious so doesn't like the gym). She used it for like the first 2 months then it started to gather dust. It got a reprieve when I brought her Just Dance 2 but again after 2 months it was neglected. I introduced her to the wonders of Gamestations pre-owned section and she brought Wario Ware and Sonic Unleashed. She played sonic once and never even opened Wario. That was probably back at the beggining of the year. It hasn't been used since.

That was £200 down the drain.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 17, 2012, 04:00:20 PM
The ZombiU bundle doesn't include Nintendo Land unfortunately but does include a Pro controller.

Haven't heard back from Amazon yet about my £199.99 pre-order they cancelled in June. I sent them the email on Saturday but thought they didn't work over the weekend so was expecting something today and no dice. This is getting daft. How long does it normally take for customer services to respond to emails..? :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 19, 2012, 10:29:55 AM
New model ps3 ("superslim") is here next week.
25% smaller and 20% lighter than the PS3 slim.

I'll wait for the ps4/nextbox, personally...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 19, 2012, 02:56:26 PM
The silly sods should have just switched to an external power supply when they released the first Slim, a really daft decision to have an internal power supply, they should have gone the same way as Microsoft and Nintendo as well as their two previous consoles. I've always preferred to have a power brick you can hide behind your telly. It means the console is smaller, needs less cooling and means that if your power supply dies you can just buy a new one rather than replacing the whole console or sending the whole console in for repair.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 19, 2012, 03:19:43 PM
Agreed.

It's not the silliest thing I've seen a console manufacturer do, though...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on September 19, 2012, 09:49:36 PM
My PS3 is running low on memory atm and it's also 3 years old now.

So I've been considering getting a new one for a while, and now the new model is here. However the reason I haven't already replaced it is because I dont't want to go and spend £250+ on a new one and then the PS4 comes out a few months later... :/

What would you guys do?

Also does anyone have any idea when Sony is planning to bring out the PS4?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 19, 2012, 10:00:12 PM
Hate the top loading dvd tray on the super slim, but it aside from that its a handsome machine - and the 500gb model can be had for £215.

No word on when the new playstation (nor xbox) will be out, but most folk expect an announcement from sony and/or microsoft in the first half of next year. Its possible we'll see one out for next xmas - but could well be 2014.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 19, 2012, 11:12:21 PM
A bit pointless buying a new console one year before the next gen effort from Sony is out. Just get yourself a cheap USB drive instead.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 19, 2012, 11:52:31 PM
...says the guy who's just ordered a new machine...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 20, 2012, 12:50:58 AM
...says the guy who's just ordered a new machine...

A new next gen machine... ;)

I wouldn't advise anyone buying a new current gen machine. The U is out in November and the PS4 and 720 are highly likely to come out around the same time next year. I really can't see the point in buying a new PS3 when your current one is working fine, it's only a full hard drive after all. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 20, 2012, 01:30:31 AM
Thas a judgement call.
The new shape ps3 is as much next gen as the U though...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on September 20, 2012, 01:53:53 AM
Over the last few months or so my PS3 has frozen a lot and I've had to manually restart it and i get the 'may be corrupted bla bla bla' so I let it do its thing and thankfully its always been ok but thats the other reason I might need a new one.

But I dont know whether the crashing is linked to the low memory or not? I mean its a 120GB and theres only about 2000MB of memory atm...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 20, 2012, 03:01:19 AM
Thas a judgement call.
The new shape ps3 is as much next gen as the U though...

Nonsense.

And stupac, can't you just delete some old save files..? :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 20, 2012, 09:06:06 AM
I mean its a 120GB and theres only about 2000MB of memory atm...

2000MB? ???  Thats pretty much 2GB... which is plenty of room for game saves etc.. if your crashing with that much space left.. sounds like your PS3 is going down the swanny...

If you mean 200MB.. then thats a whole different ball game and you should definitely be freeing space up on the hard-drive... I guess its different for PS3 users having to install all your games to the hard-drive... is there no way you can delete a few games or other bits you wont play again

PS4 wise.. I think lates right.. going on rumours and such, we are expecting it to be officially announced in the summer of next year.. and for it to arrive late 2013 or late 2014.. same with the nextbox.. personally I think the nextbox will definitely be releasing xmas 2013 though.. I cant see how microsoft or sony can go another year with the current gen - especially as hardware/software numbers are constantly falling year on year...

I'd take a punt on the super slim PS3 though.. if your current one is still working.. go and trade it in.. they will test it powers on OK.. and accept it as a part-trade - I dont know how you'll deal with a hard-drive transfer in that case though.. you might have to back everything up on your pc/external hard-drive first.. (not even sure you can do that with the PS3??).. by the time the PS4 arrives, you'll have the super slim to trade in.. and you should still get a good price for it as long as you trade in early enough... I wouldnt bother with the Wii U at launch unless your a fan of nintendo stuff.. its well overpriced.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 20, 2012, 12:18:54 PM
If you reckon there's a reasonable chance of it going tits up in the next 12 months then I'd say it's probably worth replacing. I had a similar dilemma about 10-12 months ago, when my 360 was struggling - didn't want to fork out for a replacement if the next gen is only a year or so away (there were rumours at the time that the 720 would be announced at the 2012 E3 and possibly up for sale Dec 2012). Definitely glad I did it, and now don't have the frustration and the worry every time I turn the machine on. And as Kieron mentioned - it's not completely money down the hole, as you'll recoup some if you sell/trade the old one, and you'll recoup more if you sell/trade the new one in a year or two, when the ps4 arrives.


The ps3 slim is coming down a bit more, now the superslim's been announced. 160gb version bundled with fifa 13 for £185. (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/playstation-3-160-gb-console-bundle-with-fifa-13-184-49-del-sainsbury-s-entertainment-1316217)
Of course, 160gb ain't much of a step up from 120gb. (How do you fill 120gb? Surely you could easily free up about half of that by having a bit of a clean up?)
You'd need to weigh up the pros and cons between slim and superslim, really. (Apparently the new one's noisier, because the disk drive is under just a flimsy piece of thin plastic, thanks to that horrible top-loading design. Loud enough that it's a problem though?)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on September 20, 2012, 08:11:20 PM
Yeah I did have a bit of a clearout but yeah might just have to go through and delete a load more.

Don't know if anyone else downloaded the free version of DC Universe Online but that takes a whopping 18GB!  :o But that's actually not a bad little game considering it was free. So be good to keep that if possible but will more than likely delete it at some point cos that's 1/6 of my memory lol.

Will have another clearout of games & saves tonight...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 21, 2012, 11:59:38 AM
Final Fantasy Anniversary Boxset (youtube) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12NpQD57EMA&feature=player_embedded).


Beautiful box set containing all FF games to date plus the upcoming FF:XIV.
Only available on ps3.
And only in Japan so far.
And it's an eye-watering ¥35,000 (so you're probably looking at about £350 if it comes out over here).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 21, 2012, 01:35:42 PM
Awesome!  If the collection was priced towards £100-£150 (which is all I think its worth)... and it was available in europe.. I think I'd buy a PS3 just for that!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on September 21, 2012, 01:45:15 PM
From the IGN UK FIFA 13 review;

"PlayStation Move, however, is incorporated less elegantly and less successfully. You use a Move wand to move your players around the pitch and point to where they should be passing the ball. It's difficult to pick up and having the colourful arrows used for aiming the Move controller frantically buzzing around the screen really undermines the illusion of the real game that FIFA strives towards creating."

So in essence, this whole pointer control thing for football games is crap then...Doesn't exactly sound like it's the revolutionary way to play football games as we were led to believe many times before, eh Harv?

I'll actually admit, I'm not IGN's biggest fan, but I fully see how using Move would in no way be a more efficient and immersive experience than using a standard joypad.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 21, 2012, 02:18:52 PM
Awesome!  If the collection was priced towards £100-£150 (which is all I think its worth)... and it was available in europe.. I think I'd buy a PS3 just for that!!
I assumed it was all ported to ps3 when I heard is was Playstation only, but it now seems 1-9 will be on PS1 discs, 10-12 will be PS2, and 13 will be PS3.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 21, 2012, 04:02:33 PM
From the IGN UK FIFA 13 review;

"PlayStation Move, however, is incorporated less elegantly and less successfully. You use a Move wand to move your players around the pitch and point to where they should be passing the ball. It's difficult to pick up and having the colourful arrows used for aiming the Move controller frantically buzzing around the screen really undermines the illusion of the real game that FIFA strives towards creating."

So in essence, this whole pointer control thing for football games is crap then...Doesn't exactly sound like it's the revolutionary way to play football games as we were led to believe many times before, eh Harv?

I'll actually admit, I'm not IGN's biggest fan, but I fully see how using Move would in no way be a more efficient and immersive experience than using a standard joypad.

Not sure how they've implemented it in FIFA but with Pro Evo on the Wii there's a slight learning curve but if you've ever played the game and know the fundamentals of creating space and making decent runs off the ball it's very easy to pick up. And I'd rather have lines on the screen combined with realistic football than no lines on the screen combined with unrealistic football. If you have two players playing each other, one with dual analogs and the other with pointer controls, the latter will always win due to having much more attacking options.

I'm surprised it's taken EA Sports this long to rip off the Pro Evo control scheme tbh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on September 21, 2012, 08:03:54 PM
Got my 10th platinum trophy today  8)

Also FIFA13 in 1 week!  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 22, 2012, 05:25:01 PM
...De Blob 2... arrived today, so hopefully I'll give it a look tonight. ... it'll inevitably be played once or twice then put aside - but at least I've given the console a go. Not sure how many chances I've given it now. And there's always the remote chance we'll love this game, get back into the wii, and then end up playing some of the stack of games that have been barely touched.
Bag of crap, that De Blob. I thought it was for kids and adults, but it seems it's for five year olds.
Unfortunately my kids are too old - both thought it way too babyish.

Played a bit of Super Mario Galaxy 2 while we had the machine on. Okay game - but again a bit too childish. You get what you expect from Mario, though, and it whiled away a couple of hours. Doubt it'll get played again, now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 22, 2012, 09:49:21 PM
Not sure about the sequel but the first de Blob was brilliant, but then I love jazz/funk fusion so I'm a bit biased. Thought it was great jamming along to the music by switching colours, I ended up forgetting the missions half the time lol ;D :P

I'm surprised you didn't like Super Mario Galaxy 2, you won't find a game with better level design this gen.

And a bit too childish..? What were you expecting, guns, blood, guts, swearing and tits..? :o ;D ;D ;D

It's a 3D platformer, very few of them aren't suitable for people of all ages.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 23, 2012, 12:28:05 PM
SMG2 is okay - I rate it as one of the best wii games.
I don't like linear gameplay though - you can claim fantastic level design all you want but if you don't get choices you ain't got great level design. I also don't like dodgy camera angles, low res graphics, being walked through every step of the game, or waving a controller around like a spaz.
Like I say, thiugh, definitely one of the best wii games.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 23, 2012, 08:12:11 PM
Bloody hell, I've just seen the Nintendo features of the Wii U SKU of Tekken Tag Team Tournament 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DnaLXrjQYc) :o ;D

Nintendo fans will be buying this title in droves!!! :o :o :o

I knew about the Mushroom Battle Mode but didn't know they had Nintendo character costumes too. Quite a nice touch! Namco Bandai should be laughing all the way to the bank with that one. Not getting it myself because apart from Metroid and Zelda I'm not a really big fan of Nintendo's franchises, particularly anything with Mario in it.

Edit: There was also news a couple of days ago that Nintendo have done a deal with Unity Technologies to give developers free use of the Unity Engine with every dev kit. Bloody hell, they're really serious about bringing indie developers' titles to the U's eShop. Greenhill's MULTI IDE, Havok middleware, Autodesk middleware and now the Unity Engine. And if the rumours of Nintendo only taking a 30% cut from sales are true we're going to see a flood of indie games arriving on the U's eShop. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on September 23, 2012, 11:43:04 PM
Yeh people will be buying the Wii U so they can dress Lin in a cowboy hat...Seriously do you listen to yourself talk or do you just have verbal disentry?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 24, 2012, 12:03:14 AM
You'll have Nintendo fans buying the console regardless, but you'll have those Nintendo fans attracted to  buying Tekken Tag Tournament 2 because of the Nintendo features that Namco Bandai have added to the game. I didn't say anything about it being a system seller at all. ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on September 24, 2012, 12:11:49 AM
I've played Tekken TT2 & it's awesome! Not on the Wii of course lol.

Was going to get it on release but going to wait till it drops in price.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 24, 2012, 01:06:58 AM
It's also going to be a budget title for the U as well, Zavvi have it for £27.95. Like I said, Namco Bandai are going to be laughing all the way to the bank as long as they market it properly. The Mushroom Battle Mode and Nintendo character costumes are a stroke of genius.

I'm still waiting for either Capcom or Namco Bandai to partner up for Nintendo Vs Capcom, Nintendo Vs Street Fighter or Nintendo X Tekken. The first of those in particular would be a licence to print money for both Nintendo and Capcom. A definite system seller.

Edit: Aaaaaaargh, another game on my list of games to buy!!! (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/369604/previews/scribblenauts-unlimited-playing-frankenstein-is-better-on-wii-u/?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=CVG-Previews-RSS) :o :P

I'm now looking at getting the ZombiU bundle and the following games:

FIFA 13
Black Ops 2
Rayman Legends
Assassins Creed 3
Batman Arkham City
Darksiders 2
Pikmin 3
Lego City Undercover
Scribblenaughts Unlimited
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
Aliens Colonial Marines
Ninja Gaiden 3
Rabbids Land

Not all at once of course lol :o

Probably will get FIFA 13, Black Ops, Rayman Legends and Batman Arkham City if they're all available for launch day. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 24, 2012, 02:14:28 AM
Sickener...
About fifty hours into Lost Odyssey and finished disk 3 (of 4). Put disk 4 in and it's unreadable.  >:(
Ironically it seems to be the disk with least scratches.
Gonna have to try and find somewhere with a disk repair machine. I used to use Gamestation but my nearest two closed in the last year along with my nearest Game. I'd guess blockbuster and cex probably do it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on September 24, 2012, 07:16:57 AM
Downloaded the FIFA 13 early release on Saturday because I couldn't be bothered to wait. Also, the 24 premium gold packs on offer tempted me.

Some improvements over FIFA 12. Pro clubs mode is improved, mainly due to the fact EA have made it impossible for people to hack their players to maximum stats. Some minor improvements in H2H Seasons, UT also looks better.

Also downloaded the early release for NHL 13 before it came out. Was quite fun with a few mates, making my Pro 6ft 7 and getting into fights. Not a fan of hockey though so didn't bother to buy it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 24, 2012, 08:10:48 AM
Gonna have to try and find somewhere with a disk repair machine. I used to use Gamestation but my nearest two closed in the last year along with my nearest Game. I'd guess blockbuster and cex probably do it.

Thats a bit annoying!!!... worst comes to the worst... print out a receipt and go in store.. ask for a replacement.. most stores have loads of copies of the game left... blockbuster definitely do a disk repair machine though (in my local anyway).

Also downloaded the early release for NHL 13 before it came out. Was quite fun with a few mates, making my Pro 6ft 7 and getting into fights. Not a fan of hockey though so didn't bother to buy it.

NHL 13 is great.. been playing it for the past 2 weeks now on and off.. but more so over the past week... like all the sports games.. they come into their own playing against friends and other human players... played about 20-25 games with a mate over the weekend.. all of them quite close (apart from an 8-2 pasting I gave him)....  its got so many modes though.. its gonna last me quite a long time.. got to about the middle point of a season with the Philly Flyers.. traded Zdeno Chara to my team.. the man is a hulk.. 6ft 9in, 18st.. one of the best hitters in the game and has the hardest slapshot in the world... so many goals scored from the blue line already..  ;D

They have quite a few teams from other leagues in this season (so not just NHL)... I wish they would put UK teams in though, I'd be all over that!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 24, 2012, 08:12:12 AM
Nintendo fans will be buying this title in droves!!! :o :o :o

Not getting it myself

 ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 24, 2012, 09:12:54 AM
Yeah, but Harv isn't a Nintendo fan...  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 24, 2012, 03:01:35 PM
I already mentioned that I'm not a great fan of their franchises, particularly anything to do with Mario because he's the most annoying character in video gaming history. One of, if not the best game released this gen, Super Mario Galaxy 2, I have to play in small doses before I want to throw something at my telly lol. >:( ;D

I'm a huge fan of the Zelda and Metroid franchises though. 8)

But your average Nintendo fan will be all over Tekken Tag Team Tournament 2 due to the Mushroom Battle Mode and Nintendo costumes as long as Namco Bandai market the game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 24, 2012, 03:14:08 PM
Your average nintendo fan will be too young to buy it  :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 24, 2012, 03:27:33 PM
You've made a classic and common mistake, there, in assuming Nintendo is for kids these days. It's not.
Kids have higher standards than you're crediting them with, and complain when their parents persuade them to turn on the wii.


No, Nintendo is for pensioners these days, not kids.

And they'll be all over a console that lets you put Tekken characters into Mario's overalls.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on September 24, 2012, 09:02:19 PM
Mushroom Battle mode? LOL!

I think Tekken's biggest selling point is that it is, in my opinion, the best fighting game franchise around, closely followed by Mortal Kombat. Not because you can dress the fighters up in mushroom hats lol.

Talk about turning a sophisticated fighting game into a kiddies game...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 24, 2012, 09:38:28 PM
Yup, it looked like a bit of a giggle in that trailer I linked to. I've seen a fair amount of comments on videos and posts on a few forums from people that weren't thinking about getting it until they saw that video showing Mushroom Battle Mode and the Nintendo costumes.

I really think that Nintendo and Capcom have missed a trick by not bringing Nintendo Vs Capcom to the console. It's on a shitload of people's wishlists and has been for years. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 24, 2012, 10:45:59 PM
Aye, seeing Princess Peach fight Chun-Li is the stuff of wet dreams...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on September 25, 2012, 12:41:51 AM
Aye, seeing Princess Peach fight Chun-Li is the stuff of wet dreams...

Well to be fair if they took em down the dead or alive route (massive bouncing boobs, small bikinis) then they could be onto something.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 25, 2012, 11:01:19 AM
Just pre-ordered the Limited Edition of Halo 4.. probably the last game I'll buy this year... dropping November 6th.. cant wait  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 25, 2012, 12:44:43 PM
Still quite a few I'm looking forward to this year.

28 Sep 2012 - Dead or Alive 5. Yeah, it's silly and a bit pervy, but it's a fun fighting game.
12 Oct 2012 - XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Looking forward to this immensely - moreso as the launch approaches. By all accounts it's struck the right balance between looking good and new whilst staying true to the original.
30 Oct 2012 - Assassin's Creed 3. Have played and enjoyed every Assassin's Creed game so far, but in every instance I've waited about 6-12 months and picked it up for about £15. I imagine I'll do the same again this time.
06 Nov 2012 - Halo 4. Similar to Assassin's Creed, I've played and enjoyed every Halo but usually a long while after release - will probably wait for this to drop in price.
13 Nov 2012 - CoD: Black Ops 2. Said last year that I probably won't buy COD in future, but this one looks good in terms of single player and zombies. Fingers crossed for multiplayer being good too. Fingers crossed I've not fallen for the hype and bought the same game I've bought every November for the last 7 years or so. (I suspect that'll largely be the case!)

Will probably get XCOM and COD at release, and leave the others until they drop in price a bit.
Problem with that, of course, is that there's some great games coming out around March next year (including Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, SimCity, Colonial Marines, Metal Gear...)

Also keen to pick up Sleeping Dogs some time soon. It's been out for about six weeks now, and it's price is plummeting. Will get it soon for about £15.
Tempted, too, by Darksiders 2 (came out in June) and The Walking Dead (episodic releases so far, but full game in Dec).

So many games, so little time. I'm finding I don't play as much as I used to / as much as I'd like to lately, so the backlog isn't going down.
Need to get disk 4 for Losy Odyssey soon, and I put C&C Red Alert 3 into the machine 2 days ago but haven't actually played it yet. Did enjoy the incredibly cheesy into vid, though. Some familiar faces in there, including Tim Curry (don't get excited, Harv - he wasn't in his stockings and suspenders...).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 25, 2012, 01:19:14 PM
The zombie part of Black Ops 2 also has a single player campaign too. And you can be sure that the level design will be pretty good thanks to it being a Treyarch installment.

You can't help wondering how long the Call of Duty franchise will continue to fly off shelves though, it's pretty much been done to death :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 25, 2012, 03:08:34 PM
Is zombie campaign confirmed? I heard a rumour a few days back but didn't pay much attention as I thought it unlikely.
All in all I've preferred Treyarch's games to Infinity Ward's, in recent years - but level design on the multiplayer maps is definitely not their strong point. Most of IW's multiplayer maps are a lot better.
They don't do zombies, though, so Treyarch win - and the design on the zombie levels is usually pretty good.

I feel the need, now, to rank the zombie levels. I'll ignore the "Dead Ops" arcade game.
Worst to best, then:
Call of the Dead. The idea sounded good - get some classic horror stars to voice the heroes as they fight back waves of zombies lead by George A Romero. The inception was poor, though. Romero was just irritating (and made it impossible for your group to make a relatively safe area) and the zombies came from the ground instead of through windows - which sounds fine but didn't really work.
Five. Only one exit from the start area, annoying characters (JFK etc.), and quite a long and overly complicated route to get to the good weapons/powerups.
Shi No Numa. I probably spent less time playing this than any other zombie map. To be fair, I think it had a lot of fans - but if memory serves it came out at about the same time as some other map I loved, so this one didn't get much of a look in...
Nacht Der Untotten. First ever COD zombies map, it was fantastic fun at the time - but it was small, with only a handful of weapons and very few features you see in later maps, so doesn't stand up well now.
Verrückt. I think this was the second map, and the first that was properly thought out. Introduced loads of new features, most of which continued into every map since.
Kino Der Toten. One of two maps on the Black Ops disk (along with Five - the not so good game mentioned above) it was great to see Treyarch had brought zombies back to COD, after IW had had the reins for a year. Decent map, that I think was the first to allow you to pretty much loop around the full map - so if your timing and concentration were good you could last quite a long time by circling the full map, shooting backwards at the constant crowd following you.
Shangri-La. The map itself was fun, but this took the "Easter Eggs" side of things to a whole new level. Lots of complex steps to take, and if you got through them all (I never did) you got a tasty bonus.
Der Riese. Definitely one of the greatest zombie map to date. With a relatively simple map, but introducing teleporters and the pack a punch machine, it also had a balcony which - if the team worked well together - could be defended for hours. There would be panicky moments when you'd have to dash off to get a new weapon/perk/pack-a-punch etc. but that was part of the fun. Probably the best teamwork level (at the time - it's a bit dated now).
Moon. Nazi Zombies on the Moon?! Oh hell yes! great map, with clever easter egg side quest. The astronaut feller that followed you around (like Romero in "Call of the Dead") was annoying, but that aside this was a fantastic map.
Ascension. Fantastic fun, again. The lunar landers were great, and well positioned, the steps to unlock the pack-a-punch were clever but easy to follow, and it had a couple of decent sized open areas you could run around in a circle - with the zombies naturally ending up in the middle of (so long as you were careful) - so it was possible for several players to hang out in different areas of the map, each containing and killing lots of zombies single-handedly. Definitely the best level if your team isn't working - as you can just leave them, go somewhere else, and do fine.

Look forward to seeing Nuketown Zombies*, and whatever other zombie levels they come up with in Blops2. :D


*I think that's only available if you buy a premium copy of the game, but I'm sure it'll be made available as DLC too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 26, 2012, 01:20:09 PM
Bloody hell, 2 hours worth of Kinect, 2 days in a row.. my body is bastard hurting... bruised my bloody big toe and my feet feel red raw as well... Shouldnt really be playing jumpy, stretchy, runny games in bare feet on a hardwood surface really... but hey ho.. will be doing another 2 hours tonight... some of the champion modes on Kinect Sports 1 are extremely hard.. so it might take a while.. but hopefully this will be a game I can 100%
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on September 26, 2012, 05:29:33 PM
*cue Harv's comment about Kinect's game-breaking lag*
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 26, 2012, 06:44:12 PM
I was going to say that I was the same after playing Wii Sports and The Fight Lights Out. ;)

Nintendo have announced the final list of launch titles in the US (http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/9/26/3410736/nintendo-details-the-23-games-launching-with-wii-u-on-nov-18). Quite an impressive lineup. :o

Probably have to wait for some of those over here due to localisation, bloody forrin speaking gits in Europe >:(

Edit: Well EA have completely lost what remnants of a plot they had. They've decided to release the Mass Effect Trilogy for the PS3 and 360 before Mass Effect 3 for the U, and at a cheaper price. Absolutely insane decision lol. They've had dev kits for at least 18 months, why on earth haven't they worked on a U SKU of the Mass Effect Trilogy during all this time..? Insane business decision. I can see Mass Effect 3 flopping hard on the U. :o

I could see the point if the exclusivity for the first game still held but all 3 are coming to the PS3. I'm surprised some of these decision makers in the industry are allowed out without supervision tbh lololol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 27, 2012, 09:52:17 AM
I'm sure if you ran EA it'd be a success instead of the failure it is now. It's amazing they don't know as much about game retail as you.

The imbeciles are focussing more on the consoles that have sold tens of millions rather than on the white elephant? What fools they are. They'll sell loads of copies of their game, now. Which obviously isn't what they want.
Ummm.


Sickener...
About fifty hours into Lost Odyssey and finished disk 3 (of 4). Put disk 4 in and it's unreadable.  >:(
Ironically it seems to be the disk with least scratches.
Gonna have to try and find somewhere with a disk repair machine. I used to use Gamestation but my nearest two closed in the last year along with my nearest Game. I'd guess blockbuster and cex probably do it.
Popped into my local Blockbuster yesterday, and told them the problem. They said they'll put the disk through the machine for free (I bought it second hand from blockbuster online) - but it'll have to be in a couple of weeks as they're out of polish (they'll get some next week but I'm working away for a while).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 27, 2012, 10:55:48 AM
I wouldnt call the launch lineup for the Wii U strong...

12 of them are complete pish for a start
Skylanders Giants
Transformers Prime
Wipeout 3
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
Sing Party
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper
ESPN Sports Connection
Just Dance 4
Rabbids Land
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013
Game Party Champions


From the remaining 11 - 8 of them can be bought on another console/pc (and in some cases, the Wii U versions are much worse)
Call of Duty Black Ops 2
EA Sports FIFA Soccer 13
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Darksiders 2
Assassin's Creed 3
Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition
Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
Scribblenauts Unlimited


And your left with...
New Super Mario Bros. U
Nintendo Land
ZombiU

Seeing as Nintendo Land will be bundled with the majority of consoles sold.. there are actually only 2 games actually worth paying attention too.. it comes as no shock as them 2 are what people expect to sell the most on the console too...

In total though, 2 FPS games, 1 Sports game and 0 decent driving games - not exactly what a "core" gamer would want in a launch lineup window..

Just out of interest.. what games are you buying on day 1 harv ?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 27, 2012, 11:19:45 AM
You're forgetting that the U versions will be the "definitive versions" - so good people will stop playing their ps3/360 versions and go pay £350 so they can play it on the wii instead!


Can't much disagree with your assessment of the launch line-up.
Haven't seen anything on Wipeout 3, so no idea if it's any good, but Wipeout with gyroscopic controls sounds good, tbh. The other 11 in your first list definitely look to be filler though. (Nowt wrong with that, mind - better to have a few top games plus some filler rather than just a few top games. Now all they need is a few top games...)

Of the next batch, none of those eight appeal more on the U than on the 360. Half of them will be good, but better than the 360/ps3? Nope. Definitely won't make me fork out for a new console.

Of the others:
I'm not much of a SMB fan so won't comment on that other than to say I wouldn't buy it.
Nintendo Land isn't really a complete game, but should probably prove fun for quite a while for most people who buy it. (Note that it's only bundled with the Premium pack, so I'm not whether sure "Nintendo Land will be bundled with the majority of consoles sold" is correct. I'm not sure the premium pack will outsell the base and the other bundle (ZombiU over here) combined...)
ZombiU looks very good, but the lack of multiplayer is shocking.


All in all, there's a few decent titles in there, but nothing to sell the console. And there's a few more interesting looking tiles to come later in the launch window (Wonderful 101, Colonial Marines, and Lego City Undercover) but again, nothing that'll come close to convincing me to buy it.


_________________________________________________


New zombie modes on COD sound interesting. Details here (http://www.dealspwn.com/black-ops-ii-zombies-mode-revealed-road-tripz-116269).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 27, 2012, 11:51:30 AM
Wipeout 3 = TV show Wipeout... not cool futuristic racing Wipeout  ;D hence "pish"

Scribblenauts to be fair is only available on 3DS, Wii U or the PC.. but you have to be of a certain age to appreciate Scribblenauts I think  :o

ZombiU bundle isnt available in the US.. premium pack will definitely outsell the base package at launch - always does..if nintendo had any ounce of sense they would distribute more premium than base
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 27, 2012, 12:32:06 PM
Ohhh, that Wipeout. Screw that, then.  ;D
Shame - as I say, the racer with tilt control sounds okay.


There's only two bundles in the States? Knew we had ZombiU as a third and the Japs had MH3 as third, so incorrectly assumed the Yanks would have a third version too. Premium should definitely do okay in the US, then.
Shouldn't sell well in Japan, though - the base package and the MH3 package both make more sense (and none of the bundles there include Nintendo Land).
It's a toss up over here. None of the bundles appeal, but if you were to go for one is there much appeal in the Premium version? I'd imagine demand for each of the three bundles should probably be about equal.

Meh, it's all conjecture. I just hope the console fails to sell very well and Nintendo learn to stop taking the piss with their underpowered consoles and inflated prices.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 27, 2012, 02:11:30 PM
You've forgotten about Rayman Legends too. I know for a fact that it's a system seller.

You've got 4 system sellers there: NSMB U, Nintendo Land, ZombiU and Rayman Legends.

As for EA and Mass Effect, financially they're in the shit. Have been for years. Releasing the Trilogy on the U would have been a better idea than releasing Mass Effect 3 on the U after releasing the Trilogy on the PS3 and 360 and having it priced 20 dollars more expensive than the Trilogy. How could you possibly agree with EA's thinking that doing that is a better idea than releasing the Trilogy on the U..? :o

The U is guaranteed to sell millions, the better launch/launch window games such as ZombiU, Assassins Creed 3 and Rayman Legends are guaranteed to sell millions. Bringing the Trilogy to the U should have been a no-brainer. Spreading the cost of bringing the Trilogy to a fourth platform would mean that you'd probably only need to shift 1.5m units in total to make a profit.

And regarding Ninja Gaiden 3, the PS3 and 360 SKUs were Beta versions, the U is getting the finished product lol.

And I'm getting the following:

Definite Day 1
Christmas
Launch Window Definite
Digital

Good job my betting bank keeps on increasing lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 27, 2012, 02:36:49 PM
You've forgotten about Rayman Legends too. I know for a fact that it's a system seller.
You've got 4 system sellers there: NSMB U, Nintendo Land, ZombiU and Rayman Legends.


What is your definition of a system seller?
You could argue that "Fitness Evolved 2013" is a system seller - because in a world of around seven billion people there's going to be at least one person that's buying a U because they want that. If your definition of system seller stretches as far as that then yes, Rayman Legends is definitely a system seller. There's probably at least two or three people in the world who would be buying the U mainly because they want the new Rayman game.

By most sane people's definitions, though, Rayman Legends is NOT a system seller. (I'm pretty sure none of those four games is, tbh.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 27, 2012, 02:53:23 PM
Why on earth are you getting Fifa 13 on the Wii U... not only are the controls gimped but its also missing features from the 360 and PS3 versions - most notably - all of Ultimate Team..  and Blops2 on the Wii U makes no sense either given nintendos online service...

If you were after the best gameplay you wouldnt be buying them on the Wii U.. it says a lot about the U's launch lineup that you've had to plum for 2 inferior versions of multiplatform games to start your Wii U games collection  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 27, 2012, 03:49:40 PM
The controls won't be gimped, they'll be improved for those that want to take advantage of not relying on crappy AI for off-the-ball runs. And for those that really want to put up with crappy AI you can play it like FIFA on the PS3 and 360. Yes, it is missing Ultimate Team but even so it's still a million miles better than FIFA 06 that launched with the 360. And it's going to look better graphically compared to the PS3 and 360 SKUs too.

As for Black Ops 2, again it's going to be prettier. It's going to be the first Call of Duty on a console to be in HD for starters, although I'm pretty sure it's not going to be in 1080p at 60fps as has been rumoured, unless the other SKUs are in 720p.

And how do you know what the online for the U is going to be like..? Third parties have had a fair amount of input into the system so it should be up to snuff, and Nintendo have finally ditched GameSpy so that's a major improvement already.

I'm just hoping that Treyarch are going to give us a pointer controls option.

Another Edit: Another hands-on of ZombiU from Edge, here (http://www.edge-online.com/features/hands-on-with-zombiu-is-ubisofts-zombie-thriller-a-hardcore-highlight-for-wii-us-launch/). Can't wait to play this, I'm also hoping Ubisoft are going to have an option to turn off the crosshairs, although that may make it more than insanely difficult lololol :o ;D :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 28, 2012, 02:50:50 PM
I didnt mean nintendos online service will be crap (although Im pretty sure it will be).. its just the 360/PS3 versions will have larger, online connected userbase to play multiplayer on Blops2...and never heard of someone buying a COD game to just play single player... I mean.. isnt it all about the multiplayer nowadays?

And by all accounts the Wii U controls for Fifa 13 are gimped... gamepad is made redundant due to the fact that if you try and do anything on the fly with it you have to take your hands off the controls... coupled with the fact you also have to take your eyes off the action and the menus are not built for touch controls makes it all too fiddly to be useful... but then who didnt guess that might be an issue in some games...??  Its missing features from the game like Ultimate Team and other features such as AI Curved Runs which are rumoured to be missing... it will also be the last version to be released which will again result in a smaller connected userbase for online multiplayer.. like I said, your 1st choices tell a lot about what you really think of the Wii U's launch lineup  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 28, 2012, 03:15:40 PM
You'll have plenty of people buying the U SKU of Black Ops 2, you won't have any problems finding online multiplayer opponents.

And we'll have to wait and see about FIFA, all hands-on reports I've seen have been positive.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 28, 2012, 03:30:56 PM
I can see it now. Little Billy's parents have more money than sense, and are clueless about gaming so have pre-ordered him a U.
It gets to 13th November and all of Billy's friends buy COD on the 360. Billy obviously decides not to bother getting it though - he'd rather wait a few weeks to get it on the U and cross his fingers that all his friends decide to spunk £350 to join him on the U's untested  and sparsely populated online service.



I see why his nick-name is Billy-no-mates.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 28, 2012, 05:15:52 PM
Nice. Have just got Rayman Legends for £19.95 thanks to Zavvi wanting to keep my pre-order. Was originally planning to get that around Chrimbo so may have to rearrange my day one choices now. Hopefully they're going to do some more games I want cheap too, although both games so far are Ubisoft games. Still, I'm also planning on getting Assassins Creed 3 and Rabbids Land so if I can get those discounted I'll be happy. ;D

And when did I say that Billy would be ditching his 360..? I've just said that there would be no problem finding other players online...although you may find a very small minority switching to the only HD SKU. Because of the improved eye candy you should see the U SKU getting higher review scores.

Generational fatigue has set in during this last year or so, you may find more than a few gamers wanting a new toy to play with that aren't happy with waiting another year, particularly if the likes of ZombiU and Rayman Legends get rave reviews and plenty of hype.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 28, 2012, 06:29:58 PM
So you think Billy's buying the game on two platforms?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 28, 2012, 07:58:10 PM
You might find Billy not buying the 360 SKU at all if he's suffering from generational fatigue and wants to play NSMB U, ZombiU and Rayman Legends as well as Black Ops 2 that isn't in sub-HD. Like I've said, there will be a minority of gamers fed up with having the same console for 7 years.

I've seen a few people holding back from buying Darksiders 2, Arkham City GOTY Edition and Assassins Creed 3 to play them on the U. I've also seen plenty of people that weren't considering getting a Wii U until more info on ZombiU and Rayman Legends has been made known, particularly since Ubisoft made it clear that the latter was a true exclusive rather than a timed exclusive.

Tbh I'm surprised that the CoD franchise keeps on selling so well, I'm only getting it for the U because I've stayed clear of the franchise for a couple of years. Activision aren't quite milking the franchise to the same ridiculous extent as they did with Guitar Hero but a new installment that's pretty much a carbon copy of the others every year can't keep on selling the way it has, surely..? :-\

They need to do something to shake it up a bit imo, different conflicts from the obligatory World War II and modern combat. I'd pay good money to see a huge map the size of Vietnam, an open world affair being the recreation of the Vietnam War right from the beginning. Similar to the way that MAG worked but with the added bonus of having other players on the Vietcong side laying booby traps and disguising themselves as villagers. Have players starting off as privates and then getting promoted to other ranks. But if you die, your character is dead and any skills, rank, weapons go with him, leaving you to start off as a private again. Have GIs being captured and tortured using a mini-game to see whether the other player gets important info.

I want a Vietnam War simulation, warts and all.

Or, as I mentioned before go back even further - Vikings, Saxons, Romans, Ancient Greeks, the list of wars that mankind have waged throughout history is pretty much endless, but we still get lumbered with World War II and modern combat every single fucking time :o :o :o

I'm going to quite happily play Black Ops 2 this year because I've given the last two a miss but if Activision want my money next year they're going to have to shake things up a bit.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on September 28, 2012, 09:57:36 PM
I've seen loads of people holding back from buying Assassins Credd 3 mainly due to the fact that ITS NOT OUT YET!

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 28, 2012, 10:41:51 PM
I've seen loads of people holding back from buying Assassins Credd 3 mainly due to the fact that ITS NOT OUT YET!

The U SKU is out exactly a month after the others ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 28, 2012, 11:49:29 PM
You might find Billy not buying the 360 SKU at all
You're contradicting yourself a bit (nothing new there).
I asked whether you think the hypothetical kid is going to eschew the 360 version of the game, despite all his friends having it, so that he can get the U version with it's relatively small and untested online and you said "when did I say that Billy would be ditching his 360"
But now you're saying he'll not get the 360 version.

Pick a side of the fence.
Do you think a kid who buys COD every year to play with his mates but this year has got the U on preorder is going to buy the game on the 360 or on the U?

I'll give you a clue:
Even if they both came out on the same day he'd go for the 360 version, because that's what all his mates are playing - and he wants to play with his friends.
But they don't come out on the same day. The U version will be two and a half weeks later.

...generational fatigue...
Yes, you've learned a new buzz phrase, we get it...

Billy...wants to play NSMB U, ZombiU and Rayman Legends...
Billy's my hypothetical example, and I say he's got taste and friends. So he's not that bothered about Mario or Rayman, nor about a game that's screaming for multiplayer but doesn't allow it.

...as well as Black Ops 2 that isn't in sub-HD.
Billy isn't overly concerned that the 360's Black Ops 2 has only 600-650 horizontal lines, upscaled by the console to 720 lines on his 720p HD-ready television. A full HD version of the game would not be discernibly different on his tv.

Like I've said, there will be a minority of gamers fed up with having the same console for 7 years.
Agreed - there will be some, and they will be a small minority.
If you're sick of your console there's better options than forking out £300 for a U.
Like paying around £150 for a 360 or £200 for a ps3...

I've seen a few people holding back from buying Darksiders 2, Arkham City GOTY Edition and Assassins Creed 3 to play them on the U.
People will definitely hold off buying games they want at the moment if they've committed to buying the U. It'd be stupid to buy a new console and then not use it. They need to make sure they get a few games so that the U will get some use before it ends up gathering dust.
They're not holding off buying those games because the U version will be better.
Darksiders 2 - currently £20 on the ps3 and 360, or
Darksiders 2 - likely £35 on the U - but you get a slightly faster horse, a different coloured sword, and a few other largely inconsequential bits and bobs...
If you're keen to get the game you'll have it by now. The only reason to hang on and get the U version in a couple of months (by which time it'll likely be around a tenner on the ps3/360) is if you want to pad out your collection.
Pretty much the same story with Arkham City. Everyone's played it and finished it a year ago.
The GOTY edition was ready and released half a year ago (but bosses in Europe decided to hold it back until near Christmas), and there's nothing in it that you can't already get. The gyroscopic/touchscreen additions for the U are a laughing stock, and serve as a fantastic example of how U games will get silly features added to them that make no sense and add nothing to the game, just so the novelty controller gets used.
And as Chris pointed out, nobody has held out on buying the ps3/360 versions of AC3 so they can get it on the U, because it's not out yet. And if they're massive fans of Assassin's Creed most will want it as soon as it comes out - and won't want to wait an extra month to get it on the U. Unless, as mentioned previously, they want to pad out their U collection by buying extra games for it in some attempt to justify the console purchase.

I've also seen plenty of people that weren't considering getting a Wii U until more info on ZombiU and Rayman Legends has been made known, particularly since Ubisoft made it clear that the latter was a true exclusive rather than a timed exclusive.
They're idiots, then. ZombiU doesn't have multiplayer, and Rayman is a very dated game these days. I quite enjoyed the one that came out last year (Legends? Something like that) mainly for nostalgic reasons, but it wasn't actually a very good game. The new game just makes the graphics better (on a game where high detail is pretty much superfluous) and adds a silly gamepad overwatch feature for 2 player games.
No sale.

Tbh I'm surprised that the CoD franchise keeps on selling so well, I'm only getting it for the U because I've stayed clear of the franchise for a couple of years. Activision aren't quite milking the franchise to the same ridiculous extent as they did with Guitar Hero but a new installment that's pretty much a carbon copy of the others every year can't keep on selling the way it has, surely..? :-\
Partly agree (though they milk it quite enough - it costs a bloody fortune to buy the game and all the content or subscribe to Elite).
COD (and FIFA) will continue to sell exceptionally well, though, despite not really changing massively from year to year because they're all about the online multiplayer. People love it, and will happily keep forking out for new maps etc.
Lots of people become jaded with it, eventually - but there's more new converts to these games than converts away from them, year in year out, so they'll continue to thrive for the foreseeable future.

They need to do something to shake it up a bit imo, different conflicts from the obligatory World War II and modern combat.
Like maybe having some set in the cold war, and possible some set around 13 years in the future.
Oh wait - that's exactly what Treyarch have done with the last two releases...

I'm going to quite happily play Black Ops 2 this year because I've given the last two a miss but if Activision want my money next year they're going to have to shake things up a bit.
I'm sure you'll be missed.
Except I'd imagine that this time next year you'll probably be playing "backup" games on your Nintendo so your coin won't be heading Activision's way whether you play it or not.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 29, 2012, 12:52:03 AM
Darksiders 2 on the U is going to be the definitive version. All DLC and 5 hours worth of exclusive bonus content. It's also unlikely to suffer from the framerate and screen tearing issues that the PS3 suffers from. I can see it doing pretty well, although obviously not as well as the other SKUs given their 3 month (?) head start.

Arkham City should do well, the GOTY Edition is still selling for the PS3 and 360 so I can see that selling for the U too.

The only U title that's going to struggle is Mass Effect 3, but then EA have seriously fucked up with that daft decision.

And the Rayman game you're referring to is Rayman Origins. ;) And it's quite a popular franchise, Legends should do over a million in the first few months. Nintendo and Ubisoft are going to market the crap out of both ZombiU and Rayman Legends because both titles are system sellers.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 01, 2012, 09:01:13 AM
Xbox Live Rewards (http://www.trueachievements.com/n10832/xbox-live-rewards-now-rewarding-your-gamerscore.htm) is apparently now tying in with Gamerscore.. the higher the gamer score you have, the bigger percentage rebate you get back on xbox live purchases... would be great rewarding gamers for simply gaming.. but the highest percentage you can get is 2%  ;D (for people with gamerscores above 25k) 

Tis free to sign up for it.. better than nothing.. only just though..


Was meaning to start up either AC:Rev, Dirt 3 or Enchanted Arms this weekend.. but then got sidetracked with NHL 13 and decided to go watch some real hockey instead.. so actually didnt get anytime to get stuck into something new... am getting annoyed with NHL 13 though... set the game on Rookie difficulty to start with.. and its now way too easy, I am the top goals, assists and points scorer in the whole of the NHL by miles lol... so I want to change it to Pro which I know is a big step up in terms of how hard the game gets.... but would have to start my whole "Be A Pro" career again.. why cant I change difficulty when I see fit.. stupid really.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 01, 2012, 09:21:33 AM
And the Rayman game you're referring to is Rayman Origins. ;) And it's quite a popular franchise, Legends should do over a million in the first few months. Nintendo and Ubisoft are going to market the crap out of both ZombiU and Rayman Legends because both titles are system sellers.

Do you know how many copies Rayman Origins sold across every platform in its entire lifetime.. it struggled past 1 million... and the Wii version had the lowest sales of the 3 consoles...

So on one platform in a few months, Legends will outsell Origins... ? lol.. OK.  If anyone buying a Wii U is gonna buy a platform game.. it will be NSMBU, not Legends.. Legends wont even be in the top 5 Wii U games launch games sold.. it'll do well to hit 500k imo.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 01, 2012, 09:31:45 AM
Rayman Legends is going to have a huge marketing push from both Nintendo and Ubisoft, it's going to perform much better than Origins.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 01, 2012, 10:18:01 AM
Harv's predictions of game sales is always right. I'm with him.
It'll probably best COD's multi-format sales.

Xbox Live Rewards (http://www.trueachievements.com/n10832/xbox-live-rewards-now-rewarding-your-gamerscore.htm) is apparently now tying in with Gamerscore.. the higher the gamer score you have, the bigger percentage rebate you get back on xbox live purchases... would be great rewarding gamers for simply gaming.. but the highest percentage you can get is 2%  ;D (for people with gamerscores above 25k) 

Tis free to sign up for it.. better than nothing.. only just though..
Pretty poor, that. Shouldn't moan when you're getting something for nothing, but 2% is naff. You also get a free gift on your birthday - with a value of approximately 15p. So that'll be some shite avatar item, I guess.

TBH Sony's looking more appealing to me than Microsoft lately.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 01, 2012, 10:25:20 AM
Rayman Legends is going to have a huge marketing push from both Nintendo and Ubisoft, it's going to perform much better than Origins.

Its still not going to sell as many as your suggesting...

Nintendo have said they expect to sell 10.5 million units (Wii + Wii U) before March 2013.. everyone is saying thats a major overestimate by the way... but we'll go with those figures... if you take the Wii out of the equation.. as a conservative estimate.. lets say 1.5million of those units are Wii consoles... so Nintendo expect to sell 9million Wii U consoles in 4 months.. so in its "first few months" (3).. lets say it sells 7 million consoles... its not 1 in 7 though as legends is only available at launch in europe.. so being generous.. lets say half of the Wii U consoles sold are by people who actually can buy Rayman Legends (as the console is region locked if you didnt know)...so now your down to 3.5 million consoles in the "first few months"... and thats a very generous estimate!!!

You really expect that 1 in 3.5 people will buy rayman legends...when not only is it coming out at the same time as another exclusive 2D first party platformer but loads of other titles including COD and Fifa.....you need your head checked  :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 01, 2012, 10:34:34 AM
TBH Sony's looking more appealing to me than Microsoft lately.

Sony's what.. network..??  I wouldnt see the difference to be honest.. havent gamed online for a while now... have no need or urge too... quite happy with what the 360 has offered in terms of DLC and arcade titles recently though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 01, 2012, 11:35:35 AM
TBH Sony's looking more appealing to me than Microsoft lately.

Sony's what.. network..??  I wouldnt see the difference to be honest.. havent gamed online for a while now... have no need or urge too... quite happy with what the 360 has offered in terms of DLC and arcade titles recently though.

Was rather vague, there, wasn't I! I meant their premium service. And their free one, too, to be perfectly honest.

I get pretty much nothing out of Microsoft's premium service these days. I only really ever used it for COD (occasionally other games get played online, but it's rare and usually only a couple of goes) - and as I couldn't get into the last COD I don't think I've gotten any use at all out of my Gold subscription in the last 10 or 11 months.
Whilst Playstation Plus is a bit more expensive* at least you're getting a free game from time to time - (and we're not talking some crappy indie thing - we're talking about good games here) - as well as the stuff you get from Gold (discounts/sales, etc.).

I managed to add about 20 months on to my account for £1 a month a year or two back (and already had the best part of a year on my account at that point), and there's a chance I'll get back into COD when the new one comes out next month, so I've not given serious consideration to cancelling my subs - if I did I'd get a small refund then inevitably fall in love with COD and pay through the nose for a new Gold sub.
But as I currently see things:

Free:
Microsoft you get pretty much nowt.
Sony you can play online multiplayer.
Premium:
Microsoft you can play online multiplayer and get game discounts.
Sony you can play online multiplayer, you get game discounts, and you get free full games from time to time.

Simplified, there, as it doesn't take into account other factors (numbers of people online, frequency of drop-outs, cross-game party chat, etc.) but that's the bullet points in my mind at present...


* My understanding is PS PLus is about £40 rrp but can be had for £30 if you catch a good deal, whereas MS Gold is about £40 rrp but can be had for as little as £12 if you're very lucky (but more likely around £22-£25).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 01, 2012, 12:30:48 PM
You get full free games... let your PS+ subscription drop and you lose access to them all... so you dont get games for free.. its more like a free rental for as long as you stay a PS+ subscriber.... not to bash the free game stuff.. its good.. but for me personally.. its not great.. chances are if its a game I wanted to play, I'd of already played it by the time it was available for free...

The grass is always greener though... sometimes its easy to forget everything the 360 does seemlessly through XBL..... you know you have to manually synch up all your trophies on PSN... then of course the fact you can only log into one PSN account at one time on one console, so no multi-account gaming... the lengthy firmware updates, no notification context button... no cross game chat.... always last on DLC content... theres tons of reasons that XBL is the best service out there...

...but if your just after online gaming and free games... PS+ is probably the best cost effective solution at the moment


Edit : And your pretty much right about the prices.. the main difference is that you can only buy PS+ through sony, hence why the high price tag compared to MS and why the deals on it are very few and far between.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 01, 2012, 01:08:03 PM
We'll have to wait and see. ;)

With regards to Live and PSN, Live only outshines PSN in the States in terms of value. We get bugger all for our money over here.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 01, 2012, 01:34:21 PM
Don't try dragging Nintendo into it, Harv.

The Commodore 64 had better online services than Nintendo...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 01, 2012, 04:53:05 PM
I didn't mention anything to do with Nintendo you loon :-\ ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on October 01, 2012, 05:15:40 PM
You get full free games... let your PS+ subscription drop and you lose access to them all... so you dont get games for free.. its more like a free rental for as long as you stay a PS+ subscriber.... not to bash the free game stuff.. its good.. but for me personally.. its not great.. chances are if its a game I wanted to play, I'd of already played it by the time it was available for free...

True, but you do keep the subscription for a whole year, thats plenty of time to actually play the game extensively and get the most out of it before you effectively lose it....I mean, when you consider Live is the same price JUST to play online, it's a no brainer really...I think it's criminal Xbox still charge for people to experience online gaming...Especially when you consider that online gaming is a huge component for alot of games these days.

Has noone ever seen the notion of paying £40 for a game, and then realising you need to fork out a further £40 to get the full package out of it (I know that isn't per game, but you're still paying the same price as PS3 users who can access all of the content at no additional cost, which is how it should be, imo), maybe that's just me though...

I'd buy into Playstaton Plus if they did more deals on DLC, because thats all I buy on the store...The free games are excellent, but they've usually already been out for a while and I already own them/have beaten them...You also get minis, PSN titles and now Vita titles, not to mention a whole load of other less direct perks like Avatars, early access to betas and demos, premium wallpapers, extra cloud storage, exclusive unlockables for certain games and first choice on store updates.

Call me a fanboy if you want, but like I said, no brainer for me.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 02, 2012, 04:41:41 PM
You get full free games... let your PS+ subscription drop and you lose access to them all... so you dont get games for free.. its more like a free rental for as long as you stay a PS+ subscriber....
Meh, like I say, at present I'm keeping my premium paid up and am effectively getting nothing.
If I had premium running on PS I'd regularly be given full games (whilst still on premium).
Most are a couple of years old, and a good quarter I'd probably either already have or not be interested in, but that's still a good return imho.


Speaking of... coming up in the next fortnight on ps+ are:
Hell Yeah! Wrath of Dead Rabbit
Bulletstorm
Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition

Of those, I'd play the first, I've already completed the second, and I'd play the third. Looks good to me.

As mentioned, though, I've completely disregarded lots of great stuff Gold brings to the table.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 03, 2012, 02:40:40 AM
Bloody hell, this GIF is taken from the second ZombiU Dev Diary:

(http://www.abload.de/img/a44jec.gif)

That has to be either a cutscene or pre-rendered but it's looking very pretty 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 03, 2012, 07:47:05 AM
Speaking of... coming up in the next fortnight on ps+ are:
Hell Yeah! Wrath of Dead Rabbit
Bulletstorm
Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition

Of those, I'd play the first, I've already completed the second, and I'd play the third. Looks good to me.

If it makes you feel any better.. you could probably buy all of those retail games on ebay and sell them all again for the same price 3-6 months down the line... it'd be no different than owning ps+ ... well apart from the fact you wouldnt have to pay £40 for the privilege and you can choose whatever games you want, I've been doing it with games I bought on ebay years ago and still got the same price when I sold them..

...if you had wanted to play the games, you would of done so by now.... RE is over 3 years old and bulletstorm is getting on to 2 years old... never heard of the top one but it has a 68% rating on metacritic..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 03, 2012, 08:07:04 AM
Call me a fanboy if you want, but like I said, no brainer for me.

Yeah, your right, you are a fanboy.... for someone who confesses that DLC is more important to them... you must be well annoyed when the 360 gets 90% of timed exclusiveness of DLC packages... ;D (of course the fanboy in you wont have that and spins it around to say that the 360 owners are just the "guinea pigs")

Just out of curiosity, if someone didnt game online (which is the major difference between the free and paid systems of PSN/XBL). which system would you recommend to them then... theres too much about PSN that I would find an absolute ballache.. some of which I touched on above.  PSN has improved massively since its inception, no doubt about that... so theres no longer a massive bridge between it and XBL... unfortunately its been badly designed which means that some of the stuff XBL does (cross game chat for instance) will never be able to be implemented on PSN.. and thats just life.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 03, 2012, 09:57:31 AM
I doubt there'll be many accusations of fanboyism toward me when I say Microsoft ain't got it sewn up like you think, Kieron.

Sure, they do some (most?) things much better than Sony with regard to their online services. For instance, it's hard to see how Sony don't have cross game chat. It's something Microsoft have done for what seems like forever. But if your hypothetical person doesn't do much online gaming would they get much use out of cross game chat? I'd say it's a feature mostly used by those folk who play online a lot and have friends online a lot - and if cross-game chat is something they'd either never use or would use very infrequently is it really a plus for him? It'll be easier for him to grab his mobile phone than to dig around for his headset, which he last used about a year ago...

There's a number of things Sony need to do to improve their online service and put it way ahead of Microsoft's. They're mainly little things.
Microsoft, on the other hand, only really have one thing wrong with their service - you can't play online multiplayer for free. Apart from that one thing their service is absolutely top notch.
That one thing is a very big one, though.


There's lots of great things about online-ness, but in my opinion the main two are:
Multiplayer. Sony offer that for free and Microsoft don't.
DLC. Usually comes to both, but Sony sometimes have to wait a month or so.


I might come across as a big advocate of Sony over Microsoft in the above. I'm not - I'm just countering the Microsoft argument.
To be honest I think they're about neck and neck - both have features the other really should have. Definitely ain't a no-brainer either way, as it's very easy for Microsoft fans to laugh at Sony's shortcomings and equally easy for Sony fans to laugh at Microsoft's failings...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 03, 2012, 10:35:33 AM
Well I say cross game chat... I could of used any of the essential things that PSN doesnt do...

I'd of thought the lack of being able to play with multiple accounts on one console would be a killer for you late... or for anyone that enjoys playing local multiplayer ???  That means.. you play a game under one account, all the other players have to play as a guest of your account, so they cant save their progress, data, nor get achievements or trophies... its not the end of the world for me.. but it would be a complete ballache not being able to do that... take Blops for example.. dont know if you've ever tried to play online with mutliple logged in local users... you wouldnt be able to do that on the PS3...

But stuff like this has been complained about since the inception of the PS3.. its stuff they cant fix because of the way the system has been designed... and they are not little things.. they are basic things... theres a whole host of them... I've said the gap between services is minimal now though, PSN used to be absolutely appalling...  but now there are advantages and disadvantages for both.. but if your talking free XBL vs free PSN.... i'd still rather have a top notch service without the online gaming (available at a small premium) than a 2nd rate service with online gaming as standard... but, like I said, if your after free games and free online gaming... PSN is probably the most cost-effective solution... ( although nothing beats pc online gaming  ;) )
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 03, 2012, 10:58:17 AM
Aye, not being able to log into more than one account would be frustrating (less-so now, as the kids aren't into gaming as much since they hit their teens and decided boys with stupidly scruffy hair are more interesting than COD and Sonic. But I digress - it's hard to imagine not having everyone log into their own account when playing...)

As I say, if MS let you play for free it'd be the complete package. But it's easy to see why they charge. People will pay - and it'd a bloody ridiculous business decision to give away for free something that you currently earn hundreds of millions a year from. (Guess based on around 15m paying subscribers, each paying around £30pa, which would come to around £450m per annum. No idea if 15m paying subscribers is about right, though.) You don't get rich by saying no to half a billion pounds a year.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on October 03, 2012, 02:59:39 PM
Yeah, your right, you are a fanboy.... for someone who confesses that DLC is more important to them... you must be well annoyed when the 360 gets 90% of timed exclusiveness of DLC packages... ;D (of course the fanboy in you wont have that and spins it around to say that the 360 owners are just the "guinea pigs")

Nope, I rarely buy day one DLC, and I'm more than happy to wait for the limited stuff...Although the Guinea pig argument works for me too, given the fact that 90% of it is also Bethesdas broken shit that later gets fixed for PS3 release... ;D Even still, you don't get enough exclusive content for £40 a year, especially given the fact you still pay the same price for it.

Just out of curiosity, if someone didnt game online (which is the major difference between the free and paid systems of PSN/XBL). which system would you recommend to them then... theres too much about PSN that I would find an absolute ballache.. some of which I touched on above.  PSN has improved massively since its inception, no doubt about that... so theres no longer a massive bridge between it and XBL... unfortunately its been badly designed which means that some of the stuff XBL does (cross game chat for instance) will never be able to be implemented on PSN.. and thats just life.

What's hard to grasp about the PSN exactly? Also, if someone didn't game online, then what use would cross game chat be to them...?

I've never had an issue with the X-Media Bar, sure it has it down sides...Trophies don;t auto-sync, it can be a little bit sluggish to load sometimes, but nothing that gives me a niggling doubt I'd get a better service from Live for £40 a year...I can game online, I can see what my mates are doing, I can access Netflix, 4OD, iPlayer etc, I can see the store etc etc.

What does Live do differently from the PSN to justify the price tag? The spin that live is better is just an old age excuse for Xbox users to justify having to pay for it...They both have their upsides and downsides, just like anything in life would, but they all (more or less) have the same basic functions and products/services...It's just important to point out you can get alot of these without the Gold membership, but as soon as you want to go online, you have to fork out even more money for it.

Online gaming is becoming increasingly more important in this day and age, it's criminal for online gaming to still be charged for...Especially when you consider all of these services that you preach Live do better can be accessed with Silver membership anyway.

What if someone wanted to play online, but only played something like CoD or FIFA with mates every now and again? Is there no "pay as you play" alternative or anything, for people who just want to play online with mates at a long distance every once in a while? (I'm guessing not, given the fact you haven't renewed your gold membership...)

That in itself is a massive downside, imo...Not being able to play whenever you want unless you buy into a full years worth of subscription, even though you might just might want the odd FIFA/CoD/whatever session every now and again...It actually makes me realise how amazing it is to just whack my PS3 on, be automatically signed onto the PSN and just game online to my hearts content without even having to remotely think about any sort of costs.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 03, 2012, 03:58:51 PM
I dont pay anything for the privilege of exclusive DLC ross...  ;D  They are available to download for free and paying members, usually at the same time too... god how long did you wait for the exclusive GTA content... over a year wasnt it ??  I downloaded the first part on a deal way before it even appeared on PSN!!  ;D

And considering theres only a handful of the 100s of games Ive owned that I have actually wanted to play online.. that setup suits me fine... I understand thats down to my personal preference... if I was "that" bothered about having to have free online gaming.. then prehaps I would look elsewhere... but a good proportion of games I have bought purely for online play, I bought on the pc anyway.. L4D, Battlefield, Conan, etc...so there is no need for me to look elsewhere.

And if your going to quote me, then at least answer the question... if someone didnt want to game online.. how is PSN any better than Live.. its not.. its significantly worse... heres a few major differences for you to gnaw over..

1).  Better DLC content/options
2).  Dont need to synch achievements manually
3).  Multi-profile Log-ins
4).  Notification context button - one press takes you straight to what you want.
5).  All features are as standard on live.. i.e. achievements in every game.
6).  Better developer support.. do I need to point you out how long Skyrim took to fix via PSN.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 03, 2012, 04:21:22 PM
Nothing to do with the design of PSN with regards to cross-game chat. It's a hardware issue due to the PS3 having a split pool of RAM combined with the SDK making memory allocation and deallocation a major pain in the arse. There simply aren't enough resources to have cross-game chat without a significant drop in performance.

Anyway, we're in the second decade of the second millennium, cross-game chat is soooooo last gen, man. It's all about cross-game video chat these days...although I doubt Nintendo will have that for the Nintendo Network due to them worrying about pervs waving their cocks at unsuspecting innocents lol :o ;D

When Sony clone the GamePad for the PS4 expect them to implement it and for Microsoft to implement it with Kinect 2.0. Having a camera in the controller rather than having the camera on your telly would be a better solution imo, it's more old-school in terms of it being more of a video phone, it would be more personal imo.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on October 03, 2012, 04:27:57 PM
1).  Better DLC content/options

In what regard? As far as I'm aware, we get the exact same DLC as you do for multi-platform titles...

2).  Dont need to synch achievements manually

I've already pointed that out as a PSN fault, it isn't exactly game breaking though...It takes about 5 seconds at a very maximum.

3).  Multi-profile Log-ins

You can actually do this with some games...Portal did it, and do does FIFA...It isn't an option that exists for everything, no, but I don't see how it's a huge negative though...Local co-op isn't the sort of thing you do regulary if you have mates with their own consoles and games.

4).  Notification context button - one press takes you straight to what you want.

Not sure what this means.

5).  All features are as standard on live.. i.e. achievements in every game.

Trophies haven't been around as long as achievements, but they've been mandatory in games in since Jan 2009, so that's largely irrelevant now.

6).  Better developer support.. do I need to point you out how long Skyrim took to fix via PSN

One example doesn't prove your point...Also, it's Bethesda, they've been shitting on the Playstation since time itself began...I wouldn't give two shits if they dropped off the face of the earth tomorrow, their games aren't good enough for me to care if they stopped developing on the PS...Even still, that's equalised by the fact the Playstation first party titles are much superior to the Xbox these day...Especially with All Star Battle Royale, LBP Karting and The Last of Us coming out soon as new first party IP's.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 03, 2012, 04:50:27 PM
I'm pretty sure trophies have been mandatory since 2008, not 2009, but otherwise everything that he said ^^

Another GIF from the ZombiU Developer Diary part 2:

(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-QjmNP_Xb_v0/UGt7Ahe3cbI/AAAAAAAAAFM/n_u5BaCXPYg/s504/gifetrbt.gif)

This one is definitely in-game. The lighting, scale and level of detail is very impressive, it's really starting to look like a next gen title now. I can see it being the Condemned equivalent of the 360 launch. Full Developer Diary Part 2 can be found here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R21GztGJUbI&feature=g-all-u). Gives a little background on the story, I quite like games, telly programmes and films based on real life people.

Just in case Dr Dee was right I'm going to buy myself a cricket bat and stock up on tinned food lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on October 03, 2012, 08:19:35 PM
Let's be serious here.

The Wii is the best...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 04, 2012, 10:24:42 AM
In what regard? As far as I'm aware, we get the exact same DLC as you do for multi-platform titles...
Like I said, exclusive timed DLC, I dont pay any money towards XBL at the moment and still have access to it earlier than PS3 users - still no Dawnguard I see  ;)  ;D

You can actually do this with some games...Portal did it, and do does FIFA...It isn't an option that exists for everything, no, but I don't see how it's a huge negative though...Local co-op isn't the sort of thing you do regulary if you have mates with their own consoles and games.
Its stupid of sony to make the feature game specific though.. local co-op isn't just between mates either.. how about families who have one family console - like I said, not the end of the world for me, but a pain in the arse as I sometimes play games with my girlfriend, mates and family and have profiles on my console for each of them.

Not sure what this means.
It means, as soon as I get a message pop up, or a game invite, or an achievement pop.. or whatever sort of notification pops up on the screen, I can go to the specific screen with one button press on the controller.. as far as Im aware, PS3 users have to piss around and navigate to that stuff themselves...just another userability irritant.

Trophies haven't been around as long as achievements, but they've been mandatory in games in since Jan 2009, so that's largely irrelevant now.
Sounds worse when you say 2 years worth of games without trophies though.. and any patched ones required a whole game replay.  Suprised it took sony 3 years to realise that a gamerscore was important.

One example doesn't prove your point...Also, it's Bethesda, they've been shitting on the Playstation since time itself began...I wouldn't give two shits if they dropped off the face of the earth tomorrow, their games aren't good enough for me to care if they stopped developing on the PS...Even still, that's equalised by the fact the Playstation first party titles are much superior to the Xbox these day...Especially with All Star Battle Royale, LBP Karting and The Last of Us coming out soon as new first party IP's.
Plenty of examples, valve, activision, bethesda, rockstar.. all favoured XBL over PSN in the past or currently - and you dont get too much bigger than those developers.. Im quite happy with Halo 4, new Gears of War and possibly XCom all coming out soon... the first two games you listed sound like rip offs of SSBB and Mario Kart.. lol.. you have fun with that.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 04, 2012, 11:51:51 AM
Bloody hell, didnt realise Resident Evil 6 was that bad.. its got terrible reviews so far.. averaging 66 on metacritic!!!  :o  :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 04, 2012, 01:53:17 PM
Yup, and it's quite a surprise too. Capcom took a step in the right direction with Revelations, although there was still a little too much emphasis on action rather than survival horror for my liking. But I just assumed that Resident Evil 6 was going to follow suit. A daft decision imo.

A bit sad that a new IP from Ubisoft is going to be more 'Resident Evil' than the last 3 Resident Evils tbh. :-\

Resident Evil used to be about scares, used to be about facing insurmountable odds with bugger all ammo meaning you had to make every shot count. The Resident Evil franchise started to die with Resident Evil 4 imo.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on October 05, 2012, 03:41:49 PM
Like I said, exclusive timed DLC, I dont pay any money towards XBL at the moment and still have access to it earlier than PS3 users - still no Dawnguard I see  ;)  ;D

As previously mentioned, I couldn't care less about Skyrim, or Bethesda for that matter...The only DLC I wish we ever had earlier was the GTA4 DLC, hardly enough to justify the extra £40 though, at which point I picked up the disc collection for way less than that anyway...;)

Its stupid of sony to make the feature game specific though.. local co-op isn't just between mates either.. how about families who have one family console - like I said, not the end of the world for me, but a pain in the arse as I sometimes play games with my girlfriend, mates and family and have profiles on my console for each of them.

Maybe, but then again, I never play local co-op, and I'd be willing to bet the vast majority don't either...It's a pretty insignificant complaint given the fact that alot of games simply aren't suited to local co-op anyway these days...Have you tried to play any split-screen shooter recently? It's horrible.

It means, as soon as I get a message pop up, or a game invite, or an achievement pop.. or whatever sort of notification pops up on the screen, I can go to the specific screen with one button press on the controller.. as far as Im aware, PS3 users have to piss around and navigate to that stuff themselves...just another userability irritant.

The only notifcations you get on the PS3 is when someone comes online/goes offline or whenever a trophy pops...1 click of the PS3 button on the controller instantly brings up your friends list, and if you want to see the trophy you just unlocked, you just move over to the trophy collection and it's displayed at the top...Hardly what I'd call "userability irritant".

Sounds worse when you say 2 years worth of games without trophies though.. and any patched ones required a whole game replay.  Suprised it took sony 3 years to realise that a gamerscore was important.

Patched games didn't always require a whole replay, there were some retroactive games too, but we're talking about now, trophies have been mandatory for almost 4 years (They were introduced in July 2008, Harv, but only made mandatory by Sony in January 2009 ;)) and they feature in over 1000 games as of writing...Hardly a legitimate argument against them anymore.

Plenty of examples, valve, activision, bethesda, rockstar.. all favoured XBL over PSN in the past or currently - and you dont get too much bigger than those developers.. Im quite happy with Halo 4, new Gears of War and possibly XCom all coming out soon... the first two games you listed sound like rip offs of SSBB and Mario Kart.. lol.. you have fun with that.

They haven't favoured XBL at all...They've been bought out by Microsoft to provide exclusive content or premium content...Aside maybe Valve, but their hatred towards the Playstation isn't exactly a best kept secret, is it?

And of course, those are just new IP's shortly coming out...Playstation still has Uncharted, Resistance, Killzone, Motorstorm, LittleBig Planet, Gran Turismo, Twisted Metal, Heavy Rain, God of War, Infamous, Ratchet and Clank, Metal Gear Solid (I'm sure theres a few I've missed out too)...All critically acclaimed AAA titles that Sony will no doubt keep revisiting at some point because they're such top quality titles...On top of those 3 I mentioned, the old "PS3 has no good games" argument is well and truly dead in the water....and I can play them all online to my hearts content  ;) ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 05, 2012, 04:08:44 PM
I have to agree with Ross regarding exclusives, nowhere near as much commercial value as Nintendo's first party exclusives but they piss all over those available to Microsoft...although Microsoft do have the disadvantage of being relative n00bs to gaming.

And the trophy system, for me personally, is more addictive than the achievement system thanks to it being level-based rather than score-based. If Nintendo have an ounce of sense, given the popularity of RPGs in Japan especially, they'll adopt a similar level-based system for accomplishments.

We also have no clue what they're going to do with Friend Codes either, a while back Reggie said we'd see Friend Codes for the Nintendo Network but we've seen OctoG123 as a username in the very first trailer for the U and we've seen Friends having usernames in demos of ZombiU too. Perhaps they've decided that Friend Codes will be user-defined alphanumeric codes..? If so then it would make more sense to ditch the negative connotations with the name 'Friend Code' and call them Nintendo Network Usernames instead. Very odd imo :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 08, 2012, 08:20:21 AM
Well Ross' response was a typical fanboy response.. and to be honest, I really cant be bothered to dissect and discuss it further... at the end of the day, Ross would buy an empty cereal box from Sony if they called it a console and slapped a £400 price mark on it...  ;D  For someone who advocates that £40 for a new game is not a "rip-off" and buys the most expensive consoles - and then to baulk at £3.44 (max) per month... for me, that just doesnt add up.  Besides which, everything I had put across only requires a silver membership of XBL.. I get all those benefits and I havent paid a bean for the last 3 months now... something ross seems unable to grasp.

And Im afraid your arguments hold no salt either harv because a) you dont play online very often, b) you have no friends to play online with, c) you have no taste in gaming and d) you are the stingiest person around...  why the hell would you want a XBL subscription - it would go unused.  Nobody was arguing about exclusives anyway... ross brought that up because deep down he knows that XBL is still the better service.. and doesnt want to be seen as having an inferior console.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on October 08, 2012, 12:20:25 PM
Well Ross' response was a typical fanboy response.. and to be honest, I really cant be bothered to dissect and discuss it further... at the end of the day, Ross would buy an empty cereal box from Sony if they called it a console and slapped a £400 price mark on it...  ;D  For someone who advocates that £40 for a new game is not a "rip-off" and buys the most expensive consoles - and then to baulk at £3.44 (max) per month... for me, that just doesnt add up.  Besides which, everything I had put across only requires a silver membership of XBL.. I get all those benefits and I havent paid a bean for the last 3 months now... something ross seems unable to grasp.

So why do you baulk at £3.44 a month then? You have plenty of games with online functionality...It can't be that worth it if you decide never to renew yourself... ::)

This argument also related to why Gold membership was worth it, and why I should pay £40 a year for a service, instead of my free one at the moment...Why have you argued the points that are free of charge then? You're saying that everything you've told me comes with silver memebership, which has no charge, Yet you were meant to justify to me what made XBL worth the cost....? I think it's you that's failing to grasp this argument here... Lol.

So yet again, I ask the question, what are the features that cost £40 a year that make XBL a better service, and actually worth the £40? (IE, not the free stuff that you've just allegedly been arguing for.) Because if the only difference between Silver and Gold IS the fact you get access to online features with gold, then you've totally lost this argument lol

Also, yeah the PS3 was expensive, but let's not fail to point out the various additional costs an Xbox comes with if you want to get the most out of it...At least the PS has no strings attached.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 08, 2012, 02:14:27 PM
God you can be a wally sometimes...  ;D ::)

First of all, I've been a gold member since I've had my 360 up to a few months ago, so thats nearly 6 years of full payments I've made... thats hardly me baulking at £3.44 is it.  You've also had a PS3 since launch.. and you've been a staunch supporter of free online gaming since then - if anyones baulking at such a small amount for online gaming.. its you.

Plus I've already said I cant be bothered to discuss this any further with someone as biased as you, lets just leave it as, I think the XBL service is better.. you think the PSN service better...thats the end of it as far as Im concerned.  And if you want to take that as me admitting defeat, please do, if it makes you feel better about your console  ::)  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 08, 2012, 04:17:33 PM
Have started playing Darksiders again, this time on Normal difficulty rather than Apocalyptic difficulty that I got stuck on before. Am planning on getting the U SKU of Darksiders 2 at launch, a game that's the bastard child of Zelda and God of War has to be purchased ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on October 08, 2012, 04:23:47 PM
God you can be a wally sometimes...  ;D ::)

First of all, I've been a gold member since I've had my 360 up to a few months ago, so thats nearly 6 years of full payments I've made... thats hardly me baulking at £3.44 is it.  You've also had a PS3 since launch.. and you've been a staunch supporter of free online gaming since then - if anyones baulking at such a small amount for online gaming.. its you.

Noticed you ignored my question then, which doesn't suprise me whatsoever...I'll quote myself, just incase you actually do ever want to answer it ;)

So yet again, I ask the question, what are the features that cost £40 a year that make XBL a better service, and actually worth the £40? (IE, not the free stuff that you've just allegedly been arguing for.) Because if the only difference between Silver and Gold IS the fact you get access to online features with gold, then you've totally lost this argument lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on October 08, 2012, 06:48:41 PM
Out of interest, who pays £40 a year for XBL?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 08, 2012, 07:38:59 PM
Nobody that I know lol.

Rayman Legends has been delayed until Q1 next year >:( Bollocks >:( >:( >:( :'(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 08, 2012, 11:22:56 PM
Have started playing Darksiders again, this time on Normal difficulty rather than Apocalyptic difficulty that I got stuck on before. Am planning on getting the U SKU of Darksiders 2 at launch, a game that's the bastard child of Zelda and God of War has to be purchased ;D
I need to get Darksiders 2 played. I put it in the machine a few nights back, but was very tired and fell asleep during the intro.
Next day I got the urge to play COD Zombies, so took DS2 out of the machine again and put Blops in - and have been playing it since.
If I'm going to play COD I should really switch to MW3. I've barely played that game. Just don't want to be too rusty when the new one comes out...


Out of interest, who pays £40 a year for XBL?
To be honest, there's probably quite a lot. Link. (http://www.kgbanswers.com/how-many-retards-r-there-in-the-world/4190856)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 09, 2012, 07:52:12 AM
Got to give the Kinect back to my mate on Thursday, so ordered the Kinect Sports double pack for £20 and going down CEX at the weekend to buy one for £50.. to be honest, apart from Kinect Sports, Kinect Adventures, Fruit Ninja and maybe the fitness evolved game.. I doubt I'll buy anything else for it - I tried Rise of Nightmares.. and whilst theres a really good game under there somewhere, the control scheme did my head in - its like House of the Dead.. but not on rails.. and only melee weapons instead of guns...thats the good part.. when it comes to physically walking and turning in the game... thats where the problems lay - you could probably get used to it.. but im not willing to give it a chance.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 09, 2012, 08:04:11 AM
Rayman Legends has been delayed until Q1 next year >:( Bollocks >:( >:( >:( :'(

LOL.. that launch lineup looking pretty crap again all of a sudden??  I reckon its because they didnt want to release alongside another 2D platformer.. one that would blitz their sales.. its probably a wise decision by ubisoft.. but I still reckon it'll be hard pushed to hit a million sales.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 09, 2012, 09:20:19 AM
It's still a launch window title, and it still has the most impressive launch/launch window lineup seen so far imo. And not just my opinion either.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 09, 2012, 10:08:13 AM
Thats what you said about the 3DS line-up too... and it bombed and forced nintendo to slash its price in the first 6 months!!  ;D ;D

So we've had the 3DS and PSV bomb because of high launch prices and crappy games....and you think the Wii U wont bomb because.. ?? 

The only thing going for the Wii U was the incredible success of the Wii.. its got an over-inflated launch price and apart from two games.. the rest of the launch games are pants or ports.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 09, 2012, 03:21:18 PM
All new console launches have previous gen ports, some untouched and some enhanced.

The U is going to have the definitive versions of several titles - Black Ops 2, Ninja Gaiden 3, Darksiders 2, Assassins Creed 3, Arkham City, Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Trine 2, Just Dance 4 and Aliens Colonial Marines. Some of those are late ports but they are all an improvement on their PS3/360 counterparts in one way or another whether it's improved graphics, DLC included, extra content or improved gameplay.

It also has some stellar exclusives - NSMB U, ZombiU, Rayman Legends, Pikmin 3, Lego City Undercover, Wii Fit U, Scribblenaughts Unlimited, Monster Hunter 3G Ultimate, Sing Party, The Wonderful 101, Nano Assault Neo and Little Inferno.

I've never seen a better console launch in all my years of gaming, and I've been gaming since the 70s. Certainly pisses all over the 360 and PS3 launches.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on October 09, 2012, 03:31:29 PM
I'm assuming you meant to say "pisses all over the 360/PS3 launch line-up if you're a Nintendo fan boy who no longer wishes to play real games"
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 09, 2012, 04:33:17 PM
The PS3 and 360 launch lineups were abysmal, launch lineups normally are - but the lineup for the U is outstanding. This isn't just my opinion, the gaming media have also been impressed so far.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 09, 2012, 07:35:40 PM
Got to give the Kinect back to my mate on Thursday, so ordered the Kinect Sports double pack for £20 and going down CEX at the weekend to buy one for £50.. to be honest, apart from Kinect Sports, Kinect Adventures, Fruit Ninja and maybe the fitness evolved game.. I doubt I'll buy anything else for it - I tried Rise of Nightmares.. and whilst theres a really good game under there somewhere, the control scheme did my head in - its like House of the Dead.. but not on rails.. and only melee weapons instead of guns...thats the good part.. when it comes to physically walking and turning in the game... thats where the problems lay - you could probably get used to it.. but im not willing to give it a chance.

Immaculate timing...
Cex have just reduced them to £40 (without psu)

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/kinect-for-xbox-360-no-psu-now-just-40-cex-store-42-50-delivered-1331834
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on October 10, 2012, 02:41:14 AM
FIFA 13 is a pile of shit compared to FIFA 12  ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 10, 2012, 02:47:19 AM
What's the difference..?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 10, 2012, 07:53:08 AM
Immaculate timing...
Cex have just reduced them to £40 (without psu)

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/kinect-for-xbox-360-no-psu-now-just-40-cex-store-42-50-delivered-1331834

Yeah I need a PSU.. did have a slim from cokezone but I sold it..  would rather buy all of Kinect components from same place as well rather than getting the PSU from ebay...cheers for the link though.


The PS3 and 360 launch lineups were abysmal, launch lineups normally are - but the lineup for the U is outstanding. This isn't just my opinion, the gaming media have also been impressed so far.

How was the 360 lineup shit.. it was aimed at mature gamers..
5 FPS games
6 Sport games
2 (mature) Driving games

compare to the Wii U lineup - which dont forget has quite a few more games launching than the 360 did...
2 FPS games
1 Sport game
1 (babyish) Driving game

Whats funny is that your going to pick up the 2 FPS games and 1 sport game on the Wii U - thus showing your true colours... a gamer having to "make do" with nintendos mature offerings... and you'll be in the same situation for as long as you limit your gaming to the Wii U  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 10, 2012, 11:37:27 AM
D'oh. Was sure you had a slim.


ps1 is a contender for best launch line-up, for me - despite the fact it didn't actually have many games and most of them weren't very good!
Sounds batty when you put it like that.  ;D

But it had Wipeout, which at the time wasn't just good - it was so fast, vibrant, and fun it completely blew my mind. Best launch title ever.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 10, 2012, 12:48:08 PM
And it had Ridge Racer too.. I played that until my hands bled!!

For me I'd probably say the Original Xbox.. Halo, PGR, Jet Set Radio, Oddworld and DOA3 - all exclusives and non of them ports.. a brilliant set of games, plus you had tons of sports games and a few other decent games too.... I still have Halo and JSRF floating around somewhere  ;D

I'd say the Gamecube had the worst launch.. followed closely by the DS  (this is discounting the ridiculous Saturn launch)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on October 10, 2012, 03:00:19 PM
FIFA 13 is a pile of shit compared to FIFA 12  ::)

How? I think it's better in every way, shape and form...You're not one of these people complaining about the first touch mechanism, because it means you can't trap a 90 yard long pass dead anymore, and use a player with 90+ pace to score goals, are you?  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on October 10, 2012, 08:21:33 PM
It's just the same game with updated transfers. Haven't brought a FIFA since FIFA 10
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 11, 2012, 09:35:46 AM
I have alternated between buying a Fifa game and an NHL game each year for the past 4 years now..this year its NHL 13 (so no fifa).. and its far superior to NHL 11.. the Be A Pro mode has been vastly improved for instance... I also found Fifa 12 to be more enjoyable than Fifa 10 too...

..so whilst there may not be massive improvements per year...your wrong.. on all accounts.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on October 11, 2012, 12:26:38 PM
It's just the same game with updated transfers. Haven't brought a FIFA since FIFA 10

Not quite, I'd go into detail about the new Skill games, the new first touch mechanism, the new dynamic menus, the new pros season mode, the new MatchDay Live, the new FIFA points catalogue and the abundance of touches to various modes but you obviously wouldn't get it, and would still insist it's the same thing year after year, just like every single person who hasn't played a FIFA game since 1972..Because you'rre clearly the best judge of how much a FIFA game has changed over the years ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on October 11, 2012, 12:48:20 PM
Wow...why don't you marry FIFA if you love it so much....touchy!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on October 11, 2012, 01:57:51 PM
Not really, just does my head in when people who haven't played a FIFA since the Bronze Age think they have a better qualified judgement on what changes each year over someone whose bought it on an annual basis for god knows how many years.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 11, 2012, 02:44:11 PM
Well I'll be getting it for the U on launch day, won't have Ultimate Team but it'll have improved graphics compared to the other SKUs and will have improved functionality for free kicks, shooting, direct control of off-the-ball runs and Manager Mode thanks to the new controller. Going to be interesting to see how it compares to Pro Evo using the touchscreen instead of pointer controls, I can't see it being as good but I guess I should keep an open mind.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 11, 2012, 03:53:36 PM
Well I'll be getting it for the U on launch day, won't have Ultimate Team but it'll have improved graphics compared to the other SKUs

What happened to your gameplay over graphics mantra? LOL

and will have improved functionality for free kicks, shooting, direct control of off-the-ball runs and Manager Mode thanks to the new controller.

And I've already told you, the motion controls are gimped in the game, the setpieces are apparently too hard...and unless you have someone making the runs for you, the off-the-ball runs dont work.. and if you have someone else there, why the fuck would you play single player... cant believe you think the gamepad will make the game better LOL... even EA have basically confirmed that the Wii U edition is the "casual" version of the game because of the gamepad....

Quote from: Matt Prior - Fifa Producer talking about Fifa 13 on the Wii U
It remains to be seen if they will make the switch, but the system on its own is going to open up the world of “FIFA” to a lot more casual gamers, potentially. We know that there are a lot of people out there who love soccer but are a bit hesitant to get into “FIFA” because they’re not gamers, and they’re intimidated by the controls and all the buttons. But what the Wii U does, it enables us to embrace those fans because the touch screen is such a universal device now, people aren’t scared by touch screens. So that allows people a way into “FIFA,” because now dad, who might not be a twitch gamer, can sit back and control the game with the touch screen. So I’m hoping the Wii U brings a lot of new people to “FIFA” who might have been scared off before
Link (http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/tech/post/_/id/2261/fifa-13-caters-to-all-gamers-on-wii-u)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on October 11, 2012, 04:09:30 PM
Not to mention theres still absolutely no way it'll convert FIFA fans to changing consoles...It's been a massive seller on the PS/Xbox for years this gen...Out of all of the people who have already bought FIFA 13 for the PS/Xbox (which is practically everyone), whose gonna buy it on U??

The absence of Ultimate Team is a crushing blow to the U port aswell, that is practically FIFA for many people these days, and theres no way they'd touch a U version without it, as if they would even touch it at all. 
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on October 11, 2012, 04:12:46 PM
FIFA 13 is a pile of shit compared to FIFA 12  ::)

I'm enjoying it. I think it's more difficult due to the new first touch mechanism and finesse shots being harder to score, but generally more realistic.

At the moment in Online Seasons my record is 27 wins 1 draw 0 losses in Division 5. Hoping to beat my FIFA 12 record of 250 wins 30 losses.

By the bye, the XCOM Enemy Unknown demo is a lot of fun. I might even buy the full game. I'm not old enough to remember the original, but it seems to have legendary status in the eyes of those who played it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 11, 2012, 04:27:59 PM
Well I'm reserving judgement until I've played it, I've read several positive hands-on reports so far. And you'll have no problem with off-the-ball runs whilst in possession of the ball - control your player dribbling the ball with the left analog stick, use your right hand to click and drag players. Basically the same sort of setup as Pro Evo. It takes a little bit of multitasking but when you get used to it you won't have any problems. And it means that you won't have to rely on crappy AI making the right runs. Any goal you see on Match of The Day can be recreated in Pro Evo, your attacking options are almost limitless...hopefully FIFA 13 on the U is going to be as good.

And for those that are quite happy to put up with shite AI and don't want to take advantage of the improved free kicks and shooting that the GamePad allows they can just use the GamePad as a regular controller, use a remote and nunchuck or use the Pro controller...

But they won't win many games online against someone using the GamePad to control off-the-ball runs.

As for Ultimate Team, they didn't have time to squeeze that in but even without that FIFA 13 on the U is still much more impressive than FIFA 06 was as a launch title for the 360.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 11, 2012, 06:00:53 PM
News from the NSMB official site makes four Wii U games in 1080p - NSMB U, Scribblenaughts Unlimited, Toki Tori 2 and Call of Duty Black Ops 2. Although I still have my doubts about that last one unless they've managed to make the PS3 and 360 SKUs 720p rather than being the usual sub-HD fare. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on October 11, 2012, 08:17:11 PM
I like the new first touch system in FIFA. Makes it more realistic.

I was probably just in a ranting mood as it's frustrating trying to do the Virtual Pro accomplushments in drop in matches as people pass even less than in 12. And that's saying something. ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 12, 2012, 08:48:59 AM
Thought that the Ultimate Collection of Kinect Sports came on one disc.. it doesnt, which is a bit annoying.. but glad I bought the Ultimate Collection as it comes with all the DLC from KS2 too - which includes Basketball, just a shame it doesnt have the DLC from KS1.. Kinect Sports are by far the best games on Kinect... but like all Kinect games, they have limited appeal before the novelty wears off..

Bought Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012 and Kinect Adventures for £12 combined in blockbusters... think thats it as far as buying Kinect games go, I've tried a load of others, but apart from Fruit Ninja... they are just shit.. and Im only really interested in using Kinect as a workout aid anyway - it aint gonna replace any real kind of workout.. but its better than sitting on your arse I guess.


Also started on Assassins Creed : Revelations last night.. I feel sorry for the people who shelled out launch day price for this.. I've done 3 memories so far.. and the story is ALL filler so far... in fact, apart from meeting 16, nothing has actually happened so far...I hate the fact Ubisoft diluted this brand so much with Brotherhood & Revelations as they (well Brotherhood at least) are REQUIRED to play to actually know what has happened between AC2 and AC3.

Also started Dirt3... for some reason Codemasters thought it would be good to have really long loading times in the game.. and who the fuck wants Assist functionality when doing Rally races.. bugger off!!!  The flip side is that the controls feel a lot better and more realistic than Dirt 2 and Dirt 1 and the graphics are pretty good... but Dirt 1 still reigns supreme for me... I'll prehaps install Dirt3 to the HDD to try and make those load times faster but Im not terribly impressed so far.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 12, 2012, 09:03:00 AM
As for Ultimate Team, they didn't have time to squeeze that in but even without that FIFA 13 on the U is still much more impressive than FIFA 06 was as a launch title for the 360.

Your right in thinking Fifa 06 on the 360 was crap.. but that was because a) it was a world cup edition and b) it was a world cup edition

..the 360 still had a plethora of other sports games at launch and even exclusive ones too like Amped 3 - the Wii U doesnt - it has 1 sport game... no Madden, no NHL or any NBA games on Day 1.. way to alienate the americans.. Im not saying the 360 had the best launch.. far from it.. but the Wii U launch isn't better in any way, shape or form - apart from 2 games - its all pants and ports  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 12, 2012, 11:21:43 AM
FIFA 06 for the 360 was gimped, had features missing as far as I remember. That's generally what happens when a developer has to rush a port to a new console. And there are 3 sports titles - FIFA 13, Madden 13 and NBA 2K13, although the latter two are deemed launch window titles. That's also very common for a new console, you'll see PS4 and 720 launch titles delayed next year too.

And do you really expect anything different for the PS4 and 720 launches..? They'll also have rushed ports with features missing.

The U launch/launch window lineup is impressive.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 12, 2012, 12:04:24 PM
How was "Fifa 06 : Road to the World Cup" a port.. it was exclusive to the 360.. ::)  ;D

It was a crap game because it was a prelude to the world cup edition they released months later on all consoles and only let the player play in world cup qualifying games, most fifa world cup edition games are cut down versions of the main fifa releases... but then Im not trying to defend the quality of the game... I've agreed it was crap.

...and regardless of the state of that game.. the 360 still launched with full ports of Madden, NBA and NHL games.. along with 2 extreme sports games too.. one of which was exclusive to the 360.. not only that but it launched with far more FPS and driving games than the Wii U is launching with.. it was cleverly targeted at the mature gaming market.. the Wii U has 3/4 good ports, I'll give it that.. its the lack of exclusive games that makes the launch lineup average at best.  Its got ZombiU, NSMBU and Nintendoland... its the equivalent of the Wii launch with Red Steel, Zelda and Wii Sports.. but then you probably think the Wii launch lineup was pretty good too :D

Obviously I dont know what to expect from the PS4/720 launches.. I would expect FPS, Sport and Driving games to feature heavily in their line-ups though and would also hope there would be at least 5-7 exclusive games with 1 or 2 killer titles in there... the 360 failed in that last aspect.. it had PGR3 and Condemned which were nearly killer titles.. but Perfect Dark Zero should of been the system seller.. and it wasnt.. that game was pants IMO.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 12, 2012, 07:13:53 PM
There are plenty of good quality exclusives:

NSMB U
Nintendo Land (which surprisingly everyone is raving about after experiencing it)
Pikmin 3
Lego City Undercover (a Lego GTA..? Instant Win with Awesome Sauce)
The Wonderful 101
Wii Fit U
Sing Party
ZombiU
Rayman Legends
Rabbids Land
Monster Hunter 3G Ultimate
Scribblenaughts Unlimited
Bayonetta 2

Certain multiplatform games are going to be the improved versions:

Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge (appears to have fixed all of the problems with the PS3 and 360 Beta versions and has added dismemberment)
Batman Arkham City with improved graphics and all DLC
Assassins Creed 3 with v-synch enabled so no screen tearing
Darksiders 2 with 5 hours extra content, all DLC and an extra weapon
Call of Duty Black Ops 2 with improved graphics
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 with all DLC, extra content (Tekken Ball, Mushroom Battle Mode and 12 extra costumes)
Trine 2 with all DLC, superior graphics and the PC content that the PS3 and 360 aren't able to run
Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed improved framerate and extra content
Aliens Colonial Marines with superior graphics and a motion tracker in the palm of your hands


Seriously, if you can't see how this launch and launch window lineup is the best seen in donkeys years there's absolutely no hope for you. And if you think that the PS4 and 720 aren't going to have a shedload of casual titles during the launch and the launch window then you're going to be very disappointed. You'll probably see ports from the U and those third party efforts will most likely be on par with the U SKU rather than being improved as far as eye candy goes, although developers' experience with working with a similar architecture will do those games a few favours.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on October 12, 2012, 08:59:57 PM
Seriously if you can't see that the Wii U will be Wii Shit then there's no hope for you.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 13, 2012, 11:13:12 PM
Have just been watching some footage of Monster Hunter Ultimate, the quality of the video isn't great but hands-on reports have said it's the best looking Monster Hunter title to date which is quite impressive when you consider it's an upscaled 3DS game. They've added a lock on feature which takes a little of the skill out of the game but I guess seasoned Monster Hunters don't have to use it if they want to go old-school and it makes the game more accessible to new players.

I hate to think how many hundreds of hours I've spent on this franchise, and I'm planning to double-dip on this one too. Quite like the idea of cross-system play so that I can play Monster Hunter on the go and carry on my playthrough on my U when I get home ;D

It still has those annoying loading screens every five minutes though, that's the only criticism I have with the franchise. The loading times are short but it still kills the immersion somewhat when a creature does a runner from one area to another. They just vanish in thin air, you follow them then have to put up with a loading screen for a few seconds. Very annoying >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on October 14, 2012, 07:47:31 PM
Out of interest, beyond Harv, who will be buying a next gen console at launch?

Given the small amount of time that i game these days it is highly unlikely that I'll buy anything
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 14, 2012, 09:33:09 PM
I'll probably get one (Sony or Microsoft - no idea which at present) - either at launch or within a few months of launch.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 15, 2012, 07:39:02 AM
I will be getting a launch machine.. definitely...

90% sure it will be a microsoft one.. mainly because of how much I have enjoyed owning my 360.. but also because sony consoles are invariably too expensive at launch... cant see myself playing on a Wii U unless my baby bro gets one..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on October 15, 2012, 09:56:09 AM
I may have to wait depends when the 720 launches.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 15, 2012, 02:06:16 PM
I'll probably also be getting a PS4 next gen, but I'll wait for the slim SKU to become available like I did with the PS2 and PS3. Sony consoles are too ugly to buy at launch lol. Definitely getting a PS4 over a 720 because Sony's IPs are miles stronger than Microsoft's, which means better exclusives. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 15, 2012, 02:11:18 PM
There are plenty of good quality exclusives:

How many day one exclusive releases are there in that list - 4
And how many are you buying on day one - 1
That does not add up Im afraid..

And when comparing launch lineups.. I have only ever discussed Day 1 titles... you seem to think that comparing the 360's day 1 lineup to the Wii U's first 4 month lineup is somehow fair competition ::)

I look forward to comparing the Wii U's review scores for their ports against current platforms though... there is no reason for them not to be significantly higher if they are the "definitive" versions right ??
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 15, 2012, 03:40:37 PM
Yup, I've already stated that the U scores should be better than the other SKUs. The only game that might suffer as far as review scores goes is FIFA 13 because it's missing Ultimate Team.

And there are 6 exclusives available day one - NSMB U, Nintendo Land, Sing Party, Rabbids Land, Scribblenaughts Unlimited and ZombiU.

Not sure what I'll be getting day one, depends on which titles are discounted to £19.95 by Zavvi during the weeks before launch. I'm getting ZombiU with the bundle and at some point I'll be getting Rabbids Land and Scribblenaughts Unlimited too, and if I can get Nintendo Land for £19.95 that'll be 4 out of 6 exclusives I'll be getting this year. And next year I'll be getting another 5 - Rayman Legends, Pikmin 3, Monster Hunter 3G Ultimate, The Wonderful 101 and Lego City Undercover.

So that's 9 exclusives altogether I'm getting. :o

And that's before you take eShop titles into account. I've got my eye on 3 eShop titles too - Little Inferno, Trine 2 and Nano Assault Neo, so that's another two exclusives to add to the list! ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 16, 2012, 08:06:55 AM
Scribblenauts Unlimited is technically going to be released on the pc aswell... so not sure whether you can count that as a real exclusive... the choker is though that the pc version is supposed to be the "definitive" version  ;D

But your right.. I totally forgot about that revolutionary Sing Party exclusive.. fuck me.. that changes everything  ::)

And again.. Im only talking about games that are going to be available at launch, nobody talks about the quality of the launch lineup by looking at games that may or may not be released in the 4 months afterwards..... if the exclusives you are talking about were such "good quality" too.. why are you waiting to see what you can get on the cheap... LOL.. you've basically just admitted that those exclusives are not worth paying full price for..  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 16, 2012, 09:50:03 AM
Why am I waiting to see what I can get on the cheap..? Is that a serious question..? ::)

And how is Scribblenaughts going to be the definitive version..? It's a confirmed 1080p native game...unless you're talking about the use of a keyboard..? :-\ ??? :-\ ???

And whilst you and I aren't remotely interested in Sing Party it's still an exclusive that should do well. Like I've said before you're going to see a load of launch/launch window titles aimed at the casual demographic when the PS4 and 720 are released too. Gaming has changed during the last 6 years.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on October 16, 2012, 09:57:31 AM
Yup, I've already stated that the U scores should be better than the other SKUs. The only game that might suffer as far as review scores goes is FIFA 13 because it's missing Ultimate Team.

And there are 6 exclusives available day one - Another Mario gane, A party game, Another party game, Another party game, A kids game and Nintendo's attempt at being scary.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 16, 2012, 01:37:59 PM
All top quality exclusives aimed at a variety of demographics from both first and third parties. Sounds good to me. Just because the likes of Sing Party doesn't appeal to us doesn't mean it isn't a good quality title. And Scribblenaughts Unlimited is suitable for everyone, not just children. The original on the DS was fantastic.

It's looking like all of these discounts from Zavvi are Ubisoft titles, hopefully I'll be able to get Assassins Creed 3 for £19.95 which would be a result.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 17, 2012, 08:07:53 AM
Why am I waiting to see what I can get on the cheap..? Is that a serious question..? ::)

No.. I know the reason.. because they are not worth the full ticket price for a game... we both know that only a fool would pay £40 for Nintendoland or Rabbids Land at launch... besides which, theres going to be loads of preowned copies of each floating around quite shortly after launch after people realise how limited and shit those games are  ;D

Like I've said before you're going to see a load of launch/launch window titles aimed at the casual demographic when the PS4 and 720 are released too. Gaming has changed during the last 6 years.

Doubtful, the mature demographic far outweighs the casual demographic on the 360/PS3 still - you can tell this by software sales... Kinect hardware sold loads, but did the software.. "no" is the short answer.... why would they target their consoles towards a different market anyway.. a market that is proven to have a poor tie-ratio between hardware and software

Bored of this conversation now.. going back to the original point.. the Wii U launch lineup (Day 1) is average at best.. nothing you say will change my opinion.. it has no killer title and doesnt have enough decent exclusives.. NSMBU will be the highest seller by far... another point to make is that without Ubisoft and Activision, the launch lineup would of probably been the worst of all time... I think theres only about 7/8 games out of 23 not made by them nor Nintendo... ominous I'd say
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 17, 2012, 11:08:03 AM
Has anyone played or tried out Dishonored yet?... it sounds like an awesome game... I might download the demo tonight.. although I really dont want to buy another new game this month  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 17, 2012, 07:56:05 PM
Nope, not gone anywhere near it but loved the first trailer that was shown ages ago.

Have now pre-ordered my third Wii U game, Call of Duty Black Ops 2, managed to get 10% off with a code from an email earlier from Zavvi so have got it for £38.66. So that's ZombiU (via the bundle), Rayman Legends and Call of Duty Black Ops 2 in the bag. Should get a discount code for either Rabbids Land or Assassins Creed 3 before launch so I can get them for a bargain £19.95, got a code for Avengers Battle For Earth this week, was tempted because it looks pretty good but I'm not a great fan of fighting games so decided to give it a miss. Although I guess I could order it and trade it in to make a profit. ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 18, 2012, 02:08:14 AM
You would've been better off applying that code to the console purchase...

Dishonored looks great, but I'm gonna have to leave it a while - too much of a backlog so it'd be silly to pay todays prices then play it in two months' time.

Got a replacement copy of Lost Odyssey a few days back, but haven't tried it yet. Also haven't tried Darksiders 2 yet...
And I need to buy xcom and doa5...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 18, 2012, 04:01:09 AM
Thought about it but that would mean cancelling my £299.99 pre-order, re-ordering the ZombiU bundle again for £329.99 and losing my deal on Rayman Legends. Wasn't worth it. Plus I'd put myself to the back of the queue for Wii Us on launch day.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 18, 2012, 07:30:10 AM
I got a 10% code from zavvi not too long ago.. however, consoles and any pre-orders were exempt from it... I would of used it on my Halo 4 special edition pre-order to save £6... but obviously cant... so I wont be using it at all.. usually find games much cheaper elsewhere even without a 10% discount anyway.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 18, 2012, 05:42:49 PM
Yup, you can normally find games cheaper elsewhere but surprisingly Zavvi and The Hut are the cheapest at the mo for Wii U launch title pre-orders. Play and shopto used to be the best places to go to for cheap games but have gone right downhill during these last couple of years, particularly the former. :-\

Due to Zavvi's deals on Ubisoft titles the launch day titles I'm getting has changed:

Black Wii U ZombiU bundle with Pro controller
Rayman Legends (now delayed until next year >:( )
Call of Duty Black Ops 2
Assassins Creed 3
Rabbids Land
Darksiders 2

Before Christmas/Christmas:

FIFA 13
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
Batman Arkham City
Scribblenaughts Unlimited

Launch window titles:

The Wonderful 101
Aliens Colonial Marines
Monster Hunter 3G Ultimate
Lego City Undercover
Pikmin 3

I'd better win the Euromillions soon lololol ;D :P

Edit: Looks like Nintendo have fucked up their online for a load of people already lol, the microphone on the GamePad can't be used for in-game chat so you need to buy a headset for it. The Pro controller also doesn't have a headphone socket for a headset so anyone preferring the use of the Pro controller can't use voice chat unless their headset is plugged into the GamePad. Thought things were going too well on the hardware front lol.

Doesn't bother me because I despise people chatting whilst gaming, if I wanted to be sociable I wouldn't be playing video games! :o

I've also personally had confirmation from Ubisoft that you've got the option to turn the crosshairs off in ZombiU. Nice. That's going to make the game more than a little insanely difficult lol :o :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 19, 2012, 08:07:06 AM
LOL... Im glad even you have agreed that is really retarded... sounds like a design flaw with the pro controller too... not to mention that in-game chat is game specific too... it just sounds like a total shambles... I wouldnt expect much from their online service if I was you...

So just to recap...(copied from kotaku)
■ No universal support for in-game voice chat
■ Game-by-game support for in-game chat
■ The GamePad mic will not, by default, work as an input for in-game voice chat
■ The Wii U will support wired headsets (and possibly mic-enabled headphones), but only through the Wii U GamePad
■ No news yet about whether wireless headsets can or will be supported
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 19, 2012, 10:46:12 AM
Yup, that's got it all covered. Doesn't bother me at all though because I wouldn't use it anyway lol. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on October 19, 2012, 01:19:44 PM
LOL... Im glad even you have agreed that is really retarded... sounds like a design flaw with the pro controller too... not to mention that in-game chat is game specific too... it just sounds like a total shambles... I wouldnt expect much from their online service if I was you...

So just to recap...(copied from kotaku)
■ No universal support for in-game voice chat
■ Game-by-game support for in-game chat
■ The GamePad mic will not, by default, work as an input for in-game voice chat
■ The Wii U will support wired headsets (and possibly mic-enabled headphones), but only through the Wii U GamePad
■ No news yet about whether wireless headsets can or will be supported

Not as if there'll be any decent games to play online anyway, unless they're rolling out another Mario Kart... or maybe another Conduit game! (lol)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 19, 2012, 02:12:39 PM
Yup, that's got it all covered. Doesn't bother me at all though because I wouldn't use it anyway lol. ;D

What happens when nintendo reveal the rest of their online infrastructure and you realise its all a pile of old pants though lolol.. gawd.. nintendo are so far behind in the times when it comes to social networking and online interaction this news doesnt actually suprise me.... they could learn some tricks from microsoft in that aspect..

also news of no COD Elite support on the Wii U sku of Black Ops 2 is also now emerging... pieced with no Ultimate Team on Fifa 13.. you have to question as to how good nintendo network is actually going to be..  ??? ... I still cant believe that you are buying those two games specifically on the Wii U lol..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 19, 2012, 02:53:52 PM
Black Ops 2 doesn't have Elite at launch, neither does the PC SKU. Doesn't mean that the PC has a crap online infrastructure, does it..? And doesn't that mean paying a years subscription anyway..? The online infrastructure will be fine, Miiverse in particular is going to be huge. If there's any one of the three platform holders that can take on the likes of Facebook and Twitter, it's Nintendo.

Third parties have had a great deal of input into the online infrastructure and I don't think there's been a single developer complaining about it so they must be doing something right.

As for Nintendo's first party titles having online play I can't see it being any use for any of them apart from Mario Kart as you've mentioned...but I'd much prefer the likes of 3D Mario, Metroid and Zelda - the Nintendo IPs I'm most interested in - to be single player experiences anyway.

The only Nintendo game I want to see online play integrated into would be the next Wii Sports. Bowling and Golf would be great having online play. We'll have to wait and see I guess, although Nintendo are really pushing this asymmetric multiplayer so we may not see it.

And FIFA not having Ultimate Team has nothing to do with the online infrastructure and everything to do with the fact that it's a launch title. The pressure involved in releasing a launch title is unbelievable, mainly hampered by a new set of unfamiliar standards (in this case Lot Checks) and the fact that dev kits and SDKs are being changed every five minutes. It's a bloody nightmare, particularly if you're a lead tester. :o

We may see online play integrated with Retro's new game if they're not working on a Metroid game, if Nintendo have any sense they'll be working on a new TPS or FPS IP aimed at the Western market.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on October 19, 2012, 11:59:41 PM
The conduit lol

That brings back memories. How many units did it sell in the end? #epicfail
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 20, 2012, 02:21:28 AM
The first one was very successful, the second one was stealth-released for some reason known only to Sega. A very odd couple of decisions made by Sega regarding the last two HVS titles. They completely ruined the gladiator game by turning it from a gritty realistic gladiator game that looked very promising indeed into a non-realistic fantasy gladiator abomination that looked terrible...and then did the same thing that they did with Conduit 2 and stealth-released it. Very odd considering that the made so much money from The Conduit. :-\

The big wigs at so many publishers make all sorts of daft decisions, it's no wonder that the majority of them lose so much money. :o

Ubisoft are a prime example of a publisher doing things right, they're swimming in cash like Scrooge McDuck as it is thanks to some great decision making creating some very marketable IPs across all platforms this gen and they're going to reap the rewards of their strong U support during these next few months...which in turn is going to fund their PS4 and 720 support next year. You'll see ZombiU doing over a million before Christmas, their casual titles will sell an absolute shitload, Rayman Legends should do 500,000-1m units LTD and Assassins Creed 3 should do 500,000 LTD too. And the latter is going to be great for a title that cost €1m to port.

ZombiU and Rayman Legends should do noticeably better than AssassinsCreed 3 because Nintendo will be matching marketing dollars/pounds/euros for those two titles.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on October 21, 2012, 03:51:41 PM
Been getting into XCOM Enemy Unknown recently and am really enjoying it. The first thing that struck me was the difficulty. I'm playing on Normal but it's unforgiving! One mistake and you've lost a soldier. The worst thing is, the way the game is designed makes losing a soldier hard to take, as you get to fully customise them and level them up with new abilities... so as a result, you don't want to lose a single one. Very addictive.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 21, 2012, 04:27:53 PM
Really looking forward to that. Was hoping to see it for £30 around launch but it ain't happening. So now I'm torn between clearing some of the backlog or biting the bullet...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 21, 2012, 05:42:46 PM
Ah, it seems the Kotaku report was poorly researched (no surprise there tbh), wireless headsets can be used. There's one on the market already in the States, so expect more to appear during the next few months. Means those that want to use the Pro controller can use a headset without being tethered to the GamePad.

Still no cross-game chat though, and it's up to developers of each individual game whether they want to support chat or not. Still, no big deal for me personally as I can't stand chat of any kind whilst playing video games. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 22, 2012, 07:41:58 AM
Thats because nobody you know IRL would touch a Wii U in a month of sundays so theres no point you having chat lol *

Finished Assassins Creed Revelations - shouldnt of bothered.. it was crap.. doesnt move the story along in the slightest, theres no improvement on brotherhood and it felt a lot shorter too... still have to go back and finish little bits of it, but wont be in the machine for much longer.



*and because you have no friends!!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 22, 2012, 07:49:21 AM
The conduit lol

That brings back memories. How many units did it sell in the end? #epicfail

lol..

The Conduit - 0.53m units - harv said it would sell at least 1 million  ;D
The Conduit 2 - 0.09m units - lol.  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 22, 2012, 08:04:16 AM
Was actually a reasonable game, The Conduit. The single player was okay, but of course it's all about the online multiplayer - and that was besieged by glitchers and hackers all playing in god mode.

I'm quite capable of getting my arse kicked without you being invulnerable, flying, and going through walls, pal...



'grats on 85k gamerscore btw, Kieron.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 22, 2012, 09:27:54 AM
Was actually a reasonable game, The Conduit. The single player was okay, but of course it's all about the online multiplayer - and that was besieged by glitchers and hackers all playing in god mode.

I'm quite capable of getting my arse kicked without you being invulnerable, flying, and going through walls, pal...



'grats on 85k gamerscore btw, Kieron.

The multiplayer was also excellent until it got hacked to pieces, the most addictive multiplayer I've played since Halo on the PC. Bounty Hunter in particular was excellent, it's not often that you find an original multiplayer mode. Conduit 2 was a great improvement too, fixed all of the issues that the first game had, it's a real shame that Sega sent it out to die. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 22, 2012, 11:13:05 AM
Okay, enough's enough. I've been wanting to buy xcom for a while, but can't because I have a backlog of games, and the backlog ain't going down because I'm playing Black Ops. So last night I took the disk out, and put Lost Odyssey into the machine.
The plan is complete Lost Odyssey, then play Darksiders 2, then either buy XCOM and put COD Blops 2 on hold for a week or two, or buy Blops 2 and get XCOM back end of Nov.

It's good to have a solid plan of action, and not keep umming and ahhing about it.

Shame I then blew it by buying another game online just now... ;)
The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings: Enhanced Edition (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/witcher-2-assassins-kings-enhanced-edition-xbox-360-preowned-blockbuster-marketplace-1338167#post15797941).
£13.99 second hand at Blockbuster, or £8.99 if you join their reward scheme.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 22, 2012, 11:34:18 AM
lol... I wish I could recommend The Witcher 2 to you.. but after about 2 weeks of playing it on and off.. I just got distracted and never went back... its more accessible than Dragon Age which is good... far less so than Skyrim though.. theres so much to do in it.. the epilogue alone took me bloody ages to get through!!  Will definitely go back to it.. but its at the wrong end of the backlog at the moment  ;)

My plan of action is to finish off the rest of AC:Rev this week, in-between some Kinect workouts.. afterwards its going to be a mixture of Dirt 3 and Enchanted Arms.. I have the house to myself next sunday, so would be a good point to start Enchanted Arms.. hopefully get them two games out of the way before Halo 4 on Nov 6th.. afterwards.. I doubt I'll be bothering with any other games for a while.. so Dishonored has already been relegated to xmas list material along with Goldeneye Reloaded which I have a real urge to play after watching the film last night.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 22, 2012, 01:44:25 PM
Yeah, I remember you struggled to get into Witcher 2.
Looks good and I figured it's gotta be worth a punt at nine quid though.

So many games I want to play, lately, and no time to play them. Doesn't help that I've always done most of my gaming between 11pm (when the wife heads off to bed) and 3.30am (when I usually go to bed) but this last 2 months or so I keep falling asleep about midnight. Suddenly I've lost about three quarters of my gaming time.
Hopefully it's a temporary glitch and I'll get back to my insomniac ways soon...

COD MW3 (played about 8 hours - usually get about 300 hours from COD games. Definitely deserves more play than it's had. However I have none of the map packs, so would probably be booted from the lobby regularly if I tried to play. Probably won't play it again if I'm honest with myself.)
Battlefield 3 (again, had about 8 hours out of this, and it deserves so much more. Probably won't play it again.)
Lost Odyssey (in progress, again, finally - should get this finished in the next week, fingers crossed. Good game but I won't be playing through it again.)
Red Alert 3 (definitely enjoyed it a lot more than the other C&C game I tried a couple months back, and have done one of the campaigns plus the first mission from each of the other two campaigns - but it's not likely to get much of a look in again, now.)
Darksiders 2 (thoroughly enjoyed the first game a few months back, and got this fairly cheap - but it's just sat on the shelf for a month now, and could've been had cheaper had I waited. Will get it played next, I think.)
Witcher 2 (Ordered today, will probably play it soon - but to be honest it's cheap enough that I won't feel bad about putting it in the pile and playing it after I've shifted a few other games.)
Final Fantasy XIII-2 (Been in the pile for a couple months now, I need to give it a proper go some time. Unfortunately that means putting some serious hours aside, and aside from a week off at xmas I don't really have any days off until next February.)
Halo 4 (I'm not fanatical about them, but I've definitely enjoyed every Halo game I've played, so will need to get this - but I'm in no rush.)
Sleeping Dogs (Need to buy. Looks great, got great reviews, and it's price is plummeting. Will pick it up cheap, soon.)
Dishonoured (Need to buy.)
Black Ops 2 (Need to buy.)
XCOM (Need to buy, and soon. LOVED the original...)
DOA5 (Need to buy.)
AC3 (Need to buy - but happy to wait six months and pick it up cheap.)
Max Payne 3 (Haven't played a Max Payne game before but I've seen this cheap a few times lately, and it's highly rated - got to give it a try.)


And that's just 2012 games - I also need Bioshock Infinite, Sim City, Tomb Raider, Metal Gear, Colonial Marines, Grand Theft Auto V...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on October 22, 2012, 09:01:22 PM
Absolutely gutted... Had to infiltrate an alien base on XCOM and didn't realise how hard it would be. Went in with 6 of my best troops and came out with 1 - and he's out of action for 2 weeks!

Back to square one basically, have to train up a whole new batch of troops before I can launch another assault on that damn base! :'( Wasted at least an hour in there too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 24, 2012, 12:36:24 PM
Massive losses at Nintendo, again. Lost £219m in the first six months of the 2012/2013 year.
To be fair, that's a massive improvement over the same period last year (£551m loss) but it's very very bad.



Preordered COD Blops 2 yesterday. £32.99 Delivered @ Greenman Gaming (they usually just do pc downloads, but have got into physical disks for pc/ps3/360 in recent months).
Not an outstanding price, but it'll do - and saves on the panicky feeling when it gets to launch day and there isn't a decent deal anywhere...
Looking forward to zombie modes in particular, but if you want Nuketown Zombies you need to fork out for a collector's edition of the game (not gonna happen) - though I imagine they'll release it as DLC for about a fiver.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 24, 2012, 01:16:09 PM
It's actually not that bad. Mostly down to the strong Yen and financing a new home console. There's an investor's meeting tomorrow. The 3DS has been making a profit since August, that combined with sales over Christmas should mean they're going to have a profitable financial year. The 3DS is selling between 800,000 and 1m units a month and software sales are strong. 8)

Going to be interesting to hear if they're selling the U at a loss, break even or making a profit from the start. Think they should be breaking even given the price of it.

Edit: Scrub that idea, they've just announced they're selling the Wii U at a loss :o

Interesting, looks like they're relying on software sales to make them a profit the way that Sony and Microsoft have done these last two gens. Mind you, sales of NSMB U, Nintendo Land and ZombiU should earn them a few quid! ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 24, 2012, 08:57:03 PM
Looks like SmartGlass is going to be an epic failure at launch. For some reason known only to themselves Microsoft have decided to release it without Android or iOS compatibility at launch. What the fuck are they thinking..? :o :-\ ???

Not too sure what sort of percentage of mobile phones out there are Windows 8 phones but it can't be more than 1%, surely..? :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 25, 2012, 07:55:01 AM
That was always to be expected tbh. Disappointing, but not surprising.
IOS and Android "early 2013".
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 25, 2012, 08:02:59 AM
Theres only 2 SmartGlass enabled games so far anyway... was hardly going to be a crowd puller at launch!!

Have to say, I do like the new dashboard update this year.. glad they fixed the annoying slowness that quickplay had as well.. (called Recent now)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 26, 2012, 12:21:31 AM
A new Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkoWOyUo6Nc), showing dismemberment. And a bit of trivia here, the Wii U is going to be the first console to release in Japan with a launch title that's the equivalent of an 18 rating. :o So much for the supposed 'kiddy' console.

And a video preview from IGN of ZombiU (http://www.ign.com/videos/2012/10/25/zombiu-video-preview) which confirms that the game is going to be seven shades of Awesome ;D 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 26, 2012, 02:01:17 AM
Best. Youtube. Video. Ever. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ESq27B9YI4Q#at=350) :o

lololol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 26, 2012, 08:06:24 AM
One or two 18 rated games doesnt stop a console being kiddy all of a sudden lol.. you seemed to think it did when the Wii had Manhunt 2 and HOTD:Overkill for instance.. yet the Wii was very much a kiddy console....

...the fact is, nintendo consoles will always be seen as babyish because of nintendo past stance on violent games (cutting out fatalities and blood from Mortal Kombat for instance).. plus the fact all of nintendos 1st party software are family orientated..... if you wanted a console with loads of mature content.. you wouldnt be buying a Wii U - you'd be mad to think otherwise.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 26, 2012, 08:57:16 PM
True, a great deal of Nintendo's first party stuff is family oriented/suitable for all ages and a fair amount is also aimed at the casual demographic - but there are certain franchises that are aimed at the core/hardcore demographic too. Metroid Prime Trilogy, Zelda Twilight Princess, Zelda Skyward Sword, Pikmin 1 and 2, Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, Pandora's Tower (although I think those latter two are second party titles). And there'll be plenty of titles aimed at those people next gen too.

The Quote of The Week:

Quote
Fuck 1080p at 60fps. Give me 60p at 1080fps.

From someone on Gaf lololol ;D ;D ;D

Edit: Someone else has come up with a really cool name for the ZombiU Official Thread:

Quote
ZombiU |OT| London Bitches Falling Down

Brilliant!!!  ;D ;D ;D 8)

Some major hype building up for this game now, the level design in particular is very impressive, as is the lighting. Great stuff!

Edit: More ZombiU news, apparently the fastest Ubisoft tester has taken 12 and a half hours to reach level 14 out of 17 :o Maybe their 15-20 hours playthrough time estimate needs a wee bit of time added to it lol. Shit, if someone that's been playing the game from 9 to 6 at least 5 days per week takes that long to get just over 75% of the game completed then we could be looking at an estimated playthrough time of 20 hours plus! :o I'm gonna need a bigger boat lol. :o :-\ :'( :P ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 29, 2012, 09:38:03 AM
Your gonna need a lengthy singleplayer with a game that has no multiplayer though... and do you think ubisoft are honestly going to say the game only lasts about 6-8 hours if it did ?? I usually subtract about 4-6 hours off any given estimate... I like to think it means I have more skill than most people at games  ;)


Started playing Enchanted Arms on sunday... unsure whether I want to continue.. first off, the story and graphics are pretty bland so far.. there are also some very annoying characters - theres one character in particular (Makoto) who is openly gay and very camp... not that theres anything wrong with that if it floats your boat.. but the character is just irritating..

The combat is quite interesting.. its like a chessboard grid, move your pieces into position, attack with various moves and with element forces too... all great... does take a while to do each little battle which is annoying... but the worst thing they have done is give the user an "auto" button... which auto moves and auto fights... and I have pretty much used this in every single battle so far because of the high frequency of random battles and how long it takes to do them manually... and whilst it is very handy having the auto button, it also makes the game kinda not worth playing... coupled with the fact you get all your HP and EP (magic) back at the end of each battle and the fact you can save anywhere.. the game is far too easy at the moment..

Some of the game is also unfriendly in its user interface.. when you want to learn a new skill for example, you have to go through 4 or 5 menu options to learn it.. and then through the same 4 or 5 menu options again to equip it after you've learnt it.. just little bits like that make the game slightly frustrating to play at times...

Will probably give it another chance on Tuesday, hopefully it will improve, or I can see it staying on my shelf for quite a while..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 29, 2012, 04:46:16 PM
The best thing about it is that every game is going to be different, amount of zombies, locations of zombies, times and locations of stingers, so there's plenty of replay value too. And the first time you complete the game you unlock Survivor Mode which only gives you one life...and that's going to be bloody insane lololol.

And when your character gets killed all of his skill levels and experience dies with him. All of his equipment and weapons are in his backpack. So when you're given a new character he/she has a revolver, 6 bullets and a cricket bat. And that's it lol. And every time you die you increase the number of zombies by 1. This game is going to be a real challenge for once. A welcome return of a proper survival horror game as opposed to these action horror games that the genre seems to have morphed into since Resident Evil 4.

And what's even worse is that a headshot doesn't kill these buggers with one hit lol. I'm going to have a closer look at some of the demo footage, I think you may need to sever the brain stem...much harder shot :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 29, 2012, 04:54:16 PM
If ZombiU came out on ps3/360 it'd be £15 within a couple of months - like almost all games without any multiplayer.
No idea what the pre-owned market will be like on the U, of course. Probably weak as it's a new console, so prices probably won't drop that fast.

Bought another game on impulse today - or rather a collection of three:
Ubisoft Triple Pack: Xbox 360 Beyond Good & Evil HD / From Dust / Outland £9.99 PLAY.COM (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/ubisoft-triple-pack-xbox-360-beyond-good-evil-hd-from-dust-outland-9-99-play-com-1347920)
It'll go in the pile, and get played eventually...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 29, 2012, 10:21:57 PM
It wouldn't be feasible on the PS3 or 360 given the core mechanics (the GamePad functionality) that make the game what it is. And they'll need to tone down the dynamic lighting and shadows or have it in sub-HD.

It could be a surprise contender for a few Game Of The Year awards the way that the overwhelmingly positive feedback has gone so far. The only complaints I've heard were regarding the controls on earlier builds and going by the IGN report they've sorted that out now.

And the best news of all comes from a moderator on the Ubisoft forums who was kind enough to ask the dev team for me if there was an option to turn off the crosshairs. Going to make it like a true zombie apocalypse simulator without an annoying crosshair on the screen...although it's going to make an already difficult game insanely difficult when in stressful situations lol.

The Survivor Mode is going to be bloody mental lololol ;D :o ;D

I'm also expecting the inevitable sequel to look a great deal better and have online multiplayer too, although I wouldn't want them to sacrifice another 15-20 hour single player campaign in favour of the average 5-6 hour campaigns we get these days for it though. :-\

And I want the sequel set in Paris, too many Brits getting killed in Ubisoft games lately...I want to kill a few Frogs just to make a change.

I also want them to bring back Killer Freaks too, that game's humour was right up my street. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 30, 2012, 09:38:43 AM
Looks like Smartglass is available on android already... will download that tonight... not that I'll actually be able to do much other than look at and dress my avatar.. whoopeee!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 30, 2012, 11:08:43 AM
...The only complaints I've heard were regarding the controls on earlier builds...
Really? The vast majority of complaints I've heard are that it's got no multiplayer...

Looks like Smartglass is available on android already... will download that tonight... not that I'll actually be able to do much other than look at and dress my avatar.. whoopeee!!
Nice - didn't think we'd see that any time soon.
Have just had a look on my phone, and apparently the app isn't compatible. Disappointing, but not surprising - it was a budget phone when I got it two years ago, so isn't exactly a forerunner now. Hopefully my tablet will be compatible. Budget, again, but newer and running ICS (the phone is still on froyo).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 30, 2012, 11:38:59 AM
Oh yeah bollocks didnt think there would be minimum specs.. thats me screwed then as my phone never got the update for ICS... stuck on Gingerbread forever ... (thanks for that sony btw!)

Not sure if tablet support has been finalized yet... I think it was an app specifically for android smartphones for now..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 30, 2012, 12:32:55 PM
Aye, I've just read it's phones only at the mo - no tablet support yet. And it's stated (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.smartglass) as being for Android 4.0 and up.

I might just side-load it onto the tablet and/or phone, tonight, see how/if it works - assuming I can find the apk.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 30, 2012, 03:32:22 PM
Thought it was a daft decision from them not to have at least one of the two available at launch.

And regarding ZombiU's multiplayer, it does have it. Just not online multiplayer. It does have online leaderboards and other online features such as your zombiefied self and your friends' zombiefied selves appearing in each other's games forcing a race between you both to kill them and nick their stuff lol. And considering your new survivor respawns with a crappy gun, 6 bullets and a cricket bat it's going to be a possible huge advantage to your game if he/she has got some decent gear.

There's also the Souls feature of leaving messages for other players too.

And like I said I'd much rather have a 15-20 hour single player campaign with plenty of replay value and local multiplayer than online multiplayer with a 5-6 hour campaign. This gen has really suffered in terms of single player value. :(

And don't even get me started on online bloomin co-op :o >:( Co-op for Dead Space 3..? Resident Evil..? It's bad enough these days that survival horror has become action horror but now we're looking at games that have gone from having a lone protagonist to having two protagonists working together which means that the sense of vulnerability in these games has gone before you take into account the shitloads of ammo you get in these games these days. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 30, 2012, 04:28:21 PM
You don't like playing games online - but most people do. (I'm not big on online gaming, personally - none of my RL friends have consoles. But online gaming is a necessity these days, and it's fantastic fun playing with strangers on games like COD, FIFA, and L4D...)
It's completely ridiculous that a premium FPS game in 2012 doesn't have online multiplayer.
Having local multiplayer and a couple of online gimmicks doesn't help. Quite the opposite - both factors just emphasise the fact that the developers know the game should have online multiplayer, and the engine is capable of it.
Not sure how the online zombiefied friends thing works, but from what you've posted there it sounds like it's open to abuse, with people able to gift weapons etc. to friends to give them a head start, by suiciding... There's probably more to it than that, and hopefully such abuse isn't possible, but tbh I don't really care one way or the other, because it's a massively flawed game(#1) on a massively flawed platform(#2).

As for the length of the single player campaign, why would they chop 10 hours from the campaign if they added online multiplayer?!

"Look chaps, we've just about finished making our game but the online feature still isn't working right. We can get local multiplayer working fine, we just can't get the online version to work because Nintendo's online infrastructure is so shite.
I feel bloody aggrieved about that, but we'll give the punters some silly gimmicks instead. You know - online leaderboards, their reanimated corpses pop up on each others' consoles, that sort of thing..."
"Boss, boss - we've finally figured out how to get online multiplayer to work. Turns out Nintendo's online infrastructure is workable afterall - we'd just put a zero in the code where there should've been a one!"
"Fantastic news, lads. Start hacking the story to pieces - I want you to dump two third of the story and locations so that we can add online multiplayer."





(#1) No online multiplayer = massive flaw.
(#2) "Asymetrical gaming" console = massive flaw.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on October 30, 2012, 05:23:46 PM
GTA V announced for Spring 2013 release - buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Might have to get Smartglass on my S3 just to see what it's like. Running Jelly Bean as of last week!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 30, 2012, 05:29:13 PM
 ;D cant wait, preordering asap

No announcement for Wii U - ooops  ;D  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 30, 2012, 07:26:17 PM
The lack of online multiplayer for ZombiU has nothing to do with how good or bad the online infrastructure is. It's a launch title, you can be sure that the inevitable sequel will have it included. And who said anything about hacking the story to pieces..? My point was that the majority of FPS and TPS games that have online multiplayer usually have a single player game that's on average 5-8 hours long. Which is bloody terrible. Developers and publishers have limited resources to get these things done, even more so when a console is launching.

And no surprise about GTA V unfortunately after their recent comments regarding their doubts that 'core' titles will sell on the system, although given the state of their finances I'm surprised they haven't decided to spread the cost to a fourth platform. :-\ I think that Rockstar/Take Two are going to be amongst those developers and publishers kicking themselves when they see how well these titles are going to sell, even on a console with an installed userbase of zero in the beginning.

The late ports like Mass Effect 3 and Arkham City might not do great, although that does depend on marketing, but the likes of Assassins Creed 3, FIFA 13, Black Ops 2, ZombiU should do fine. Considering it's costing Ubisoft just a million Euros to port games to the U it's madness for Take Two not to bring GTA V to the same platform. Mind you, some of these decisions made by board members really don't surprise me tbh. It's only the GTA franchise that's kept Take Two afloat. :o Losses every year until a GTA game appears if I remember correctly. Someone on another forum not so long ago posted their financial results for the last 10 years, and it was quite shocking :-\

The only title I can see that won't do well is Mass Effect 3, but given the apparent ease and cost effectiveness of porting to the platform they might only have to shift 150,000 units before they start making a profit.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 30, 2012, 07:45:14 PM
I bet nintendo wished Rockstar had kept that news quiet until the U had launched...  :P

...nintendo have got a few screws loose to let a game like GTA5 release on everything but... its going to be, by far the biggest selling game of the year, decade and probably generation... instead you've got crappy exclusives in niche games like Bayonetta 2..

...if you think its just going to be GTA5 missing from the Wii U aswell, think again... thats just the tip of the iceberg.. there will be plenty of other developers (such as Bethesda) following suit and not releasing their franchises on the nintendo console...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 30, 2012, 09:27:15 PM
We should easily see the next Elder Scrolls and Fallout titles being released on the U. Probably a year at least before we see either one of those, and by that time we should see the U having an installed userbase of between 10 and 15m and the likes of ZombiU, Rayman Legends and Aliens Colonial Marines in particular will show publishers that 'core' games that make good use of the GamePad and that have decent marketing will sell. You're not going to see publishers leaving money on the table now that Nintendo will have released a console with a standard rendering pipeline.

It would be a no-brainer for Bethesda to bring Fallout 4 to the U, same with the next Elder Scrolls installment. A Pip-Boy in the palm of your hands and being able to level up, change inventory/weapons/magic and checking the map/setting waypoints without needing to pause the game is going to be excellent.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 30, 2012, 11:46:37 PM
Aye, I've just read it's phones only at the mo - no tablet support yet. And it's stated (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.smartglass) as being for Android 4.0 and up.

I might just side-load it onto the tablet and/or phone, tonight, see how/if it works - assuming I can find the apk.

No joy on either of my devices. :(
Fingers crossed for tablet support some time soon.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 31, 2012, 08:16:11 AM
Well surely it was a no-brainer for rockstar to bring one of the biggest selling franchises ever on any platform onto the Wii U too harv.. but they havent.. soon as you realise that this gen will hardly be different from last gen the better - western developers just dont do nintendo consoles, not since the snes Im afraid  ;)


Carried on with Enchanted Arms last night - 4.5 hours in - 15% through apparently.. the storys getting better, some battles are getting harder (meaning user intervention which is good!)... but unfortunately, the characters are getting more annoying and I've realised that its nearly on level with FFXIII in terms of linearity... at least the gay guy has left my party for a while... some parts of the gameplay are so frustrating though.. for instance, you dont get instant HP, MP gains when you level up.. nope.. you have to go in and micro-manage each characters HP/MP/ATK/AGI/RNG levels after you've accrued enough SP from fighting.. I've already got over 8 characters I can do that too so thats already a fag... plus I had to work that out myself.. theres no tutorial on it.. yet the game keeps wanting to give me tutorials on the smallest of things.. after about 3 hours in, I've done about 15 tutorials where it basically says.. use "A" to do this, press "A" to do that.... I'd kinda worked out that "A" is the action button... then it feels the need to give me a tutorial on how to climb a ladder... which as you might guess, you have to press "A" to do  ::)

I'll carry on, but this game could of been so much better to play if it had just stuck to some basic JRPG gameplay features... its nowhere near as good as Lost Odyssey or Blue Dragon though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 31, 2012, 10:43:58 AM
... at least the gay guy has left my party for a while...
lolz

Ordered "Dungeon Siege 3" last night. Haven't played any Dungeon Siege games before, and this one seems to have mediocre reviews, but it's just another game for the pile - got to be worth a punt, for a few pence under seven quid. Unlikely to look at it in the next couple of months...

I believe I'm now getting close to the end of Lost Odyssey. Am over 70 hours in, and half-way through disk four - and am supposed to be heading to Grand Staff for a confrontation with the baddy (Gongora? Summat like that. He's probably better known as "Eyebrows" tbh).
Gonna do some grinding first though, I think.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 31, 2012, 01:08:45 PM
Think the beach near where you had to do that ship defense mini-game is the best place to grind in the game...

AC:Revelations got finished with last night - couldnt be arsed to do about 3 of the single player achievements or any of the multi-player ones..

Just pre-ordered 2 games...
Army of Two : The Devil's Cartel
and
GTA V

While to wait for them both still  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 31, 2012, 01:46:20 PM
I've already said it was a no-brainer for them to spread the cost across another platform. It's an odd decision tbh, but one that doesn't surprise me given the many daft decisions that are made by publishers these days. It's the main reason why almost every publisher is losing money hand over fist. I wish I could find that post regarding Take Two's finances now, it was pretty gobsmacking. Basically it's only GTA that's kept them afloat, same with Sega and the Mario And Sonic Olympics franchise.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 31, 2012, 02:16:37 PM
Well its not a no-brainer is it... the people with all the information, education and experience have basically said their game wouldnt sell very well on a nintendo console... why would they waste time and money porting it to the Wii U... Im expecting every single port to have fairly miserable sales on the Wii U by the way - I guess if you wont listen, you'll find out the hard way when you have to resort back to buying games on "older generation" machines because your new machine doesnt have the games you want to play  :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 31, 2012, 05:05:20 PM
Lol, the people with all the 'information, education and experience' are busy running the company into the ground. Releasing a game for a Nintendo platform that's launching with a 2D Mario title that's of decent quality and has decent marketing isn't a gamble at all, particularly if the GamePad can quite easily be the centre of attention. The GamePad is ideal to double as a PDA and also ideal to hold the full sized map, something that has always annoyed me when I'm forced to pause the game to do so. I'd also have quite liked an optional mini-game to hotwire cars. :(

A very daft decision, but like I said it isn't a big surprise given the board seem to be running the company into the ground relying on GTA to haul their arses off the coals.

So many publishers seem determined to lose money giving all sorts of wonky titles the green light and expecting them to sell. Singularity and Vanquish are prime examples, and don't even get me started on Escape From Bug Island lololol.

Some of the decision making up at the top with these publishers sometimes defies belief. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 31, 2012, 07:49:31 PM
Odd how often the long term unemployed know more about running multinational corporations than those who do so, isn't it...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 31, 2012, 09:11:55 PM
Odd how often the long term unemployed know more about running multinational corporations than those who do so, isn't it...

Anyone with any knowledge of gaming and experience of working in the industry would know more about what's going to sell and what isn't going to sell. That's why it's no surprise that most publishers are losing money hand over fist. ::)

Eidos are a prime example - Tomb Raider 6 was a disaster, should never have been released. They turned down Bioshock and Fallout 3, they let the Lego franchise go and they decided that Escape From Bug Island was a great idea. Eidos were 48 hours away from having the receivers in before they had to release Champ Man 5 well before it was ready. If they didn't release it in that state then they would have gone bust due to numerous bizarre decisions made by these 'experts' you're putting so much faith in during the 3 or 4 years before Champ Man 5 was released. And that release pretty much destroyed the brand for plenty of people.

The problem with the people that run these 'multibillion corporations' is that they know bugger all about gaming. That's why so many of them are making redundancies to stay afloat, why they're closing down their mobile gaming divisions because there's bugger all profit in mobile gaming unless you discover the next Angry Birds.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 01, 2012, 09:47:10 AM
Odd that harv thinks Sega are in the same position as Rockstar - which must mean they are running themselves into the ground too - even though Sega released a large proportion of their games on the Wii...

Interested to know what exactly was "wonky" with Vanquish though harv.. I rented it and enjoyed completing the game... theres nothing wrong with it in that respect.. the reason it failed to sell.. it had no multiplayer mode.. therefore it didnt appeal to people to buy brand new... no-ones going to waste £40 on a game that lasts them 8 hours.. yet you seem to think they will with ZombiU lol... of course.. that has 20-30 hours of gameplay in it...suree!!  I heard the same thing about Rage - I completed that in around 10 hours I think.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 01, 2012, 10:07:55 AM
...they would have gone bust due to numerous bizarre decisions made by these 'experts' you're putting so much faith in...
I never said that I have faith in the top level executives of these companies.
I intimated that I have more faith in their ability to run a company than I do in you to do so.
It's easy to run companies, football clubs, etc. from your armchair. They'd be 100% royally fucked if you were actually in charge though.
You know what you like when it comes to gaming, Harv, but you have no idea about the everyman. Left to you everything would be motion sensitive, with no multiplayer.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 01, 2012, 02:30:01 PM
Halo 4 out on Tuesday and early reviews suggest its as good as ever.. cant wait to get into the new storyline.. back with master chief at last !!

Excellent timing too, got a half day off work on Wednesday so I can get to the Chelsea match in the evening.. so will be able to play a few good hours interrupted before I have to leave  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 01, 2012, 03:14:13 PM
Halo 4 out on Tuesday and early reviews suggest its as good as ever.. cant wait to get into the new storyline.. back with master chief at last !!
Excellent timing too, got a half day off work on Wednesday so I can get to the Chelsea match in the evening.. so will be able to play a few good hours interrupted before I have to leave  ;D

Similar thing here, with COD. Comes out on Tues 13th Nov, and I feel a migraine coming on which I think will hit around the 13th requiring me to take a few days off, on the sick... ;)




(Would take hols but I used my full year's allowance when one of the kids was ill earlier in the year.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 01, 2012, 03:49:52 PM
Odd that harv thinks Sega are in the same position as Rockstar - which must mean they are running themselves into the ground too - even though Sega released a large proportion of their games on the Wii...

Interested to know what exactly was "wonky" with Vanquish though harv.. I rented it and enjoyed completing the game... theres nothing wrong with it in that respect.. the reason it failed to sell.. it had no multiplayer mode.. therefore it didnt appeal to people to buy brand new... no-ones going to waste £40 on a game that lasts them 8 hours.. yet you seem to think they will with ZombiU lol... of course.. that has 20-30 hours of gameplay in it...suree!!  I heard the same thing about Rage - I completed that in around 10 hours I think.

Take Two and Sega are in very similar positions, and are getting their arses hauled off the coals by GTA and Mario And Sonic respectively. Sega have done well on some of their Wii releases but have made some daft decisions on others - they could have made a fortune out of their gladiator game if they hadn't first decided to ruin it by changing it's style and then decided to stealth release it, and they could have bettered the sales of the first Conduit if they hadn't stealth released it. Both of those titles would have sold over 500K if marketed.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on November 01, 2012, 05:14:53 PM
Wait didn't you first say The Conduit would sell over a million copies? Now only 500K?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 01, 2012, 05:29:32 PM
I thought it would have gone platinum, but any Wii game shifting over 500,000 units is a resounding success. The first game did over 500K and the second would have outsold the first if they had marketed it at all. Sega have done very well with Wii development, it's the sales of their PS3 and 360 titles that have put them up Shit Street.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on November 01, 2012, 09:10:00 PM
Stuck on the final mission of XCOM... Had 2 attempts so far and keep getting annihilated by the final boss. Only takes me 30 mins or so to even get to that point.  :'(

No way am I even going to attempt to play through this again... I've struggled quite a bit on Normal difficulty so Hard/Very Hard would break me. If I can finish it off tonight I might go and pick up AC3. Although, I'm thinking if I buy that, it'll take me a lot longer than 10/11 days to get through and that'll mean Blops 2 will be left on the shelf when it arrives.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 05, 2012, 02:30:53 PM
Think the beach near where you had to do that ship defense mini-game is the best place to grind in the game...
I'd heard that elsewhere, too, so had a looong spell there (Numara Atoll, it's called). Spent about 15 hours there, but it was going frustratingly slowly - I picked up about 4 levels, and tbh I think I was levelling up faster in normal gameplay!
Then I found the "Temple of Enlightenment". Much better for grinding - though it'd be a dangerous place to take low level characters. I picked up about 20 levels in about 5 hours there, then spent the rest of my weekend's gaming time by doing a few side quests (picked up a few of the top weapons and accessories etc. - mainly involved going back to areas infested with beasties that used to be a nightmare but can now be swatted aside without really noticing them).
Enjoying the game to the degree I'm putting off going into the final lair, now. It's massively time-consuming (I regularly spend half an hour picking my character's abilities and equipment) and the grinding is sometimes a bit frustrating (as is always the way with RPGs) but I'm thoroughly enjoying it - thanks for the recommendation Kieron.

Will certainly get it finished some time this week, ahead of Blops 2 next week. Not sure how to fill the few days in between Lost Odyssey and COD though. Not worth starting Darksiders 2, FFXIII-2 and the such as I know I wouldn't get it finished before next Tues - and then I'd end up putting it down a quarter complete and probably never get back to it.
I'm sure there's something in the pile to occupy me.
And I've definitely been feeling drawn back to playing the first two Bioshock games again lately. Excitement's definitely starting to mount, again, for next year's Bioshock Infinite. It's been such a long wait my enthusiasm definitely started to wane somewhat, for a while, but now it's getting close I can't wait.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 05, 2012, 02:50:15 PM
Is that the maze place.. if so, I did grind there a bit myself and I almost mentioned it.. but found myself too tempted to actually go into the maze (out of boredom).. which wasnt a good idea as I lost about 2hrs worth of gameplay there because I went in, got lost and subsequently died lol...

Dont want to spoil the ending, but you do have a fair old chunk to do after you enter the final liar until you reach the final boss.. so might not be worth putting off.. I found the end battle most disappointing as it was too easy with my characters... plus my disc stopped working on the cut scene after I beat the boss and I ended up having to beat him 4 times and had to skip some of the end cut scenes to actually finish the game - kinda took the point out of the whole game lol.


Halo shipped Friday from HMV, hope its on my mat when I get home.. although stupidly I have volunteered to help at a fireworks display tonight so theres still zero chance of playing it until quite later on/tomorrow.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 05, 2012, 02:53:44 PM
Aye, it's a bloody convoluted place, with switches and moving platforms all over the job. On a couple of occasions I had the wife and kids getting frustrated because they wanted the telly (hang on, I need to save my game... I just can't find/get to a bloody save point!)

Sod 'em. My telly.

________________________________________________________________________________

Got Smartglass on my tablet yesterday. It wouldn't work a week ago, but I bought a new tablet late last week (no, I didn't do that just so I could get smartglass - I've been looking to upgrade for a long while) - so I'm not sure if the app has been tweaked to work on tablets now, or if it's the change in tablet that got it working.

Only had a quick play on it, but it looks canny - in a "this'll be good if/when it's properly integrated into games etc." style.
Setting it up was a doddle, and my avatar came up on the device - though I didn't actually look into the edit options etc on there. I'm guessing there's nothing new and it's basically just a new interface.
Using the android virtual keyboard to type on is a lot faster than using the xbox controller and a virtual keyboard on your telly - but it (currently) doesn't seem fully implemented. It worked on IE, but not on YouTube.
Navigating the dash was easy enough and intuitive (no better or worse than using the controller).

Could be very good if functionality gets built into a few top games (and it's functionality that adds to the game, rather than just being some sort of gimmick), but tbh I'm not sure if it'll get much use here.
I'm guessing the media uses - which look bloody clever - probably just apply to stuff bought on your console (i.e. won't apply to films stored on an external drive) - but I'm not sure about that. And even if it did work for my downloaded film collection I'm not sure that'd be enough to persuade me to use the 360 to watch films instead of using my usual media player - which doesn't have any noisy fans...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 05, 2012, 03:15:57 PM
Has Bioshock Infinite been confirmed for next year now..? I was beginning to think it was vapourware :o :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 05, 2012, 04:28:09 PM
Aye, Feb or March - can't remember which.
I know what you mean, though. I think it's over 2 years since they released trailers of the game, with it looking close to completion.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 05, 2012, 05:02:39 PM
Yup, personally I'm not going to believe it until I see it on shop shelves lol. Mind you, Alan Wake and Duke Nukem Forever were looking like vapourware for years too so maybe it will get released eventually :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 06, 2012, 08:03:30 PM
http://www.dealspwn.com/report-microsoft-developing-7inch-xbox-surface-tablet-120861 (http://www.dealspwn.com/report-microsoft-developing-7inch-xbox-surface-tablet-120861)
Rumour re a gaming tablet from Microsoft.
Doesn't make much sense to me tbh, initial thought.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 06, 2012, 08:17:03 PM
Why did I order the special edition of Halo 4.. bloody postman left a card because it was too big for the letterbox  >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 07, 2012, 02:09:29 AM
Official news on Black Ops 2 confirms that the PS3 and 360 SKUs are sub-HD yet again, and that the U SKU is 720p and 60fps. Nice 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 07, 2012, 04:45:44 AM
"Official"?
Link to source, please. (Bear in mind that a post by some randomer on iwannabumnintendo.com or neogaf isn't an official announcement.)
tbh I expect ps3 and 360 to be around 600p, as previously, but I don't think it's been officially announced yet.

Rather disappointing if the U isn't full HD. I'd be embarrassed if COD isn't 1080p as standard when the proper next gen consoles come out.

_______________________________________________________

Finished Lost Odyssey.
cba to get the remaining achievements. Would be way too boring to revisit every location yet again, to find the few seeds and items I didn't already collect, and I'm not keen on the "backyard" fight club.
The final lair was a piece of piss, because I'd over-leveled all of my characters to the degree I could win pretty much every battle just by spamming the "A" button to make everyone do standard attacks - irrespective of whether they were fighters or mages.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 07, 2012, 07:50:22 AM
COD games have been using the same graphics engine for the past decade, why does it even need to go full HD... lol... even if the Wii U version was full HD, £20 less and had more features, it would still sell the least... its going to be the worst version because of nintendo's half cooked online implementation

I see Xbox Live was having problems last night.. can only imagine it was the amount of people online playing the new halo... half day today so I'll go and pick mine up at lunch and blast through for a few hours  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 07, 2012, 11:57:11 AM
We don't know a great deal about Nintendo's online implementation. Developer response to it has been overwhelmingly positive so far. There was a Japanese Nintendo Direct 45 minutes ago about Miiverse, might have to check to see if there's been a translation of some sort later.

As far as Black Ops 2 is concerned the only thing missing is Elite at launch but I'm expecting that to be added via a patch post-launch.

And good luck with 1080p native PS4 and 720 titles at launch, you may see some first and second party titles in 1080p but the majority will be 720p.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 07, 2012, 03:56:18 PM
No link to the official source then?


MS Rewards (http://rewards.xbox.com/halo-4/) for playing ridiculous amounts of Halo 4.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 07, 2012, 07:05:19 PM
Nope, was a thread on Gaf. Looked like an official thing due to the quality of the images displaying info. :(

It should be 720p and 60fps though, making it the superior SKU in terms of eye candy. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 08, 2012, 01:21:12 AM
Because an official release from Treyarch would announce "sub-hd graphics"... rolleyes

Likely 50/60 fps on all 3 consoles.
Better than SD graphics on all 3 consoles.
Nowhere near full HD graphics on any console.
Timed exclusives on 360.
Gimmicky touchscreen controls on U.
Release 3 weeks earlier on 360 and ps3 than U.

I'd like 720p graphics, definitely - but if someone gave me a free Wii U I'd still be buying the 360 version of the game rather than the U version - without a shadow of a doubt.
The online will be infinitely superior, and that's the most important thing with COD. Normal controls, earlier release, earlier DLC, and balanced local multiplayer are nice bonuses.
All the U offers is a fractional increase in graphics quality (around 20%, I believe. Likely around 20% more rows, and I believe comparable columns, but I'm not sure about that). Would be nice, but not worth giving everything else up for...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 08, 2012, 07:46:13 AM
Did manage about an hour or so on Halo 4.. so hard to judge on it so far... but I think its brilliant in what I've played... no complaints at all... the graphics are pretty much everything you could ask for, the gameplay is familiar yet different and the plot already has me drawn in... cant wait to play some more... unfortunately my stupid social life is gonna get in the way for most of the weekend but I should be able to get a few more hours in today and maybe tomorrow...  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 08, 2012, 01:36:08 PM
Lol, there was only a fractional difference in quality between Call of Duty on the Wii and the PS3/360 too according to how you're working these things out and we all know how you feel about that. Visually there's going to be a big difference between the U SKU and PS3/360 SKUs as there was between the Wii and PS3/360 SKUs before it.

And the gameplay is familiar yet different in Halo 4 because you're effectively playing Halo Prime 4 lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 08, 2012, 02:26:32 PM
Lol, there was only a fractional difference in quality between Call of Duty on the Wii and the PS3/360 too according to how you're working these things out and we all know how you feel about that. Visually there's going to be a big difference between the U SKU and PS3/360 SKUs as there was between the Wii and PS3/360 SKUs before it.

Yes, we all know how I feel about the resolution, because I've just said I'd love to see 720p (or better) for the game. I'll repeat my point - it'd definitely be a step up from the 600p or so we currently have on the 360*. Not a massive step up, but a step up nonetheless.

It's arguable whether 20% more lines (from 600 to 720) is a "fractional increase". That's comparing xbox360 to Wii U.
Ditto the 25% more lines (from 480 to 600) when comparing Wii1 to xbox360.

But (again this is something I've just said, but it seems repetition is required) the cons of the U version outweight the pros.
Considerably outweigh them.

In xbox360 versus wiiU you've got the wiiU winning on resolution but losing on controller, balance, release date, dlc, elite, numbers of players in a match, and numbers of online players available for matchmaking. The 360 wins, for anyone serious about gaming.#
In wii1 versus xbox360 you've got the 360 winning on pretty much every single factor for comparison. The 360 obviously wins.


So your point was...?


________________________________________________________________
* I'm treating ps3 and 360 as the same, here.
# ie anyone who buys COD for the competitive online multiplayer.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 08, 2012, 05:24:18 PM
And how can you possibly say that the 360 controls are better..? The GamePad is ergonomically sound, lets you change loadouts on the fly and lets you play local multiplayer without splitscreen gaming. And if for some reason you don't want to use the GamePad you've got other control options such as the remote and nunchuck and the Pro controller. If you want to have the same controls as its 360 counterpart then use the Pro controller. ::)

As for balance, what are you on about..? :-\ The only problems you could possibly have regarding balance is that remote and nunchuck users will always beat users using dual analog controls but when you lose a game you're not aware of what controls your opponents are using so you won't notice anything apart from the online multiplayer being more difficult...and is that a bad thing..? It's going to make rising the ranks more challenging compared to those using the 360 SKU if you decide to go for dual analog controls.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 08, 2012, 07:54:15 PM
Launch trailer for Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/377452/ninja-gaiden-3-razors-edge-gets-bloody-launch-trailer/?).

Looking miles better than the mickey mouse Beta versions released on the PS3 and 360 :P

Going to be interesting to see how this game sells, plenty of people didn't bother with the game on the PS3 and 360 due to the bad reviews and bad feedback from the world and his wife on forums. I don't think we'll see many people double dipping after being burnt by the Beta versions but there should be plenty of people trying the franchise for the first time, trying the improved version after hearing that the game has been fixed. There'll also be a major marketing campaign from Nintendo seeing as they've decided to publish it.

Just a real shame it's not being released until January, it's looking pretty awesome. :o  :'(

Edit: Shit, have just had a look at how badly Ninja Gaiden 3 sold on the PS3 and 360 - just 330,000 units altogether :o :-\ Bloody hell, Tecmo Koei must have lost a small fortune! I can see the U SKU outselling the PS3 and 360 SKUs by twice as much at least. My guesstimate would be 750K LTD.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on November 09, 2012, 12:50:36 AM
Big GTA news released today:

Screens: http://www.gtagaming.com/v/news/2100

Summary: http://www.gtagaming.com/v/news/2101

Snippets:

The Protagonist(s)

There are three main protagonists in the game. Players can assume the role of any protagonist on the fly, in both free-roam and in missions, providing that all characters are present on the mission you are attempting. As a player, you are prompted as to when to change characters in a mission, but it is still entirely up to you.

Location

Rockstar have decided to return to San Andreas, but instead of having multiple cities this time, they've drawn the line and have managed to create a rendition of Los Angeles that truly does the city justice. Rather than making smaller "sketchlike cities," Los Santos now offers the full-package in a way it never did previously.

The map is said to be larger than the combination of the maps of Red Dead Redemption, GTA IV and San Andreas. In other words, it's pretty large.

Mt. Chiliad is back and it's surrounded by thick wilderness that stretches from a desolate desert to wine country. Los Santos is still the epicenter of the game, both geographically and culturally speaking. There's also a military base hidden somewhere out there, so expect to break into that at some point.

There's a lot of new interiors as well, with particular emphasis on the description of a convenience store named 24/7 - albeit only for the sake of explanation. In the scheme of things, the 24-7 is a small part of the world, yet it is fully detailed, all the way down to the cigarettes and magazines on the shelf.

Oh, and bring your diving gear, because there's a fully-explorable ocean.

Miscellaneous Info

- There are a lot of 'Three Leaf Clover' type heists in the game.
- Unfortunately, the in-depth character customization seen in San Andreas has been left out again.
- Tennis, yoga, triathlons, base-jumping and a fully-formed game of golf are just some examples of mini-games you'll be playing.
- A selection of characters from IV and it's Episodes are said to return but Niko won't be one of them.
- Property isn't back, but there's apparently plenty more to buy than there was in previous games, though what these are remains unknown.
- You can have casual encounters with NPC's of the world, this includes simple things like flipping the bird or having a chat.
- NPC's are much more lively, and a lot of them are fully mo-capped for added realism.
- Red Dead Redemption-esque dynamic missions return: this could include anything from muggings to hitch-hiker's, and there's even one which involves two abandoned cars and a load of dead people (No Country For Old Men style).
- Your phone can access the internet now.

CAN'T WAIT!  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 09, 2012, 01:53:05 AM
Have now changed my avatar - My Zombie Is Reggie lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 09, 2012, 02:03:58 AM
And how can you possibly say that the 360 controls are better..? The GamePad is ergonomically sound, lets you change loadouts on the fly and lets you play local multiplayer without splitscreen gaming. And if for some reason you don't want to use the GamePad you've got other control options such as the remote and nunchuck and the Pro controller. If you want to have the same controls as its 360 counterpart then use the Pro controller. ::)

As for balance, what are you on about..? :-\ The only problems you could possibly have regarding balance is that remote and nunchuck users will always beat users using dual analog controls but when you lose a game you're not aware of what controls your opponents are using so you won't notice anything apart from the online multiplayer being more difficult...and is that a bad thing..? It's going to make rising the ranks more challenging compared to those using the 360 SKU if you decide to go for dual analog controls.

Change loadouts on the fly on a touchscreen? Yeah, I really want to be looking away from the action whilst playing COD so that I can dick around on a touchscreen to change stuff that I can do perfectly well with the standard controller... ::)

How balanced is it going to be if you try to play on the crappy resolution hand-held screen against someone who is playing with a pro controller on the tv? He'll be able to see and shoot you from miles away, you'll only see him if you trip over him. Or if you look up from the gamepad to the main telly to see where he is.

And despite your repeated assertions that people using wiimote and nunchuck will beat other users: (a) if one controller is better than another then it's unbalanced; and (b) the wiimote is ridiculously inaccurate.

The only decent controller is the Pro. Which isn't exactly a selling point for the U, is it? "Oooh, I'll ditch my 360 so that I can play on the U because it's got a controller that's a copy of the 360's controller." Yeah.

No, the only thing the U has going for it is a marginal increase in resolution. It's gimmicky controller, lack of balance, late release date, late content, lack of elite, and lack of online players all make it last choice.
As I said earlier - if I were given a wii U for free and could buy COD on one platform I'd definitely get the 360 version, without a shadow of a doubt.
Shame, because the U needs system sellers - and if folk with Wii U's are going to swerve the U version of the game and instead buy the version that's for a 7 year old platform then there's clearly something very wrong with what Nintendo are doing...

__________________________________________

I can't wait for GTA V. The screenies and info all look/sound fantastic!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 09, 2012, 07:56:24 AM
Yup, GTA 5 is going to be EPIC.. cant wait..

I watched all the "Forward Unto Dawn" live-action web series last night.. (available freely online but came with the limited edition of Halo 4) - OMG they are fucking amazing.. seriously, even if your not even into your Halo lore, its still a great watch, they go on for about 75 minutes in total and tells the story of Thomas Lasky, a cadet in training  - Its got that fishlips bird in from Narnia too - the older sister??  ... and some of the acting is pretty decent.. totally unexpected at how good this is... I watched the trailers a while back and thought it looked great, but didnt think it would be as great as it is but just found out they spent $10 million budget creating it.... I still cant believe that they havent made a Halo film, it would seriously rape the box office.. and I think it could be one of the greatest sci-fi films made.... maybe with the success of FUD they will realise that it can be done without spoiling, diluting or disrupting the game series...

Seriously.. watch them (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=forward+unto+dawn&oq=forward+unto+dawn&gs_l=youtube.3..0i3l2j0l8.248.2521.0.2674.17.9.0.7.7.1.304.1171.4j4j0j1.9.0...0.0...1ac.1.kbYN0b7XgC4) when you have time..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 09, 2012, 10:02:51 AM
I usually buy COD from a supermarket on launch day, but this year have pre-ordered instead. Until recent years you've usually been able to pick the game up pretty cheap on launch day as the supermarkets have some sort of price war, but the last year or two they've not done so...

Good deal at Tesco this year though, if any of you are looking for a decent launch day supermarket price: Blops2 is £25 when bought with either 2100 msp or £25 psn card.
I paid £33, but definitely would've been happy enough to pay the extra tenner to get it with 2100 ms points (assuming 2100 msp is £18).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 09, 2012, 10:24:33 PM
Woo hoo!!!

It's been announced that Nintendo are going to sell separate batteries for the GamePad. Which means that I'm going to be able to have a spare battery or two ready. The PS3 controller is a major pain in the arse, I've lost count the number of times my PS3 gaming has been interrupted due to me forgetting to charge the controller. They've also confirmed the rumour that the Pro controller has a ridiculous 80 hour battery life lol. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 10, 2012, 10:36:13 AM
Someone on Gaf has done a comparison GIF of the 360 and U SKUs of the Black Ops trailer. You can clearly see the difference in resolution, lighting, texture quality and colours. No idea why they've got this strange brown filter thing going on with the 360 though...very odd :-\

(http://i.minus.com/i2bkoHBvY1aky.gif)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on November 10, 2012, 01:42:58 PM
Wow the Wii one is brighter...woop de do.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 10, 2012, 01:55:46 PM
Wow the Wii one is brighter...woop de do.

And higher resolution, better quality particle effects and textures and superior lighting. ;)

It's noticeably better quality in terms of eye candy. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on November 10, 2012, 02:53:54 PM
And you'll be able to explore those wide open multiplayer maps in all the brighter glory...on your own....whilst everyone else is playing it on the PS360
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on November 10, 2012, 04:42:30 PM
Wow... is that it?

It looks slightly better on the Wii U (albeit unrealistically bright), up against the 7 year old tech of the 360.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 10, 2012, 05:10:51 PM
Going to be interesting to see what resolution it is. If it ends up being 1080p the internet may explode with Nerd-Rage lol. Can't see it being 1080p given the problems associated with bringing out a launch title but it would be amusing :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on November 11, 2012, 09:30:06 AM
The 360 looks more realistic. The u just looks cartoony
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 11, 2012, 09:59:46 PM
Cartoony? :o

I think you should go and have a lie down mate. That's down to a brown filter. And if the final product on the U has the same brown filter the U SKU will still be higher resolution, have better advanced particle effects, better textures and better lighting.

A preview of ZombiU from CVG here (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/377536/previews/zombiu-preview-is-this-going-to-be-wii-us-best-launch-game/?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=CVG-Previews-RSS).

This game is going to be fucking awesome!!! 8)

And troubles continue for THQ. Think they're going to go bust pretty sharpish :'(

If Nintendo had any sense they'd buy them for $30m, use $100m to pay off the debts. $130m would buy them their current IPs and licencing deals, 4 (I think?) developers, give them a valuable publishing arm in the West as well as THQ's distribution channels. And more importantly it would stop the likes of Sony, Microsoft, EA, Activision etc getting their hands on those IPs.

Their current licencing deals alone are a licence to print money.

It's more risky buying the publisher as a whole rather than waiting for the assets to be sold to the highest bidder but it would mean that your competition can't get hold of the likes of WWE, Warhammer, Saints Row, Darksiders, Metro, South Park, Red Faction. Worth the risk imo.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on November 11, 2012, 11:30:17 PM
Brown filter? That's what you use before you post right? ;-)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 12, 2012, 09:11:37 AM
First time I've had a chance to look at that comparison, and I'm not impressed with the U version. Hopefully it's a work in progress, and the colours and saturation can be sorted out. It's a little worrying that some of the detail is missing from the U version, though. Surely the U can handle more polygons than the xbox? And yet there's a few things missing from the U version - such as the two 'planes flying overhead at the right side, and the large object dropping from the sky in the centre of the image (I think it's debris, but it might be an airdrop without it's 'chute deploying)...


Was also surprised to see there's a lot of rumours that the Nuketown 2025 map has been pulled from the U version of the game. Sites were originally advertising that the game would include Nuketown 2025 map as preorder bonus, but changed all their ads at the back end of last week. Totally unconfirmed, but has apparently caused some folk to cancel their orders. Can't see it being true, though - I can see no reason why they'd bring the map out on 3 platforms but not the 4th. (Unless Nintendo's dlc facilities are borked.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 12, 2012, 09:49:32 AM
Blops 2 class creator tool (http://www.gamingupgrade.com/pick-10-black-ops-2-custom-class-creator/).
Haven't had a chance to have a look at it yet, but was recommended to me to give some idea of how you make your loadout etc. in this instalment...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 12, 2012, 09:56:35 AM
I finished the Halo 4 campaign on heroic at the weekend..

To summise it was a good play, I enjoyed it.. maybe not so much as others, but it did have a high bar to beat..

3 Best things about it..

1) New enemies kick ass.. blend in perfectly to the game and add a new dimension to battles
2) Graphics are top notch, the hollywood cut-scenes are very impressive too
3) The new vehicle (Mantis) is effin cool..

3 Worst things about it..
1) They didnt get the guy who did the other halo scores.. so no halo anthem and a pretty dull soundtrack and some dialogue seems missing (the covenant mainly)
2) QTEs suck balls.. no need to put them in, granted they are only in 2 places.. thats 2 too many though.. and having one at a crucial point in the game was just.. blah!
3) It had too many levels based on a ship.. and so some levels felt too linear and the objectives felt repetitive.. most of the levels are fun to play.. it was just missing one EPIC level though

Haven't played the multi-player yet.. im not in a hurry at the moment.. bit concerned about reports that a lot of it has changed and used some COD mechanics  :-\  So I might actually replay the campaign on legendary before I start on the MP.  Spartan Ops sounds great though  ;D

I hope 343 can take some fan criticism on board.. they have done a pretty solid job with Halo 4.. it just needs slightly tweaking to be on par with the best that Bungie did
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 12, 2012, 10:06:29 AM
Heard the Wii U wont be using system-wide achievements... well this is according to the dev of Scribblenauts Unlimited... instead, dev's will decide whether to include their own "accomplishments" in each game or not..

...odnetnin 

.. oh whats that...

...its just nintendo being backwards again  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 12, 2012, 02:54:26 PM
lolz :D

Speaking of Nintendo's strange decisions...
I see they've announced a Picachu edition of the 3ds-xl - which for some reason seems to incorporate the device's twin cameras as nipples...  ;D


(http://www.dealspwn.com/writer/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/pikachu-3ds-540x322.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on November 12, 2012, 03:31:08 PM
LOL

Brilliant.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 12, 2012, 04:46:14 PM
Heard the Wii U wont be using system-wide achievements... well this is according to the dev of Scribblenauts Unlimited... instead, dev's will decide whether to include their own "accomplishments" in each game or not..

...odnetnin 

.. oh whats that...

...its just nintendo being backwards again  ;D

If you're a developer that's a very good thing. ;)

Still no indication of how Accomplishments are going to be integrated into the OS though, I'm guessing you'll be able to see them on Friends' profiles somewhere.

Edit: And I think Nuketown is coming to the U, some people have contacted Amazon and they replied back saying that codes will be emailed 24-48 hours after launch. A bit odd...perhaps caused by Amazon sending out copies of the game before they got the codes. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 13, 2012, 12:57:05 AM
First proper ZombiU advert. Very nicely done imo. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy6bIbkyakk)

Don't know why we don't see more live action ads for video games these days tbh :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 13, 2012, 01:43:57 AM
Oh dear. You're serious?
A trailer should show the game it's advertising - not some talentless actors recreating it. People want to see the product they're being asked to buy - not some artists impression.
The Blops 2 ad was silly, but at least it had the decency to be deliberately silly.

They should stop fannying about making daft adverts and instead figure out how to get the online multiplayer to work.



Fingers crossed for Blops 2 to hit the doormat today. It's killing me knowing everyone else is play it while I wait for Greenman to get their shit together.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 13, 2012, 07:53:01 AM
Bugger... I was planning on playing Halo 4 up till christmas and nothing else.. even started my legendary campaign last night...

...then someone went and bought me the special edition of Dishonored for me birthday  :P ;D  :-\

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 13, 2012, 08:06:02 AM
If you're a developer that's a very good thing. ;)

If you're a consumer it's a very bad thing  ::) 

But hey, I dont care.. im not buying the damn thing  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 13, 2012, 09:42:30 AM
If you're a consumer it's a very bad thing  ::) 

But hey, I dont care.. im not buying the damn thing  ;D
Ditto. I'm a consumer, and am past the point of caring about what Nintendo screw up, now. Instead it's just something to laugh* about.



*and troll Harv, natch...

Bugger... I was planning on playing Halo 4 up till christmas and nothing else.. even started my legendary campaign last night...

...then someone went and bought me the special edition of Dishonored for me birthday  :P ;D  :-\
Happy Birthday, K!

lol - was so close to buying that (regular ed.n) a couple of days ago, as it's been slashed to £20 in Morrisons - an outstanding price for a new and very highly rated title - but with Blops2 out this week I figured it'd make no sense for me to buy it now.
That's assuming COD arrives at some point  >:(
Yeah, I know it's only release day today, but I'm not happy with Greenman for dispatching so late. Apparently they sent them out yesterday (without dispatch emails), whereas most places sent them out on Friday or Saturday.
If I preorder a game I don't expect to get it later than I would if I just popped down the supermarket...  >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 13, 2012, 02:14:47 PM
Cheers... I think Im gonna finish the level I was playing on Halo 4 and switch over to Dishonored.. I really want to see what all the fuss is about..

Not that it helps, but I popped down my local Tesco earlier today and there were plenty of Blops on the shelf for £25 when bought with a points card as you said...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 13, 2012, 02:26:11 PM
w00t - just phoned the missus and COD arrived in the post at lunchtime :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on November 13, 2012, 06:48:54 PM
w00t - just phoned the missus and COD arrived in the post at lunchtime :D

I can imagine that conversation

Mrs Late: (Thinking) Wow a call from my husband how nice
Mrs Late: Hi honey how ar.....
Late: Has it arrived yet?
Mrs Late: Has what arrived y...
Late: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WOMAN HAS MY GAME ARRIVED!
Mrs Late: Oh that arrived this morning
Late: And you didn't call me?
Mrs Late: Well...I...*Late hangs up* I love you.....
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 13, 2012, 07:18:23 PM
haven't we all made those calls before though ? lol  :P


Only played a little bit of Dishonored, have to admit, I usually baulk at the idea of stealth games.. I much prefer to just kill everyone... even in Assassins Creed - I rarely played the role of a stealthy assassin unless the game made me.. but Dishonored has some very cool moves.. its a stealth game.. but you have supernatural powers at the same time.. which makes the stealth part way more fun than just creeping in shadows and such... theres a move called Blink which you learn first which allows you to run very fast over short distances.. so its basically a teleport move.. cant wait to try that out on an unsuspecting victim.  The "normal" combat is akin to Skyrim though.. basic enough with gun/crossbow in left hand and sword like weapon in the right

The graphics are probably the worst part of the game to be honest... slightly basic compared to modern games.. but the gameplay is excellent so far.. I got a pack of Tarot cards and rules for a game in the special edition and it also came with some DLC add-ons too... Im guessing the tarot card game is actually playable in the game..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 13, 2012, 07:19:03 PM
Lololol, brilliant ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 13, 2012, 09:09:41 PM
w00t - just phoned the missus and COD arrived in the post at lunchtime :D

I can imagine that conversation

Mrs Late: (Thinking) Wow a call from my husband how nice
Mrs Late: Hi honey how ar.....
Late: Has it arrived yet?
Mrs Late: Has what arrived y...
Late: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WOMAN HAS MY GAME ARRIVED!
Mrs Late: Oh that arrived this morning
Late: And you didn't call me?
Mrs Late: Well...I...*Late hangs up* I love you.....

Wahahaha!
Almost verbatim!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 13, 2012, 10:03:05 PM
More like:

Mrs Late before picking up the phone says to the postman, lying in bed, having a post-coital ciggy: Keep quiet, it's my hubby
Mrs Late: Hi honey how ar.....
Late: Has it arrived yet?
Mrs Late: Has what arrived y...
Late: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD WOMAN HAS MY GAME ARRIVED!
Mrs Late: Oh that arrived this morning
Late: And you didn't call me?
Mrs Late: Well...I...*Late hangs up*
Mrs Late to the postman: Great idea, Black Ops 2 is going to keep him busy all night so we can carry on going like bunny rabbits until the early hours of the morning. Thanks for delivering it early hunnybun.

 :P ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 14, 2012, 12:35:23 AM
3 reviews for Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge. 5/10, 5.5/10 and 7.5/10.

The last score there is from IGN who gave the Beta versions a 3/10, so that's a huge improvement already. Going to be interesting to see what sort of Metascore this ends up with, you may have reviewers making up their minds based on their experiences with the Beta versions before picking up the GamePad. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 14, 2012, 09:08:54 AM
So long as he keeps her outta the way so I can get some COD played he's welcome to her.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 14, 2012, 10:22:50 AM
 :o ;D

A video showing how much fun the ZombiU multiplayer can be here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgRMwlpFzNA).

Looks like a blast, shame it's not online though. Although given the interaction between the two guys here you can see partly why they decided to make it local only. The interaction would be different, less personal, if they were playing each other online.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 14, 2012, 10:24:01 AM
Yeah, keep telling yourself that...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 14, 2012, 11:57:50 AM
Well obviously I'd prefer to have an online option because I live alone but if you watch that video you can see how entertaining that's going to be locally. We'll probably see an online option in the sequel if Ubisoft have any sense. There simply wasn't enough time to include it, it's only been in development as a zombie game for something like 14 months which is a remarkable achievement considering the playthrough time of the single player campaign.

Another Razor's Edge review is now in, 8/10 as opposed to the 5/10 they gave the Beta versions. Should end up with a Metascore in the 70s I reckon which isn't bad.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 14, 2012, 12:30:32 PM
Yeah well you wouldnt exactly just make a 1vs1 deathmatch gametype mode to play if you were playing online would you  ::) 

The guys playing are total n00bs too.. I mean the human guy was playing with a pistol for most of the match when he had a shotgun on him.. it seriously looks very boring.. especially for the guy who is literally just sending zombies in.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on November 14, 2012, 01:24:32 PM
Local multiplayer only! Hahahahahahaha
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 14, 2012, 05:25:02 PM
Mind you, having a decent single player campaign with a length of playthrough time around 4 times longer than average with replayability is more important to me than online multiplayer. I'll probably bung in over a hundred hours into the single player campaign. The Survivor Mode, where you only get one survivor to use to complete the game, is going to be more than a little mental lol :o ;D 8)

And it isn't 1 vs 1 multiplayer, you can have 1 vs up to 4 with splitscreen I think.

There simply wasn't time to get online multiplayer sorted, they had to outsource the local multiplayer to another Ubisoft developer.

The inevitable sequel will have both online and local multiplayer included I reckon. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on November 14, 2012, 06:59:44 PM
It may not matter to you but it will to many others.


Consider this. I bet 50% of the people who have purchased Blops 2 won't even look at the campaign for the first month or so of owning the game some wont look at it at all.

No online multiplayer is a big loss for this game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on November 14, 2012, 07:15:28 PM
Reading about it, it could have been an incredible game with a decent online multiplayer mode. Why would Ubisoft not take an extra bit of time to make it special?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 14, 2012, 07:34:45 PM
Reading about it, it could have been an incredible game with a decent online multiplayer mode. Why would Ubisoft not take an extra bit of time to make it special?

Because Nintendo requested a Mature/18 rated title from them at launch and they simply haven't had the time. Ubisoft Montpellier have worked wonders getting this ready for launch, the development history is quite interesting.

It started off as 360 alien FPS then got ported to the Wii U as Killer Freaks From Outer Space which was first shown at E3 2011 as a WIP, and then Ubisoft realised that the alien Rabbids mutations were too short and to fast for the controls to work well enough. So they decided to switch from aliens to zombies just 14 months ago :o

We'll definitely see online multiplayer in the sequel, like I said before they had to outsource the local multiplayer to another Ubisoft studio because they didn't have the time to work on it themselves. Managing the release of a launch title with a single player campaign of 5-6 hours is a nightmare as it is, but a 15-20 hour long single player campaign is going to give QA management nightmares, particularly when every game is different with regards to the location and number of zombies and scares. It's going to make bug regression VERY difficult, I'm expecting it to be quite buggy when it's first released tbh. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 14, 2012, 08:29:32 PM
There simply wasn't time to get online multiplayer sorted, they had to outsource the local multiplayer to another Ubisoft developer.
If your game isn't complete on time you put it's release back a bit - you don't just cut out the most important part. (Most important for the vast majority of people anyway...)

It really is one of the most ridiculous decisions I've heard about in a long time. The fact that they successfully put local multiplayer in but didn't take that relatively small step to put online multiplayer in is just astounding.

Did Ubi just come to the conclusion that you'll never find two friends who'll both buy a U, so there'd be no need for online multiplayer?
The initial assumption is fair enough, but the conclusion is flawed - even if you've got no friends you'll enjoy online multiplayer...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 14, 2012, 08:33:26 PM
Halo 4 came with a 14 day GOLD trial, so put that in before purchasing and played one game of CTF..

..I've still got it  8)  Considering its changed a lot.. still managed to walk away with +15 K/D ratio.. plus the highest amount of kills..   ooooh baby!!  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 14, 2012, 11:29:50 PM
You didn't read that first paragraph. Nintendo requested a Mature/18 rated launch title. Putting the release back wasn't an option.

Like I said, we'll see online multiplayer in the inevitable sequel. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 15, 2012, 09:57:22 AM
You didn't read that first paragraph. Nintendo requested a Mature/18 rated launch title. Putting the release back wasn't an option.
Like I said, we'll see online multiplayer in the inevitable sequel. ;)
To be honest, not only did I not see that paragraph - I didn't see the page. Thought the thread was still on page 72...  ;D

What's more important? Getting the game launched in November so that Nintendo can boast a (buggy and massively flawed) mature title at launch, or taking an extra couple of months to create a game that might actually make people consider buying the console.

As Kenny said, the game could and should have been exceptional. As it is, though, it's got a distinct half-arsed vibe.
Of course there'll be online multiplayer in the sequel. That'll be too late, though. Who's going to buy a U in 2 years' time? The nextbox and ps4 will be out. Nintendo need to shift serious numbers of consoles in the next 12 months, because sales will dry up once we get to within a few months of the next gen machines' launching.



It may not matter to you but it will to many others.
Consider this. I bet 50% of the people who have purchased Blops 2 won't even look at the campaign for the first month or so of owning the game some wont look at it at all.
No online multiplayer is a big loss for this game.
Good call. TBH I usually play the campaign first, then multiplayer (and then zombies or spec ops) but so far I've not looked at the campaign at all. It's all about the multiplayer (though I did have one quick look at zombies last night).

Am liking the game a LOT more than MW3. The majority of the maps seem well designed, some of the new toys are great, I prefer the scorestreak system, and I'm very impressed with the loadout system. Also impressed with Elite, tbh. I appreciate Elite isn't new, but it's new to me and it seems pretty clever. For instance I was changing my loadouts/classes on the tablet whilst watching a film with the family last night.

In my first game I got 13 kills and 5 deaths. The temptation was to take the game out of the machine and never play it again, at that point. My combat record showed a 2.6 K/D ratio, and that ain't ever going to happen again!
To be honest, I got a positive K/D in every game on Tuesday evening. Then turned it off for a few hours, and played again after midnight - and got right royally pwned in every game. I should play more evenings and less around 12am-4am. I'm insomniac and only sleep about 3 hours a night, but that doesn't mean I don't get tired - and I think tiredness accounts for a lot of my deaths.
Suffice to say I've now completely killed my K/D ratio - which is now 0.77 ;D

Also just noticed that it shows how much you've played each of the last 3 CODs:
BO1 = 302 hours
MW3 = 6 hours
BO2 = 4 hours
I'm pretty sure WAW and MW2 were each around 300 hours, too.

Damn but I didn't like MW3...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 15, 2012, 11:03:39 AM
Sales won't dry up at all. All Nintendo need to do is release one or two of their first party big guns around the same time that those consoles are launching. Out of the three platform holders Nintendo have the biggest stable of system selling software. That, combined with the system being cheaper than the PS4 and 720, means that it's going to continue selling for years to come.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 15, 2012, 11:14:22 AM
It'll continue to sell some units, but nowhere near as many as it did when it's rivals were last gen. There'll always be a market for kiddie games consoles if the price is right. But you've moved off the point, there.

You're talking about how ZU2 will have multiplayer as though it's relevant - and it isn't. If it's target audience is mature gamers who like to play online and are considering upgrading from their ps3/360 do you really think that demographic is going to be even remotely tempted by the U if the ps4/nextbox are on the market?
Not a chance.

If you want to sell to that group (which is probably the largest section of the gaming market) then you need to give them what they want now - not in a couple of years' time.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 15, 2012, 11:39:31 AM
Also just noticed that it shows how much you've played each of the last 3 CODs:
BO1 = 302 hours
MW3 = 6 hours
BO2 = 4 hours
I'm pretty sure WAW and MW2 were each around 300 hours, too.

Damn but I didn't like MW3...


My K/D ratios..

Halo 2 - 1.03 (2705 games)
Halo 3 - 1.44 (2498 games)
Halo Reach - 1.32 (933 games)
Halo 4 - 2.15 (1 game)  ;D


Sales won't dry up at all. All Nintendo need to do is release one or two of their first party big guns around the same time that those consoles are launching. Out of the three platform holders Nintendo have the biggest stable of system selling software. That, combined with the system being cheaper than the PS4 and 720, means that it's going to continue selling for years to come.

If sales dont dry up, the system wont have a price cut (you do realise the Wii went without a price cut for 3 years ??) so it wont "definitely" be cheaper than the PS4/720 unless you agree that sales will dry up...  The Wii U is expensive at the moment and even Ubisoft have agreed with that... sales will be hot for the first month.. they will totally dry up after christmas.. bet your ass on it!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 15, 2012, 04:10:35 PM
If you've got an 8gb drive you can't install anything. System files, profiles, game updates, and save files will eat through that in no time.
A 32gb drive might last a casual gamer for a couple of months (again, so long as they don't install or download any full games), but to all intents and purposes both are way too small...

Nintendo have now announced that system files and profiles etc. are expected to take up about 5gb of the U's internal memory.
Buyers of the base model are expected to have approximately 3.2gb of accessible storage space.  ;D
Ridiculous. Download the DLC for one game and the drive's full =))




Xbox live is celebrating it's 10th birthday this week. To celebrate they've got a few offers (http://www.dealspwn.com/xbox-live-10th-anniversary-deal-roundup-121729) on. I've not had a proper look so no comment as yet...


I hear there's big problems (http://www.dealspwn.com/black-ops-ii-ps3-woes-mount-dead-dlc-freezing-121683) with COD on the ps3. Anyone experienced any?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 15, 2012, 04:32:25 PM
Also just noticed that it shows how much you've played each of the last 3 CODs:
BO1 = 302 hours
MW3 = 6 hours
BO2 = 4 hours
I'm pretty sure WAW and MW2 were each around 300 hours, too.

Damn but I didn't like MW3...


My K/D ratios..

Halo 2 - 1.03 (2705 games)
Halo 3 - 1.44 (2498 games)
Halo Reach - 1.32 (933 games)
Halo 4 - 2.15 (1 game)  ;D


Sales won't dry up at all. All Nintendo need to do is release one or two of their first party big guns around the same time that those consoles are launching. Out of the three platform holders Nintendo have the biggest stable of system selling software. That, combined with the system being cheaper than the PS4 and 720, means that it's going to continue selling for years to come.

If sales dont dry up, the system wont have a price cut (you do realise the Wii went without a price cut for 3 years ??) so it wont "definitely" be cheaper than the PS4/720 unless you agree that sales will dry up...  The Wii U is expensive at the moment and even Ubisoft have agreed with that... sales will be hot for the first month.. they will totally dry up after christmas.. bet your ass on it!

Of course it will definitely be cheaper. The 2-4GB of RAM and GPU pushing 1.8TFLOPS in the PS4 and 6-8GB of RAM and GPU pushing 1.2GFLOPS says so. You'll find the PS4 and 720 being around 100 dollars/pounds more expensive, which in the middle of the worst recession we've seen in donkeys years is quite a big deal.

And comparing the sales of the phenomenon that was the Wii to any other console is unfair, we're not going to see another console sell that well again.

It would be better to compare the sales of the 360 during its first year to the sales of the U after it launches. And as I've already mentioned, Nintendo have the biggest stable of system selling software in the business. A Mario Kart, Wii Sports U, 3D Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Xenoblade Chronicles sequel, F-Zero, Wave Race, Donkey Kong or Retro's new title (assuming it isn't another Metroid title) will boost console sales when needed, and that's before you take into account any more exclusive deals with developers like Bayonetta 2.

Nintendo's year head start is going to put them in the same position as the 360 was this gen, except there isn't going to be a Wii equivalent sales phenomenon to outsell it next gen. They've basically 'won' next gen before it's even started in terms of hardware and software sales, and because of Nintendo's surprising forward thinking with regards to the architecture and GPU it's not going to suffer from the problems that the Wii has had this gen with multiplatform titles.

Like I've said before, if I was a Microsoft shareholder I'd be seriously pissed off that they didn't release a next gen console last year. That advantage they had this gen has now gone to Nintendo next gen.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 15, 2012, 04:54:08 PM
I agree with Harv - the U will definitely be cheaper than the next gen consoles.

Might be comparable once you've bought all your peripherals, mind (HDD, variety of controllers, etc.)...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 15, 2012, 10:54:25 PM
Bloody hell, this Eurogamer review of NSMB U is tempting me to buy it (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-11-15-new-super-mario-bros-u-review)!!! :o :o :o

Has a Metascore of 88 last I saw it, Nintendo Land is also (surprisingly!) sounding great.

Reviews for ZombiU are out on Sunday, that's the one I'm really looking forward to. Should be the Wii U killer app I reckon. ;D

Going to be scary though!!! :o :-\ :'( :o :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 16, 2012, 07:44:20 AM
After about 15 games of Halo 4 last night (slightly intoxicated) my K/D ratio has gone down from 2.15 to 1.69  ;D

Have to say though that on the large, Im mostly disappointed with Halo 4 Matchmaking.. the changes they have made dont make it feel like Halo anymore, its too fast paced and I dont like the idea of not having guns scattered on the playing field, plus they have dropped playlists I loved like Assault.  If I wanted to play COD I'd of bought COD.. its ripped too many game mechanics imo  :-\

I agree with Harv - the U will definitely be cheaper than the next gen consoles.

Well its more expensive than the 360 was at launch... and the nextbox wont have an £100 gamepad to have to deal with  ;D  I cant see nintendo sitting on their launch price for too long though.. sales will definitely dry up and it will be slashed within 6 months
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 16, 2012, 07:58:11 AM
Like I've said before, if I was a Microsoft shareholder I'd be seriously pissed off that they didn't release a next gen console last year. That advantage they had this gen has now gone to Nintendo next gen.

Yeah, I bet they are totally pissed off when they realise the 360 has been the highest selling console in the US every month for the past 15 months now ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 16, 2012, 09:05:56 AM
I agree with Harv - the U will definitely be cheaper than the next gen consoles.

Well its more expensive than the 360 was at launch... and the nextbox wont have an £100 gamepad to have to deal with  ;D  I cant see nintendo sitting on their launch price for too long though.. sales will definitely dry up and it will be slashed within 6 months

I'm expecting £400 - which is fair enough if it has decent processors/ram/hdd. You'd pay that for a half decent gaming pc.
Nintendo will definitely have to cut their prices next year. I've always maintained nobody's going to pay £300 for a U if they know they could get the nextbox/ps4 in a few months' time for £400.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 16, 2012, 10:58:36 AM
£400.. I doubt it.. maybe for the PS4.. I'd be suprised if the 720 topped £350 though.. very suprised... microsoft always sell their consoles at a loss - even in those leaked documents $299 was talked about.. the amount of money they make from xbox live has supported development of the 720 and I fully expect it to subsidise part of the retail cost too..


New GTA 5 trailer (http://www.rockstargames.com/V/) - this just keeps on looking better and better everytime something new comes out.. I dont think I've been this excited about a GTA game ever!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on November 16, 2012, 04:14:41 PM
Got my first couple of hours online on Blops 2 last night. Have to say it's a big improvement on MW3, which I hated. Played a couple of missions on the campaign the day I got it and didn't think much. Felt like it was trying too hard to push the futuristic setting... flying bat suits, invisibility suits and gloves that allow you to cling to the side of cliffs all in mission one. It's only 2025!

The maps online seem good, save for some frustrating spawn points on a couple of maps which allow the sweaty kids that have prestiged two or three times already to know where exactly you'll spawn. I'm liking the new scorestreaks and the loadout setup though. Will hopefully get stuck into Hardcore S&D soon as that's always been my favourite mode. Just gotta learn the maps first, otherwise you end up looking a total wally when everyone else on the team is dead, watching you, and you don't know how to get to the bomb!  ;D

Hopefully find some time over the weekend to play as it's double XP!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 16, 2012, 04:36:00 PM
...Just gotta learn the maps first, otherwise you end up looking a total wally when everyone else on the team is dead, watching you, and you don't know how to get to the bomb!  ;D
Sprint and Marathon perks ftw.
Hopefully get in behind the enemy while they're cautiously approaching the target sites. If it works you're scoring and don't get laughed at as much. If it doesn't you're the first person dead and there ain't nobody watching you trying to jump up objects that can't be scaled, running round in circles unable to find the door/path you need, and falling off cliffs...
 ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 16, 2012, 06:30:28 PM
£400.. I doubt it.. maybe for the PS4.. I'd be suprised if the 720 topped £350 though.. very suprised... microsoft always sell their consoles at a loss - even in those leaked documents $299 was talked about.. the amount of money they make from xbox live has supported development of the 720 and I fully expect it to subsidise part of the retail cost too..


New GTA 5 trailer (http://www.rockstargames.com/V/) - this just keeps on looking better and better everytime something new comes out.. I dont think I've been this excited about a GTA game ever!

It's more likely that the PS4 is going to be cheaper than the 720 given the target specs for each. The 720 is going to be more powerful. If either one of them is over £399.99 then they could end up with another Vita on their hands.

And as I've already mentioned, Nintendo have the huge advantage of having a much bigger stable of system selling IPs compared to Sony and Microsoft. The U is going to continue selling after the other two consoles have been released, without the need of a price cut.

Edit: First review from ONM is in for ZombiU - 92. Can see it getting a load more 9s and maybe a few 10s. Embargo is over on Sunday. Can't wait to see how this does, should end up with a Metascore of 90+ I reckon. 8)

Another Edit: Gamespot have given it 4.5/10, but all of his negative points are plus points for a survival horror game, think he was expecting an action horror game rather than a survival horror game. Edge have given it a 7 which is good.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 18, 2012, 01:33:23 AM
Love double xp weekend on cod - despite Kenny repeatedly kicking my arse.
Have gone from level 20 to level 40 so far :D
Even took time out to make a very nice spongebob logo.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 18, 2012, 02:21:41 AM
Spongebob logo - CoD iz 4 kidz :P

Another ZombiU review is in, 4 in total:

Gamespot: 45
ONM: 92
Edge: 7
Gamesmaster: 97 :o

Looks like the Gamespot review is going against the grain so far, will be interesting to see how this goes once more reviews are in. Could be a case of love it or hate it, perhaps..? :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 18, 2012, 02:35:15 AM
Be sure to keep us updated with the zombieu reviews please Harv.

And don't dis Spongebob. He's got more grown up fans than Nintendo have... :p




Edit - bloody autocorrect.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on November 18, 2012, 03:24:16 AM
Haha! Everytime I got killed I think it was you! :'( Loving your Playercard emblem.. wish I was that creative. I just look at all the layers and shapes and think "cba".

Hate core though. I usually unload half a clip into someone to kill them, then another half when their buddy comes round the corner, then get killed whilst reloading. :'( Or someone takes a whole clip in the back, turns around and kills you! Eventually had to go play some HC S&D and managed to get my K/D up a bit. Think it's around 1.2 now. Usually it's around 1.5 on the IW titles but around 1 on the Treyarch titles, which I'm terrible on.

Liking this one a lot more though. Just wish there was a snow map or two, and another few night maps. Derail and Sub Base were cracking maps on MW2; it added another dimension to the gameplay.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 18, 2012, 04:43:04 AM
Yeah I usually play hardcore version but went into core by mistake and am getting into it (and can't be chewed to redesign my loadout to hc at the mo).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 18, 2012, 06:10:09 PM
Blimey, these ZombiU reviews are a bit mixed. Haven't read any of them yet because I don't want to see any spoilers but it's getting everything from 3s and 4s to 8s and 9s. Looks like it could be a Marmite title as I suggested before. Should end up with a Metascore in the 70s though I think when all is said and done.

The Giant Bomb Quick Look has been enough to inspire a few people to order one.

Can't wait until the 30th so I can try it out for myself!!! ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 18, 2012, 10:54:40 PM
Not going to be quite the system seller you thought it would be then... who knew  :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on November 18, 2012, 11:39:22 PM
I tend to disregard reviews from sites such as IGN, Gamespot and Game Informer. I've read Edge's review and they give ZombiU a 7, which is pretty decent considering they're generally harsh reviewers, and they speak of it quite fondly in some areas
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 19, 2012, 01:25:26 AM
Not going to be quite the system seller you thought it would be then... who knew  :o ;D

It'll still sell systems regardless mate.

As ancelotti has said, Edge has given it a 7 (which is the equivalent of 85+ compared to other sites) and Eurogamer have given it a 9.

I think the reviewers that have given it 4 or 5 were expecting a traditional FPS with zombies and have been running and gunning rather than playing it the way it should be played - as a slow-paced survival horror game where you need to take your time and think what you're doing, conserving ammo and being stealthy.

If you run around like it's CoD Zombies or Left 4 Dead blasting everything in sight then you're going to be left with bugger all ammo and will be left with nothing but a cricket bat swipe or 5 between life and death. This is a game you need to take your time with, making sure you explore areas properly to find hidden ammo and weapons...and even then, you're still going to die. A lot. :o

If you rush through the game you're also not going to appreciate the feeling of loss that you'll get from using a survivor for a couple of hours. Some of the reviews have said you'll both love it and hate it lol. ;D

A true survival horror game with Souls'/roguelike features is full of instant win for me, but it appears (despite Ubisoft billing it as an old school survival horror game that's going to be unforgiving) that some reviewers haven't grasped the concept and haven't reviewed it accordingly.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 19, 2012, 07:52:50 AM
A review is a review at the end of the day... you make of it as you want.... I'd be a tad concerned that more than one has highlighted clunky controls, muddy graphics and no depth whatsoever though... Edge are usually reliable reviewers.. but a 7 is still a 7.. an average - good game... funny how it highlights the scarce ammo situation in their review, they make it sound like a bad feature.. not sure I'd be happy playing an FPS with mostly just melee weapons.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 19, 2012, 08:35:14 AM
But it isn't an FPS, it's a survival horror game mostly in first person perspective. The worst thing about all this is that Capcom are noticing these mixed reviews and are unlikely to make a proper Resident Evil game as a result :'(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 19, 2012, 10:42:01 AM
If you give a first person perspective game guns.. then its classified as an FPS Im afraid.. I'd even classify Condemned as a FPS even though the gunplay is severely limited (even more so than ZombiU) but edge gave condemned a 6 and I absolutely loved it, one of the best launch games on the 360 IMO.. the combat was brilliant in condemned even if it did just have mostly melee weapons - it doesnt sound from the reviews that the combat mechanic is that good in ZombiU though - I'd probably still buy ZombiU at launch if I was buying a U.. but it doesnt sound as good as it could of been..

I just read the GS review and that has totally trashed the game... lol at the fan-boys getting nerd-rage over it though!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 19, 2012, 12:48:05 PM
I can't blame them though, a score of 4.5 is ridiculous. Any game getting a score that low should be nearly unplayable. :-\

Have just seen on Gaf that the U upscales Wii games which is a pleasant surprise :o

Shame all mine are copies lol, although if that's the case I may be tempted to get hold of Xenoblade Chronicles cheap, the game is pretty stunning, even in 480p. Gawd knows how they managed to squeeze that much out of that little white box :o ;D

Edit: Have just been reading the Black Ops 2 U thread on Gaf, apparently you can play with one player using the telly and one player using the touchscreen online as well as offline, framerate takes a little hit though. Wasn't expecting that, quite a nice feature for those that want it. Some performance issues here and there though, should get a patch during this next week I reckon. Probably rushed out the door. Arkham City and Ninja Gaiden 3 also have performance issues too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 19, 2012, 03:40:22 PM
I heard theres a 5GB firmware update that needs to be downloaded straight out of the box and can take between 1-4 hours... bad news for the basic owners - they will literally have no hard-drive space at all lol...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 19, 2012, 06:17:07 PM
It's 4.2 I think, they're left with 3GB which leads me to think that my swapspace theory might be correct. Won't be useful to developers needing fast access RAM but will be a potential gamechanger for open world games if true :o

4GB is waaaaay too big for an OS footprint so there must be something else going on that we don't know about.

Edit: I thought this was pretty cool (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=44519459&postcount=2115) ;D ;D ;D

Another Edit: This Giant Bomb Quick Look video (http://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-zombiu/17-6810/) has been responsible for a few purchases of ZombiU, have only watched the first minute or so because I don't want any spoilers but I really like the newspaper articles on the touchscreen and the inventory and stuff being handwritten, great art direction imo
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 19, 2012, 09:22:17 PM
Sounding more and more like a lame duck this console, isn't it. :(  Too late to cancel your preorder, or you gonna stick with it and pray?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 19, 2012, 10:14:41 PM
I'm going to stick with it and enjoy it mate. Hands-on reports from people in the States are glowing so far for ZombiU. And I've just read that the Gamespot reviewer has got something fundamentally wrong in the text of his review. He claims that all you need to do is lure a single zombie away from the pack, bash them with the bat a few times and rinse and repeat to complete the game. This is wrong, and makes me think that the reviewer in question didn't even complete the game. :-\ :o

Later on in the game you get zombies that spit at you from a distance (which takes off around a fifth of your health and buggers up your vision, meaning you'll find it difficult to use your bat on the zombies close to you). You also get zombies with explosives that blow up when you hit them.

I guess it is possible to complete the game with just the cricket bat but you're probably going to have deaths in triple figures if you don't use the other weapons and some sort of strategy to do so.

I wonder if he actually finished it or not..? :-\

As far as the framerates in some of the other games goes that's what patches are for :P Most of these games have been rushed for launch, you'll see PS4 and 720 games having framerate issues on launch day too. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 19, 2012, 11:56:18 PM
If they decide to port a game that's over a year old to the nextbox/ps4 and have about a year to do so then I'd be bloody surprised if it wasn't flawless at launch.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 20, 2012, 12:42:50 AM
Not necessarily mate, not when development is hectic due to constant SDK and hardware revisions, the majority of the work being done on unfinished dev kits and developers are getting the hang of a completely new architecture.

Although that last one won't be a problem with the PS4 and 720 thanks to the U being the first console with said different architecture. But those other two problems will still be faced by developers.

Looks like Ubisoft Montpellier saw reviewers not 'getting it' coming (http://i.imgur.com/MfgfE.jpg) ;D ;D ;D

I love easter eggs like that lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 20, 2012, 02:40:01 AM
For anyone who can't get the broken code/link to work, it's a zombie u secret message that reads "Heads up we forgot to include the most important part of the game..."

Blops 2 prestiged once, already. Definitely a personal record, that. Usually takes me around 5-8 weeks per prestige, but that took one week. The double xp weekend played a big part of course.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 20, 2012, 02:51:58 AM
Fixed lol. User feedback says different. ;D

People are really raving about how tense and scary this game is. Could end up being a huge hit despite the mixed reviews. The 30th can't come soon enough for me, this is sounding like the best survival horror game in donkeys years :o 8)

Lol, now they're taunting us lololol (http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/643995_10151540854673957_1143101966_n.jpg) ;D ;D ;D

I'm planning on beating Survivor Mode with crosshairs turned off 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 20, 2012, 08:27:27 AM
Why would you need crosshairs when you have to go round with a cricket bat for 90% of the time anyway ? lol  ;D


Edit : Wow just seen a huge list of Wii U issues (http://www.nowgamer.com/features/1685385/wii_u_launch_what_went_wrong.html) already - not good for nintendo.. considering you always wait for GOTY editions on games and slimline editions on consoles harv.. Im suprised your going to go ahead and pay top price for a console that has so many launch day issues.. you must be desperate!

Edit, Edit : Wow.. the RAM issue seems to be annoying a load of tech-nerds too  ;D.. seems like a teardown has indicated that the Wii U tech is actually not all that, apart from the GPU, everything is on par or worse than what current gen consoles have..  :-\ ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 20, 2012, 09:21:14 AM
You shouldn't worry about the RAM. We' ve known for a while that it's using DDR3, and it's quite likely that the PS4 and 720 will be using the same unless the density of GDDR5 doubles before they release.

The eDRAM on-die will prevent any bottlenecking issues, as Shin'en have already pointed out there's very little latency with the RAM.

The framerate issues will be down to the U having a completely new architecture, a patch or two should sort that out.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on November 20, 2012, 09:46:39 AM
Back into skyrim the last few days. Love it. Think i will upgrade to fibre optic bb and get black ops
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 20, 2012, 12:16:57 PM
So how many times more powerful is the Wii U compared to the 360 then harv since the console has had a teardown.. doesnt sound 4x, 3x or even 2x more powerful to me.. sounds like the Wii U is a pile of shit which is on par with 7 year old tech.. the Wii U is doomed to fail Im afraid, you'll see a HUGE difference when the next-gen machines do finally appear :-\  Third parties have been staying away from the Wii U for good reason it seems  :P

Edit : Just read the Wii U has no normal ethernet ports on it either.. you have to use wi-fi or a usb adapter...lol, this console just gets worse and worse
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 20, 2012, 04:15:38 PM
The same as I said it was - 3 to 4 times more powerful. 4 times the RAM, more than 3 times the eDRAM on the GPU, the eDRAM is on-die, the GPU has a DX11 equivalent feature set, the GPU has a feature that allows developers to save memory on textures meaning it doesn't need to have as much throughput (FLOPs) as other GPUs (and that's patented), it has an ARM 11 co-processor, the main CPU has 3MB of eDRAM cache (again, on-die) as opposed to 1MB on the Xenon, it has an Out of Order Execution CPU, it has a DSP and dedicated silicon for IO processing.

Nothing has changed, it's still 3-4 times more powerful than the 360.

And the RAM, despite being DDR3 (which the PS4 and 720 are also likely to have as I've previously mentioned), has very low latency. Nintendo have always released balanced systems and the Wii U won't be any different. You'll have the 720 (the most powerful of the two other next gen consoles) being three times more powerful at the most which is in the same sort of ballpark in terms of power

There's a lot more going on under the hood than a simple teardown will reveal, particularly with the RAM and GPU. Developers are very happy with it so far, the only reasons why the ports aren't great is because of the different architecture compared to the PS3 and 360 and that the ports have been rushed to make launch. And those performance issues that have been reported should be fixed with a patch or two during the next week or so. It's not as if any single PS3 or 360 game has ever been perfect out of the box lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 20, 2012, 04:54:24 PM
It's about 1-2 times as powerful as the ps3/360 - stop deluding yourself.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 20, 2012, 08:09:25 PM
I'm not deluding myself at all mate. ::)

Three times as much CPU cache, more than three times as much GPU cache, the benefits of that GPU, CPU and eDRAM being in an MCM, an ARM co-processor, a DSP, an IO processor, an Out Of Order Execution CPU, 4 times the RAM, a GPU confirmed to have a DX11 equivalent feature set as well as having a patented feature that saves memory usage for textures all say I'm not deluding myself.

Plenty of people on Gaf are doing their usual and overreacting to the memory speed and the latest comments from a THQ developer complaining about the CPU but are forgetting what we know of the system so far, which I've listed above, and are forgetting that Nintendo always produce balanced systems. You're not going to have any bottlenecking issues with that DDR3. Gaf does make me laugh sometimes lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on November 20, 2012, 09:12:50 PM
Ordered my fibre today  :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 20, 2012, 11:00:13 PM
Do you get that for nowt working for Sky..?

Edit: Am getting my old-school zombie groove on in preparation for ZombiU. First up is the original Resident Evil. Don't think I've got da skillz to do what I did years ago any more - I completed the game donkeys years ago killing every single zombie. Took me bloody ages lol ;D

I did restart this a while ago but got sidetracked for some reason. :-\

I love Jill Valentine :-* :-* :-*
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 21, 2012, 12:08:21 AM
Jill Sandwich :o :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 21, 2012, 09:21:13 AM
If you want to get some preparation in for ZombiU.. I'd recommend Brian Laras Cricket... you gonna be using that bat a lot by the sounds of it  ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 21, 2012, 09:48:02 AM
pmsl
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 21, 2012, 10:00:45 AM
Hope you werent looking forward to a Metro game on the Wii U harv..

The Wii U has a horrible, slow CPU (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-11-20-metro-last-light-developer-calls-the-wii-u-cpu-horrible-slow)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 21, 2012, 11:37:39 AM
The list of problems and criticisms is quite scary.

Saw a nice summary (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=500430) yesterday (with source links for each issue):
Slower than expected browser benchmarks
Security issues and possible debug code left activated
Questionable choices for onboard RAM
Issues with Account Sharing between systems
Lack of quality control on 3rd party launch titles
Audio Setup problems with HDMI and certain setups
Single unique Saved game slot for all users limitation
Day Zero 5gb patch download
Shorter than expected battery life
Various issues with the interface
Various HDMI video outputs issues
WIFI Configuration Problems
Severe problems with distance limitations and gameplay
Loading time problems
Hard lock issues
Can't switch over NNIDs to a new console


Worrying. Some of the above can probably be fixed with patches, but that's a lot of teething problems. The last thing they need is for developers to say they won't bother making U versions because it'd be worse than the ps3/360 versions because the U isn't up to scratch.

Still - it seems to be selling well. Nintendo know they can easily sell any old rubbish to the uninitiated and the ignorant, so they'll happily push out a broken and woefully underpowered console and rake in the coffers.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 21, 2012, 12:43:05 PM
Well I know THQ are financially constrained in terms of spreading their team too thin on creating ports for all systems.. but to openly come out and attack the Wii U hardware... it doesnt sound like nintendo made their console with 3rd party developers in mind at all.. despite harvs protests...

And if the Wii U cant get a 360/PS3 port to work on their system.. it doesnt bode well for when the 720/PS4 comes out.. Im now thinking the Wii U could be an unmitigated disaster on all fronts... with a lifespan the equivalent of the Sega Saturn... its going to understandably sell-out everywhere.. nintendo have a massive worldwide fan-base.. but I just cant see after christmas how they will continue to sell.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 21, 2012, 02:40:00 PM
Hope you werent looking forward to a Metro game on the Wii U harv..

The Wii U has a horrible, slow CPU (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-11-20-metro-last-light-developer-calls-the-wii-u-cpu-horrible-slow)

That was an 'early look'. They probably ported PS3 or 360 code without optimising it. With the 360 and PS3 the CPU deals with sound, IO, OS functionality and floating point operations. The U has dedicated silicon for all this, if they're not optimising the code to suit the new architecture then of course it's going to struggle.

I've said this before - it's going to be easier to port code to and from the U, PS4 and 720 than it is to port code to and from the U, PS3 and 360 thanks to Nintendo's forward thinking regarding the architecture.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 21, 2012, 03:25:02 PM
I've said this before - it's going to be easier to port code to and from the U, PS4 and 720 than it is to port code to and from the U, PS3 and 360 thanks to Nintendo's forward thinking regarding the architecture.

LOL.. so basically what your saying is.. until the 720/PS4 comes out.. the Wii U is going to get ignored, shafted and overlooked by all multi-platform developers.. and then when the real next-gen consoles come out, the Wii U will be the worst platform to buy your multi-plat games on anyway - how is that forward thinking ??  ;D ;D

Its too easy to troll you at the moment harv.. the Wii U has had a pretty terrible launch with tons of hardware issues and the tech inside is nowhere near as powerful as you once claimed... soon as you accept some of these facts and stop trying to defend them, the better.  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 21, 2012, 03:33:35 PM
I've said this before - it's going to be easier to port code to and from the U, PS4 and 720 than it is to port code to and from the U, PS3 and 360 thanks to Nintendo's forward thinking regarding the architecture.

LOL.. so basically what your saying is.. until the 720/PS4 comes out.. the Wii U is going to get ignored, shafted and overlooked by all multi-platform developers.. and then when the real next-gen consoles come out, the Wii U will be the worst platform to buy your multi-plat games on anyway - how is that forward thinking ??  ;D ;D

No. What I'm saying is that developers will run into problems if they don't optimise their code for the U. The Metro developers are well known for being crap at optimising code properly.

It won't be overlooked by developers if publishers feel that it's worth releasing U SKUs of games, and going by the Wii U flying off shelves in the States since launch I'd say that's a safe bet. ZombiU has also sold out in a fair few places over there so that's going to show publishers that there is a 'hardcore' audience out there to purchase 'hardcore' titles.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 21, 2012, 03:35:44 PM
Its too easy to troll you at the moment harv...
I'm thinking the same. I feel guilty for almost bullying him, lately. Poor lad's preordered a Wii U - last thing he needs is for us to keep reminding him of that.

It's probably not too late to cancel the preorder, Harv. I imagine you realise what a horrendous mistake you've made and are trying to defend it so as not to look silly, but it's backfiring big time. Each time you tell people that the U isn't shit you're just making the hole bigger...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on November 21, 2012, 04:12:38 PM
Can't believe the Wii U's processor is slower than 7 year old consoles!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 21, 2012, 08:52:26 PM
Can't believe the Wii U's processor is slower than 7 year old consoles!

Clockspeed != power. ;)

The CPU in the Wii, the Broadway, is better than the CPU in the 360 for general processing despite being clocked at around 1GHz. Mostly due to it being an Out of Order Execution CPU.

Where the Xenon and the Cell excell is with floating point operations. Next gen you'll see the PS4 and 720 being similar to the U in that the floating point work will be passed to the GPGPU and the clockspeeds won't be above 3GHz. Doesn't mean that the CPUs in the PS4 and 720 will be less powerful than the CPUs in the PS3 and 360.

Developers are going to have to get used to this new architecture for all 3 consoles next gen.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 22, 2012, 08:50:55 AM
Oooh Far Cry 3 is out at the end of next week.. that one has quietly slipped under the radar for me what with playing Halo 4 and Dishonored (to be fair - I havent got very far with Dishonored yet)

Thank god they have gotten rid of the respawning enemies (confirmed).. hopefully they haven't got another annoying concept like the malaria you got in FC2 which constantly made you do stupid side-quests.. that was just annoying after the first 1 or 2 times..  but why call it Far Cry 3.. it has absolutely nothing to do with the first (or even second) game... I really enjoyed the predator abilities you got with the first game.. they are just a distant memory now though  :(


My mate bought me a copy of 'Rise of Nightmares' (kinect) - I had previously played the trial and basically got so pissed off with moving/turning in the game that I gave up...but to be fair, you do get used to it (a bit).. it just requires unnatural behaviour which is so slow and annoying.. i.e. there was a zombie behind a table coming to get me.. so imagine Im facing him and am going to go around the table to fight him... I had to go into normal stance and turn my left shoulder to turn the character.. back to normal stance once I was facing left.. put foot forward to move slowly forward... back to normal stance, turn right shoulder to turn right, put foot forward, back to normal stance, turn right again, and finally I could fight the zombie.... but little did I know (because I was facing the other way), the zombie had gone around the other end of the table and I was in the same pissing position as when I had started... lol.  At the moment, Im not skilled enough to move and turn at the same time.. lol, sounds stupid, but it really is a challenge with the way its been implemented.

Once you get over the annoying and retarded movement/turning system though.. the game is actually a bit fun... the fighting is simple enough, either fighting with fists, kicks or some kind of weapon.. , the story is as stupid as you'd expect from a House of the Dead game.. but its all weirdly entertaining in a low budget value way.. strange.. 
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on November 22, 2012, 11:43:53 PM
Still pretty much playing FIFA 13 and now Black Ops 2.

I actually thought Black Ops 2 was quite shit at first, didn't think I'd take to it as well as I have before with previous CoD games...I'm still torn on some issues though...The new class system makes it way too easy to set up cheap loadouts which make the game boring to play when you're coming up against the proven classes, and some of the weapons are a joke (Shock sticks that are way punishing, Bouncing Betties that you throw, rather than plant from a stationery position), but I'm enjoying it overall.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 22, 2012, 11:53:57 PM
That's why Microsoft should have done the same as Sony and cloned the remote and nunchuck. It would have been the best motion control solution of the lot if they had done that, despite the lag. That way you could have the best of all 3 worlds - Kinect with you as the controller, Kinect with pointer controls/swords/martial arts with movement and speech recognition and Kinect with the 360 controller and speech recognition. The options for developers would be pretty much unlimited that way.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 23, 2012, 08:10:31 AM
Well no, they shouldnt of cloned the remote and nunchuck.. Kinect is better than a remote and nunchuck in a lot of areas.. I mean the dancing/fitness games for example.. Kinect pisses all over the other implementations because it tracks your whole body and you dont need to hold a controller or purchase this, that and the other just to play a game.  In other areas it struggles because the tech isn't that advanced yet... Kinect absolutely raped Move in sales and you could say that it actually signalled the beginning of the end for the Wii console.. so obviously the majority of people dont agree with you.. RoN has been built for Kinect anyway, Sega obviously knew the limitations of the tech and produced a game which doesnt involve a ton of accuracy.. playing the game with a controller or remote/nunchuk would be pointless.

The supposed Kinect 2.0 doesnt exactly fill me with confidence though.. being able to track fingers would be excellent.. but it needs a lot more tech advancements before it gets to the stage where it can be great at playing any genre of game seemlessly.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 23, 2012, 09:21:10 AM
So you're saying giving developers more options isn't a good idea..? Really? ::)

You as the controller is a great idea but you can't use Kinect for any of the industry's biggest franchises. Cloning the remote and nunchuck would allow that.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 23, 2012, 09:42:39 AM
Well you just said it..

"You as the controller is a great idea"

As soon as you give them a remote and nunchuk - that idea and the whole appeal of Kinect dissipates you wally.

Imagine playing a fitness game - doing press-ups with a controller in your hand.. or having to dance with a remote tied to your wrist - no thanks.  If I want to play other genres, like FPS or Driving games then I'll do so with my controller.. the fact that nintendo have had to introduce a knock-off 360 controller goes to show that motion control itself has enough problems playing all types of games.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 23, 2012, 10:14:25 AM
Can't wait to see how badly the idiots with wiimotes and nunchucks get ripped apart by those with proper controllers on the Wii U.


I actually thought Black Ops 2 was quite shit at first, didn't think I'd take to it as well as I have before with previous CoD games...I'm still torn on some issues though...The new class system makes it way too easy to set up cheap loadouts which make the game boring to play when you're coming up against the proven classes, and some of the weapons are a joke (Shock sticks that are way punishing, Bouncing Betties that you throw, rather than plant from a stationery position), but I'm enjoying it overall.
I like the way tastes/requirements keep shifting in Blops2, and will probably continue to do so for the first month or two.
There were lots of shock/betty combos in the first week or so and it's still a popular combo but I'm finding less people use that now, as more people are using black hat and/or engineer to counter them.
Everyone had UAVs, at first, but as more people prestige that's becoming less popular as everyone has the ghost perk on (ghost is only available when you get to rank 55, the top rank, but each time you prestige you can permanently unlock one thing - and most people are picking ghost).
I'm noticing there seems to be a bigger difference in running speed when carrying a weapon than there's been before. I always rush the enemy (particularly useful in some of the objective modes, like S&D) and usually keep my assault rifle in my hands as I do so, as the increase in speed for putting it away isn't noticeable - but it's very noticeable in blops2, so I'm finding myself using knives more than usual. I'll have to give the ballistic knives a proper go some time.

Current favourite loadout:
MTAR Assault rifle with Silencer,
Perk 1 Greed, Perk 2 Greed,
Ghost & Lightweight in 1,
Marathon & Engineer in 2,
Black Hat & Bouncing Betty.
Unfortunately it means not having a second attachment on the primary weapon (I like Target Finder), and no secondary weapon, but you have to make compromises.
Search & Destroy, switch to knife, sprint around the map, if there's a betty in the way hack or avoid it,  and you're in behind the enemy and wreaking havoc. Or you're dead.
Will have to switch out the MTAR at some point. Only went with it because it was the first Assault Rifle available, and I've now levelled it enough to put emblems on.

Kill/Death ratio is improving slightly - now at 0.91 (with 1074 kills and 30.25 hours played).

Lately I'm sure I'm spending almost as much time dicking around making emblems as playing the game, mind. Have got a few good ones now (Spongebob, Mickey Mouse, Homer Simpson).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 23, 2012, 10:43:03 AM
Im pissed off that the emblems in Halo 4 are pants compared to previous versions.. I always had a 4 in my design but they have got rid of all the numbers and loads of legacy designs now :(

My emblems so far...

(http://oi50.tinypic.com/29fxtzp.jpg)

Yeah I really need to change my current one  :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 23, 2012, 01:57:37 PM
Lol, it's going to be the other way around late. Pointer controls are far superior to dual analog controls. Particularly with Treyarch behind the implementation. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 23, 2012, 02:58:19 PM
Have had a look around on COD Elite website but can't see my emblems. Given the other stuff you can do on there I'd expected you'd be able to see (and maybe edit) your emblems. However I can only see a tiny version of my currently used one:
(https://api.elite.callofduty.com//emblem/xbox/54d10030cc86b1b99bbc7f35319e8f31?size=40&title=ops2&imgtype=svg)

Well proud of that (though in reality it looks better than that tiny thing). You're allowed 32 layers, from a small number of shapes, and that pic uses all 32. In fact I think all of my pics do.
You could do similar in Blops1 but only had 10 layers. Here's the one I had on that:
(https://api.elite.callofduty.com//emblem/xbox/54d10030cc86b1b99bbc7f35319e8f31?size=40&imgtype=svg)

I'm intrigued to know, now, whether that above pic of Spongebob will change when I put a different pic on my gun tonight. I change my emblem to one of the others every couple hours or so.


Oooh, just remembered I did a new one last night. Says "I want to play a game" next to a partial pic of Jigsaw's creepy doll from the Saw films, with blood dripping down the lens.
Like I say - I might be spending too much time expressing my artistic side and not enough shooting baddies...  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on November 23, 2012, 03:39:31 PM
My loadout on Blops 2 (tailored for HC):

Type 25 with Suppressor, Grenade Launcher, Fore Grip (I think)
Marathon
Lightweight
Bouncing Betty x2

Wildcards:

Primary Gunfighter
Danger Close

Who needs a second weapon? Not me! Just trying to get to level 46 so I can unlock the Skorpion Evo gun, they seem really effective whenever I pick them up. I'm noticing bouncing betties aren't as effective now, good players know to crouch when going around corners!

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 23, 2012, 03:48:09 PM
Yeah, I remember we had to do the same on CoD WaW, with the 2nd world war bouncing betties.

Is silencer necessary on hardcore?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on November 23, 2012, 06:29:14 PM
Yeah, I remember we had to do the same on CoD WaW, with the 2nd world war bouncing betties.

Is silencer necessary on hardcore?

I find it helps if people have turtle beaches. Otherwise they know exactly where you are just by hearing your gunshot.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on November 24, 2012, 10:12:17 PM
I still take issue with the Bouncing Betties hugely in this game...The fact you can throw them is a joke, it basically makes them a dormant frag grenade...You should have to plant it, or at the very least reduce it's throwing range...I've seen killcams where someone has launched them miles and I've walked straight into them. They're ridiculous.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 24, 2012, 10:14:48 PM
Put engineer perk on and they're easy to avoid.
Engineer and black hat is a great combo.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 24, 2012, 11:49:13 PM
Aaaaaaargh!!! Why is time going so sloooooowly..?!!?!? :o

Friday can't come soon enough and I keep on reading more and more positive feedback of ZombiU. I'm really itching to give it a go! ;D

Playing the original Resident Evil game again reminds me of just how bad the hand holding is in games these days. If you guys haven't played the first two Resident Evil games before then get hold of a PS1 and give it a go.

ZombiU is bringing that sort of challenge and that sort of tension back to gaming. Even just one zombie is a threat - a swipe from one takes of around one fifth of your health and one single bite and you're brown bread lol. And they're more difficult to kill than Resident Evil zombies too - 3-6 blows to the head with a cricket bat or several headshots lol. Not too bad if there's only one zombie but if you get two it's a real handful and any more than that and the stress levels go into overdrive lol. Some have even said that it's the most stressful game they've ever played! :o 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on November 25, 2012, 03:33:50 AM
Put engineer perk on and they're easy to avoid.
Engineer and black hat is a great combo.

I haven't ranked up high enough to unlock Engineer as of yet, but I'll bear that in mind.

Just on the subject of perks though, they've taken away the best perks from previous CoD games...I absolutely loved Recon and Marksman in MW3, and they've both just totally vanished...Same goes for Last Stand/Second Chance (Yes, I know alot of people absolutely hated it, and practically had it forced out of the game, but it's a much better perk than things like Toughness and Awareness which are just wasted perks and may aswell not even be there).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 26, 2012, 09:59:25 AM
Bloody internet has been down for the past week now - it should be fixed today.. so had no xbox live action at all which has pretty much wasted that trial code I had (thanks virgin) - will try that internet explorer trick out when it does expire this week though...

Anyway, completed Halo 4 on legendary - currently replaying it for a 3rd time.. this time on coop (heroic).. after this - I might replay it one more time on coop (legendary) and put the campaign to bed.

... but without xbox live.. I thought I'd play something different (and since I've given Dishonored the cold shoulder for the time being)... I popped Dirt 3 back in the machine.. first impressions weren't great - felt too structured compared to Dirt 1 & Dirt 2... but now Im getting into it more and I like the Gymkhana bits to the game.. although I wish it was just a Rally game more than anything - still find that mode the most enjoyable.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 27, 2012, 07:44:19 AM
Grrr, pissed off with virgin, still no internet access.. oh we have to send an engineer round because your cable modem isnt working - no shit sherlock - I told you this last week... "but you have to be in"... so basically when they were doing work last week, they've fucked something up.. after quite a bit of arguing and demanding to speak to a manager - I get £30 credit.. still doesnt help the fact I have no internet and now have to be in on a saturday morning to wait for an engineer - to be fair, I would of been in anyway, but thats besides the point.. I will be threatening to go to the ombudsman if its not fixed on saturday - that should get their arses moving.

...anyway so back on Dirt 3 last night.. I found a way to make the game more fun and challenging - switching to helmet cam !!  Makes it a bit more difficult but I like it, given the game a new leash of life (well a bit anyway) - I was finding it a bit boring.. Dirt 1 & Dirt 2 are the best if you fancy a cheap rally game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 27, 2012, 12:11:31 PM
(http://www.dealspwn.com/writer/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/wii-mini-2.png)


Just why?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 27, 2012, 01:22:08 PM
Its called hedging your bets lol...

I hear they are also releasing an XL-CPU Version of the Wii U soon too.. lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 28, 2012, 07:11:42 PM
No idea what's going on there, they should go the Microsoft route and kill off their current gen console before launching their next gen one. That's pretty much what they've done with the DS and the 3DS. I guess they must be even cheaper to make so they'll end up with more profit when they eventually sell.

Those of you worrying about your kids dropping the GamePad need to rest at ease (http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/11/want_to_know_what_its_like_to_drop_your_wii_u_gamepad?). Dropped 4 feet onto concrete three times and it still works fine lol. If there's one thing you can say about Nintendo, they build their consoles to last :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 28, 2012, 09:34:08 PM
I don't think anyone here is worried about the durability of the u gamepad. You're the only bugger buying one.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 28, 2012, 11:54:44 PM
Lol, it won't be as mental as the sales of the Wii was but it should sell well. It's a Nintendo console released with a 2D Mario title day one. The ZombiU bundle should sell well too...don't know why Ubisoft and Nintendo didn't do the same thing in the States and especially Japan too. The U sold 400,000 in its first week in the States and it's pretty difficult to pick on up over there at the moment.

Have got confirmation that my ZombiU bundle is going to be delivered tomorrow which has surpised me, I thought Zavvi were supposed to be a bit crap with deliveries...definitely wasn't expecting it a day early :o

My 888 Casino betting bank is up to £430 now, that's over a hundred quid profit today lol, and all for an initial deposit of £20 so that's covered my Wii U ZombiU bundle, Black Ops 2, Darksiders 2 and Rayman Legends purchases. Going to pay off a fair few quid off my credit card during these next few weeks and order FIFA 13, Arkham City, Scribblenaughts Unlimited, Assassin's Creed 3 and am thinking about getting Nintendo Land and Tekken Tag Tournament 2 too 8) ;D 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 29, 2012, 07:55:36 AM
Just make sure you dont brick it on day 1 with the update harv... I think I'd die laughing  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 29, 2012, 10:27:08 AM
I always crap myself whenever updating my PS3 and 360. It's inexcusable for Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft not to have brick protection next gen >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 29, 2012, 11:01:28 AM
It's just common sense not to turn off electronic equipment while it's performing a software update, tbh.
Would be nice to be given some indication of how long it'll take before you agree to it starting the process, though. Often you're only talking a few minutes (in fact I had a system update on the 360 last night - I think it took about 5 mins), but from time to time you'll get an update that'll take over half an hour - and before it starts you get no real indication that it'll be a longer one than usual.

Can understand the frustration at the U day1 update being several hours long. If there isn't a warning before you start telling you that it'll need to do it's own thing for a few hours then Nintendo have made a mistake. If there is a warning then the customers who bricked their machines are idiots.

That's probably why you're getting your console a day early, Harv. When you get it you'll start the update. By the time it's finished that it'll be launch day. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 29, 2012, 01:46:24 PM
Oh I agree. Anyone stupid enough to turn their console off during an update deserves to brick their console. There is a warning telling you not to switch it off before you start the update too...but all 3 platform holders need to have some sort of brick protection just in case there's a power cut. I tend to get around two power cuts a year on average where I am, and if I'm in the middle of an update when it happens then I'm buggered. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 29, 2012, 03:05:34 PM
Oops, looks like marcan has hacked the Wii U already lol. He's only found the clockspeeds so far, 1.2GHz for the CPU and 550MHz for the GPU. Mind you, with the amount of crashes in the launch games so far it's no wonder someone found an exploit pretty quickly.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 29, 2012, 03:51:28 PM
Been feeling the urge to play through the Portal games again lately.
Played Portal 1 last weekend (or rather me and one of the kids played it on her profile) - but I sold my Portal 2 a few days after buying it, while it still had a lot of value. After looking around and getting no joy on finding a copy for less than £10 this week I've gone for a 30 day free trial (http://www.blockbuster.co.uk/bbsitecontent/affiliate/a6.aspx?utm_source=IGN&PID=1546795&utm_source=IGN&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=offer&utm_content=runofsite&cjtest1=a&cjtest2=b&mpch=ads) of Blockbuster's rental service.
Have put Portal 2 on my list, of course, and marked it "top ticket" (priority). Can have two at a time so have also put a load of other games I'm half-interested in onto my list, including the latest Halo, Hitman, Assassins Creed, and Max Payne games amongst others.

Must remember to cancel before the 30 days pass. Silly time to sign up, tbh - means the free month runs out over Christmas, so to be safe I'll have to return everything in about 3 weeks and cancel then. Also, it means taking COD out of the machine, while I'm still loving it. But free is free... ;)
There's mention on that link of getting £15 free credit to spend on the Blockbuster Marketplace, too - but you need to pay a month to get that. So not the end of the world if I don't cancel until mid/late January - means I get an extra month of rentals plus £15 credit, but I have to pay £9.99...



Preferred the Lovefilm deal I had a few years back, mind. That was spot on. 3 games at a time, 3 months free trial.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 29, 2012, 04:32:09 PM
Bah! Looks like I might have to wait until tomorrow after all, have been checking the tracking for DPD and they haven't received the console yet. Oh well, will just have to keep myself busy winning more cash on this Roulette. Have £495.70 in my account so far lol.

Going to have to get myself some photo ID before I can withdraw it though which is a pain in the arse as I don't own a driving licence or passport. Can't get a provisional driving licence without my doctor's approval, and there's no way he'd give that considering my diabetes control during the last few years and that and a passport will take ages to get here. Think I'll go for one of those Citizen Cards instead, they've got an express option and it's only 30 quid. ;D

£55 quid from that so far today, so not too far away from my £100 per day target. This is ridiculously easy money as long as you don't get greedy, stick to the system and do hit and run jobs. Unbelievable :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 30, 2012, 09:10:50 AM
Bloody hell, microsoft sold 750k of 360's in the US during the black friday week... thats insane... (more than the Wii U and Wii combined!!)  I bet those shareholders are really kicking themselves they didnt release a new console this year  ;D  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 30, 2012, 09:14:31 AM
  ;D Surprised Microsoft haven't gone belly up, tbh. It's one bad decision after another from them lately. They should headhunt some top Nintendo brass - learn how it's done.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 30, 2012, 12:03:08 PM
 ;D ;D

I really want to get Far Cry 3 now.. mainly because someone in my office got their pre-order today and Im jealous.. its sounds excellent now its ironed out the annoying features of the last game which held it back a bit... GOTY contender I've heard from several reviews..

...so it seems weird that Ubi - the biggest nintendo bummers of all decided against creating a Wii U version seeing as it has a release date inside the Wii U launch period.. constraints against the hardware prehaps or maybe Ubi didnt think it would sell much on the Wii U ?

I would bang out Dishonored next week and trade that in while it still had value, but being so close to xmas, Im banned from buying any more games until the new year  :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 30, 2012, 12:49:21 PM
1 hour and 15 minutes away from getting my Wii U delivered. Looks like one of my neighbours has just got one delivered too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 30, 2012, 03:06:45 PM
Two mugs living next-door to each other? :o
Do you actually live in an asylum?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 30, 2012, 03:22:15 PM
Next door but one as it goes.

Got it delivered, am now downloading the data for the update. Probably going to take hours to download due to Nintendo servers being so busy with traffic.

Console and GamePad are larger than I thought they'd be, screen is nice and sharp and more sensitive than the 3DS screen. The speakers are better quality than I expected, sound pretty good.

Had the same problem that plenty of other people have had connecting to the internet so had to enter settings manually which is a bit of a pain in the bum, might cause problems for those not technically minded...we'll probably see an article about it in the Scum tomorrow given their strange articles attacking Nintendo since the launch of the 3DS :-\

GamePad is really comfortable to hold too, although a little too light for me, I prefer a bit of weight to my controllers. If the 360 controller didn't have such a shite d-pad it would probably be my favourite controller because it's got plenty of weight behind it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 30, 2012, 03:34:30 PM
You've obviously got an old 360 controller, they replaced the d-pad with a much better one ages back.. I never found it a problem to be honest, the d-pad is hardly used in many games - but the new iteration fixed it.  The 360 pad is by far the best console controller ever made - anyone that says otherwise is either too "used" to a certain pad or a fanboy... or both!  Its also the best pc joypad too - I use my black wired one for pc gaming  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 30, 2012, 04:45:07 PM
Yup, it's an old one. ;D

Update done, took an hour and 10 minutes to download and install which isn't too bad. Just setting up my NNID now. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 30, 2012, 06:07:54 PM
Some of the pictures in the Miiverse communities are pretty good, there's one that someone's done in the ZombiU community of the Queen eating with the words 'One does like brains' lololol ;D ;D ;D

Edit: Shit, I've just had a quick go on ZombiU with the crosshairs switched off and it's more than a little insane lol :o ;D :o 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 01, 2012, 12:59:40 AM
Bloody hell, this game is bloomin tense already and I'm right at the beginning lmfao ;D

Had my first moment of real panic, got overrun by a horde of 4 zombies and didn't shut my bloody door in time lol. Would have slowed them down a bit but I can't barricade doors yet, no hammer. Aw shite, there's going to be 5 of the buggers now and there was quite a bit of stuff in that bitch's backpack. Now I've got to face 5 zombies with 6 bullets and a cricket bat :o :'( ;D

This game is fantastic!!!

Tried the FIFA 13 demo and it's not bad, the new control scheme is going to take a bit of getting used to but the option is there to play with normal controls for those that want to. Free kicks and penalties are greatly improved with the new controls, not totally sold on the new shooting though. It's more accurate but it takes a while for the brain to kick in when using it.

Graphically you can certainly notice the picth and crowd being twice the resolution compared to the PS3 and 360 SKUs, am definitely going to buy it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on December 01, 2012, 10:10:45 AM
Ambulance crews were called to a flat in London today where it appears a man has wanked himself to death over the new Nintendo WiiU.

Ambulance crew member Hugh G. Rection described the scene as a mess. "It appears the victim was able to write "Fuck you every critic everywhere ZombieU rocks" in his seed before he died. He followed that up with "I heart Nintendo"."

A kitten was removed from the property and was found to be scratching at the victims testicles. The kitten was named Georgie. Police investigating assume the feline is named after George Best and were quoted as saying "Well he is from London he's bound to support Man United"

Police are treating the death as suspicious. Officer Paddy O'Furniture was quoted as saying "The case looks pretty open and shut but for the life of us we can't understand why anyone would buy a WiiU let alone bash the bishop over it"
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 01, 2012, 12:59:07 PM
 ;D ;D ;D

I'm not the only one fapping over the Wii U and ZombiU 8)

A couple of hours in and I'm on my 15th survivor lol. Got stuck with a zombie horde attacking my safehouse, and the worst thing is that due to me dying before I got to my zombied survivor that I just got killed I've lost all of the gear she had. This game can be real punishing at times...particularly if you're daft enough to play it with aim-assist and crosshairs turned off lol. ;D :'( ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 01, 2012, 07:50:56 PM
Blimey, Nintendo really have joined the 21st Century, you can stream HD videos (only MP4 though) from your PC to your U using the browser.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 01, 2012, 11:52:17 PM
Shit, that's twice I've jumped out of my skin and twice when I've had a 'shitfuckfuckshitfuck' moment of panic lol :-[ ;D

This game really ups the tension lol, partly due to the atmosphere, lighting, sound and music and partly down to even one being a threat to life.  What a fantastic game.

I've now reincarnated as Patrick Knight, Hooligan and he's wearing a chavvy red and white tracksuit top...not going to be too upset when this fucker ends up being din dins...although being a gooner is going to make him less attractive to zombies because there's considerably less brain matter to eat :P 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on December 02, 2012, 12:30:13 AM
I feel my joke report failed....bollox....you win this round Harv you crafty bastard.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 02, 2012, 03:39:29 AM
Lol ;D

Patrick didn't last long, but he did manage to croak 5 zombies before he got infected. Am outside Buckingham Palace but having problems with a horde, will try again tomorrow. Think I might have to start using my shooter, have mostly been wielding the cricket bat because it's a great deal of fun, although unlike 99% of games you're not invulnerable when doing finishing moves :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 03, 2012, 12:24:24 AM
Ambulance crews were called to a flat in London today where it appears a man has wanked himself to death over the new Nintendo WiiU.

Ambulance crew member Hugh G. Rection described the scene as a mess. "It appears the victim was able to write "Fuck you every critic everywhere ZombieU rocks" in his seed before he died. He followed that up with "I heart Nintendo"."

A kitten was removed from the property and was found to be scratching at the victims testicles. The kitten was named Georgie. Police investigating assume the feline is named after George Best and were quoted as saying "Well he is from London he's bound to support Man United"

Police are treating the death as suspicious. Officer Paddy O'Furniture was quoted as saying "The case looks pretty open and shut but for the life of us we can't understand why anyone would buy a WiiU let alone bash the bishop over it"

Wahahahaha!



Congrats on the Blops 2 prestige Kenny.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on December 03, 2012, 12:52:45 AM
Cheers, Late. Had to play some Kill Confirmed to get through the last few levels as it just takes so long to rank up in S&D!

Chose to permanently unlock Ghost... seems to be the best bet, what with UAVs being so easy to get.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 03, 2012, 03:11:16 AM
Bloody Zavvi haven't delivered my copy of Black Ops 2 yet, and they posted it on Thursday. And they haven't even processed my Darksiders 2 order >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 03, 2012, 07:44:50 AM
Pretty much finished with Dirt 3 last night.. completed all but a couple of the lengthy single player achievements.. cant be arsed playing it online.. think I'll go back to Halo for a few days... want to carry on with the brilliantly thought out spartan ops storyline (I've only finished chapter 1 of 5)

I got my internetz back.. went through Internet Explorer App.. I didnt get 1 month for £1 though.. I got 1 month trial for free !! Just have to make sure my auto-renewal gets turned off by Jan 1st - I've blagged pretty much 2 months of free xbox live gold for nowt now with trials and cards  :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 03, 2012, 10:21:14 AM
(http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/2381/playsummary.png)


That's not healthy.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on December 03, 2012, 12:38:13 PM
(http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/2381/playsummary.png)


That's not healthy.

You have kids and a wife how the hell do you manage to play that much? I have one kid and a girlfriend and get to play maybe 1-2 hours every couple of days and even then she moans.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 03, 2012, 12:51:13 PM
Insomnia has it's up side. Most of my gaming is between 11pm and 4am.

I don't normally rack up anywhere near as much time as I did last week, mind. It's usually around 15-20 hours.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 03, 2012, 03:22:42 PM
The Wii U obviously didnt sell out in the UK, still available everywhere.. including GAME (http://www.game.co.uk/en/hardware/wii-u/?cm_sp=topnav-_-WiiU-_-NewWiiUConsoles)

Wow.. cant remember the last time a console didnt sell out at launch - its either an excellent sign that nintendo did ship shit-loads of units... or its a really bad sign that nobody is actually buying it.. what do you think harv ?  ;D

Edit : Oh and check out Fifa 13 reviews for the Wii U on metacritic harv - Xbox 360 version gets 90, Wii U gets 70 - did I not tell you it would be a gimped version ?  ;)  Dont tell me, the reviewers haven't got to grips with the control system yet ? lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 03, 2012, 04:05:32 PM
I downloaded the demo and it's pretty good but there is a steep learning curve which I suspect a fair few reviewers are struggling with, but I haven't checked out the reviews yet. I'm buying it on the strength of the demo myself.

I'm generally ignoring reviews for Wii U games after the reception that ZombiU has got so far. It's the best game I've played in years and it had a Metascore of 75 last time I looked.

The stress and tension in the game is unbelievable, you'd think with the death game mechanic that you wouldn't get attached to your survivors but when you've managed to keep someone alive for over an hour and he/she has plenty of loot you'll fight tooth and nail to keep them alive and be seriously crushed once they peg it - mainly because if your newly spawned survivor dies you lose the previous survivor's loot forever...and your Friends get notified that one of your corpses is roaming around so there's a race on to get the bugger lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 03, 2012, 04:28:06 PM
From what I've seen so far the Wii U launch lineup mainly seems to be popular with retro gamers.
Fair enough, if it's effectively just old mario, resi, and already released cross platform games but with slight graphical overhauls and a "quirkly" new control method.

Sounding more and more like the wii1 launch, actually.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 03, 2012, 05:38:33 PM
No Resi unfortunately, but ZombiU will do me just fine, it's pretty much a mix of Resident Evil 1 & 2, Silent Hill 1 with a smidgin of Demon/Dark Souls/roguelike bunged in for good measure. For my money it's the best survival horror game in donkey's years. The dynamic lighting and shadows, particle effects, sound, music, scanner, death mechanic and use of the GamePad all combine to make this a ridiculously tense and stressful game lol.

It really does bring home how easier games have got these days with all the hand-holding. None of that here. And you'll die. A lot. And when you do get a survivor that's lasted for over an hour and got some decent gear you end up crapping yourself because you don't want to die, have your next survivor die before you kill him/her and lose all that gear you've got. I had a survivor that lasted a while, had a couple of grenades, a rifle with a fair amount of ammo, a handgun with a fair amount of ammo and a good amount of health packs. And I lost it. All. :o :'( :o ;D

It's a 9/10 for me personally, any reviewer giving it less than 7 has probably either got the right hump because they were expecting a CoD Zombies/Left 4 Dead/Dead Island experience (despite Ubisoft billing this as a hardcore survival horror game right from the start) or have got the hump for dying too much because they're too used to being mollycoddled by games these days.

My Black Ops finally arrived today, not tried it out yet because I'm addicted to ZombiU. I also bought Trine 2 from the eShop and it's bloomin gorgeous, and I read the other day that the developers are working on a patch to upgrade the visuals even further :o 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 05, 2012, 07:44:38 AM
Slowly getting through Spartan Ops on Halo 4 - the gameplay is a bit samey in each missions (its just firefight repackaged after all).. but I love how its presented with the cinematic scenes between each chapter and how it fits into the main campaign storyline.. so its much better than firefight IMO... well worth a look if you get Halo 4.

The reason I stopped playing it last night - I saw Toejam & Earl on XBLA download... so excited.. I just paid for it and downloaded it straight away without reading owt about it... played and finished a Random World.. it was immense.. the nostalgia was brilliant..

Then I realised after I finished it that it comes with Toejam & Earl 2 too and I wet my knickers a bit.. fucking love these games.. some of the very best games from the megadrive days.  Looking forward to getting 100% achievements on it...

Just need Road Rash and the multiple Desert/Jungle/Urban Strikes and I'll be a very happy bunny indeed. (And if Sega are reading.. then HD remakes of Shenmue 1 & 2 and a Chu Chu Rocket re-release wouldnt go amiss either!)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 06, 2012, 03:30:23 PM
Been feeling the urge to play through the Portal games again lately.
Played Portal 1 last weekend (or rather me and one of the kids played it on her profile) - but I sold my Portal 2 a few days after buying it, while it still had a lot of value. After looking around and getting no joy on finding a copy for less than £10 this week I've gone for a 30 day free trial (http://www.blockbuster.co.uk/bbsitecontent/affiliate/a6.aspx?utm_source=IGN&PID=1546795&utm_source=IGN&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=offer&utm_content=runofsite&cjtest1=a&cjtest2=b&mpch=ads) of Blockbuster's rental service.
Have put Portal 2 on my list, of course, and marked it "top ticket" (priority). Can have two at a time so have also put a load of other games I'm half-interested in onto my list, including the latest Halo, Hitman, Assassins Creed, and Max Payne games amongst others.

Must remember to cancel before the 30 days pass. Silly time to sign up, tbh - means the free month runs out over Christmas, so to be safe I'll have to return everything in about 3 weeks and cancel then. Also, it means taking COD out of the machine, while I'm still loving it. But free is free... ;)
There's mention on that link of getting £15 free credit to spend on the Blockbuster Marketplace, too - but you need to pay a month to get that. So not the end of the world if I don't cancel until mid/late January - means I get an extra month of rentals plus £15 credit, but I have to pay £9.99...



Preferred the Lovefilm deal I had a few years back, mind. That was spot on. 3 games at a time, 3 months free trial.

Got Portal 2 on Friday last week (and on Sat I got some crap wii game I'd put on my list to make up the numbers). Portal was great fun to play through again. Sent it (and the Zelda game) back on Monday.
The service doesn't seem, from very early impressions, to be as good as Lovefilm's was a few years back when I trialled their service. With Lovefilm I seem to recall it was a very quick turnaround - if you posted a game back to them on Monday you'd have an email acknowledgement of receipt on Tues morning, a dispatch email for your next game later on Tues, and receive it on Wed.
With Blockbuster I returned the two games Monday, got email acknowledging receipt on Tues night, and nothing since. It's now Thurs and nothing's been dispatched.
I only have 8 things in my list (it's hard to find 10 games you want to hire), but it's not like they're all brand new, dead old, or extremely rare. I recall with Lovefilm I usually had about the same number and type on my want list, but never had to wait between hires...

(http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/8319/listys.png)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 06, 2012, 07:05:10 PM
Bought another 2 games from the U eShop, Nano Assault Neo and Puddle. Haven't tried the latter yet but the former is gorgeous looking but the shooting mechanics are going to take a little getting used to, you control the movement of the ship with the left analog stick and the direction of your shots with the right.

Very impressed with the layout and functionality, Nintendo have taken a real step forwards with this...hopefully we're going to see them update the 3DS eShop in the same way when they bring Miiverse to it. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 06, 2012, 11:42:15 PM
Twin stick shooter? Oh how Nintendo are revolutionising the market...

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 07, 2012, 02:06:14 AM
It's a third party title from an indie developer, Shin'en. And when did I say it was revolutionary..? It's very pretty and good entertainment. Amazing what they've managed to squeeze into 89MB, the visuals, as usual with this developer, is top-notch. Going to be interesting to see what they're going to come up with next given there's no limit on eShop file sizes. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on December 07, 2012, 06:26:33 AM
Cheapest place for blops 2?

Will probably just go to tescos as I've money off if u spend over £40 vouchers but if its under £35 elsewhere let me know.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 07, 2012, 08:12:19 AM
Twin stick shooter? Oh how Nintendo are revolutionising the market...

lol, thats what I thought after I read that...

...how can you not of played a twin stick shooter before harv... seriously??  no geometry wars ???

... oh wait.. I forgot..

Meh, hardly poor taste. I have pretty similar tastes to most of you lot - Half-Life, Fallout, Left 4 Dead, Elder Scrolls, Uncharted, Heavy Rain, God of War, Resistance, Gears of War, Dead Space, Alan Wake - just that my taste isn't as limited as yours. I'm open to new experiences as well as the more traditional ones I've just listed.

 ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 07, 2012, 08:34:50 AM
I played the definitive version of Geometry Wars with the remote and nunchuck, not twin sticks ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 07, 2012, 08:43:40 AM
Thats the definitive version that got a much lower review score on metacritic right ??  ::) ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 07, 2012, 10:01:10 AM
Wait 'til he tries an FPS with dual analogues - it'll blow him away and he'll come on here raving about it.


Speaking of... went 2nd prestige on Blops2 last night :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on December 07, 2012, 10:02:28 AM
And i can buy black ops cheapest where?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 07, 2012, 01:00:05 PM
Thats the definitive version that got a much lower review score on metacritic right ??  ::) ;D

It's the definitive version because if you want to use dual analog sticks you can use a Gamecube or Pro controller and the entire game that's available on Live is just one level of the Wii SKU, so you get a shitload more content. More control options, more content. Sounds definitive to me.

And late, I would never rave over dual analogs, they're miles inferior compared to pointer controls.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 07, 2012, 01:04:05 PM
And i can buy black ops cheapest where?

Oops, missed that.

Lots of good deals at launch, but not sure there's any still on.

Cheapest I've seen is Asda online (http://groceries.asda.com/asda-estore/catalog/sectionpagecontainer.jsp?skuId=910000883775&departmentid=1214921923802&aisleid=1214921924504&startValue=&cmpid=afc-_-ghs-_-47868-_-awin%20-_-generic&utm_source=47868&utm_medium=afc&utm_term=generic&utm_content=awin&utm_campaign=ghs), where it's £19 if you spend £35 on other stuff at the same time. Risky though. Worked for some folk, some others got charged full price. (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/black-ops-2-ps3-19-asda-grocery-website-a-35-shop-1386542)

Some folk used Grainger's pricematch to get it for £18. (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/call-duty-black-ops-ii-ps3-new-18-00-delivered-grainger-games-with-price-match-1391620)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 07, 2012, 01:06:26 PM
gorgeous looking but the shooting mechanics are going to take a little getting used to, you control the movement of the ship with the left analog stick and the direction of your shots with the right.
Very impressed with the layout and functionality, Nintendo have taken a real step forwards with this...

I would never rave over dual analogs, they're miles inferior compared to pointer controls.

 ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 07, 2012, 01:31:20 PM
I didn't rave over dual analog controls in that post you quoted :-\ ???

And you've added my 'raving' about the U's eShop layout and functionality to that quote, thought it was pretty obvious when I was talking about them hopefully updating the 3DS shop in the same way.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 07, 2012, 01:58:28 PM
It's the definitive version because if you want to use dual analog sticks you can use a Gamecube or Pro controller and the entire game that's available on Live is just one level of the Wii SKU, so you get a shitload more content. More control options, more content. Sounds definitive to me.
You do know the 360 version can be played in a native 1080p resolution..
..and the Wii version can only be played in standard definition... lol you lose buster!

But I'll give you a chance.. mainly so I can laugh a bit more at you, cmon then sherlock.. tell us why the reviews favour the 360 version over the Wii version... I mean.. theres a BIG difference between a 90 rated game and a 80 rated game on metacritic.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 07, 2012, 02:32:03 PM
It isn't in SD, it's ED. And no idea why it ended up with a lower Metascore because I haven't read the reviews. But despite the lower resolution the oodles of extra content makes it the definitive version. Much more bang for buck.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 07, 2012, 03:08:30 PM
lol @ ED.. just lol.. I cant believe you even tried to pull that one  ;D ;D

So you've never played the 360 version.. and you havent read any reviews on it.. but you can categorically say the Wii version is the 'definitive' version... LOL.. soz my bad.. I forgot how logic works in your world.  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 07, 2012, 03:23:44 PM
480p is officially Enhanced Definition. And if you play it on the Wii U it'll be upscaled to 1080p anyway.

And content is king.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 07, 2012, 03:42:49 PM
And content is king.

Its a shame you dont apply the same logic when you purchase console hardware hey.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 07, 2012, 03:58:19 PM
ED/SD are effectively the same. 480 lines whether progressive or interlaced is terrible.
And having the WiiU upscale it is unlikely to make the picture look any better unless you've got a really crappy tv. All high def TVs automatically upscale SD (or ED) signals.

Play your "definitive" Geometry Wars on your wii then try it on the wiiU, then come back and tell me how much better it looks. (Gawd but I'd piss meself if it does look better on your telly. But I'm guessing you've got something with a half-decent upscaler in it, so it won't.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 07, 2012, 05:41:47 PM
ED/SD are effectively the same. 480 lines whether progressive or interlaced is terrible.
And having the WiiU upscale it is unlikely to make the picture look any better unless you've got a really crappy tv. All high def TVs automatically upscale SD (or ED) signals.

Play your "definitive" Geometry Wars on your wii then try it on the wiiU, then come back and tell me how much better it looks. (Gawd but I'd piss meself if it does look better on your telly. But I'm guessing you've got something with a half-decent upscaler in it, so it won't.)

Actually you're usually better off letting your console doing the upscaling. A console GPU, even one as old and outdated Radeon HD 2000 that you've got in the 360, will do a better job upscaling than the vast majority of tellies. Unless you buy a big name top of the range telly you're going to get a comparatively shite upscaler inside the box. Even mid range big name brands have shite upscalers compared to the 360.

And all my Wii games are copies so it won't be going anywhere near my U lol. I'm thinking of buying the Metroid Prime Trilogy and Xenoblade Chronicles so that I can play them in 1080p. The environments in the latter look impressive in 480p so I can't wait to see what it looks like upscaled.

Have been playing Nano Assault Neo again, it really does look stunning. Weird that third party developers have beaten the Nintendo studios so far with regards to showcasing next gen quality graphics (Trine 2 and Nano Assault Neo), lighting (ZombiU) and GamePad usage (ZombiU and Trine 2). We'll probably see something more impressive looking from Nintendo at E3 next year I guess.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 07, 2012, 10:39:54 PM
Good luck with your upscaled Wii games. I'm sure they'll look awesome...  ;D

We'll probably see something more impressive looking from Nintendo at E3 next year I guess.
Finally you say something that makes sense!

I, too, am looking forward to seeing the nextbox and/or ps4.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 08, 2012, 07:50:44 AM
Lol, next E3 from Sony and Microsoft will be full of lies, bullshots and FMVs...need I remind you of Sony's 2005 showing..? Lol ;D :P ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on December 08, 2012, 08:42:12 AM
Enjoying black ops more than i did mw2

We'll get a game soon Ross, not sure what happened last night
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 09, 2012, 01:21:29 AM
Have had a go on Black Ops 2 single player and am quite impressed. Treyarch made the right decision going into the not too distant future. I've been playing it with the GamePad so far but will switch to pointer controls tomorrow. Those wing-suit thingies are quite nifty ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on December 09, 2012, 08:05:23 AM
Single player mode?

You are such a loser
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 09, 2012, 10:07:38 AM
I always complete single player campaigns before going anywhere near multiplayer when playing games. Pointless buying a game if you're only going to play half of it ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 10, 2012, 01:14:44 AM
Half? Multiplayer is about 90% of cod.

Had a quick look at the campaign a few days back, but then I got my bandwidth back and got back to the real game. (One of the kids had been on Skype.)

Can't berate Harv for not playing multiplayer though. You need a minimum of six players to get a game going, so you'd be sat in a lobby until after Christmas on Nintendo...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 10, 2012, 02:24:26 AM
Am still playing with dual analogs, do you guys turn off aim-assist..? Makes the game laughably easy. I'm going to turn them off next time I play, it's bloomin ridiculous lol.

Have been playing Nano Assault Neo mostly today, it's awesome. Am now top scorer for the first level out of my friends. Nice.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 10, 2012, 07:40:51 AM
Am now top scorer for the first level out of my friends. Nice.

Suprised it took you that long to beat your cats score  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 10, 2012, 08:16:26 AM
God, even Patcher is having a dig at harv now... lol

Quote
The problem with playing Call of Duty online is it’s a community and if there’s only four people playing it on the Wii U it’s no fun. Nobody in their right mind would buy a Wii U and say ‘I’m going to play Call of Duty.’ That’s like saying ‘I gave up Facebook, and it’s Google+ now’.”

Link (http://www.vg247.com/2012/12/06/pachter-has-harsh-words-for-wii-u-thinks-activision-should-buy-take-two/)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on December 10, 2012, 08:32:10 AM
Am now top scorer for the first level out of my friends. Nice.

Suprised it took you that long to beat your cats score  ;D

Fucking class! Post of the year lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 10, 2012, 09:08:03 AM
(http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120119214504/glee/de/images/5/57/Big_rofl.gif)

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 10, 2012, 11:06:54 AM
Oi, 5 of my friends have the game as it goes...although I have got the top score by just 40,000 lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 10, 2012, 11:39:03 AM
Am still playing with dual analogs, do you guys turn off aim-assist..? Makes the game laughably easy. I'm going to turn them off next time I play, it's bloomin ridiculous lol.
If you're finding the game too easy put it on the hardest level. Aim assist ain't gonna help you much when your enemies spam infinite grenades at you. (Not sure if they do in this, tbh, but that seems to be common in the COD games.)
Not sure whether aim assist works when you're using pointer controls, mind.

Either way, stop fannying about with the campaign and get on the multiplayer, assuming there's enough folk online to get a game started.

My favourite weapon on COD, now, is the B23R pistol. Great up close, of course, and very effective at medium range. Crap long range. Combined with silencer.


Hate quickscopers. They're the new n00btubers.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 10, 2012, 06:03:24 PM
Am going to switch to pointer controls instead mate, no aim-assist there. And you didn't answer my question - do you lot play with aim-assist or do you turn it off..? The game is bad enough with auto-regenerating health but aim-assist on top of that is just ridiculous lol.

I quite like the analog sticks on the GamePad though, there's a nice resistance to them and most importantly you have to put a little effort into clicking the sticks so you're not likely to click them by accident, something I always tend to do with the PS3 and 360 controllers.

Am watching Transformers on Netflix thanks to a free 30 days membership on my Wii U, there's also a 30 days free trial for Lovefilm but the Netflix front-end is miles better imo. Still, a good couple of features for those that don't download stuff like me.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 11, 2012, 09:28:10 AM
Any convex analog sticks are going to be inferior to concave sticks Im afraid.. if your clicking the 360 sticks by accident, then you're just bad at playing with a joypad.

One of the reasons why the 360 pad is hailed as one of the best ever made is because it has a concave stick which is less slippy plus you can nestle your thumb in them, they are perfect for shooters... if sony have any sense, they'll start using concave sticks next-gen.. they really need to update the dualshock - its well out of date.


Got an email from Razer a while back as I've bought some of their pc products in the past.. and saw they are now selling their version of a 360 controller... Razer sell some of the best gaming gear around, so if your interested - take a look here at the Onza (http://www.razerzone.com/gb-en/store/razer-onza-tournament-edition) - I've been thinking of buying one for a while but they are £45 - and yes.. they even have adjustable resistance analog sticks so fart-arses like harv cant even complain about it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 11, 2012, 09:38:59 AM
I don't like that modified controllers are out there - I like an even playing field. If you don't have one you're at a disadvantage. If you do have one you're cheating.
Still tempted, mind.

I believe most people leave aim assist on, Harv, but I couldn't say for certain. I leave it on. Feel free to turn it off if you want, though. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it hinders. It's down to personal preference.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 11, 2012, 11:36:11 AM
Not really cheating though is it.. Its akin to someone saying that your cheating because your using a 50" hdtv and should be using the minimum spec tv that the 360 supports and playing in standard definition.  If I didnt already have three 360 controllers I'd definitely buy one.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 11, 2012, 12:39:34 PM
I know what you're saying - just feels wrong to me.
If I had one I reckon I'd map a button to duck and pull the trigger three times, on COD.
And of the complicated moves on fighting games would be a lot easier if they were mapped. Speaking of... cracked open DOA5 a few days ago, for a brief change of pace from COD. Seems okay from the little I've seen of it so far, but with more boob jiggling than ever before.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 12, 2012, 11:43:54 PM
Double xp weekend this weekend on Blops 2 (on ps3/360/PC - possibly on the u), plus play against the treyarch team (on 360)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on December 13, 2012, 10:23:27 AM
Bah - Christmas party weekend, I'll not get any play at all.  >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on December 13, 2012, 10:26:23 AM
What are people finding is the most effective class set up.

I liked the mp5 in waw so something along those lines. I prefer bettys and being off the radar as well.

Cheers

Oh yeah I've almost maxed the gun i am using now to level 17. Can't remember what it is tho. Car or something.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 13, 2012, 12:00:45 PM
As I like to move fast and invisibly and I stick mainly to Core Search & Destroy I'm keen on Ghost and Lightweight for perk one (so that takes up three tokens, as you need to use perk 1 greed, too), and I use Marathon for perk three.
To keep speed high I don't have a primary gun, and instead use the B23R pistol - with silencer attachment. The B23R burst fires three shots, and is arguably overpowered - perfect for running and gunning. Close up one press of the trigger will often kill, ordinarily 2 or 3 will do the job. It's three downsides are it's no good for long range, it has fairly low ammo capacity (but if you're keeping the silencer on and want the extended clip it'll cost two tokens to do so), and it's very hard to see the fantastic emblem I've put on there!
I need Engineer on, because without it I'm constantly being killed/incapacitated by betties, claymores, and shock charges. And because I have Marathon on that means using Perk 3 greed, too.
To round it off I usually go with a betty - and either a Black Hat or a concussion grenade, depending on the map etc.

Means I don't have a Perk 2, but there's nothing that appealing in there, for me. As regards only having one weapon, if you want a second one there's usually some lying around if you want one.

(http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/7039/classfo.png)



You get to permanently unlock one thing when you prestige.
First prestige I did Ghost. Second I unlocked the B23R. (And it doesn't lose it's attachments when you prestige - so the gun's available but so are the silencer and emblem etc.).
Means I'm actually capable of getting a few kills after prestige.
Need to permanently unlock Engineer, Betty, Perk 3 greed, & Black Hat on my next prestiges - though I'm undecided on which order they should be done in. Hopefully will get my third prestige this weekend. I'm currently Prestige 2, Level 39.
Have seen a few Prestige 10s lately, which is simultaneously impressive and sad. All look genuine (ie have put the time in, not cheated their prestiges somehow) - as they tend to have around 150-200 hours playing time on their combat records. I've got about 74 hours on mine, which is a lot for a game that's only been out a month. Would probably be a higher prestige if I played a different game mode, but I love search and destroy despite it's low "score per minute".



BTW, don't know if you're aware of it, but you can also prestige your gun, once it's maxed out. Means losing all attachments (though you get most back pretty quickly) but allows you to put your tag and your emblem on there.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 14, 2012, 03:10:10 PM
Thats Toejam & Earl 100% achievement complete - twas easy really - great fun replaying them, the first one holds good memories - the 2nd not so much - but its still a good lengthy play :)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 14, 2012, 10:36:35 PM
After contacting Zavvi's customer service I've now found out why I haven't had Darksiders 2 delivered yet. The dozy fuckwits think it isn't released until February next year. Sent them a message telling them they've cocked up and cancelled my order because I found it cheaper at ShopTo. Christ on a fucking bike THQ are in enough shite as it is without Zavvi throwing a spanner in the works lol :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on December 16, 2012, 09:47:10 PM
I've started playing the Uncharted 3 GOTY edition (bought it for all of the DLC mainly), and this is gonna be a tough 100% trophy-wise...Alot of time consuming and tough online/co-op trophies!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 17, 2012, 08:10:45 AM
Been playing Splinter Cell Conviction, have to say apart from the original Splinter Cell back on the xbox, I've struggled to actually get into or like any of the other ones, I literally played 10 minutes of Double Agent before selling it.. but I bought Conviction at the same time and never played it, but its really good.. I started playing the co-op mode first and it took ages to work out the controls and get used to the game as there is no tutorial with the co-op, but once settled,  it was enjoyable - the only frustrating thing is that some checkpoints are few and far between and this does cause problems if your playing with a total numpty who constantly dies and gives away your positions  ::)

So I tried the single player mode out afterwards and its great also - definitely an improvement over previous Splinter Cells and would happily recommend to anyone.  Still got a few levels to go I think, but there have been some really good levels - the story line seems good although Im not totally sure whats going on with it as I have missed previous Splinter Cells.. some set-plays remind me of some good spy films and thrillers which is all good.


Also finally got around to playing the You Monster DLC on Defense Grid, wow how hard are some of those gold medals Late ? lol - I think I beat one of your scores going for gold on the first level - and still came no-where near to getting it.  The last 3 waves cause me so many problems I end up spending everything I have saved - the last wave contains two shielded crawlers that take a while to kill, I think I could dismantle part of my maze at that point and kill them slowly with simple gun towers so my credits keep going up until they die.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 17, 2012, 09:46:11 AM
I decided to buy Little Inferno from the U eShop and it's a bit of a weird one lol.

It isn't really a game as such, you buy stuff from a catalogue, burn it and get more money than you paid for it. Then you do it again lol. And that's it. You've got bonuses for doing certain combinations of stuff so I guess you could call it a puzzle game of sorts.

But the weird thing is that it's so compelling, you just want to keep burning stuff lol. I've never experienced anything like this in my life...it's weird, brilliant and compelling :o ;D :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 17, 2012, 09:59:54 AM
Wow, I'll dash out and get a U - that's convinced me.
If only I could find it in stock somewhere...
(lol @ all the places now cutting prices and throwing extra games in because they can't shift them!)


Bit old now, but I loved the youtube vid for Splinter Cell: Lightbulb Assassin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPMx86wXaKY&list=ELYVOkuUEEvNQ&index=30). Conviction's the only Splinter Cell game I've ever played, but I enjoyed it.

I remember the You Monster levels on Defence Grid being a total pain in the arse - mainly because the level layout was weaker than in the original set. Still fun, but just not as cleverly laid out. Totally worth it for the interactions between your computer guide and GlaDOS, though.


Got my third prestige on Blops yesterday. Definitely the fastest progression I've ever made in a COD game - but there's more and more people at tenth/master prestige now. (It's not like everyone's there - but you'll see one or two every gaming session now, whereas last week it was very rare to see one...)
K/D ratio has settled at about 0.95. Would be around 1.00 and I'd be happy with that, but from time to time I'll try one of the sillier challenges (such as playing with only a certain gun, with no attachments or perks or equipment) and get something like ten kills for 40 deaths.
It seems there's a cap on the number of emblems you can store on your account, and I've reached it. Need to decide which one(s) to delete if I want to make another. Must screencap them at some point.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 17, 2012, 12:04:42 PM
Yep a right royal pain in the arse.. I think I only got one gold in the hours I played yesterday... but Im gonna keep at it to try and get the achievements because the game is quite playable on and off like that... I might then get the extra maps I havent downloaded yet.. depends, I have a feeling there is going to be new DLC for it soon.. called Containment... their kickstarter project for DG2 hit $250k back in August and they said they'd be creating an extra 8 mission DLC - which will be going out to the backers in December.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on December 17, 2012, 08:38:32 PM
Best headphones for ps3?

Was going to but the turtle beach ones on Saturday but just resisted. Need to be  able to completely enclose ears as the missus always gives off about the sound and Im not playing in silence
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 17, 2012, 11:35:25 PM
I know that Little Inferno doesn't sound great but it's one of these games that you really need to play to understand how good it is.Weird but compelling describe it the best. It's done by the same guys that did World of Goo so I knew that it would be good quality, and it's had some pretty good reviews so far too. Metascore of 80 last I saw. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 18, 2012, 07:49:44 AM
Best headphones for ps3?

Was going to but the turtle beach ones on Saturday but just resisted. Need to be  able to completely enclose ears as the missus always gives off about the sound and Im not playing in silence

Turtle Beach are the biz.. although Sharkoon make a pretty good alternative (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004163420/ref=asc_df_B00416342011082842?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=22206&creativeASIN=B004163420)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on December 18, 2012, 01:15:11 PM
Didn't take the media long to link the Sandy Hook Shooter to Call Of Duty. It fucks me off when they do that. I'm currently replaying RDR but I don't have the urge to get on a horse and start lassoing people.

He had mental health issues and access to guns. Computer games had nothing to do with it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 18, 2012, 03:52:01 PM
My thoughts exactly.
The fucking nut job probably also liked FIFA, but I didn't see him at the World Cup.




Speaking of mentally unbalanced - more price cuts on the Wii U.
Not my cup of tea, but if any of you are toying with getting the kids one this xmas and haven't done so already this (http://www.game.co.uk/en/black-wii-u-premium-console-with-gameware-wii-u-starter-pack-and-zombiu-197772?categoryIdentifier=233218&awc=3742_1355845619_19acf1400ff10734480234d1b540cce1) looks to be the best offer at the moment. (Premium with Nintendoland, ZombiU, and some accessory kit for £310 @ Game.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 18, 2012, 11:14:39 PM
Same thing happened with Manhunt ages ago when that kid got hit and killed with a hammer. And it was the victim that played the game, not the guy that killed him. That really pissed me off because Manhunt 2 got cut to pieces as a result and ruined a fantastic game. Uncut the game is easily a 9/10 but cut the way it was easily knocks a couple of points off.

I wouldn't mind but you see films and telly programmes much worse than any video game, and as has already been mentioned none of this is the cause of incidents like these, these nutjobs will do these things regardless because they're mentally unhinged.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 19, 2012, 10:36:14 AM
Well according to http://howlongtobeat.com (http://howlongtobeat.com/userpage.php?username=jman&show=backlog) my backlog consists of 19 games and will take me 16 days and 8 minutes to complete them all LOL - its cos I've got so many RPGs in the list!  To be fair - I was listing the games from memory so I might of missed some out on the old backlog and I might of added some that I actually sold... but its already at an unhealthy level!  Will try and update the list tonight if I remember.

Star Ocean:TLH - which I have barely started will take on average 56 hours apparently...
Enchanted Arms - Im about 5 hours into this will take 44 hours in total

To be honest, thats put me off playing them now lol...

Some of the estimates seem a bit off though - 24 hours to beat Command & Conquer 3 - Red Alert - nahhh... and some of the games I have are also getting sold in the new year because I wont play them again - Operation Flashpoint for example.. because its bloody shit

Its good that its ranked the games I have with scores too.. The Witcher 2 and R.U.S.E score the best - I actually enjoyed the bits of R.U.S.E I played - but the gameplay gets a bit samey after a while.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 19, 2012, 03:47:17 PM
Red Alert eats time without you realising it. In fact, just checked and I've played 22 hours . That was the Allies campaign, plus the first 2(ish) missions from the Soviets and the Empire.
I seem to recall turning the difficulty down at some point (can't remember if I went from hard to medium or from medium to easy - either way it was embarrassing for a C&C veteran, but I was struggling)...

Agreed re Operation Flashpoint. Not sure if you've got the same one as me (I had Dragon Rising) but it was just too bloody hard, and I didn't like the general feel of it enough to try playing on an easier level. I remember repeatedly getting sniped from a mile away - the only way to kill them being to die then get them with the benefit of respawn hindsight).

I can't remember how long I played Star Ocean for but it was a bloody long time (maybe around 100 hours?). Well worth the effort, though. Good story, good mechanics (I even liked the real time combat, which is rare for me) and the usual Japanese amount of cheeky camera angles showing infeasibly busty young ladies in incredibly skimpy outfits. Only real downsides were the two annoying characters (Lymle and Faize, if memory serves), and the disk swapping - which only really becomes a nuisance if you're doing bonus stuff by revisiting old areas at the end of the game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 19, 2012, 07:31:57 PM
Well according to http://howlongtobeat.com (http://howlongtobeat.com/userpage.php?username=jman&show=backlog) my backlog consists of 19 games and will take me 16 days and 8 minutes to complete them all LOL - its cos I've got so many RPGs in the list!  To be fair - I was listing the games from memory so I might of missed some out on the old backlog and I might of added some that I actually sold... but its already at an unhealthy level!  Will try and update the list tonight if I remember.

Star Ocean:TLH - which I have barely started will take on average 56 hours apparently...
Enchanted Arms - Im about 5 hours into this will take 44 hours in total

To be honest, thats put me off playing them now lol...

Some of the estimates seem a bit off though - 24 hours to beat Command & Conquer 3 - Red Alert - nahhh... and some of the games I have are also getting sold in the new year because I wont play them again - Operation Flashpoint for example.. because its bloody shit

Its good that its ranked the games I have with scores too.. The Witcher 2 and R.U.S.E score the best - I actually enjoyed the bits of R.U.S.E I played - but the gameplay gets a bit samey after a while.

If you like JRPGs then Xenoblade Chronicles is a must-play title for you. Considered by many to be the best JRPG released last gen. Wii consoles are as cheap as chips these days and Wii U's are backwards compatible so that's always an option. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 19, 2012, 09:22:08 PM
lol @ Harv still thinking there's room in this world for the wii
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 19, 2012, 10:20:32 PM
Why not..? You won't find a better JRPG out there. ;) ...well, not until Monolith Soft and Nintendo bring out their next effort. :P

The scale of the thing is amazing, makes the worlds of Oblivion and Fallout seem tiny in comparison. How they've managed to squeeze that world into such an underpowered machine is an outstanding feat of programming. :o And they've said that they're aiming to be like Bethesda which is pretty ambitious but given what they managed to do with the Wii hardware I can see them coming up with something amazing this gen. I can't wait. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 19, 2012, 10:55:00 PM
We're in the 1080p era and skirting the 4k, but you still seem to think 480p is acceptable. It really isn't.
Don't bother with the argument that graphics aren't as important as gameplay. We've been there a dozen times and I maintain that a good game should have both, and not have to pick one or the other...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 20, 2012, 01:51:50 PM
So 480p isn't acceptable on the Wii but sub-HD graphics are fine on PS3 and 360 titles are perfectly acceptable..? Double standards much..? :o

And if you play Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii U it'll be upscaled to 1080p anyway, which isn't a great deal different to playing CoD on the PS3 and 360. Didn't you say a while back when I thought that Black Ops 2 on the U was going to be HD that it was only a few lines different..? ::)

And we're nowhere near skirting 4k resolution. We're years away from that unless you want to spend thousands on a new telly.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 20, 2012, 02:37:59 PM
I prefer classic JRPGs anyway - Xenoblade is turn-based meaning that it most certainly isn't classic.  I'd probably buy it if I had a Wii - given that the choice would be far limited on that console, but certainly not going anywhere near the Wii U or Wii just for that game - I'd probably enjoy the game, but its not worth it.. I could always buy Tales of Vesperia on the 360 if Im looking for a very similar JRPG.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on December 20, 2012, 03:02:51 PM
I put a lot more than 56 hours into Star Ocean: TLH! But then I like to finish everything when I play JRPG's and in TLH that means finishing the bonus dungeons after the main story and ranking up to 1st in the Colosseum.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 20, 2012, 11:45:07 PM
I'll try to be brief...
So 480p isn't acceptable on the Wii...
No.

...sub-HD graphics are fine on PS3 and 360 titles are perfectly acceptable..
No.

Double standards much..? :o
No.

And if you play Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii U it'll be upscaled to 1080p anyway
You have too much faith in upscaling. A wii game played on a 40" 1080p telly via the wii U will not look much better than a wii game played on a 40" SD telly.

which isn't a great deal different to playing CoD on the PS3 and 360.
Take a look at COD on the 360 and COD on the wii side by side then come tell me there's not much difference. As I've told you a dozen times, I'd like to play COD with full HD graphics, but unfortunately the consoles from 8 years ago struggle to do that. Understandable (as most folk didn't have HD tellies) but a shame.
What's worrying is that the console from 2012 Q4 also struggles to do that.

Didn't you say a while back when I thought that Black Ops 2 on the U was going to be HD that it was only a few lines different..?
Yes, the versions on 360 and Wii U are very similar. Blops 2 on the U is only 720p - and I believe Blops 2 on the 360 and ps3 are also 720p. In fact appears to be a port of the 360 version (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-black-ops-2-wii-u-face-off). Really not sure what your point is, there.

And we're nowhere near skirting 4k resolution. We're years away from that unless you want to spend thousands on a new telly.
No, we're skirting it. It's been developed, it's available if you want to spend ridiculous amounts of money, and it'll be a lot of homes before the wii3 comes out. That means the U's 720p standard is going to look pretty crap this gen. But even without 4k the U's 720p standard is going to look pretty crap this gen if you consider it's gen to be that on the nextbox and ps4.




So, ignoring all your nonsensical and irrelevant bluster, my point remains - 480p graphics on a game look shit these days. And have done for years.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 21, 2012, 10:44:32 AM
Ugh, christmas parties suck.. especially when you have to work the next day.. hoping to go home in the next hour or two though so can anyone recommend any decent hangover games - games that you can just totally mong out too without any thought whatsoever ?  8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 21, 2012, 11:10:54 AM
Just about any xbla game.
R-Type?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 21, 2012, 11:46:34 AM
Yeah, Im thinking Defense Grid will be a bit too taxing today lol.. plus Im getting so pissed off at the inability to get gold on some levels... so I'll have a look through xbla later - I think there are some deals on at the moment, probably start there.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on December 22, 2012, 11:23:37 PM
Downloaded The Walking Dead recently on XBLA. Read some reviews and pretty much every one praised the game but it's even better than I expected. I love the artwork, very comic book-esque... and the interactive gameplay is similar to Heavy Rain - a game I absolutely loved.

For some reason it's split into 5 episodes, each costing 400 MS points. I've downloaded the first two at the moment. Well worth a try though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 23, 2012, 01:35:26 AM
Looks great, that. I'm waiting for the complete story, which was supposed to come out (boxed) in Dec but has been pushed back to Feb.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 24, 2012, 02:15:54 PM
Have been playing Little Inferno again, the only way to describe it is weird but compelling. On paper this game really shouldn't work, pure brilliance. Outstanding. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on December 26, 2012, 09:56:07 PM
The Missus got me RDR Undead Nightmare for Chrimbo so gave it a go tonight. Zombies everywhere! Love it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on December 26, 2012, 10:04:41 PM
Brilliant add-on that, Chris.

Completely engrossed with The Walking Dead. Episode 1 was a bit slow and I didn't really get into it much, but the story just blew up in episode 2. Not gonna give any details away but it's awesome stuff. I love how the story adapts to the decisions you make, and how the decisions tend to catch you off-guard. You usually have just a few seconds to decide, for example, whether you save someone or let them die, and it can have a big impact on the story. Definitely going to have to play through again once I'm finished.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on December 27, 2012, 09:33:11 AM
Up to level 46 on black ops. Still don't know what my fave class is. I have begun using the skorpion on every map lately. Its good for running and gunning. I pair it up with one betty and a smoke grenade. As this version of the game is all about points not kills i find its better to try and take as many flags as possible (i almost exclusively play domination)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 27, 2012, 02:34:46 PM
Awwwww, bless lol ;D ;D ;D  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UZatoTL9IMk)

I wasn't too far from that when I got mine delivered, although I didn't hug the DPD driver and tell him I loved him lololol :-[ ;D :P

I really like to see things like that, makes me wish I had kids myself :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on December 27, 2012, 03:13:00 PM
I bet the 3 hour mandatory update put a downer on his excitement.  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 27, 2012, 05:56:27 PM
Lol, more like an hour and it downloads in the background so he can quite happily play NSMB U while he's waiting :P

Watching that reminds me of my worst Christmas ever, I wanted a tie fighter for my Star Wars figures and there was a pressie under the tree that was about the right size and shape. Turns out it wasn't mine, it was for my Granddad. Most. Disappointing. Christmas. EVAR!!! >:(

Bastard parents, should have reported them to Social Services lol ;D

Was made worse by the fact that my best mate at the time, whose parents were well off, had absolutely everything apart from a tiefighter. And I had just the plain old figures. :'(

Don't know why he never had the tie fighter though...very odd. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 27, 2012, 08:17:49 PM
I got Farcry 3  8)  Cant wait to try it out  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 28, 2012, 01:51:49 AM
Walking Dead is on sale on xbla for one day only.
Episode 1 is free (and has been for a couple of days, I believe).
Episodes 2 - 5 are 200 msp each (usually 400 msp).

I had been waiting for the boxed full retail version but apparently the UK is no longer getting that. Happy to pay 800 msp (approx. £6) for the full story though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on December 28, 2012, 03:06:58 PM
Finished TWD last night. Was welling up in episode 5.  :'( Had some issues in episodes 3 and 4 with the game not running very well at times... not sure if that's a problem specific to the 360 version. Still, gotta give it a solid 9/10 overall for some outstanding storytelling. Can't wait for Series 2.

Oh, and one last thing, no one fucks with Clementine!!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 29, 2012, 02:59:30 PM
Farcry 3 is awesome!! Great storyline, almost like a movie, and tons to do and kill, definite contender for goty!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 02, 2013, 08:16:20 AM
Wow I've played a shit-load of far-cry 3 over the past week - still only 54% through - think I have about 10 of the 38 main story missions left...I have done loads of side-quest though... the main story started off brilliantly.. but its gone off on too much of a tangent for me... its still good, but it could of been epic.. the game plays great though, I snuck into one camp last night, disabled the alarms.. then backed off to a safe distance and shot open the cage of an tiger they were holding in capitivity - who then escaped and was mauling everyone whilst I was sniping anyone trying to attack the tiger...I captured the camp and when you capture a camp, all your men come and guard it..they came in and buttfucked the tiger with a vehicle mounted machine gun lol.

Im certainly going to 100% the single player.. and it has co-op maps on top of that... plus I haven't even started on the extra lost expedition map packs.. theres a lot still to do!! Although I am going to start continuing on with the main story tonight.. its time to move it on a bit more now I have all of the map uncovered.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 02, 2013, 09:44:40 AM
Finished TWD last night. Was welling up in episode 5.  :'( Had some issues in episodes 3 and 4 with the game not running very well at times... not sure if that's a problem specific to the 360 version. Still, gotta give it a solid 9/10 overall for some outstanding storytelling. Can't wait for Series 2.

Oh, and one last thing, no one fucks with Clementine!!!

Played all five episodes of The Walking Dead last week (each ep being around 3 hours I think, though ep five seemed a lot shorter), and thoroughly enjoyed it. On the down side it was a bit buggy in places, and a lot of the decisions don't appear to change much of anything. On the up side, though, it was a fantastic story, the voice acting was great, and the implementation was the best I've seen in a point/click adventure-type game. Definitely a strong contender for game of the year.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 02, 2013, 10:58:59 AM
Rough details of the first DLC for Black Ops 2 have been leaked.
Released at the end of Jan on the 360 (presumably a month later on other platforms), includes 4 multiplayer maps and a zombie map plus a bonus weapon.
It seems unclear whether season pass holders get it before then. Really need a good deal on microsoft points. I think I'm down to less than 100 now, and I need to get me a season pass - which is about 4000 msp.

dealspwn (http://www.dealspwn.com/black-ops-ii-revolution-dlc-leaked-slated-latejan-initial-release-125188)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on January 02, 2013, 01:17:39 PM
Playing AC3 at the moment. Still on the Haytham bits but I have to admit I'm not really enjoying it at the moment. It feels slow and clunky. I hope it gets better because I love the AC games.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 02, 2013, 08:10:54 PM
One of the best features of ZombiU is that you can use the camera in the GamePad to zombiefy your face lol:

(http://i48.tinypic.com/9vhaxi.jpg)

(http://i50.tinypic.com/f1woiv.jpg)

Awesome lololol ;D ;D ;D

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on January 02, 2013, 10:09:50 PM
Only sad fucks like you bother with that sort of shite
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 02, 2013, 10:33:38 PM
Why not..? It's a good bit of fun. Blimey, you are a miserable git sometimes lol :o ;D

Am going to get my Mum and Step-Father to get zombiefied next time they're around lol. Shame there isn't a camera on the other side otherwise I'd try zombiefying Georgie and Rufus lololol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 03, 2013, 12:42:20 AM
Got any "after" pics? The "before" ones look exactly like I pictured you.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 03, 2013, 02:34:46 AM
 :'( >:( :'(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 03, 2013, 08:53:03 AM
Cant believe none of you are playing Far Cry 3 yet.. it seriously is that good... apart from Skyrim - I'd rank it as the best game I played last year - better than Borderlands 2, Halo 4 and Dishonored - definitely.

I finished it last night.. well finished the main storyline.. probably took me over 30 hours in all.. although I believe Im only actually about 70% through the whole game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 03, 2013, 09:15:44 AM
I'm hearing nothing but good things about Far Cry 3 - but that's countered by the fact that Far Cry 2 was well received, too, and I hated it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 03, 2013, 10:18:34 AM
Yeah, Far Cry 2 was frustrating, repetitive and boring.. and even I gave FC3 the cold shoulder based on my experience from FC2...

However, Far Cry 3 is none of that - its actually enjoyable to play - there are pangs of assassins creed and skyrim in the gameplay - its the best single player FPS of the year - bar none.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 03, 2013, 10:36:17 AM
Will pick it up, then - but not any time soon. Already got about 20 games in the pile (including Darksiders 2, FF-XII-2, and Witcher 2), and I've got quite a handful that I need to buy soon (including Xcom, Sleeping Dogs, Dishonored, Max Payne 3, Halo 4, and Assassin's Creed) - and the stack's not getting any smaller with me playing so much COD.

A little over 109 hours played on Blops 2 now. Will probably get my 4th prestige tonight.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 03, 2013, 01:52:51 PM
Have never been a fan of the franchise right from the beginning tbh. The first two looked great but played like shite. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 03, 2013, 02:40:00 PM
Nah the first Far Cry was great, they cut a lot from the console versions and they were too linear, the PC version was much better.

FC3 is a "far cry" from the gameplay of the 1st or 2nd game though - it basically knocks seven shades of shit out of them..


Anyway... looks like the Xbox 720 is definitely going to be announced at E3 this year... Major Nelson blog already counting down to the event with the words "And it’s on…" Link (http://majornelson.com/2013/01/02/countdown-to-e3-2013/)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 03, 2013, 07:52:03 PM
I was talking about the PC SKUs, I'm the same with the Crysis franchise too. I don't know why but Crytek FPS games don't float my boat for some reason. They look stunning but for some reason they just don't play that well to me. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on January 04, 2013, 01:35:50 AM
Downloaded the Streets of Rage games on XBLA. Played through 1 & 2 on the hardest difficulty, loads of fun. Got to Streets of Rage 3 (which I never played back on the old Mega Drive) and wow... It's so fucking hard! I got absolutely mauled on Hard difficulty so I turned it down to Normal, and I'm still getting slapped about! Looked it up online and apparently they ramped up the difficulty in the European version and toned down the efficacy of your special moves for no reason, threads upon threads across forums complaining about the difficulty.

Gonna go again tomorrow and finish it. Will just have to spam cheap methods which I hate doing. Reminds me of Street Fighter 4 where they made the final boss, Seth, ridiculously hard by mistake. He could block every attack without fail, knew every attack himself and teleported like crazy. Frustrating wasn't the word... Luckily he had a pattern which I figured out after getting my arse handed to me about 10 times.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on January 04, 2013, 04:08:12 AM
(http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/9893/keanop.jpg)

Went a bit mental, so got enough to keep me going for a while there, along with my current backlog...Also got my birthday next week and then payday shortly after, so the GAME website will be taking a slight hammering off me again I think, given the fact theres still a bunch of games I need to get.

Downloaded Worms : Ultimate Mayhem too...Pretty decent, but the 3D style does take some getting used to...The control scheme is completely out of whack too, which is a little annoying, but it's still great fun for just over £2.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 04, 2013, 07:52:21 AM
Reminds me of Street Fighter 4 where they made the final boss, Seth, ridiculously hard by mistake. He could block every attack without fail, knew every attack himself and teleported like crazy. Frustrating wasn't the word... Luckily he had a pattern which I figured out after getting my arse handed to me about 10 times.

Seth had a pattern?? - I never beat him - he was ridiculously hard.. just made the game very short lived for me really - if I'd of known before - I wouldn't of bought the game.


You got Dead Space 3 coming out next month too Ross...

My mate got me Borderlands 2 for xmas (on PC) - I played a bit round his house and enjoyed it and he wants someone to do coop with.. but I havent even touched my copy yet because of Far Cry 3* - thats what you need to buy next if you haven't got it already ;)



*and mainly because my pc is still up the knackers yard  :P - although I have just bought a new beast of a CPU (http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/processors/amdpiledriverfx/adufd8350frhkbox.html) and an awesome mobo (http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/motherboards/amdam3plus990fxchipset/90-mibja0-g0eay0vz.html) so hopefully I can finally get it back up and running when they get delivered next week.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 04, 2013, 09:13:32 AM
Blimey, nice Christmas you had there, Ross! :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on January 04, 2013, 09:56:25 AM
I wasn't as lucky as Ross. Got myself 3 new games though. RDR Undead Nightmare, AC3 and Bartman: AC.

I've finished the story on Undead Nightmare and have just started AC3 so should keep me busy for a while.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 07, 2013, 03:29:36 AM
Ubisoft make this happen NAO!!! (http://gamingbolt.com/this-is-how-assassins-creed-4-will-look-if-it-is-set-in-china) :o 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 07, 2013, 08:18:25 AM
I also got Goldeneye Reloaded for xmas... which I only tried out the other night...what a pile of shit though!!

For a start, the game is in no way like the original at all, OK it follows the same story, but it doesn't play out like the film or original game did... this is instantly a negative - and not what I was expecting to be honest.
The cast in the game suck - Daniel Craig as bond, and no Sean Bean - that just offends me.
The soundtrack is sung by Nicole Scherzinger.. and really is horrible.
As per most of Activision games - this is laden with QTE's which spoil any kind of momentum.
The stealth part of the game is ridiculous - I killed two enemies stealthily last night.. they were both dropped into water.. and whilst Im hiding in complete cover, pondering how to proceed - I get spotted by someone.. somehow??  Its broken.

I would not recommend this game to anyone - its just a cheap COD clone with James Bond in - get the original on an emulator - its a million times better.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on January 07, 2013, 03:04:48 PM
Yeah, they're all still wrapped up in their cellophane though! haha, I've been playing FIFA, CoD and Worms Ultimate Mayhem mostly at the minute..Trying to Platinum/100% a few games in the backlog before i really dig into anything new, though I'm dying to crack open Hitman...

Also, Keiron, speaking of Dead Space 3...It's out at the start of February isn't it? I still need to do that dreaded Hardcore run on Dead Space 2, so i might need to get back into that within the next few weeks! Should be fun..........Lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 07, 2013, 03:45:53 PM
Yup, start of next month - Im unsure whether I'll get it at launch though.

I did a bit of the hardcore run on Dead Space 2 - I saved just before the elevator fight - plenty of ammo too.. although I got killed so many times trying to get past the elevator monster, I just gave up in the end.  Doubt I'll go back to it now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 07, 2013, 04:03:30 PM
Has been rumoured for quite a while, but Crytek have now confirmed they won't be bringing Crysis 3 to the Wii U. (http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/news/a448410/crysis-3-not-coming-to-wii-u-due-to-lack-of-business-drive.html)
Getting past the marketing speak, it seems the game just wouldn't sell. To be honest, I would've thought it'd be worth bringing out even if it didn't make a profit, though. I'm not a big fan of Crysis, but bringing a graphical benchmark game to the U and showing off how it performs against the 360 and the ps3 would've been a good move for Nintendo (assuming it would perform favourably in comparison with those ageing machines).


(http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/1465/lateplaysummary.png)

Nice to see something other than Blops2 in my play summary, for a change.
I really need to get some other games played. Or at least play the COD campaign. My gamerscore is stagnating!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 07, 2013, 04:41:55 PM
Nvidia unveiled Project Shield (http://shield.nvidia.com/) today.
Looks promising (though it's impossible to say without knowing price and support.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 07, 2013, 05:01:17 PM
It's EA's decision, not Crytek. Crytek own the IP though I think so there's always the chance that Nintendo will publish it for them. I put it down to EA still throwing their toys out of the pram due to Nintendo not going with Origin for their store front, either that or Nintendo patenting their idea of using the remote as a golf club and the GamePad as the ball position. Going to be interesting to see what happens with Tiger Woods when it comes out for the U. If it doesn't use that method then I'd say the second reason is probably more likely to be causing problems between the two companies. Although I expect that Nintendo have granted them permission to use their patented idea, would make sense. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 07, 2013, 11:32:59 PM
(http://www.lolbrary.com/wall-content/826/wall-content-the-fresh-prince-of-skyrim-36826.png)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 08, 2013, 09:08:54 AM
LOL ^^  ;D

Totally finished Far Cry 3 last night - going to start on co-op mode on Friday - it actually took me 26 hours to finish the SP - but felt a lot longer - the only thing I didnt do was to find all the relics (120 of them - I got 60).

So back onto my backlog now.. I started Fracture before Xmas and was quite enjoying some parts of it.. so I'll probably go back to that, goldeneye can get fucked!

Apparently I've won a PC copy of Assassin's Creed 3 for completing an Nvidia graphics card survey I did about a month back - code will (apparently) be dispatched on 15th January - be chuffed if its true.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 08, 2013, 04:39:00 PM
"LEGO Marvel Super Heroes" has been announced by TT. That's fantastic news :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: chelseachelsea on January 08, 2013, 11:18:41 PM
I think you will find Dross in this thread, more than any football thread................ ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 09, 2013, 07:43:07 AM
Well I finished Fracture last night - for an average 63 game on metacritic - I'd say its probably worth about 65 overall..

Graphics are pretty bland, storyline is absolutely terrible and the characters in it are just pathetic, AI is pretty awful... but the idea of a gun that can alter the terrain in a shooter is a great idea and pretty much carries the best bits of the whole game.. without that element the game would of probably been about a 40.

At least thats a game off my backlog at last.. added to the selling pile - although it will have to wait until the next cull now as Im already selling 28 games on ebay
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on January 09, 2013, 08:29:38 AM
Played more AC3 and thank god it's got better. The Haytham character just feels so clunky and slow but Connor is faster and more fluid. The storyline is great and I think they chose a good time period.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 09, 2013, 04:55:39 PM
The more I hear about the upcoming "steambox" the more I'm liking the sound of it. Small form PC for the front room, operating from linux, running Steam's "Big Room", it could be a serious contender to the next generation of consoles.

Latest announcements include there being three tiers of machine - a base one at around $99, which does little more than stream stuff from your pc; a mid-range one for around $300, which is more like a traditional console but with much more flexibility; and then the top tier which can include whatever your budget allows.

The mid-range machine is quoted as having a quad core 64-bit processor, 8GB of DDR3 RAM, a 1TB SSD, support for 3 displays, 6 USB 2.0 ports and 2 eSATA ports, requiring just 40W of power to run.
Now I'm not tech savvy but a small form factor computer with all that inside it, with a semi-established platform like Steam Big Picture out of the box, all for less than £300 sounds fantastic.

I've said in the past that I have little brand loyalty, and could quite easily switch my loyalties from Microsoft to Sony if Sony's next machine looks a better option to me than Microsoft's - but it now seems we have a serious rival bidding for my money...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 09, 2013, 05:58:40 PM
Thats weird - earlier I was hard pushed to think of anyone that the steambox (or equivalent hardware) would appeal too...certainly not me.

PC enthusiasts - will play on their PCs.
Console enthusiasts - will play on their consoles.

Two completely different markets - I cant see how one product can unify them.. it wont have the console exclusives that make the console great, and it wont be "tech" enough to make it worthwhile if you already have a half decent pc.  You'll also be tied to steam - which means no pre-owned games.

The only advantage I can see it bringing is - pc gaming on a large tv - am I fussed about that - no.

As much as I love Valve, I wish they would stop this hardware bollocks and actually release some software.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 09, 2013, 06:52:43 PM
Woohoo, just hit 90k GS tonight - just 10k to go. 

Also did it on my 300th xbox 360 game that I've played (according to xbox.com)

 ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on January 09, 2013, 10:55:49 PM
Has been rumoured for quite a while, but Crytek have now confirmed they won't be bringing Crysis 3 to the Wii U. (http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/news/a448410/crysis-3-not-coming-to-wii-u-due-to-lack-of-business-drive.html)
Getting past the marketing speak, it seems the game just wouldn't sell. To be honest, I would've thought it'd be worth bringing out even if it didn't make a profit, though. I'm not a big fan of Crysis, but bringing a graphical benchmark game to the U and showing off how it performs against the 360 and the ps3 would've been a good move for Nintendo (assuming it would perform favourably in comparison with those ageing machines).


(http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/1465/lateplaysummary.png)

Nice to see something other than Blops2 in my play summary, for a change.
I really need to get some other games played. Or at least play the COD campaign. My gamerscore is stagnating!

That's an average of almost 6 hours per day. That's outrageous mate!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 10, 2013, 03:17:24 PM
Tis a bit worrying, isn't it!
I should cut down, but there's not a massive amount for me to do between our lass going to bed at around 11pm and me going to bed at about 3 or 4am.
Tempted to start watching a TV show again from the start (maybe The Shield, or Sopranos) in that time slot.


I read a canny rumour...
(https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT86-eelvZExBWDFmYaatKzv8CEAhVf09me0WcGq4OY3t8ZWbfp_A)
We're years away from that patent coming to fruition but that would be awesome lol...



Boom (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=re1EatGRV0w), lol.
Proof of concept, revealed by MS today. :D

TBH I can't see it being properly developed, as it's usefulness is next to zero - but I still think it's fantastic. I'm not so excited for what it is, as it's only a step, but anything that brings immersive reality (a la Star Trek holosuites) a step closer is a good thing - and this does just that.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on January 10, 2013, 04:26:49 PM
Tis a bit worrying, isn't it!
I should cut down, but there's not a massive amount for me to do between our lass going to bed at around 11pm and me going to bed at about 3 or 4am.
Tempted to start watching a TV show again from the start (maybe The Shield, or Sopranos) in that time slot.


I read a canny rumour...
(https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT86-eelvZExBWDFmYaatKzv8CEAhVf09me0WcGq4OY3t8ZWbfp_A)
We're years away from that patent coming to fruition but that would be awesome lol...



Boom (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=re1EatGRV0w), lol.
Proof of concept, revealed by MS today. :D

TBH I can't see it being properly developed, as it's usefulness is next to zero - but I still think it's fantastic. I'm not so excited for what it is, as it's only a step, but anything that brings immersive reality (a la Star Trek holosuites) a step closer is a good thing - and this does just that.

(http://forums.watchuseek.com/attachments/f21/814725d1347051480-seiko-star-wars-collaboration-series-what-shut-up-take-my-money-fry-futurama-twilight-avatar.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 10, 2013, 05:06:53 PM
LOL, it does look good albeit mega tacky  ;D

Wow.. made a bit of wonga on my games on ebay - not going to argue that you definitely make a bit more money selling them via ebay versus selling in a shop, I actually sold a few games for more than I paid for them brand new for instance....but some of the people who use ebay are complete and utter morons - its just annoying.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 11, 2013, 05:25:36 PM
Yay, pc is all back up and running - just tried Borderlands 2 and its looking very nice indeedy do.  Loving my SSD as well - everything is so fast!!  Now all I need to do is wait for Sim City 5 - probably my 2nd most anticipated game of the year after GTA5.

Also got myself full copies of Autodesk Maya and Unity - going to try out a few animation and coding things over the coming year with a buddy.   ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 11, 2013, 10:11:55 PM
Yay, pc is all back up and running - just tried Borderlands 2 and its looking very nice indeedy do.  Loving my SSD as well - everything is so fast!!  Now all I need to do is wait for Sim City 5 - probably my 2nd most anticipated game of the year after GTA5

GTA and Sim City are two of my top three for 2013, along with BioShock Infinite.
My list  (http://www.dealspwn.com/anticipated-games-2013-125186)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 14, 2013, 07:52:47 AM
Bioshock has taken too long to come out now though.. I'll probably buy it at or near launch saying that though - I loved the first two.

Am looking forward towards Gears of War, Army Of Two and ArmA 3 later in the year too


I was playing Civilization 4 last night - I love turn-based games - theres a game called Omerta : City of Gangsters coming out soon which is turn-based - its by the people who did Tropico 4 - might be worth a punt if you like strategy games.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on January 14, 2013, 12:53:31 PM
So I've finished the story of AC3. Still loads to do as according to the game the main story only makes up about 40% of the game.

Thoughts....

At the beginning I really wasn't enjoying it. It felt clunky and slow compared to the last game. It may have just been the Haytham character that's been made intentionally slow I'm not sure but it just didn't feel right. It looks amazing and the settings good but I was worried this would be another Saints Row 3 for me (Loved the first two Saints Row's hated the third)

Thankfully when I became Connor it felt like the AC's of old.

The combat system has been changed and made more difficult I feel which is a good thing because before you could just counter kill every enemy. You can still counter kill but it's not as easy as it was before and some enemies can counter your counter.

Desmond is more involved in this game and obviously this is the end of his story. In the Desmond parts you get to travel to New York, Brazil and back to the Abstergo offices where it all began which is a cool.

There's still lots to do such as frontiersmen missions and missions to take control of the districts as well but I have Batman AC to play so ill come back to em.

All in all a good game but it did have me worried.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on January 14, 2013, 03:29:32 PM
Strong rumours that the PS4/720 will both be announced before May (or around May)...Even if these are true, I still don't expect either of them to hit this year...Probably around spring/summer next year is a more plausible release window, even if they are announced as early as May.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 15, 2013, 02:43:27 AM
Strong rumours that the PS4/720 will both be announced before May (or around May)...Even if these are true, I still don't expect either of them to hit this year...Probably around spring/summer next year is a more plausible release window, even if they are announced as early as May.

Developers have had dev kits for a while now. We should see both released in November/December this year, Spring and especially Summer are terrible times to release a home console. Nobody has any cash to spare after Christmas until April or May and by then they're saving for Summer holidays.

The best time to release a home console is November or December, before Black Friday and Christmas shopping starts.

Portable consoles tend to do better in Spring or Summer because a few people buy these things to take with them on holiday, but even then it's still daft to release them around that time. I can't see any reason for it tbh. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on January 15, 2013, 02:50:58 AM
Strong rumours that the PS4/720 will both be announced before May (or around May)...Even if these are true, I still don't expect either of them to hit this year...Probably around spring/summer next year is a more plausible release window, even if they are announced as early as May.

Developers have had dev kits for a while now. We should see both released in November/December this year, Spring and especially Summer are terrible times to release a home console. Nobody has any cash to spare after Christmas until April or May and by then they're saving for Summer holidays.

The best time to release a home console is November or December, before Black Friday and Christmas shopping starts.

Portable consoles tend to do better in Spring or Summer because a few people buy these things to take with them on holiday, but even then it's still daft to release them around that time. I can't see any reason for it tbh. :-\

The PS3 was released in Europe in March, and it still sold a solid amount of units. Sony will give Japan a few months exclusivity too, which is pretty much nailed on (as they did with the PS3), so I think next spring is a tidy estimate.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 15, 2013, 03:27:10 AM
The PS3 was a failure at launch in all territories, in fact it was a failure for around 2 years until they decided to panic and cut the price significantly, there were even a few months where the GBA outsold it :o ;D :o

Most people simply don't have that sort of money going spare at that time of the year.

November/December this year is the only sensible time to release a current gen console. And if Sony and Microsoft don't want another Vita situation on their hands then both consoles will have to release for less than 400 quid. And they'd be mad to go the subscription route over here too, chavs on council estates will abuse the fuck out of it lol. :o :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 15, 2013, 10:34:26 AM
Gotta agree with Harv (to a degree) on this one.
I'd be amazed if we don't see at least one of the next gen consoles around November this year - and probably/hopefully both.

A few rumours here (http://www.dealspwn.com/rumour-gen-consoles-release-400-126400), including possible launches in Oct and Nov for Sony and Microsoft respectively, and a potential price in the $350-$400 range. I'd been expecting a £400 launch, but if those US$ figures are correct I imagine we're talking £300-£350 which sounds good (but I'm not going to get excited until we get details rather than speculation, as so much depends on how the two consoles shape up in a straight comparison)...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 15, 2013, 10:41:53 AM
Im 90% sure the 720 will release in November/December - theres too many rumours to ignore this year, plus with the lack of many exclusives, it would indicate that studios have already wrapped up their 360 projects. 

I cant say with conviction that I believe the PS4 will release this year though, even though the guy said we'd know the release date by May, I think it will release next year  :o

Anything more than £300 for a new console is too much.  I believe Microsoft will price between £200-£300.

You wont see anything until E3 - theres no way Sony nor Microsoft would unveil a new console outside of it either.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on January 16, 2013, 11:00:56 PM
Couldn't decide what to play last week so decided to stick on Lost Odyssey and play through it again. Just started disc 3 and I've noticed it's taking me a lot less time now I'm not reading any of the dreams.  Only about 20 hours in. So much better than some of the woeful JRPG's that have been released this gen i.e. The Last Remnant/Infinite Undiscovery. Would love them to make a sequel.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 17, 2013, 11:16:28 AM
Yeah the dreams part is slightly boring - who wants to read endless reams of text on screen.. not me... I think I read one, and skipped the rest.

You're right about the other JRPGS.. I am yet to find one that matches Lost Odyssey and I've pretty much played all of the ones the 360 has to offer - Blue Dragon would of been my 2nd favourite.. and that was made by the same people.  I doubt there will be a sequel to LO though, Mistwalker have done or hinted at nothing since they helped create The Last Story - just a handful of IOS games really.  I've kept onto my copy of LO though, I do plan on playing through it again and having a stab at that treasure achievement.



However I am totally engrossed in Civilization 5 at the moment, had to start my marathon game again as I wanted to start to play the game properly (instead of rushing everything I do - plus I was in a war with practically everyone).  I am really micro-managing everything this time around - and I love it - the only thing I messed up slightly was the placement of my 2nd city - built it a bit too close to the germans, and they got a bit pissed off as Im stealing all their nearby resources. but I swear the AI cheats.. really badly - the speed in which they produce things is unreal, I cant make things that quick at all.  Just gonna play it my way though, try not to piss anyone off and get some alliances going this time - I always go to war far too quickly lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on January 17, 2013, 01:58:46 PM
Is there any point at all in prestiging weapons in blops 2?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 17, 2013, 07:02:56 PM
First prestige you can put your clan tag on the gun, and second (final) time you can put your emblem on. Which is okay if you're using a gun where the emblem is in a prominent position and you have a decent emblem. I have good emblems but my gun is no good for displaying them.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on January 18, 2013, 12:39:58 AM
Going through the Doom BFG Edition, starting with Doom 1...Not really that fun tbh, the levels are horribly basic (understandable, obviously, due to the age of the game), but it doesn't half make it a bit of a slog when you're just doing the same shit over and over, with little variation in the environments, enemies, weapons and gameplay mechanics.

Halfway through that so will knock out Doom 2 and finally move onto Doom 3 (which I haven't played yet). Beating all 3 games on Nightmare for the Platinum is solid though, I'm struggling a bit on Doom 1 and that's not even the hardest of the 3 apparently...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 18, 2013, 02:14:53 AM
Oops, some people are in a bit of bother lol (http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/01/16/next-gen-secrets-allegedly-leaked-to-nvidia-by-former-amd-executives). :o ;D :P

Told you they wouldn't be power houses, we'll be looking at 2 or 3 times more powerful than the U. All 3 consoles are going to be similar to the 6th gen in terms of the difference in power between the consoles. And it wouldn't surprise me if Sony and Microsoft have duct-taped a touchscreen onto their controllers too although they won't be able to use the same method of synching the delay between the telly and controller because they have that patented. Going to be interesting to see what they come up with to get rid of input and display delay problems.

Plenty of quality games on the way for the U - Ninja Gaiden 3 has just been released, Aliens Colonial Marines next month, Rayman Legends, Lego City Undercover, Monster Hunter and Scribblenauts Unlimited during these next couple of months with The Wonderful 101 and Pikmin 3 on their way soon after. Good times ahead! ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 18, 2013, 02:20:45 PM
The U is shit, and Nintendo have virtually put themselves out of the console game.
Handhelds and software only in future, I reckon.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 18, 2013, 09:41:38 PM
Lol, it's still selling well in Japan and the States mate and it's still getting new games announced. Not out of the console race at all, in fact they're likely to lead the generation again in terms of sales and you may find the U being the lead platform supplying up-ports to the PS4 and 720 the same way the PS2 was during the 6th gen thanks to Nintendo's forward thinking with regards to the GPU and architecture. You'll probably find 10-15m Wii Us in homes before the PS4 and 720 are released and publishers aren't going to find themselves in the same situation as they had with the Wii when porting between platforms due to the GPU, architecture and smaller difference in power between the 3 platforms.

The only problem Nintebndo have is in Europe which has always been a Playstation territory.

It all comes down to the retail price of all 3 consoles at the end of the day, if Sony and Microsoft retail their machines at the same price or even cheaper than the Wii U then they've a chance at getting the biggest marketshare, otherwise they're looking at scrapping for second and third place again.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 18, 2013, 11:12:57 PM
Aw bollocks, Georgie Porgie decided to chew through my GamePad charging cable so not got any juice in the bloomin thing >:(

Going to get a bloomin great big jiffy bag and post her off to the bloomin cat's home lol :o :'(

Good job I'm feeling flush at the moment, a trip to Game tomorrow I think!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on January 19, 2013, 12:40:50 AM
Sorry Harv, if those titles are your idea of "good quality", You'd probably self destruct if you actually played anything that was credible, and not just shovelware/cash-ins on franchises.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 19, 2013, 01:09:00 AM
Good job I'm feeling flush at the moment, a trip to Game tomorrow I think!
Sweet - you can stop claiming benefits.
They're there so people don't starve to death, not so they can have more gadgets than the average working person - especially when said toys include massively overpriced gimmicky shite from the land of the riding sun.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 19, 2013, 01:11:46 AM
Sorry Harv, if those titles are your idea of "good quality", You'd probably self destruct if you actually played anything that was credible, and not just shovelware/cash-ins on franchises.

None of those titles can in any way be deemed shovelware. Ninja Gaiden 3 for the U is practically a new game after the developers have fixed the vast majority of problems with the PS3 and 360 clusterfucks. Any Lego game, and any sequel to any game, should be considered a 'cash-in'...it's a new addition of a popular franchise and having a Lego GTA is going to be instantly full of win with toppings of Awesome Sauce.

Rayman Legends shovelware? Or a cash-in..? Then so was Rayman Origins. Like Lego City Undercover it's a new installment of a popular franchise. There are talks of it being a timed exclusive, so if that happens and it's released on the other platforms then does it stop being a shovelware/cash-in title just because it's released on your platform of choice..?

Monster Hunter..? Again, it's a new installment of a successful franchise and despite it's roots from the original title on the Wii should be considered a GOTY equivalent. No more of a cash-in than any other GOTY Edition of any other franchise and definitely not shovelware by any stretch of the imagination.

Scribblenauts Unlimited, again, can't be considered shovelware or a cash-in. It's the first time that it's appeared on a home console and going by the user feedback and reviews it's a top quality title.

Aliens Colonial Marines is a multiplatform title with the U SKU having enhanced eye candy and gameplay thanks to the U's power and controller and in no way should it be considered shovelware or a cash-in unless you want to tar the other SKUs with the same brush.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 19, 2013, 01:15:50 AM
Good job I'm feeling flush at the moment, a trip to Game tomorrow I think!
Sweet - you can stop claiming benefits.
They're there so people don't starve to death, not so they can have more gadgets than the average working person - especially when said toys include massively overpriced gimmicky shite from the land of the riding sun.

Feeling flush meaning I have a £20 Game voucher that I got for Christmas and some cash I got as a pressie from my Uncle John. Not enough to enable me to stop receiving benefits. Take a chill pill, you're starting to sound like styles and that certainly isn't healthy lololol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on January 19, 2013, 09:30:27 AM
He's spot on, spongers and layouts should be given vouchers not cash. I wonder how many would earnestly look for work if that happened.

You have to ask yourself what you're giving back to the country harv.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 19, 2013, 11:25:11 AM
Giving back to the country..? My taxes paid whilst being well enough to work are paying for this, and will do when I'm well enough to work again. I really don't see the problem. Like I've said before I'd much prefer to be working but unfortunately it's not possible at the moment. :(

There's absolutely nothing wrong with people being supported by the government when genuinely out of work or genuinely unfit for work. I only have a problem with people claiming ESA when they plainly don't deserve it, I welcome the new measures that have been taken this last year or so to stop claims by people that don't deserve ESA.

Anyway, back to video games... ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on January 19, 2013, 11:47:46 AM
The unemployed are a drain we can all do without. House everyone together, I've no idea what you are doing with a flat to yourself, you should have one room in a house and be forced to look for work daily or look for/receive treatment for your "illness".

There are genuine people out there but you are like the vast majority just milking the system. Bet if you received a letter saying unless you started back to work you would be moved to communal housing you'd soon start feeling perkier.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 19, 2013, 02:41:32 PM
I'm not milking the system at all and certainly wouldn't feel 'perkier' but considerably worse, and I'm having suicidal tendancies as it is. I really do hope that you or anyone you care about doesn't suffer from depression because it's crippling. Same goes for diabetes too, I think I'm going to need laser surgury on my eyes because of it during these next few weeks...hopefully it's not too late otherwise I could be looking at blindness in the not too distant future :-\ :(

Anyway...video games...

Bought 2 chargers for my GamePad today and got a 20% discount for buying two of the same thing which was handy ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on January 19, 2013, 04:13:41 PM
Most people have thoughts about suicide on a daily basis. I know that whenever i drive i look at the oncoming traffic with fascination.

Mental illness is no joke, are you still on lithium? If it were me instead of seeing what wii u game is due for release,  id be researching ways to make myself better. My mum actually does have diabetes, so does my uncle. I know quite a few people with it in fact. My cousin has had it from she was a kid and amazingly she works full time as a teacher and has had 3 kids without ever once moaning about it. She has had several bad experiences from slipping into comas to passing out whilst having a shower and dislocating her shoulder yet she lives a full life and works full time. Gary mabutt managed to win an fa cup medal despite playing for a shite team (and having diabetes).

What steps have you taken this week to either help yourself or to get help?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 19, 2013, 06:06:21 PM
If you think you're less able to work than everyone else on these forums you're deluded. I don't claim to know what your life is like, but you have no comprehension of everyone else's life. There are people on these forums with serious problems who just get on with it and go to work every day. They don't whine on, looking for sympathy.

Oooh, I have diabetes and depression (like millions of others) so I can't work (but those other millions can).
Weak.

Perhaps you genuinely are too ill to work. Doubt it, but it's possible. Even if you are, though, you shouldn't be prospering at others' expense, living it up in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 19, 2013, 06:15:23 PM
Living it up..? Blimey. Hardly mate. I saved up for a year to get my Wii U and my bonus bagging has bought me a few nice toys but I'm hardly living the life of luxury.

Anyway...about video games...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on January 19, 2013, 06:21:18 PM
I promise i haven't hacked let's account lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on January 19, 2013, 06:22:33 PM
Incidentally it would be easier and less stressful to go out and earn a living than to sit all day betting £2 a time on black
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 19, 2013, 11:30:25 PM
Not doing that any more cos I lost my discipline and lost it all lol ;D

Only lost my £20 stake though so easy come, easy go lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on January 20, 2013, 12:07:08 AM
I'm not gonna jump on this bandwagon of hatred, but I gotta say, if I just sat at home all day and did absolutely nothing other than play games and watch TV, it would drive me absolutely insane. I dunno how anyone does it tbh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 20, 2013, 01:16:22 AM
Unfortunately due to my depression I can only concentrate on things for a short time so all my gaming and watching films/telly series has to be done in small doses. And even then I can't watch anything without surfing the internet and posting on forums. It gets quite frustrating tbh. I love to read but there's no way I'd be able to concentrate reading a book, I've been trying to reread the Wheel of Time novels for the last few years but my concentration and memory isn't up to it.

Anyway, back to gaming, I've been continuing my playthrough of ZombiU and have gone through 57 survivors so far lololol :-[ ;D :-[ This is of course with aim-assist and crosshairs turned off which makes it ridiculously more difficult. There's no chance I'll be able to play this in Survivor mode with those turned off lol. I'm on a part now where you've been coshed on the bonce and have been put in a gladiator's arena type thing (which the local multiplayer is based on) and only have a pistol and 15 rounds with a few more rounds of ammo scattered about. And no cricket bat :o The zombies you face are the armoured riot police zombies which are impervious to bullets and molotov cocktails and can only be melee killed after knocking their helmets off...but you only have a pistol anyway so that's out. The only other way of killing them is by blowing the fuckers up. There's a few gas cannisters lying around but because I've turned off the crosshairs and aim-assist they're very difficult to hit lol ;D ;D ;D

There are also incinerator zombies with flame throwers that the government were obviously using to burn the infected and they blow up when you shoot them. But if you get too close you're literally toast. Very difficult part of the game this, particularly when you consider that these fuckers move about the same speed as you do unless you're running. I'm getting tempted to turn crosshairs on temporarily but I know that I'll be annoyed with myself for wimping out lololol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on January 20, 2013, 09:56:54 AM
Your argument doesn't hold water at all. You demonstrate most days that you are capable of concentrating on watching tv/movies/games for significant levels of time. You haven't answered my question posed earlier, what have you done this week to help yourself get better?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on January 20, 2013, 11:08:49 AM
Agent Styles from the DWP lol!

On disc 4 of LO now. Just getting ready to smash Gongora's face in.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on January 20, 2013, 11:45:31 AM
Leave Harv alone! Remember he's sad and can't eat sugar.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on January 20, 2013, 01:16:20 PM
Lol, that's bad bealec
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on January 20, 2013, 03:03:03 PM
Lol, that's bad bealec

Hey I just recycled it. It has been uttered before.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 20, 2013, 06:26:39 PM
Leave Harv alone! Remember he's sad and can't eat sugar.
pmsl
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 21, 2013, 11:11:52 AM
Wow looks like I was right about the Wii U (lol).... sales fizzling out in january

Last weeks numbers show that the joint figures of the Wii + Wii U - werent even enough to beat the 360 globally.. nor the PS3  :o  Either the PS3 or 360 outsell it in every region too.

Looks like an "official" price cut will be coming soon... especially with a bunch of anticipated games being delayed even further aswell
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 21, 2013, 12:14:51 PM
This is normal. Tends to happen to all new consoles after Christmas, nobody has got the cash to spend on expensive luxury goods after Christmas and won't have until April or more likely May. And of course the 360 and PS3 are selling more, that also happens every gen. You'll see them outselling the PS4 and 720 after their first Christmas too.

And I can't see Nintendo making a panic price cut just yet.

In fact it's the same for just about every business. Just have a look at the amount of people in pubs and restaurants, they're all pretty empty and will be until April or May.

Just bought Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed and it's pretty good. Loads of stuff to unlock and a couple of extra modes for the Wii U version. Silky smooth 60fps too, although I think it's only 720p native. Not selling bad either, it's probably done around £200K by now if you include the digital sales. Well that's all my Christmas money spent! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on January 21, 2013, 12:38:46 PM
^

Lol. Give it up son.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 21, 2013, 12:59:29 PM
So two months from release and you've resorted to buying a Sonic racing game made for pre-teens to get some play out of your Wii U - LOL! 

How much more expensive is a PS3 over a Wii U btw... your argument might hold some water if the PS3 hadn't practically tripled the Wii U sales.

The console needs 1st party games now more than ever and nintendo have done exactly what they did with the 3DS - fuck it all up.. its gonna crash and burn Im afraid lolol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 21, 2013, 01:35:41 PM
Oh and you remember this conversation last year harv... (whilst on the subject of how crap the wii u is)..

I look forward to comparing the Wii U's review scores for their ports against current platforms though... there is no reason for them not to be significantly higher if they are the "definitive" versions right ??

Yup, I've already stated that the U scores should be better than the other SKUs. The only game that might suffer as far as review scores goes is FIFA 13 because it's missing Ultimate Team.

I've used metacritic here, I think its safe to say its the fairest site to use, although I really dont think it would matter that much... and I think I have all the Wii U ports here...

Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Wii U - 83, X360 - 83

Trine 2
Wii U - 84, X360 - 85

Assassin's Creed 3
Wii U - 85, PS3 - 86

Arkham City
Wii U - 84, PS3 - 96

Just Dance 4
Wii U - 66, X360 - 77

Darksiders 2
Wii U - 85, PS3 - 84

Fifa 13
Wii U - 70, X360 -90

COD BLOPS 2
Wii U - 81, X360 - 83

Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper
Wii U - 64, X360 - 71

Madden 13
Wii U - 76, PS3 - 83

Skylanders Giants
Wii U - 80, X360 - 80

Mass Effect 3
Wii U - 87, X360 - 93

Sonic All Stars
Wii U - 78, X360 - 82

Ninja Gaiden 3
Wii U - 70, X360 - 58


So I make that
Wii U - 2 definitive versions
X360/PS3 - 10 definitive versions

Thats quite a difference ey ?? So hows that happened, would really be interested to hear your excuses this time?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 21, 2013, 02:23:41 PM
So two months from release and you've resorted to buying a Sonic racing game made for pre-teens to get some play out of your Wii U - LOL! 

How much more expensive is a PS3 over a Wii U btw... your argument might hold some water if the PS3 hadn't practically tripled the Wii U sales.

The console needs 1st party games now more than ever and nintendo have done exactly what they did with the 3DS - fuck it all up.. its gonna crash and burn Im afraid lolol.

I bought Sonic Racing because I liked the demo and the game has had unanimously positive feedback on various forums. And aimed at pre-teens..? It's a game suitable for everyone regardless of their age just like any kart racer. No idea where you got pre-teens from lol.

As for PS3s and 360s I've seen them going for less than 200 quid, play.com have a 16GB PS3 going for just over £160...nearly half the price of a Wii U at some places. Previous gen machines always sell better than new current gen machines after Christmas because the things are a great deal cheaper.

The Wii U has sold 80% of the Wii's launch sales, outsold the PS3 and 360's launch sales. It's sold over 2m in half the time that the 360 managed and a third of the time that the PS3 managed. It's selling fine.

As for the Metacritic scores a few of them don't make a great deal of sense, but that's how reviewers have been for the last 10 years in this industry. There's no reason for the Arkham City difference for starters, you can't even blame the lateness of the release because it was only released a couple of months after the GOTY Edition. The Trine 2 score also makes no sense because it's not only graphically superior but it also has Goblin Menace which the PS3 and 360 are incapable of running without downgrading it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 21, 2013, 03:59:03 PM
The Wii U may of outsold the PS3 and X360 launches.. but then the PS3 cost a lot more and the X360 had crippling supply issues - so its not saying a lot really.  The PS3 didnt even launch at christmas so the comparisons of launches is pretty pointless.

And if you want to go by Plays direct price - its actually £170 for a basic 12GB PS3 - compared to £225 for the basic Wii U - £50 is hardly half price.. and doesn't back up any of your claims of why people are staying away from the Wii U.

Unfortunately Nintendo have ballsed up on their 1st party timing again and you wont get to see another 1st party game until half way through the year now.. which means they will have to make a price cut sometime soon because the current crop of games just aren't going to shift hardware units.

And on the review score front - has the thought that the Wii U versions being worse actually crossed your mind?  It has mine!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on January 22, 2013, 02:35:07 AM
Their biggest problem is, alot of those games you listed rely on a strong online counterpart, which the U just simply doesnt provide...It'll stand up with good single player games, but when you have a game thats also judged on its online portion too, the 360/PS3 will naturally destroy it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 22, 2013, 01:19:40 PM
lol... the heavily rumoured 720 specs (http://metro.co.uk/2013/01/22/xbox-720-tech-specs-leaked-blu-ray-drive-included-3361160/) that were leaked today.. suggest that it will piss all over the Wii U...

looks like you were wrong and we were right harv!  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on January 22, 2013, 07:50:52 PM
lol... the heavily rumoured 720 specs (http://metro.co.uk/2013/01/22/xbox-720-tech-specs-leaked-blu-ray-drive-included-3361160/) that were leaked today.. suggest that it will piss all over the Wii U...

looks like you were wrong and we were right harv!  ;D

Well colour me surprised.....
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 23, 2013, 03:48:37 AM
lol... the heavily rumoured 720 specs (http://metro.co.uk/2013/01/22/xbox-720-tech-specs-leaked-blu-ray-drive-included-3361160/) that were leaked today.. suggest that it will piss all over the Wii U...

looks like you were wrong and we were right harv!  ;D

It's hardly pissing all over the Wii U, and I haven't been far off. We're talking 3 or 4 times more powerful than the Wii U rather than the 2 or 3 times I was expecting and I was right about the architecture. That's still in the same sort of ballpark in terms of power and means that it's going to be easy for developers to port between all 3 systems this gen. And you'll see a few people surprised by developers and publishers having the Wii U as the lead platform this gen too.

2 or 3 times more powerful would see a retail price 400 pounds/dollars, the amount of RAM and the GPU performance we're looking at retailing above that. I thought that they'd go for 6GB of RAM to cut costs though tbh.

Resident Evil Revelations has been announced for home consoles, it's more Resident Evil than the last 2 Resident Evils and definitely worth picking up. Easily on a par with 4 but still way too much ammo floating around, although they may tweak that for the home console SKUs. You'll also get to experience RAID mode for the first time, it's awesome and I'm really surprised they didn't make it part of the Bonus Content for 6 tbh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 23, 2013, 08:09:30 AM
Oh it does.. the Wii U is drowning in a sea of piss right now... and when the PS4 joins the party it'll be more a case of Wii Who than Wii U  ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 23, 2013, 09:46:42 AM
It's hardly pissing all over the Wii U...

Ummm...
It really is, Harv.

As I've mentioned before, if it were 20% more powerful than the U then it'd be a big step up. If it were 30% more powerful it'd be quite a big step up. This isn't just 40% or 50% more powerful - it's about 400% more powerful. It's Bugatti Veyron vs ... (damn, was gonna put Skoda here because I'm old and still remember them being a laughing stock, but they're way better than a Nintendo these days. Erm...) ... It's Bugatti Veyron vs Model T Ford.
Similar architecture inside them - both have internal combustion engine, a wheel at each corner, etc. You'll find the modern car outperforms it's distant cousin though.

The U is dead in the water.


Getting back to the proper consoles, then...
Sony's CEO was asked about then next console a couple of days ago, and replied "why go first when your competitors can look at your specifications and come up with something better?”
I'd guess that refers to revealing details of the console rather than bringing it out. I doubt Sony want to give Microsoft a big head start in terms of release date - but it's an odd thing to say. If Microsoft wait until E3 Sony can't really wait to see what they do then consider their options.
I say "if", as there's rumours MS might reveal details before E3 - though that seems unlikely, tbh, as they'd actually be doing what Sony have effectively just asked for. It's probably too late in the day to change much on the machine, but if both companies are aiming to release around November then it'd be silly for one of them to reveal details a few moths before the other - it'd be giving their rival a great chance to tweak one or two things and to tailor their reveal in a way that'll stress the elements of their machine that put it above the other whilst highlighting any shortcomings their rival has...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 23, 2013, 11:42:40 AM
Yup, you're quite right, there isn't a great deal they can tweak 5 months before launch . By then the hardware is generally set in stone, they'll only be two or three months before they start production so by that stage both platform holders will be tweaking cooling, clockspeeds and voltages.

Developers will probably get final devkits in May.

And no, 300-400% difference in power isn't a great deal in the grand scheme of things. It's going to be very easy for developers to port between the 3 platforms despite the difference in power. It would have been possible to port between the Wii, PS3 and 360 if Nintendo had chosen a GPU with a standard rendering pipeline. You'd have a lower resolution, shitloads of jaggies, more pop-in and longer loading times but it would have been possible.

We'll probably see the Wii U being the lead platform this gen if there's a multiplatform game with a U SKU, I'm waiting to hear fanboys whining about the U holding back the other platforms like plenty of people were doing with the PS2 during the 6th gen lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 23, 2013, 12:10:47 PM
Its either an early excuse as to why Sony are releasing later than microsoft again.. (as nothing will be done hardware side within a few months).  Plus November/December really is the best time to release a console.. even the Wii U managed to sell!!!

Or he was actually talking about the Wii U and the fact that the PS4 will again rip a lot of ideas away from nintendo (touchscreen controller) ???  Microsoft would be mad to ditch their current controller.. but we all know the dualshock has run its course
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 23, 2013, 12:43:53 PM
We'll probably see the Wii U being the lead platform this gen if there's a multiplatform game with a U SKU...
Yeah, of course we will.  ::)

Arkham Armoured has been slashed again, btw (can't remember if you have that one yet). Now £18.99 at 365games (http://www.365games.co.uk/wii-u-games/batman-arkham-city-armoured-edition-game-wii-u).
Cracking game - if you don't have it I'd recommend it - though you might be better off getting the xbox version.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 23, 2013, 01:09:20 PM
We'll probably see the Wii U being the lead platform this gen if there's a multiplatform game with a U SKU...
Yeah, of course we will.  ::)

Arkham Armoured has been slashed again, btw (can't remember if you have that one yet). Now £18.99 at 365games (http://www.365games.co.uk/wii-u-games/batman-arkham-city-armoured-edition-game-wii-u).
Cracking game - if you don't have it I'd recommend it - though you might be better off getting the xbox version.

The Wii U being the lead platform makes perfect sense. It's going to be the market leader and the least powerful this gen, just as the PS2 was during the 6th gen. It makes sense for the least powerful console to be the lead platform because developers can be sure that the game will run fine on it. Certainly makes more sense than having the PS4 or 720 supplying down-ports to the Wii U.
 
Cheers for that Arkham City link, was going to buy it for 25 quid from shopto so that's saved me a few quid. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 23, 2013, 02:26:31 PM
LOL.. its not even worth writing a response to that, you quite clearly have a screw loose  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 23, 2013, 03:31:03 PM
LOL.. its not even worth writing a response to that, you quite clearly have a screw loose  ;D

Other people on other forums have had a similar reaction but haven't gone into why they disagree. My reasoning is sound. It makes sense for developers to have the market leading and least powerful console as the lead platform.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 23, 2013, 04:05:33 PM
Yeah, I loved the games ported from the Wii to the 360. They rocked.


Cue the "blah, blah, architecture, blah, blah" bollocks...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on January 23, 2013, 04:18:15 PM
Interesting that the Nextbox could have a HDMI-in slot. Hope Microsoft don't become too pre-occupied with media and forget about what most of us care about - games!

Finished Lost Odyssey for the 2nd time... Final battle was much simpler this time around (not that it was particularly difficult before) because I power-levelled in the Temple of Enlightenment. Now need something else to play... tempted to pick up Sleeping Dogs as it's going for under £20 and looks decent.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 23, 2013, 04:44:45 PM
Oooh, you don't have a "stack"?

I've got about 20 unplayed games, I think.  :-\ 
There's a few duffers in there, that I just picked up because they were dirt cheap, but there's several in there that I'm really keen to play - I just can't put COD down for long enough.
(New map pack is out for that next week. I ordered some msPoints today, so that I can buy a season pass.)
I'm also keen to add more games to the stack. I've got price alerts set up on the following:
Assassin's Creed 3
Dishonored
Far Cry 3
Halo 4
Hitman: HD Trilogy
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
Lego Lord of the Rings
Max Payne 3
Sleeping Dogs
XCOM Enemy Unknown

To be honest, a few have reached my "target price", but I've then revised the target downwards a bit and will pick them up some time later. Too many games, not enough time...

_____________________________________________________

Several new trailers and announcements from Nintendo today. Lego City Undercover still looks very good (shame it's for the U only). The Wonderful 101 looks good, too. And there's 2 Zelda titles on their way (one new title and one HD remake).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 23, 2013, 06:07:22 PM
Yeah, I loved the games ported from the Wii to the 360. They rocked.


Cue the "blah, blah, architecture, blah, blah" bollocks...

Not the architecture, the GPU...the TEV Unit specifically. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on January 23, 2013, 07:46:28 PM
Oooh, you don't have a "stack"?

I've got about 20 unplayed games, I think.  :-\ 
There's a few duffers in there, that I just picked up because they were dirt cheap, but there's several in there that I'm really keen to play - I just can't put COD down for long enough.
(New map pack is out for that next week. I ordered some msPoints today, so that I can buy a season pass.)
I'm also keen to add more games to the stack. I've got price alerts set up on the following:
Assassin's Creed 3
Dishonored
Far Cry 3
Halo 4
Hitman: HD Trilogy
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
Lego Lord of the Rings
Max Payne 3
Sleeping Dogs
XCOM Enemy Unknown

To be honest, a few have reached my "target price", but I've then revised the target downwards a bit and will pick them up some time later. Too many games, not enough time...

_____________________________________________________

Several new trailers and announcements from Nintendo today. Lego City Undercover still looks very good (shame it's for the U only). The Wonderful 101 looks good, too. And there's 2 Zelda titles on their way (one new title and one HD remake).

You really need to prioritise XCOM! Potentially my game of 2012. I thought AC3 was so-so... and I'm hesitant to get Far Cry 3 after loathing the second game.

Have ordered Sleeping Dogs from Shopto for £16.85. Cheapest I could find it, but I'm on backorder as they were out of stock. They usually restock fairly quickly though so the wait shouldn't be too long.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 23, 2013, 08:19:01 PM
There was a Nintendo Direct earlier today and they announced they're remaking Wind Waker to keep everyone happy whilst we wait for the next new one. Also announced the Wii U's Virtual Console and because it's the NES' 30th anniversary coming up they're going to have several NES and SNES games on offer for 30 days for 30p each :o

And Iwata also did his just one more thing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5F8MFBpMb4), looks very much like a sequel to Xenoblade Chronicles. Looks a bit rough at the moment because it's an early build but the draw distance, as with the original game on the Wii, is very impressive. Mechs, giant dinosaurs, awesome combat mechanics and a world to explore that makes the worlds in Oblivion/Fallout 3/Skyrim look small = Instant Win with a topping of Awesome Sauce.

Square Enix really should hang their heads in shame tbh, they used to be the kings of JRPGs but it's looking like there's a new contender on the scene...

I've even seen a few people saying they're going to buy a Wii U just to play this game, codenamed 'X'.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on January 23, 2013, 08:26:01 PM
We call those people idiots.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 23, 2013, 08:37:09 PM
Haven't you ever bought a console because of exclusives..? I got my 360 specifically to play Left 4 Dead and Dead Rising and my Wii U to play ZombiU, Rayman Legends and Lego City Undercover.

This next game from Monolith Soft is going to be excellent. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 24, 2013, 08:19:44 AM
You got your 360 free from cokezone lol.. dont pretend you went out and bought one to play games on it!

And judging by your previous posts, you have this huge beast of a pc... any gamer that knows anything knows that Left 4 Dead is far far superior on the pc than it is on the 360 - anything done by Valve always is - so trying to tell us you bought a 360 for that game is just bollocks Im afraid.

I bought a 360 because it was the first next-gen console and I enjoyed the exclusives the xbox had.
I will probably be buying a 720 for the same reasons.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on January 24, 2013, 09:09:31 AM
Haven't you ever bought a console because of exclusives..? I got my 360 specifically to play Left 4 Dead and Dead Rising and my Wii U to play ZombiU, Rayman Legends and Lego City Undercover.

This next game from Monolith Soft is going to be excellent. 8)

I would never spend £200-£300 on a console just to play 1 or 2 games that I couldn't get on my 360 that's madness.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on January 24, 2013, 02:57:36 PM
Buying a console for the sake of 1 or 2 games? I guess it's easy when you live on handouts.

No idea which console I'll buy next. No brand loyalty here. I took a punt on the PS3 originally for its many awesome exclusives and wasn't disappointed, but then got a 360 for the superior online service (which admittedly isn't that superior anymore... but I do require cross-game chat!) as well as JRPGs like Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon and Star Ocean 4.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 24, 2013, 03:46:43 PM
It'd be lovely to get both next gen machines (or all three if you include the joke Nintendo brought out). Unfortunately we have to pay for them ourselves rather than have them gifted by the government, though, so I'll have to pick one.
I've no idea which it'll be. I'll have to evaluate both when details are known.

I guess Microsoft has a very marginal head start over Sony in claiming my money - gamerscore and achievements are stupid and worth nothing... but I don't want to throw them away! Which makes them (and Sony's trophies, and whatever Ninty use, assuming they've finally caught on) clever additions to the machine, to be honest.


Gawd but I wish we had some solid details on the machines. I'm sick of all the rumours. There's loads that all sound plausible, but if they differ from each other, as they always do in some way, then realistically we know next to nothing.
For instance, rumours abound lately that the xbox processors are running at 1.9GHz, rather than the 1.6GHz previously touted. Either sounds entirely plausible, but until we know the definitive specs all the "leaks" might as well be complete guesswork for all they're worth...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 24, 2013, 06:58:19 PM
Blimey, you make it sound as if I'm rich. :o

I always have to save up for my consoles and I don't buy consoles 'just' for 1 or 2 games, but as ancelotti has pointed out exclusives play a part in my decision and the decisions of many others to purchase a particular console. Exclusives always sell consoles, but if I was only going to buy exclusives then my game collection would be miniscule!

My bonus bagging has helped me out financially of course but I've let you all know about that so that you can all benefit from that too. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 24, 2013, 09:47:44 PM
Bloomin 'eck, looks like Nintendo really are following the Steam model for the eShop. There are rumours that they're giving developers a 70/30 split like Steam does and they keep on having titles on special offer. Have just bought Mighty Switch Force for £6.30-odd ;D

That's all of the indie titles bought now...my credit card is seriously feeling the strain now lol :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 25, 2013, 08:57:57 AM
Have you tried Resonance of Fate kenny... Im keeping my eyes out for a cheap copy on ebay - the cheapest I've seen it elsewhere is £10.. its a JRPG.. its got mixed reviews... but some sites rate it higher than LO.. the battle system is supposed to be immense.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 25, 2013, 03:30:44 PM
You really need to prioritise XCOM! Potentially my game of 2012. I thought AC3 was so-so... and I'm hesitant to get Far Cry 3 after loathing the second game.
Have ordered Sleeping Dogs from Shopto for £16.85. Cheapest I could find it, but I'm on backorder as they were out of stock. They usually restock fairly quickly though so the wait shouldn't be too long.
I sooo want to get XCOM - used to love it back in the day, and the demo seemed fine - but I'll wait until it's cheaper (and maybe get the GOTY ed.n, if they do one).

Have just ordered AC3. It seems it's not as good as previous games, but I'm sure it's still enjoyable enough - and I couldn't resist at the price (second hand from Blockbuster). Bit of a gamble, that, tbh - with Blockbuster going under, and with all their games being scratched and caked in grime in my experience. But the price is good (£13)...

Bought my season pass for COD last night. Have downloaded the zombie map*, and am all set for the new map pack when it comes out on Tues next week :D

*Not yet tried the new zombie map, but I've barely tried the other zombie stuff on Black Ops 2 tbh - it seems nowhere near as good as on World at War and Black Ops 1 from the little I've seen...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 25, 2013, 08:06:41 PM
Christ on a fucking bike, there's a serious amount of fapping going on from plenty of people over the news of the Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem title and what looks like a sequel to Xenoblade Chronicles. Looks like it's revived sales of Xenoblade Chronicles too. Not so keen on the crossover though, not a big fan of SRPGs myself.

It's possible that the Wii U could become the console for JRPGs though, wouldn't surprise me if Mistwalker is working on another one too...mind you, I guess you couldn't have a sequel to The Last Story otherwise it wouldn't have been the last one lololol.

Square Enix should hang their heads in shame tbh, Monolith Soft and Mistwalker are really showing them up.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 25, 2013, 11:35:14 PM
Double xp on Blops 2 now and for the rest of the weekend. :D
I'll prestige tonight and hopefully quickly work my way through those horrible early stages where you haven't yet unlocked the equipment you want...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on January 26, 2013, 12:29:52 AM
Yes mate I've been levelling up like crazy. Hard to put it down tonight
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 27, 2013, 04:29:29 AM
Have just completed the first level/mission/quest/whatever lol o The Cave and it's excellent. I'm assuming it's on Live and PSN too, if it is then I highly recommend it. It's basically a point and click type of thing similar to the Monkey Island games. The humour is very Pratchett-esque, similar to the humour in the Pratchett point and click games so if you like those then The Cave will be a real treat for you. Plenty of replay value too if you're obsessed like I am with completing games like this with all characters. ;D

Also tried Mighty Switch Force which is also excellent, although getting any game with your own time limits to beat is a bit dodgy for me because I tend to get obsessed with them and get frustrated when I don't beat my time lol. Will do my best not to throw my GamePad across the room lololol. :P

Very impressed with the Wii U eShop so far, it's pretty much perfect, I don't have a single issue with it so far. The UI is nice, it's well organised, easy to navigate and follows the Steam model so far in terms of special offer prices and, allegedly, the cut that Nintendo are giving developers for every sale. Indie devs are going to be all over this, we should get a shitload of Unity 4-driven PC ports from indie developers considering Nintendo's deals with Wii U devkits.

Going to be interesting to see if Sony and Microsoft are going to follow suit with the cut they give to developers this gen. They'd be fools not to. :o ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 27, 2013, 11:38:02 AM
Nintendo make Harv horny long time...  ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 27, 2013, 12:38:23 PM
Only since 2006 ;)

Someone on another forum pointed out the other day that the titles listed when someone managed to accidentally access the debug part of Miiverse has been true so far:

(http://i46.tinypic.com/2coltoj.png)

Metroid and Donkey Kong could be the VC trial games which would leave MGS, Final Fantasy 3 and Soul Hackers, the latter of which is for the 3DS but there could be a Wii U SKU in the works that we haven't heard about yet. :o

Not sure where Final Fantasy 3 is in the grand scheme of things, it would make more sense to remake 7 imo. Still, any Final Fantasy game means that the Wii U is going to have a game from each of the 3 biggest franchises in Japan. Talk about Nintendomination lol. :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 27, 2013, 08:52:35 PM
I see what you did there. Inaccurate though. Soon they'll be dead as a Nintendodo...


They've already said they won't remake FF7 until they've made a Final Fantasy that's better received than FF7.
Can't see that happening any time soon.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 28, 2013, 08:03:52 AM
Sounds like your buying averagey crappy games again for your Wii U harv.. is that because theres no decent games coming out for another 6 months ??

Wii U attach rate is appaling so far... hardware sales are falling rapidly week on week (on par with the Wii at the moment), no 1st party games incoming for another couple of months, impending next-gen console reveals.. the Wii U is a sinking ship Im afraid.. its more Ninten"dont" than Ninten"do" ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 28, 2013, 09:58:58 AM
Anyway, moving away from the Nintenduff...

Good weekend of double-xp on Blops2. It's still on today, until 6pm our time, but I get home at about 6pm so no good for me. Was half-tempted to throw a sickie, but accountants don't take time off this close to Tax Return deadline - not even for double xp on COD. (And for the same reason I won't be skiving to play the new map pack when it drops tomorrow.
Got some decent levelling done anyway (up from prestige 4 level 54, to prestige 5 level 36).
As well as playing the multiplayer I had a few goes on the Nuketown Zombies map. Quite good fun - I enjoyed it more than the other zombie maps in this instalment - but it certainly doesn't make it into my top five COD Nazi Zombie maps.

Also played a few XBLA games over the weekend, all three of which were fairly highly reviewed:
"The Maw" is so-so. It's made by Twisted Pixel, who made "Splosion Man", which I loved, but I'm not really feeling it.
"Axel & Pixel" isn't my cup of tea at all. 2d point and click adventure, with a few elements of QTE. Urgh.
"Winterbottom" is much more up my street. Plays a lot like "Braid" in that you're solving puzzles laterally by messing with time and interacting with copies of yourself.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on January 28, 2013, 10:52:57 AM
I'd recommend getting the trial version of "Dust: An Elysian Tail" if you haven't played it already, Late. It's a 2D RPG and the combat system is top draw. It's also probably the best-looking XBLA game I've played. The voice acting is bad but not a gamebreaker.  :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 28, 2013, 12:16:23 PM
Sounds like your buying averagey crappy games again for your Wii U harv.. is that because theres no decent games coming out for another 6 months ??

Wii U attach rate is appaling so far... hardware sales are falling rapidly week on week (on par with the Wii at the moment), no 1st party games incoming for another couple of months, impending next-gen console reveals.. the Wii U is a sinking ship Im afraid.. its more Ninten"dont" than Ninten"do" ;D

There's plenty on the way and I haven't bought a single 'averagey crappy' game for the Wii U, particularly from the eShop which has been very impressive in terms of quality so far.
 
And there's plenty incoming during the next few months: Rayman Legends, Lego City Undercover, Aliens Colonial Marines and Monster Hunter 3G Ultimate. And then there's Pikmin 3 and The Wonderful 101 to come during the first half of this year. And that's before you take into account the next Nintendo Direct which is going to detail unannounced titles from third parties. That's 6 titles released this year that I want to buy...and they should end up with Metascores of 80+. Sounds pretty good to me.

As for the attach/tie rate nobody knows what it is due to Nintendo's adoption of DD. You see plenty of people on Miiverse talking about buying titles digitally. The likes of Chart Track, NPD and Media Create don't track digital sales. The only way you can guesstimate total sales in each territory is by gauging it on the size of the Miiverse communities compared to Nintendo Land.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 28, 2013, 01:30:15 PM
And there's plenty incoming during the next few months: Rayman Legends, Lego City Undercover, Aliens Colonial Marines and Monster Hunter 3G Ultimate. And then there's Pikmin 3 and The Wonderful 101 to come during the first half of this year.

Wowww.. is that all ??? You mean theres one 1st party developed game coming in the next 6 months..

Xbox 360 + PS3 have Aliens Colonial Marines + ten ton more exclusives and multi-platform games coming to their platform in the next few months and first half of the year.  Bioshock Infinite, GTA 5, Dead Space 3, Crysis 3, Tomb Raider.. I could go on... they are all coming to every platform..except the Wii U - You said that sort of thing wouldnt happen harv.. but it is...

The only games that nintendo'h fans want are 1st party games... they are the ones that will sell consoles - unfortunately the Wii U is dead in the water until then... expect a massive price cut in a month or two.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 28, 2013, 03:08:43 PM
And there's plenty incoming during the next few months: Rayman Legends, Lego City Undercover, Aliens Colonial Marines and Monster Hunter 3G Ultimate. And then there's Pikmin 3 and The Wonderful 101 to come during the first half of this year.

Wowww.. is that all ??? You mean theres one 1st party developed game coming in the next 6 months..

Xbox 360 + PS3 have Aliens Colonial Marines + ten ton more exclusives and multi-platform games coming to their platform in the next few months and first half of the year.  Bioshock Infinite, GTA 5, Dead Space 3, Crysis 3, Tomb Raider.. I could go on... they are all coming to every platform..except the Wii U - You said that sort of thing wouldnt happen harv.. but it is...

The only games that nintendo'h fans want are 1st party games... they are the ones that will sell consoles - unfortunately the Wii U is dead in the water until then... expect a massive price cut in a month or two.

There's also Game & Watch and Wii Fit U too but I don't have any interest in buying those so I didn't list them. As for first party developed games Nintendo are doing deals with indie developers such as Platinum Games and Traveller's Tales and doing deals with non-indie developers through their publishers such as Atlus and Intelligent Systems for Nintendo published games. This allows their own first and second party developers to work freely on the next Mario Kart, 3D Mario, Metroid, Yoshi, JRPG blockbuster, Zelda remake and new zelda game amongst others.

As for support from third parties you'll have to wait for the next Nintendo Direct which will detail exactly what's coming from them. I don't know why Nintendo are only announcing titles at very short notice tbh but that's the way they seem to be rolling these days. ZombiU, Black Ops 2 and Assassin's Creed III have all sold pretty well so far, Ubisoft in particular are laughing all the way to the bank.

And Aliens Colonial Marines for the U should be considered an exclusive given how it's going to be the only SKU that's going to give you a motion tracker in the palm of your hands - the other SKUs won't be worth owning in comparison imo. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 29, 2013, 10:29:41 AM
So you think Ubisoft will be impressed with the "definitive version" of Assassin's Creed 3 only reaching 110k in sales... given that the PS3/Xbox 360 both managed to shift over 4 million copies... each.  I know launch games are slow to sell.. but thats a very low number considering the amount of hardware units nintendo have shifted.

And I wouldnt call ZombiU sales great either, 320k.. and running at sales of <5k per week now.. didnt you say this title would be a console seller... LOL.. how wrong you were hey... funnily enough its still the Wii U's 3rd highest selling game.. behind the two 1st party games - which is no suprise... but that alone just goes to show that hardly anybody is interested in 3rd party games on the Wii U - exclusive or not.  You really think those games you listed before are going to draw people into buying the console - they wont.

Are you not worried that you're going to have to buy another console to play most of the next-gen games... I would be.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 29, 2013, 10:37:24 AM
Are you not worried that you're going to have to buy another console to play most of the next-gen games... I would be.
That's because you have to go to work, earn the money, then pay for the console - rather than sit at home and gloat as a bloke from the council pops round with an envelope stuffed with cash plus each new console as it's released.








(I'm just guessing at what it's like when you claim benefits on the sick. The above scenario might not be 100% accurate.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 29, 2013, 04:42:37 PM
So you think Ubisoft will be impressed with the "definitive version" of Assassin's Creed 3 only reaching 110k in sales... given that the PS3/Xbox 360 both managed to shift over 4 million copies... each.  I know launch games are slow to sell.. but thats a very low number considering the amount of hardware units nintendo have shifted.

And I wouldnt call ZombiU sales great either, 320k.. and running at sales of <5k per week now.. didnt you say this title would be a console seller... LOL.. how wrong you were hey... funnily enough its still the Wii U's 3rd highest selling game.. behind the two 1st party games - which is no suprise... but that alone just goes to show that hardly anybody is interested in 3rd party games on the Wii U - exclusive or not.  You really think those games you listed before are going to draw people into buying the console - they wont.

Are you not worried that you're going to have to buy another console to play most of the next-gen games... I would be.

ZombiU would have done over 500K in sales so far including DD sales, and Assassin's Creed 3 should be over 200K by now. And considering the U SKU cost around 5m Euros to port I'd say they're reasonably happy with those sales.

And as I've already mentioned next gen games are going to be easy for developers to port between all 3 consoles, and publishers are going to make sure that the console with the largest marketshare is going to get a SKU. There'll probably be anywhere between 10 and 15m Wii U consoles in homes before the PS4 and 720 are released and publishers aren't going to be leaving money on the table. The Wii U isn't going to have any of the problems that the Wii had last gen.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 30, 2013, 08:25:52 AM
So you think over a third of ZombiU sales and a half of AC3 sales were downloaded.. lol.. you really are cuckoo if you geniunely believe that.. thats hilarious.

Next gen games may be easy for developers to port between all 3 consoles.. why are companies such as EA saying they dont have the business drive to make a Wii U port for Crysis 3 for example then ???  Crystal Dynamics have said their wont be a Tomb Raider Wii U because of their unconvential controller... do you think these companies are just being naive.. of course you do LOL.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 30, 2013, 01:44:00 PM
Pre-ordered Sim City (Limited Edition) from Asda - £32.97 (http://direct.asda.com/SimCity---Limited-Edition---PC/003734458,default,pd.html) - March 8th - cant wait - already cleared the weekend ready for it!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 30, 2013, 06:53:34 PM
Bought dead island for £8 and RE5 for £5, looking forward to some zombie action!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 30, 2013, 07:44:47 PM
So you think over a third of ZombiU sales and a half of AC3 sales were downloaded.. lol.. you really are cuckoo if you geniunely believe that.. thats hilarious.

Next gen games may be easy for developers to port between all 3 consoles.. why are companies such as EA saying they dont have the business drive to make a Wii U port for Crysis 3 for example then ???  Crystal Dynamics have said their wont be a Tomb Raider Wii U because of their unconvential controller... do you think these companies are just being naive.. of course you do LOL.

Yes. A fair amount of people have downloaded their Wii titles, this is going by comments on Miiverse and the size of the Miiverse communities. ZombiU was the third biggest seller in the eShop a month or so ago. I can't understand people downloading so much though tbh, it's a great deal cheaper buying hard copies. :-\

As for EA and Square Enix, the former have proven again and again that they don't have a clue, they've always been haemorraging money hand over fist and will continue to do so because they're run by muppets. Crystal Dynamics have made those comments because, again, the people in charge at Eidos/Square Enix - mainly Ian Livingstone - continue to make daft decisions. It has nothing to do with the controller, that was a damage limitation exercise to appease shareholders.

The companies aren't being naive, they're just poorly run and have been for years.

You'll see both Warner Brothers and Ubisoft making more profit than EA and Square Enix due to their strong Wii U support.

And as far as Crysis 3 is concerned it's a last gen title not a current gen title so is going to involve more work and optimisation to bring to the Wii U than a PS4/720 title. Like I've said before, you'll probably see the Wii U being the lead platform for current gen titles.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 30, 2013, 08:48:12 PM
Just over 3m Wii Us sold so far and a tie rate of 3.86, although Nintendo have put down their shipment target from 5.5m to 4m. Still, not too bad. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 30, 2013, 11:09:04 PM
Yeah, it's a great result.

Nowt wrong with having one and a half million spare units lying around. It's the strategy of champions...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 30, 2013, 11:22:15 PM
Their target of 5.5m was very aggressive, plenty of people were doubting their chances of reaching that figure. The poor sales in Europe have let them down unfortunately.

The good thing for Nintendo is that the Yen isn't as strong as it was last year so they should end up making a profit at the end of the financial year, particularly when you consider the 3DS is doing gangbusters since September last year.

Plenty of analysts are calling for a Wii U price cut but I can't see that happening before November. If they cut the price then along with the release of Mario Kart U and a 3D Mario then sales should explode :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 31, 2013, 08:23:56 AM
Mass Effect 3 and Fifa 13 sales on the Wii U combined haven't even reached 100k - and you think EA are hemorrhaging money because they are not releasing games on the Wii U - fantastic!!  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 31, 2013, 08:57:29 AM
Mass Effect 3 and Fifa 13 sales on the Wii U combined haven't even reached 100k - and you think EA are hemorrhaging money because they are not releasing games on the Wii U - fantastic!!  ;D

They're haemorrhaging money year after year after year due to poor decision making, like every other publisher that loses money. Mass Effect 3 is a year old port, FIFA 13 has major features missing. Their support has been half-arsed at best.

Going to be interesting to see what happens with Tiger Woods in March. If the game doesn't feature Nintendo's patented use of the GamePad then that could explain the rift between the two companies. Some people think it's due to Origin but I think it's down to Nintendo not giving permission to use that patent.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on January 31, 2013, 09:09:21 AM
So basically it's everyone else's fault but Nintendos? Do you read what you post?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 31, 2013, 09:40:13 AM
It's pretty simple, guys. Keep up!
A brief synopsis for those who missed the last page or so or need a recap:






Disclaimer - there's a possibility that ten of the above "facts" are untrue.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 31, 2013, 09:54:16 AM
 ;D thats summed it up quite nicely...


Harv.. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 - didnt think that had been announced for the Wii U ?? pretty sure its not getting it (at launch anyway) since only the 360/PS3 cover art has already been released.  Just another  3rd party game not on the Wii U - doubting it yet ??
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 31, 2013, 11:02:58 AM
Arkham City isn't a year old port, it's a two (or three..?) month port. It's basically the GOTY Edition with extra features which was only released in August or September last year.

Warner Brothers are showing better support because they're bringing 4 titles to the Wii U during the launch window, including Scribblenauts Unlimited which showcases the GamePad, and none of those titles are gimped like FIFA and Madden.

Yes, Eidos - and Ian Livingstone in particular- are fools. Fallout 3, Bioshock, the Lego franchise and Escape From Bug Island are all huge cock ups so them not bringing Tomb Raider to the U isn't a surprise tbh. And that report is an old report, they said all that last year.

Nintendo have brought out a console that's more powerful than 7 year old tech, and a console that's going to be in the same sort of ballpark in terms of power compared to the PS4 and 720. You're going to see plenty of fapping after E3 when both platform holders announce theoretical performance figures followed by massive Nerd-Rage when people realise that the difference in power between the Wii U and PS4/720 is nowhere near the difference in power between the Wii and PS3/360.

Look at EA's track record. They don't have a clue. They throw redundancies around like confetti, always have done and always will do. They're a poorly run publisher. Most executives at software publishers are out of touch with the game industry

As far as the Wii U sales and price is concerned we'll have to wait and see. Sales should start to pick up around April/May once people's finances have recovered from Christmas, and we'll be hearing a megaton or two at E3 both from Nintendo and third parties which should boost sales. Iwata has said they're not going to reduce the price but they may look at things again once the Q4 and Q1 results are in. Could be in for a price cut at the end of Q1 or beginning of Q2, but Q3 would be favourite for me in attempt to scupper the launches of the PS4 and 720.

And as I've already mentioned DD is accounting for a fair amount of sales, Nintendo haven't released the DD sales yet because it's too early. We'll probably find out at the end of Q4 both from Nintendo and third parties.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 31, 2013, 11:40:27 AM
Arkham City isn't a year old port, it's a two (or three..?) month port. It's basically the GOTY Edition with extra features which was only released in August or September last year.
Bollocks - it's a year old port.
Arkham City came out well over a year ago (in Oct 2011). All of the DLC was out over a year ago (final DLC was Dec 2011). The GOTY edition had nothing new, but combined those elements onto one physical disk, and was released in the States in May 2012. The UK/European release was delayed, but everyone who wanted the full game had it before 2012 started.
Arkham City is over a year old.

Warner Brothers are showing better support because they're bringing 4 titles to the Wii U during the launch window, including Scribblenauts Unlimited which showcases the GamePad, and none of those titles are gimped like FIFA and Madden.
Noone cares what games they're bringing out on the U, because noone has one. They could bring out a load of games for the Jaguar and the Dreamcast - would make as much sense.

Yes, Eidos - and Ian Livingstone in particular- are fools. Fallout 3, Bioshock, the Lego franchise and Escape From Bug Island are all huge cock ups so them not bringing Tomb Raider to the U isn't a surprise tbh. And that report is an old report, they said all that last year.
Not bringing out Tomb Raider on the U sounds like they've turned the corner, and started making sound business decisions, then.

Nintendo have brought out a console that's more powerful than 7 year old tech, and a console that's going to be in the same sort of ballpark in terms of power compared to the PS4 and 720.
Better in some regards, worse in others - overall most games look the same or worse than ps3/360.

You're going to see plenty of fapping after E3 when both platform holders announce theoretical performance figures...
Most of us don't masturbate when we hear console performance stats.

...followed by massive Nerd-Rage when people realise that the difference in power between the Wii U and PS4/720 is nowhere near the difference in power between the Wii and PS3/360.
Nobody can be 100% certain of anything - but everyone knows the ps4/720 will blow the U out of the water.

Look at EA's track record. They don't have a clue. They throw redundancies around like confetti, always have done and always will do. They're a poorly run publisher. Most executives at software publishers are out of touch with the game industry.
They're one of the most successful gaming publishers in history, and have produced a massive proportion of the best games we've ever seen. Damn them and their incompetence! They should definitely put you in charge.

As far as the Wii U sales and price is concerned we'll have to wait and see.
Your precognitive psychic powers failing you? They're usually so uncannily accurate.

Sales should start to pick up around April/May once people's finances have recovered from Christmas, and we'll be hearing a megaton or two at E3 both from Nintendo and third parties which should boost sales.
E3 won't boost the U. It'll kill it.

Iwata has said they're not going to reduce the price...
Yeah, Nintendo wouldn't lie or go back on something they've said, would they. Like sales figures, or retail pricing of their last (handheld) machine.

...but they may look at things again once the Q4 and Q1 results are in.
Wow - they're already hinting to people that their last statement might've been inaccurate. Way to cover yourself Iwata san.

Could be in for a price cut at the end of Q1 or beginning of Q2, but Q3 would be favourite for me in attempt to scupper the launches of the PS4 and 720.
Yeah, they're going to steal a lot of custom from Sony and Microsoft next Christmas. All those people who've looked at the U underperform for a year and have said "no thanks, it looks shit - I'll wait a few months for a next gen console instead" are going to change their minds because Nintendo cut fifty quid off the price. "I waited a year and paid £250 for a U, instead of buying one for £300 last year or paying £350 for a nextbox this year" they'll be exclaiming. As they're carted off to the nut house.
Sony and Microsoft will be shitting bricks at the prospect.
Little do they realise they could box those shitbricks and sell them. Nintendo have been doing so for the last decade.

And as I've already mentioned DD is accounting for a fair amount of sales, Nintendo haven't released the DD sales yet because it's too early. We'll probably find out at the end of Q4 both from Nintendo and third parties.
If digital sales account for between a quarter and a third of sales, as you've indicated, I'll apologise for my ignorance.
I figured people were too bright to buy overpriced non-physical copies of new games, but I forgot we're talking about Nintendo fans here.
Surely even they can't be that stupid. Can they?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 31, 2013, 12:44:59 PM
EA are not one of the most successful publishers in gaming history unless you ignore the fact that they usually lose money every year. They're a terribly run company and have been for years. And EA and Eidos aren't the only badly run publishers either, most of them lose money every year, Wii software sales are the only thing that's kept Sega afloat these last couple of years.

Part of the reason why Mass Effect 3 hasn't sold that well is that EA managed to kill it before it launched with the Mass Effect Trilogy announcement. Does that strike you as good business sense..? :o

Ubisoft and Capcom are miles more successful than any of those I've named above.

Mind you, none of them are as badly run as THQ was lol. :-\ QA staff should have a say in what decisions are made, unlike the majority of executives they're in touch with what's going to work and what isn't. There'd be a lot less losses for publishers if we had some sort of input. I think I'm probably pissed off the most by the Eidos board losing the Lego franchise, millions of quid down the swanny because they refused to give TT a better financial package. Ridiculous.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 31, 2013, 02:16:34 PM
EA made $76m last year
Ubisoft made $47.6m last year

EA did $4.14b in revenue last year
Ubisoft did $1.1b in revenue last year


Ubisoft are miles more successful

Explain  ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on January 31, 2013, 03:13:51 PM
The systematic dismantling of Harv's inane ramblings keep me coming back to this thread.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 31, 2013, 03:38:47 PM
GTA 5 has been given a release date

17th September 2013 - little disappointed it wont be sooner.  :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 31, 2013, 04:28:32 PM
GTA 5 has been given a release date

17th September 2013 - little disappointed it wont be sooner.  :(

Disappointing, but fair enough. For a big title like this, where we only (relatively) recently found out it was being made I'm happy to wait until September. It's not like it's been delayed for years like Duke Nukem, Gran Turismo, and Bioshock Infinite.

Gives me a chance to work through my backlog of games. (Won't happen, of course - the backlog will almost certainly be bigger by then... ;) )
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 31, 2013, 06:04:03 PM
EA made $76m last year
Ubisoft made $47.6m last year

EA did $4.14b in revenue last year
Ubisoft did $1.1b in revenue last year


Ubisoft are miles more successful

Explain  ::)

EA lost 40-odd million last year (2011 financial year). The year before that they lost hundreds of millions of dollars. They lose money more often than they make a profit. They'll probably show a profit this year but it's a rare occurrence. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 31, 2013, 08:41:45 PM
Forgot to mention the GTA 5 release date for the Wii U

Ahem...

Never  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 31, 2013, 10:47:44 PM
Forgot to mention the GTA 5 release date for the Wii U

Ahem...

Never  ;D

GTA V is being released outside the launch window, we know nothing of third party titles released outside the launch window...we'll hear about third party titles during the next Nintendo Direct and during E3. ;)

Got 20% off with Zavvi earlier so have pre-ordered Lego City Undercover for £24.I'd much prefer Lego GTA anyway lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on February 01, 2013, 12:16:57 AM
Arkham City isn't a year old port, it's a two (or three..?) month port. It's basically the GOTY Edition with extra features which was only released in August or September last year.
Bollocks - it's a year old port.
Arkham City came out well over a year ago (in Oct 2011). All of the DLC was out over a year ago (final DLC was Dec 2011). The GOTY edition had nothing new, but combined those elements onto one physical disk, and was released in the States in May 2012. The UK/European release was delayed, but everyone who wanted the full game had it before 2012 started.
Arkham City is over a year old.

Warner Brothers are showing better support because they're bringing 4 titles to the Wii U during the launch window, including Scribblenauts Unlimited which showcases the GamePad, and none of those titles are gimped like FIFA and Madden.
Noone cares what games they're bringing out on the U, because noone has one. They could bring out a load of games for the Jaguar and the Dreamcast - would make as much sense.

Yes, Eidos - and Ian Livingstone in particular- are fools. Fallout 3, Bioshock, the Lego franchise and Escape From Bug Island are all huge cock ups so them not bringing Tomb Raider to the U isn't a surprise tbh. And that report is an old report, they said all that last year.
Not bringing out Tomb Raider on the U sounds like they've turned the corner, and started making sound business decisions, then.

Nintendo have brought out a console that's more powerful than 7 year old tech, and a console that's going to be in the same sort of ballpark in terms of power compared to the PS4 and 720.
Better in some regards, worse in others - overall most games look the same or worse than ps3/360.

You're going to see plenty of fapping after E3 when both platform holders announce theoretical performance figures...
Most of us don't masturbate when we hear console performance stats.

...followed by massive Nerd-Rage when people realise that the difference in power between the Wii U and PS4/720 is nowhere near the difference in power between the Wii and PS3/360.
Nobody can be 100% certain of anything - but everyone knows the ps4/720 will blow the U out of the water.

Look at EA's track record. They don't have a clue. They throw redundancies around like confetti, always have done and always will do. They're a poorly run publisher. Most executives at software publishers are out of touch with the game industry.
They're one of the most successful gaming publishers in history, and have produced a massive proportion of the best games we've ever seen. Damn them and their incompetence! They should definitely put you in charge.

As far as the Wii U sales and price is concerned we'll have to wait and see.
Your precognitive psychic powers failing you? They're usually so uncannily accurate.

Sales should start to pick up around April/May once people's finances have recovered from Christmas, and we'll be hearing a megaton or two at E3 both from Nintendo and third parties which should boost sales.
E3 won't boost the U. It'll kill it.

Iwata has said they're not going to reduce the price...
Yeah, Nintendo wouldn't lie or go back on something they've said, would they. Like sales figures, or retail pricing of their last (handheld) machine.

...but they may look at things again once the Q4 and Q1 results are in.
Wow - they're already hinting to people that their last statement might've been inaccurate. Way to cover yourself Iwata san.

Could be in for a price cut at the end of Q1 or beginning of Q2, but Q3 would be favourite for me in attempt to scupper the launches of the PS4 and 720.
Yeah, they're going to steal a lot of custom from Sony and Microsoft next Christmas. All those people who've looked at the U underperform for a year and have said "no thanks, it looks shit - I'll wait a few months for a next gen console instead" are going to change their minds because Nintendo cut fifty quid off the price. "I waited a year and paid £250 for a U, instead of buying one for £300 last year or paying £350 for a nextbox this year" they'll be exclaiming. As they're carted off to the nut house.
Sony and Microsoft will be shitting bricks at the prospect.
Little do they realise they could box those shitbricks and sell them. Nintendo have been doing so for the last decade.

And as I've already mentioned DD is accounting for a fair amount of sales, Nintendo haven't released the DD sales yet because it's too early. We'll probably find out at the end of Q4 both from Nintendo and third parties.
If digital sales account for between a quarter and a third of sales, as you've indicated, I'll apologise for my ignorance.
I figured people were too bright to buy overpriced non-physical copies of new games, but I forgot we're talking about Nintendo fans here.
Surely even they can't be that stupid. Can they?

I actually consider these posts by late as a form of art
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on February 01, 2013, 02:12:34 AM
Platinum'd DiRT : Showdown

Number 46 now, 50 is fast approaching!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 01, 2013, 08:08:21 AM
Apparently the PS4 is going to be announced on February 20th - or it sounds very likely anyway - with a 2013 release :o :o

Link (http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/31/sony-nyc-february-20-playstation/)

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 01, 2013, 09:44:45 AM
Currently going to finish Forza 3 before playing RE5 or Dead Island.. I've just started season 5 of 6 - it is getting slightly boring.. because it takes so long to progress and the game is not that challenging.. but Im still enjoying parts of it.  There is no way Im going for the Solid Gold achievement though - easy as it is, its an insane amount of grinding for 80GS.. so when I reach 920 - I'll consider the game complete - am on 580 at the moment.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 01, 2013, 10:45:19 AM
Thanks Kenny & Styles.


Came here to post about the Sony announcement, but I see Kieron beat me by nearly three hours. Way to keep your finger on the pulse, Late!

Very exciting news, though. :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 01, 2013, 03:21:43 PM
Yep... the news broke last night, I always take a quick flick through the news in the morning when I get to work.

The main thing for me about the PS4 is that its affordable.. whilst it would be a tough decision to turn my back on the xbox franchise (and Im certainly not making my mind before both consoles are announced)... if for some reason I feel the new xbox is not going to give me the console gaming and multimedia experience I want.. I actually want there to be an affordable alternative - so fingers crossed its not going to be crazy prices (such as £350+).  I would also be put off if they used dualshock controllers or go down the gimmicky screen in a controller route although they might not be the deal breaker like the launch price is.

Looking forward to the announcement though  ;D  .. Wii U sales will plummet - its going to be the dreamcast/ps2 situation all over again.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 01, 2013, 03:55:50 PM
Skyrim's DLC (Dragonborn, Hearthfire, and Dawnguard) have finally been readied for the ps3, after months of ironing out problems.

Dates for the US have been announced (12th, 19th and 26th Feb respectively). They've not announced dates for Europe but I'd doubt there'll be a long wait now...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 01, 2013, 04:20:39 PM
Sony are ditching the Dualshock apparently, expect a touchscreen to be duct-taped at the last minute lol. Hopefully they're going to opt for a resistive touchscreen rather than a capacitive one, otherwise you won't get any decent artwork on their Miiverse clone. There's really no reason for a multitouch screen for gaming because you have a multitude of buttons and analog sticks that make a capacitive screen unnecessary. You only need capacitive screens for crappy smartphone gaming tbh.

I'm still hoping for a haptic touchscreen myself but then you're looking at a ridiculous price for the things. Still, I can dream lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 01, 2013, 04:56:04 PM
Only someone with the blinkered mindset of the Ninty fan would believe that resistive is better than capacitive on a game controller.

Resistive plus points
It's more accurate if you're using a stylus (but who's going to be using a stylus on a gamepad?)
It's very cheap.
Capacitive plus points
It's more intuitive. (A quick light tap with the pad of your finger would work fine. It wouldn't with resistive)
It's more flexible. (Multitouch is pretty essential for web-viewing on a small handheld screen. Would also be handy in lots of games and other applications.
It feels much nicer. (Sliding your finger over a glass screen is so much better than sliding it over several squishy layers of resistive plastic.)
You don't need long girly fingernails, or a stylus. (Who wants to dig out a stylus to do things on the fly on a touchscreen in a game?)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 01, 2013, 06:51:12 PM
Only someone with the blinkered mindset of the Ninty fan would believe that resistive is better than capacitive on a game controller.

Resistive plus points
It's more accurate if you're using a stylus (but who's going to be using a stylus on a gamepad?)
It's very cheap.
Capacitive plus points
It's more intuitive. (A quick light tap with the pad of your finger would work fine. It wouldn't with resistive)
It's more flexible. (Multitouch is pretty essential for web-viewing on a small handheld screen. Would also be handy in lots of games and other applications.
It feels much nicer. (Sliding your finger over a glass screen is so much better than sliding it over several squishy layers of resistive plastic.)
You don't need long girly fingernails, or a stylus. (Who wants to dig out a stylus to do things on the fly on a touchscreen in a game?)

Sounds like you haven't used a resistive touchscreen for a while. ::)

A quick light tap with  your finger works fine these days. Both are intuitive.
Web browsing is fine on the GamePad. Instead of using your fingers to pinch zooming in and out you have a + and - button. There's really not a great deal of difference tbh.
It feels nicer..? Really..? lol
You don't need girly long fingernails or a stylus to use the touchscreen. I've only used the stylus when drawing stuff on Miiverse, which Sony will probably clone.

Miiverse (and any clones this gen) will have hardly any attraction to people if you couldn't draw stuff. I can't imagine how poor the art will be if Sony produce a controller with a capacitive touchscreen which forces people to draw with stubby fingers when posting art on PS4verse. Stuff like this will be impossible:

(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hus2QC1KUxk/UKwQstOvpDI/AAAAAAAABO8/lyOihSaxAYI/s1600/miiverse_soa.jpg)

(http://www.kmlkreations.com/remote/GAF/miiverse-art02.jpg)

(http://i.minus.com/iL1p7ARPAe33V.jpg)

(http://i.imgur.com/WPIwi.png)

(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SCGp-QeMM2M/ULxRMNXaPuI/AAAAAAAAFr4/3Rqj8feEmLM/s640/20121202_230752.jpg)

The artwork on Miiverse is amazing and is fundamental to its success. If/when Sony and Microsoft 'borrow' the idea they'll need to have a resistive touchscreen otherwise it's going to be a shadow of Miiverse without the sort of artwork above.

The only advantage that a capacitive touchscreen has over the resistive touchscreen is being able to pinch to zoom in and out, as far as game control goes it's unneccessary to have multitouch because you have, as I've already mentioned, two bloody great big analog sticks and a shitload of buttons. If smartphones had analog sticks and buttons you wouldn't need a capacitive touchscreen for gaming on those devices either.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 01, 2013, 09:26:35 PM
Well of course being able to do crappy little sketches on a controller's touchscreen is paramount. If you can't do that on Sony/Microsoft's new machines then I'm definitely getting a Wii!  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 02, 2013, 02:07:48 AM
It is paramount if both platform holders ripoff Miiverse, I already stipulated that ;)

And I can see them both doing that. Artwork really is a huge part of Miiverse, it wouldn't be the same without it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 02, 2013, 04:01:30 PM
A 720p trailer for The Wonderful 101, looking great so far (http://platinumgames.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/wiiu_wonderful101_trailer_012213s.mov) 8)

Be prepared to wait a while for it to load though! :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on February 02, 2013, 06:37:48 PM
So the Wii controller is a very expensive pad of paper.....wow.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 02, 2013, 09:23:59 PM
Bought Resonance of Fate - £8 in the end.. will see if it lives up to some of the hype I've read and is as good as Lost Odyssey.

Got so many JRPGS unfinished in my backlog now - really need to get on with some of them  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 02, 2013, 10:16:09 PM
Spend 40 quid on a second hand Wii from Game and get Xenoblade Chronicles from CEX if they have any in stock. The best JRPG released this gen by a mile. Definitely worth forking out 70 quid for. And in 20 years or so the game will be worth a fortune due to its limited run.

The soundtrack in particular is breathtaking :o 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on February 03, 2013, 12:38:37 AM
Spend 40 quid on a second hand Wii from Game and get Xenoblade Chronicles from CEX if they have any in stock. The best JRPG released this gen by a mile. Definitely worth forking out 70 quid for. And in 20 years or so the game will be worth a fortune due to its limited run.

The soundtrack in particular is breathtaking :o 8)

(http://picsthatdontsuck.com/img/yeah-no-thanks.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 03, 2013, 12:58:00 AM
Well you'll be missing out on the best JRPG released last gen if you don't. It's fantastic, and this is from someone who normally doesn't like JRPGs. Definitely worth forking out 70 quid for, particularly when you consider how much the game is going to be worth in 20 years time. You'll get your money back in spades, I've seen them going on eBay for 50 quid these last few weeks. It's very difficult to get hold of. You'll probably get a few hundred quid for it (or the inflation increased equivalent) in 10 or 20 years time.

Same goes for The Metroid Prime Trilogy too. 8)

I've invested in the pair of them. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 03, 2013, 09:50:40 AM
Investment advice from Harv?
Smashing - I'll go do that straight away!
Been wondering what to do with all that spare money I have.
Should I buy some Nintendo shares while I'm at it?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on February 03, 2013, 11:00:14 AM
Well you'll be missing out on the best JRPG released last gen if you don't. It's fantastic, and this is from someone who normally doesn't like JRPGs. Definitely worth forking out 70 quid for, particularly when you consider how much the game is going to be worth in 20 years time. You'll get your money back in spades, I've seen them going on eBay for 50 quid these last few weeks. It's very difficult to get hold of. You'll probably get a few hundred quid for it (or the inflation increased equivalent) in 10 or 20 years time.

Same goes for The Metroid Prime Trilogy too. 8)

I've invested in the pair of them. ;D

(http://i748.photobucket.com/albums/xx124/ohkimosabe/hahawtf.gif)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 03, 2013, 03:42:41 PM
They'll be worth a good few quid in a few years time, Metroid Prime Trilogy is going to be worth more because it had a more limited run and is currently more difficult to get hold of. Shame they're not both new and sealed but despite that they'll still go for a few hundred in 10 or 20 years time. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on February 03, 2013, 06:20:21 PM
They'll be worth a good few quid in a few years time, Metroid Prime Trilogy is going to be worth more because it had a more limited run and is currently more difficult to get hold of. Shame they're not both new and sealed but despite that they'll still go for a few hundred in 10 or 20 years time. 8)

(http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4vjf8KbOk1qj3ir1.gif)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 04, 2013, 08:12:33 AM
Theres tons of Wii games that sold nowhere near the amount that MPT did... I dont think they will be worth anything in 20 years time either LOL - harv talking bollocks again.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 04, 2013, 10:08:16 AM
Nice to hear he paid for a game though.

They'll all be worth loads of money in 20 years time, Harv - buy more!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 04, 2013, 12:11:21 PM
Theres tons of Wii games that sold nowhere near the amount that MPT did... I dont think they will be worth anything in 20 years time either LOL - harv talking bollocks again.

It isn't how many they sold that's important, it's how many they manufactured. It was a limited run. They didn't make that many. Same with Xenoblade Chronicles. Shame I didn't manage to get hold of a Collector's Edition of The Metroid Prime Trilogy, they're already going for around a hundred quid.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 05, 2013, 11:55:56 AM
Scribblenauts Unlimited delayed 3 days before release on the Wii U (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-05-scribblenauts-unlimited-delayed-in-europe-just-three-days-before-release) - Could it be.. Warner Bros - the bastion of 3rd party developers has fucked something up ??  ;D

Never mind, still got your gimped definitive version of Fifa to play eh harv  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 05, 2013, 12:56:13 PM
I used to love it when that happened at Eidos lol. Someone probably found a 100% Class A at the last minute, or fixing one Class A probably spawned a few more. Means that QA staff are guaranteed a shitload of overtime, possibly running into the early hours of the morning and involving free pizza lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 06, 2013, 02:12:20 PM
Anyone who's buying Dead Space 3 should consider declining title updates and playing offline for a while...

EA have once again angered a lot of people with their money-grabbing shenanigans - by allowing the purchase of in-game currency via micro-transaction. (There's also a mind-boggling eleven pieces of day one DLC you can purchase!) They failed to realise there's a spot in the game where you can grab a handful of currency over and over again, for free.
They'll almost certainly rectify that in their first patch, so I'm sure a lot of folk will prefer to play Dead Space 3 offline, grab plenty of resources and then update to play co-op with all their shiny new gear...

dealspwn (http://www.dealspwn.com/dead-space-3-players-flaunt-microtransactions-infinite-resources-exploit-128691)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 06, 2013, 04:46:49 PM
11 pieces of day one DLC..? Bloody hell, they're really starting to take the piss now. I'm boycotting Dead Space 3 myself because it's turning into even more of an action horror game than the first two were. The first two games were great but weren't survival horror games for my money, and being on your own and having that sense of isolation was one of the best features of the game. Shame Dead Space 3 won't have the same thing. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 07, 2013, 08:05:18 AM
The first two games were great but weren't survival horror games for my money

Did you actually play either of them - they are both great old school survival horror games.

But then again, you think ZombiU is a survival horror - thats about as much survival horror as a game like Bioshock is.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 07, 2013, 09:21:44 AM
Mmmmmmm, Bioshock.
Got me drooling at the prospect of Bioshock Infinite again, now...
Not long to go.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 07, 2013, 09:30:07 AM
Sim City, Gears of War Judgement, Army of Two:TDC and Bioshock Inifinte - all March releases... me has no monies  :'(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 07, 2013, 11:05:38 AM
Not too fussed about Gears 4 (will probably get it at some point) and not interested in Army of Two - so not too bad for me.
March was looking pretty expensive until GTA:V was pushed back to September. (I believe it was originally "Spring 2013", with no month specified, but rumours were rife it'd be March.)
______________________________________________

A few months back Sony lowered year 1 projected sales for the Vita from 16m units down to 10m. They've now lowered it again, to just 7m.
Dayum!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 07, 2013, 11:39:04 AM
Im mainly buying AoT for the coop splitscreen - I would put it in my top 3 shooters in terms of coop splitscreen playability.  Gears 4 is great in single, multi and coop - so thats a definite.  Sim City - Im just going to rape that game for hours on end and Bioshock is one of the best single player shooters around.

Think Im going to sell Far Cry 3 and Dishonored to help pay for them 4.. actually have to finish Dishonored first though :-\  Still got 5 more levels (about 3 hours gameplay) on Forza 3 to do before I can start anything new.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 07, 2013, 04:15:40 PM
(http://www.lolbrary.com/fullsize/908/fullsize-ea-mario-and-zelda-38908.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 07, 2013, 05:26:14 PM
The first two games were great but weren't survival horror games for my money

Did you actually play either of them - they are both great old school survival horror games.

But then again, you think ZombiU is a survival horror - thats about as much survival horror as a game like Bioshock is.

Yes, of course I've played them both. Dead Space 1 and 2 are too easy, a survival horror game needs to be challenging even on the default difficulty level. And they weren't.

And of course ZombiU is a survival horror game, in fact it's better than that it's an old-school survival horror game...easily on a par with the first 2 Resident Evil games in terms of lack of resources, atmosphere, scares, moments of sheer panic and having even a single zombie being a threat to your life. It's the first proper survival horror game released in years. Capcom really need to take note and re-educate themselves on how to create a survival horror game again.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 07, 2013, 06:41:57 PM
Wii U "exclusives" Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge and Rayman Legends have both defected and announced they're going multiplatform.
The former will be released in April and will include all dlc plus some extra missions (but will still be crap). The latter will be launched simultaneously as the u version - which has been pushed back from February to September.
Pretty damning that publishers are abandoning the U this soon, but understandable if it's the only way they can make any money.
Fingers crossed for Lego City Undercover to follow suit...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 07, 2013, 09:10:07 PM
A strange decision by Ubisoft tbh, that means they're going to have to change the gameplay to suit traditional controllers and turn it from a 2D platformer with unique gameplay features into a bog standard 2D platformer. They'll also need to scale it down to run on the weaker hardware. Around 20% of the game is centered around the use of the GamePad apparently.

The reactions on a few forums and Miiverse isn't too good for Ubisoft, plenty of people are going to be boycotting it by the looks of things.

I don't have a problem with it going multiplatform myself, but removing the GamePad features and turning it into a bog standard platformer isn't good. Am still getting it though, I've had it pre-ordered for a bargain £19.99 since November last year lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on February 07, 2013, 10:27:43 PM
http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/xbox-720-games-will-require-online-connection

More rumours that the Nextbox will require a constant internet connection. Wouldn't affect me that much, but I could see them losing a lot of customers if they go down this route.

http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/07/ouya-android-game-console-to-get-annual-hardware-updates-founder-says

Apparently there'll be a new OUYA console every year... Going off the idea of this now... Think the Steam Box will be much more successful.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on February 08, 2013, 01:07:29 AM
The first two games were great but weren't survival horror games for my money

Did you actually play either of them - they are both great old school survival horror games.

But then again, you think ZombiU is a survival horror - thats about as much survival horror as a game like Bioshock is.

Yes, of course I've played them both. Dead Space 1 and 2 are too easy, a survival horror game needs to be challenging even on the default difficulty level. And they weren't.

And of course ZombiU is a survival horror game, in fact it's better than that it's an old-school survival horror game...easily on a par with the first 2 Resident Evil games in terms of lack of resources, atmosphere, scares, moments of sheer panic and having even a single zombie being a threat to your life. It's the first proper survival horror game released in years. Capcom really need to take note and re-educate themselves on how to create a survival horror game again.

Seriously, dig out your copy of Dead Space 2 and go for the "Hard to the Core" trophy, and then tell me it's too easy...3 saves, tough enemies and limited ammunition. It's survival horror at it's very finest.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 08, 2013, 01:49:59 AM
The first two games were great but weren't survival horror games for my money

Did you actually play either of them - they are both great old school survival horror games.

But then again, you think ZombiU is a survival horror - thats about as much survival horror as a game like Bioshock is.

Yes, of course I've played them both. Dead Space 1 and 2 are too easy, a survival horror game needs to be challenging even on the default difficulty level. And they weren't.

And of course ZombiU is a survival horror game, in fact it's better than that it's an old-school survival horror game...easily on a par with the first 2 Resident Evil games in terms of lack of resources, atmosphere, scares, moments of sheer panic and having even a single zombie being a threat to your life. It's the first proper survival horror game released in years. Capcom really need to take note and re-educate themselves on how to create a survival horror game again.

Seriously, dig out your copy of Dead Space 2 and go for the "Hard to the Core" trophy, and then tell me it's too easy...3 saves, tough enemies and limited ammunition. It's survival horror at it's very finest.

The game should be like that on the default difficulty level.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 08, 2013, 07:41:40 AM
Says the guy who had to turn off cross-hairs on ZombiU  ::)


http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/xbox-720-games-will-require-online-connection

More rumours that the Nextbox will require a constant internet connection. Wouldn't affect me that much, but I could see them losing a lot of customers if they go down this route.

http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/07/ouya-android-game-console-to-get-annual-hardware-updates-founder-says

Apparently there'll be a new OUYA console every year... Going off the idea of this now... Think the Steam Box will be much more successful.

Doubt microsoft will go down that route, especially if sony aren't ... same rumours have been flying around for months - for both consoles.

The OUYA console isn't a console.. its just a glorified android gaming phone - Im certainly not getting one.. but then I never was.  Steam Box needs to be priced at a low level to be successful.. personally I think its a load of old guff.. why would I want a pc as a console.. I buy a console because of the awesome games.. which aren't on the pc lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 08, 2013, 08:16:24 AM
A strange decision by Ubisoft tbh, that means they're going to have to change the gameplay to suit traditional controllers and turn it from a 2D platformer with unique gameplay features into a bog standard 2D platformer. They'll also need to scale it down to run on the weaker hardware. Around 20% of the game is centered around the use of the GamePad apparently.

Is it a strange business decision though - they will surely sell more copies on the 360/PS3 than they will while the Wii U is severely struggling in sales.  The Wii U version is obviously finished.. but because the hardware hasn't sold nowhere near enough, Ubisoft want to wait until the sales pick up.. knowing that they will likely lose money on the project anyway they have decided to create 360/PS3 versions in the bid to stem the loss.  To me, it sounds like a normal and quite sane business decision.  :o  Guess you were totally wrong when you said Ubisoft were happy with the sales of ZombiU and AC3 - but thats no suprise  ;D
 
The reactions on a few forums and Miiverse isn't too good for Ubisoft, plenty of people are going to be boycotting it by the looks of things.

A couple of nerds.. who have bought a Wii U because its made by nintendo instead of caring about playing great games.. its not like Ubisoft have cancelled the Wii U project - I really doubt the loss of these sales is going to affect anyone apart from the nerds themselves.

I don't have a problem with it going multiplatform myself, but removing the GamePad features and turning it into a bog standard platformer isn't good. Am still getting it though, I've had it pre-ordered for a bargain £19.99 since November last year lol ;D

Why isn't it good.. it isn't good for nintendo - no... its great for non-nintendo gamers and Ubisoft surely.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 08, 2013, 12:05:28 PM
It is a strange decision when you consider that GTA V and Wind Waker HD are going to be released at the same time. September is a busy launch period for high profile games. It's going to bomb. Hard. :'(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 08, 2013, 01:37:45 PM
You knew this was coming harv but...

Ubisoft are miles more successful than any of those I've named above.

How are they so successful with these strange decisions ? lol

Rayman was going to bomb anyway... look at "the definitive version" (lol) of AC3 on the Wii U - 150k units.. even the PSV has managed to shift over 600k copies.. and we all know what a catastrophe in sales the PSV is - the funny thing is, the Wii U is only just managing to stay ahead of it in terms of sales this year.

You are so deluded and blinded by nintendo, its actually funny that you'd make yourself look stupid trying to defend them for ALL their failings ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 08, 2013, 04:33:21 PM
It's actually sold more than that if you include digital sales. ;)

They've probably made a profit on that already, and would have made a fair amount of profit from ZombiU sales too, has done over 500K I reckon.

One thing's for sure, this is a MAJOR PR disaster for Ubisoft. They need to do some major damage control, fast...even if theyghave to cancel the 360 SKU so that they can release the U SKU this month to do it.

I know a few people that bought a Wii U specifically to be able to play this game, despite rumours that it was only going to be a timed exclusive.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 08, 2013, 09:13:39 PM
Lol, Ubisoft have now announced a new exclusive demo for Rayman Legends for the Wii U...as if that's going to calm anyone down lmfao ;D ;D ;D

You couldn't make it up lol :o :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 08, 2013, 09:23:24 PM
One thing's for sure, this is a MAJOR PR disaster for Ubisoft. They need to do some major damage control, fast...even if theyghave to cancel the 360 SKU so that they can release the U SKU this month to do it.

The only people it's a disaster for are Nintendo and those mugs who bought a U.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on February 08, 2013, 10:47:22 PM
It's actually sold more than that if you include digital sales. ;)

They've probably made a profit on that already, and would have made a fair amount of profit from ZombiU sales too, has done over 500K I reckon.

I love the way Harv always tries to spin a blatant negative into some flimsy positive....It hasn't sold well? Let's just try and make it look good because it exceeded Nintendo's pitifully low expectations, and made a slight profit in the process.

Assassins Creed 3 was never going to be "the definitive version" on the U...It sold 12M copies...and Nintendo's contribution to that was less than 1% LOL
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 09, 2013, 08:53:38 PM
What are you talking about Nintendo's expectations for..? Assassin's Creed III and ZombiU are both Ubisoft titles :-\

I'm surprised the likes of IGN or Eurogamer haven't started to interview Ubisoft shareholders yet, they can't be too happy with the bad publicity this Nerd-Rage is causing. The U Play community is now in the WaraWara Plaza popping up anti-Ubisoft messages randomly now lol. And apparently their Facebook page is taking a hammering. :o

Perhaps they're doing this on purpose just to generate hype for Rayman Legends and will go back to releasing it this month at the last minute lol. Could be the best viral marketing scheme ever :o ;D

That's the only way they can repair the damage this is doing. I think the news of the exclusive new demo was the final straw for a lot of people lol. Whoever thought that would be a good way to calm down the Nerd-Rage rather than escalating it should be getting the sack lol. unbelievable. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 09, 2013, 11:33:21 PM
Are you trolling?


As most normal folk would expect, UbiSoft shares rose by around ten percent in the couple of days since announcing they're going multiplatform rather than supporting the U.
Oooh, how can Ubi recover from this?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 10, 2013, 04:52:19 AM
Just wait, this nerd-rage has only just started. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on February 10, 2013, 11:49:42 AM
What are you talking about Nintendo's expectations for..? Assassin's Creed III and ZombiU are both Ubisoft titles :-\

I'm surprised the likes of IGN or Eurogamer haven't started to interview Ubisoft shareholders yet, they can't be too happy with the bad publicity this Nerd-Rage is causing. The U Play community is now in the WaraWara Plaza popping up anti-Ubisoft messages randomly now lol. And apparently their Facebook page is taking a hammering. :o

Perhaps they're doing this on purpose just to generate hype for Rayman Legends and will go back to releasing it this month at the last minute lol. Could be the best viral marketing scheme ever :o ;D

That's the only way they can repair the damage this is doing. I think the news of the exclusive new demo was the final straw for a lot of people lol. Whoever thought that would be a good way to calm down the Nerd-Rage rather than escalating it should be getting the sack lol. unbelievable. ;D

This is hilarious. The real world simply doesn't exist for you does it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on February 10, 2013, 11:50:51 AM
Level 55 again, to prestige or not, that is the question. Seriously though, is there any point at all?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 10, 2013, 12:45:21 PM
Depend on whether you'll carry on playing if you don't prestige.
The only other benefits are a badge and bragging rights, which are worth nothing - I keep prestiging to keep interest in the multiplayer. That said I've not played for a while - been playing lots of zombie mode until about three days ago, them cracked out AC3.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on February 10, 2013, 01:36:59 PM
Yeah exactly, there's no real benefit to prestiging apart from bragging rights
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 11, 2013, 07:46:15 AM
Started Lego Pirates at weekend, seems quite basic in comparison to some lego games... only finished the first film, so plenty to do still.. I cant play it for long hours like I used to though - the gameplay just gets boring after a while... I think I got to the end of one of the levels and it glitched and meant I couldnt finish the level.. nothing more annoying than that.

So I stuck in Dead Island.. its alright, it would be much better if it didnt have respawning enemies... I think thats probably my worst bug-bear with any game these days... the quests are repetitive, but there is some enjoyment to be had from them - I'll get properly narked off with the respawning after a while though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on February 11, 2013, 02:57:11 PM
Finished the main story on Sleeping Dogs... wow... it's probably the biggest surprise I've had from a game in a long time. If GTA IV had been this good people would have been singing its praises.

The missions are nice and varied unlike the first True Crime (I gather this is a spiritual successor kind of game) and the voice acting is top draw. It's one of the few games where I actually want to finish it 100% i.e. go around and finish off races and gather the collectibles. I might even download the DLC once I'm done with that! (even if I disagree with releasing new missions via DLC, why not just put them in the game?)

If you like open-world action games and you haven't got Sleeping Dogs - get it NOW! Best £17 I've ever spent.  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 11, 2013, 05:53:27 PM
Looks like I may be right about Tiger Woods and Nintendo's patent being the cause of the rift between Nintendo and EA, they've announced there isn't going to be a U SKU of Tiger Woods. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 12, 2013, 08:11:53 AM
lol.. now I know your on a wind-up..  ;D

No-one wants to touch the Wii U with a ten-foot barge pole - theres only one reason.. they would LOSE money.... hardware sales are struggling and anyone buying a Wii U is just buying the 1st party games... thats the long and short of it...

Software Sales - UK - Month of January (http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/news/a458093/wii-u-took-only-16-percent-of-uk-game-sales-in-january.html)
"According to a CVG report, the Wii U sold approximately 34,000 games, or 1.6% of total game sales."

To put that in perspective.. the Wii U sold less software in the UK in the month of January than the Vita did.


You'd be better off selling your Wii U now before nintendo do an inevitable price cut, then at least you'll have the money ready to get a 720/PS4... provided you dont gamble it all away on "red hot tipsters" that is  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 12, 2013, 09:50:01 AM
Alarmingly, that 34k sales includes the games bundled with the console.

Not to worry, though, as they probably sold 3.7 billion digital games at full price. Per day. To the UK.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 12, 2013, 11:33:16 AM
lol... if only nintendo hadn't "stealth released" the actual existence of the Wii U and its entire software library to the world though - then Im sure the physical sales would be on fire  ::)

Edit : Ouch just seen the early review scores of Aliens Colonial Marines.. lets just say they are not good.. not good at all  ???  Another average title to land on the doorstep of the Wii U
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 12, 2013, 02:57:21 PM
Don't know whether to be happy or sad at that news (Colonial Marines not being as good as we'd hoped).
It's one of only two titles (along with Lego City Undercover) that had me wondering if the U might actually be worth getting. TBH even if both were fantastic I wouldn't have bought the console - you'd need more than two titles if you want the contents of my wallet - but if one of those turns out to be a bit duff then it's another nail in the coffin. They need more titles that fire the imagination, but lately they're getting less and less what with exclusives going multiplatform and games not living up to expectations.

FFS, Nintendo, get some console cabinets out in the UK. Everyone's slating the console but most of us haven't actually seen one - and they themselves say you need to see it to actually get it. I've still not seen a single advert for the console on the TV, and I've never seen a Wii U set up in a shop or "mall".


Change of subject...
Assassin's Creed III didn't get the best of reviews from many folk, but I'm thoroughly enjoying it and largely agree with Chris's review (http://forums.catgames.biz/index.php?topic=16.msg17657;topicseen#msg17657). Didn't like the first few chapters, but once you switch to controlling Connor it's a lot more fun. I'm particularly enjoying traversing the cliffs and treetops, and hunting animals (despite half the kills becoming QTEs. I hate QTEs but these are okay).
It's definitely got it's weaknesses - duff voice talent for Connor, terrible pop-in, and occasionally glitches through objects/the map. But it's good points by far outweigh it's bad, in my opinion.
I can't give a full review as I've not actually done much of the story. I'm probably less than half-way through it - I haven't yet unlocked the second city, for instance - but I've put in around 35 hours so far. And if you can put in 35 hours on a single-player game, enjoy it, and still only be halfway through the game then the game's alright in my book! (I hear the ending is weak, and that there's a lot more cut-scenes in the last part of the story - plus over 20 minutes of credits that you can't skip but you get bonus missions if you let run, so there's potential frustration ahead - I might yet change my opinion and lower my score!)
It's an 8/10 for me.*






*Subject to change if the ending's really bad!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 12, 2013, 06:08:58 PM
lol... if only nintendo hadn't "stealth release" the actual existence of the Wii U and its entire software library to the world though - then Im sure the physical sales would be on fire  ::)

Edit : Ouch just seen the early review scores of Aliens Colonial Marines.. lets just say they are not good.. not good at all  ???  Another average title to land on the doorstep of the Wii U

That's the PS3 and 360 SKUs of Aliens Colonial Marines...hopefully the U SKU, being done by a different developer, is less of a clusterfuck lol ;D

Apparently Gearbox only did the multiplayer...another daft decision by Sega. They should never have released a game this flawed for the PS3 and 360, and there's only so many iterations of Mario and Sonic At The Olympics that people will buy. I can see them going under during these next couple of years if they don't pull their fingers out :-\

Sonic Racing isn't doing too bad across all platforms though so there's hope for them yet perhaps.

And I've never stated that digital distribution is selling millions, but you can easily add around 20% of sales at least of ZombiU, Sonic Racing and Assassin's Creed III to the brick and mortar sales going by the comments on Miiverse. Can't understand it myself because you end up paying more with DD when it should be considerably less. Perhaps they get a better deal in the States when buying digitally..? ???

Ancel and his dev team have joined the Rayman Legends protest. Nice. 8)

And I've just started playing Assassin's Creed III too and am really enjoying it. Am only on Sequence 2 so far so I haven't experienced the benefits of having the larger map displayed on the touchscreen yet but can see it being a boon when going into larger areas. And I'm sure that plenty of people with girlfriends/wives will be appreciative of the Off-TV Play too...not a problem for me though cos nobody loves me lol ;D

I'm enjoying it more than the first two myself, I think the climbing and movement have improved, partly down to improved animation and partly down to better level design I think.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 12, 2013, 06:17:11 PM
And late, if you do decide to get one then ZombiU is an essential purchase. Best game I've played for years. I saw on hotukdeals that Argos were doing the Premium for £199.99, can't really go wrong for that price tbh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 12, 2013, 08:03:06 PM
If it'd been £200 at launch I might've gone for it - partly as a Christmas present for the kids. I could just about justify it, as a bonus Xmas gift.
But Christmas is long gone, we're closer to ps4/nextbox, the exclusives are disappearing, games are being pushed back, and performance is proving to be fairly  uninspiring - so I'm not even remotely tempted.
£100 including zombiu and I might consider it. That's a big "might" though, and moot as we won't see that offer happening.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 12, 2013, 08:58:17 PM
Lol, you won't even find a previous gen console for a hundred quid without a game let alone with one packed in.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 12, 2013, 09:24:08 PM
Indeed. No sale, as I say.


New Arkham game coming this year, from Warner Bros Interactive - fantastic news.
Won't be from Rocksteady, though. Hope the new development team don't screw it up, but new blood could be a good thing.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 12, 2013, 10:50:24 PM
Only 800 signatures needed for the Rayman Legends petition before it reaches 10,000. Pretty impressive in a few days, Ancel and his dev team have signed it too. The population of the U Play community is growing fairly well too by around a thousand people per day.

Going to be interesting to see what happens during these next few days. With the boycotts of both Rayman Legends as well as Ubisoft software in general Ubisoft could end up losing millions over this. :o :o :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 12, 2013, 11:44:02 PM
Pmsl.
Think it through, Harv. How many unit sales will they lose on the U? How many unit sales will they make on the ps3 & 360?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 12, 2013, 11:57:21 PM
They'll make bugger all sales on the PS3 and 360. They've chosen the worst possible time to release it. You're going to have GTA V, FIFA and probably Assassin's Creed IV being released at the same sort of time and people will be putting money aside for the PS4 and 720. There probably isn't a worse time they could have chosen tbh. It's going to bomb. :'(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 13, 2013, 12:27:40 AM
Instant Win With Awesome Sauce (http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/02/11/the-freedom-of-lego-city-undercover).

And I've managed to pre-order it for 24 quid too! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 13, 2013, 08:25:15 AM
Its going to make bugger all sales if they sold it exclusively on the Wii U though - AC3 - 150k - nuff said...  ;D  I love the fact that this is causing so much uproar though.. I mean its not even a AAA title.. but nintendo fanboys are treating it like it is because theres sod all else on their console  ;D

Then they come back with.. oh but GTA 5 will crush it in september.. yet any nintendo fanboy will tell you that Lego City Undercover is the Wii U equivalent of GTA5 (we all know its not).... and LCU is coming out quite soon...so that wont crush it?  ;D 

Ubisoft will be loving all the press attention - theres no such news as bad news... all the furore the Wii U fanboys have whipped up will actually do the opposite and increase sales of the game when it finally does appear.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 13, 2013, 08:36:16 AM
That's the PS3 and 360 SKUs of Aliens Colonial Marines...hopefully the U SKU, being done by a different developer, is less of a clusterfuck lol ;D

Apparently Gearbox only did the multiplayer...another daft decision by Sega. They should never have released a game this flawed for the PS3 and 360, and there's only so many iterations of Mario and Sonic At The Olympics that people will buy. I can see them going under during these next couple of years if they don't pull their fingers out :-\

But if you read the reviews, they all slate the campaign, including a weak short story (5 hours at best), terrible combat, graphical issues and there are loads of issues relating to the game engine that wont get resolved on the Wii U - nor by the gamepad.  It earns praise in one area only - multiplayer... since nobody is buying the Wii U - the other SKUs should score higher in that aspect... so it wouldnt suprise me if the Wii U version is the worst of the lot... how come the Wii U version isn't out yet though.. lol another fuck-up by someone ?  Does it even have a release date ?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 13, 2013, 10:41:48 AM
Investors seem to think Ubisoft are doing the right thing - share continue to rise  ;D

(http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/280/ubisoftv.png)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on February 13, 2013, 12:49:38 PM
How are those shares In Eidos doing? You know the ones Harv said to buy.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 13, 2013, 02:05:36 PM
They delisted a while back, and are now wholly owned by Square Enix - who are also on the move (but not in quite the same direction):



(http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/7487/squareenix.png)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 13, 2013, 03:57:12 PM
The DLC for Skyrim is finally released this week on the ps3.
By way of apology for the delay, it'll be half price for one week only.

Dragonborn is released today, and will be only £6.49.
The other two DLC releases will be next week and the week after (and again will be half price - though nobody's certain yet what the price is).

So if you're planning on getting these it's definitely worth considering getting them early as you'll save quite a bit.

sonyentertainmentnetwork.com (https://store.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/#!/en-gb/games/addons/the-elder-scrolls-v-dragonborn-(english)/cid=EP1003-BLES01329_00-PTHEELDERS000001)



Rumour has it they're reduced on xbox next week, too. I haven't bought any of the packs, so might have to think about it next week if that's true. Absolutely loved the game and sunk loads of hours into it, but I didn't actually complete all of the quests - so if I wanted to go back to the game there's loads I could do without forking out for dlc.
Decisions, decisions...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 13, 2013, 04:05:56 PM
How are those shares In Eidos doing? You know the ones Harv said to buy.

You would have made a profit if you had bought them when I said, just not as much profit as I thought. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 13, 2013, 10:48:21 PM
Just seen this in someone's signature lol:

(http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/037/0/4/pikmin_of_war__ghost_of_olamar_by_yosbo-d5u2uxj.png)

Awesome lololol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 14, 2013, 06:09:14 PM
After Tank!Tank!Tank! surprisingly flopped in Japan they've now released a F2P model, have just given it a go and it's actually quite good fun. Definitely one for local multiplayer, think I might fork out for the rest of the game. Quite like the use of the GamePad camera and superimposing army helmets and stuff on top of your face lol, definitely one to play with the kids if you have any.

Another Nintendo Direct today and the 3DS is going into overdrive. 2013 is The Year Of Luigi - Luigi's Mansion 2 has online co-op, there's a new Mario and Luigi RPG, DLC for NSMB U which turns NSMB U into NSL U, Mario Golf for the 3DS, Donkey Kong Country Returns 2 for the 3DS and Mario and Luigi Dream Team for the 3DS. Also a shitload of DLC for Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing heading to the US and Europe soon.

There's also Castlevania on the way for the 3DS too.

Bloomin 'eck, the 3DS had a decent start, flagged in sales during its launch window but now is selling insane amounts...can't wait for Nintendo to start Panic Mode for the Wii U in 6 months lol ;D :P ;D

Also found out that the 3DS Lego City is a prequel, with the lead character being a rookie cop. Am going to double dip on that as well as Monster Hunter 3G. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on February 15, 2013, 09:58:52 AM
Just seen this in someone's signature lol:

(http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/037/0/4/pikmin_of_war__ghost_of_olamar_by_yosbo-d5u2uxj.png)

Awesome lololol ;D ;D ;D

So you're telling us you like purple headed monsters.

No surprise there then.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 15, 2013, 10:00:36 AM
pmsl
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on February 15, 2013, 03:29:14 PM
Strong rumours this is what the PS4 controller will look like;

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=3597730960981

I quite like it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 15, 2013, 05:16:47 PM
Strong rumours this is what the PS4 controller will look like;

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=3597730960981

I quite like it.

A drunk Australian who's just crashed a car..? don't get it lol ;D

It's going to look like a Dualshock with a touchscreen duct-taped to it. It's unclear whether the touchscreen is on the top of the controller, bottom of the controller or one in each position going by rumours. It's pretty much going to resemble a Vita I reckon, although I hope they're going to change the sticks because the Vita ones are bloomin horrible. :-\

I'm also hoping they're going to opt for an LCD resistive screen otherwise the controllers are going to cost a small fortune with an LED capacitive one, and you're not going to have any amazing artwork on PS4Verse.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 15, 2013, 06:11:18 PM
Looks hideous, I pray that Microsoft don't go down this touchscreen malarky, it won't improve gameplay in the slightest
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 15, 2013, 06:51:53 PM
I didn't see a picture at all, just a video with a drunk Australian. Am I missing something..? :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 15, 2013, 07:21:35 PM
Google it
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 15, 2013, 08:13:52 PM
Saw it on Eurogamer. Looks bloody terrible, but guess we'll have to wait and see what the final form factor of the controller is like in a few days time. I knew they'd duct-tape one on the thing somewhere lol, they did exactly the same thing with Sixaxis.

Pretty weird though. You'd think if they were going to rip off a feature that they'd attempt to improve on the idea that they're ripping off. Sixaxis was nowhere near as good as the motion controls in the remote and nunchuck, and when they directly cloned the remote and nunchuck to make the Move and Sub controllers they still half-arsed it.

They should have bunged an analog stick on the Move controller and motion sensing for the Sub controller.

I'm continually baffled by some of the strange decisions these designers make when designing hardware - the lack of a second analog stick for the 3DS is another design decision that's surprisingly dim-witted.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 15, 2013, 08:28:58 PM
(http://www.dealspwn.com/writer/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/ps4-controller-2-540x378.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 15, 2013, 10:19:53 PM
Still baffles me lol. Very odd decision, if you're going to add a touchscreen onto a controller you might as well 'do a Nintendo' and add a bloomin great big one, although you'd need to switch the positions of the buttons and analog sticks to do so which might offend fanboys. I can't see a touchscreen that size being any use whatsoever tbh. ???

The rectangular light at the end is also a bit odd because it limits movement - it will be very easy for the camera to lose sight of it. Oh well, looks a lot less ridiculous than a glowing table tennis ball stuck in the same place lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 18, 2013, 08:20:39 AM
Probably up to about 10 hours through Dead Island now.. think that qualifies in having a pretty good opinion on how the game is faring...

The main game is a great idea, a sprawling sandboxed zombie RPG with some satisfying combat, a looting system akin to Borderlands and 4 player online coop would be excellent... but for everything the game does right, its spoilt by some pretty major negatives...

1.  Flimsy story - there isnt even a story really.. apart from escape.  This game would of been a ton better if it had objectives/missions you cared about.

2.  Respawning Zombies - in some places this is acceptable in parts.. but the same zombies respawn in the same positions every time - and I've done a fair bit of backtracking already.

3.  Repetitive Missions - there are no real variants on the Fetch/Go/Kill missions - doesnt kill the game but makes long sessions a bit boring.

Also the few cut-scenes the game has are all pretty crap, the graphics aren't great but OK, the voice acting is pretty bad.

So far its an averagey 75/100 for me - glad I got it though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 18, 2013, 08:49:46 AM
Oh well, tried to start a new topic on PS4 as there will be shit loads of news this week.... why is this forum so retarded??
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 18, 2013, 09:22:16 AM
They don't make it easy for us. At least you opened the thread a couple days early. Would've been frustrating to make a new invisible locked thread on the 20th...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 18, 2013, 11:33:36 AM
Rumours are continuing that the 720 will have always online connectivity and won't play used games due to a code system where you get a code in the box and have to enter it to play the game. Could be a dealbreaker for a fair few people. Going to be interesting to see if Sony decide to do a similar thing with the PS4.

Both platform holders must be mad if they decide to do this. :o :-\ ??? :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 18, 2013, 12:21:48 PM
They don't make it easy for us. At least you opened the thread a couple days early. Would've been frustrating to make a new invisible locked thread on the 20th...

I'd create a thread to ask why they do this, but it'd just sit there awaiting approval lol.  To be honest, I know why they do it.. its a lazy spam bot blocking method.... which kinda works... but you get this problem too - like using a bazooka to kill a fly... and sometimes it doesnt even kill the fly  ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on February 18, 2013, 12:28:28 PM
Rumours are continuing that the 720 will have always online connectivity and won't play used games due to a code system where you get a code in the box and have to enter it to play the game. Could be a dealbreaker for a fair few people. Going to be interesting to see if Sony decide to do a similar thing with the PS4.

Both platform holders must be mad if they decide to do this. :o :-\ ??? :o

If Microsoft do that then I'd probably get a PS4. If they both do it I would get a 720...I'd never get a U.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on February 18, 2013, 02:31:37 PM
Finally finished Mass Effect 2...47th Platinum now...Definitely got sick of the game in the end though.

Insanity mode is pure bullshit, probably the worst, highest difficulty level of a game I've played since World at War...There's definitely a difference between challenging and just pulling out every cheap trick to stop the player (bollocks 1 hit deaths and enemies popping up behind you, being the main culprits).

I also had to speed run a 3rd playthrough because the Long Service Medal trophy didn't unlock, even though I had already beaten the game twice with the same character  ::)

I did plan to move onto Mass Effect 3 straight away, but I think i'll violently vomit if I as much as look at the box right at this moment...I planned to get Mass Effect 1 at some point, but I heard it's quite shit to play retrospectively because it's such a step down from 2 and 3.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 18, 2013, 04:53:18 PM
The latest rumour about the PS4 is that Sony are going to sell it over here for £300 :o bloody hell, that's going to fly off shelves if that's the case!!! They'll be making a huge loss on each unit sold doing that. I was expecting a minimum of £400 for both the PS4 and 720, and they would still be making a loss on each unit sold. Buggering flip :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 18, 2013, 05:48:59 PM
And I'm thoroughly ashamed of myself. After being stuck in the Arena in ZombiU for ages I had to turn aim-assist and crosshairs back on to complete that level. :-[ It's bloody difficult even with those turned on, without them it's practically impossible lol. You basically get clonked over the head, lose all your gear and face riot police, explosive zombies and normal bog standard zombies armed with just a pistol to begin with, and you get a flair and mines as you progress. It's bloomin challenging! :o

Have turned them both off again now though. Definitely in my list of favourite games ever, Capcom need to play this and take notes. This is the first game in years where even one zombie is a threat to your life. The stress and tension experienced in this game is sublime. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 18, 2013, 07:53:48 PM
Buggering flip, have just read an article about Lego City Undercover (http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/46928/previews/lego-city-undercover-your-next-wii-u-blockbuster/) and the city is bloomin huuuuuuge. Takes 10 minutes to loop around it. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 19, 2013, 10:46:58 AM
Dunno if anyone saw, but Destiny was announced yesterday - Link (http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-02/18/bungie-destiny)

Its the new collaboration between Bungie and Activision - to be honest, it sounds shit hot.. its a game that should last around 10 years apparently.. so basically it will be the WOW equivalent of a shooter but on a console - there will be no nintendo or pc version made..no release this year, so it will be a next gen game and it will be absolutely massive.  I watched the first Vidoc yesterday and it looked pretty impressive
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on February 19, 2013, 12:40:25 PM
It sounds amazing but if I got it my girlfriend would dump me and she does the cooking....oh well I guess that's what takeaways are for.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 19, 2013, 05:17:08 PM
Majorly fucked off with Dead Island now..

...was playing last night and it crashed as I reached a checkpoint.. nothing I could do but turn the machine off - didnt think much about it at the time, but today I've come to play and I cant even see my saved game - so Im guessing its corrupted

Looks to be a pretty common issue with save corruption across all SKUs - with glitches causing it and also by the looks of it - random crashes.....fucking stupid that the game only gives you one save slot and assigns the auto-save to it aswell - Im quite good at using multiple save slots when given the chance - so this has pissed me off no-end.

There is a saving grace where you can use Chapter Select - would mean I'd only lose about 3-5 hours in-game (instead of 15-20), but all my weapons, mods and other items have gone and all my cash - it beats starting all over again.. but I really dont know if I can be bothered now..  what a way to spoil a game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 19, 2013, 06:27:21 PM
Worth backing up saves to memory card mid-chapter?
Probably too much of an arse on, but the option's there if you can be bothered with replaying and going through the menus.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 19, 2013, 07:00:28 PM
Yeah, I think you'd have to do that through the dash, or actually I think you can change the save device through options... its an arse-ache whatever... its going back on the pile for now, truly narked off with that.... back to 100%'ing Lego Pirates.. which I think is pretty much the worst Lego game I've played... nearly 100%ed the first 2 films but bored stiff, think the level design is a bit pants compared to some of the other Lego games.. plus I never really liked the Pirates films that much - the 1st & 2nd films were ok, but didnt think much of the 3rd or 4th... I've got all the red bricks, all the true pirates, just mini-ships and compasses to get but they seem to be taking ages.  Small doses for this one.. will probably fire up Resident Evil 5 or Resonance of Fate/other JRPG to fill in between times.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 19, 2013, 08:45:16 PM
Actually, there are rumours of a Wii U version on the way. ;)

We'll only find out what's on the way for the Wii U from third parties when Nintendo has their third party Nintendo Direct.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 19, 2013, 09:57:09 PM
I see.. so I guess we have to wait for a Nintendo Direct for GTA 5 to get announced for the Wii U too then ??  ;D ;D 
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 19, 2013, 10:12:49 PM
Well you never know lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 19, 2013, 10:28:38 PM
Wasn't sure where to post this cos there's no Science sub-forum, but someone has come up with a Super Supercapacitor (http://vimeo.com/51873011). :o

Going to be very handy for smartphones, games controllers, handheld consoles and even electric powered cars (unless one of the oil companies pays billions for the patent and stops it becoming commercial).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 19, 2013, 11:54:39 PM
Ok, gave Resonance of Fate a run-out for 2 hours.

Low hopes after I realise Sega have published this game - although high hopes when I see Tri-Ace developed it.
Opening credits - quite impressive despite not making any sense.
Starting sequence begins - good graphics, hoping they carry on as in-game graphics
Start in the first town in the prologue - graphics are still nice, world seems very detailed, even more so than lost odyssey, this game could be good.
Collected some missions - time to leave the town and explore the world map..

World map opens and WTF? 
Figured it out after a while, the basic premise is that you have to lay map tiles down to move around the world map, and you can only win map tiles by fighting... interesting concept.
Ok time to start the fighting tutorial... 45 minutes later and 16 battle tutorials covered (  ::) ) Head hurting - only really paid attention to about 3 or 4 - it hasn't sunk in at all.. never mind - I can always learn while Im fighting...
First fight - dead within 5 minutes - game over  :(

Time to go to bed.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 20, 2013, 09:16:52 AM
Ooof. Gears 4 has already been cracked and distributed - despite the fact it doesn't come out for another month...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 20, 2013, 10:39:09 AM
And microsoft are threatening to ban anyone with a copy.

Dunno what they are worried about to be honest.. if the opinion on this forum is anything to go by, piracy encourages growth in the related sector and has a dramatic increase on sales!  ::) ;D


Reminds me, I need to sort out my pre-orders though - the GAME steelbook edition for this game looks great - probably gonna go for that version.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 20, 2013, 11:32:01 AM
Dunno what they are worried about to be honest.. if the opinion on this forum is anything to go by, piracy encourages growth in the related sector and has a dramatic increase on sales!  ::) ;D
Games piracy is different to TV/film piracy.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 20, 2013, 01:00:42 PM
I dont see how really - they are both in the media entertainment sector... the only real discernable difference I can see is that video gaming hardware and software tries to combat piracy by having anti-piracy measures in place.

If you could download games, not have to crack them and also not have to worry about getting caught - then what difference would there really be.

Case in point - the DS was incredibly easy to pirate if you had a memory card and loaded an emulator onto it - all you had to do was download a rom and load it onto your memory card.  I played some games I would never of played thanks to this.. did it compel me to buy any DS games from this experience though - no.

Likewise, if I wanted to, I could crack my 360 and I could never have to pay for a game or a film again - but thats if I wanted to.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 20, 2013, 02:41:10 PM
And that's exactly why the two markets are different.
I download loads of NDS roms and AVI/MKV films/tv...
I've never bought a single DS game in my life, and never will. I see no point.
I buy several blurays every month, though, despite the fact I already have most of them on my hard drive.
If I didn't download stuff would I buy more, less, or the same blurays? Impossible to say for 100% certain, but I'm pretty sure I'd buy less. The vast majority of those in my collection are films that I've seen (sometimes several times) before buying - usually torrent downloads.

I agree that it's perhaps daft that there's such a difference between the game and film markets, in that respect - and perhaps I'm in a minority for doing things the way I do - but in my house piracy results in increased dvd/bluray purchases and (arguably*) decreased game purchases.





(*"Arguable" because if it weren't for the DS's ridiculously easy piracy I never would have bought the console in the first place, so Nintendo would've had no money from me for software sales either way - so game purchases haven't really been affected one way or the other.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 20, 2013, 03:04:14 PM
Piracy on my Wii since November 2007 hasn't stopped me from buying games. I've used it to try before I buy and to keep my retail copies safe from harm. They're in a box behind one of my armchairs.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 20, 2013, 03:57:29 PM
Piracy on my Wii since November 2007 hasn't stopped me from buying games. I've used it to try before I buy and to keep my retail copies safe from harm. They're in a box behind one of my armchairs.

You cant say piracy hasn't stopped you buying games.. because you didnt buy all the games you pirated you wally lol.  There is no such thing as a try before you buy scheme, you just made that up to make you feel less guilty about the fact you've an illegal downloader.  You cracked your Wii after owning it for a while because you wanted to play games for free.  And thats it, at the end of the day its all about money - if you were a billionaire, could you honestly say you'd even bother with the hassle and rigmarole of downloading films/games/software - I certainly wouldn't - I'd just chuck the crap away if I had that much money and wouldnt worry about the money lost.

But nobody wants to pay for a film thats crap and nobody wants to pay for a game thats crap and I would say thats in-line with the thinking of the majority of any illegal downloader... so the two acts of game/film piracy are the same - you do the same thing for the same reason.  The only difference is that game piracy isn't as rife as film piracy because of anti-piracy measures.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 20, 2013, 05:26:42 PM
Of course I haven't bought all the games I've downloaded. I never suggested such a thing. And trying before buying is quite common for pirated games...as for not feeling guilty wtf are you talking about lol. If I download a game and I like it I'll buy it.

And if I didn't have my retail copies safe I would have had to repurchase some of them after Georgie Porgie decided to knock a shitload of games off my shelf a couple of years ago, some of the cases were smashed and some of the DVDs were scratched.

I'm actually disappointed that I can't do the same thing with my Wii U tbh, although if a drive chip does become available I probably won't fit one because of the risk of getting banned from Miiverse which is an awesome feature.

And the reason why I chipped my Wii in the first place..? Trauma Center Second Opinion. I wasn't prepared to wait 9 months for Atlus to release it over here in Europe. It was the first game I pirated and I bought it when it was available over here.

Next games for me are Lego City Undercover and Monster Hunter 3G Ultimate, there's a demo of the latter on the eShop tomorrow I love that franchise, it's awesome. I might double dip and get the 3DS SKU too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on February 21, 2013, 01:17:14 AM
So, the two things I was most eager for, the price-point and the design of the console, we're both totally omitted from the conference...Ah well, least we have a release date...Winter 2013.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 21, 2013, 01:24:34 AM
Sony have gone insane lol. I thought when they mentioned 8GB of RAM that they'd go for DDR3. Unless densities have changed that's 32 x GDDR5 RAM chips squeezed onto the motherboard. The console is going to be huge, run hot and will have a fan as loud as a 747 landing.

It's also going to cost a small fortune. Looks like they haven't learnt any lessons from the launches of the PS3 and Vita.

Still, the eye candy was very impressive! 8) 8) :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 23, 2013, 09:31:31 PM
Apart from the almost vertical learning curve to resonance of fates battle system, I'm getting into the game quite a lot now, 5 hours in and slowly making progress, the boss battles are insanely tough though, died about 7/8 times on the first one and about 10/11 times on the second one. Would recommend it if you have some patience and want to play a unique jrpg, the plot isn't too bad, quite funny in places.

Edit : 7 hours in now.. some of the gameplay is getting slightly repetitive I feel, but I did beat the third boss on the 1st attempt.  The game has so many nuances to the battle system.. Im still learning new things every time I play... things you have to know really because some battles are so demanding.

Its so different to a normal JRPG though.. I actually love the world map and battle system but wish the towns and places you get to visit had a lot more scope to them.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 23, 2013, 11:51:14 PM
The latest rumour doing the rounds is that Ancel is considering quitting Ubisoft to set up his own indie dev team. Going to be interesting to see what happens during these next few weeks. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 25, 2013, 10:09:19 AM
Effectively finished Assassin's Creed 3 yesterday. Main story done, most of the side quests done. Still a few minor side quests outstanding, and I've not tried multiplayer at all (I don't have a uplay pass for the game but I believe you can still play multiplayer for a few levels without a pass). Enjoyed the game, and think it deserved higher ratings than it seemed to get. Most folk seem to dislike Connor, the main protagonist in the game, and I can understand that, but personally I liked him.

The voice acting for the character wasn't the best, and the character himself was annoyingly naive at times. But the way he got around the frontier was fantastic fun.

20 minutes of end credits with no way of skipping or stopping them other than ejecting the game is nasty. I tend to sit through end credits on most games (the music is part of the celebration at completing the game, I read a fair amount of the credits, and sometimes there's a cut-scene or achievement) but left the room in this instance. I'll watch the credits if I choose to - not if you try to force me to.
There was a short epilogue after the credits, and a fairly frustrating mini-mission, but once the story was done the game's time in my machine was pretty much over.
___________________________________________

Next to go into the 360 was Dungeon Siege 3. I've never played a Dungeon Siege game before, but I know the first two were highly regarded, the third was considered a bit "meh" - and most importantly I picked it up very cheap. Metacritic has them as:
DS1 (2002 - pc only) 86% (7.5 user)
DS2 (2005 - pc only) 80% (7.6 user)
DS3 (2011 - all platforms) 72% (6.2 user)
It's a very linear action-RPG. Linear as in there's rigid set paths to follow - but if you're doing the side quests there's a fair bit of backtracking too. You pick from 4 characters, all with their own set of powers/attributes, and apparently the game is best played coop 4-player online. If playing solo, like me, the other characters join you after a few missions, controlled by (rather questionable) AI. There's lots of treasure/equipment to find or buy, each with different attributes, and you can improve some of your character's attributes and abilities - though, as with the map, it all seems a bit rigid.
Combat tends to be a case of approaching a group of enemies until they see you and give chase, retreat whilst spamming attacks at them with the A and X button until you reach some invisible line whereupon they all return to their start position, repeat until all are dead - which will surely get boring after a while, but I'm not far through the game yet and haven't quite reached that point.

Story line seems reasonable, if a little clichéd - an evil aggressor has invaded your country and killed most of the armed forces - your small group is all that remains. The script, however, is horrendous. Not sure if it's just weak translation from Japanese, or if it was a bad script over there too, but if the antagonist's name is said in full one more time I may well scream. Every bloody sentence (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP_2ACkbzIs) is "Jeyne Kassynder" this, "Jeyne Kassynder" that.
Jeyne Kassynder can kiss my arse.

Will stick with the game for now at least. It's not the greatest, but it's not awful. How long I'll be able to resist before either putting COD back in or dipping back into the stack I'm not sure, though...
___________________________________________


COD: Black Ops II - LAST PLAYED 07/02/2013. Blimeh. Nearly three weeks without playing COD! Will go back to the game at some point, for the multiplayer and zombies. Never did play the campaign on that (other than the first couple of levels, when my internet went down for an hour or two), despite a lot of folk saying the campaign is one of the best the game's had, thanks to the slight branching in the story depending on how you act/perform at certain points.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 26, 2013, 10:56:33 AM
Sim City out in 10 days... nice preview (http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/49504/sim-city-hands-on-pc-mac-first-look-review-2013).. anyone else getting it?  I've ordered mine through Asda as they were the cheapest.. I better get it on release date or I wont be using them again.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 26, 2013, 12:48:39 PM
Sim City looks good, but I'll probably wait a couple of months until it drops in price a bit.
COD, Bioshock, and GTA are probably my only release week purchases this year.

That said - if there's a good price at launch I'll be on it. Assuming my pc is up to the job.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 26, 2013, 01:26:05 PM
Minimum specs are detailed here (https://help.ea.com/uk/article/simcity-system-requirements) - they aren't too high - although if your pc is fairly old (6 years+) it probably wont run it... cheapest Ive seen is Tesco for £30 using a code (hukd).

I've preordered SimCity (Asda), Gears of War : Judgement (Tesco) and Army of Two : The Devils Cartel (Shopto) this month alone  :o  Plus GTA5 is preordered too (Shopto).

Im not pre-ordering Bioshock - I will wait until Aprils payday before picking that bad boy up lol. 

Tomb Raider is getting ignored - even though it looks great - I will have to pick that up later in the year. 

And to think, the Wii U has a shortage of good games at the moment lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 26, 2013, 02:13:09 PM
Minimum specs are detailed here (https://help.ea.com/uk/article/simcity-system-requirements) - they aren't too high - although if your pc is fairly old (6 years+) it probably wont run it...

That's the main reason I avoid PC games. Those specs mean little or nothing to me.
My pc is pretty old (bought second hand in 2008), and I've no idea what parts it has (and if I knew what my processor and graphics card were called I'd have no idea how they compare to the minimum and recommended specs!)
Will use an online checker (example (http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri)) at some point.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on February 26, 2013, 03:35:16 PM
So the Wii at my house is getting another use. My 3 year old son is using it to play Wii sports. He loves bowling but it costs £20 for the three of us for one game so I decided he can play on there instead and save me some money.

We are also playing through Sonic Unleashed. It's an awful game but he likes it.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 26, 2013, 03:39:18 PM
Minimum specs are detailed here (https://help.ea.com/uk/article/simcity-system-requirements) - they aren't too high - although if your pc is fairly old (6 years+) it probably wont run it...

That's the main reason I avoid PC games. Those specs mean little or nothing to me.
My pc is pretty old (bought second hand in 2008), and I've no idea what parts it has (and if I knew what my processor and graphics card were called I'd have no idea how they compare to the minimum and recommended specs!)
Will use an online checker (example (http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri)) at some point.

Yeah - your probably gonna have trouble running the game... if anything - it will be your graphics card that wont be good enough.  If your feeling inquisitive, type in "dxdiag" from Start Menu > Run box... and you'll see the main parts you will need to compare on the 1st two tabs, you can do a screenshot if you want and I'll let you know how they compare or you can just use the online checker - Im not sure how the detailed the results of that are though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 26, 2013, 04:54:10 PM
So the Wii at my house is getting another use. My 3 year old son is using it to play Wii sports. He loves bowling but it costs £20 for the three of us for one game so I decided he can play on there instead and save me some money.
We are also playing through Sonic Unleashed. It's an awful game but he likes it.

Make sure he gets used to automatically fastening the wiimote's strap to his wrist, or it might work out quite expensive! ;)

I think Wii Sports was my favourite and most played Wii game - followed by Super Monkey Ball (the original - not the follow up, "Banana Blitz" which wasn't as good). That which might be worth picking up for the young 'un if you see it cheap somewhere, though he might be too young to properly control some parts. It's a collection of mini-games, which is par for the course on the wii, really, except this had a few good ones in there that were equally fun and intuitive for adults and kids (personal favourites being one where you're shot out of a cannon and use the remote to glide down to a target, and one where you have to shoot a certain target while loads are bouncing around - but there's also driving and FPS mini-games in there, amongst around 60 games in total).


Yeah - your probably gonna have trouble running the game... if anything - it will be your graphics card that wont be good enough.  If your feeling inquisitive, type in "dxdiag" from Start Menu > Run box... and you'll see the main parts you will need to compare on the 1st two tabs, you can do a screenshot if you want and I'll let you know how they compare or you can just use the online checker - Im not sure how the detailed the results of that are though.
Thanks Kieron. Will try that if I'm near the computer tonight. TBH I rarely go near it these days - when I'm at home I do 99% of my surfing etc. via the tablet.

Have just checked some old correspondence from when I bought the computer (someone on HUKD was helping me, as I'm clueless about computer innards) and I see it has a e6850 processor and a 2600XT card. Dunno if those mean anything to you!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on February 26, 2013, 09:34:49 PM
Cheers for the tip Late I'll look out for that one.

Yeah we do make sure he has the wrist strap on.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 27, 2013, 10:21:05 AM
Late..the E6850 is an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor clocked at 3.00GHz - the min spec for an Intel processor is an Intel core 2 duo processor clocked at 2.00GHz so you pass the min spec on that.

And the 2600XT is an ATI Radeon HD card.. the min spec for SimCity for an ATI card is an ATI Radeon HD 2x00 - so you just pass the min spec on that - that card also has the min spec of memory needed on it too.

So your scraping the barrel a bit, but it should all work!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 27, 2013, 03:48:40 PM
Thanks Kieron.

____________________________


Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (http://uk.gamespot.com/news/assassins-creed-iv-black-flag-details-emerge-6404553) is expected to be announced later today, with the main character being Edward Kenway (an assassin, privateer, and occasional pirate, he's the father of Haytham and grandfather of Connor, both of whom you'll know from AC3), and set around the Caribbean.

AC3's sea battles were good fun, so this has great potential. I did massively enjoy the trees and cliffs of the frontier region on AC3, though - so I hope we'll still have some parkour amongst natural features again in AC4, as the rooftops were getting a bit stale for me.

The game should be released in the 2013-14 fiscal year.
AC1 - Nov 2007
AC2 - Nov 2009
ACB - Nov 2010
ACR - Nov 2011
AC3 - Nov 2012
I'm going to take a guess at November 2013 for AC4, then!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 27, 2013, 04:50:07 PM
Resonance of Fate sure does have its difficulty spikes... just when I thought I was getting used to the battle system... a boss just obliterates my team.  To be fair, the area I was going into called for fire weapons and ice protection - I had Molotov cocktails and Immolation bullets thinking this would be enough - not even close.. the boss just freezes each of my characters then just rampages on me :(  I had to give it up for a while.. its annoying because I've got to go all the way back to the nearest town now and then fight my way all the way to the boss... even with the ice protection, I'll still need to be on the top of my game.. this JRPG seriously isnt for wimps - I think I could do with a refesher course on the battle system AGAIN (12 hours in).  To be honest, if the game was a bit more balanced and didnt expect you to know everything straight away, I'd absolutely love it, as it is, Im finding myself grinding levels quite a bit already and somewhat tiring of battles (even though the battle system is great) because of the frequency Im fighting - shame really.

So I stuck Resident Evil 5 in, am enjoying it more than I thought, I hated the demo...the tank movement is seriously crap - I hate it - the fact you cant reload while moving and there is no reload button (you have to combine through the menu) is another pet hate.  I just realised quite late I need to sell the treasures Im picking up and also I can upgrade my guns which Ive done now.  The computer AI character is not too bad - although she does get through shit loads of bullets, so Im keeping her on the handgun mainly.  Up to Chapter 2-2 (level 4 of 16) - not bad for a few hours.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on February 27, 2013, 08:32:08 PM
Think I might pick that up, Jman. Love the sound of a tough JRPG.  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 27, 2013, 09:58:22 PM
Resident Evil 5 is pants, Revelations will be a better game by far, although there'll probably be too much ammo around if the 3DS SKU is anything to go by. Thankfully they're unlocking the hardest difficulty level from the start. You need to complete the game on the 3DS SKU first before it gets unlocked and It's more like a traditional survival horror game. I'm going to double dip on this because they're changing the level designs.

You'll all enjoy RAID Mode too, it's awesome. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on February 28, 2013, 01:48:28 AM
Seen an ad for a new metal gear solid game today. Nice!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 28, 2013, 03:38:30 AM
Not sure if I've posted this but here's a new Lego City Undercover trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzyBIJUSYbg). Instant Win with a topping of Awesome Sauce. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 28, 2013, 07:57:56 AM
Think I might pick that up, Jman. Love the sound of a tough JRPG.  ;D

You've been warned  :P 

Its probably not the hardest JRPG ever, but the learning curve is very very steep... if you keep with it you'll find one most intriguing and unique JRPGs to date...  I picked it up for £8ish for a like new copy on ebay. 
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 28, 2013, 11:52:41 AM
EA To Stuff Microtransactions Into ALL Of Their Games Going Forward (http://www.dealspwn.com/ea-stuff-microtransactions-games-131211).

Worrying. That's a trend that's been quite apparent in recent years, but EA are being completely brazen about it now.

Hope all of SimCity's features are available "out of the box", Kieron. Wouldn't be surprised if there's quite a bit missing, that you need to pay extra for, when it comes to EA.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on February 28, 2013, 04:19:14 PM
Through playing Sonic with my son I have come to the conclusion that the nun chuck is the worst controller of all time. From the way that the pad at the bottom is an octagon instead of round to the fact that it never goes the way you want it to. It's just awful.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 28, 2013, 07:12:49 PM
Think I might pick that up, Jman. Love the sound of a tough JRPG.  ;D

You've been warned  :P 

Its probably not the hardest JRPG ever, but the learning curve is very very steep... if you keep with it you'll find one most intriguing and unique JRPGs to date...  I picked it up for £8ish for a like new copy on ebay.

Been playing it like crazy today, I think I can say I've mastered the battle system now.. probably took me a lot longer than it should, but my defiance to not go back to the training arena was finally worn down.. and I realised I'd been playing like a n00b for the past 10 hours... I've blasted through chapters 5, 6 and 7 today.. and Im hooked.  The story is fairly nondescript so far, in fact its only in the last few chapters I've actually seen any of what you would call the main plot and its told by flashbacks at the end of each chapter... but I have chuckled quite a few times at some of the cut-scenes, in fact, the dialogue is brilliant - some of the best... and some of the characters are brilliant too.. theres a mentally challenged Cardinal called Master Pater (lol) who is just hilarious.

I thought the battles were getting easier earlier after I mastered the system.. but the difficulty is rising all the time and some of the battles are a real challenge.   The only thing I dont particularly like about the game is that you have to customize your weapons regularly and its a chore and I havent quite fully understood how all the parts fit together on the guns... I will probably have to read a bit more about it online as it does make a big difference.  I love the world map system, its brilliant, the only thing I would change is the time it takes to get from one level to another as it does become a chore going from a lower level to one of the higher levels to pick up a quest which sends you back down to lower levels.. using elevators are quick and easy but you have to use the core lifts quite a bit and they take too long imo.

Definitely recommend it.. I dont think its as good as Lost Odyssey but I think I prefer RoF to Blue Dragon... its so different it feels refreshing.. so glad I picked this title up.

Edit - a good professional review (http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2010/04/27/review-resonance-of-fate/4/) here.. like it says - if you like RPGs and can stick with this game - it gets a 9/10.. otherwise its a 7/10 because of the inaccessibility of it.  I literally cannot wait to dive back into the game.. I havent been this hooked on a JRPG since Lost Odyssey/Blue Dragon - Im going to do some weapon customization tonight - I really need to sit down and work out what Im doing with all that before I continue on.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 01, 2013, 07:57:11 AM
EA To Stuff Microtransactions Into ALL Of Their Games Going Forward (http://www.dealspwn.com/ea-stuff-microtransactions-games-131211).

Worrying. That's a trend that's been quite apparent in recent years, but EA are being completely brazen about it now.

Hope all of SimCity's features are available "out of the box", Kieron. Wouldn't be surprised if there's quite a bit missing, that you need to pay extra for, when it comes to EA.

Nah.. SimCity will be free to play out of the box..  it will have a optional simcity store.. just like the sims has a store.. but that will be ignored by me.. I dont do these microtransactions.. I rarely buy DLC unless I love a game.  The only reason EA are going forward with stuffing microtransactions in games.. is because they are profitable.. people whinge and moan about it but they wouldnt be there if people didnt buy them... Fifa Ultimate Team is highly successful and yet its just a system built on microtransactions.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 01, 2013, 09:24:24 PM
Uh oh, seen a few rrods on my 360 in the past week, turning the 360 on and off seems to fix it but looking online suggests a DVD drive failure, e64 error with red light bottom right  :'( fingers crossed it survives until next gen
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 01, 2013, 10:45:18 PM
Well we're only 9 months away from the release of the PS4 and 720 so you might be okay. You could always get a Wii U in the meantime :P

Am on the last bit of ZombiU, and was pretty scared playing it last night lol. Absolutely fantastic game design, got killed though which is a real bitch!!! :o ;D Not am I going to have to kill the zombies that killed me, I'm also going to have to kill my former zombiefied self with 6 bullets and a cricket bat lol ;D

Hopefully I'm going to be able to pop into other areas and stock up on gear, otherwise I'm buggered lol. When entering the final stage of the game there are only three manholes you can use, two in Buckingham Palace and one in your safehouse. This is going to be very difficult to complete I think.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 01, 2013, 11:07:01 PM
Hopefully you'll be okay for a fair while, but Game have been knocking out old second hand xboxes for cheap this week (core £20, premium £56) if you want a spare one on stand by.
In fact Game have had quite a few good deals lately. Just like they did for a month or two before they went bust last year. Which is a bit ominous. More likely I'm putting two and two together and getting five, though. (Which isn't a good thing for an accountant, tbh!)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 01, 2013, 11:59:17 PM
I can't quite believe it's happening again, already on my 6th one, rrod three times in last 2 days now
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 02, 2013, 03:01:37 AM
Haven't you gone through 2 or 3 of them already..? Or was that late..? I can't remember. :-\

I can see the PS4 having problems this gen given they've opted for GDDR5 and a 1.8TFlop GPU. The 720 should run a lot cooler with Microsoft going for a similar RAM setup to the Wii U and a GPU pushing 1.1TFlops. I prefer Sony's IPs though so I'll probably wait a while for the inevitable price cut and Slim SKU before I get another current gen console I think. By that time they should have ironed out any overheating issues.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 02, 2013, 03:09:42 AM
Tried continuing my playthrough of ZombiU earlier and this game really is punishing when you cock up. Thought there 3 shortcuts still available but they're not...which means I'm going to have to walk from Shadwell to Buckingham Palace, and the route is littered with undead. This is very much an old school game, games don't get more hardcore than this, can't wait to finish it and try Survivor difficulty, you have to complete the game using just 1 survivor. :o Awesome 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on March 02, 2013, 03:11:28 AM
So I thought I'd spend a couple of hours on Resonance of Fate (picked it up on the way home from work today for a tenner, reasonable price I guess...) before I went to sleep and I ended up spending most of that time learning how to actually play it! 

The battle system is so complicated! A quaint mixture of turn-based and real-time combat. I must have tried the 'Bonus Shots' tutorial 5 times before I realised I had to be charging before I could initiate one!  >:( :P It's not well-worded at all IMO, which is unusual for Tri-Ace as I felt they did a good job with the Star Ocean games battle system tutorials.

After the tutorial I had a few battles outside the arena and I think I'm getting to grips with it. I still don't completely get the Tri-Attack stuff though. I'm not sure I could organise the characters and get them running inbetween eachother one at a time to build resonance points while a boss is knocking six bells out of me. It'll become easier as I get used to it.

Can't really fathom what the story is from the opening scenes. A guy rescues a girl who's jumped off a bridge by swinging through the air on a rope to catch her... and then the rope snaps and they both fall onto another world? Then I suddenly have control of 3 characters and I've no idea who they are. It looks good though.

Unlucky Jman!  :( I must be one of the lucky few who's never had to replace their 360. I had my 60GB for nearly 3 years then decided to buy a 250GB slim during a Sainsbury's sale (a mate let me use his employee discount too!). I sold the 60GB to a mate and it's still running fine for him.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 02, 2013, 09:35:38 AM
Yup, think it's got something daft like a 60% failure rate :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 02, 2013, 10:10:29 AM
I'm on my fourth, but have "only" had two go tits up and have two on the go. That said, I started two years late, and the upstairs machine had only been turned on about once a month I think since I gave the kids it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 02, 2013, 10:18:52 AM
I told you it wasnt easy kenny :P  Once you "get" the battle system.. which will come after a good few hours (I actually went up to chapter 5 at about 16 hours in without really using any of the hero actions/tri-attacks - lol) you'll see how deep and strategic the battle system really is.. the game becomes a lot easier when you work it all out but there are still some challenging enemies along the way. Some of the bosses at the early stage are just unforgiving so just keep with it!!

I actually like the story so far (end of chapter 9) and I think the characters are built up nicely.. like I said, you dont really see much of the main story until chapter 5ish.. and even then its drip-fed to you...  the starting sequence will make more sense after a chapter or two (or it should do)....I've got 4 hand guns and 2 machine guns and dual wielding is fucking cool and you get tons more bonus shots from doing so - but let me know how you are finding the game when you've got a bit further - I love it - even contemplating 100%ing it, which will involve 2 play-throughs and at least 60 hours gameplay.



Im on my 6th xbox harv.. 3 of them broke (soon to be 4) - but I have only paid for 2 out of the 6.. would definitely pick one up for £20 though late ! Thats an insane price lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on March 02, 2013, 11:19:31 AM
I'm on my 2nd 360. First one lasted me 3 years then broke. Wasn't rrod it over heated and the soldering on one of the parts melted. It still turned on and I could hear the game noises but I couldn't see anything. My girlfriend brought me a nice black slim one and I've had that 2 years with no issues.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 02, 2013, 01:49:27 PM
Makes you wonder what the real installed userbase really is lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 04, 2013, 11:33:06 PM
Eurogamer article on Lego City Undercover (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-26-how-tt-fusions-lego-city-undercover-blows-the-franchise-wide-open-and-might-just-save-the-wii-u-into-the-bargain).

They say they weren't really thinking about GTA whilst developing the game but that sounds like a load of old bollocks to me lol. I think they changed the name from Stories to Undercover after Rockstar picked up the phone for starters, although nobody has mentioned the name change since it happened...crappy bloomin games journalism lol.

Haven't read the article yet but I don't need to read it to know that this game is going to be seven shades of awesome. Can't wait!!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 05, 2013, 08:07:47 AM
Just a tip on RoF kenny as you seem to be blasting through it.. you've probably seen that when you go into an area - theres no saving whilst your in there.. you need to use an escape hex... and you can only save at your base and energy stations... so you've probably been leaving long times between saves (I was - although I have an energy station on most floors now)

Well when you go into a fight from a red hex - you cant use escape hexes or save.. you either defeat the monster or reload....so when you get to Chapter 8.. on level 8 (I think) you'll come across one of those red hexes (its near Freud Remnants) which you might think as an easy fight as most of them are fairly simple up to that point... well Im on chapter 14 and still cant do it.. its easily the hardest fight in the entire game (so far)... so if you do get a bit curious - make sure you save before you go into it  ;D luckily I just did before I tried it the 1st time!

I've been sailing along in the last 5 or 6 chapters now... maybe I'd die every once in a while, but apparently the last chapter and the later areas of the arena - there are massive difficulty spikes..  :o  Looking forward to the challenge!!  I think its time to re-customize my guns.. I only realised last night that you can rotate weapon parts when placing them.. it doesn't tell you that at all !!

Late, I know your bogged down in your backlog.. but if you fancy a decent JRPG then check Resonance of Fate out.. be prepared to give 5-10 hours in learning the battle system/map system and getting your arse handed to you regularly during that time though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on March 05, 2013, 10:27:56 AM
Haha yeah, there's still some stuff I haven't quite "got" yet. I'm still going all the way back home to save unless theres an abandoned energy station nearby, and I've no idea what all the terminals do! Fortunately escape hexes are used in the Star Ocean series so I knew right away not to run all the way back through dungeons!

I'm enjoying the game though. Have died a fair few times but it never feels like the bosses are too hard, you just have to find a different way to beat them... The first boss I fought looked a bit like Abomination from Hulk and launched fireballs... He was a right toughy and it took me about 5 attempts to kill him. Sometimes I get caught up doing hero runs then realise my hero gauge is empty LOL... That kind of carelessness can make an easy battle difficult, whereas with turn based combat you can just sit there pressing A and sail through 90% of battles. And I've only recently realised that some enemies have a gauge that needs to be broken by the handguns before you can deal decent scratch damage. You say the red hex battles are simple, but I fought one where the leader dropped a doll and wow... his HP must have been ridiculously high because he took ages to kill! Worse when he jumps on you for like 700 damage lol.
 
The world map could do with more detail (I guess that's partly how it all fits on one disc), and I still don't know what the central plot is in chapter 4, but it's a good game so far.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 05, 2013, 10:39:03 AM
Late, I know your bogged down in your backlog.. but if you fancy a decent JRPG then check Resonance of Fate out.. be prepared to give 5-10 hours in learning the battle system/map system and getting your arse handed to you regularly during that time though.
Definitely tempted. As you say, I need to get through some of the backlog, though, and it's increasing rather than reducing lately thanks to a combination of so many good deals, and me not getting as much playing time (last few weeks I've been tired and going to bed around 1.30am rather than my usual 4am - doesn't half cut into your gaming time, that!)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 05, 2013, 11:26:45 AM
And I've only recently realised that some enemies have a gauge that needs to be broken by the handguns before you can deal decent scratch damage.

lol.. yeah I discovered that about the same time too.. even though you do a whole tutorial specifically on shooting body parts - Will be interested to know how long it takes you to defeat the boss on chapter 5 though - thats the point I was on the verge of giving up.. he's not hard when you know what to do.. in fact I beat him in the end without taking any damage.. but I spent hours on him previous to that.

I forgot about that red hex toughie who drops the doll.. lol.. he killed me a few times, in the end I just had one guy who went near him, waited for him to attack and then moved away quickly.. then pummeled him with my other two until he died - LOL - thats so not the way to do it... but it worked!

Dont worry about the terminals.. they aren't that important.. I have only really used one or two and I didnt really notice much difference anyway.  The main story doesnt really start to get relevant until after chapter 5 - but its the flashbacks you have at the end of each chapter.. they become more relevant the further you go into the game - but its not the greatest, the game survives on its awesome battle system more than anything.

Definitely gonna try and get into Star Ocean 4 after this game!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 05, 2013, 03:19:22 PM
SimCity seems to be having problems in the States - it released there yesterday, we get it this Friday.

Big server problems (not good when your game requires "always on" internet connection), meaning it can take up to three hours just to get a connection, plus complaints about the restrictive city sizes.

Both of those are things that can be fixed, though, so it's not all doom and gloom. Fingers crossed for better EU service...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 05, 2013, 03:43:22 PM
Love PETA. They're proper mentalists :D

Their heart's in the right place, but the way they try to get the message across is usually ridiculous. Still - it gets them publicity, and that's what they're aiming for...

Assassin's Creed 4 criticised for promoting whaling (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/394318/assassins-creed-4-peta-labels-whale-harpooning-disgraceful/). ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 05, 2013, 04:00:13 PM
SimCity seems to be having problems in the States - it released there yesterday, we get it this Friday.

Big server problems (not good when your game requires "always on" internet connection), meaning it can take up to three hours just to get a connection, plus complaints about the restrictive city sizes.

Both of those are things that can be fixed, though, so it's not all doom and gloom. Fingers crossed for better EU service...

Server problems were always going to happen on release day.. Origin is shit to be honest.. I hate it.

Yeah I noticed the restrictive city sizes.. Im not sure on that aspect.. it looks crap compared to what you got with Sim City 4 - but it might be more realistic and immersive - I think you'd have to try it yourself first.. I think if I dont like SimCity I will go and repurchase Sim City 4 - I need myself some god damn fine city simulation action!!  They did say they could possibly relax city sizes a little bit for people with more powerful computers in the future - so theres hope yet!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 05, 2013, 11:58:50 PM
I ordered Bit Trip Saga for the 3DS today, haven't played any of the games from the franchise yet and Runner 2 is getting great reviews so far. Will get it if I like the games in the compilation, and only cost me £7.99 too so can't really go wrong at that price. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 06, 2013, 08:02:06 AM
Nearly shit myself last night... playing Resonance of Fate.. played for 2 hours doing a tough boss.. so was up to 42 hours in.. went to save it and the screen went blank (aka - what happened to me in Dead Island and I lost everything).. it finally came around after leaving the console for 10 minutes.. but it was saying all 3 of my saves were corrupt.. so I went to save it in a different slot - Failed.  Changed storage device and tried to save - Failed.. I could play the game.. but couldnt save.. so I had to turn it off in the end.  Luckily I tested it out straight afterwards and I can still load my previous saves... I've lost the 2 hours I put in last night - but at least I havent lost 40 hours.. not quite sure what happened.. prehaps my hard-drive is going up the swanny as well as my dvd drive ?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 06, 2013, 08:47:35 AM
Bafta Video Game Awards were on last night if anyone realised... Results (http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/03/05/bafta-video-game-awards-2013) follow...

Best Game: Dishonored
Online Multiplayer: Journey
Game Design: Journey
Artistic Achievement: Journey
Original Music: Journey
Audio Achievement: Journey
Mobile & Handheld: The Walking Dead
Story: The Walking Dead
Game Innovation: The Unfinished Swan
Debut Game: The Unfinished Swan
Action: Far Cry 3
British Game: The Room
Performer: Danny Wallace - Thomas Was Alone
Family: Lego Batman 2
Strategy: Xcom - Enemy Unknown
Ones to Watch: Kind of a Big Deal - Starcrossed
Online Browser: SongPop
Sports/Fitness: New Star Soccer
Fellowship: Gabe Newell


Not quite sure how Far Cry 3 beats all those great games for Best Action Game and then Dishonored is announced as the Best Game... I guess I really need to give Dishonored another chance - but FC3 for me was easily game of the year.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 06, 2013, 09:46:53 AM
Worrying that I only have two of those (Lego Batman 2, and The Walking Dead).

XCOM, Dishonoured, and Far Cry 3 are on my watch list.


Don't think I'll be playing Journey or The Unfinished Swan any time soon (if memory serves both are ps3 exclusives - but I may be mistaken).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on March 06, 2013, 04:32:15 PM
XCOM and Sleeping Dogs were my games of 2012.

Absolutely hammered the arena in RoF last night. I've noticed new ranks get released every chapter, so trying to keep up with them as it seems the best way to level up. There's a similar thing in Star Ocean 4 called the Colosseum and it took me forever to do as I left it right until the end.

Not sure if you'd like SO4 Jman. It's definitely the weakest in the series. Riddled with cliches and if poor voice acting frustrates you... there's a character called Lymle who will make you want to punch in your telly. Still, the battle system is a lot of fun and it's a fairly solid game. Better than some of the crap this generation (Infinite Undiscovery, The Last Remnant) but not as good as Lost Odyssey. Can't really compare it to RoF yet as I still know so little of the story lol. It really is drip-fed chapter by chapter.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 07, 2013, 01:24:40 AM
Lmfao (http://www.polygon.com/2013/3/6/4070836/peta-objects-whaling-in-assassins-creed-4)

Quote
"History is our playground in Assassin's Creed," Chin said. "Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is a work of fiction that depicts the real events during the golden era of pirates. We do not condone illegal whaling, just as we don't condone a pirate lifestyle of poor hygiene, plundering, hijacking ships and over-the-legal-limit drunken debauchery.History is our playground in Assassin's Creed," Chin said. "Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is a work of fiction that depicts the real events during the golden era of pirates. We do not condone illegal whaling, just as we don't condone a pirate lifestyle of poor hygiene, plundering, hijacking ships and over-the-legal-limit drunken debauchery."

 ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 07, 2013, 08:07:37 AM
Yeah the story in RoF is not that great - but Im not finding it that offputting because the battle system is probably one of my favourite ever... I haven't really done much in the arena because there are so many fights - 30 levels x 10 fights per level = 300 fights which is a LOT.. and I grinded quite a lot in the early part of the game... I've probably only done about 50 of the arena fights and Im just starting the last chapter so I might actually go back there and do some more to level up before continuing.  Are you changing guns/equipment around regularly to level up evenly ??  Im on about level 75 for each of the characters - but I didnt realise to do this until about chapter 5 or 6.

Customizing your guns makes a huge difference, dont know if you have bothered doing that yet, probably not worth it until you reach Cranktown which opens up more of the gun attachments.... but I spent at least an hour just doing that last night... you'll find the key to a powerful weapon is increasing your acceleration speed as much as possible without sacrificing your main speed which means having lots of barrels/scopes on your gun, I think I have a gun with 120 speed, and 43 acceleration and it means I can get more powerful shots off which are more capable of gauge breaking - which you'll find important in the later chapters.. although I really need to hunt out some material to make some of the better attachments for the guns as I have a lot of empty space still.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 07, 2013, 08:54:35 PM
Sod it, have double dipped on Nano Assault Neo and bought the 3DS version from the eShop. More expensive than the Wii U SKU but there's loads more content so I'm okay with that. Uses the buttons to fire in the four directions though, will give it a go and see how it works out...a fair few people have said it works fine but there's always the Pad Pro if I have a problem with it. :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on March 07, 2013, 10:50:17 PM
Yeah the story in RoF is not that great - but Im not finding it that offputting because the battle system is probably one of my favourite ever... I haven't really done much in the arena because there are so many fights - 30 levels x 10 fights per level = 300 fights which is a LOT.. and I grinded quite a lot in the early part of the game... I've probably only done about 50 of the arena fights and Im just starting the last chapter so I might actually go back there and do some more to level up before continuing.  Are you changing guns/equipment around regularly to level up evenly ??  Im on about level 75 for each of the characters - but I didnt realise to do this until about chapter 5 or 6.

Customizing your guns makes a huge difference, dont know if you have bothered doing that yet, probably not worth it until you reach Cranktown which opens up more of the gun attachments.... but I spent at least an hour just doing that last night... you'll find the key to a powerful weapon is increasing your acceleration speed as much as possible without sacrificing your main speed which means having lots of barrels/scopes on your gun, I think I have a gun with 120 speed, and 43 acceleration and it means I can get more powerful shots off which are more capable of gauge breaking - which you'll find important in the later chapters.. although I really need to hunt out some material to make some of the better attachments for the guns as I have a lot of empty space still.

Yeah I've been using the arena to get my team's levels up on the other weapons. Just finished chapter 8 and my levels are 51-50-49, each character is about 20 on their strongest weapon and 15-15 on the other two. The arena is so boring though lol, it's basically the same enemies every time. Just unlocked another 10 ranks and I really can't be arsed to go complete them.

I didn't really bother with customisation until I got to Cranktown TBH! Now I've gone crazy with it lol, have filled up the whole screen pretty much with sights and barrels. Now I'm noticing Zephyr can deal full scratch damage on basically every enemy, and the other two are much better at breaking gauges. TBH, I was finding every battle a walkover for a few chapters now but I've just come across a ridiculously hard enemy. A red hex battle on level 8 where you have to fight 3 huge goliaths on a pretty small battlefield... they're so solid and they've annihilated me 3 times. After the 1st time I put toxicity shields on to deal with their poison attacks but it didn't help one bit! I'm gonna leave that one until I'm a few levels higher. I think I need to get a long scope pro as that seems to increase the charge speed by a crazy amount.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 08, 2013, 08:16:54 AM
Well when you go into a fight from a red hex - you cant use escape hexes or save.. you either defeat the monster or reload....so when you get to Chapter 8.. on level 8 (I think) you'll come across one of those red hexes (its near Freud Remnants) which you might think as an easy fight as most of them are fairly simple up to that point...

I was finding every battle a walkover for a few chapters now but I've just come across a ridiculously hard enemy. A red hex battle on level 8 where you have to fight 3 huge goliaths on a pretty small battlefield... they're so solid and they've annihilated me 3 times.

 ;) Its insanely hard isnt it... I still havent done it... although last time I tried, I did manage to kill one of the 3 mad goliaths which is no mean feat in itself.. although I havent tried again for about 5 or 6 chapters now.. I also have 3 germproof suits now which completely nullify toxic damage.. so that should stand me in good stead for when I try again..  the thing that is tough is that you cant jump over them without smacking into them... I think if you have one person with medicine & grenade and one with 2xSMG and one with 2xHG.. and just use the medicine character as a target for all 3 of the goliaths.. and get them to keep healing themselves and use the other two to go in behind the goliaths, I think thats the best tactic... you'll need the germproof suits and a higher level first though.

You'll find the rest of the game from Chapter 8 to 16 a walkover though.. in fact, from the point you get that second SMG, the whole game becomes a lot easier which is a shame... I didnt get to play last night.. and probably wont get much time tonight.. so Im still yet to start chapter 16 but from a few reviews I've read, it gets a lot tougher on the last chapter which is good and I guess some of the red hex battles in chapter 15 were a bit tougher than normal while Im thinking about it.. so feels like its getting a bit tougher again.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 08, 2013, 10:57:29 AM
I think EA are having something of a PR disaster with the launch of SimCity.. I myself have lost pretty much all excitement of playing it now hearing of these stories of people still not being able to play it.  The decision to have an always online connection is going to kill this game...Im all for the support of reducing piracy in video games.. but the inability to save your city locally and the reliance on EA servers are game-breakers when they dont work!

Other than the small-city sizes, Im still interested in playing the game.. but I, like many, will be playing on a private server - I dont want to play in a connected world... so I will get absolutely zip from the positives of an always online connection but I'll get all the negatvies of it aswell, even though I dont want to use it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 08, 2013, 02:26:02 PM
To:
Electronic Arts Inc.
Remove "Always Online" DRM from SimCity and future games.
Sincerely,
[Your name] (https://www.change.org/petitions/electronic-arts-inc-remove-always-online-drm-from-simcity-and-future-games)

33k "signatures" on the petition so far, lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 08, 2013, 03:59:02 PM
They didnt even release it on the Wii U either.. I mean how wrong can you get it !  :P ;D


Im not expecting my copy on the mat when I go home tonight.. no email from Asda at all.. hmmm - dont think I'll be using them again any time soon if this is the case.

Edit : Oops tell a lie, I just this very minute received an email  :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on March 08, 2013, 05:27:36 PM
Just got in, turned my xbox on and decided to have another go at the mad goliaths, beat them with ease.  ;D This time I got Zephyr to jump on the boxes in the middle and just unleash his armour piercing rounds... they do so much damage! Then Vashyron and Leanne ran around the edges throwing smash grenades and healing (only had to heal once tbh when two of them cornered Leanne!)

Just gotta finish off the guild missions then I'm on to chapter 10.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 08, 2013, 05:39:29 PM
Lol, EA have well and truly thrown their toys out of the pram regarding the Wii U but they'll change their tune before the end of the year when it has an installed userbase between 10m and 15m. This disaster with Sim City doesn't surprise me in the slightest, they're one of the worst run publishers in the industry and have been for years, they usually lose money every year. They're probably the least respected publisher in the industry.

Nano Assault Neo EX is awesome, the 3D works well - looks like stuff is going on 2 inches behind the 3DS and your ship appears to be floating a little outside the screen. Am stuck on the last part of the first level though, it's an on-rails Starfox-esque affair and I keep on getting killed before the end. The trouble I have with these sorts of games is that I have difficulty stopping. It's always a case of 'Right! Just ONE more go...' Lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 08, 2013, 08:13:43 PM
Yeah, we know - the Wii is fantastic and anyone who doesn't support it is a moron.








Either that, or the vast majority of mankind is right and you're wrong, and the Wii is actually quite shite...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 08, 2013, 09:20:16 PM
Nothing to do with the Wii U, just pointing out that EA are a badly run company and have zero respect from the rest of the industry. This mess regarding Sim City really isn't a surprise and their policy of having microtransaction-heavy titles next gen is going to bite them on the bum.

EA post heavy losses more often than not and this isn't going to stop anytime soon. Like most publishers EA is run by people completely out of touch with gaming, it's quite surprising that they've managed to keep in business this long tbh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 09, 2013, 09:27:45 AM
Just got in, turned my xbox on and decided to have another go at the mad goliaths, beat them with ease.  ;D This time I got Zephyr to jump on the boxes in the middle and just unleash his armour piercing rounds... they do so much damage! Then Vashyron and Leanne ran around the edges throwing smash grenades and healing (only had to heal once tbh when two of them cornered Leanne!)

Just gotta finish off the guild missions then I'm on to chapter 10.

Did it this morning, didnt even move one of my characters nor use armor piercing rounds.. its well easy when your overpowered... finished all the side missions, just farming some weapon parts and unlocking the whole map before I head into the last area... I have got some sweet gun layouts now
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 09, 2013, 06:43:51 PM
News from Edge confirming 720 rumours (http://www.edge-online.com/news/the-next-xbox-always-online-no-second-hand-games-50gb-blu-ray-discs-and-new-kinect/)

Huge mistakes from Microsoft. Always online..? Activation codes meaning no used games..?

Can't believe that both Sony and Microsoft have made some fundamental errors this gen. The choice of RAM by Sony is a mistake which is going to mean that the PS4 is going to be more expensive than the 720 and the fact that the 720 has to be always online and no used games is going to be a dealbreaker for a fair few people.

If Sony had gone for DDR3 and ESRAM/eDRAM and a GPU with slightly less grunt they'd be in a much better position this gen. Microsoft have made the right decisions with their hardware but have seriously fucked up by not allowing used games and having the necessity for having the console connected to the internet.

I can see plenty of people switching their gaming platform of choice to their PCs until Sony drop the price of the PS4 to a sensible level (ie below 400 dollars/pounds).

Like I mentioned before I really can't understand the thinking behind some of these console designs - the PS3 being way too expensive due to hardware choices, the 3DS not having a second slide pad, the Vita being way too expensive due to the hardware choices, the PS4 being too expensive due to hardware choices and the 720 not able to play used games.

The mind truly does boggle. Out of the two I'd say Sony are in a better position because they can always drop the price after a year or 18 months but there's bugger all Microsoft can do. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 09, 2013, 06:49:49 PM
Aw bollocks, didn't notice the date, some twat was necroposting on Gaf lol. :-[
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 09, 2013, 07:16:09 PM
Sony haven't confirmed the ps4 can play used games yet (without a fee)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 09, 2013, 10:03:33 PM
http://www.dealspwn.com/ea-compensate-sim-city-players-free-game-132327 (http://www.dealspwn.com/ea-compensate-sim-city-players-free-game-132327)
EA doling out free games as compo over the SimCity debacle.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 10, 2013, 12:33:42 AM
Yup, on paper it's a good gesture but if you don't have a half decent PC and do all your gaming on your PS3 or 360 it's about as useful as a chocolate teapot unless they've changed the SKUs available since the news broke yesterday. :-\

Not that I'm bothered cos Populous clones are for girls and homosexuals, ya big buncha pansies :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on March 10, 2013, 01:16:45 AM
Coming from the guy jizzing over his console for kiddies and soccer moms 24/7. :P How would all the manly blokes down the pub react if you walked in wearing your baked beans stained Zelda t-shirt and started telling them about your love for Nintendo and the Wii?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 10, 2013, 01:44:47 AM
ZombiU says it isn't a console for kiddies and soccer moms :P

And anyone that isn't impressed with my Star Wars/Zelda t-shirt isn't worth knowing. R2D2 as Fi is particularly cool 8)

I'm still really pissed off I missed The Plumber Strikes Back >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 10, 2013, 02:09:10 AM
Not that it comes as a surprise to anyone - but you really do have shite taste in games, Harv.
T- shirts too, tbh (but I guess we're all guilty of that from time to time).

Then again, we can't all like the same things. Take Max Payne 3 for instance. So glad I only paid £3 for it - I'm not enjoying it at all. 86% and 7.5 on metacritic so it seems most people like it.
I'm definitely not a fan of third person, though. Never have been - though there's always an exception to the rule...

Have done the first four of fourteen chapters. Doubt I'll do many more.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 10, 2013, 12:46:25 PM
Sleeping dogs is an exception to the rule.
Started it this morning, and thoroughly enjoying it so far.  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 10, 2013, 08:25:18 PM
Well I finished Resonance of Fate yesterday... the final dungeon and boss were a bit of a bitch, definitely needed to raise my game - took me about an hour to take the final boss down, but did it eventually - JUST... I went into critical condition while he was on his last legs and actually think one of the other enemies killed him  ;D

Then realised that to access Neverland - which is a secret locked away dungeon, you needed to kill the 2 semi-final bosses and escape hex out to use the black hexes you gain from them.. but you get to keep all your stats, equipment and ranks I think - I haven't actually gone back into the game yet so not sure what you keep or how much of the game I need to replay so I can get into Neverland but everywhere I've read says that level 100 is really a minimum for entering neverland  :o

Still waiting for SimCity - should get it tomorrow hopefully.

Edit : Wont get SimCity today - packages needs a signature apparently... wont be pre-ordering games from Asda again  ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 11, 2013, 10:01:57 AM
EA post heavy losses more often than not and this isn't going to stop anytime soon. Like most publishers EA is run by people completely out of touch with gaming, it's quite surprising that they've managed to keep in business this long tbh.

6 EA games in last weeks top 20 selling games in the UK

SimCity came 2nd (after Tomb Raider)


They may have some questionable business practices.. but they make great games and have made more profit than most developers in the past couple of years.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 11, 2013, 10:35:37 AM
Still waiting for SimCity - should get it tomorrow hopefully.

Edit : Wont get SimCity today - packages needs a signature apparently... wont be pre-ordering games from Asda again  ::)

On the bright side, it sounds like the servers are a lot better now - so getting it a few days late might be a blessing ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 11, 2013, 04:25:47 PM
Looks like I did get it today after all... Asda use Yodel who in my opinion are the worst couriers I have ever used... they just posted the game - even though the package required a signature lol but I've had stuff thrown over in the middle of my back garden before from Yodel, luckily it wasnt broken but because it rained, the cardboard packaging was sodden.

Edit : Installed fairly quickly and did all the server updates... picked a european server, go to play and *bam* - servers unavailable - lol..  >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 11, 2013, 05:07:23 PM
Aw bollocks, I knew ordering the Bit Trip Saga would be asking for trouble...I tend to get addicted to score-based games and these games are going to be no exception lol.

Just tried Bit Trip Beat and it's ridiculously trippy in 3D!!! This is most definitely NOT a game you want to play after a few beers or doing any sort of narcotic lmfao!!! :lol:

A real bargain too, £7.99 for 6 games that many would say were amongst the best rhythm games released last gen.

If the other 5 are anywhere near as good as the first then I'll be getting Runner 2 from the Wii U eShop when they finally decide to release it over here. Bloody annoying because they've had it in the States for bloomin ages! :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 11, 2013, 09:37:53 PM
Nintendo execs respond to the news of the PS4 (http://gotgame.com/2013/03/11/gotgame-truth-machine-nintendo-execs-respond-to-ps4/) :o :P

Brilliantly written lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 11, 2013, 11:52:28 PM
"The three shrug in unison as Miyamoto hovers slightly above the table suspended by balloons."
Pmsl  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on March 12, 2013, 12:06:35 AM
Been playing MGS2 on the HD collection lately...Still an amazing game, but I've blundered a bit on my Platinum approach.

You have to collect 218 different dog tags, which means you have to play the game 5 times through...Already played it twice through on Very easy and Easy, but realised that they're actually on seperate saves...

Apparently, to carry over dog tag progress, you have to press "load game" from the main menu, and the select the "new game" option...How backwards is that...I started a new game under the impression the tags collected just automaticaly carried over....Slightly pissed off I basically wasted my very easy run, since that the Easy mode tags are now on seperate save files, so I'll have to replay one of them, so I think I'll come back to that at a later date, just annoying that the way it's set up isn't really obvious to the player...

On a related note, you can't quit the game through pausing and selecting it from a menu...You have to pause the game, and then hold down all 4 shoulder buttons and start and select at the same time for 5 seconds LOL...You'd think they'd have changed all these dated ways of doing things for the "re-mastered" version.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 12, 2013, 12:09:49 AM
"The three shrug in unison as Miyamoto hovers slightly above the table suspended by balloons."
Pmsl  ;D

And starting a thread with the same title and link has just got me banned for life from Gaf...miserable fuckers lol. Oh well, at least a few people thought it was funny, others were up in arms about it, saying I should have labelled it as a parody...kind of ruins the point if I had done it that way though I thought.

Miserable twats lol :lol:

I have another account on there because I forgot about it and just created a new one but the username is almost identical so I won't get away with using it lol. Oh well...their loss :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on March 12, 2013, 12:58:33 AM
They banned you for that? Really? Definitely a bunch of spotty virgins who never see daylight.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 12, 2013, 01:11:35 AM
Yup, the forum rules are pretty ridiculous. I got banned for something like 'Rick Rolling and/or console wars' but it's fine for the same two or three trolls to come into every Wii U thread and start hiding under bridges lmfao ;D

I was only there for the Wii U technical discussion mainly, and that's pretty much dried up after the CPU and GPU die shots were released and analysed. Pretty unbelievable that nobody has a clue what half of the silicon in the GPU does or even what GPU Latte is based on. It's been customised so much that the origin of the chip is completely unrecognisable, and nobody was expecting that :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 12, 2013, 03:54:22 AM
Brilliant journalism lololol (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-03-11-danish-tv-channel-sorry-for-using-assassins-creed-screenshot-to-illustrate-syria-news-report) :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 12, 2013, 08:21:50 AM
Be thankful harv, GAF is seriously full of gaming nerds who really need to get out a bit more.. cant believe you are were even a member... I mean, I know your a bit of a nerd.. but these people take it to the extremes.


Well.. managed to do the tutorial on SimCity last night - still not able to start a game though - will give it another go tonight.

So went back to Resonance of Fate - started a new game + on same difficulty (apparently there are 10 different difficulty levels to the game, I find it hard to believe that anyone has actually done all 10)... you unlock new difficulties after each game complete.  So working my way through the chapters, I've kept all my levels and equipment (and also kept my black hexes - so unlocked Neverland now).. not even finding I need to do any scratch damage on the early chapters lol... you do lose access to the arena ranks.. but you dont lose your arena progress.. but Im now gold star on the first 7 ranks.  - so thats 70 out of the 500 arena battles done - this is going to take a long time - especially when the enemies become harder and longer to take down  ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: chelseachelsea on March 12, 2013, 12:54:36 PM
Definitely a bunch of spotty virgins who never see daylight.

For some reason when I read that, I immediately thought of Ross.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 12, 2013, 08:48:12 PM
Played a few hours of SimCity tonight - hate to say it.. but its great.. had to restart 3 or 4 times because I kept running out of money really early on.. but I was making mistakes in what I was buying.

Started a small city.. ok the city size limits are nowhere near the size of previous installments but theres so much more going on (or at least it seems like there is).. I haven't really noticed the size yet.. although my city is still quite small... seems to me though that the sims just like to piss and moan about everything in this one.. they want a school, so I save up and buy the school.. it gets full enrollment within a day so I have to buy classroom extensions for it.. after that they moan about not having a high school... and only having one fire engine in my fire station.. its only a small city... so I raised the taxes really high and really gave them something to moan about LOL.  Least it means I can give them what they want.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 12, 2013, 09:50:17 PM
I have to say out of the 6 Bit Trip games the original, Bit Trip Beat, is the best. In terms of gameplay and use of 3D. I was expecting the others to be just as trippy as the first but they're nowhere near the level of Beat. Still, all are pretty decent and definitely worth 8 quid for the lot.

Got too many games to buy this month - Monster Hunter 3G Ultimate 3DS, Monster Hunter 3G Ultimate Wii U, Need For Speed Most Wanted for the Wii U, Luigi's Mansion 2 for the 3DS, Lego City Chase Begins for the 3DS and Lego City Undercover for the Wii U. Not going to be able to afford all of them at once so will have to stagger my purchases over a few months. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 15, 2013, 12:14:16 AM
Addicted to SimCity now - no problems at all getting on tonight - steadily building my city up.. went from 5,000 residents to 40,000 residents in a few hours.. huge demand for residental and industry but Im holding off growing too quickly (havent hit the boundries just yet and about 5 hours in)... just had a bit of a panic scenario where my city grew a little too big suddenly and I then started having brownouts, sewage spillages and low water supply.. and loads of people left my city.. fuckers!!  Had to borrow some money and build a water plant, loads more wind farms and a new sewage treatment facility, so the next hour or so will be spent paying off that debt.  Am gonna have to "go nuclear" soon though, the electric is only just holding out (definitely cant expand much further)...and solar energy is just shit... but I need educated residents before I build a power plant.. otherwise it'll likely have a meltdown at some point... got 2 pre-schools, a high school and a college... so university next.. and then I think I'll be ready for the nuke.

Also had my first natural disaster (hurricane) which moved dangerously close to my most expensive building at the time (college) but luckily it only wiped out a few houses and some roads.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 15, 2013, 12:39:19 AM
Reviews for Lego City Undercover have started to come in and have been impressive for the most part. Some have complained about long loading times and some framerate issues but those will probably be fixed with a patch I would have thought. Managed to pre-order it for £24 due to a Zavvi cock up, so knowing their shit dispatch and delivery times I'll probably get it a few days late. Still, can't complain too much at that price! 8) ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 15, 2013, 03:47:05 PM
I think the fact it has no co-op play in it whatsoever will put quite a few people off as well I'd think - stupid idea to be honest.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 15, 2013, 09:38:24 PM
No co-op? Nah, that can't be right, surely? :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 16, 2013, 12:43:35 AM
Yup, a bit of an odd decision tbh, but it should still do gangbusters despite that. Who in their right mind wouldn't want to play a Lego GTA..? :o 8)

So glad I managed to get it for £24 ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 18, 2013, 08:18:30 AM
I'd probably pick it up 2nd hand.. would never buy it new.. the lack of a movie franchise tie-in and the lack of co-op puts me off it more than any of the previous lego games.  Read the edge review.. makes sense to me.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 18, 2013, 09:46:40 AM
If I had a U I'd definitely be wanting Lego Undercover, as I love all of the Lego games (and most GTA-style games). Surprised there's no co-op, though. There's not many games I play co-op, but I've always liked that friends and family can easily drop in and out of the Lego games.
I always wait until the Lego games have been out for about a year before getting them, though - wait 'til they're about £15.
So whilst the U now has one exclusive that I'd like to play, I wouldn't be getting the game any time soon so still see no reason to buy it.




No, Harv, don't bother trying to tell me to get one. I've just told you that I like the Lego games but wouldn't pay more than £15 for one - so I'm definitely not interested in paying £200 to play one.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 18, 2013, 11:59:56 AM
Anyone seen any reviews of the new Walking Dead game yet? (The FPS, unrelated to the episodic thing by Telltale.)
Comes out this week, and looks good on trailers and screenies, but it's always worrying when a game's still got no reviews (and pretty much no solid previews) by the time it comes out...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on March 18, 2013, 02:26:01 PM
It's bound to suck... which I'm sad about because Daryl is easily one of the best characters from the show. I expect it'll still sell some though off the back of the TV show.

Guess I'll just have to wait for Season 2 of Telltale's game. Apparently more characters from the TV show could appear.  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 18, 2013, 04:45:33 PM
Looks like you'll be able to nab yourself one of the following, Kieron:
Battlefield 3 (Standard Edition)
Bejeweled 3
Dead Space 3 (Standard Edition)
Mass Effect 3 (Standard Edition)
Medal of Honor Warfighter (Standard Edition)
Need For Speed Most Wanted (Standard Edition)
Plants vs. Zombies
SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition


"Compensation" for anyone who has activated Sim City already, or activates it in the next few days.

EA (http://www.ea.com/news/for-our-patient-and-amazing-mayors---a-free-pc-download-from-origin-)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 18, 2013, 04:49:20 PM
I'm waiting for reviews but have read some encouraging info over the last few days about it. It turns out that they're taking a similar approach to the game that Ubisoft Montpellier have taken with ZombiU - ammo is scarce, one or two zombies can be a real threat to survival and there's no auto regenerating health either so the game's going to be a challenge in places. I wish more FPS games ditched auto regenerating health in favour of health packs, makes for a better game imo.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 19, 2013, 07:47:10 AM
Looks like you'll be able to nab yourself one of the following, Kieron:
Battlefield 3 (Standard Edition)
Bejeweled 3
Dead Space 3 (Standard Edition)
Mass Effect 3 (Standard Edition)
Medal of Honor Warfighter (Standard Edition)
Need For Speed Most Wanted (Standard Edition)
Plants vs. Zombies
SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition


"Compensation" for anyone who has activated Sim City already, or activates it in the next few days.

EA (http://www.ea.com/news/for-our-patient-and-amazing-mayors---a-free-pc-download-from-origin-)

Yeah, just received the email today - you have up to the 26th March 7am to activate your game to get the free game - Im actually quite happy with the selection..

I've already got BF3, PvZ and SimCity 4 and played NfS : MW.
Not interested in Bejeweled 3 or Mass Effect 3 or MoH

So that kinda only leaves Dead Space 3 - however Im tempted more by re-purchasing SimCity 4 Deluxe - as my physical disk no longer seems to install (plus its only standard edition) and I think I'd rather play DS3 on the 360... its quite a good deal if anyone is tempted to play SimCity - not only is it highly addictive but I havent had any server problems since the first day now and I'll get a free game  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 19, 2013, 10:10:15 AM
Think Im going to go back to Dead Island at the weekend.. just realised that the next installment (Dead Island Riptide) is out next month - and I did really enjoy the first one (until it crashed and corrupted my save file)... I hope they have made the numerous improvements the first game needed to become a great game but judging by the gameplay videos it looks incredibly like its the same..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 19, 2013, 05:37:15 PM
Think Im going to go back to Dead Island at the weekend.. just realised that the next installment (Dead Island Riptide) is out next month - and I did really enjoy the first one (until it crashed and corrupted my save file)... I hope they have made the numerous improvements the first game needed to become a great game but judging by the gameplay videos it looks incredibly like its the same..

Ever since my save towards the end of the first Tomb Raider on the PS1 got corrupted I always stagger my saves when possible just in case. It's bloody infuriating :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 19, 2013, 08:04:19 PM
As do we all. When it let's you...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 20, 2013, 12:30:57 AM
Omfg, I've just managed to beat Omicron, the third out of four levels on the Wii U SKU of Nano Assault. If there's two things you can guarantee with Shin'En's games they a) always look great and b) are always a challenge.

Still nowhere near beating any of my friends' high scores though which is annoying lol. The difficulty difference between two and three is insane...hate to think what 4 is like lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 20, 2013, 12:07:20 PM
Downloaded Dead Space 3 as the free game in the end.. I just thought I wouldnt play SimCity 4 when I now have the newer version... had my city up to around 120k residents and gave up.. I'd fucked things up so badly during mid-game and expanded too rapidly and my budget just went way out of control, any changes I was making seemed to have very little effect and I was just sat there thinking - what the hell do I do next?? 

So I started again and sure I've found 2 bugs in my new city. 

1) No air, land, water or waste pollution but EVERYONE is complaining my whole city is germy... I had air pollution before I even started laying stuff and fixed it by bunging a load of forests at the bottom.

2) I started a challenge which gave me some simoleons if I could collect a load of garbage in time.. I did this task, but all my residents started complaining at the amount of waste that was piling up.. so I increased garbage collection 5-fold.. I had zero garbage in my city and the protestors kept protesting about the amount of garbage even though there weren't any... in the end, I got a tool-tip from the city hall saying to increase my garbage dump zone - which I totally didnt need to do because it wasnt even a 1/10 full... doing this though stopped the protestors almost immediately..

I've also seen other bugs - commerical complaining there are no shoppers whilst at the same time praising me for the amount of shoppers they have... industrial complaining there is nowhere to send their freight - even though the newly built trade depot with increased freight storage is sitting right next to them !!!  Its a shame really - hope they sort some of these things out soon.. its frustrating when you know your doing everything right and cant fix your city :(

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 21, 2013, 09:51:41 AM
Anyone seen any reviews of the new Walking Dead game yet? (The FPS, unrelated to the episodic thing by Telltale.)
Comes out this week, and looks good on trailers and screenies, but it's always worrying when a game's still got no reviews (and pretty much no solid previews) by the time it comes out...

Looks bloody terrible IMO.. the AI is supposed to be incredibly bad - not that I have ever seen The Walking Dead nor want to... as a game, it just screams out that its a cheap, tacky licensed game....if you just wanted an open-world zombie game, despite all its shortcomings I'd still recommend Dead Island.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 21, 2013, 02:45:00 PM
I've seen 2 reviews so far, 3/10 and 4/10. :o

Such a shame because it could have been awesome >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 21, 2013, 03:27:22 PM
Shame. I had high hopes but low expectations. It's always a worry when a publisher doesn't send out review copies before a game's launch.
Like Sim City.
And Colonial Marines.














And Bioshock Infinite...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 21, 2013, 07:38:15 PM
Has Bioshock Infinite been released yet..? I was beginning to think it was Vapourware lol

The Steam-esque sales in the Wii U eShop are continuing and this time for retail games available through digital distribution. Can't believe that Nintendo of all platform holders have been the first one to get their eShop right. They've even convinced the German censorship board to allow purchases of 18 rated games 24/7 because the Parental Controls system is 100% robust! :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 21, 2013, 10:45:01 PM
Bioshock Infinite is out on the 26th. Nobody has been given a review copy except IGN - who were given exclusive review rights, presumably for a fee so their review will be totally biased. That review is due in a few hours' time.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 22, 2013, 11:24:01 AM
Well bollocks, it's still vapourware until it's on shop shelves lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 22, 2013, 11:44:22 AM
Loads of review sites had SimCity before launch.. they even had an open beta and tons of gameplay videos before launch.. its just all the server issues weren't sorted out before it went live... hence why some sites gave it a relatively low score and others gave it a normal score.. for me its a good 82/100... if you look past the server issues it had at the beginning its got quite a few bugs/quirks in it which kinda water down the whole simulation aspect.. plus it has a few features missing (subways, larger cities, etc)... its still very addictive though and I've even installed it at work now lol.  The always online features are quite good in relation to the game, although I would of preferred them to of tailored the game to single player mainly.

To be honest, I'd agree with the argument that it was initially engineered as a free-to-play game which evolved into a payable game - hence why some of the simulation just isnt realistic and why its been tailored to always-online.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 22, 2013, 11:55:22 AM
Gameplay videos are of limited value. We saw "gameplay" videos of Colonial Marines. They turned out to be faked, but everyone published them in good faith.
Of course Maxis/EA didn't publish gameplay vids showing the traffic being completely borked, the servers being horrendous to connect to, the RCI balancing being screwed, or the inter-city trades etc. being broken - nobody would expect them to highlight the game's problems. They showcased the good parts of the game, as you'd expect - so gameplay vids aren't worth much.
And review sites that had a copy before launch couldn't actually play them, because the servers were only enabled on launch day. A few journalists had played the game before launch, but only in a closed door session on a private server - which meant they had no connection problems and had bigger city limits (the two main problems most people have had with the game). They were effectively playing a game that's different to the one released.

My point was that it's often not safe to preorder games these days, as you can't be sure how good the game is or how well it'll play, and I'll maintain that SimCity falls firmly in that category. I'm certain there's a gem of a game in there, and I'm still tempted to get it - but the problems it's suffered definitely mean it's not the same game they were trying to get us all to preorder, and if I'd had it on day one I would've been furious. (Perhaps not as narked as Francis (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9VClRhU404), but pretty angry all the same...)


I wanted to stay away from IGN's review of Bioshock Infinite (http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/03/22/bioshock-infinite-xbox-360ps3-review), on the basis it's got a good chance of being biased - but I couldn't resist having a quick look. Pleased to see it's scored very highly :D
There's been a lack of reviews, and a LOT of good pre-order bonuses - and both of those are usually signs a game isn't going to live up to it's hype, but this might be the exception.

I'm nearly finished Sleeping Dogs now. Have finished the stories and the races, and have collected all the collectibles, etc.
Still a few things to wrap up - a handful of cars and clothes still to buy, and a few fight clubs to beat, etc. but there's not much left to do.
Fantastic game - I highly recommend it to everyone (except Harv*). It's a serious contender at the top of the open world sandbox genre, duking it out with GTA and Saints Row, and in some respects beats both of those franchises...

Next game for me might be "Catherine". Picked it up cheap, and it gets high reviews, but it looks a bit weird - like you'd probably ask for a paper bag to hide it in before walking out of the shop with it...  :-\
Time will tell.




* Sorry - it doesn't have Mario or any horsies, and you control it with a game controller rather than a magic wand and/or a touchscreen.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 22, 2013, 12:03:27 PM
Well Simcity did have an open beta.. it just had server issues - so prehaps it was quite indicative of the final version lol

I remember seeing Catherine in blockbusters when it first came out.. definitely looks weird.. from what I can remember its a sexed up japanese game where you have to decide between two women and then you start having vivid dreams in which you get beaten up by one of them.. or something like that ??

I'll probably get Sleeping Dogs at some point.. no time soon though, should have the new Gears game when I get in tonight and Army of Two by next week - so plenty to keep me busy.. its ALL about SimCity at the moment.. I started a public game last night called Simbuktu  ;D - just to see how I get on.. but nobody had joined by the time I went to bed, so prehaps theres too many games going on at once - I dunno.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 22, 2013, 12:20:12 PM
Damn but I've made the convo a bit disjointed by editing my last post at the same time you were typing your response.
My bad.
I forgot about SimCity's open beta.

I still maintain I wouldn't have been happy had I preordered it, though.

And the Francis video link I inserted is definitely worth a look if you haven't seen it already. Dude's not happy at all, lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 23, 2013, 01:33:27 AM
Catherine is some batty shit. So far it seems to be a mash up of a jap dating game and qbert... ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 23, 2013, 09:37:25 PM
So true lololol (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9dg8PI2sEg) :o ;D ;D ;D :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 24, 2013, 03:53:19 PM
I was doing so well on my 3rd real attempt at a city - but gonna have to restart again...

Lessons learnt this time around :

Dont make too many intersections in your main roads.. the traffic backed up so much - everything was literally at a standstill.. I had to reload the city to unblock everything but it all started to back up again.

RCI balancing.. this part of the game is so hard to get right because everything depends on everything else - its a really fine balance that I've struggled to obtain in any of the cities I've built so far - the info help pop-ups are so useless and often give you unhelpful advice.

Dont make big hospitals, police stations and fire stations just because you can.. they are a massive drain on money - especially with a university too... almost seems like you need to depend on your neighbours services some of the time.. which is total bollocks.

Dont start smashing loads of skyscrapers/office blocks to do a big re-zone - I was up to 230k population and went down to 110k by rezoning about 4 blocks worth - this in turn pushed me into -15,000k per hour and it was only a matter of a few minutes before I bit the dust - wasn't so long ago I had over a million simoleons and had started a global project :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 24, 2013, 04:56:20 PM
Blimey, someone on another forum I frequent is 9 hours into Lego City Undercover at 10% :o

I love games that are good value for money! ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on March 24, 2013, 11:28:04 PM
Platinum'd Shift 2...Tough one that was...That makes 48 now.

Great game, but that trophy list whacks it out of you, definitely had enough of the game come the end of it all.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 25, 2013, 09:09:05 AM
Dont know why you bother ross, Shift 2 was boring as hell.. why would you bother putting yourself through that  :o I'll get the achievements, but only if a game is fun and wont eat into too much of my time... got half way with the achievements in shift 2 myself - and even that felt like a slog.


I started Gears of War : Judgement at the weekend - feels more like a massive piece of DLC rather than its own game.. the gameplay is the same as normal but the campaign doesnt flow like a normal campaign.. each chapter of the story is split into missions - and each mission is just a setpiece really and you go from mission to mission.  Each mission is score based too and you can declassify each mission (which makes it harder in some way) to increase your score multiplier.  I dunno, the way its set out feels more linear - even though if all the missions were joined together - it would be no more linear than normal.. its weird - but ultimately its still quite fun so I do like the game.. apparently the whole game is quite short - which is not good though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 25, 2013, 09:30:04 AM
Ordered Bioshock Infinite yesterday.
I generally don't like to preorder a game, especially one that's not been reviewed by anyone yet (other than the IGN exclusive) but I figure they're unlikely to completely screw up Bioshock - and at £29.99 (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/bioshock-infinite-29-99-simply-games-xbox-360-playstation-3-stock-now-1506933) for the console version the price was good.
Release date is tomorrow. I imagine my copy will arrive a day or two after that, but you never know.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 25, 2013, 09:41:57 AM
Bugger thats a good price... I've got to resist and wait until I've got time to play it... least you can let us know what its really like late  :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 25, 2013, 12:08:19 PM
Dispatched this morning, Royal Mail 1st class. There's a chance I might have it tomorrow... :D

I reckon I'll finish Catherine tonight. I don't like all the sim-dating stuff, but the puzzle game is actually fairly decent (though the sort of thing you might expect in an XBLA game rather than a full retail game). Last night I completed arena 6 or 7 (can't remember which) out of 8, so not far to go. It's not a game I'd recommend at over ten quid, but if you see it for around a fiver it's definitely worth a look. I paid £13.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on March 25, 2013, 05:50:38 PM
Dont know why you bother ross, Shift 2 was boring as hell.. why would you bother putting yourself through that  :o I'll get the achievements, but only if a game is fun and wont eat into too much of my time... got half way with the achievements in shift 2 myself - and even that felt like a slog.

I'm a sucker for racing games, especially sim racers...I did take a break from Shift 2 for a while because it just started to feel like too much of a slog...I like challenging Platinums that actually test your skill, which Shift 2 definitely does!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 26, 2013, 12:21:11 PM
You'd like Forza and PGR then.. have you played the Dirt games.. apart from Showdown which I haven't played, I've enjoyed them all.. far more than the NFS games anyway - Shift & Shift 2 are the worst NFS games created IMO.. they should stick to what they are good at which is arcade racing with police pursuits - The Run was OK but quite short-lived.

Achievements/Trophies should be about fun though.. I hate games that have achievements which require a lot of un-challenging gameplay to unlock - even worse - a lot of multiplayer gameplay... if you know you "can" get 100% or a Platinum.. I dont see the point in actually doing it - unless its going to fun or you really enjoy the game.. much rather jack it in and spend the valuable time I do get to play games, playing something that is going to be fun.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 26, 2013, 12:56:42 PM
Achievements have lost their appeal to me a bit, in recent years - as is demonstrated by my 980/1000 on Lego Batman 2. There's one achievement remaining - play a level co-op. Could easily do it with one of the kids, or even by turning on the second controller but not using it, but I've finished the game and done everything (apart from a co-0op level, it seems) - the game has gone to the shelf, and not many games make it back from there.

They're useful, though, on occasion, as they direct you toward things you might never have tried or noticed ordinarily. I like it when you finish a game and see there's an achievement for saving a certain person, or an achievement for seeing both endings, something like that, which makes you consider replaying a game to see some things you missed. Without those achievements being there I might never have bothered to replay the game, and would've missed out. Of course that only applies to games I enjoy. If I don't like it much I ain't replaying it to get the second ending, no matter how many achievement points you're offering me.

I generally can't be arsed with going out of my way to do legwork to get extra achievements though, once I consider a game "finished". Life's too short. I've a big stack of games I need to play - I'd rather put those in the machine than replay a game I've completed twice over just so I can find the final hidden object or two. And online multiplayer achievements can kiss my arse.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 26, 2013, 06:56:27 PM
Not too sure what's happening with Lego City Undercover...thought it was released on 22nd so sent Zavvi another snotty email but have since found that for some strange reason ShopTo decided to start selling it on the 22nd and everyone else is releasing it for sale on the 29th. Ooops lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 27, 2013, 01:42:10 AM
I bought Crimson Shroud from the 3DS eShop earlier and have just started it. The music is gorgeous, the art direction is just as good. It has turn-based combat from what I remember from reviews but it does it old-school with you throwing the dice which is great. I think I'm really going to enjoy this!!! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 27, 2013, 02:10:56 AM
Omfg, this game is delightfully old-school...your characters and enemies appear as those lead figures I used to buy when playing D&D and T&T when I was a kid. Fan-fucking-tastic!!! :o :o :o 8)

Bloody hell, this really is a game for those of us that grew up in the 70s and particularly the 80s. Outfuckingstanding!!!!! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 27, 2013, 09:19:19 AM
... D&D and T&T when I was a kid...
Snigger.
Please tell me you have to roll dice - verify that mental image we have of you.



Well done simplygames.com. Ordered Bioshock Infinite on Sunday evening, got it yesterday, on release day.
Didn't get much time to play it, mind. Had about an hour between dinner and the footy, and didn't get a chance to play it later, but I'm loving the little bit I've seen so far.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 27, 2013, 10:01:04 AM
No, this is the image I have of harv... its been burned into my mind

(Perhaps not as narked as Francis (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9VClRhU404), but pretty angry all the same...)

 ;D ;D

Guy at work got Bioshock Infinite yesterday too, he says its quality... will pick it up sooner rather than later.. maybe next month.

Army of Two :TDC got dispatched yesterday - hope I get it today.. got a mate coming over tonight for a gaming sesh.. otherwise we'll be starting Gears in co-op, the mission mode in the new Gears is growing on me a lot now.. although the game still feels a bit weird without playing as Marcus or Dom.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 27, 2013, 10:16:23 AM
Yup, already said you have to roll dice. That's part of what makes it so cool...although I'd prefer it if the controls for that were different - you use the stylus to do it, and I'd prefer to shake the actual 3DS. Still, pretty cool all the same. :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 27, 2013, 11:43:18 AM
Battlefield 4 is looking great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=U8HVQXkeU8U (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=U8HVQXkeU8U)

Expected to release on pc, ps3, and xbox360 in Autumn this year. Not on the Wii U, though, because it doesn't have any ponies or Italian plumbers in it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 27, 2013, 12:13:18 PM
Wont be buying BF4 unless they change the multiplayer so that they re-introduce bots and allow private servers - in fact, I'd actually just prefer they didnt bother wasting time making a campaign mode and concentrated all their efforts into making the best and fully featured multiplayer game possible.  The video does look good, but its running on a high end pc.. the graphics wont look anywhere near as good on the 360/PS3.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 28, 2013, 07:53:00 PM
Hmmm...after years of despising turn-based games I'm seriously considering buying Fire Emblem after all of the good reviews it's getting. Going to download the demo later and have a look-see. It's an SRPG too, and I'm really not a fan of strategy games.

In advance I'm thinking Crimson Shroud might have ruined what little enjoyment I had with turn-based combat - not going to be the same without seeing D&D lead figures and rolling dice lol :P Can't believe how cool this game is, it's bringing back my geeky 7-14 year old self :-[ ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 28, 2013, 09:03:22 PM
Bought Hitman Absolution and Dishonored today.



Stop buying games, Late...

Great prices though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 28, 2013, 10:01:05 PM
Need to start paying off my credit cards soon but there's loads of games I want to buy:

Crimson Shroud - bought
Lego City Undercover - bought
Lego City Chase Begins (3DS) next month
Monster Hunter 3G Ultimate Wii U
Monster Hunter 3G Ultimate 3DS
Luigi's Mansion 2 3DS
Need For Speed Most Wanted Wii U

Ordered Lego City Undercover from Zavvi so I'll probably get it this time next year knowing them lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 29, 2013, 12:01:00 PM
Latest rumour is that Crytek are buying the Darksiders IP. A fair amount of ex-Vigil staff are working at Crytek now, including their newly appointed CEO. Darksiders II isn't available for purchase from the Wii U eShop after today so it looks like it's going somewhere, and soon.

Great news if true, it would be a waste of a good franchise if nobody picks it up!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 30, 2013, 09:12:55 PM
Finished Bioshock Infinite, and I'm a little disappointed tbh.
The game is great fun, the characters are fantastic, and the scenery is beautiful. But the story is a bit weak, the ending was somewhere between predictable and ridiculous, and the city - whilst beautiful and clever, has nowhere near the character of Rapture.
And where are the suspense and shocks? This is Bioshock. I have expectations. At the start it gets you to adjust your settings until the icon is barely visible. You expect suspense. There's none. There's one jump in the game - and it's a fairly cheap one.
And then there's the semi tower defence bit toward the end of the game. No - just no.
Now I sound a bit harsh there, because I'm stressing and highlighting the negatives - but the positives have been thoroughly covered. I did enjoy the game. Just not as much as it's predecessors.
8/10 for me. That was very nearly a 7 though..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 30, 2013, 10:19:36 PM
That's one franchise I've never been able to get into for some reason, and on paper it should be right up my street too.

Was hoping to get Lego City today but no sign of it...will probably get here on Monday. Bloody Zavvi are useless!!! :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 02, 2013, 10:01:18 AM
I finished Gears on Friday - its a good game albeit quite short.  Saying that, I'll be going back to it at some point as theres quite a lot to do and I've always liked the multiplayer aspect in it.  Also played quite a lot of NHL 13 over the easter weekend.. quite simply put - the best NHL game for over a decade. 

I always think of myself as quite a good all-rounder on all types of games and my mate who is not a gamer in the slightest was getting absolutely beasted by me when NHL 13 came out as I just generally take to games a lot quicker than other people... its all changed now though and the games are just so competitive, it can always swing either way, if anything, he's better than me now.  But we started a tournament playoff thing at the weekend with 16 teams, both ended up with 2 teams in the semi's.. I managed to knock out his New York Rangers with my favourite team - New York Islanders (won in the last 10 seconds of overtime)... but I have real trouble beating him when he plays as Dallas Stars who are in the other semi against Boston Bruins - its likely to end up being Stars vs Islanders final which are our normal match-up teams anyway - I usually lose those ties though 8)

Edit : Stars vs Islanders final - I lost 2-1, he scored in the last 2 seconds of normal time  >:(  lol - such a great game though.. started another tournament now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 05, 2013, 12:50:47 AM
Aaaaaargh!!! Lego City Undercover hasn't arrived yet...bloody Zavvi!!!

Am thinking of getting Toki Tori 2 from the Wii U eShop, looks beautiful and has had pretty good reviews so far. Have a £5 voucher to spend so it's only going to cost £6 or so. Every single one of the indie titles so far have been top-notch, very pleased with the quality of the titles available from the eShop so far, and with the unprecedented deals that Nintendo have done with Autodesk, Havok, Greenhill and Unity they'll only get better. Can't wait for the inevitable ports of PC titles from Steam.

Sony and Microsoft are both going to have to step up their game with regards to indie developers, they're getting tens of thousands of pounds worth of software and middleware free with each Wii U devkit and what's rumoured to be a 70/30 split from sales in favour of the developers. They're also allowed to set their own prices too, so you often find Steam-esque sales going on which is pretty cool. :o 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 05, 2013, 09:27:02 AM
Well I finished The Maw - its not a very long game.. interesting concept but poorly executed I think, the game is screaming out for a run button - the controls feel way too clunky.

Started Toy Soldiers, could of been a great tower defense game.. but I dont like the fact it forces you to control your own towers
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 05, 2013, 01:30:37 PM
Trailer for Cod Blops 2's new DLC map pack "Uprising" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jdJONV3KvW0).

Haven't played COD for a couple of months, now (because I had too many games to play, rather than me being bored with it or anything like that). Paid for a season pass so I'll definitely get this, but not sure if I'll be a bit rusty, or when I'll get a chance to play it.

Love that they have some great prohibition gangsters as characters in the zombie map (including Ray Liotta), but the last time they did something like this (with horror film characters) it wasn't a very good map... They've roped George A Romero in to direct this, as they did with the horror actors one.

Nice to see "Firing Range" make a return to the multiplayer game (but with a facelift). Call it lazy if you want, but a good map's a good map...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 06, 2013, 11:10:16 PM
Whoops!!! (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=534951)

That's the 'always on' rumour for the 720 pretty much confirmed. A terrible idea tbh, and if that's true then it's quite likely that the no used games rumour is true too. I can see this being a dealbreaker for a fair amount of people. :-\

A really daft decision, you can't play your 720 if your ISP is having problems and your connection goes tits up. What idiot at Microsoft thought that was a great idea for gawd's sake..?!? :o

Unbelievable. The 720 would have been an attractive console if it weren't for that given the likely retail price of the PS4. Talk aboutpshooting themselves in the foot!

Would that be a dealbreaker for you guys..?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on April 07, 2013, 08:50:06 AM
It'd be a deal breaker for me.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on April 07, 2013, 09:15:31 AM
Wouldn't really affect me in terms of connectivity as my internet is pretty much always on and the uptime is probably 99%+. Can't see it going down well generally though. Imagine being in a JRPG and nowhere near a save point when your connection drops. I assume there'll be a short window to allow you to reconnect without the game stopping, but if your router doesn't reconnect you'll be fuming!

Whichever console looks like having the better line-up will be the one I'll buy, but if Sony don't do this then that'll be a tick in their favour. I buy pre-owned from time to time and can imagine the impact it'll have on the retailers if MS stop this.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 07, 2013, 03:36:52 PM
I think Microsoft will have to think about this again and change it. The fallout on message boards all over the place is pretty negative. What idiot thought this was a good idea..? :-\ :o :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 07, 2013, 05:46:31 PM
Nobody. Which is why it's not happening.
It's a rumour - nothing more. Microsoft distanced themselves from Orth's comments (though they didn't take the opportunity to deny the rumours - they just said he's not a spokesman and his comments aren't Microsoft's comments).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 07, 2013, 11:11:15 PM
More 720 rumours (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=536163).

$500 retail price or $300 with a subscription thingummybob so it's looking like Kinect 2.0 being supplied with it. I can see the PS4 being $50 at $450 with the second SKU being $500. And more talk of always online for the 720 too. If these prices and always online/no used games rumours are true Microsoft are going to have serious problems.

Things could get interesting if Nintendo have some more 'hardcore' exclusives in the bag and they cut the price by $50. Around about now would be an ideal time for Nintendo to announce some heavy hitters from third parties as exclusives. With a price cut we could see the Wii U selling for $250/300, the PS4 for $450/500 and the 720 for $500. If Nintendo have the right sort of third party software lined up they could end up making a killing. :o

Investor's Meeting on the 24th!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 08, 2013, 04:06:31 AM
Give up, Harv. Nobody wants a Nintendo (unless it's as their second console).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 08, 2013, 08:03:58 AM
All microsoft have to do to get a successful console is do the exact opposite that Nintendo are doing with the Wii U.

See you haven't mentioned Sega cancelling Aliens Colonial Marines for the Wii U harv... you know, that game you were banging on about for ages..  ;D ;D another one bites the dust.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 08, 2013, 11:26:22 AM
Sounds like a lucky escape tbh lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on April 08, 2013, 12:32:27 PM
Platinum'd Worms : Ultimate Mayhem...Good little PSN game, took a while to actually adjust to the 3D style, since I've only ever known Worms games as 2D platformers (sort of)...Ended up being very good though, I would grab Worms Revolution but theres a bug with one of the trophies they haven't fixed almost 3 months on so I'll steer clear at the moment I think.

Takes me onto 49 Platinums now, could probably bash out whats left of Skyrim and make it 50, but I'm getting into another one of my hardcore FIFA spells right now...I'm mainly holding out for GRID 2, which is due out towards the back end of May at some point...Alot of racers have been released since GRID 1 back in 2008, but I still maintain that GRID has been the best, so GRID 2 should be amazing.

Getting to this traditional summer lull where no games get released now so gonna hammer out my backlog a bit...Still got about 8 unopened games to so might get stuck into those at some point...Sleeping Dogs next I think, meant to be excellent.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 08, 2013, 02:54:20 PM
Played through Bioshock Infinite a second time back end of last week. There were a few pretty easy achievements I'd missed, and there are a few things at the start of the story that make a bit more sense (or you understand them differently) on a second playthough. Not fussed about getting the other achievements that I missed, now - but I might play through again on hard at some point. (Or possibly on "1999 mode")
I'm fairly keen to play the first two Bioshock games again now - but I'd best continue working through the backlog instead.

Of the three games I ordered around a week ago (Hitman Absolution, Hitman Trilogy, and Dishonored) only one has arrived so far. Rather than root through the games pile I went straight into Hitman Absolution when I finished with Bioshock.
I think I played a Hitman game a long time ago. Probably the original in the franchise but I don't really remember it.
After a couple of days of thinking this one okay but fairly exasperating, I'm starting to enjoy it a lot more now - now that I'm treating it as a "stealth-em-up" rather than an shooter. It's stressed from the start that you can approach the game in any way you like, going gung-ho and killing everyone, or sneaking around and only killing the main target - but when it gives an assessment at the end of each zone it'll heavily penalise you if you've made a lot of kills, even if they're henchmen.
To get a good score I think you'd need to put a awful lot of time into the game (complete each level numerous times on normal or hard, meeting every secondary objective - which gives you a score multiplier - then replay on the hardest mode with that multiplier active) and I doubt I'll be arsed to invest enough time in the game to play it through repeatedly (that's my feeble excuse for being behind everyone on the leaderboards), but I definitely started to enjoy it last night - and found myself playing it until approx 4.30am.

Good job I'm enjoying it, really, or I'd be ruing the purchase of Hitman Trilogy. Which was ordered on the 29th, dispatched on the 30th, and hasn't arrived yet. Way to go Zavvi. Yeah, there's been bank holidays, but I should've had it by now.
I'm also still waiting on Dishonored, which was ordered from Game on the 28th and dispatched on the 29th.

Oh. I also ordered another game on the 4th. Yeah, I'm the master of restraint. "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning". Questing through dungeons, and all that shizzle, apparently. (It's like I'm a professional reviewer, isn't it...) That's not arrived yet, either, but that one's fair enough - it's only been a few days.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 08, 2013, 03:17:25 PM
So a few days ago I heard the glorious news that "Farming Simulator" is coming to the xbox360. It's what the people have been screaming out for, I'm sure you'll all agree.
The conversation soon got around to a link to this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gEJHrmliVQw) - which I'd never seen before, but have now watched about a dozen times.
Fantastic!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 08, 2013, 05:06:58 PM
I'm still waiting for Lego City Undercover to arrive, Zavvi dispatched it on 29th. They really are bloomin useless lol :o :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 08, 2013, 06:05:19 PM
I retract any bad vibe - hitman trilogy and dishonored both arrived today.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 09, 2013, 08:18:42 AM
Apparently Far Cry 3 : Blood Dragon was given a release date of May 1st by xbox.com... lol.. this game sounds so fucking bonkers its awesome... Ubisoft havent announced the game yet, so Im still erring on the side of caution that it is all just an extended April Fools joke... but a 80's style futuristic action game using the Far Cry 3 engine with voice acting of Michael Biehn of Terminator & Aliens fame will be mental!

Link (http://www.nowgamer.com/news/1879463/far_cry_3_blood_dragon_is_standalone_title_features_aliens_star.html)

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 09, 2013, 10:28:20 PM
Lol, looks like a few reviewers aren't too happy with Toki Tori 2 throwing you in the deep end. You're basically dropped into the game and don't have a clue what to do apart from press A to chirp and press B to slam into the ground.

And that's it. You have no clue what to do, you know that you have to collect these yellow things but don't have a clue what they are and what they do and there's no plot to speak of at the beginning.

You basically have to work it out as you go along. I think it's great so far, very old-school. Some reviewers are really appreciating that though.

I've got 3 things I can do with my chirps now, including getting a camera to take photos. Really enjoying this game so far.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 10, 2013, 03:34:58 PM
Think I bust FM2012... well, found a big old bug.

Was playing Luton, I went 1-0 up.. went to make a sub at 60 minutes.. and saw my best midfielder had been sent off (even though I'd just seen him playing and not seen a sending off)... Anyway, I subbed one of my other players.. and went back to the match and then realised at that point I only had 10 men... they scored to make it 1-1.. and I made a few more subs and managed to win the game 2-1.

I then went to look at how this guy got sent off.. apparently it was in the 47th minute... even though I'd seen him still playing around the 60th minute mark... and then I realised the score was 2-2 and they had scored in the 48th minute.. which again I didnt see, nor could see a replay of... so bit pissed off with that really >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 10, 2013, 08:41:37 PM
Yup, both FM and CM are a bloody nightmare to test. Way too many variables to take into account. That bug has probably been 'Closed As Not Seen' also known as 'Can't Fix Won't Fix' lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 11, 2013, 11:29:43 AM
Apparently Far Cry 3 : Blood Dragon was given a release date of May 1st by xbox.com... lol.. this game sounds so fucking bonkers its awesome... Ubisoft havent announced the game yet, so Im still erring on the side of caution that it is all just an extended April Fools joke... but a 80's style futuristic action game using the Far Cry 3 engine with voice acting of Michael Biehn of Terminator & Aliens fame will be mental!

Link (http://www.nowgamer.com/news/1879463/far_cry_3_blood_dragon_is_standalone_title_features_aliens_star.html)

Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8zh94nidjpM). (Has flashing lights and a bit of swearing.)

Looks great!
Nice to see developers tailoring a game to the old farts amongst us who were brought up in the eighties. :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 11, 2013, 12:18:40 PM
lol, told you it was bonkers... but so awesome.. cant wait to get it... I dont think its part of any DLC for FC3 so even if you still havent played FC3 - which is unforgiveable considering what an awesome game it is.... you should still be able to play Blooood Dragon!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 11, 2013, 01:36:29 PM
Aye, it's a stand alone game.
Was planning on buying Far Cry 3 at some point - when it's a bit cheaper and I've gotten through some of the backlog. Will probably do the same with this, tbh - leave it a few months 'til it's on offer.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 12, 2013, 07:51:58 AM
Well steam has given it a price of £11.99 and release date is indeed 1st May, and confirmation it is a stand-alone game - I cant wait.. Day 1 purchase for me - Rex Power Colt is the new Duke Nukem!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 12, 2013, 02:27:25 PM
Whoops!!! (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=534951)
That's the 'always on' rumour for the 720 pretty much confirmed. A terrible idea tbh, and if that's true then it's quite likely that the no used games rumour is true too. I can see this being a dealbreaker for a fair amount of people. :-\

It's a rumour - nothing more. Microsoft distanced themselves from Orth's comments (though they didn't take the opportunity to deny the rumours - they just said he's not a spokesman and his comments aren't Microsoft's comments).

lol @ Orth - who has now "parted company" with Microsoft.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 12, 2013, 06:30:37 PM
Apparently he's supposed to be a right knobhead to work with too lol.

Still, no denials from Microsoft which is worrying. Basically means that you're buggered if your ISP has problems at their end for a few hours.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 12, 2013, 10:53:19 PM
Picked up Lego City Undercover from the Sorting Office today. The bloody driver didn't bung a card through the letter box, not the first time it's happened either >:(

Played it for about 10 minutes and it's really funny lol. Music is class, your typical cop show funk. The loading times are bloody awful though, hopefully they're going to sort that out via and update. Not a dealbreaker but it's not too far off. There's jaggies all over the place too which is disappointing.

Got another guitar kit in the post today too, a Strat this time. I was getting a bit pissed off with not having a whammy bar on my SG lol ;D It's 80% set up now, need to adjust the truss rod and the action on the bridge but am leaving it to settle after bunging the strings on. 8)

Going to paint and finish my SG in the Summer, am thinking about doing a stencil of the United crest but may be a little too complicated for my first effort. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 12, 2013, 11:08:22 PM
Still, no denials from Microsoft which is worrying. Basically means that you're buggered if your ISP has problems at their end for a few hours.

Why would they deny it, they haven't even confirmed a console yet.

Sony haven't denied that their network will be subscription based next year, they also haven't denied that there will be a fee to play preowned games on their machine.. both credible rumours too. 

The only console manufacturer that should be worried is nintendo, they have released their console and still nobody is buying it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 12, 2013, 11:53:37 PM
They should deny it due to all of the bad fallout and bad press. The fact that they haven't denied it so far would, to me at least, point towards the rumours being true. The feedback on message boards EVERYWHERE has been very negative.

And they'll announce the console later this month probably.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 13, 2013, 01:43:49 PM
If they deny one rumour but not others then people will take it as"proof" that the other rumours are true. They need to do a full presentation - there's little point just denying some rumours now.

Just ignore the rumours and wait for the presser later this month...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 14, 2013, 01:17:10 PM
I really can't praise Lego City Undercover enough. I'm about 5 or 6 hours in (I think, might be more) and I haven't done 5& of the storyline yet. Definitely the best Lego game so far, hope they're going to include Super Builds in the games from now on because they're class. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 14, 2013, 01:50:47 PM
Bloody hell, just checked my system Log and I've ploughed 11 hours and 29 minutes into Lego City so far. Thought it was half that, time goes really quick when playing this game lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 15, 2013, 07:54:42 AM
Should find out a bit more about NHL 14 today... release date and new features... after playing NHL 13 loads this season - Im hoping they do something about the hitting - its very arcade like which means its not realistic in the slightest, I also hope they get a few UK teams in there even if it is just the elite league, it also needs a dump button lol - for dumping the puck in.. and also game penalties and suspensions added.


Edit : 13th September for the european launch and as thought, they are sorting out the hitting/collision to make it a bit more realistic - plus the fighting too.. because fighting does suck quite a bit.  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 15, 2013, 04:03:17 PM
NHL14 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZkDPfTbVQNg)
Clever trailer - half the time I'm not sure if I'm watching game or real life, as it keeps switching. It's clear to see, though, there's some very nice body-check action in the game!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 15, 2013, 05:26:23 PM
Yeah like I said, thats the main feature upgrade this year... the hitting and collision system... hence that trailer which is supposed to hype it up.. it is definitely a great trailer though..fistrics hit on smith is great.. its about 0:35 seconds in..  I cant wait.. I'm putting a pre-order down on that bad boy asap - bit peeved its a week before the GTA5 launch, will most definitely get overlooked.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 17, 2013, 01:57:53 PM
Nintendo's announcing some games for the 3DS this afternoon (in about an hour).
Approximately five billion sites will be showing it live.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 17, 2013, 04:36:00 PM
Thoroughly enjoyed Hitman Absolution. Decent story, good mechanics, and lots of replay value - both in completing all of the challenges in the story, and in completing (or creating) contracts.

Started on Dishonored a couple of days ago, but haven't really had a chance to have a proper go on it yet...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 20, 2013, 12:53:09 PM
Just checked my progress with the computer in the Police Station and I've been playing for 26 hours 25 minutes and have completed 25.2% of the game. As far as bang for buck goes this game is second to Monster Hunter 3G Ultimate. The game has itsdfaults but is a VERY ambitious project, particularly when you consider this was developed by Tt Fusion, the B team at Travelers tales.

If any of you end up getting a Wii U then this is an essential purchase.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 24, 2013, 12:57:25 PM
A few Wii U figures got released today after Nintendo revealed their full fiscal year profit... a profit that was made purely down to a week yen as sales were actually 2% down on the previous year where they made a massive loss and their operating income was about the same..

Nintendos original target of selling 5.5million Wii U's by the end of March ... which was then slimmed down to 4 million... managed to even miss the revised target... they actually only shifted 3.45 million - I make that about 400k sold worldwide since christmas!  :o  ;D

Now they have forecast 9 million by the end of the next financial year (April 2014).. which is even lower than harvs estimate of 10 million+ by christmas lol...

The tie ratio is apparently 3.8 games per console... although I suspect this counts games packaged in with bundles - so its really quite poor.

I cant help but think that the Wii U is going to die out even faster when the power twins come to the table, even with the release of the 1st party games  :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 24, 2013, 01:30:19 PM
My 10m+ is still very doable. Remember, I said an installed userbase over 10m. If they hit their 9m target that would make the installed userbase over 12m by the end of the financial year.

The main problem has been lack of software, but we've got Pikmin 3, The Wonderful 101, Wii Fit U, Game & Wario, Wind Waker HD, 3D Mario and Mario Kart 8 all arriving from Nintendo before the end of the year. I'm also expecting a price cut around the same time as the releases of 3D Mario and Mario Kart 8 in November.

Another problem is the lack of marketing, and what little marketing they've done so far has been pants.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on April 24, 2013, 01:31:11 PM
Cue Harv with the Danny Welback arguement "Just because the figures are shit doesn't mean he/she/it is shit"


Edit: looks like it happened quicker then I expected.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 24, 2013, 01:40:49 PM
Finished Lego City Undercover the other day, 36 hours and 20 minutes and I've only done 31% of the game. the amount of content in the game is insane. Not only is the City huge but unlike most sandbox cities you can enter some of the buildings and explore plenty of rooftops.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 24, 2013, 03:09:34 PM
There's not a single "must have" game for the Wii U. Saying "there'll be one soon" doesn't help. I was pretty sure Aliens Colonial Marines would be one. Not only was the game shit, the U version actually got scrapped. I was pretty sure Lego City Undercover would be one. It looks good, but it's not a must have. (Doesn't look much different to Lego Batman 2, tbh - which was a great game but LCU was supposed to be some innovative new leap forward for the series.) And none of the games Harv's mentioned there sounds anywhere near as appealing as those two games sounded.
I just don't see any appeal in the Wii U. If it gets a big price slash and a load of great games then maybe I'd have it as a second machine. But it doesn't look likely to get a big price slash or a load of great games.

Don't bother trying to tell me how Lego City Undercover is so much better than Lego Batman 2, unless you've completed both, Harv.
Incidentally, longevity is fairly important in a game, but just because someone takes 100 hours to complete it doesn't always mean it's a 100 hour game. Sometimes it just means that person's a bit shit at the game.
This (http://www.howlongtobeat.com/gamebreakdown.php?gameid=11571&show=Submissions) indicates it should take around 17 or 18 hours to get to the stage you're at with the game (main story complete, overall around 31% completion). Different people will naturally take different lengths of time to complete different games, but you took over 36 hours to get that far?

_____________________________________________________________


As for Nintendo's latest accounts - ouch!

I haven't seen the full figures, the highlights I've seen (a £240m operating loss but an overall profit of £47m) are bad. Looks like they're operating at a loss but managed to scrape a profit thanks to non-trading income (mainly exchange rate variations and accounting adjustments?).
If the element of your business that you're controlling is losing massive amounts of money and the element of your business that's largely out of your control* is the only part that's making money then you're surviving thanks to chance/fortune rather than good business.
Like I say, I've not looked at the figures, and the above is just an initial gut reaction...

*(and partly illusory i.e. not real cash)


My 10m+ is still very doable. Remember, I said an installed userbase over 10m. If they hit their 9m target that would make the installed userbase over 12m by the end of the financial year.
They currently appear to be selling around 150k units per month. Extrapolating that gives less than 2m units per annum. Of course, that doesn't take into account seasonal attitudes, price cuts, and increased interest in the machine as the year progresses - but if they're currently on target to sell 1.8m units in 2013 then it seems ridiculously optimistic to think they'll sell five times that...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 24, 2013, 03:56:48 PM
It's all in the software mate. The releases of those titles will increase sales considerably, particularly 3D Mario and Mario Kart 8. 3m between now and November and 4m+ is very doable. If it doesn't make 10m it won't be too far off. And like I said I'm expecting a $50 price cut anytime between August and November.

One weird thing is that Nintendo's shares are up 4% since the financial report has been released. Bit weird! :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 24, 2013, 04:39:23 PM
As for my time on Lego City Undercover a fair amount of that time has been spent driving around with the sole intentions of a) exploring the city and b) breaking as many things as possible lol. I always put more time than average into sandbox GTA-esque games and due to me having to complete games as quickly as possible during my career I always take my time to enjoy games when not working on a title. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 25, 2013, 02:14:10 PM
Blimey, Nintendo aren't having an E3 presentation :o

Guess they're going to have their Nintendo Direct doing that instead!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 25, 2013, 03:00:08 PM
LOL.. they've got fuck all to show thats why!  Plus the fact they would get absolutely trounced by the sony and microsofts conference whatever they show - it probably is pointless.

The beginning of the end.  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 25, 2013, 04:28:02 PM
Mind you, the last 2 pre-E3 Nintendo Directs were much more impressive than their E3 showings lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 25, 2013, 04:43:32 PM
Miiverse is now available on PCs and smartphones via a browser (https://miiverse.nintendo.net/titles/14866558072985609816/14866558072985609818/hot). Have linked to the most popular posts in the YouTube Community, some of the artwork is simply breathtaking. :o

Can't believe it took them so long to do it tbh, it's all done with XML so should have been easy to bring over :-\

Edit: Aw bollocks, you have to sign in to see that page :( You can still see some of the drawings by clicking on the Miiverse Main Page button.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on April 25, 2013, 11:20:57 PM
As for my time on Lego City Undercover a fair amount of that time has been spent driving around with the sole intentions of a) exploring the city and b) breaking as many things as possible lol. I always put more time than average into sandbox GTA-esque games and due to me having to complete games as quickly as possible during my career I always take my time to enjoy games when not working on a title. 8)

Lol, when was the last time you were working on a title??
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 25, 2013, 11:33:48 PM
Years ago, but my attitude to playing games when not working on them has remained the same. I always take my time playing them, particularly a game like Lego City that rewards exploration.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 26, 2013, 12:32:27 AM
Okay Ubisoft, all is forgiven. The Rayman Legends Challenge app thingummybob is awesome! I'm guessing that the Murphy parts are going to be exclusive to the Wii U SKU. Quite cool that you see ghosts of other players whilst playing. Very entertaining and very addictive. They could probably get away with releasing this as a budget standalone downloadable title. :o

A real shame they delayed it though, great use of the GamePad. Quite surprising that the best games demonstrating the use of the GamePad are third party titles...although I guess we've only seen two from Nintendo so far. ZombiU, Lego City Undercover and Rayman Legends just wouldn't/won't be the same on the PS3 and 360. I can see the latter scoring considerably higher from all reviewers without an agenda.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 26, 2013, 07:46:49 AM
Happy birthday late.. according to facebook you've officially become an old git today  8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 26, 2013, 11:01:32 AM
Happy birthday late! ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 26, 2013, 05:15:18 PM
Here's a video of the Rayman Legends Challenge app in action (http://news.softpedia.com/news/Quick-Look-Rayman-Legends-Online-Challenges-with-Gameplay-Video-348874.shtml). Very addictive!!!

Quote
Sadly, this can get a bit annoying, as you can sometime lose focus of your actual character and think you're in the lead when you're actually a bit further behind.

Only a bit annoying if you're a bit of a fuckwit with poor eyesight lol (and no, my eyesight is fine! :P ). I'm surprised that some of these journalists manage to wash, clothe and feed themselves without the supervision of a responsible adult :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 26, 2013, 07:43:14 PM
Thanks lads. Life begins here, I'm told. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 29, 2013, 02:40:05 PM
Re: "illumiroom" which I mentioned a while back (here (http://forums.catgames.biz/index.php?topic=16.msg17530#msg17530) - reply #1323)

Microsoft have now released a video explaining how IllumiRoom works:
Microsoft (Silverlight required) (http://research.microsoft.com/apps/video/default.aspx?id=191304).
alternative (youtube) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sJ4hWa6y710)


With the video being released today, and the nextbox reveal being less than a month away there's natually some rumours that it'd be supported on the new console.
It's fantastic tech - but it's not something I expect we'll see in our front rooms any time soon. They managed it in the demo by having the right room set-up, the right equipment, etc.
I don't have a coffee table or a projector, and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't get them included in a £400-£450ish xbox bundle.

I couldn't tell whether you'd need a second kinnect for this, or whether you'd just move the (presumably bundled) one you have to the coffee-table position while it maps on initial set-up. I imagine you'd be fine with just one - surely after set-up there's no need for a kinnect near the projector?

I fervently hope they continue to pursue this avenue. As technology gets smarter, smaller, and cheaper we're probably not far away from being able to put the necessary cameras and projectors into a "rubik's cube"-sized device.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 29, 2013, 03:31:40 PM
Looks pretty cool but I'd rather have some sort of headset for something like that personally. A headset would mean you wouldn't be able to see any of your surroundings and be placed directly into the game world. Something like that with full body motion tracking and remote and nunchuck clones as well as GamePad/traditional controller with touchscreen duct-taped onto it support would be awesome.

For it to be completely VR you'd also need something that allows you to walk or run, a treadmill or something. I remember seeing a giant globe thing on Dragon's Den ages ago but that would be waaaay too big to fit in your living room lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 29, 2013, 04:03:53 PM
I've not been keeping up with the Oculus Rift, but that's promising tech going down that route. Seems to be coming along nicely but it's impossible to gauge properly without trying it for yourself (or getting a review from someone you trust).

Either the IllumiRoom or the Oculus Rift would be fantastic if combined with a Falcon-style controller.


Oculus Rift (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P50fvL_EWYY)
Falcon (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ1Rz2clLS0)



Edit - did you ever see the The Gadget Show doing their Virtual Reality Gaming setup a while back? Link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg8Bh5iI2WY). Very impressive :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 29, 2013, 06:07:29 PM
There's a guy that's come up with a low cost version of Oculus Rift, works in a different way as far as I remember but works with a smartphone, lenses and stuff done from a 3D printer. Saw a demo of it on YouTube a while back, think he had Doom or Doom 2 running on it.

Lag is going to be a concern though I think, no idea how Nintendo have managed it with the GamePad.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on April 30, 2013, 12:19:51 PM
New Watch Dogs trailer and release date (22nd November :D):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nexZyCYPgio
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 30, 2013, 09:32:15 PM
Oops, looks like the WiiKey team have cracked the Wii U in about the same time it's taken to crack the 360 and Wii. Sounds like it's going to be similar to the 360 hack but using a USB dongle instead of you having to remove and mess about with the drive. Bet Nintendo are glad they've joined the 21st Century and implemented accounts lol. Expect plenty of MAC address bans soon! :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 01, 2013, 07:16:15 PM
Bah! Was getting my hopes up when I saw the start of the CoD trailer and saw ancient soldiers. It's about bloody time we saw a CoD that lets you play as a Saxon, Viking or Roman soldier. Now that we've got and are getting current gen consoles that can handle it I want to see thousands of enemies in huge battles from the past. :o

Laying siege to castles in Medieval times, jousting tournaments etc.

Give us simulations of real battles from history and allow us to change history!!! 8)

Would be pretty cool I reckon if that happened and we could have flashes forward seeing how those different results would have affected our lives today!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on May 02, 2013, 04:18:33 PM
Hey good to see you lot are still here! Forgot to log in here for ages!

Been playing Skyrim lately...about 2 years after everyone else lol. Really didn't think I would like it but I love it! Level 31 at the moment and going for the platinum but that will take a while.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 02, 2013, 04:52:17 PM
Hi Stu - you've missed nothing ;)

I must get back into Skyrim at some point. I loved it, but stopped after completing about half of the quest lines.
I'm wary though. My in-game missus will no doubt give me a bollocking for going missing for a year...


Downloaded the latest map pack for Cod Blops 2 a couple of nights ago. Hadn't played in about 3 or 4 months (and was never all that good at the game) so am a bit rusty.
Love the "Studio" map - which is the Firing Range map from Blops 1, but with a new skin - which is fine by me as it was always a good map and now it's better. "Magma" seems okay, but I only landed in that map twice so don't yet know it well.
Had half a game on the rooftop level (not sure of the name), and haven't seen the arena level "Encore" yet. Not sure if that's just bad luck, or if it's getting voted out because it's not popular.
Also had a couple of quick goes on the Zombie map - which looks fantastic, but has me pretty bloody confused so far. You spend part of your game as a ghost, shooting lightning out of your spectral fingertips, before reviving your corporeal body and playing as normal (going back to ghost if you get "killed" by the zombies). Haven't figured out the map yet, but it seems well designed - and the intro film to the level is great.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 02, 2013, 06:28:04 PM
I've been waiting for the GOTY Edition of Skyrim to appear before I play it...was expecting to have seen it before now tbh. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 02, 2013, 07:01:18 PM
You've only got a month to wait. Skyrim Legendary Edition (http://www.dealspwn.com/skyrim-legendary-edition-announced-dlc-137845) was announced a few days back. Released 7 June.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 02, 2013, 08:20:17 PM
Great stuff, took them long enough though! :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 02, 2013, 09:19:39 PM
They had to get all the dlc finished before they could do a GOTY - and that was hampered by the problems on the ps3 version.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 04, 2013, 03:15:04 AM
Ah, that explains it.

Latest rumours about the 720 are that Microsoft's first party developers are around 6 months behind schedule and that of the two SKUs being released the $299 SKU will need people to commit to a Gold subscription of $15 per month for 2 years :o

I think Microsoft have gone insane tbh :-\

They're also throwing money at third parties for exclusive games...no surprise there lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on May 04, 2013, 04:05:26 AM
Just out of interest...anyone who plays/has played Skyrim...what race were you? And what skills did you focus on?

I'm an Imperial focusing on Heavy Armor, Two Handed for close combat and Archery for ranged. Not really invested in anything else yet.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 04, 2013, 01:34:55 PM
I was a cat, just cos he looked cool. Specialised in one handed and magic. The wife was an archery expert, so useful to have around - and gave me free training which was a nice boost.
I'm a hoarder so always had loads of materials - so naturally ended doing quite a bit of smithing, and then enchanting my wares - so those skills ended up high too (and made me loads of money).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 04, 2013, 10:41:49 PM
Enchanting your wares..? Didn't realise you needed Viagra :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on May 05, 2013, 08:47:07 AM
Just out of interest...anyone who plays/has played Skyrim...what race were you? And what skills did you focus on?

I'm an Imperial focusing on Heavy Armor, Two Handed for close combat and Archery for ranged. Not really invested in anything else yet.

Elf, think i was a dark elf in fact. Archery is maxed, then one handed and magic in the other, usually fire. Think you've maybe convinced me to fire it up today. I was doing lots of side quests rather than the main story. My companion is awesome, she was part of the cannibal sect, she's a class fighter and sorceress. Oh yeah in my spare time Im also a werewolf
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 05, 2013, 12:53:03 PM
I was imperial. Specialised in one handed and magic (Like Styles I preferred fire). Was working on my archery skill.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on May 06, 2013, 08:14:04 PM
I got married to Mjoll the other day then thought it would be fun to kill her after I saved it. But she wouldn't die and kept getting back up. So does that mean I could take her on quests and she would never be killed?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 07, 2013, 08:00:48 AM
Should probably switch the 360 on soon.. havent done so for a while... might buy Bioshock this week, that will force me to... been too busy playing Football Manager.. just got Basingstoke into the Premier League lol... got to the final of the league cup before being squashed 4-0 by citeh as well.  Thats 5 promotions in 9 seasons with 3 of them being champions.. but only one cup trophy so far.

Have just picked up a code for the Alpha copy of Arma 3 though.. so I do want to give that a go tonight!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 07, 2013, 03:26:55 PM
Bethesda announced a new Wolfenstein game today - Wolfenstein - The New Order (http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/wolfenstein-the-new-order-to-bring-cyber-nazis-to-ps4-and-new-xbox-1149688) awesome - cant wait - always enjoyed the wolfenstein games but the last one was a bit of a let-down.. reminds me, I still need to finish that.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 07, 2013, 04:44:29 PM
9 minutes of footage from Shadow of The Eternals (http://www.ign.com/videos/2013/05/06/9-minutes-of-shadow-of-the-eternals), the spiritual successor to Eternal Darkness. Could be Wii U footage too, because the button prompts appear to belong to the GamePad, although I'm going to wait for official confirmation though. If that is Wii U footage rather than PC footage then we're looking at the first true 'next gen' looking title from a third party developer.

Looking fantastic, particularly the lighting and tesselation. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 08, 2013, 08:10:28 AM
Whens that coming out then harv.. 2015 ??  ;D


(Oh and by the way.. they confirmed the demo is running on CryEngine on a PC - right at the bottom (http://www.precursorgames.com/shadowoftheeternals/crowdfunding-update-1/))
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 08, 2013, 02:45:27 PM
Wow.. just read a bit more on the new Wolfenstein and it sounds excellent -

Quote
Set in the 1960s, the new game will feature series mainstay B.J. Blazkowicz, who will once again battle the evil forces of Nazi Germany. But there’s a twist - in this version of the 60s, the Nazis won World War II and have gone on to create some sort of insane robot super army. Alternate historical timeline FTW!

Link (http://uk.games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/wolfenstein-order-announced-230155451.html)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 08, 2013, 03:35:17 PM
Wolfenstein sounds right up my street, alternate timelines with the Germans winning WWII hasn't been done enough in telly, films or video games enough for me personally. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 09, 2013, 08:39:10 AM
I downloaded Far Cry 3 : Blood Dragon last night.. twas expensive at 1200.. but looks so good...

And Doritos Crash Course 2 was free.. so thought I'd grab that too...

Didnt get round to playing them though..  I tried re-starting my progress on Resident Evil 5 but gave up after 15 minutes.. I left myself with absolutely zero ammo for the start of chapter 3:1 (Marshes) - I will definitely go back to it.. but when I have a bit more time.. its gonna take a while to get past that first bit without losing too much life.    ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 09, 2013, 03:07:35 PM
Thought I saw Crash Course 2 advertised on the dash as I turned the xbox on last night, but went straight into COD so it was only on my screen for a second so I wasn't sure. Will definitely have to download that - the first one was a lot of fun. :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 10, 2013, 08:07:55 AM
Well you have to be a gold member to play crash course 2.. so I havent played it yet... will probably get a couple of months worth soon.. dont want to buy a years membership until I know whats going on with the 720.

But I played Far Cry 3 : Blood Dragon and it totally kicks ass... so many 80s movie references (and a few game references) in there.. it draws mostly from Terminator.. but also a lot from Predator too but I've seen Rambo, Robocop and a few others too... its also very funny.. the dialogue is hilarious... I think it helps playing Far Cry 3 first certainly as I didnt have to worry about getting to grips with how things work as the gameplay is all very similar... The blood dragons are immense.. humungous lizards who roam the landscape kicking the shit out of everything in their path.. I managed to kill one last night - but it took absolutely ages... definitely recommend this game... this is how DLC should be done!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 11, 2013, 09:24:31 AM
Wow, blood dragon is so awesome, finished it this morning, probably took about the best part of 5-6 hours, the 80s movie references just kept coming, there is an epic rocky part to the game towards the end that's just to awesome for words. The one liners come thick and fast too - if they don't produce a full game featuring rex power colt, it would be a crying shame - he's the new duke nukem!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 11, 2013, 01:51:24 PM
Just started Far Cry 3 about 10 minutes ago. If I enjoy it I'll definitely get Blood Dragon.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 12, 2013, 05:19:07 PM
Yeah I wouldnt really recommend Blood Dragon if you dislike FC3 - but personally, FC3 was my FPS of last year.. fantastic game.. dont know how anyone could really not enjoy it... just a shame theres not a lot to do after you've finished the mammoth sized campaign and all the quests.  I guess the main story in Blood Dragon isn't that long.. but it has Predator/Hunter challenges and also collectibles which I pretty much enjoyed from FC3 as well.. so again, if you find those bits boring, you might want to read a few more reviews before buying.

Bought (a preowned) Bioshock Infinite for £25 the other day (impulse buy really - could of probably got it cheaper).. Played for about 90 minutes this morning and enjoying it so far.. although it is feeling quite restrictive and linear so far.. but then I guess the other 2 were the same... the environments are great though, one thing they always seem to nail.  Be doing a cull of my games after I finish Bioshock.. quite a big cull if the rumours that there wont be any backwards compatibility in the 720 are true.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 12, 2013, 09:57:13 PM
Wasn't too sure about getting Far Cry 3, as I hated Far Cry 2. Glad I got it in the end, though. Loving it completely.
Did the first very short mission (of 34 I think), which was unavoidable, then went off and did my own thing for a long while. Racked up around seven hours just exploring, liberating camps, and upgrading equipment, and I've only seen a fraction of the island so far. Will have to get a bit of the campaign done now - some of the areas I'm getting into now are a bit tricky, but should be much easier once I've obtained new equipment, recipes, etc. I'll get from the story.

Damn but I love a well structured and constructed open world :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 13, 2013, 08:12:38 AM
 ;) Told ya.. the only part of FC3 that grinded on me (after a while) was the delay in getting the map/menus up when pressing Select/Start... and having to make potions with fucking flowers... becomes a bit tedious after 30-50 hours which the game will easily take you... thankfully, Blood Dragon did away with a potion type of system.. your just a badass in Blood Dragon.

Saying that.. its hardly a massive thing.. your in for a treat with FC3, the campaign is excellent, mainly helped by Vaas who is probably one of the best scripted character I've seen in a game for a long time.. so savour his craziness lol.


So far so good on Bioshock.. did another hour last night.. slightly concerned theres been no mention of any Big Daddys yet though :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 13, 2013, 03:20:51 PM
Only real problems I've had with Far Cry 3 so far are it's a bit buggy from time to time.
Fell through the map yesterday, and my character was waving his arms and legs around as he fell through nothingness. Did a fast-travel to a safe house to get out of that, and he ended up levitating in the safehouse with his arms and legs waving around - which was amusing. (Sorted by a restart.)
I also don't like the driving - but that's just a personal thing. Never have liked first person driving - I much prefer when a game switches to third person when you get in a vehicle.

I don't mind the flowers thing so much. It's definitely a damned site better than that annoying bloody antivirus thing you had to do in FC2. And I've got my backpack fully upgraded, so at least those flowers aren't taking up much space now. (Doubt there's many people started mission 2 with most of their equipment fully upgraded.)


I'll keep quiet on Bioshock Infinite - don't want to post any accidental spoilers. Suffice to say I enjoyed it, but I definitely preferred Rapture and it's inhabitants.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on May 15, 2013, 03:05:19 AM
Finished Doom 1, nostalgia factor was OK for about an hour or so, but I just got bored and wanted to finish the game...Bit of a slog in the end, but wiped up all the trophies for it, so will move onto Doom 2 at some point...Won't be anytime soon though.

Got Dishonoured, Hitman HD Trilogy and Resistance 3 today...All for under £50 collectively. Bargain. Will start something new this week I think, Sleeping Dogs most likely.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 15, 2013, 04:57:58 PM
The demo of Revelations is up for the Wii U, not sure if it's available on the PS3 and 360 yet but if it is then download it and give it a go. It's the first decent Resident Evil game since Resident Evil 4. Going to be interesting to see what changes they've made to the ship layout for those of us that have played the 3DS SKU. It's worth buying for RAID mode alone, and I'm really hoping they're going to include a Mercenaries mode too. I love Mercenaries mode in Resident Evil games ;D 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 15, 2013, 07:17:47 PM
Best thing about the game is that they're unlocking the hardest difficulty level right from the start, the last 3 Resident Evil games (4 if you include Revelations on the 3DS) have been way too easy until you complete the game and unlock the hardest difficulty level. Once you do that they're on a par with the first 3 games where you need to fire a few shots and then take a few steps back. Being able to move and shoot at the same time kind of takes the stress out of things though which is a shame.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 17, 2013, 11:58:43 PM
Forgot how insane Infernal difficulty was lol. :o ;D

Turns it into a proper Resident Evil game, the fuckers eat bullets and shot for breakfast and just keep on coming. Good to see from the trailer that they've improved the eye candy of the final product, wasn't too impressed by the eye candy in the demo.

Am still in two minds whether to double dip on this though because they've left the layout of the ship the same by the sound of it which is a bit disappointing tbh. Still, if you haven't played Revelaitons on the 3DS then this is an essential purchase, it pisses all over 5 and 6. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on May 18, 2013, 04:18:53 PM
EA announce no FIFA 14 for the Wii U as well as having no games in development for it. LOL #AbandonShip
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 18, 2013, 05:04:35 PM
No surprise there, they're still having their hissy fit over Origin.

They're going to be forced to change their tune with regards to Wii U support before the end of the year by shareholders after the releases of Wii Fit U, Pikmin 3, The Wonderful 101, Wind Waker HD, 3D Mario, Mario Kart 8 and whatever surprises they have up their sleeves for release this year give the Wii U an installed userbase over 10m.

What I'd like to see them do is release their own football, American football, golf and boxing simulations. The first 3 won't have thejlicencing that their EA Sports counterparts have but those sims, each with the usual standard of Nintendo polish, would certainly be great to play. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on May 19, 2013, 12:41:48 AM
So, Harv once claimed that pointer controls were the future of football games, and lo and behold, we sit here under the annoucement that there won't even be a 2014 edition of FIFA for the Wii U.  :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 19, 2013, 10:01:23 AM
No great loss, the touchscreen was a poor substitute for pointer controls anyway. Hopefully Konami are going to do something decent with Pro Evo. It's been the better football game for years in terms of realism anyway thanks to pointer controls. A hybrid of pointer controls and the touchscreen allowing on-the-fly changes to tactics will be awesome, hopefully they're going to continue with pointer controls.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 19, 2013, 03:54:15 PM
Pro Evo hasn't been the better football game for years. FIFA has eclipsed it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 19, 2013, 04:54:35 PM
Depends on what you want from a football game mate. If you want realistic football then go for the Wii SKU of Pro Evo, if you want shite AI and players not making realistic runs down the right channels then go for FIFA. Since the Wii SKU of Pro Evo implemented pointer controls it pisses all over FIFA in terms of it being a sim. Any goal you see on Match Of The Day can be created in Pro Evo with a bit of skill. Your attacking options are far superior.

Unfortunately it doesn't translate well to a second screen so I'm hoping Konami keep the pointer controls for the Wii U SKU of Pro Evo.

FIFA is more of an arcade game in comparison tbh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on May 19, 2013, 10:17:49 PM
Agree Chris. Pro Evo has been dogshite since about Pro Evo 6. FIFA is the king of football simulation.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 19, 2013, 10:29:52 PM
The AI isn't anywhere near good enough for it to realistically be referred to as a simulation. I guess it's the closest you're going to get on the PS3 and 360 though. All you need to do is watch a real football match and then play FIFA to see how bad it is. Unfortunately I can see Konami ditching pointer controls for the Wii U. >:(

You simply don't have enough attacking options playing FIFA for it to be called a simulation, and the runs that players make aren't intelligent enough.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 19, 2013, 10:50:20 PM
(http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_maaotn0XSr1rpfb9zo1_500.gif)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on May 19, 2013, 11:53:13 PM
No time for kiddy consoles bud. FIFA - best football simulation. <3
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 20, 2013, 12:48:51 AM
You're really missing out mate, the attacking options really are ridiculous. Playing FIFA after experiencing Pro Evo with pointer controls is a major step down. You keep on wanting to click and drag players to give them decent runs off the ball lol ;D ;D ;D

Crappy AI has always been a MAJOR bugbear of mine for football games.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 20, 2013, 07:57:57 AM
It was only a matter of time.. harv buries head in sand again  ::)

You did buy Fifa for Wii U launch harv may I remind you.. if the Fifa franchise has been so shit for ages.. why did you buy it?  ;D 
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 20, 2013, 12:52:50 PM
I didn't buy it in the end because the pointer controls don't translate well to a second screen. That's why I'm hoping that Pro Evo for the Wii U has hybrid controls. The advantage with touchscreen controls is that you have plenty of tactical options available without pausing the game, something that's always annoyed me with football games, particularly local multiplayer where your opponent can immediately see what changes you're making. Plus it's tiresome waiting for your opponent to finish fucking about and restart the game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on May 20, 2013, 11:07:32 PM
You don't even really own a wii u do you?!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 20, 2013, 11:53:38 PM
Like anyone would pretend to have one.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: chelseachelsea on May 21, 2013, 12:11:21 AM
Like anyone would pretend to have one.

Styles has 2, one for each of his faces................. ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 21, 2013, 07:57:17 AM
I didn't buy it in the end because the pointer controls don't translate well to a second screen.

I see.. you did say..

Tried the FIFA 13 demo and it's not bad, the new control scheme is going to take a bit of getting used to but the option is there to play with normal controls for those that want to. Free kicks and penalties are greatly improved with the new controls, not totally sold on the new shooting though. It's more accurate but it takes a while for the brain to kick in when using it.

Graphically you can certainly notice the picth and crowd being twice the resolution compared to the PS3 and 360 SKUs, am definitely going to buy it.

 ;D ;D

Not that I care what Wii U games you waste your money on.. but you cant say we didnt warn you about what is happening to Nintendo and third parties.



I finished Bioshock the other night.. the ending is great.. but still feel the game is a bit of a disappointment compared to the previous two - I probably wont replay it - nor bother with 1999 mode - shame really.

Started on my backlog.. Wolfenstein up first.. dont know why I stopped playing it.. there are a few annoyances.. such as respawning enemies and the graphics arent the best.. but its not terrible to play.  Afterwards Im going to go for Eternal Sonata or FFXII-2.. get one of my many unfinished RPGs out of the way.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 21, 2013, 02:20:15 PM
I finished Bioshock the other night.. the ending is great.. but still feel the game is a bit of a disappointment compared to the previous two - I probably wont replay it - nor bother with 1999 mode - shame really.
Yeah, I'm about the same. Thought it was a very good game, but not as good as the first two.
I did play through it twice - to get a few bits and pieces I might've missed first time 'round. A few parts made a bit more sense second time - particularly the Lutesce (sp?) "twins" and a few quotes etc. in the first quarter of the game, that are rather vague and meaningless the first time you play.

Still thoroughly enjoying Far Cry 3. I think I'm about three quarters of the way through in most aspects (including story, relics, and hunter - but I've liberated all areas, found all memory cards, and done most of the mini-games), so there's still a good few days left in it for me.

I, too, have been toying with playing Final Fantasy XIII-2, lately. It's been sat in the pile for a long while. It's such a commitment, though - if you get into it you're in for at least fifty hours. (Which ain't as much as Far Cry 3, but I didn't know that when I started it.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 21, 2013, 03:50:49 PM
I pretty much forgot a lot of what I did at the start of BioInf.. but the ending made perfect sense to me... I did check on a spoiler site afterwards just to fill in the bits that maybe I had missed in the story or not understood fully.. and its a very clever plot and story...more so than I originally thought.. Im still unsure what the Handymans role in the whole story was though (if any).   The gameplay just didnt match the story though... too much concentration on gunplay rather than plasmids/vigors and on Hard mode, the enemies didnt scale with your upgrades.. they got a lot tougher for no reason at all.. one of the boss battles (near the end) was a right pain in the ass compared to the others too.  It was all too linear for me as well.. there were no puzzles at all... I'd rather they would of made the game an RPG/Puzzle/FPS with collectibles - rather than just a straight down the middle FPS with collectibles.. the AI with Elizabeth was great though and perfectly implemented I thought.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 21, 2013, 07:59:40 PM
Spoilers below.

Elizabeth was definitely the high point. Low point for me was the complete lack of shocks and suspense. There was one jump in the game (with a baddie appearing right behind you in the warden's office near the end) and that was predictable. And I found the ending to be a heady combination of predictable staid sci-fi and complete bollocks. Was great to see Rapture again, but that just made me miss the first two games even more.

I'm emphasising the negatives there, so it sounds like I'm down on the game, but I did enjoy the game. Very much so. Just not as much as the first two.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 22, 2013, 02:24:03 AM
Apparently EA have now said that they are developing Wii U games, just not as many as they are for the PS4 and One. Looks like shareholders have been making a bit of a fuss already, wasn't expecting that until the end of the year when hardware sales are boosted by the likes of New Super Luigi U, Wii Fit, Pikmin 3, The Wonderful 101, Game & Wario, Wind Waker HD, 3D Mario and Mario Kart 8.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 22, 2013, 10:02:48 AM
Odd. They stated a few days ago that they have zero games in production.
I guess they're planning on porting one or two over to the U. They will of course be inferior.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 22, 2013, 10:11:16 AM
I was expecting them to do a U-turn though, just not this quick. And of course the games will be inferior in terms of eye candy but the difference in power between the Wii U and the PS4 and One isn't that great...the PS4 is probably going to be 3 or 4 times more powerful in terms of real-world performance. You'll see the difference between PC Medium settings and PC High or Very High settings as far as eye candy goes. Most gamers won't be able to tell the difference unless seen side-by-side, your average gamer these days tends to be intelligently challenged lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 22, 2013, 12:04:31 PM
Indeed. Just look at how many people bought a Wii.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 23, 2013, 03:40:35 PM
GTA:V Special Editions have been announced.
If you've more money than sense you can have a baseball cap, a map of the city, and a few small in-game boosts.
For only $150...

Rockstar (http://www.rockstargames.com/newswire/article/50061/announcing-the-grand-theft-auto-v-special-edition-and-collectors.html)





Has the world gone stark raving mad?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 24, 2013, 12:29:56 PM
Speaking of special editions of games, Codemasters have set a world record for the most expensive computer game in history.
For £125'000 you can buy the "Mono Edition" of GRID 2.

Includes the game on ps3, a customised console to play it on, a day trip to a car factory, a racing suit, a crash helmet...
And a lightweight race-car that'll get you from 0-60 in 2.8 seconds, and keep going until 170mph.

Stocks are limited to... erm... 1.


bac-mono (http://www.bac-mono.com/news.php)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 25, 2013, 07:46:39 PM
One benefit of owning a Wii U is that you can play games on the GamePad whilst half watching the bollocks before football matches kick off lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 26, 2013, 02:39:24 PM
Finished Wolfenstein.. love killing Nazis and its not a terrible shooter, but the gameplay was a bit shallow and the graphics were a bit pants... really looking forward to the next installment though - sounds great.

Decided to move onto Eternal Sonata on my next backlogged game to get rid of... Had it for a while now... only actually did 2hr 30mins - so this will take a while to finish probably... its the most bizarre RPG I've ever played I think... Ok so its a real-time JRPG.. about that Polish musician chappy - Chopin.. whose having a dream in the hours leading up to his death.. I think there are 8 chapters.. and each chapter is based on one of his musical scores and you get brief history lessons throughout each chapter about his life all whilst walking around this dream world.. which is full of fluffy bunny rabbits, lovely flowers.. and monsters.. weird monsters.. like goats.. with wings!!  The soundtrack is very good.. but the dialogue is lousy and the graphics are too cutesy for me.. its all traditional JRPG fare so far except it all feels a bit linear.

I don't think I'll want to go onto another RPG straight after this.. so RUSE or Dishonored will be the next backlogged game after this.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 30, 2013, 01:01:36 PM
New high-capacity (2550mAh) battery for the Wii U gamepad has been announced by Nintendo Japan. Boosts capacity from current upto-4 hours to a much improved upto-8 hours. You need to unscrew the back of the gamepad but it should be straight forward.
Presumably will be released here too. Price is 3000Y + tax, so probably about £30 over here.
dealspwn (http://www.dealspwn.com/highcapacity-wii-gamepad-battery-announced-japan-142221)

_________________________________________________________

Sim City add-on "amusement park" was released yesterday - costing £7.99.
As you'd expect, there's lots of arguments that they should fix the game before bringing out premium dlc. But premium dlc brings in money, whereas fixing bugs and increasing city sizes arguably doesn't (though it would likely increase sales).
origin (http://store.origin.com/store/eaemea/en_GB/html/pbPage.SimcityDLCUK/)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 30, 2013, 04:45:23 PM
EA announced a while back that they're scrapping online passes. It now seems they're backdating the policy, somewhat.
So if you have a second hand copy of one of EA's back-catalogue you may be able to get an online pass for it for free.

The following are reportedly reduced to free, from today:
Alice: Madness Returns - American McGee's Alice (was 800msp)
Bad Company 2 VIP (was 800msp)
Bulletstorm Online Pass (was 800msp)
Dragon Age: Origins - The Stone Prisoner (was 1200msp)
Dragon Age 2: The Black Emporium (was 800msp)
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Online Pass (was 800msp)
Mass Effect 2: Cerberus Network (was 1200msp)
Medal of Honor Online Pass (was 800msp)
SHIFT 2 UNLEASHED™ ONLINE PASS (was 800msp)
Skate 3: Skate Share Pack (was 800msp)

neogaf (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=558230&page=13)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 30, 2013, 04:57:36 PM
That's cool, Nyko are also releasing one too. Think I might get 2 and always have one charged one handy. Think the Nyko one has 3 times as much use too, although I could be remembering wrong.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on May 31, 2013, 12:40:07 AM
Not really looked into the PS4 much since the first reveal conference. Do we know when it's release date is yet?

I won't be getting it straight away as there is still a lot of games I want to play on PS3. But I haven't really played anything else in ages as I am still so into Skyrim lol.

Not getting FIFA 14 either as I got so bored and frustrated with 13 so might just leave it and get 15 on the PS4.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on May 31, 2013, 02:57:34 AM
Beat all the Shift 2 DLC to get that game back to 100% again...Just in time for Grid 2, which I'm expecting to be excellent...Grid is still the best racing game on the Playstation 3, imo, so really can't wait for the second game.

Also been bashing out Hitman 2 over the last few weeks...Picked up the HD trilogy for £14.99...Really can't go wrong for that price when you get 3 of the best games released on the Playstation 2...About half way through Hitman 2 currently, still as brilliant as I remember it and really having a blast going through it all again, so the other 2 games on the disc should deliver similar quality. Highly recommended, even if you've played the originals like I have.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 31, 2013, 08:14:52 AM
Just found out Sega are remaking probably one of the best Disney game ever made - Castle of Illusion - Announcement Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asgXVnLlEno)

Not sure how I feel about this tbh... the original was pretty awesome and revolutionary.. I dont see what they will get out of re-making it... although I do admit I might download it - just for the nostalgia.

Other awesome Disney Games from years gone by :

World of Illusion (GEN)
Aladdin (GEN)
Lion King (GEN)
Ducktales (NES)
..and my personal favourite - Quackshot (GEN)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 31, 2013, 10:26:13 AM
Not really looked into the PS4 much since the first reveal conference. Do we know when it's release date is yet?

We don't have dates, but we're looking at November/December this year.
They originally said it'll be out in 2013, but didn't say in which countries/regions - so there was lots of speculation it'd be out in the States late in 2013 but might not hit Europe until early 2014. However Sony recently started a press campaign in the UK specifying "Coming 2013".
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on May 31, 2013, 12:40:12 PM
My dad brought round my old SNES at the weekend. Fired it up last night. Impressed my girlfriend with my Mario kart skills. Gunna let the boy have a go at the weekend. Gotta love the classics.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 31, 2013, 01:20:16 PM
Be warned - he'll just laugh at you and the console for being so old  :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 31, 2013, 02:08:48 PM
Super Metroid was released in the eShop as part of their VC promotion for 30p. First time I've played a 2D Metroid and it's pretty impressive, makes you realise what a great job Retro did with Metroid Prime. And the graphics were amazing for its time too, you guys mentioning the SNES made me think about it. Think that's the last of the 30p jobs now though unfortunately. :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 31, 2013, 02:58:20 PM
Took them long enough!!! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uW3LxuDvHeI)

Can't wait to see what the Homebrew community comes up with in 3D. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 01, 2013, 02:28:44 AM
Playing sleeping dogs for about 3 hours and pretty sure I've seen around 80% of what the game has to offer, I like it, makes me really want to play shenmue again though  :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on June 01, 2013, 11:24:06 AM
Be warned - he'll just laugh at you and the console for being so old  :(

He wasn't impressed by the old style Mario 3 graphics.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 03, 2013, 09:53:52 AM
Think I'll be going for 100% achievement on Sleeping Dogs.. its not the longest game in the world, but its fun... am about 70% through the whole game I reckon.. but the Gold Stat achievement is going to be the biggest timewasting bugger - will leave that till last.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 03, 2013, 04:56:14 PM
Other awesome Disney Games from years gone by :

Ducktales (NES)

Hah.. just realised they are remastering this game for a summer release on all consoles  too - awesome!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 05, 2013, 11:25:37 AM
Cockfighting is such bollocks in Sleeping Dogs.. its totally rigged!

Anyway, finished the main game last night.. did all security cameras & health shrines too and 70% through all the lockboxes, got 15 of 30 gold stats... so theres about 3-5 hours of gameplay left in this before I start on Tomb Raider.. good game.. well worth a go before GTA5 comes out.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 05, 2013, 12:23:01 PM
Yeah, I'm not sure why everyone sees GTA as untouchable tbh. I totally love the franchise, but it's not like they own the genre.
Gta4 wasn't that good, and several outsiders (including Saints Row 2, and Sleeping Dogs) have come out of nowhere and looked eminently capable of taking the crown.

That said, I'm still looking forward to GTA-V ;)


Still working my way through Darksiders 2. I won't be doing all the side quests etc. Its a good game, but I'm struggling to resist the urge to put Tomb Raider into the machine. And if I take this game out I doubt it'll get put back in...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on June 05, 2013, 12:36:32 PM
I put GTA4 back in for a play the other week and after playing Saints Row it just seemed so slow and clunky. Saints Row also looks better.

I'll definitely get the new GTA but they need to step up to compete with Saints Row.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 05, 2013, 01:57:53 PM
GTA4 wasnt that good ?? lol - did you really just say that ???

Ahh.. cant believe what Im hearing here.. GTA rules the roost in open-sandbox games for a very good reason - its the best.. the creme de la menthe.. this is why Harv will be gutted when he cant play it on his Wii U.  ;D

Sleeping Dogs (for me) is the closest a game has come to ever getting near the GTA games.. I have to admit, the fighting and gunplay were great in it, and I loved going round Hong Kong instead of somewhere set in America.. but the game had no tricks up its sleeve in terms of being creative and the storyline was quite disjointed in places, plus the Triad storyline has been done to death - the gameplay was great.. but ultimately the whole game is a little too short and its all been done before (by GTA!)

Saints Row was fun.. but ultimately just a silly send-up to GTA.. I cant say I prefer anything SR does over anything GTA does at all.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 05, 2013, 02:56:01 PM
I found Nico Bellend and his brother (I forget his name) to be utterly annoying characters, the missions very repetitive, the cover system horrendous - and whilst the map was huge and fantastic it was a lot less interactive than its predecessors. The buildings were all just walls - there were less that you could enter. Sure, eating and working out were nothing but silly diversions in SA, but I missed silly diversions like that in gta4.
And damn but it was glitchy!

Despite all its flaws, I loved it - I just didn't think it anywhere near add good as it should have been. The GTA games have always been a lot better than their predecessors, but I'm not sure 4 was.
I'd be hard pressed to say which is the better, from gta4, sr2, and sleeping dogs. All three were great games. Which is why I say saints row or sleeping dogs could easily usurp GTA's throne if they played their cards right. (Except SR decided to go a different route, unfortunately, with 3 being ridiculous and 4 going even further :( ).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 05, 2013, 03:12:19 PM
Well I've been a fan of GTA since the first one on the pc.. and played every single major release since.. so I might have a biased vision on GTA myself.. but I loved every single one.. personally San Andreas was my least liked one.. mainly because of those "annoying" diversions and the RPG aspect of it.... and those turf battles you kept having to do were just irritating... Vice City is still my favourite by a long shot..but I liked Nico in GTA4 and I thought the story was great - the missions werent as explosive as SA but that was a good thing.

State of Decay came out today on XBLA - 1600pts.. usually I wouldnt even bother with a downloadable title given the price tag.. but it actually sounds like a wicked game.. open-world.. with zombies.. worth a read of a review (http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/06/05/state-of-decay-review) - Im tempted to buy it tonight but shouldnt really  :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 05, 2013, 04:48:17 PM
Hmmm...rumours have been coming around for the last couple of weeks that Microsoft have been forced to underclock the One'sGPU which is going to increase the gap in power between the PS4 and One, and decrease the gap in power between the Wii U and the One. They're also believed to be having problems with low yields for their ESRAM too. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on June 05, 2013, 05:07:57 PM
That State of Decay looks good Jman. Open world zombies! This paragraph from the review is the best part:

Quote
It is not a game borne of this Golden Age of tutorials and hand-holding. You are no superhuman zombie slayer, armed to the teeth with a stockpile of firearms and a recharging health meter. Death is both imminent and permanent, and venturing away from the (relatively) safe confines of your home base at night is downright terrifying.

Looks like the only downside is that it doesn't run too well on the 360 compared to its PC counterpart... but that was the case with TWD and it didn't hinder the experience too much.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on June 06, 2013, 02:03:44 AM
Started Sleeping Dogs (finally)...First Impressions, decent enough game...Combat is nicely structured and entertaining, seems to be alot to do (though early signs of some activities indiciate too much repitition) and graphics are solid...Driving is a bit too floaty and unrealistic for my liking, and the running mechanic feels clunky.

Haven't got too far into the story just yet, but the Cop/Triad branch seems quite interesting and I like the way each path has it's own levelling process and unique upgrades as you move through the respective levels...Trophies don't see too difficulty, but having to Gold award all 30 stat sections will be a tough one glancing through the list.

Wouldn't exactly call it a GTA killer, but I am feeling it as a good game so far...Hopefully the story pans out to be a good one and the side activities are kept varied and interesting.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 06, 2013, 08:13:12 AM
The Gold stat award isn't that tough when you realise that there are areas in the game that you get your stats up easily.. you should have at least half of them done by the time you finish the game anyway.  The most difficult one (for me) - Reckless Driver.. but then I should of bought a class A car much earlier in the game... The most annoying one - Gambler - the cockfighting is just bollocks.

I've got about 2 gold stats to do, need to buy all the clothes, still need to get my Triad level to 10 (halfway through 9 at the moment).. 2 city events and I've missed the gun nut achievement somehow too.. that's about 1-2 hours gameplay left (I hope) and I'm just a shade under 22 hours at the moment.. its a good game.. its good you enjoy the combat.. because there is a LOT of melee combat in the game - for me, that's the defining feature of the game over GTA.. solid combat mechanics which make the gun battles you do have feel even more intense!

That State of Decay looks good Jman. Open world zombies!
Yeah it does sound good.. I was finishing Sleeping Dogs off last night so didn't download it.. but I saw you playing it.. any good?  I can put up with a few shonky graphics, frame-rate and screen tearing if the game is great... It sounded a bit like Dead Island.. but better... and I like the perma-death thing in a game like this.


Edit: Just purchased it.. temptation too much.. 2100 pts @ cdkeys (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/2100-microsoft-xbox-points-15-15-with-code-cdkeys-com-1571504) for £15.15
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on June 06, 2013, 02:45:41 PM
It's a bit confusing at first. Smashing zombies' heads in is so much fun! There is A LOT of clipping/framerate issues/pop-in though. It's the only downside so far.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 06, 2013, 09:41:03 PM
Tempted by that, too - just been waiting to get/read some reviews. Stocked up on msp yesterday, though, in anticipation of buying it. Let me know how you're finding it, lads.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 07, 2013, 08:35:56 AM
Yeah reviews are trickling in.. mainly because everyone has been too busy fapping over The Last Of Us on the PS3.

But so far it seems the same story from each review... awesome open-world game with an original take on the survival genre only let down by poor tech (graphics/framerate) and no multiplayer (although they say its going to be patched in).

I might get round to giving it a go at the weekend if I can finish Sleeping Dogs off.. just realised the Triad level achievement is going to require re-playing quite a few missions again.. a lot of people moaning that its impossible to fill the meter to lvl 10 without buying DLC.. I'm sure its not, but also equally sure its going to require quite a few more hours gameplay to get it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 07, 2013, 09:46:41 AM
Pfft - achievement whore! :p
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on June 07, 2013, 02:47:44 PM
I bought all the DLC and didn't even fill my triad meter all the way lol! But then I wasn't really thinking of it. I was well up for completing the game 100% but got bored of looking for the lockboxes.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 07, 2013, 09:09:44 PM
Downloaded the trial version of State of Decay today. Upgraded to the full version pretty soon after that - cracking game, from what I've seen so far.
Definitely a bit glitchy, though.
Base camp is pretty well stocked with guns and ammo, because I'm almost exclusively sticking to melee weapons. Love the fact they degrade with use, though.
Can't wait to get back to it tonight and explore some more.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 07, 2013, 09:12:51 PM
Fucking sleeping dogs is taking too long to 100%, I wanna play State of decay now  >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: shellyboy100 on June 08, 2013, 10:23:32 AM
Any cheap games you guys would recommend? I've been playing Fifa and Formula One all year, and fancy a change now lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 08, 2013, 01:01:18 PM
If you don't have "deus ex: human revolution" yet I recommend it. Nearly two years old now, but a great game and can be had very cheap (http://www.find-game.co.uk/search?title=deus+ex+human+revolution&platform=).

And Sleeping Dogs and Far Cry 3 are both fantastic games, and fairly cheap now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on June 08, 2013, 04:23:20 PM
Great mentions from Late. Some games I've enjoyed a lot:
 
Red Dead Redemption - One of my fave games this generation. Definitely have a look if you haven't played it.
Skyrim - worth about 100 hours of your time if you like open-world RPGs.
XCOM - Not sure how much it would be now but it's a thoroughly enjoyable strategy game.
Super Meat Boy - quite old XBL Arcade game but is frighteningly addictive!
L.A. Noire - Almost like being in a film at times, a unique game but great fun.

Also, the two Batman games are a lot of fun with a brilliant combat system (Arkham Asylum & Arkham City).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 08, 2013, 06:20:21 PM
Bah! My hard drive is on its way out so bought another one - 4GB this time lol - installed it and then my bloody wireless mouse and keyboard decided to die on me. Just picked one up for 19 quid though so not too bad, and I was thinking of getting another set because there was bugger all range on the thing, this new set has a 10m range so it's not all bad. Just got to worry about paying for it all now :-\

Will mean I can game on my PC from my armchair now though so it's not all bad 8)

I love the combat in the Batman games, goingto be interesting to see if Batman Arkham Origins has the new BAT mode that the Wii U SKU of Arkham City has because it's pretty cool. Makes your gloves and boots electrify :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 09, 2013, 12:30:36 AM
Really like the look of Sonic Lost World, there's a 12 minute playthrough of the E3 demo on IGN. Looks gorgeous. ;D

Bloody Vista won't boot from a GPT drive so I've had to split my hard drive into two partitions which is annoying >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 09, 2013, 12:47:49 AM
4 gig?
What's it for - to double your free space on the Wii u?  :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 09, 2013, 01:58:23 AM
Aw bum, meant 4TB lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 09, 2013, 04:02:56 AM
State of Decay has sold over quarter of a million copies in the first two days. Bloody impressive for an indie game that pretty much nobody had heard of until a couple of days before its release.

I've relocated my base to a warehouse at the north-west end of the southern town (called Marshall?). Seemed the largest option that I could find. I've built quite a lot of buildings/facilities in there, and have eight outposts. Seem to be getting along well with all of the neighbours, and I have a good relationship with all of my group - most are playable, the others are all close.
Have lost quite a few people though. Never lost a character I'm in control of, but the others have a tendency to get into trouble - and it's impossible to keep up with all of the missions that become available. I did have 17 people at one point but I'm now down to 12. No idea who died, other than the preacher. Hope none of them was important.
All in all I think I'm ahead of the folks in The Walking Dead. Take that Sheriff Grimes.
Steep learning curve - I'm sure there's loads of things I'm missing. And I never read the journal - which probably has loads of important info in it - because there's too much in there and if you stop to read it you're attacked or miss missions. Which all adds to the sense of urgency.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: shellyboy100 on June 09, 2013, 12:05:01 PM
Thanks for the mentions guys, I think I'll give LA Noire a go and the Human Revolution one, I watched the trailer and it seems pretty good.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 09, 2013, 12:07:09 PM
Aye.. I'm only 45 minutes in so far.. just reached the first proper base.. certainly chucks you in at the deep end... I was getting very confused with the controls to begin with, I accidently threw a petrol bomb at one of the survivors and set her on fire.. she survived but doesn't like me very much now lol.. its a good game.. the pop-ups are quite bad.. but you don't mind because the game is still engaging enough..  I probably wont get any time to play until tomorrow now though  :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 09, 2013, 01:19:50 PM
They're as bloody menace those petrol bombs and molotovs - I've burned three friendlies with them so far.
Just realised half of my people have skills they can upgrade, which I probably should have done earlier but didn't know about.
Wish searchable stuff was better highlighted. Keep thinking I've fully searched places, only to be told there's more somewhere in the building.



Edit - predictive text
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 09, 2013, 08:23:29 PM
Sounds heavily influenced by ZombiU which is cool. Looks like there are two 'proper' zombie games on the market now, hope there's plenty more on the way! ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on June 09, 2013, 11:16:45 PM
Did anyone have freezing problems with Skyrim? If so do you know any ways to fix it?

I've not really had any problems until last night when it froze and now it will play and then freeze after I've walked for a while and sometimes freezes when I try to fast travel somewhere. Bloody frustrating as I can't even play it now.

I've tried deleting a load of stuff and I've got 10k MB of space so it can't be that could it? I tried turning off the 'save on travel' but nothing.

Any help would be welcome :)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 10, 2013, 10:21:34 AM
Definitely not getting Call of Duty this year. Definitely not getting Call of Duty this year. Definitely not getting Call of Duty this year. Definitely not getting Call of Duty this year. Definitely not getting Call of Duty this year. Definitely not getting Call of Duty this year. Definitely not getting Call of Duty this year. Definitely not getting Call of Duty this year. Definitely not getting Call of Duty this year. Definitely not getting Call of Duty this year. Definitely not getting Call of Duty this year. Definitely not getting Call of Duty this year. Definitely not getting Call of Duty this year. Definitely not getting Call of Duty this year.

Keep telling yourself that, Late.





Damn but it does actually look pretty good, though.
____________________________________________________________________________

State of Decay patch (http://www.gamingreality.com/2013/06/state-of-decay-update-1-patch-notes.html) coming soon.

Fixes a number of problems - including:
the game permanently insisting there are too many infestations (it'll now just count those near your home);
your main people sometimes dying while you're logged out of the game; and
workshop repairs taking one in-game day instead of one real life day.

Hope the patch passes certification soon...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on June 10, 2013, 07:11:28 PM
Xbox One confirmed at £429, coming this November.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 11, 2013, 09:17:55 AM
Hmm ok, I started State of Decay up again.. I only did 45 minutes to get to the first base.. and apparently two of my survivors died since I last played.. hmm - not liking that too much.. I don't even know who they were.. and considering I haven't been given the option to increase my base defense yet.. I'm not sure how I could of prevented that.

Having a persistent world is fine.. but that's fucked up my morale in camp already and I've barely started the bleeding game!!  >:( 
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 11, 2013, 10:38:58 AM
Aye, tis frustrating, that - I had exactly the same thing near the start of the game. I've taken to backing up my data to memory stick on a night, just in case. Apparently it works out how long since you played last and throws a number of events into the mix next time you start the game up (presumably using an algorithm that includes time, population, defences, etc.) If I turn the game on tonight to find someone died through the day I'll restore last night's backup to the HDD and boot into that - and today's events will effectively be recalculated. Some might call it cheating, but I see it as a sensible precaution. I don't particularly mind if I lose one or two people (I think I have 17) when I'm AFK, but there's always the possibility my entire camp might be wiped out.
That's one of the things being addressed in the patch.

A few tips and possibly a few minor spoilers follow...

I scrapped all of my outposts last night. Decided I've been using them in the wrong way so far.
They serve a number of different purposes. They have defences around them, so they're a safe place for your people and they kill hoards that get too close. They're a place to access your locker when you're out and about. And they generate resources.
I think my new set-up makes the most of them - though I'm still learning...
I have 8 outposts. Four of them surround my base and are very close (their radius overlaps with the home radius while traps etc. are activated). Those four mean hoards can't really get near my base, and my people are safe within a hundred metres or so of camp. Another two are pretty close to home, and touch those first four, going off in the direction of the most houses. They offer some protection to my people as they wander the main roads near home. The final two are quite a long way from home and serve a different (dual) purpose. They're a place to access my locker when I'm far from home, and they generate resources that aren't available in my neighbourhood.
Where possible try to put outposts in buildings where there's either a large (or medium) stash of resources, or where there's two (or three) different resources up for grabs. Great for keeping your supplies topped up, and they'll last a lot longer before then run out.
Don't manually take resources from a place you'll be using as an outpost. If you leave them in place I think they'll supply your base for a lot longer than if you grab the gear and take it home.
Don't spend too much time/resource building up the church. You'll be abandoning it before long. (When you do leave, make sure you go to the biggest place you can find.)
Don't request runners to pick up resources from a building unless you're pretty certain they'll get there and back safely (so only do it if you're quite close to home and the running will mainly be through territory you "own"). If you don't you'll find they keep going missing or dying. I swear they wait until you're not looking then actively seek out and run into the middle of as many hoards as they can find.
Stash badly damaged cars in a carpark within a couple of blocks of your home, rather than abandoning them in random useless places. You'll be able to repair some or all of them later. It's time consuming, but worth it as cars soon become a scarce resource.
Try to keep a car nearby when exploring new places. You probably won't need it, but if the shit hits the fan you'll be bloody grateful for it.
Keep an eye on your peoples' skills page (the tab with a star on it). If you've levelled someone up a bit you can scroll down that page and tweak their abilities somewhat. As you progress you get more options in there.
Always keep a "distraction" on you when you leave home - firecrackers, alarm clock, doll, etc. If you're getting swarmed and need a breather drop one of these and get the hell outta there. (Then jump in your nearby car and mow the buggers down, natch.)
I like to keep meds on all of my people, but I don't bother with snacks (so I'm prioritising vitality but not stamina) - but that's just a personal preference.

I've stripped a lot of properties near me completely bare of resources, and I'm wondering if that was a bad idea, now. Possibly would've been better to use them as outposts, and then move the outpost elsewhere when the building has been bled dry. (Destroying outposts is a dangerous business, mind. I don't think there's a way to be certain which one you're destroying when you click the button. Destroy erm ... shit, I know the one I want to destroy is a food producer and I can see outposts 3 and 4 are my only two food producers - but which is which? Destroy outpost 3 please xbox. Damnit, that's the wrong one.)

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 11, 2013, 08:11:56 PM
Passed on playing State of Decay tonight - still fucked off with losing survivors without doing owt!

So started on Tomb Raider and boy what a game.. its great.. I absolutely love it already.. must be about 2 hours in.. and I can see myself 100%'ing the single player portion of the game.. why the fuck does it need a multiplayer aspect though - its just bullshit.

Edit:  Must be about 4-5 hours into Tomb Raider now and its still impressing.. love this game.. achievements are multiplayer heavy though.. which I still think is stupid.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 13, 2013, 09:48:43 AM
Yeah, I'll almost certainly be skipping the multiplayer side of things, too, when I get round to playing it (probably this weekend).

Want to finish off State of Decay first, at least once. Will probably play it through 2 or 3 times, but I might wait a few weeks before my 2nd/3rd playthrough, see how it gets patched.
Still thoroughly enjoying it - but didn't get a chance to put the xbox on last night.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 13, 2013, 06:44:45 PM
Whatever you do don't buy anything from WowHD. They're fucking useless. I ordered Monster Hunter 3G Ultimate from them ages ago and they posted it on 13th May. Still haven't got it. Emailed them and they told me I had to wait 20 days from the dispatch date. Emailed them again and they told me they were going to look into it and it would take 4 days. 7 days later - nothing. Have emailed them again today to find out what the fuck is going on. Really not worth it for the sake of saving a couple of quid. They're worse than Zavvi, and I really didn't think that was possible :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 13, 2013, 09:21:36 PM
Have never had any problems ordering from either, personally, and I've used both extensively.
I know both have fairly bad reputations though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 13, 2013, 10:38:03 PM
Bought Arma 2 tonight.. probably the only PC exclusive worth having to be honest.. really need to upgrade my gfx cards if I'm getting the 3rd one though.. thinking of a couple of GTX580s... but I'll see how I get on first.. its billed as a hardcore military simulation rather than an FPS so I'm expecting a very steep learning curve.  I guess the nearest game I had to it was Operation Flashpoint.. although that game really sucked and was boring.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 13, 2013, 10:43:29 PM
Fucking hell, 3 out of the 4 games that Nintendo have shown this E3 that have looked 'next gen' are running in 1080p native - Donkey Kong, Mario Kart and Bayonetta 2. The one that hasn't been confirmed is X :o

I'll dig up an off-screen video of Bayonetta 2 in a minute, it's a toss up between Bayonetta 2 and Mario Kart 8 for which game is technically and visually more impressive.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 13, 2013, 10:47:39 PM
Here she is (http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=RkaNUcQwXSo).

There's a few framerate drops here and there but it's looking very impressive so far. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 14, 2013, 01:06:54 AM
Shame about the game, though. Hated the first, and the second is just more of the same. Incredibly repetitive button mashing against waves of very boring enemies, only made mildly interesting by the protagonist's catsuit and the camera constantly focusing on her arse, groin, and cleavage.
And what the hells the deal with her hair? It's her main weapon, so she's cut it all off?

Meh.

X is the only game Nintendo showed off that looked good.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 14, 2013, 01:41:24 AM
Ugh. Forgot how heavily Tomb Raider relies on QTEs.
The rest is all good. But it seems about a quarter of the game so far is sodding QTEs... :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 14, 2013, 08:28:28 AM
The first 20 minutes are QTE heavy.. but its only on the cinematic parts...you'll see a lot less of them as you progress further.. saying that.. I think the majority of times I've died are from fucking up the QTEs and I'm playing on hard.. thankfully the checkpoint system is quite forgiving.. there are tons of games that are far worse with QTEs... I do love the fact that the cinematic progression from one section to another is seamless, no annoying load times.. and I'd rather put up with QTEs than loading screens.  I think I properly jumped about 2 or 3 times in that first 20 minutes too  ;D

The only thing I'm slightly disappointed about is that the game seems to of changed from its roots as an acrobatic adventure game with portions of gunplay in it.. to a more gunplay centric game with portions of acrobatics in it... I guess in the context of the story - it kinda makes sense.. but it just doesn't have that real retro feel of an old school tomb raider.. the tombs you go into are disappointingly short and not that taxing.. saying that.. its by far the best entry into the series since the first one.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on June 14, 2013, 11:43:05 AM
Just picked up The Last of Us.  ;D Can't wait to get home later and play it now. Even tempted to pull out of going to see Man of Steel later. Hmmmm...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 16, 2013, 04:19:03 PM
Think I'm done with Tomb Raider.. I missed 3 single player cheevo's.. one which would require another playthrough (one of the secret ones - not going to happen)... one which seems glitchy (zip-lines - I've killed way more than 10 now and still no unlock)... and the other one requires a bit of patience (secret dynamite one - but no patience left trying to do that zipline one).  Not going to bother even starting multiplayer

Overall though, fantastic game.. looking forward to the next one.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on June 17, 2013, 01:47:28 AM
I'm about 5 or 6 hours into The Last of Us and I'm loving it. It's a lot more stealthy than I expected, which isn't very good as I'm shit at sneaking around! ;D I end up alerting zombies almost every time then having to fight them off. Although there's a type of zombie called "clickers" (named because they are blind due to their horrible facial deformities, so they walk around clicking to navigate, using sound to see, kinda like bats) who kill you in one by basically taking a chunk out of your neck. Have been killed a few times by them.

The game is beautiful though. The story is top draw and the facial animations are brilliant. I can see why some reviewers have been creaming over it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 17, 2013, 11:01:15 AM
...the other one requires a bit of patience (secret dynamite one...
Heh - one of the first few achievements I got in the game, that one.
Wasn't deliberate, though (and I've not actually looked through the achievements list). Saw a baddie, shot at him, and just happened to hit a stick of dynamite he was chucking at me.

Don't think I'll be getting many achievements though. I'm not enjoying the game anywhere near as much as I did the old Tomb Raider games.
It's okay, and it's totally beautiful compared to the old stuff - but I don't like all the QTEs* (there's a lot less once you get past that first hour or so, but there's still way too many for my taste) and I've not been anywhere near as fastidious as I usually am - I've not really found many tombs, and I'm sure I've missed loads of other collectibles etc.
I think I'm about three quarters of the way through the game, and only have 210/1000 gamerscore...

*Of course, Tomb Raider games have always had QTEs - but I didn't hate them as much back then as I do now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 17, 2013, 09:59:18 PM
Wow... you guys weren't lying when you said Saints Row 3 was shit.. 58 minutes in and pretty much hating it so far.. way to ruin a fairly entertaining franchise!  Will probably give it another go.. but not wanting to carry on playing again for a while now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on June 17, 2013, 10:10:43 PM
It's the equivalent of those action films were you just turn your brain off and go Ooo and aah at all the explosions.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 19, 2013, 08:03:49 AM
Meh.. instead of fun... I just found it stupid though...

Started Dirt : Showdown instead.. and will probably play this for the next week or so now as its pretty good fun... although I don't like what they have done to the series.. still maintain it needs to go back to its Rally roots.. there hasn't been a decent rally game in donkeys years now.. Colin McRae and V-Rally were the nuts back in the day, the latest real rally sim I know of is WRC 3: FIA Rally Championship.. and it got dire reviews  ;D

At least there are some cool destruction derby modes in Dirt : Showdown.. its probably the best DD type game since Destruction Derby on the PS1.. although to be fair there hasn't been many of those games since then... I can only really think of FlatOut.. which was a bit pants.  For £6 or whatever I paid for it new.. its a bargain.. I'm beginning to like the Dirt series as much as (if not more) than the NFS series now to be honest - I've always found I like most Codemasters games... my favourite though - Micro Machines 2 : Turbo Tournament ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 19, 2013, 09:52:55 AM
lolz:
Everyone In Metal Gear Solid Is David Bowie (http://guatemalansinkhole.tumblr.com/image/52902823339)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 19, 2013, 11:00:38 AM
Lmfao, awesome lololol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 19, 2013, 12:54:05 PM
Leaving PS Plus in July:
3rd July: Kingdoms of Amalur – Reckoning
3rd July: Lord of the Rings War in the North
3rd July: The Cave
3rd July: Rayman Origins (Vita)
3rd July: Coconut Dodge (Vita)

Entering PS Plus in July:
3rd July: Battlefield 3
3rd July: Payday: The Heist
3rd July: Saints Row the Third
3rd July: Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus (Vita)
3rd July: Unit 13 (Vita)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 20, 2013, 02:21:25 PM
Finally!!! A month and 7 days after they posted the original I've got my copy of Monster Hunter lol. And it's arrived via Airmail from Hong Kong too so I don't know if the problem was down to this bunch being dodgy fuckers or the builders working in the flat before mine stealing my mail. >:( I think the latter myself. :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 22, 2013, 02:06:48 AM
Just finished Arkham City and thought that it was miles better than the first one, although the last boss fight was way too easy. Going to dive into Monster Hunter next, one of my favourite franchises. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 23, 2013, 01:18:30 AM
Both Black Ops 2 and Monster Hunter demonstrate a great use of the touchscreen - having the HUD on a separate screen makes the game much more cinematic. A real shame Sony didn't 'borrow' the idea of having a similar touchscreen on the DS4...having the sort of visuals that the PS4 is capable of without a HUD getting in the way would be truly eye popping :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 23, 2013, 02:44:21 AM
You've bought black ops 2?
But you don't like cod multiplayer?...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 23, 2013, 04:00:43 PM
Walking Dead (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shR53nX9v8c&feature=youtube_gdata_player) (Telltale Games version) new dlc coming soon.
Tides us over between seasons one and two.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 23, 2013, 06:23:59 PM
Yup, bought it at launch. Hopefully we're going to see more games without a HUD on the telly, it's only a minor detail but really does make a huge difference not having health, stamina ammo etc obscuring the eye candy on the screen.

Have now got 9 games for the Wii U:

Black Ops 2
ZombiU
Darksiders 2
Assassin's Creed III
Lego City Undercover
Sonic Racing Transformed
Rabbids Land
Batman Arkham City
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate

What's been most impressive for the Wii U so far is the eShop. They've adopted the Steam model and have regular sales offers going on and the amount of indie titles available after such a short time on the market is quite impressive, and there are plenty more on the way too.

Very happy with my Wii U so far, the only disappointing thing so far is that Scribblenauts Unlimited hasn't been released over here yet although I guess that must be a bit of a localisation nightmare lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 23, 2013, 07:17:40 PM
HUD doesn't obscure visuals to any degree.
It does, on the other hand, give you all the info you need without you looking away from your screen...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 23, 2013, 07:25:15 PM
You have to experience it to appreciate it I think. It makes games more immersive and cinematic, and flicking your gaze down to the touchscreen takes a split second to do unless you have serious motor function problems. Monster Hunter in particular really does benefit from it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 23, 2013, 08:05:16 PM
You're talking about immersion whilst saying it's better to take half a second to look away from your screen rather than having the info on your screen whenever you want to know how many bullets or grenades you have?
There nothing like looking away from the screen to kill immersion in a game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 23, 2013, 09:31:41 PM
Makes it more realistic mate. If you were running around with a gun or grenades you'd need to look down to check your ammo. And like I've said it's hardly a big deal. You've got more immersion, more realism and a more cinematic experience. It's such a shame that a console able to produce much better quality IQ isn't going to benefit from this. :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 24, 2013, 12:03:13 PM
I absolutely agree that in real life you'd have to look down slightly if you needed to check your supplies.
Neither system is going to fully recreate reality, though, so it's just a case of gauging which is closer to the reality of the battlefield.

I'd posit, though, that looking at the bottom corner of your screen and seeing your ammo count, whilst still seeing the scenery of the place you're fighting in is probably more realistic than looking down at a fisherprice toy to see your ammo count, whilst seeing the scenery of a flat in Tottenham and a cat curled up in the lap of a dole-waller sat there in his onesie.*




*I'll concede it slightly depends on whether the locals are rioting, though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on June 25, 2013, 02:27:16 AM
Finally completed Hitman 2, still an excellent game...The AI is incredibly dated though, and it is quite frustrating as a result sometimes, but it's stood the test of time well...It should be the benchmark for all stealth games...Just gotta go through the trophy list and grab whatevers left now, though collecting some of these guns will be a pain...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 25, 2013, 10:05:21 AM
Looking forward to playing the Hitman Trilogy, but it might be a while yet. It's been sat in the pile for a couple of months - which is nothing really; there's some games in that pile been there for well over a year.
But I finally got XCOM ordered yesterday, and have been keen to play that for a long while - so the plan is to finish off Lego LOTR (which is okay but definitely not my favourite lego game - but I never liked the LotR books or the films...) then xcom. And a second play through State of Decay. Then hopefully Hitman.

Must have a look at my digital downloads at some point, too. I'm sure there's half a dozen games there that I've downloaded while on offer with the intention of looking at them later but then forgot about them. A digital equivalent of the pile. Except with the physical one I get a constant reminder every time I walk past them. With the digital one they're hidden somewhere in the xbox.

That's one thing (the only thing?) I liked about the Wii. You download a game you can put it where you like on your dashboard. You download stuff on the xbox it's harder to find and pretty much impossible to customise the list.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 25, 2013, 11:52:40 AM
Another good thing about the Wii and Wii U is that all of your VC and WiiWare titles can be brought across to your Wii U, whereas all of your PSN and XBLA titles are stuck on your PS3 and 360. Of course, you can keep your PS3 and 360 sitting there under your telly if you want to play them but a fair amount of people will want to sell or trade in their previous gen consoles...and that means those games have gone forever. :-\

The Wii U also has the advantage of being backwards compatible with disc games too. Pretty disappointing that the PS4 and One aren't, although Sony will be doing a Netflix type thing sometime after launch which could be okay if it's not priced over the odds.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 25, 2013, 12:00:11 PM
Not bothered about backwards compatibility, personally.
It'd be nice to have the option to go back to old games, and I tend to keep my old games so that I can go back to them - but I very rarely do, and I'm usually disappointed when I do.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 26, 2013, 12:31:33 AM
A very well put together Wii U sizzle reel here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POeFhWV-ld8;hd=1) showing what's on the way from indie developers, first and second party developers and third party publishers in 2013-2014.

Some of the indie stuff is looking like the dog's bollocks!!! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 28, 2013, 07:49:45 AM
Damn Football Manager and its addictiveness.. started playing it again recently and got hooked again, meaning less time playing anything else.. 272 hours in and Basingstoke Town FC are sitting 6th in the premier league  ;D  Squads not good enough to compete with the top boys this season, I lost to Chelsea 7-1 at the start of the season and lost 5-0 to Citeh :o  but I'm getting there. 

Bit fucked off though, my star striker from last season got pinched before this season started as he had a minimum fee clause I forgot about.. but I had bought someone else who was just as good and he was scoring nearly every game.. but again, I forgot he had a relatively low minimum fee clause.. and Spurs bought him on the last day of the Jan transfer window.. so I had to do a Wenger and quickly look for anything that would do.  >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 28, 2013, 11:41:59 AM
Not as good as the original that started it all though, hate to think how many hours I put in on my Speccy with that beauty 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 30, 2013, 04:24:52 PM
They've started to advertise Pikmin 3 in Japan now (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm4Aaf94E1I), it's looking great now....has certainly taken a huge leap in eye candy quality since we first saw it a couple of years ago. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 02, 2013, 12:54:30 PM
Didn't think we'd see it for a while yet, but "The Walking Dead: 400 Days (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shR53nX9v8c&feature=youtube_gdata_player)" is here already - released as follows:
02/07 – PSN (N America)
03/07 – PC/Mac
05/07 – XBLA (Worldwide)
10/07 – PSN (Europe)
11/07 – iOS
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 02, 2013, 01:56:34 PM
Crikey! Will have to get that on Friday then.  ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 03, 2013, 11:14:48 AM
Cod Blops 2 new map pack: Vengeance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BwU7FR0uaaY) is released today on xbox (presumably will be released in about a month's time on other platforms).

Bought my season pass a while back, so I'll get the new map pack soon - but I'm too busy enjoying XCOM at the moment.
Hasn't changed much since the old ps1 version, other than looking so much prettier, but that's a good thing - it was always a fantastic game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 04, 2013, 01:39:16 AM
I've decided to play through XCOM again, on Impossible difficulty! First time round I was upset when one of my soldiers got occasionally turned into a space zombie by a chrysalid (sp?), now they're just getting killed left, right and centre by bloody thin men!  :'( I need to get another sniper trained up quickly, they are definitely key in this game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 04, 2013, 10:10:48 AM
I'm loving the Support units (used primarily as medics, but also good for scouting, smoke grenades, and nipping into a hot zone with an arc stun-gun), but snipers are a close second now that I'm starting to get them levelled up quite high. I'm bringing rookies and low level units on most missions, so that if I lose some good soldiers I won't be left with a load of newbies for the next mission.
Not finding much use for heavies (destroy too much of that valuable alien tech) and assault (they like to get up close to enemies, but if they do that they're outnumbered). Might be more useful later in the game, though, so I'm levelling one or two of each.

Haven't got as far as developing psionic weapons and units yet (that's what they called them in the original - I'm guessing that's not changed) but I'm close to that point - I recently raided an alien base and captured a device that's going to take me in that direction.

I'm saving and reloading a bit too much, though, which is definitely against the spirit of the game and is arguably cheating. Can't resist if the facility is there though! I believe the game autosaves after every turn or kill, and the load/save options are greyed out if you play on the hardest difficulty - which is a nice twist, but will make it a complete nightmare. :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 04, 2013, 12:44:05 PM
So apparently Maxis have now produced a questionnaire (http://imgur.com/a/n9gy8#0) asking punters what they want from the next SimCity update, including options such as terraforming, organised crime, subways/bridges, guilds, and military complexes...


(http://i.imgflip.com/29ox7.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 04, 2013, 01:20:59 PM
lol.. yep Im with that.. how about they fix the obviously broken AI as well..  >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 04, 2013, 03:54:10 PM
I thought I kept fairly abreast of the console gaming scene, but obviously some things pass you by without you noticing...

When did Sony announce FFX:HD (http://www.siliconera.com/2013/07/03/final-fantasy-xx-2-hd-remaster-has-a-new-drama-sequence-during-the-credits/)? Presumably at E3?
I hear it's heading to PS3 and PSV later this year.
Sony exclusive? (If so, it's yet another thing pulling me toward Sony and away from Microsoft, but it being on ps3 doesn't mean it'd be on ps4 of course - and it's extremely unlikely I'd buy a ps3 at this stage of it's life.*)

Seriously, how the hell did I miss this?!
I loved FFX (not as much as FFVII, of course) and would love to play a HD remake of it.




*I have a lot of admiration for the ps3, and there's been some cracking deals for the console lately - so there's some temptation. But I don't fancy buying a console just as it's successor is being released.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 05, 2013, 08:13:51 AM
Yeah.. that was announced a few years ago for the PS3.. but jeez they are old.. I remember watching my flat-mate play a bit of FFX at university on the PS2.. and that really takes me back...sadly I only ever got round to playing about 2 hours of it myself...

So not really bothered about that... but when they re-make FF7, FF8 and FF9 in HD - then we'd be talking.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 05, 2013, 10:14:34 PM
Just managed to pre-order Pikmin 3 for £25 and got Injustice for £16 thanks to flubit.com.

You just paste a link of what you want to buy and they give you a better offer within 48 hours. You guys should check it out!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 07, 2013, 12:08:28 AM
Am really enjoying Darksiders 1 at the mo, so glad I carried on with fighting Tiamat, probably the most poorly designed boss fights in video game history...certainly one of the most tedious!!! :o :o :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 07, 2013, 12:25:06 AM
Played through TWD: 400 Days. Was only about an hour and 20 minutes long, so there really wasn't enough time to connect with any of the characters but it was still enjoyable. I'm now eagerly awaiting Season 2. I wonder if Clementine will be returning?

Yeah.. that was announced a few years ago for the PS3.. but jeez they are old.. I remember watching my flat-mate play a bit of FFX at university on the PS2.. and that really takes me back...sadly I only ever got round to playing about 2 hours of it myself...

So not really bothered about that... but when they re-make FF7, FF8 and FF9 in HD - then we'd be talking.

2 hours!  :o You've missed out on one of the best FF games! Probably my 3rd favourite after 7 & 8. It started to get more linear with FFX but it's still great fun. Dark Yojimbo is one of the toughest bosses I've fought in any game.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 08, 2013, 03:22:39 PM
Yeah, I wasn't going to buy a PS2 just for that game though.. I did notice the linearity of it.. I was probably about 2-4 hours in tbh.. got to the first splash tournament?? the swimming/water polo game.. which was pretty good.. but didn't come close to the mini games of 7,8 or 9.  I remember the main character being quite annoying too.  But surely Emerald/Ruby weapon in FF7 have to be two of the toughest FF bosses ever ?


Started a demolition job on my 360 games this weekend.. 16 up on ebay, am expecting over £100 for them as I have about 4-5 titles which should fetch over £10 on their own.  I'll start selling all my Kinect and Guitar Hero stuff in a month then.. after that I'll have a tricky decision as to which games to keep.  At the moment, all the Halo/Gears games are being kept.. I think Lost Odyssey and The Orange Box will survive the chop too - everytime I've done a fire sale, I ask myself, am I likely to play Lost Odyssey again - the answers no.. but I always find it hard to put it on the selling pile - probably my favourite "non-mainstream" title of this gen... was a bit of a wrench to get rid of Resonance of Fate too - I'm almost undecided if I want to keep it on ebay now..  :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 08, 2013, 08:40:50 PM
Have been thinking about getting myself a Rocksmith cable for my PC and downloading a pirate copy but have just seen a legit, new and sealed copy with the cable from some bloke in Poland cheaper than you can get the cable separately so that's a bargain! Cost me £25, will obviously rip off the DLC though, there's a shitload of it available on TPB. 8)

It's basically Guitar Hero using a real guitar which as well as being an entertaining game also teaches and improves guitar techniques. Nice 8) ;D 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 09, 2013, 08:20:06 AM
Been thinking about it since yesterday.. top 5 console games you've owned this gen... what's yours.. ?

Obviously mine are all on the 360... since I havent got a PS3, and only owned a Wii for a year....but it would go something like this (in no particular order) :

Halo 3
Lost Odyssey
The Orange Box
Skyrim
Gears of War

Honourable Mentions
GTA 4
Condemned
Dead Rising
Bioshock
Fallout 3
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 09, 2013, 09:29:50 AM
Fallout 3
Super Mario Galaxy
Pro Evo Wii
Guitar Hero
Orange Box

Very difficult!!! :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 09, 2013, 11:59:40 AM
Red Dead Redemption
The Last of Us
Skyrim
Lost Odyssey
L.A Noire
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 09, 2013, 12:39:57 PM
Can pretty easily pick six outstanding titles, but narrowing it down from six to five is bloody difficult!
Was careful not to read either of the two lists posted before me*, so as not to skew my thought process. Impressive, then, that all three of us have Orange Box in our lists.
I'm also surprised to see that most of the games in my list are from the first half of the current gen.

COD: World At War. Fun (but bloody difficult) campaign, with some truly great maps for the multiplayer. Most COD fans would probably argue COD4:MW was the pinnacle, but I was a bit late to COD so only played MW for a few weeks. CoD:WaW was the first COD I properly got into. And of course it introduced us to Nazi Zombies mode, which was (and still is) awesome.

Orange Box. Wasn't sure whether this box set counted as a game, but tbh I'd have Portal 1 on the list even without the rest of the set - and if you've got a box set of games (available considerably cheaper than a normal retail game) where Half Life and Team Fortress are bonuses then you're doing something right!

Skyrim. I was so wary of getting Skyrim, having played it's predecessor "Oblivion" and not being able to get into it at all. Fortunately Gamestation ran a fantastic offer and I took a plunge, picking up a game I wasn't sure about for £20 a few weeks after it came out - and that gamble played off. A beautifully crafted world, containing a mind-blowing number of quests, and so easy/intuitive to get into.

Crackdown. Again, not the biggest of titles - but one of the very few times I've enjoyed hunting for collectibles in a sandbox game. I loved that you started off strong and agile, but the more collectibles you got the more super-human you became, eventually leaping buildings and throwing trucks around.

Bioshock 1 It's easy to argue Bioshock 2 or Bioshock Infinite were better, but personally I loved the original. One of the best stories in gaming history, combined with arguably the most beautiful and compelling cities we've ever seen - and such an amazingly suspenseful atmosphere. Music, graphics, story, etc. all combine beautifully.


Honorable mentions:
Perfect Dark Zero. Wanted this in the top five, but one had to get cut...
It didn't get the best reviews, and it's laughed at by a lot of people, but I've had some serious amounts of play out of this game. The single player was quite rubbish, but the multiplayer (split screen, local, or online) was fantastic fun. It's rare for a multiplayer game to allow such customisation, with you able to balance teams by specifying how many cpu players to put on each time (and their AI level) as well as picking which weapons & equipment are available and how much cash everyone gets to spend etc.
Tomb Raider Legend (graphically the new one pisses over it, but this was classic tomb raider)
Pretty much all of the Lego games (personal favourite Lego Batman, but most/all have been great)
The Walking Dead (TTGames version of course. Fantastic story - just a shame most of your actions don't make much difference.)
Far Cry 3 (good story and good missions, all set in an awesome open world. FC2 should be ashamed)
Saints Row 2 (great fun open world game, and didn't take itself seriously. SR3 should be ashamed)
Deus Ex: Human Revolution (great to have the freedom to approach the game in so many ways - just a shame about the boss fights and the "multiple endings")
Splosion Man (great "indie" side-scrolling platformer, with good level design, great humour, and great fun in both single-player and multi-player)



*there's three now, but there were two when I started typing... ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 09, 2013, 03:32:54 PM
Rockstar released a gameplay video for GTA:V today.
Looking pretty bloody fantastic to me! :D

At time of posting the rockstar site is suffering. Tis now on youtube too, as well as a few other sites, which should ease the strain a lot.

rockstargames (http://www.rockstargames.com/V/)
youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=N-xHcvug3WI)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 09, 2013, 03:47:27 PM
Woo hoo!!! Have just got my horsie back!!! A real mean looking fucker too lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 09, 2013, 03:49:10 PM
It looks incredible!

Despite GTA IV being a critical darling, it lacked in a few areas. The world Rockstar created felt repetitive and lifeless. With GTA V, it looks as if they've improved upon IV in every area and I can't wait to play it. I was worried that switching between the 3 characters would affect the flow of the gameplay, but as the female narrator said, they've focused a lot on fluidity and it seems to show. After playing RDR and The Last of Us I wondered if they might be the defining games of this generation. GTA V could top them both if it delivers.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 09, 2013, 06:28:05 PM
Just started playing Injustice and quite like it so far. Am going to have to turn up the difficulty though I think because Chapter 1 was way too easy. Am doing my usual with these sort of fighting games - press all the buttons in a random fashion lol ;D ;D ;D

Quite surprising how doing that completely fools the majority of AI for these games lol. Might have to start blocking stuff during Chapter 2 though. :P

Not too keen on the art direction though, but I guess I've been spoilt by the top-notch art direction of the Arkham games which is more realistic. I prefer it that way tbh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 13, 2013, 11:43:35 PM
Hopefully my copy of Rocksmith is going to arrive tomorrow, can't wait. Apparently Ubisoft have fixed some of the major issues that people had with it in a couple of patches, and I've downloaded all of the DLC so far lol. There's also around 1500 custom songs that some very kind people have done for free which is great! 8)

Think I might have to buy at least one bit of DLC for the custom songs to work but will try the pirated DLC first lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 15, 2013, 02:33:27 PM
Some of the guys on another forum I frequent were talking about how Toad, the mushroom chap (or is he a toadstool, actually, given his name?) from the Mario games is taken for granted but is always ridiculously cheerful no matter how much he's abused - but joking about the possibility of him one day having enough and turning.

Inspired me to change my emblem on Black Ops 2:


(http://s24.postimg.org/h8ic6hal1/toad2.jpg)


I think I spend nearly as much time on the emblem editor as actually playing multiplayer. Spent hours doing my current emblem (current until I made the Toad one, anyway), which is a Star Wars Deathstar - and I'm still not completely happy with it. Keep going back into it to edit a few bits here and there...

_____________________________________________________

Fired up Final Fantasy XIII-2 yesterday. Has been sat on the shelf in it's cellophane for about half a year. I loved the older FF games but don't like the real time battles they've had lately. Was also put off slightly by having not played FF-XIII, so not really knowing the backstory, but I think I know what's happening - they do have a "previously on Final Fantasy" type thing at the start of the game.
Aside from the absence of turn-based battles the game's looking pretty good from what I've seen so far. Beautiful graphics, likeable characters, workable (if slightly bewildering) scenario, straight-forward skill-tree, etc.
But the battles being a major part of the game, I'm not totally settled in, yet. Will stick with it, and hopefully will start to enjoy it more once I'm more familiar with the battles (which, so far, seem to mainly be just keep pushing "A" for auto-battle until you've won).



(Edit - dayum, turns out I bought FFXIII-2 well over a year ago, perhaps closer to eighteen months ago. Had no idea it'd been in the pile that long, lol.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 15, 2013, 03:53:15 PM
Funnily enough I was debating whether to start FFXII-2 up last night too.. it was that.. or do a re-run through Lost Odyssey going for the full achievement list (only 3 missing).. I ended up doing neither.. but I think I'll be re-starting my game on FFXII-2 this week sometime as I can then sell it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 15, 2013, 04:55:45 PM
Yeah, I've been thinking about shifting some games lately.
Catalogued all my xbox 360 games on Saturday (around 120 boxes, if memory serves), and checked prices for cash and for credit on Game and on CEX.
If I use game's price guarantee (which might be a chew as you have to prove prices at a rival store but you can't use internet prices) then I could be on for around £600-£700 of store credit, which would set me right up for the next gen - even though I've always said I won't buy a console early next gen.

I do worry, though, about the possibility of game going bust in the next 5 months and me being left with a worthless piece of plastic instead of a store card with £650 on it...

Could do ebay, of course, but it's too much hassle and probably wouldn't get me any more after postage and fees etc.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 15, 2013, 05:24:57 PM
Well I've sold about 60 games on ebay now and cleared just over £300 on them.. most of the games were fairly old though... if your going for store credit then retail is probably the best way to go.. otherwise ebay will net you a lot more than what they offer you in cash... for instance.. I got offered 98p for my copy of Mass Effect from Game.. it sold on ebay for £6.50

But you'd have to have a lot of time AND patience for ebay.. so many time-wasters and dickheads on there.. and ebay always favours the buyer.. which is just stupid, it gives buyers the freedom to be complete arseholes.. and as a seller there's nothing you can do apart from bend over and take it.

However, you could test the water on ebay and do a 20 game job lot say... set a reserve up and see how it goes.. would mean only one p&p cost and if you send recorded delivery then there's much a buyer can do if they lie about not receiving it...plus I always overcharge on the postage costs anyway - sure, the final value you might get might not be as high if you offered free p&p, but ebay only take their 10% fee from the final value fee minus any postage costs..... it would cost a small amount to list it.. and if it doesn't sell, it doesn't sell.. but having cash in hand is much better than having store credit.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 15, 2013, 05:58:13 PM
No Rocksmith yet :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on July 16, 2013, 12:04:07 AM
Well I've sold about 60 games on ebay now and cleared just over £300 on them.. most of the games were fairly old though... if your going for store credit then retail is probably the best way to go.. otherwise ebay will net you a lot more than what they offer you in cash... for instance.. I got offered 98p for my copy of Mass Effect from Game.. it sold on ebay for £6.50

But you'd have to have a lot of time AND patience for ebay.. so many time-wasters and dickheads on there.. and ebay always favours the buyer.. which is just stupid, it gives buyers the freedom to be complete arseholes.. and as a seller there's nothing you can do apart from bend over and take it.

However, you could test the water on ebay and do a 20 game job lot say... set a reserve up and see how it goes.. would mean only one p&p cost and if you send recorded delivery then there's much a buyer can do if they lie about not receiving it...plus I always overcharge on the postage costs anyway - sure, the final value you might get might not be as high if you offered free p&p, but ebay only take their 10% fee from the final value fee minus any postage costs..... it would cost a small amount to list it.. and if it doesn't sell, it doesn't sell.. but having cash in hand is much better than having store credit.

The one thing that always fnarg'd me off about selling on Ebay was when people used to snipe auctions...I understand now that you have things like maximum bid, but it never used to be like that years ago...People could swoop on an auction last second and nip the item for a guarenteed lesser price, especially if the previous bidder wasn't watching the final countdown...Great for buyers, horrible for sellers!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 16, 2013, 08:16:42 AM
The fact they took the ability for buyers to leave negative feedback on sellers is what is most annoying.. if a buyer fucks you around.. you want to leave appropriate feedback... I guess it got abused too much from buyers though.. but there must be a better system than only allowing buyers to leave positive feedback for sellers. 

For instance, I've set on a few of my auctions, that I don't accept cash on collection.. I get a guy who messaged me to ask if I accepted cash on collection to which I reply no... but he buys 3 items and then messages me to discuss when he can come pick them up.. I said, he cant, but I'll send them out 1st class asap... apparently that wouldn't be quick enough... so not only does it refuse to buy the items, he wont mutually terminate the transaction and so I have to wait a week before I can get my ebay fees back - and then I have to spend more time re-listing and selling them - that guy is a shit buyer, but I cant tell the ebay community that.. no, all I get told to do by ebay is to add him to my banned buyers list. 
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 16, 2013, 10:57:27 AM
One of many reasons I'd prefer to just walk into a shop and get a load of credit - assuming it's a place where I'd get use from some store credit.

It's impossible to say how much you'd get from ebay, but I checked recent prices for about 10-15 games and most of them (including p&p) were going for about £1-£2 more than you'd get in credit at CEX. In that case I'd actually be better off using Game's price guarantee to beat cex by a quid, plus I save on hassle. I'd have to devote a saturday to it (or take a day off), but I'd shift eighty games or so in one fell swoop.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 16, 2013, 03:12:54 PM
Xbox "Games with Gold":
Get two free games a month with Xbox Live Gold. 2 games a month, available 1st and 16th of each month.


I'm sure everyone played it years ago, but if you've never experienced Assassin's Creed 2 and you have a Gold account you can now download it for free. I'd imagine you can find it through your xbox dashboard (hopefully they'll make it fairly prominent at some point, but I wouldn't bet my life on it). Alternatively you can queue it to your xbox from your pc, here (http://www.xbox.com/en-CA/Live/games-with-gold/home).



So far this free games promotion has had two games, and I already own both. I'm not exactly being blown away here, Microsoft...


Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 16, 2013, 03:57:10 PM
Yup, the PSN games are much better imo.

Missed the bloomin postman today with my copy of Rocksmith which was too big for my letterbox...you're supposed to wait 24 hours before picking it up at the Sorting Office which is a pain, might go down there close to closing to see if I can pick it up then. Hope so! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 16, 2013, 07:46:17 PM
Got it!!! Had a quick go and it's not too bad. going to take a bit of getting used to though I think. First song is Satisfaction by the Stones, there's a tiny bit of lag but will mess around with the settings later and be able to get rid of that.

Have had a look at the DLCand seen that BB King's The Thrill Is Gone is there, have always loved that song and have downloaded all of the DLC from TPB so will get that sorted out soon. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 17, 2013, 01:08:05 AM
New trailer for Sonic here (http://uk.ign.com/videos/2013/07/16/sonic-lost-world-colors-trailer), looking great so far! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 17, 2013, 04:13:44 PM
Got through the first two songs accurately enough to do my first gig (playing those two songs) and got an encore. Have sorted the audio lag but need to fiddle about a bit more to sort out the video lag. I guess that's part of the benefits (no audio lag unlike the console SKUs) and disadvantages (everyone's PC is different so you need to adjust settings to suit the power of your hardware) of playing the PC SKU. 8)

Once I get the video lag nailed it should be plain sailing though, just wish it wasn't so hot though because I'm sweating buckets and it's difficult to concentrate. Also have to make sure I'm keeping tabs on my sugar levels too because if I'm trying to concentrate on something when I start having a hypo and start making mistakes or am unable to have the thought processes to do something correctly then I don't realise I'm having a hypo and try and carry on. Which is very dangerous, I could end up in a coma if I'm not careful :o :-\ :o

Fucking hate this weather >:( >:( >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 17, 2013, 04:20:12 PM
We're all cursed.
You hate playing computer games in this weather; I hate going to work in this weather.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 17, 2013, 06:05:29 PM
I hate doing anything in this weather. ::)

It was a great deal worse when I was working at Eidos, the air conditioning was fucked and we were working in temperatures up to 88 degrees. They only got it fixed because I sxent a blanket email to my entire department listing the symptoms of heat exhaustion and hyperthermia, suggested that anyone that had these symptoms should sue and BCCed the email to a Mickey Mouse hotmail address so that it looked like it was being sent to either a solicitor or Health & Safety.

That's a hot tip for anyone composing a complaint email, a BCC fires the imaginations of the people being complained to - gotta love paranoia 8) :P 8)

The air conditioning was fixed the next day ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 17, 2013, 06:06:49 PM
lol, you should hear yourself sometimes harv.. its a sorry state of affairs when you think about it.. your quite happy to go to the extent of playing a computer game so much that it "could" put your life in danger.. yet you cant bear to think about trying a back to work scheme in case it "could" put your life in danger..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 17, 2013, 06:23:54 PM
Playing Rocksmith isn't putting my life in danger. It's hardly strenuous activity...I'm playing my guitar in the comfort of my armchair. ::) It's the heat that's putting my life in danger, and does do every Summer whether I'm working or not. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 17, 2013, 07:18:02 PM
Have just played Satisfaction with 94%accuracy...a piss easy song to play but sod it - I'm proud of myself lol :-[ :P ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 19, 2013, 01:14:37 AM
I now own only approx 25 Xbox games, having shifted 101 games.
But I have around £500 credit for Game (and have around £20 on my reward card).
Next gen here I come! Still not sure which machine I want, mind. I'm leaning more towards ps4 but could go for either tbh.

(So much for my plans to wait until next summer...)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 19, 2013, 08:42:04 PM
Nice.. wouldn't of wanted to get stuck behind you in the queue  ;D

Bet your "shelf" looks weird now..

I know pre-orders for both machines are running low in some places.. although I'm not 100% sure which shops they are.

I'll be doing another load of selling when I get back from me hols.. need to be ruthless with some games... might as well sell all my spare HDs/joypads/headsets aswell.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 19, 2013, 09:32:59 PM
Going to be interesting to see how much each one sells before the New Year.

What are your guesstimates..?

I'm going for 1.7m for the PS4 and 1.2m for the One.

As a point of reference the 360 sold 1.5m from release until 31st December and the PS3 did 1.7m.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 19, 2013, 10:09:05 PM
The 360 & PS3 both suffered from horrendous stock problems straight after launch though.. they would of both sold far more.. well the 360 certainly.  Either way.. with your predictions on how much the Wii U would sell in the first year being absolutely miles off.. I'm pretty sure your guesstimates can be taken with a pinch of salt... the PS4 will easily outsell the X1 at launch worldwide and I reckon they will be more than 500k in it by Christmas.  Both consoles will of outsold the Wii U by Easter I reckon  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 19, 2013, 10:51:56 PM
The 360 & PS3 both suffered from horrendous stock problems straight after launch though.. they would of both sold far more.. well the 360 certainly.  Either way.. with your predictions on how much the Wii U would sell in the first year being absolutely miles off.. I'm pretty sure your guesstimates can be taken with a pinch of salt... the PS4 will easily outsell the X1 at launch worldwide and I reckon they will be more than 500k in it by Christmas.  Both consoles will of outsold the Wii U by Easter I reckon  ;)

All consoles suffer from supply constraints at launch. Releasing a console is a logistical nightmare, pretty much everything is done at the last minute.

As for outselling the Wii U by Easter you're not taking into account the software on the way. The ridiculous software drought is over at the end of this month. July - Pikmin 3, August - The Wonderful 101, September - Wii U Play, October - Wind Waker HD, November - Donkey Kong and the two big guns in December - Super Mario 3D World and Wii Fit U.

The Wii U having an installed userbase over 8m before the end of the year is very doable - 4m sold already, 1m between now and 31st October and 3m between 1st November and the 31st December.

Sony and Microsoft won't be able to ship more than 2m consoles each, let alone sell them. And you're forgetting about another very big gun being released in April - Mario Kart 8 - which is going to give the Wii U a nice sales boost, even if the likes of Yarn Yoshi, SMT x Fire Emblem, X and Bayonetta 2 aren't released before then to keep sales momentum going after the New Year.

It's going to take years for Sony and Microsoft to catch up, just look at how much an advantage just a 5.5m lead a year's head start gave Microsoft with the 360 last gen. The Wii only overtook it because it was a ridiculous sales phenomenon and I can't see the PS4 or One emulating that sort of success.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 19, 2013, 10:56:17 PM
Nice.. wouldn't of wanted to get stuck behind you in the queue  ;D

Bet your "shelf" looks weird now..

Was arguing prices with the manager for quarter of an hour, then it took him about an hour to scan them all in. He had two others printing labels ready to stock then all on the shelves. All in all I took up a good few hours for three of the four staff ;)

Our lass it's happy that the shelves are a lot tidier now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 20, 2013, 07:49:13 PM
Have now unlocked Day of The Chordead in the Guitarcade and it's awesome lol. You get zombies shuffling towards you and you have to play the right chord to shoot them with machine guns. Awesome lol. I can see myself playing this loads, just the right thing to toughen up my fingers and get used to changing chords again. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 22, 2013, 01:43:25 PM
Omfg, the latest rumour is that Nintendo are planning on buying Atlus :o

Fucking hell, the Nerd-Rage if SMT and Persona are 3DS/Wii U exclusive is going to make the Nerd-Rage seen following the Bayonetta 2 announcement seem like a picnic lololol :o ;D :P

Going to be interesting to see what happens during these next few months.

Not too bothered who gets them myself, although I will be sorry to see the Wii U not getting a Trauma Center game if Sony or Microsoft end up picking them up. I love that franchise.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 22, 2013, 04:01:44 PM
"omfg" is a bit of an exaggeration is it not?

Nintendo may or may not be buying a bankrupt company that most folk have never heard of, who make loads of Japanese games that nobody's heard of, and mainly just release on Nintendo consoles anyway.

It's not even close to an "omfg"...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 22, 2013, 04:15:04 PM
It most certainly is an 'omfg' moment if it happens, you're going to see loads more Nerd-Rage than we saw with Bayonetta 2 if any one of Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft buy them. I'd say that Nintendo would be favourites though considering that SMT x Fire Emblem is coming next year. Can't see either Sony or Microsoft wanting to fulfill that contract obligation on a rival platform.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 22, 2013, 06:29:41 PM
But Bayonetta was wank...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 22, 2013, 06:42:47 PM
Haven't played it yet because I'm waiting for Sega to port the 360 version to the Wii U's eShop as a budget digitally distributable only title. Sega would be insane not to do it, it would cost bugger all to do and be an easy profit for them to make. If they don't do it before the second one launches then someone at Sega needs to be sacked.

And whether you liked it or not is immaterial - the Nerd-Rage was hilarious lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on July 22, 2013, 11:13:25 PM
Well, finally Platinum'd Skyrim...OK game, nothing special, imo, though...Don't get how it won GOTY awards since theres nothing really groundbreaking about it

It's cool witnessing your first few dragon fights, but then it just becomes an inconvience on your way between quest markers and you end up getting bored of it...Especially when you find out the dragons have the same fight patterns constantly...Fly around, land, turn around on the spot, fly away, repeat until you kill it with repeated shots to its kneecaps....Yawn.

Dungeons are boring too...Same layout every single time, same stupid animal puzzles, same loot and rewards, same enemies to fight...they're just copy and paste jobs...I didn't even find the side faction quests interesting either, the Dark Brotherhood questline was easily the best thing about Oblivion and yet Skyrims doesntt have a patch on it, you could argue they made the quests worse.

Scale of the world is impressive, but the graphics are pretty average and theres so many glitches, despite the numerous patches released for the game...Thank God it isnt a difficult game, just time consuming.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 23, 2013, 08:10:21 AM
OK game, nothing special

Don't get how it won GOTY awards since theres nothing really groundbreaking about it

boring too

Same layout every single time

they're just copy and paste jobs..

the graphics are pretty average and theres so many glitches, despite the numerous patches released for the game


If I didn't know any better.. I thought you were describing every single Call of Duty game released since MW1... oh no.. I forgot.. you like those games  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on July 23, 2013, 08:06:20 PM
I do like Call of Duty, and in the very same way, I wouldn't give it GOTY awards anymore.

I did like Skyrim, but it never blew me away at any point, nor did I feel like exploding with excitement over the Dragon set pieces/quests.

Everything you didn't quote, that I went into detail about, regarding the game is true....Dragon battles lose their novelty after the first few fights because of the mundane and samey patterns Dragons attack in, and the games various dungeons are just recycled way too much.

It's all well and good having scale and size, but the amount of glitches isn't really worth it in the end...and God knows how many patches this game has had down the years as attempts to fix them, and yet you still can't pickpocket someone properly because your characters body clips through a wall and someone on the otherside detects you as a result. Things that like, you have to laugh at, because you'll only cry otherwise  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 24, 2013, 09:34:22 AM
I can understand people not being keen on any given game - everyone has different tastes - but I don't really understand getting all the achievements or trophies for a game you don't like.
I'll usually get more achievements on a game I like than one I don't, but I very rarely get the full 1000 on any game even if I love it.

Is it a sort of OCD thing? If so I certainly get that, and am guilty of ridiculous things like that on occasion, but it doesn't extend to achievement hunting for me - I've got 49 out of 50 achievements on a game before and walked away despite the remaining one being to play a level in local coop, which I could easily do.



I've been playing it for a few days now, and I'm undecided about Final Fantasy XIII-2. The story seems okay once you get to grips with what happened in the previous game, the characters are well constructed and likeable (though the moogle saying "Kupo" at the end of every sentence is nearly as irritating as Lymle saying "'kay" at the end of every sentence in Star Ocean TLH). But I'm not a fan of the Active Time Battle - which pretty much requires you to spam the A button (usually "auto-fight" or "auto-heal" depending on your character's class) and all of your tactical decisions being in switching classes from time to time - i.e. switch to a defensive class just before you get hit, switch to a medic when you're low on health, switch to attacker when you want to cause some damage.
I much preferred the old turn-based combat, where the key is choosing what spell or action each individual character performs.
Still, I'll stick with it. And not just because I'm running short of games ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on July 24, 2013, 09:24:38 PM
Where did I say I disliked it Late?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 25, 2013, 09:16:33 AM
You didn't sound very keen, but you didn't say you didn't like it.

It's a phenomenon I've seen before, not just with you (and Kieron to a degree) - people playing games just for trophies and achievements. If I'm playing a game and I find 90% of the hidden items on my playthrough it's unlikely I'll replay it so I can get the other ones. I'll do so if it's a great game I was going to replay anyway, but just to get some gamerscore? Nope. I've even seen people buy games they know they won't like, just because it's easy to get all the achievements. It's madness.

Screw that. Play a game you enjoy until you get to the point where you've done everything you want to and you want to play something else - don't play to fulfil some random bloke's criteria for having fully experienced the game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 25, 2013, 11:07:52 AM
So with that last sentence - are you saying you think achievements/trophies are pointless in their entirety - if so, I couldn't disagree more.

Whilst I can (in some way) understand why Ross goes out of his way to get 100% in the games he plays (as I have done so myself in a few games) there's no way I'd do it in a game I didn't particularly enjoy playing.  Usually I will only 100% a game if it meets certain criteria.. some of it being :

1) It doesn't have online achievements
2) It doesn't require massive amounts of play-time after you have finished the game
3) It is enjoyable to play.

If you take Tomb Raider for instance.. which I loved.. I got pretty much most of the single player achievements which required some post completion game-time.  However I was not enjoying it as much as I had to grind some of the achievements I had missed...  in the end the SP achievements I didn't get were buggy or required too much grinding and I really needed to do a new playthrough.. something I wasn't prepared to do.  I also didn't even bother going online once.  It was exactly the same scenario I faced with Dirt:Showdown too.

Even if a game did have entirely single player achievements and I enjoyed playing it - there's no guarantee that I would 100% it.. Bioshock Infinite for instance.. I did get a lot on my first playthrough.. but 1 or 2 of the achievements required doing a lot of extra leg-work to find hidden stuff etc.. stuff I would of had to use a guide for.. I just couldn't be arsed to be honest.

But there have been cases where I have enjoyed a game more because of the achievements.. Dead Rising springs to mind straight away.. saving every single survivor was an absolute bitch.. the guide I was using was crap because I did it not too long after the game release, so I found myself ad-libbing a lot of it... but because your constantly against the clock it was fucking hard and I did it with seconds to spare.. however it was an epic playthrough and I really enjoyed doing it... I would of never of attempted to do it without the achievement there though and I guess that's the point!

Whilst I am proud of that achievement.. I am equally ashamed I went and did the Zombie Genocider one (killing over 53,000 zombies in one playthrough).. I was planning to do the full 100% after I did the 50 survivor one.. but got totally side-tracked by Gears of War and the fact my xbox went RROD.. when I did finally go back to it (4 years later).. I did the Zombie Genocider achievement and thought - fuck this to the other achievements lol.  I've since sold the game, so definitely no going back now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 25, 2013, 11:38:17 AM
So with that last sentence - are you saying you think achievements/trophies are pointless in their entirety - if so, I couldn't disagree more.

Largely.
But not completely.

There are some games where I've gotten more out of the game because it's got achievements than I would have gotten if it didn't have achievements. I usually don't look at the achievements for a game until after I've completed it, and even then I sometimes don't bother.
But sometimes I'll get to the end, see that I got an achievement for saving person A, and there's a separate achievement there for saving person B instead - when I never realised there was actually a choice between them. Then I might replay the game (or that level) to see what's different. Or I'll see there's an achievement for completing the game with zero kills - and if I enjoyed the game on the first playthrough the knowledge of that achievement may well incite me to play again and try for zero kills. There's a strong possibility I might've replayed it anyway, though, if I enjoyed it. And if I didn't enjoy it then I ain't replaying it irrespective of whether there's achievements to get.

But I find the vast majority of achievements pretty pointless. Collect all the hidden objects? No thanks. Complete 10 races online? Not interested. Complete the game on easy, after you've already completed it on hard? They can shove that achievement so far up their arse they choke on it.

I mentioned the Lego one earlier, where I got something like 970 or 980 out of 1000, and the only remaining achievement was to play a level co-op. Easily done. Can't be arsed. I'll may well find and purchase every single character in the game (and get an achievement for that) but not because there's gamerscore for doing so. I'd do that because I want to do that. I want to find every character. I'd do it if the game didn't have achievements. Play a level in co-op? I'd do that if someone wanted to play co-op (and have done it in most lego games) but didn't in that one because there was nobody around that wanted to play, at the time. Achievements made zero difference to me in that game.

Another good example is "State of Decay". I've only had one play-through on that so far - though I do intend going back to it at some point - and I got most of the achievements. I didn't get the achievement for completing the "Judge" storyline. And I didn't get the achievement for getting killed by zombies.
When I next play through the game I'll definitely want to complete the Judge one. Not because I'll get an achievement for it, but because I want to know how that story pans out. I consider letting that settlement get overrun to be my biggest failing in the game, and I'd want to save them next time (hopefully whilst also saving all the others, but if I have to sacrifice one that I saved first time around then so be it).
Do I want the achievement for getting killed by zombies, though? Not at all! I'd imagine it's one of the easiest achievements in a game ever - get killed by zombies in a zombie sandbox game where you're surrounded by hoards of the buggers. But I'm not going to deliberately fail (and getting that achievement means you've failed!) just so I can get an achievement. I might get it accidentally - but I'll be sorely disappointed in myself if I do.

So yeah - I'd say achievements are pretty pointless. On rare occasions they'll point me toward doing something in the game that I might not have thought of (but often I'd think of it or hear/read about it anyway), but the vast majority of the time I think they add nothing.



I still like it when the notification pops up saying I've achieved something, mind. We all like a bit of congratulation from time to time! ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on July 25, 2013, 02:51:51 PM
You didn't sound very keen, but you didn't say you didn't like it.

It's a phenomenon I've seen before, not just with you (and Kieron to a degree) - people playing games just for trophies and achievements. If I'm playing a game and I find 90% of the hidden items on my playthrough it's unlikely I'll replay it so I can get the other ones. I'll do so if it's a great game I was going to replay anyway, but just to get some gamerscore? Nope. I've even seen people buy games they know they won't like, just because it's easy to get all the achievements. It's madness.

Screw that. Play a game you enjoy until you get to the point where you've done everything you want to and you want to play something else - don't play to fulfil some random bloke's criteria for having fully experienced the game.

There's a difference between not being too keen on a game, and totally disliking it...Is it one of my favourite games of all time? No. Is it a game I'd go back to time and time again? No. Was it simply an OK open world game with mostly average elements with a odd smattering of genuine quality/interest? Yes.

My judgement when it comes to games is actually very good...I base that off the fact that I can't even remember the last time I bought a game that I actually hated to the point where I flung it aside and never touched it again...Granted, I've played alot of average games that dissapointed my expectations of them, but that's not necessarily a bad thing...I completed Skyrim to Platinum in 150 hours in a span of almost 2 years...It's a game that I found good to play in small portions, and the best thing about the Platinum is that you don't have to do any senseless grinding for it and just by beating everything the game has to offer, which you would have done anyway, can grab you every trophy in the game.

Levelling grinds are a different matter, though it does depend on a number of things. I reached level on Red Dead Redemption, but me and my mates always used to posse up and either fuck around in free roam having shit loads or laughs or team up and kick some arse online...It was incredibly fun and made me want to reach level 50 for the trophy.

Take a look at my breakdown;

http://psnprofiles.com/SimplySupreme

There's a ton of games there that are nowhere near to fully completed. I haven't gone off these game or anything, I'm just playing other things at the moment, but I wouldn't start rocking uncontronably in the corner of my room to the point of needing medicine if i never completed them, I just like to use trophies as a good measurement of what you get out of a game.

There's a massive difference between a trophy whore and a trophy hunter...Trophy whores will play absolutely anything to get trophies, mostly easy, quick or cheap games, and they avoid lengthy Platinums like the plague...They'll also avoid games they would have usually bought, but don't want them to tarnish their completion percentage because they might be too hard or require too much time to beat.

Trophy hunters just go that extra mile to beat a game beyond standard completion, they don't give a flying fuck about how hard or long the time might be, they just enjoy the game for what it is and try and embrace the extra challenge.

I don't class myself as either of those...I buy games I have a genuine interest in and don't even bother studying the trophy list in any great detail, not do I care how long beating the game would take...10,000 kills on Resistance 2...I ended up getting on 14,000 on that game...500 games on FIFA 12...God knows how many I ended up actually playing...Rank 10 on GTA 4...Legend Rank 5 on Motorstorm, list goes on.

If you enjoy a game enough, trophies don't even become an issue...It's when you hate the game that starts become a problem, and I never have that issue...I love the games I play and the Platinum trophy gives me a convienient excuse to indulge in them further.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: chelseachelsea on July 25, 2013, 09:44:12 PM
You need to get a life and a job if you spent 150 hours completing a game. ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on July 25, 2013, 09:50:56 PM
You need to get a life and a job if you spent 150 hours completing a game. ::)

Over almost a 2 year period? That's nothing, even though I've worked since I was 20 (4 years now) ;)

Still, playing computer games is a better way of passing time than whacking off to porn because your wife doesn't put out anymore.  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: chelseachelsea on July 25, 2013, 10:00:41 PM
You need to get a life and a job if you spent 150 hours completing a game. ::)

Over almost a 2 year period? That's nothing, even though I've worked since I was 20 (4 years now) ;)

Still, playing computer games is a better way of passing time than whacking off to porn because your wife doesn't put out anymore.  ;D

So you are married as well??? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D  I been living within a harem for 4 years now, every night is a "put out night".
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on July 26, 2013, 12:45:24 PM
I don't think I've ever 100%'d a game. All that collecting 100 of a certain item or Killing all of a certain creature stuff bores me. (Which is surprising considering I was a WOW player and that's basically all WOW is)

I usually play through the campaign/story mode. Complete that then move on.

But then I would describe you guys as nor hardcore gamers where as I'm more casual. Not as casual as to be taken in by gimmicky crap and family games but I hardly ever buy a game on, or within a month of, it's release date now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 27, 2013, 12:20:51 PM
Got Pikmin 3 delivered today and forgot how awesome the franchise is! Just finished Day 1. A brilliant idea, Miyamoto at his best imo. Haven't killed any Pikmin yet but I know I'm going to feel sad and guilty when I do...will probably have nightmares lol :'( ;D

Along with ZombiU, Lego City Undercover, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and Batman Arkham City this is a must-own title for the Wii U. Not bad, 5 must-own titles for the Wii U in 8 months and there's plenty more coming this year by the looks of things.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 27, 2013, 12:30:54 PM
Define "must have".

Cos I can happily live without any of those.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 27, 2013, 12:47:33 PM
Then you obviously have no taste whatsoever ;)

All of those games are fantastic, and it's likely that I'll be adding another 6 to that list before Christmas - The Wonderful 101, Rayman Legends, Watch Dogs, Donkey Kong, Wii Fit and Super Mario 3D World. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 27, 2013, 09:42:06 PM
Fucking hell, I've just found a thread listing all of the custom songs that people have done for Rocksmith so far, there's nearly 2000 of them (http://forums.smithyanvil.com/viewtopic.php?id=640) :o

Hope Ubisoft make 2014 just as easy to customise, but even if they don't I can always use Rocksmith 1 for my custom songs and Rocksmith 2014 for my legit ones 8)

These people have either got a great deal of patience or no social lives to speak of lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 29, 2013, 08:00:35 PM
I take it back about those people, it's a piece of piss to do with Guitar Pro tabs. You basically import a Guitar Pro tab and all the work is done for you. Will probably take a few hours to do my first one but after I know more about what I'm doing I reckon I could knock one out in less than an hour I reckon. Nice. 8)

Have got over 60,000 tabs altogether...gotta love BitTorrent lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 31, 2013, 11:29:16 AM
August's freebies from Microsoft haven't been announced yet, but rumours abound that they're Crackdown and Dead Rising 2.

Oooh, finally a game I haven't played. (DR2. If memory serves I played the demo and wasn't that keen, but at £0.00 I'm in...)

MS might argue the free games thing isn't going head-to-head with Sony's similar freebies, and you can keep these rather than just "renting" them - but that's a weak argument and from the consumer's point of view the services are justifiably compared. And Sony's absolutely romping it while Microsoft keep putting out ancient games everyone played years and years ago.

Crackdown was a fantastic game when it came out. Six and a half years ago.
Meanwhile ps3 owners get Battlefield 3 and NFS: Most Wanted, amongst others...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 31, 2013, 02:24:58 PM
There are runours that Microsoft are going to reannounce the One including cutting the price to match the PS4, have my doubts personally but they did a U-turn on the DRM so who knows..? :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 31, 2013, 04:08:47 PM
Where have you heard that?

Last week there was a rumour they would be bringing out a version without Kinect included, to bring costs down, but Microsoft flatly denied that straight away. (Fair enough, as they'd undermine everything they're doing if they brought out a version without it. Because every console includes the peripheral developers will factor it into every game in some way, but if it was an optional thing then most would likely ignore it.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 31, 2013, 04:26:56 PM
Some dodgy web site lol, but Microsoft certainly need to do something drastic otherwise it's going to flop worse than the Wii U lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 31, 2013, 07:34:17 PM
I'm not sure about that. I'm probably leaning more toward ps4, but could easily go for the xb1 - and whilst Microsoft have picked up a lot of bad press lately I think their console will sell very well.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 31, 2013, 08:38:38 PM
If MS cut Kinect from the bundle and release the XB1 at 349 I'd be all over it. As it stands I'm heading for the PS4.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 31, 2013, 09:25:28 PM
Blimey, another gimped game for the Wii U. Warner Bros. have announced that there's no online multiplayer for the Wii U SKU of Batman Arkham Origins. A real shame because the GamePad use in Arkham City made the Wii U SKU the definitive version for me personally. If it's the same price as the PS3/360 SKUs with half the game missing then Warner Bros. can fuck right off as far as I'm concerned, I won't get it until it's in the bargain bin. >:(

I don't play a great deal of online multiplayer myself but it's the principal of the thing. If it has less content than the other SKUs it should be cheaper to buy. If not then fuck them.

I was really looking forward to playing it too. :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 01, 2013, 04:25:14 PM
Blimey, Morrison's are dropping the Wii U now too :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 01, 2013, 08:30:36 PM
Funny but sad :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 01, 2013, 11:52:55 PM
I've just slaughtered 67 Pikmin in one go with the first boss lol ;D :'( :'( :'(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 05, 2013, 02:15:58 AM
Despite having a big backlog of games, and the fact I played and completed Crackdown years ago, I took up Microsoft's offer to download it for free - and I'm loving it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on August 05, 2013, 05:22:46 PM
Platinum'd Sleeping Dogs, excellent game, I can see why many people gave it a sleeper pick for GOTY in 2012.

Story is excellent, both combat and gun-fighting is well implemented, tons of varied activities to do across the open world and the graphics, especially during cutscenes, are superb.

Only big critisism is that there weren't that many story missions. which makes it too short, imo...30 is a little bit underwhelming for a game where you have to make a direct comparison to GTA, which has boasted games with up to 100 story missions before, along with all the extra content too...Completed everything in just over 35 hours...Again, a bit dissapointing for an open world game really, but it is still a great game, free for PS+ subscribers at the moment, which is no a brainer for anyone deliberating.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 09, 2013, 06:30:12 PM
Just one word necessary after playing The Wonderful 101 demo: AWESOME.

I can see this being a possible GOTY contender, Platinum Games at their best. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 10, 2013, 07:30:51 PM
Kamiya was certainly right about replay value for The Wonderful 101, there are a fair few secret missions hidden, hidden characters, and times and medals to beat. Even without the secret missions and characters I'm doomed to play the crap out of the game just to beat my medals and times. I tend to get OCD about such things but I'm much worse with driving games, with driving games I tend to have a death grip on the controller and get cramps in my hands lol :-[ :P :-[
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 10, 2013, 08:18:47 PM
Forgot to provide a link to the awesome trailer released yesterday (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNefE89DZds) for the game. But be warned - Wonder Black being black and break dancing and Wonder Pink being a hornbat with a whip is, apparently, racist and sexist according to some. You really couldn't make it up lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D

Best trailer I've seen in a while myself. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on August 14, 2013, 10:40:36 AM
finally turned the PS3 back on after months and months.  Fired in Batman Arkham City.  I know the look of the game is supposed to be dark and foreboding but it's been overdone in my opinion.  Loved Arkham Asylum and played it to copmpletion, not sure how long I'll stick with this.  If the story isn't too long I'll finish it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 14, 2013, 11:18:34 AM
Thought it was a cracking game personally.
There's loads more to do than in the first game, but it's mainly optional stuff. The main story is about the same length as it's predecessor.


(http://s16.postimg.org/bl9uz19qd/arkham.png)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: styles on August 15, 2013, 09:03:15 AM
cheers mate, stuck already lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 15, 2013, 09:55:37 AM
You're really going to resist the urge to collect all the Joker trophies? You've got willpower!



The fourth and final DLC pack for COD Blops 2 comes out next week on xbox. (I'd imagine on pc and ps3 about a month later.).
Arguably their laziest map pack ever. They always have four multiplayer maps, but from time to time one of the four will be an updated version of an old map. Which I don't really mind, as it's usually a good map - just with a new skin. This time they're including 2 new maps and 2 "reimagined fan favourites" (old maps)...
And of course there's a new zombie map. Steampunk ww2 themed.
If I didn't have the season pass I'd probably buy this map pack (perhaps as a farewell to COD for a while - I'm not sure if I'll be buying COD:Ghosts). But I did get the season pass, so I'll be all over this as soon as it's available :D



Reminder to xbox users. Points are being phased out in the next dashboard update - future purchases will be in local currencies. Any points you have on your account at that point (expected late August or early September, I think) will be converted to local currency equal to or better than the going rate.
Or that's the spiel. Lots of folk on the Beta of the latest dash reported they had enough points to buy a certain game and had been weighing up the decision, but then their UI changed to £sterling and suddenly they didn't have enough to buy it. They'd lost around a quarter of their balance due to a combination of the points being changed at an unfavourable rate and xbla prices going up slightly.
MS announced it was a glitch and those people would be reimbursed what they'd lost. That's why we have Betas. (Fair point.)
I've got 3730 msp on my account (probably cost around £27, but face value is around £31). I'll be interested to see what my £ balance is after the update.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 15, 2013, 10:18:36 AM
I just realised they are creating a new version of Zoo Tycoon for the X360 & X1 - WINNING!!  Me & the missus love those games.. and I'm a big fan of any type of sim games :D  Looking at the graphics.. its definitely been updated lol.. hopefully the scenarios wont be a complete copy and paste from the pc game though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 15, 2013, 12:22:16 PM
The demo of Rayman Legends is now available for the PC, PS3 and 360. The Murphy parts that uses the touchscreen on the Wii U have replaced the touchscreen use with button presses which really don't work anywhere near as well. I don't know why they didn't leave them out altogether tbh. :-\

I really can't see the Daily and Weekly Challenge parts of the games working at all, they involve moving Murphy with your finger and timing your swipes on the touchscreen to beat distances travelled, and during the Murphy parts of the actual game the AI moves Murphy into the correct position for you lol. Perhaps they're going to leave those Challenges out..?

Going to be interesting to see what sort of concessions they make with regards to the amount of enemies onscreen at once too, graphically the demos look identical but the new trailer included in the demo shows around a third of the enemies onscreen at once in one part compared to a screenshot released last year. I wonder if they've gimped all versions so that they all show the lesser amount of enemies for the PS3 and 360 SKUs or if the PC and Wii U SKUs will have superior numbers. ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 16, 2013, 12:16:38 AM
GTA online is looking pretty damned sweet from today's trailer :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olEGtoYs_8A&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on August 16, 2013, 01:51:47 AM
Platinum'd FIFA Street, good game, doesn't really have a patch on the traditional FIFA games but as a spin-off, it's a nice change of pace and well put together.

Platinum was solid, you have to win 9 online cups which open up for the 3 days every weekend friday-sunday, so if you missed out on 1, you'd have to wait 9 weeks to see it again! Never happened to me but i bet it has to some people. World Tour is lengthy too. 8/10 for difficulty.

Dead Space 2 Platinum is imminent too, I hope, playing through on Hardcore mode and am currently on Chapter 9 with 2 saves down (1 remaining), it's been a tough one but I'm into a good rhythm now so I'm hoping to knock it off soon, just gotta learn to take my time more and stop with the silly deaths.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 16, 2013, 05:28:10 PM
This is interesting (http://www.dualshockers.com/2013/08/11/shuhei-yoshida-shares-how-you-can-grab-free-ps-plus-games-for-ps4-even-without-a-ps4-and-more/). Once the PS4 has launched you can grab the PlayStation+ games even if you don't own the console. I'm looking at getting the PS4 next year sometime, probably a year after launch, so am thinking of subscribing to PlayStation+ before I get one just to get the 12 free games when I get one. Nice 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 17, 2013, 11:50:09 PM
UK launch trailer for The Wonderful 101 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hShtdHNXXzM). Fucking awesome!!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 20, 2013, 09:45:36 AM
Heavy rumour going round that Fifa 14 will come bundled for free with the Xbox One for the European markets.. great news if true.. Gamescom going on at the moment, so expect to hear some new next-gen stuff over the next few days... The Sims 4 will be making its debut there too...

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Just cancelled my GTA5 pre-order with shop-to.. and gone with Tesco instead.. £39.99 minus £5 with the code TD-R4NQ minus another £3.50 in clubcard points = £31.49.. had to pay now mind.. but no biggy  :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 20, 2013, 11:18:34 AM
The FIFA 14 thing is now confirmed. That's quite incredible.
There's going to be a lot of people who'd been planning on buying a ps3 because it's cheaper than the xb1, then paying £35/£40 for the game.
Suddenly that price gap has closed quite a bit (if you're interested in the game, or can sell it).

lol @ paying £35 for GTA:V.
The gamestop offer is still on, you know... :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 20, 2013, 11:28:01 AM
Awesome news about Fifa 14  ;D

And I couldn't be arsed with the hassle of the gamestop offer.. also this line in their terms and conditions put me off a bit -

GameStop also reserve the right to refuse to accept any game for the purpose of this GTA: V Trade-In Offer at their discretion without giving any reason.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 20, 2013, 02:13:48 PM
xb1's FIFA 14 also has a new "Ultimate Team Legends", exclusive to the console.



23 Xbox One launch titles. I believe most are scheduled to release in November.
Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag (Ubisoft, Ubisoft)
Battlefield 4 (DICE, Electronic Arts)
Call of Duty: Ghosts (Infinity Ward, Activision)
Crimson Dragon (Grounding/Land Ho!, Microsoft Studios)
Dead Rising 3 (Capcom Vancouver, Microsoft)
FIFA 14 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)
Fighter Within (AMA Ltd., Ubisoft)
Forza Motorsport 5 (Turn 10 Studios, Microsoft Studios)
Just Dance 2014 (Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft)
Killer Instinct (Double Helix, Microsoft Studios)
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (TT Games, Warner Bros. Interactive)
Lococycle (Twisted Pixel, Microsoft Studios)
Madden NFL 25 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)
NBA 2K14 (Visual Concepts, 2K Sports)
NBA LIVE 14 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts)
Need for Speed: Rivals (Ghost Games, Electronic Arts)
Peggle 2 (Popcap, Electronic Arts)
Powerstar Golf (Zoe Mode, Microsoft Studios)
Ryse: Son of Rome (Crytek, Microsoft Studios)
Skylanders: Swap Force (Vicarious Visions, Activision)
Watch Dogs (Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft)
Zoo Tycoon (Frontier Developments Ltd., Microsoft Studios)
Zumba Fitness: World Party (Zoë Mode, Majesco)


dealspwn (http://www.dealspwn.com/xbox-launch-titles-confirmed-152038)

There's a few titles I'm excited about, but not sure there's enough exclusivity to make me pick xbox over playstation...

AC4. Yeah, I'll have to have this - I've bought every game in the franchise so far. Usually wait a while, for the price to drop though. Looks very promising.
Battlefield 4. Looks good, but 2 years ago I bought BF3 and CODMW3 when they both came out in the same week, and barely played either. I think if I'd only bought one I'd have gotten more out of it.
COD Ghosts. I've been saying for months I won't get it, but as we get closer to November I'm feeling the urge... Will probably buy either this or BF4, but I'm not sure which.
Crimson Dragon. Meh. Looks okay, but not my cup of tea. Would pick it up if I saw it cheap.
Dead Rising 3. I've never really been drawn to the DR games. Played the extended demo of DR2 a few years ago, but wasn't tempted to buy the game. I downloaded DR2 (free to gold members at the moment) a couple fo days ago, and will give it a look - so enthusiasm for DR3 may occur soon.
FIFA 14. Free, so yeah I'd probably get that, lol. I quite enjoyed the last Fifa game I played, but I was rubbish at it.
Fighter Within. Looks promising, fully utilising Kinect for 1:1 action. Would be tempted by it.
Forza. Looks beautiful. I'm no driving game fanatic, but I do enjoy them and would definitely want some sort of driving game in my collection pretty soon after buying a new console - and Forza (or Gran Turismo on the ps4) would fit the bill perfectly of course.
Just Dance. No. The kids might get some play out of it, but probably not much.
Killer Instinct. You get a free version, but with only one playable character and you then pay to unlock more characters. I hear it's £4 for a character, £17 for a pack of 8, or £35 for a complete package. Interesting price strategy. I will definitely get soem play from the free version and may well pay to get more characters.
Lego Marvel. Oh hell aye. Two of my favourite franchises ever combined into one game. That's a must have. Unlikely to have much longevity, mind.
Lococycle. Looks bleedin' awful to me, to be honest.
Madden NFL. Not remotely interested.
NBA. Again, not interested in the slightest.
NFS Rivals. I'll need to look into it - I don't know much about it. I've played two NFS games and loved Hot Pursuit but wasn't keen on Shift.
Peggle 2. Love peggle, so will have to get this - so long as they don't go crazy with the pricing.
Powerstar Golf. Don't know much about it, and not into golf, so probably not my cup of tea.
Ryse. Supposed to be the new big thing, but it looks a mess to me - incorporating parts of the freeflow combat thing from Arkham with a load of QTEs, set in some quite ridiculous but uninspired arenas. Perhaps I'm missing something.
Skylanders. No. I'm sure these games with nfc characters are great fun, but I'm not starting down that road to financial ruin thankyouverymuch.
Watch Dogs. Looks fantastic from what we've seen. Would like to see some reviews before I say it's a "must have" but it's looking that way so far.
Zoo Tycoon. Don't know anything about it (other than what the name implies. I guess you're a tycoon with a zoo!). It it's like themepark I could be interested. If it's like nintendogs you can stick it where the sun don't shine.
Zumba. Um. No. No no no no no. No. (Unless - does it have loads of fit birds prancing around in skimpy outfits? Might buy it. For keep fit purposes. For the wife.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 20, 2013, 03:14:46 PM
Isn't Kinect Sports Rivals a launch game too late ??  Where did you get that list from??

Fifa 14 confirmed as a free download by the way.. so no trading in

With that news coupled with that F2P version of Killer Instinct.. I think I'll be good with just the 2 launch games (and if KI is any good, I'll probably purchase some bits for it) -

Dead Rising 3 and Forza 5 will be the ones I buy...

They both stand above and beyond all other games and the PS4 offerings in my opinion.

Not touching NFS Rivals - The Crew which is a launch window game looks a million times better and also I don't want 2 driving games at launch.

Zoo Tycoon is an interesting one... like you.. I hope it keeps its roots and I would definitely be interested in getting it.. but the trailer did look a bit like Kinectimals 2 rather than a sequel to Zoo Tycoon  :-\

Watch Dogs - I'd probably put it on the Xmas list.. unless its getting amazing reviews.. then I could be tempted to buy it.

Ryse - not convinced.. need to see some reviews first.

I'm surprised harv isn't fapping all over Fighter Within though as he seemed to go into meltdown when a similar (shittier looking) game was released on the Wii..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 20, 2013, 04:47:54 PM
Oops @ forgetting to put in the source. Now corrected (dealspwn (http://www.dealspwn.com/xbox-launch-titles-confirmed-152038) reporting from gamescon)

IGN (http://uk.ign.com/games/kinect-sports-rivals/xbox-one-20000535) show Kinect Sports Rivals as Q2 2014, and wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinect_Sports_Rivals) shows Q1/Q2 2014.

New trailers for Sims 4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=N6XP8ko-Emo) (doesn't really tell or show you anything), for Command & Conquer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7dLWafeCbac) (doesn't show much, looks pretty, but I preferred the series when they were more basic), Lords of the Fallen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AucmqzBdl4&feature=youtu.be&annotation_id=annotation_2763640545&feature=iv&src_vid=8wmHQEmztA0), and Fifa 14 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZVx7vqtzACE).
(Yes, that's Patrick Stewart you're hearing on the FIFA trailer.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 20, 2013, 07:25:10 PM
I'm assuming you're talking about The Fight Lights Out. If Kinect 2.0 is lag-free then I'll fap about it as long as it's able to replicate your actions 1:1.

The FIFA news is pretty huge but they had to do something drastic to stop the One being a huge flop tbh. I'd still go for the PS4 over the One next year though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 20, 2013, 08:06:21 PM
Release dates finally announced by Sony. (Hopefully well get dates from Microsoft too this week).
USA: 15th November
Europe: 29th November


Sony also announced price cuts for PS3 and PS Vita.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 20, 2013, 08:17:08 PM
So much for the rumour of an October release, I wonder if Microsoft can manage to release earlier..? Could be a reason why they're not releasing in 8 of their 21 planned countries. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 20, 2013, 09:08:01 PM
I expect Microsoft will now announce a release date a week or two before Sony's. Two weeks is nothing compared to the seven years or so we've been waiting, but a lot of people who are on the fence about which machine to get will be swayed by a fortnight's wait.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 20, 2013, 09:36:56 PM
If Microsoft's offering of AC2 (released 17/11/09) didn't already look shit (it did) they've properly been put to shame by Sony now offering AC3 (released 30/10/12) free on ps3 for PS+ subscribers.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 20, 2013, 10:54:49 PM
If the watchdogs launch date is anything to go by (as its a launch game for both systems).. that's the 22nd November
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 21, 2013, 11:22:54 AM
XCOM: Enemy Within has been announced by Firaxis. I'm still not sure if you should count it as a new game or as a major expansion to XCOM: Enemy Unknown. It's released as an expansion on pc, but as a standalone game on console - but the standalone game will also include the original.

Loads of new content including maps, enemies, abilities, weapons and gameplay elements. Releases mid November.

IGN (http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/08/21/xcom-enemy-within-announced-tons-of-details)

When I shifted most of my xbox games recently I kept hold of xcom - partly because I've only played through it once and want to play it again, and partly because I wanted to see what DLC they'd bring out. I'm now thinking I should probably sell it, ahead of buying the upgraded version in 3 months' time....
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 21, 2013, 01:16:01 PM
Sony have announced 33 games available for the ps4 in 2013.
More than half of them are only available digitally. The others are available both boxed and digital.

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag (Blu-ray/digital)
Basement Crawl (digital)
Battlefield 4 (Blu-ray/digital)
Blacklight (digital)
Call of Duty: Ghosts (Blu-ray/digital)
Contrast (digital)
DC Universe Online (digital)
Doki-Doki Universe (digital)
DriveClub (Blu-ray/digital)
FIFA 14 (Blu-ray/digital)
Flower (digital)
Hohokum (digital)
Just Dance 2014 (Blu-ray/digital)
Killzone: Shadow Fall (Blu-ray/digital)
Knack (Blu-ray/digital)
Lego Marvel Superheroes (Blu-ray/digital)
Madden NFL 25 (Blu-ray/digital)
Minecraft (digital)
N++ (digital)
NBA Live (Blu-ray/digital)
NBA 2K14 (Blu-ray/digital)
Need for Speed: Rivals (Blu-ray/digital)
Pinball Arcade (digital)
Planetside 2 (digital)
Pool Nation Extreme (digital)
ResoGun (digital)
Skylanders: Swap Force (Blu-ray/digital)
Super Motherload (digital)
The Playroom (preinstalled)
Tiny Brains (digital)
Warframe (digital)
War Thunder (digital)
Watch_Dogs (Blu-ray/digital)

I'm short of time at the mo, so haven't really had a look at the list yet...

dealspwn (http://www.dealspwn.com/confirmed-ps4-launch-titles-152269)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on August 21, 2013, 02:59:55 PM
Both line-ups look seriously strong, wonder if Harv still thinks Mario Fingering Luigi part 8 will be better still.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 21, 2013, 04:38:14 PM
Both line-ups look seriously strong, wonder if Harv still thinks Mario Fingering Luigi part 8 will be better still.

Mario Fingering Luigi 8 (or Super Mario 3D World) will certainly sell better given the superior installed userbase and both the PS4 and One being supply constrained at launch ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 21, 2013, 07:07:03 PM
Just noticed that The Crew isn't available for launch which is a shame. Not that it bothers me that much cos I won't get one until December 2014/January 2015 but I've been really keen to see how they make it possible to drive through the entire country of America :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 22, 2013, 12:58:58 AM
Just started playing Dead Space again, forgot how shite PS3 and 360 graphics are in comparison to a half decent PC lol. And they tend to dumb down the graphics for PC SKUs so that they don't make them look like ZX81 graphics in comparison lololol ;D ;D ;D

Also forgot how fantastic my Radeon 4870 was too, it still holds up pretty well 5 years after I bought it. :o Mind you, when I put this PC together it was pretty much top of the range at the time so no surprise that it's aged pretty well. I'm not overclocking anything either, everything is running at stock speeds.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 22, 2013, 09:36:19 AM
Just noticed that The Crew isn't available for launch which is a shame. Not that it bothers me that much cos I won't get one until December 2014/January 2015 but I've been really keen to see how they make it possible to drive through the entire country of America :o
It's due Q1 2014. Wiki have it down as 26/02/14 but I'm not sure where they got that - I didn't think a date had been announced.


Just started playing Dead Space again, forgot how shite PS3 and 360 graphics are in comparison to a half decent PC lol. And they tend to dumb down the graphics for PC SKUs so that they don't make them look like ZX81 graphics in comparison lololol ;D ;D ;D

Also forgot how fantastic my Radeon 4870 was too, it still holds up pretty well 5 years after I bought it. :o Mind you, when I put this PC together it was pretty much top of the range at the time so no surprise that it's aged pretty well. I'm not overclocking anything either, everything is running at stock speeds.
You forgot that fairly competent computers from 2005 aren't as powerful as top end gaming rigs from 2008?
Have you sustained a head injury recently?

And what game publisher do you think makes a game for the pc then orders his staff to "make it look a bit crappier - it's so good it makes our console games look terrible"? Run that through your brain, see if it sounds realistic. If you made a game would you deliberately make it look worse than it should be. Or would you release it looking great (but with high "recommended spec").


[Blimey, five years? Didn't think it was that long since you got that pc. I swear time's been speeding up in recent years. :( ]
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 22, 2013, 09:53:46 AM
Both line-ups look seriously strong, wonder if Harv still thinks Mario Fingering Luigi part 8 will be better still.

Mario Fingering Luigi 8 (or Super Mario 3D World) will certainly sell better given the superior installed userbase and both the PS4 and One being supply constrained at launch ;)

Just like COD sold more on the Wii given its vast installed base.. oh wait...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 22, 2013, 04:51:38 PM
Who mentioned CoD..? We were talking about the next 3D Mario title. A first party exclusive. ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 22, 2013, 04:56:08 PM
And a prime example of a developer dumbing down the graphics for the PC SKU is Left 4 Dead. There isn't a great deal of difference between all SKUs in terms of eye candy. Just look at the difference in eye candy quality between Left 4 Dead and Half-Life 2 Episode 2 on all platforms.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 22, 2013, 08:04:42 PM
I'm getting tempted to run these games over 1080p resolution too. The advantage in not having an upscaler in my telly is that it can run over the official specs. I have my telly displaying my PC in 1080p and 24Hz, which isn't supposed to be possible lol. Got a message from Windows telling me it might damage my telly but it's been fine so far. :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 23, 2013, 03:47:50 PM
NHL 14 demo released on Wednesday.. getting great reviews especially with the fighting...I've been wondering why the hell I haven't been able to see it for the past 2 days.. just realised its gold exclusive  :(  Gotta wait untill the 27th before I can download it.. grr! lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on August 25, 2013, 02:50:05 AM
GTA online is looking pretty damned sweet from today's trailer :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olEGtoYs_8A&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Shit that looks sweet!!!

Is that a whole new different game or is that GTA V online?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on August 25, 2013, 03:08:52 AM
This may sound like a silly question for those in the know but I really don't know as much about what's going on as I'd like to.

Will GTA V and Gran Turismo 6 be available (at launch or at some point) on PS4? Or will they only be on PS3?

I'm already waiting until next year to get it as there's quite a few games I want to play first so that would really suck if they will only be on PS3.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on August 25, 2013, 03:14:29 AM
Also what websites do you guys use for buying games? Preferably with the best deals obviously lol.

I only really know of shopto, zavvi and play.com and then just look on game, blockbuster and the supermarket sites. Occasionally amazon and ebay too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 25, 2013, 08:44:20 AM
GTA 5 and GT6 are PS3 only for now, no plans to release either game on the PS4.

Use hotukdeals to find cheap deals on games you want to buy
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 25, 2013, 05:18:43 PM
I use hotukdeals every now and then but if a game I want isn't there then I use this site (http://www.find-game.co.uk/). If that site gives an Amazon price as the cheapest (which is rare) you can then go to Flubit to get a further reduction on the price.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 25, 2013, 08:39:02 PM
Shit that looks sweet!!!

Is that a whole new different game or is that GTA V online?
Looks pretty bloody awesome, doesn't it!
Is part of gta5 - but you won't be able to play online until 2 weeks after the game comes out. (Not sure why - might just be monitoring unit sales and working out server requirements.)

As Kieron says, there has been no announcement of GTA or GT on next gen machines. They might turn up on the ps4 at some point but I doubt we'll see them any time soon.

Tis a bit of a dilemma, deciding whether to buy games for current gen or wait for next gen. Activision have addressed it in a novel way. If you buy the latest call of duty on current gen you can upgrade it to a next gen copy a few weeks later when the machines come out. Your level progression etc should carry over. Nice idea - and at a decent price for yanks and euros at $10/€10. We get slightly ripped off, as usual, at £10.

hukd and find-game are my two go-to sites for game deals.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on August 25, 2013, 09:09:58 PM
Dead Space 2 Platinum takes me to 55 now.

Hardcore mode is seriously challenging, I had about 3 deaths where I lost a good few hours of progress which set me back to my last save. I really didn't think 3 saves would be that bad, but I underestimated that a bit. Solid 9/10 for me in terms of difficulty, but a hugely rewarding Platinum as a result!

Will move onto my newer games for a bit now...Started Resistance 3 and Dishonoured, both really good games, Dishonoured has my attention at the moment though.

PS4 release date being 29th November is a dilemma for me, half tempted to ask for it for Christmas, although seeing all my mates with it on release would only make me want to buy it myself :( Anyway, got this hefty backlog of games to clear right now, so that's my focus, also still need to buy Bioshock Infinite, The Last of Us and GTA5 this gen still so it won't be easy.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 26, 2013, 03:46:29 PM
Quote
I've got 3730 msp on my account (probably cost around £27, but face value is around £31). I'll be interested to see what my £ balance is after the update.

Dash has updated. My points have been converted to £31.96.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on August 27, 2013, 04:17:06 AM
Brilliant now that's a dilemma. Do I stay on PS3 and play probably 2 of the best games the PS3 has ever seen or do I skip to PS4 after my current list of games to play, hoping the other 2 will make an appearance on PS4, but risk not playing them at all if they don't come over.  >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 27, 2013, 01:50:00 PM
I might be wrong but I seem to recall a GTA game doing the same last generation switch. I think it appeared on the ps3/360 about three years later. There's been no word on a next gen release yet so I doubt it'll be released on xb1/ps4 before next summer (if at all).

I'm comfortable buying it on current gen, despite getting a next gen machine early.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 27, 2013, 02:03:27 PM
You haven't said what your actually buying yet late.. are you going for a launch machine?

I cant wait.. although I'm going to be out of pocket quite a bit unless I start shifting some of my current gen stuff soon... I think Kinect + the Kinect games will be the next things to go.. although need to finish some stuff off with them first.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on August 27, 2013, 02:36:34 PM
Think I'm gonna shift my PS3 and a load of games I have to try and prepare for the next gen! Think I'm going to go for the Xbox One at launch. There doesn't seem to be much in it in terms of specs so I'm making a choice based on the games available at launch (and shortly after).

Infamous: Second Son looks nice on the PS4 but Dead Rising 3, Titanfall and a free copy of FIFA 14 are tempting me to the Xbox One. Even Ryse looks good but I've got my reservations about the look of the gameplay for now (Press X not to die... woop loads of fun!)

Will likely get a PS4 at some point as I hate missing out on exclusives, but it'll be later down the line.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 27, 2013, 07:02:29 PM
I'm sat on around £520 of Game credit so it makes sense to h get a day one machine, but I'm still not sure which. Leaning more toward Xbox at the moment, but there's not much in it either way. I should probably make up my mind soon if I don't want to find they're out of stock...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 28, 2013, 08:22:15 AM
You know you want a X1  ;) 

I'd be interested to know when Quantum Break releases... it wasn't on the launch list, so kinda forgot about it.. but I'd be disappointed if its not launch window, it looks fantastic and has a very novel twist.

Rumours have it that the X1 will be releasing on Nov 8th in the states - 1 week prior to the PS4.. so I'd expect the same thing to happen in the UK and release on Nov 22nd.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 28, 2013, 04:13:45 PM
That has now been retracted, it's going to be launching after the 15th apparently, accordingto Cboat on Gaf and he has proven to be a VERY good source.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 28, 2013, 04:46:15 PM
Quote
I've got 3730 msp on my account (probably cost around £27, but face value is around £31). I'll be interested to see what my £ balance is after the update.

Dash has updated. My points have been converted to £31.96.

Fuck knows what I had before - not much... but got £8.50 now...   ;D


I'm sat on around £520 of Game credit so it makes sense to h get a day one machine, but I'm still not sure which. Leaning more toward Xbox at the moment, but there's not much in it either way. I should probably make up my mind soon if I don't want to find they're out of stock...

Apparently Game have already pulled pre-orders of the Day One edition of the X1 (http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/game-halts-xbox-one-day-one-edition-pre-orders/0120515) after reaching their limit.. you can pre-order a standard edition with them still but there's no guarantee you'll get it on launch day.

So I'm confused whether I'm getting a Day One edition.. mainly because Zavvi had and still have only one SKU for the X1.. I better be getting a Day One edition or I wont be very happy with them  :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 28, 2013, 08:33:02 PM
Nintendo 2ds... Wtf??  You couldn't make this up...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 28, 2013, 08:47:59 PM
Nintendo 2ds... Wtf??  You couldn't make this up...

I know...and It's a real ugly mofo too lol.

Still, it's only $129 and released the same day as Pokemon so it's going to be a licence to print money for them anyway lol.

Several Megatons announced today from Nintendo, in addition to the above they've announced a $50 price cut, a Wind Waker bundle, switched some release dates around (Super Mario 3D World is now November, Donkey Kong is now December) and Gameaand Gamestop are both doing a Special Edition of Wind Waker HD with a great looking figurine. I don't normally go for suchtthings but it really does look fantastic.

And all this without a Nintendo Direct. There's rumoured to be one next month and there's supposed to be some sort of collaboration between Nintendo and Capcom on the way - if it isn't Nintendo Vs Capcom then people at both companies deserve the sack. It would be a licence to print money for the both of them and will keep fighting game fans happy until SSBU next year.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on August 28, 2013, 09:09:35 PM
"The new price makes Wii U an even greater value, particularly with the strong lineup of Wii U games available and on the way for the system in 2013," Nintendo said. "These include Pikmin 3, The Wonderful 101, EarthBound, New Super Luigi U, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, Super Mario 3D World and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze."

Hahaha! Look at that for a line-up! I must run out and buy one!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 28, 2013, 09:57:38 PM
Haven't played The Wonderful 101 yet but they're all good or going to be good titles. A 3D Mario game speaks for itself, as does a sequel to one of the best 2D platform games released last gen. Zelda is always awesome, Pikmin 3 is amazing (and looks 'next gen') and EarthBound, one of the best RPG games in video game history, is available in Europe for the very first time.

The release schedule for the Wii U is looking great until the end of the year, and then next year you've got the likes of X, Bayonetta 2, Yarn Yoshi, Mario Kart 8 and SSBU.

The 8 month software drought has been a pain in the arse but despite that there's still several must-own titles for the Wii U - Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Lego City Undercover, Arkham City, ZombiU, Pikmin 3, New Super Mario Bros. U and The Wonderful 101. Not bad for a console that's only been out for 9 months imo.

And now that Nintendo have seen sense and cut the price in the States to coincide with a big name first party title I'm 100% certain that the Wii U is going to have an installed userbase over 8m before the end of the year which means even the likes of EA will stop their hissy fit and support the console with software launches next year. It's all looking pretty good for Nintendo at the moment, they'll even be able to tap into the young kid market now that they've introduced the 2DS as a 'My First Nintendo Console'.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 28, 2013, 11:16:27 PM
(http://i.imgur.com/G6GfvBy.jpg)

Lmfao ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Gotta love Gaf 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 29, 2013, 02:13:18 AM
Wow, just done the Prologue of The Wonderful 101 and It's fucking gorgeous. :o

Got a Gold medal on Easy which could have been worse I guess lol.

720p native, 60fps and v-synch enabled, I've seen a few screenshots of some of the enemies later on in the game and technically it's very impressive, both the PS3 and 360 would melt if they tried to run this lol. :o ;D :P

That's 2 titles, Pikmin 3 and The Wonderful 101, that look 'next gen' and this is just the end of the first generation of titles.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 29, 2013, 08:21:54 AM
The Wonderful 101 - rated 79 on metacritic.. surely cant be that good then harv..  ;D

The xbox one has something stupid like 10/11 exclusives available at launch and the ps4 cant be too far behind that figure.. and that's not to mention all the 3rd party games the Wii U wont be getting... sorry but the real next-gen machines piss all over anything Nintendo have now decided to offer.

Had to laugh at the Nintendo 2DS... why the fuck would anyone buy the more expensive 3DS version now ??  Not only that.. but they have totally fucked up the design of the 2DS.. doesn't fold up.. no dual thumbsticks (still!!)..  and surely its a step-backwards and an admission from Nintendo that the 3DS was just total bollocks
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 29, 2013, 10:16:33 AM
The Wonderful 101 - rated 79 on metacritic.. surely cant be that good then harv..  ;D

The xbox one has something stupid like 10/11 exclusives available at launch and the ps4 cant be too far behind that figure.. and that's not to mention all the 3rd party games the Wii U wont be getting... sorry but the real next-gen machines piss all over anything Nintendo have now decided to offer.

Had to laugh at the Nintendo 2DS... why the fuck would anyone buy the more expensive 3DS version now ??  Not only that.. but they have totally fucked up the design of the 2DS.. doesn't fold up.. no dual thumbsticks (still!!)..  and surely its a step-backwards and an admission from Nintendo that the 3DS was just total bollocks

It's a typical Platinum game, they tend to average 8/10. Mainly because they're too much of a challenge for reviewers and have a learning curve lol. The combat is deceptively deep and the game has plenty of replay value. GTA V is going to win the GOTY awards all over the place but The Wonderful 101 deserves to have an honourable mention.

As for the 2DS, it's obviously aimed at children aged 8 and under - hence the price, lack of 3D and lack of a clam shell design. Like I've said it's obviously a 'My First Nintendo Console' for kids. And it's launching alongside Pokemon so it's going to fly off shelves.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 29, 2013, 10:32:51 PM
Kamiya has said that he'd love Platinum to go second party with Nintendo :o

Can't imagine the nerd rage if that happened, but can't see it happening myself lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 30, 2013, 09:27:02 AM
Haven't liked anything he's been involved with since the original Resi, personally (but I know he's got a lot of fans). Can't stand Devil May Cry nor Bayonetta.

So I'd be in favour of him transferring his company to that sinking ship.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 30, 2013, 09:52:24 AM
Must of missed this backtrack from Microsoft (theres been so many) but the X1 does come with an included headset - Link (http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2287840/microsoft-unboxes-an-xbox-one-reveals-included-headset)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 30, 2013, 10:04:37 AM
And you can only say 'Xbox On' in the US, UK, Canada, France and Germany on launch day lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 30, 2013, 03:53:10 PM
You know you want a X1  ;) 
I've genuinely decided which console I'm definitely getting, three or four times a week for the last few weeks - before changing my mind shortly afterward.

At the moment I'm leaning toward the ps4.
Except for that bloody controller...
The ds4 is reported to be better than the ds3, which in turn is supposedly better than the ds2 (the last Sony controller I used) - and I was happy enough with the ds2 at the time - so it's probably good, and just takes time to get used to it.
But the left analogue stick is in the wrong place! In terms of symmetry it's in the right place (and my OCD often demands symmetry), but in terms of putting your thumbs in a comfortable position it's all so very wrong.
And don't get me started on that completely pointless (so far as I can see) touchpad.

In terms of gaming, it's pretty much neck and neck between the two, from where I'm stood. A free copy of FIFA 14 is nice, but I'm not really into footy games. I'll play them for a while, but I'm rubbish, and don't have the enthusiasm to get better. (Compare to COD where I was rubbish for a couple of years but carried on playing it loads because it was still fun. These days I'm a lot better - I've dragged myself up to "average".)
Getting COD maps a month earlier is nice - but not major. Exclusives and indie support on the two platforms seem to be pretty even.

Price of course plays it's part. I have around £530 credit so can easily get either console - but the difference is I could get an xb1 with a couple of extras (maybe a second controller and a game, or a couple of games); or I could get a ps4 with a fair few extras (a second controller and around three games - or maybe get a Vita, since I'd then be getting free games for it).

Kinnect voice control is cool. Gimmicky, but cool. But then I have to consider my Harmony remote - which would get confused if another device started switching inputs etc. on my av equipment. If all inputs went through the xb1 it's possible I could do away with the remote entirely - but the xb1 has only one hdmi input, and I'm not sure if it'd work if you fed several different hdmi sources into it using a switcher. I'd need the Sky to go into it, but also the media player. Possibly the BD player too - but I could get rid of that if the console is quiet whilst playing BDs and DVDs.

I'm going round in circles!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on August 30, 2013, 05:52:34 PM
So, about playing newer games first, I sort of went off that and decided to dedicate the last few days to knocking out the L.A. Noire Platinum...That's 56 now  ;D

But yeah, still a great game, it's often overlooked because of other bigger titles that Rockstar have put out, but the graphics are excellent, and for such a simple idea, it's executed brilliantly and produces some incredibly fun gameplay.

Platinum wasn't too hard, getting 5 stars on all cases is tough, but everything else is pretty easy aside some horribly long collectibles and some of the 100% requirements being way too drawn out. Still a great game though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 30, 2013, 06:07:26 PM
Am now on the second level of The Wonderful 101. This really is a masterpiece. When you first start playing either the game or the demo it's a real, serious, mega clusterfuck lol. There's just so much going on at , but once you've played it for a while (or the demodfrom start to finish two or three times) it 'clicks'. I've never experienced anything like it tbh lol.

It's kind of typical Kamiya fare with regards to the deceptively deep combat, hidden stuff all over the place and very little hand holding but has ridiculous boss fights and the narrative of the game is akin to the film style of the Godzilla type films, and the name escapes me for the moment! So much so that it doesn't feel right playing it in English, I'm playing it in Japanese with English subtitles.

This game is spectacular in every way. This is going in my top 5 games of all-time, where it ends up depends on how the rest of it goes but from what I've seen so far it's looking like number 3. :o

1) Elite
2) Football Manager (the original)
3) The Wonderful 101
4) The Empire Strikes Back
5) Half-Life (all of them - and yes, I know it's cheating lol)

The Wonderful 101 has just edged out Fallout 3 GOTY Edition.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 30, 2013, 06:11:10 PM
Kaiju films...bloomin memory lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 31, 2013, 12:16:45 AM
Fucking hell, the boss fights in this game are fucking INSANE!!! :o

Just finished Operation 002, the third level. This really is a fucking masterpiece, don't have a clue how many polys this game is pushing but all of the models are considerably higher poly than anything seen on the PS3 and 360 so far, and it's 720p native, 60fps with v-synch enabled too. Very impressive technically.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 31, 2013, 07:44:08 AM
You know you want a X1  ;) 
I've genuinely decided which console I'm definitely getting, three or four times a week for the last few weeks - before changing my mind shortly afterward.

At the moment I'm leaning toward the ps4.

You've pretty much always leaned towards the ps4 in your logical view... there are a ton of reasons to get a ps4...

...but you know you want a X1  ;)  ;D


Either way.. you definitely shouldn't hang around too long... game could be out of business by the time you decide  :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 01, 2013, 10:34:18 PM
Just finished Operation 003, a third of the way through the game now.

Those reviewers that have complained about the controls must have either sausage fingers, bad hand-eye coordination or are just fucking things up because they're panicking, something I've been guilty of myself a few times lol :-[ :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 02, 2013, 02:35:34 PM
The revised xbox rewards scheme has now been announced.
Details (and registration) here (http://rewards.xbox.com/).

You earn "credits" for doing certain things. Get 5000 credits and they'll bung $5 (£3.35ish) into your account.
Things earning you credits include buying gold subscriptions, playing games that have been out for less than a month, making online purchases, installing more apps, and of course surveys and referring friends.
You also get credits for making purchases from xbla. The amount you get depends on your gamerscore - so you get a lot if you've got over 75k GS.

I currently have 3000 credits on my account - applied retrospectively, thanks to me renewing my gold subs about a month ago.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on September 02, 2013, 03:51:08 PM
Bit of a twist on the Xbox One front...

Apparently, that free copy of FIFA 14 is exclusive to the "Day One Xbox One Editions", and only if you've pre-ordered the console too, so don't get expect a copy of FIFA if you buy later than release date or if you choose another version of the console.

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news/news-16013-FIFA-14-Only-Comes-Free-With-Xbox-One-Day-One-Edition-Pre-Orders.html
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 02, 2013, 03:53:34 PM
That's not bad, looks like they've 'borrowed' Nintendo's idea for those that buy the Premium SKU and improved it - you only have that until 31st December 2014.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 02, 2013, 04:48:30 PM
Bit of a twist on the Xbox One front...

Apparently, that free copy of FIFA 14 is exclusive to the "Day One Xbox One Editions", and only if you've pre-ordered the console too, so don't get expect a copy of FIFA if you buy later than release date or if you choose another version of the console.

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news/news-16013-FIFA-14-Only-Comes-Free-With-Xbox-One-Day-One-Edition-Pre-Orders.html

It's all gotten rather confusing on that front.
Major Nelson officially tweeted on the 20th of Aug that all preorders would get it (here (http://www.whosay.com/larry/photos/400992?wsref=tw)), and on the 27th Aug the official XBOX account tweeted "All pre-orders come with FIFA 14 in Europe... Doesn't matter if it's a Day One console or not" (here (https://twitter.com/Xbox/statuses/372410895609364480)).

Clarity really isn't Microsoft's strong point lately.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 03, 2013, 08:14:54 AM
Blockbusters (http://www.blockbuster.co.uk/product/buy-online/xbox-one/console/289619/xbox-one-console-day-one-edition.htm) seem to have some Day One Editions left if anyone is still looking.

Zavvi still haven't updated their pages yet.. but actively say "Pre-order editions of the Xbox One Console will include a full game download edition of FIFA 14.".. so that to me says every pre-order with them will get it

Confused.. just a bit  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 03, 2013, 09:16:13 AM
Game updated their website a few days back to let people know they have day one consoles back in stock.
Quote
Can I preorder the Xbox One Day One Edition again?
Yes – we’ve done some number wrangling and are happy to say we still have a limited number of preorder consoles we can offer. We’ve even re-added the bundles we had on offer.

Can I preorder the Xbox One Day One Edition online or in-store?
Yes, the Day One Edition is available both online and in-store, although we expect store preorders to run out before online ones.

So I decided to bite the bullet, and popped into my local Game on the way home from work last night to order a Day One xb1.




They had none.
They would take preorders for the console - just not for the day one edition. I'm not all that into FIFA, and the other Day One stuff doesn't really interest me all that much, but if the Day One and the regular are the same price I don't fancy paying the same price for the lesser bundle, so I walked away.
I'm back at square one.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 03, 2013, 10:22:51 AM
I believe you get a download code for Fifa by the way.. so you *should* be able to sell it on straight away.. although how much it will be worth out of the box I don't know seeing as there will be a load of other people trying to sell it at the same time, so probably is worth getting one over a standard edition if you can...

Personally I love the FIFA games.. and would buy them annually as I rarely buy many sport games.. but with the uprising of quality in the NHL games in the past couple of years.. FIFA just doesn't get much of a look-in anymore.

Worth ringing round any other local stores to see if they have D1Es in stock though?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 03, 2013, 11:06:34 AM
There's one other local store - I'll pop by on my way home tonight if I get the chance.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 03, 2013, 03:47:22 PM
I'd phone them rather than waste time going into the shop and then ask them to check any other possible locations you can get to at the same time.. they might be able to do that.. I seriously doubt there will be any left though because they are now only selling the £615 Day One Edition on their website (the COD package).. which is just GAME cashing in on the day one edition shortage... and they wonder why people don't want to shop at GAME anymore.. I haven't traded with them for over a couple of years now..

If you dont mind missing out on Fifa though.. your not missing out on much else getting the standard edition... a controller (with a sticker on it) and an achievement.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 03, 2013, 04:58:31 PM
CBA with phoning. I don't like phones at the best of times, and they're listed as a national premium rate number. (Could probably find a standard landline number if I looked around.)
And it's only one shop, that I pretty much drive past on my way home.

A few years ago there were several within a few miles of my home, several near my work, and a fair few others near my commute. These days there's none anywhere near home or work - but there's 2 shops in Middlesbrough (I drive past Boro on my commute). Next nearest is almost 40 mile round trip to. Sod that.

I'm still not certain which console I want. I probably prefer the xbox but I worry the ps4 will outsell it by around 2:1 - which would mean better exclusives and support for Sony's console in years to come.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 03, 2013, 05:38:35 PM
I saw a while back that the PS4 pre-orders somewhere (might have been Germany) had outsold the One by 4:1. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 03, 2013, 09:36:12 PM
Got no joy looking for a Day One at the other branch of Game, but had a chat with one of the lads there.
They announced a few days back that they'd be giving £40 trade in on COD, Battlefield, or FIFA (ps3 or xb360) when traded in against ps4 or xb1 versions of the same game - which is pretty similar to the deal Activision announced on COD a while back, so it's decent but nothing outstanding. But he also advised that the £40 trade-in offer applies to their xb1-cod bundles. That's piqued my interest, as it's £460 for that bundle (regular version of the game, not the rip off Premium one). It's not a Day One, so almost certainly no FIFA included*, and the COD you get is digital, but you're saving £20 on buying the console and game separately.

£20 outlay now as deposit on the bundle. Buy COD early Nov. Hand over £400 plus the xb360 copy of COD in late Nov and walk away with the console & game. Tempting...


*He said FIFA definitely isn't included with preorders that aren't "Day One", which ties in with the latest I've heard, but contradicts earlier info from MS. I do wonder if there'll be a backlash if FIFA isn't included with all preorders, which might result in MS giving the game or compo to preorders who didn't get Day One. There's no basis for that assumption, though. It's just a shot in the dark...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 03, 2013, 10:57:55 PM
Strong rumours today of a ps4 VR headset to be announced soon...
dealspwn (http://www.dealspwn.com/report-sony-unveil-ps4-virtual-reality-headset-tgs-153686)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 04, 2013, 12:25:50 AM
Awesome, I'll be all over that next year if it happens. Now all we need is for a developer to release a Neuromancer game, William Gibson practically invented VR with that novel :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 04, 2013, 08:06:50 AM
Yeah well considering their last headset cost around £1000 to buy.. I wouldn't be expecting to see it cheap if it did happen.. meaning there will hardly be any games for it and it wouldn't sell very well... you only need look at how many people have been bitching at paying that extra £100 for Kinect (if they went with X1 over PS4)... saying that..I'd love to see VR go mainstream, so any company doing R&D in this area is good in my books.


Enough next gen talk for me... GTA 5 in less than 2 weeks - its crept up fast.. cant friggin wait!! ;D ;D  Would take a day off work.. but only have 2 days left now till xmas and I have to take one day off for when the X1 launches.. its standard.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 04, 2013, 09:27:16 AM
I'm hoping they can do the headset for around £200 (or preferably less, naturally). Would be too expensive for me at £200, but I reckon at that point a lot of people would buy it. And if a lot of people buy it it'll get a lot more support, it's design will improve, and it's costs will reduce.
Support, improvements and reduced costs mean before long we all get in on the action.

Really looking forward to GTA:V :D It's not a "take the day off" occasion for me - partly because I'm low on holidays, and partly because I'm not terribly confident Gamestop will get it to me on release day (and my post comes at about 2pm anyway).
Need to dig out two games to use as my trade-ins. When I sold all my old games I was supposed to keep two from the gamestop list but I had a look last night and I think I only have one. Oops. Will have to have a proper check soon - of my xbox games and my wii games. I think I might have one or two Wii games that are on the trade-in list.
The game is looking fantastic - both single player and multiplayer :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 04, 2013, 10:47:10 AM
NHL 14 - Sept 13th
GTA 5 - Sept 17th

too impatient.. so I bought Lego : LOTR  ;D

Will have to speed through the game to get it done in time..need a quick way of boosting my Gamerscore to 10k before the X1.. plus the real reason of me loving the LOTR franchise and actually getting some limited enjoyment from most of the Lego games.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 04, 2013, 11:16:47 AM
Unlock/buy the Berserker character at your earliest chance.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 04, 2013, 11:58:12 AM
The xb1 has been tweaked slightly, so now performs a little better than the original released info says.
polygon (http://www.polygon.com/2013/9/3/4691770/xbox-one-cpu-gets-150-mhz-boost-console-in-full-production)

It's looking likely they had it massively underclocked for safely, but have now released a bit more power (cpu upped from 1.60GHz to 1.75GHz, but thought to be fine up to 2.00GHz.) They also upped the GPU clock speed recently.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 04, 2013, 02:18:11 PM
Release date has now been announced as 22 November.
They're also doing extra Day One editions.

Quote
Microsoft have announced a November 22, 2013 release date for the Xbox One in the following regions: UK, Eire, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand.

Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi supplemented the announcement with news that more Day One Edition Xbox One's will be made available to help fulfil demand.

dealspwn (http://www.dealspwn.com/xbox-release-date-announced-153817)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 04, 2013, 03:02:11 PM
That's interesting, the customer support people have a meeting on the 22nd so everyone was expecting the staff to have a week's worth of training after that before release date. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 04, 2013, 03:08:17 PM
FINALLY got Rayman Legends delivered today but won't be playing it for a while, my attention is entirely on The Wonderful 101 at the moment. It's absolutely fucking insane, every end of level boss is bigger and better than the end of game bosses in any other video game. I'll probably jizz my pants when the end of game boss comes along lololol :o ;D ;D ;D :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 04, 2013, 05:07:36 PM
Yep I'm taking the 22nd off work and having a 3 day xbox one marathon then  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 04, 2013, 08:42:21 PM
New Day One edition includes Forza instead of Fifa. Suits me. If I can get one.
Same price ie £429.99
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 04, 2013, 10:48:07 PM
Oh shit, a huge fire at Hynix one of the world's biggest memory manufacturers. Anyone planning on buying a new GPU should do it right now because the knock-on effects are going to drive memory prices up everywhere. Also means that console production costs are going to go up too. Can't imagine any of the platform holders putting up their prices though. May mean that there'll be supply constraints in 6-9 months time though :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 05, 2013, 06:49:39 AM
New Day One edition includes Forza instead of Fifa. Suits me. If I can get one.
Same price ie £429.99

Nice one!!

Fingers crossed they'll have some left, thats a good deal.. you'll have to skip work on launch day so I can kick your ass at Forza lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 05, 2013, 09:03:50 AM
Deal
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 05, 2013, 12:10:56 PM
w00t! :D
I've just now pre-ordered the Day One Forza package.
Identical to the old Day One package, but with Forza 5 as a digital download instead of Fifa 14 - at the same price £429.99.
Early indications are it's a UK only deal. I got it from Game (instore). ShopTo and Amazon both look to be selling it.

Stocks look to be extremely limited. The branch I went to was allocated ten units (in an email from head office at 10.54am today according to the helpful lad I spoke to), and had five left when I got mine at 11.25am.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 05, 2013, 09:50:54 PM
Yup, stock will be limited all over due to Microsoft's ESRAM yield issues. You won't hear Microsoft officially admitting it but that's why they're only launching in 13 out of the 21 planned territories.

Sony are going to have serious problems too due to the fire at Hynix, that's where they're getting their GDDR5 from. Mind you, all 3 platform holders will have problems sourcing RAM in 6-9 months time as these things have a knock on effect. Mobile phones, laptops, PCs, consoles...all will be affected. :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on September 05, 2013, 10:37:53 PM
w00t! :D
I've just now pre-ordered the Day One Forza package.
Identical to the old Day One package, but with Forza 5 as a digital download instead of Fifa 14 - at the same price £429.99.
Early indications are it's a UK only deal. I got it from Game (instore). ShopTo and Amazon both look to be selling it.

Stocks look to be extremely limited. The branch I went to was allocated ten units (in an email from head office at 10.54am today according to the helpful lad I spoke to), and had five left when I got mine at 11.25am.

I got one from ShopTo earlier! £428.99  :P  ;D

My other day one purchases will likely be Watch Dogs and Dead Rising 3 (and FIFA 14 if that trade-in deal Late mentioned transpires!)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 06, 2013, 08:04:43 AM
Still some of those left at Woolies (http://www.woolworths.co.uk/xbox-one-day-one-edition-console/1278905899.prd?_requestid=3187)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 06, 2013, 09:11:11 AM
I got one from ShopTo earlier! £428.99  :P  ;D
My other day one purchases will likely be Watch Dogs and Dead Rising 3 (and FIFA 14 if that trade-in deal Late mentioned transpires!)

Nice one Kenny. I'll save you a place in the race with Kieron ;)

The FIFA 14 deal - is that the thing Game are doing? (I don't recall posting about a Fifa deal, but I know Game are doing one where you can trade up from 360/ps3 to one/ps4 - perhaps I posted that here.)
If that's the one, be aware that Game changed the small-print on that trade-up deal, the day after they announced it. They've now specified that when you trade up you need to provide proof that you bought the current gen version at Game. That's rather annoying, as I was planning on buying COD Ghosts at a supermarket or wherever it's cheapest, and then upgrading for a tenner at Game. I should still be able to do it using Activision's trade up promise, but I'm not sure how that works (I just know you can upgrade for a tenner, but I don't think they've given details yet.) I'm not sure if EA have a similar trade-up deal for FIFA.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 06, 2013, 12:21:57 PM
I think the Fifa 14 deal upgrade works in the same way.. not sure who do it though..

I've finally gone gold again now.. £25 for 12 months.. can actually see a big use for it in the next few weeks/months.. GTA 5 online looks and sounds so damn good!!

I guess now its just a case of when I'm gonna order my X1 games and extra controller... the prices seem so high at the moment.. maybe the retail stores are waiting to see who drops the price first because they carry the same RRP as 360 games.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on September 06, 2013, 01:16:26 PM
I got one from ShopTo earlier! £428.99  :P  ;D
My other day one purchases will likely be Watch Dogs and Dead Rising 3 (and FIFA 14 if that trade-in deal Late mentioned transpires!)

Nice one Kenny. I'll save you a place in the race with Kieron ;)

The FIFA 14 deal - is that the thing Game are doing? (I don't recall posting about a Fifa deal, but I know Game are doing one where you can trade up from 360/ps3 to one/ps4 - perhaps I posted that here.)
If that's the one, be aware that Game changed the small-print on that trade-up deal, the day after they announced it. They've now specified that when you trade up you need to provide proof that you bought the current gen version at Game. That's rather annoying, as I was planning on buying COD Ghosts at a supermarket or wherever it's cheapest, and then upgrading for a tenner at Game. I should still be able to do it using Activision's trade up promise, but I'm not sure how that works (I just know you can upgrade for a tenner, but I don't think they've given details yet.) I'm not sure if EA have a similar trade-up deal for FIFA.

The cheeky buggers! I will have to cancel my FIFA 14 pre-order with ShopTo and get it from GAME then.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 06, 2013, 01:31:11 PM
It's going to be interesting to see how prices and game qualities pan out over the next six to twelve months. I'll get COD on the xb1 because COD is usually my most played game - so even without any improvement over the 360 version it'd probably be worth paying the extra tenner.
But games like Watchdogs? Looks fantastic from what I've seen, but (assuming it's as good as I hope it is) I'll need to think hard about whether it's worth paying extra for the xb1 version rather than the xb360 version. Depends on how the versions stack up against each other, and how the prices compare.

I'll need to get a second (and ideally a third) controller at some point, but I'm in no rush. If I find one for £35 I'll be all over it. If they're still over £40 by Christmas time I might bite the bullet. I certainly don't fancy paying £45 per controller.



The cheeky buggers! I will have to cancel my FIFA 14 pre-order with ShopTo and get it from GAME then.
Don't rush to cancel just yet.
If you're to go with Game's deal they have you over a barrel. They guarantee they'll give you £40 trade-in, but if they're charging £45 for the xb360 version and £60 for the xb1 version (as they currently look to be doing) then you'll end up paying £65 in total.
So you might actually be better off getting it from ShopTo and then selling it or trading it in elsewhere when you buy the xb1 version later...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 06, 2013, 02:36:03 PM
And people wonder why GAME are up Shit Street lol :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: larry on September 06, 2013, 03:01:41 PM
Behind the times i know, but just played and completed Red Dead Redemption. Brilliant story, and great game.

Ive just started playing Hitman Absolution, didnt think id enjoy a stealth game. But so far really enjoying it!! Got some great titles since i got PS+ back in march, turning out to be a good investment at £29.99 for 12 months.  Anyone know how long sony will be dishing out games via PS+  on the PS3 after the Ps4 is out??

I dought ill be getting next gen console for a while, still got loads of games to get on the PS3 as yet!!

As mentioned above, im behind the times
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 06, 2013, 04:37:40 PM
I've been seriously impressed with ps+ in the last year or so. Those free games are fantastic. Come on, Microsoft - step up!
(Reminds me - don't forget to get your Dead Rising 2, Kieron, if you've just renewed your Gold - unless you already have it of course.)

There's been no official word on how the free games thing will go over the next year or so, but I doubt they'll be giving much to ps4 owners (it's hard to give out older games for free when there aren't any old games!) - so ps3  and psv owners are likely to be well supported for the forseeable future.
They might eventually taper the deal down for ps3 owners to try to entice them over to ps4 at some point, but not in the next year.
All just idle speculation, of course - nobody knows for sure.

Agree about Hitman Absolution, btw. I got it a while back, and wasn't expecting much, but thoroughly enjoyed it once I got past the first couple of levels. Later went back and did those first few levels, and did a much better job. Then did them again, and again, to get some more score multipliers ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 08, 2013, 12:36:31 AM
Fucking hell, he makes it look so easy lol (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAOvXVWYPIA), this is done by the same guy that did the official Bayonetta guide. It really ISN'T that easy at all lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 09, 2013, 01:23:49 AM
Best review of The Wonderful 101 so far, although it is a long read. (http://www.rocketchainsaw.com.au/wii-u/wonderful-101/)

Am on the final boss fight now and it's been kicking my arse lol, will go back to it tomorrow when I've had some sleep 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 09, 2013, 03:54:10 PM
There's been a lot of videos showing a lot of fantastic looking games lately - but being a Lego fan and a Marvel fan none have bettered these two trailers:

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes - Gamescom trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Nvpug0_-xAQ)
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes - Stan Lee Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Eiq6u0okJNo)

 :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 09, 2013, 08:23:17 PM
Just finished The Wonderful 101 and it was spectacular. I'm not going to play a game as good as this for years, it's now at number 2 in my all-time best games of all-time list, 2nd only to Elite.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 09, 2013, 08:27:21 PM
Just got an email from zavvi confirming I will be getting a day one edition and guaranteed delivery on launch day - fuck yeah!  8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 09, 2013, 09:47:18 PM
Good feeling isn't it! :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 10, 2013, 10:34:58 AM
Damn right!  ;D


Just seen this.. so bloody true  ;D ;D ;D

(http://2.media.dorkly.cvcdn.com/78/42/0cb7715e9ce96001d837bf8f1ea18c87.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 10, 2013, 12:38:26 PM
Am about 2 quests off finishing the storyline in Lego LOTR... I think this is going down as my least favourite Lego game for several reasons :

1) They talk...
2) Nowhere near as funny as some of the other Lego games
3) There's way more content outside the main quests than there is inside the main quests (or that's what its looking like to me)
4) Open maps are fine.. but it looks too big  :o


Thankfully it has re-confirmed my thoughts that I wouldn't like Lego City Undercover too much.. as that ticks pretty much all those boxes too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 10, 2013, 10:18:35 PM
Lego City Undercover is definitely funny though mate. Plus there's LOADS of telly series and film references. Best Lego game so far imo.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 11, 2013, 01:15:20 AM
Am about 2 quests off finishing the storyline in Lego LOTR... I think this is going down as my least favourite Lego game for several reasons :

1) They talk...
2) Nowhere near as funny as some of the other Lego games
3) There's way more content outside the main quests than there is inside the main quests (or that's what its looking like to me)
4) Open maps are fine.. but it looks too big  :o

5) It's LOTR - so inherently crap.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 11, 2013, 02:17:24 PM
Blasphemy :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 11, 2013, 07:42:41 PM
GTA V on next gen?
http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2013/09/11/amazon-de-listed-gta-v-for-ps4/
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 12, 2013, 10:04:56 AM
Doubt it.. you definitely wont hear any concrete info until a few months after the release date if it was to happen.. otherwise it would effect sales... I'd expect a PC announcement before a next-gen one too... I wouldn't expect a Wii U announcement anytime ever..  ;D

I found the Bezerker last night on LOTR.. thanks late.. gonna save me a few hours... started going through some of the quests again but I really need a stud multiplier and minikit detector - I presume there is some kind of treasure trove detector too.. so I'll hold fire on the quests for now and try and find the right people that give me those red bricks.. theres so bloody many though  :o  NHL 14 was posted yesterday.. I want to get this lego game finished before GTA 5... am only 40% through atm though.  I think Edge nailed the review (http://www.edge-online.com/review/lego-the-lord-of-the-rings-review/) for the game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 12, 2013, 11:46:20 AM
I was surprised to see images being leaked for it. Could understand some troll faking an image, but amazon? Definitely makes most financial sense to leave it at least six months, to sell as many current gen copies as possible before building hype for a port to next gen (I assume it'd just be ported, and not enhanced).
Not long to go now. Gamestop sent reminder emails to everyone to have funds in their account this week for the game. I'm led to believe they're sending it standard delivery though, from Ireland, so it might be a couple of days after release date before I get my hands on it.

Lego LOTR was by far my least favourite Lego game. Way too much leg work required in getting the red bricks (plus I don't like LOTR). Find a person somewhere in a fairly big open world, who needs something. Go find blueprints for what they want, in some random and unobvious place. Collect enough Mythril to build it. Go to the blacksmith to forge it. Take it to the person. Get your reward.
Compare to pretty much all other Lego games, where you just find the hidden red brick in each level by using one of the non-storyline characters, and pay studs to activate it.
I just couldn't be arsed with it all, and ended up with 500/1000 gamerscore (I usually get around 900 in Lego games). Probably the first time I've played a lego game and not unlocked all characters and red bricks.

Downloaded Far Cry Blood Dragon last night. That's effectively in the pile now (albeit a mental pile rather than a physical one).
Really must get round to playing some of the backlog soon. I'm pretty much just playing COD lately, and most of the backlog don't really interest me (mainly stuff I got for free or for about £2) but I'm keen to play Blood Dragon and Witcher 2, and to replay State of Decay.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 12, 2013, 12:47:29 PM
lol @ Microsoft buying xbone.com and xbone.net from some entrepreneurial soul.

fusible (http://fusible.com/2013/09/microsoft-may-not-like-xbone-nickname-but-they-just-acquired-xbone-com/)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 12, 2013, 08:16:53 PM
Blimey, that's going to be a sizable backhander :o

I would have demanded a wad of cash, a launch day One signed by Bill Gates and a lifetime Gold subscription lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 12, 2013, 09:25:03 PM
Took 20 seasons.. but won the Community shield, league cup, fa cup, premier league and champions league in one season with Basingstoke FC.. lol.. beat Real Madrid 5-0 in the CL final too  :o  My team was awesome.. but I resigned on a high.. 

..joined the Italian leagues.. starting at the bottom in Serie C2/A with Unione Venezia (Venice FC) .. its tough.. only just "keeping my head above the water" lol.. I'll get me coat  8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 13, 2013, 12:25:47 PM
I've never been interested in "companion apps" before. For those of you not aware of them, it's an app for your ios or android device that lets you do stuff related to a mainstream console or pc game. Might be something as mundane as changing your character's appearance and loadout, but could be something that lets you improve your character's stats by putting them through some training or doing some mini-challenges.
Nothing to get too excited about there, so far - but I like where it's heading. There's real potential in companion apps if they're done well.

And Watchdogs looks like it's doing it well, with a fantastic app.
Details on dealspwn (http://www.dealspwn.com/watch-dogs-ctos-mobile-handson-preview-154478)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 13, 2013, 01:54:16 PM
I was a bit worried about there being too many Murfy levels in Rayman Legends but now I want more of them lol ;D

Have now got 86 out of 700 of the big blue things you have to collect. Plenty of content to this, including Origins with redesigned levels which is handy because I missed the first one last gen.

A really excellent game but I'm pretty sure that Ubisoft are going to regret releasing it so close to GTA V. :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 15, 2013, 03:50:16 PM
Another 15 games on ebay.. including Lego LOTR lol... am on about 98% of the game.. just 15 mithril bricks to go.. everything else is done.. then just need to tie up the remaining achievements.. be done by Monday.. actually in terms of length.. it took about the same as the others.. theres only 3 main quests (the films).. hence why there is so much filler in the main world.. its still the worst lego game because they have used voices from the film which just doesn't work with the Lego humour.. of which the game is quite thin on the ground... tis a shame, I thought I'd love this one the most as I enjoy the whole LOTR universe.

Cant see Tesco getting my GTA5 to me on Tuesday.. have a bad feeling I'll get it Thursday or something stupid like that  :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 15, 2013, 05:43:47 PM
Note to self (and anyone else that gets Rayman Legends): Don't go to bed immediately after playing the Eye Of The Tiger (kazoo version lol) level on Rayman Legends. Couldn't get the bloody tune out of my head, if it weren't for my medication I wouldn't have got any sleep at all ;D ;D ;D

Awesome game, I was a bit worried that there may have been too many Murfy touchscreen levels but after playing a fair few of them now I want even more of them. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 16, 2013, 07:50:25 AM
Bloody hell, Tesco shipped my GTA5 last night... delivery date is on or before Wednesday... :o just remembered I said I'd go over my dads to watch a CL game on Tuesday though.. bollocks  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 16, 2013, 10:00:24 AM
Apparently Amazon (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-09-15-rockstar-investigating-gta-v-early-sales) have pissed Rockstar off by shipping early - with some people receiving the game over the weekend.
There's speculation some highstreet stores might put the game up for sale today, so as not to fall behind. Doubt that, tbh. Like people are going to wake up today, see Amazon have shipped early, and decide to order from them?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 16, 2013, 01:12:55 PM
Looks like Valve has picked up on Microsoft's Family Sharing thingy...

Link (http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-09/12/steam-family-sharing)

Bit more restrictive than what Microsoft proposed.. only 1 person can access the library at one time...

No doubt Valve will get wonderful feedback from the same gamers that demanded Microsoft revert back to a traditional console style.  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 16, 2013, 02:36:59 PM
It's a shame only one person can access the library at a time. I think you'll end up with some people adding a friend from each continent, so they stand a better chance of gaming at different times, thereby effectively getting free games. (Of course, you then need to find people on that continent who don't already have friends in Europe, otherwise you'll find you still can't get into the games list.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 16, 2013, 02:37:20 PM
Got an email from Tesco.. offering me £6 off an xbox points card.. because they started a new promotion offer today... so could pick up 4200 points for £28.50... is that any good late.. what does that transpire to in terms of money - I've got no clue now Microsoft have changed it all ??
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 16, 2013, 03:42:48 PM
I believe 4200 points added to your account would put your balance up by £35.70 (based on the points I bought last week, which worked out at 85p per 100msp). I'm not sure if rates vary.
So you'd be getting £35.70 credit for £28.50. Not bad (but not outstanding).

Bear in mind with all microsoft credit, it needs using within a year under the new rules - so I wouldn't advise buying loads of points unless you're certain you'll get them used. Alternatively, you could buy them but leave the card on a shelf until needed i.e. buy the points but don't apply them to your account.
You get 365 days from the date credits are applied. The exception is the points that were converted to £ when the system changed. That credit is valid until 01/06/2015.

Personally, I'm happy to have a load of points on my account if I can get them for about 80% face value (as is the case with the deal Tesco have offered you there) as I'm pretty sure I'd get them used. Hell, I spend nearly that on a COD season pass.
If games are about £50 retail and about £50 digital then I fully understand the argument that it's better to buy physical copies - mainly so you have the option to resell them - but personally I'd rather pay £40 for £50 worth of credit, then use that credit to get a digital copy of the game. It's cheaper than the boxed version, and I like digital copies - saves on knacking my back trying to change disks when I want to play a different game.
(There's some price assumptions in there with little basis.)



Early reviews for GTA are fairly promising, lol.

Edge - 10/10
Gamesradar - 10/10
IGN - 10/10
CVG - 10/10
The Guardian - 10/10
Telegraph - 10/10
Joystiq - 9/10
Sixthaxis - 10/10
OPM - 10/10
Metro - 10/10

(Joystiq, what were you thinking?!)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 16, 2013, 04:22:13 PM
GTA5 comes on two disks for xbox360.
Rockstar advise (via twitter) that the first disk should be fully installed to HDD. The second should not be installed.

dealspwn (http://www.dealspwn.com/rockstar-install-gta-xbox-360-discs-154863)
@RockstarSupport (https://twitter.com/RockstarSupport/status/379493174768439296)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 16, 2013, 04:43:47 PM
Yup, GTA V will be getting GOTY awards all over the place but The ,Wonderful 101 at least deserves a few honourable mentions imo. I guess an 8/10 average is all a developer can expect when giving a challenging game to reviewers lol, a similar thing happened with ZombiU too although to be fair that game does have a few issues ;D

I still can't believe how crap at playing video games some reviewers are, any reviewer in the States flat out refuses to review a game without an accompanying walkthrough :o

And testers have to play through a game in a certain amount of time before getting a job at most publishers which is ridiculous. A tester doing speed runs is going to miss plenty of bugs. The one thing that Eidos did right was giving potential testers a buggy game to play and a pen and notepad to write down what bugs they find. Much better way of doing things, the likes of EA and Sega don't care whether you know a bug when you see one which probably explains a few things lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 17, 2013, 07:59:36 AM
I've no doubt that GTA5 is going to be the best game since Skyrim came out.. so excited to play it, sod installing it.. Im getting straight into the game tonight (hopefully).

Thanks for info late.. although I think Im going to leave it.. had a look and cdkeys sell one for £29ish.. so I guess if I do want that many points in the future I can always go with them and not lose out on too much.. it would take me a while to get through all those points, I didn't realise they had a time limit on them.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 17, 2013, 09:17:36 AM
I've no doubt that GTA5 is going to be the best game since Skyrim came out.. so excited to play it, sod installing it.. Im getting straight into the game tonight (hopefully).
I'm so excited about the game, but I'll wait that extra 20 minutes or whatever to get it installed if that's what they're recommending.

Started Far Cry Blood Dragon a few nights back, and am thoroughly enjoying it (though I preferred Far Cry 3). There's more to it than I was expecting - I thought it'd be a little 3-4 hour thing, but I've probably played double that and am only about halfway through it (rough guess). So it's not the end of the world if my GTA doesn't arrives a day late - Bloody Dragon will keep me busy in the interim.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on September 17, 2013, 10:45:58 AM
Apparently my GTA has arrived!!!!  ;D Just gotta wait until 4pm so I can go home and play it.  :'( :'(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 17, 2013, 10:49:01 AM
Nice one Kenny :D



Sony have done it again...
Fantastic offerings on PS+ again this month - including Far Cry 3.

playstation blog (http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2013/09/17/playstation-plus-in-october-far-cry-3-street-fighter-x-tekken-lead-the-way/)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 17, 2013, 06:27:55 PM
Woot! Gamestop you beauties... :D
GTA is currently installing.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 17, 2013, 07:27:15 PM
It's frickin awesome!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: iaskthequestions on September 17, 2013, 10:51:13 PM
Well opinions? i have only had a few hours of play while my missus cooked us a nice dinner. liking it so far. the map is endless. Prefer the driving on the previous gta personally. i think theyve made it abit to quick.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on September 18, 2013, 02:23:10 AM
LOVING IT!

It's fantastic. I've only played about 8 hours worth but the missions are already so varied compared to GTA IV (go here... kill that person... repeat). I won't spoil anything but I think every mission so far has been different. The radio is a big step up from GTA IV too. The music is diverse and they've got Fernando and Lazlow back.  ;D And speaking of diversity... the map is another improvement. The attention to detail is stunning.

One little thing that's bugging me is the humour seems more overt/blunt than usual. Still pretty funny though. And one other thing, perhaps a female lead might have been a good idea with 3 protagonists? Franklin reminds me of CJ and Michael reminds me of Tommy. That's not a negative. They seem like good, nuanced characters. Everyone else around them are the usual hilariously cliché characters that make GTA so good. I've not met Trevor yet but I'm sure he'll be great.

The map is HUGE but I've barely explored it so far, so haven't got much of an idea whether it's vibrant throughout or empty.

Like I say, only 8 hours in and I'm already hugely impressed. Time for bed so I can get home tomorrow and play some more. :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 18, 2013, 07:41:08 AM
Only 8 hours lol

I only played for about 2 hours last night, but it's great.  The driving definitely feels looser, I'm sure I can get used to it though, but how many times have I pressed select to view the map, feels a bit clunky having to go through the start menu and then selecting into the map.  I don't like the fact there's so many buttons and options full stop.  The "special abilities" seem a bit tacky, but I've hardly scratched the surface yet.

Other than getting to grips with the controls, the gameplay is awesome, already had a few OMG, this game is awesome moments and a few laugh out loud ones too, especially on the first mission with Chop lol.  Can't wait to go back for more tonight!  There's hints of Sleeping Dogs in there - which is good, because that game was excellent.. but it still feels very much like a GTA game..

Try not to post any spoilers please.. I've purposely not read any previews, reviews or anything press related to this game, and trying to avoid the tv advert too so I can enjoy the game to the max.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Also wtf is the ifruit app for android?  No, seriously?  That's slack
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 18, 2013, 09:10:44 AM
Loving it so far, but I didn't get to play it much last night. Probably about 3 hours played - but I didn't really get much of the story played. Spent most of my time just exploring, playing tennis, getting lap-dances, etc.
Having three different characters is great, and switching between them brings a nice new element into the game - though it was much slicker on the introduction mission where two were in the same room than it was when switching between characters far apart on the map.
Loading times are annoying, but fortunately that's almost exclusively when you're first booting the game up. When actually playing everything seems smooth.
It's a shame the iFruit app isn't yet available for Android or Windows mobile. Came out for ios on Monday. (For anyone who's not aware of it, it's a free companion phone/tablet app that lets you customise cars, train Franklin's dog, etc.)

Look forward to getting back to the game tonight, and properly getting my teeth into it this weekend.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: larry on September 18, 2013, 09:24:51 AM
Could'nt resist, just nipped to tesco and picked it up..

Just got to wait to get home and get the kids to bed before playing >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 18, 2013, 10:23:58 AM
lol late, your comment on hukd (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/games-for-ps-october-including-far-cry-3-for-ps3-touch-katamari-for-ps-vita-1658559) made their facebook wall status..

Quote
Well done Sony, yet again.

 Meanwhile I look forward to the announcement from Microsoft that our free games for October will be Horace Goes Skiing and Chuckie Egg 2... :(

 ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 18, 2013, 10:28:57 AM
Fame at last, lol.
Thanks Kieron - I don't do facebook so wasn't aware of that.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 18, 2013, 04:14:19 PM
Awesome lol ;D

Was wondering, have any of you checked out Resident Evil Revelaitons yet..? It's dead cheap now and it's better than RE4 imo. The first proper Resident Evil game released in donkey's years.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 18, 2013, 04:33:11 PM
There's no such game.
In fact no games exist except GTA:V.
Haven't you been keeping up with current events?!


Seen the trailers for The Evil Within (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Z4WqOQTxisM) (aka Psychobreak), Harv? Probably right up your street (though doesn't appear to be coming out on the U).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 19, 2013, 12:19:58 AM
Yup, I was interested in that during this year's E3. Depending on the release date next year we may see Bethesda doing a U-turn with regards to Wii U support. The sales boost that the likes of Super Mario 3D World, Wii Fit U, Donkey Kong and Mario Kart 8 will give the console should be too big for them to ignore. If the game is out after 31st May I can see a quick and dirty 6 month port happening if they want to keep shareholders happy. EA will also change their tune next year.

You have to remember that development for the Wii U is surprisingly cheap, it only cost Ubisoft €1m to port Assassin's Creed III which was a big surprise. Just buying a single dev kit saves well over 10K in licencing fees thanks to Nintendo's unprecedented deals with Greenhill, Unity, Autodesk and Havok and the dev kits themselves are also very affordable - I've seen the figure $3000 bandied around. Just for comparison's sake before the consoles launched a Wii dev kit would set developers back £2000 and a PS3 dev kit a ridiculous £18,000. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 19, 2013, 03:05:17 AM
Awesome!!! Have just watched the Wii Fit Nintendo Direct and they announced Wii Sports Club at the end which has all the games of the original but with online play!!! And you don't have to get crappy baseball either. They're available to download individually for $9.99 each. Nice!!! 8)

Golf, Bowling and Boxing are definites, Tennis a maybe. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 19, 2013, 09:03:28 AM
Wahahahahahaha!
Wii Sports was free on the Wii, but now you can get the mini-games from it ported to the Wii U for only £9 per sport.
Oh Nintendo, you do crack us up! :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 19, 2013, 10:19:39 AM
Even funnier that harv thinks Ubisoft made any profit of the £1 million port of AC3 on the Wii U.. it did 0.18m sales according to vgchartz.  ;D

The fact that Ubisoft went multi-plat on Rayman Legends solely on the back of ZombieU poor sales performance shows that even the big developers are steering well clear of Nintendos console in spite of any claimed lower development costs.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: larry on September 19, 2013, 10:42:40 AM
lovin GTA  ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 19, 2013, 11:08:10 AM
I've been so damned tired lately, and I do most of my gaming after the wife's gone to bed - so both nights now I've put the game on, explored a little bit, then woken up several hours later with a bad neck and a paused game.  :-[
Absolutely loving it though. Still not done much on the mission front. Last night I spent a fun hour or so just fannying about on dirt bikes and dune buggies through the desert and up/down a mountain :D

As an indication of how much I've accomplished 2 days into possibly the biggest game ever, and I've racked up 10/1000 gamerscore.  ;D (And that was pretty much just 10GS for starting the game).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 19, 2013, 06:29:59 PM
Even funnier that harv thinks Ubisoft made any profit of the £1 million port of AC3 on the Wii U.. it did 0.18m sales according to vgchartz.  ;D

The fact that Ubisoft went multi-plat on Rayman Legends solely on the back of ZombieU poor sales performance shows that even the big developers are steering well clear of Nintendos console in spite of any claimed lower development costs.

That would be a £843,519.25 port at current exchange rates. And yes, they would have made a small profit on that. ;)

And they've probably sold over 500,000 copies of ZombiU too including digital sales. We'll see them continuing their work oin the sequel (which was put on hold) after Christmas and they're continuing their Wii U support this year with the likes of Rayman Legends, Assassin's Creed IV and Watch Dogs...if they were so disappointed with the sales figures of AC III then they would have canned the sequel and Watch Dogs.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 19, 2013, 09:01:02 PM
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/09/wii-u-zombiu-profit-ubisoft_n_3565478.html
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 19, 2013, 10:48:39 PM
I'm fully aware that ZombiU didn't make a profit (although given the 500K+ sales there must have been some serious problems with budget management), but once Christmas has been and gone they'll start working on the sequel again. We know that they were working on the sequel after the first game launched due to a leak from Ubisoft Montpelier.

We'll hear about a sequel next year.

The only two publishers that aren't supporting the Wii U (yet) are Bethesda and EA, and they'll both change their tune once the installed userbase is too big to ignore. The Wii U doesn't have the disadvantages that the Wii had last gen with its GPU and the gulf in power between it and the other two consoles so it should get a version of all major multiplatform titles, albeit with a graphical downgrade.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 20, 2013, 03:51:35 AM
If it's not profitable to make games for the U people won't make games for the U.
It's going to end up like the Wii. Decent first party games, and a cubic fucktonne of shovelware.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 20, 2013, 07:04:47 AM
Once Christmas has come and gone the Wii U will have an installed userbase too big for even the likes of Bethesda and EA to ignore. It's all in the numbers at the end of the day.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 20, 2013, 07:59:11 AM
lol.. harv living in la-la land again.. remember when you thought GTA5 was coming to the Wii U ?  ;D ;D ;D

Western developers and Nintendo don't go.. this has always been the case.. it wont change.. you sound desperate for the Wii U to get the games the X1/PS4 will be getting...

These are a few recent quotes from Bethesda marketing chief Pete Hines..

Quote
The time for convincing publishers and developers to support Wii U has long passed

Quote
Pick the consoles that have the games you want to play. You shouldn't have ever bought a Wii U expecting to play great Bethesda games on there because that's not something we'd ever supported in the past.

Pretty damning don't you think. (Link (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-09-03-bethesda-the-time-for-convincing-publishers-and-developers-to-support-wii-u-has-long-past))
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 20, 2013, 09:50:53 AM
It's all in the numbers at the end of the day.

Indeed. And the numbers show that you lose money if you make decent Wii U games, and you can relatively easily turn a profit if you make shovelware.

Most Microsoft and Sony customers know what games they want, and can tell the good from the crap when they're buying games - so good games sell well and make decent amounts of money, and crap games suffer. Even those who don't know much about gaming can usually pick up on what's good and what's not just by seeing the tv adverts, the game charts, and hearing general buzz.

By opening themselves up to as wide an audience as possible of non-gamers and casual gamers, Nintendo have a lot of customers who don't know much/anything about gaming, and when they do buy a game they'll buy any old shite. With no advertising of premium games, and the charts full of absolute drivel the problem is exacerbated - as more non-gamers buy crap games and eschew the half decent titles.
"I don't really know which of those games is good, but that £20 one with twelve different sports games included in it looks fun and there's bound to be some in there we like, Mabel. Look - it's got darts. Bert will enjoy that. And it's got quoits. Agatha loves a bit of quoits. That £35 one doesn't look like our cup of tea at all..." said the average Nintendo customer, yesterday.

Nintendo's first party titles will do okay. Everyone knows where they stand with Mario games, and know they'll get a polished and family-oriented game. But when it comes to third party titles, you're better off spending £10'000 making a shite party game than spending £1'000'000 on porting a good title.

As for making premium exclusive titles for the console? No chance. You can't sell enough to break even, even if you include the game in one of your main console bundles.
If Ubisoft make a second Zombiu game it'll be for the xb1 and ps4. The U might get a port. Makes more sense to just cut their losses and walk away from the title and the platform, though...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on September 20, 2013, 01:25:55 PM
Harv sitting on his Wii U playing games aimed at soccer moms and kids while we're all hammering a potential GOAT contender in GTA V.  ;D

Had to be up at 8 this morning but realised it was 4am when I finally pulled myself away from the 360.  :( Thank fuck it's Friday! I've played the stock market well enough to acquire a couple of properties. My favourite part of the old GTAs was buying properties and completing missions for them.  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 20, 2013, 03:34:13 PM
So it just took me an uncomfortable two minutes or so to work out what goat you were hammering until 4 in the am! =))


I was playing until about 3am last night, but was nodding off. Hate that sleep and work keep getting in the way of my GTAing.

You're a way in front of me, Kenny. Fairly late last night I got access to the stockmarket, and bought a small handful of shares - but pretty much straight away after I was (finally) given control of Trevor - and can't get back to Michael at the moment to see if his shares have done anything.

Only property I own (other than each character's home) is the airstrip. Have done a few 'plane missions, and am enjoying them. :D
Keen to get some more properties though.

Should be able to get properly stuck into the game tomorrow, fingers crossed.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 20, 2013, 03:58:19 PM
Your about as far as me then.. pretty much exactly where I am
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 20, 2013, 05:52:08 PM
I'm quite happily playing Rayman Legends at the moment. And will be getting Wind Waker HD and one of the following - Arkham Origins, Sonic Lost World or Assassins Creed IV - for my birthday next month. No shovelware or games aimed at kids there.

Like I've said, once the Wii U has sold over 8m before the end of the year even the likes of Bethesda and EA will change their minds about supporting the Wii U, shareholders will demand it...particularly when the Wii U has sold more than 4 times the amount of the PS4 and especially the One before the end of the year. You're going to see a lot of publishers and developers losing a great deal of money due to their One support. It's going to bomb, and bomb hard.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 20, 2013, 08:35:30 PM
I'm quite happily playing Rayman  Legends... Sonic Lost World ... No games aimed at kids there...

(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3nRWKzilgic/TKDmPQDswuI/AAAAAAAAAGo/QqzI_tu8D68/s320/haha.png)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on September 20, 2013, 09:22:54 PM
Yeah Rayman and Sonic were awesome games... when I was 8.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 20, 2013, 10:21:41 PM
You won't find a child able to complete either one of those games. Just because one is cel-shaded and the other has colourful graphics and no shooting, doesn't make them kid's games. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 20, 2013, 10:35:06 PM
Yeah Rayman and Sonic were awesome games... when I was 8.

And everyone here was fapping over Rayman Origins last year too 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 20, 2013, 10:43:17 PM
You won't find a child able to complete either one of those games. Just because one is cel-shaded and the other has colourful graphics and no shooting, doesn't make them kid's games. ;)
Yeah, kids can't play Sonic or Rayman.
Meanwhile, on planet Earth...

And everyone here was fapping over Rayman Origins last year too 8)
They were? I feel I missed out, now, by not being aroused by Rayman.
No, Harv, nobody here masturbated at the idea of playing Rayman.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 20, 2013, 11:37:06 PM
I didn't say they couldn't play them, I said they couldn't complete them. Big difference.

And yes, there were plenty of people here playing Origins last year and raving about it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 21, 2013, 02:12:24 PM
No wonder you got sacked as a games tester.
"These Sonic, Pikmin, Rayman, Mario, and Pokemon games are too difficult - kids won't want to play them."

Put your kiddie console away and get GTA, moron.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on September 21, 2013, 02:15:24 PM
Let's be honest, if Harv finds kiddie games challenging he wouldn't be able to cope with a proper game like GTA.  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 21, 2013, 09:55:01 PM
Checked my stats earlier and think last save was around 52%

Really looking forward to trying online mode, although don't know much about it other than its not available yet.. Anyone know anything about it and want to a group going when it does come our, we could be the sundayleague posse  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 22, 2013, 05:11:06 AM
In at about 50‰ too.
Count me in for your crew when online is activated in a week or two.
Did you see the trailer for online mode a month or so back? Looks great. :D

GTA online is looking pretty damned sweet from today's trailer :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olEGtoYs_8A&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 23, 2013, 01:34:15 PM
Been looking at trading in some of my 360 collection.. simply because I know it wont sell on ebay.. or it wont sell for much.. so GAME will beat any local competitor within a mile by £1 on any game.. but I cant use any prices printed off the web... do people really bother with all this hassle then?  CEX is well within a mile of the two GAME stores in reading, but not sure I can arsed going into CEX first and asking them to print out a list of the prices they will offer me knowing full well I wont be selling any to them.. and then bugger off to GAME to get the better prices.. CEX must get completely fed up with people doing this surely.. or does nobody do it ?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 23, 2013, 02:53:04 PM
Been looking at trading in some of my 360 collection.. simply because I know it wont sell on ebay.. or it wont sell for much.. so GAME will beat any local competitor within a mile by £1 on any game.. but I cant use any prices printed off the web... do people really bother with all this hassle then?  CEX is well within a mile of the two GAME stores in reading, but not sure I can arsed going into CEX first and asking them to print out a list of the prices they will offer me knowing full well I wont be selling any to them.. and then bugger off to GAME to get the better prices.. CEX must get completely fed up with people doing this surely.. or does nobody do it ?
You should be fine with prices printed off the web - despite Game's T&Cs.

When I recently traded my 101 games at Game I just brought in a spreadsheet that showed CEX price and Game price. (I got those prices online, natch.)
I think the manager checked the prices online as he was going, but I'm not sure - I left him to it and went elsewhere for an hour. He might've checked them all, or he might've checked some then saw they were legit and just took my figures - I'm not sure.

Note that they only offered me £1 above CEX's prices on the total - not on each individual game. I'm sure that's wrong of them, and I argued for quite a while, but the assistant manager and the manager were both insistent. Makes a big difference, tbh, especially when you're talking dozens of games that are each only worth a small amount. CEX price was about £450 for the games I took in, I expected £550.
I did, however, eventually convince the manager to meet me about half way (I got about £497 - plus reward points worth about £15).
That's comfortably above what cex would've given me, with the added bonuses of (a) Game actually sell something I want, whereas CEX don't, so credit there ain't much use to me; and (b) CEX stinks. As in the place smells bad. Really bad.

I could've gotten more by trading one game a day for a hundred days, of course, but that doesn't sound like fun and would've cost me in petrol and time.

Toyed with eBay, but in the end I'm happy getting it sorted all in one morning - and I would have gotten about the same amount on ebay after costs, give or take...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 23, 2013, 03:52:24 PM
lol.. £1 on the total!!!.. that's ridiculous..like you said, you could of done 101 different transactions to get the £1 on top.. I'd be a bit peeved off going to all that trouble lol.

Well just checked my paypal history. I've sold 78 games for £552.. but that doesn't take into accounts any fees or postage costs.. which I would estimate at about £140 - leaving it at £410.. so perhaps it wouldn't make too much difference in terms of selling on ebay or using GAME.. although I would prefer not to have to get credit for GAME if I don't have to.. biggest rip-off merchants going.

Although handy to know in case there are a few bits I cant get rid of.. I'll just print the CEX list off as well.. and will ensure its done in separate transactions!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 23, 2013, 06:05:41 PM
Agree about Game's prices.
Okay if you want hardware though  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 24, 2013, 07:51:18 AM
Am about 6 missions short of completing the main storyline in GTA5.. so should have that finished off tonight.. don't even want to see how long I've been playing it over the past week.. an obscene amount.  8)  For me.. nothing has beaten that first heist.. yet... although some of the other heists were pretty excellent...I don't know if you can replay the heists (don't see why not) but would love to do them again (choosing the different options for each of them).. 

Am still way short of the 100% completion.. I've done some of the hidden collectible type missions.. but the one you get with Franklin (UFO type one) and the stunt jumps.. is there any in-game map you can use for them ?? Done about 3 of the bridges.. that's going to be an absolute arse though I reckon if you cant see them clearly on the map

I have done all 3 of the triathlons.. lol.. just make sure your fingers and thumbs are ready for the 3rd one!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 24, 2013, 10:12:09 AM
I'm a little way behind you. I see Kenny completed the missions. I'm on about 58/70, or something like that.

You can replay any mission at any time via the pause menu, but I'm not sure if you can replay the big heists - the ones where you're effectively doing 3 or 4 missions. If you want to go in using sleeping gas but went in guns blazing first time then presumably there isn't a "get the sleeping gas" mission for you to replay. Might have to start the game anew?
I'd be up for replaying the whole game, tbh. There's a few things I'd do differently.

I did the Lester missions too early, in retrospect. If they generally give you a 50% boost to your savings then it's probably best to leave it until you have a lot of savings - so don't buy properties early, don't spend much on clothes/cars, and leave the Lester assassinations until late in the game.
I currently have one (or maybe more?) Lester mission remaining. I actually did it (climb up a massive crane in a construction site, then shoot down a helicopter), but my characters only had about a mil savings between them. The very next mission I did was a bank job that gave each of my characters about half a mil each, and I realised I'd have been much better off doing those missions the other way round. So I reloaded a save from an hour or so earlier and re-did the bank job, but haven't done the assassination job yet. I could earn decent money doing it now, but I imagine I'll earn a lot more if I leave it a few more days, and do it at the end of the story.

I'm crap on the collectibles stuff. I found one mystery letter thing at the top of the cable car ride on my first day playing, but I'm not sure what that's for and it's the only one I found. I think it was 1 of 50. I've not found a single UFO piece. Again I think there's 50.
I've only flown under about five bridges. I could happily spend a few hours flying around going under bridges, but I know I'd end up frustrated when there's 2 or 3 left and it gives you no indication which ones you've done and which you haven't.
And I've only done about 8 of the unique jump stunts. :\
There's loads of other things like that where I've not really started (e.g. shooting lessons, hunting, flight school, races, bail bonds, smuggling, yoga, ).

I'm hoping (but not optimistic) that at some point it gives you some help with the collectibles. It'd be nice if it flagged the remainder up on your map once you've got 75%, or something like that.


Favourite characters in the game (so far) by the way - Nigel and Mrs Thornhill. :D

(http://s17.postimg.org/3tgx3t4lr/nigel.png)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 24, 2013, 11:09:09 AM
Yeah I completely fucked up my savings and the assassination missions.. spunked all my money on property.. not realising that you get paid peanuts from them.. and not very often.. I made a bit of money from the assassination missions.. but doing them early and then doing one after another probably wasn't the wisest decision as I didn't give enough time for the stock to skyrocket or get enough money in on the act ;D 

I don't intend to just give up playing anytime soon though.. so got plenty of time to play the stock market.. although I don't seem to be having much luck so far... some guy at work said that if you steal the various lorries around the city with company logos on them.. and blow them up.. it effected their stock price.. I'm calling bullshit on this though.  I imagine you can make a bit of wonga playing online though.  Is there any way you can transfer money between characters.. would make it quicker playing the stock market without having to change character all the time.

If I cant do the heist missions again.. I might re-start the game.. would of been nice for a new game + in that respect.. don't really want to redo all the side missions I've already done.

Out of the 3 main characters, Franklin is by far and away my favourite... and Trevor would be my least favourite.. he seems a bit detached from reality and his singular missions (especially early on) were a bit too boring for me... although he does comes out with some fantastic dialogue.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 24, 2013, 12:25:59 PM
I don't intend to just give up playing anytime soon though.. so got plenty of time to play the stock market.. although I don't seem to be having much luck so far... some guy at work said that if you steal the various lorries around the city with company logos on them.. and blow them up.. it effected their stock price.. I'm calling bullshit on this though.  I imagine you can make a bit of wonga playing online though.
I heard similar, actually. Someone said there's two companies for most industries, and if you damage one of them their stock goes down and their rivals stock goes up. I've noticed there's 2 coffee franchises, 2 fast food places, and 2 airlines, so that has a ring of truth to it.
He said that he makes big money buy buying shares in one of the airlines then blowing up the rival company's planes! I've not bought a hanger yet, so I've not tried this - I'm wanted if I go near the airfield.
It all ties in with the Lester assassination missions, tbh. Most involve damaging a company so you can make money by investing in that company's rivals.
I'm going to have to give this a look at some point, but I've not really noticed a load of coffee or fast food vans all over the city (they're probably there but I ignore them) so the airline variation might be easiest. Just need to save $2m or so, to buy the hangar...

Is there any way you can transfer money between characters.. would make it quicker playing the stock market without having to change character all the time.
I can't help thinking there probably is a way - but it eludes me so far.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on September 24, 2013, 12:31:12 PM
I finished the story off a couple of nights ago. On about 65% complete now. Count me in as another who did the assassination missions too early.  ;D They were just so much fun! Now I've no idea how I'm going to make enough money to buy the most expensive properties!

Not sure who my favourite character is. I actually liked playing as all 3, but Franklin's conversations with Lamar began to bore me by the end as they basically consisted of one word.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 24, 2013, 12:49:31 PM
I stole and blew a cluckin' bell lorry up to test the theory a few days ago.. I checked the stock price straight after I lost the cops and it hadn't moved.. maybe you need to wait longer then or maybe you need to blow quite a few up.. I think I saw loads of different haulage trucks hanging round the industrial estates near the airport.

I've robbed one store although didn't even think about checking to see if they were on the stock market.. I cant remember what it was.. some stores you cant rob (like hairdressers).. I might try robbing an ammunation tonight (if possible) and seeing what happens to their stock price.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 24, 2013, 02:49:24 PM
Have just signed up to the rockstargames social club (http://socialclub.rockstargames.com/) and the website looks bloody good.

Gives you loads of data about each of your characters, analysis of your performance on each of the missions you've done, etc.

Also has a scrollable/zoomable map that appears to show the location of events, missions, ufo parts, letter fragments, etc - marked in yellow if you've done them and white if you haven't.
You lads should sign up (if you haven't already). It's going to be an absolute godsend when I've finished the story and want to mop some of the other stuff up.

I'm also told Franklin's dog, Chop, is handy when looking for collectibles.


Edit - if you do sign up to the social club add me. I'm Late5555
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 24, 2013, 03:35:52 PM
Nice find!!

Started a SundayLeague Posse crew lol.. its not exactly going to be big with seemingly only 3 regular players on here but if anyone wants to join, let me know, my username is -BR4DY-  you can join multiple crews for info!

Lol.. I thought I had been bad.. you've done over 8 hours more than me late!  Although I'm in the lead with 75% completed  :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 24, 2013, 04:30:46 PM
Yeah, I keep falling asleep with the game on, lol.
Example - last mission I did had a target of 9 minutes (for gold). I took 26 minutes, as I fell asleep on the way back.  ;D :-[

Have joined the SL posse. (Promotion please boss!)
LOL! @ the crew motto :D

The side-by-side comparison is handy - but a bit worrying. Now the whole world can see how frequently I'm paying for lap-dances!
That site's addictive. I can spend ages looking around at the stats.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 25, 2013, 08:23:38 AM
No probs "Commissoner"  ;).. yeah you've obviously been enjoying the strip clubs a little bit too much!! lol

I finished the story last night.. last mission was a little underwhelming to be honest...now looking forward to mopping up the side missions and stuff.. did try and do a few more nuclear wastes last night.. but wasn't looking where I was going and managed to actually beach the submarine lol

I also tried out the Blimp last night.. which goes pretty high.. thought I'd dive out of it since I've unlocked parachutes.. yeah you don't get a parachute in the Blimp.. spent about a minute just falling to my death lol.

Think I'll try and finish the races, the arms trafficking and the nuclear wastage tonight.. would be a good start in boosting the 100% checklist.  I'll probably sit down at the weekend, with the laptop and go through the letters and spaceship parts.. although the map doesn't show stunt jumps nor bridges..  :-\  Although just realised, apart from the missions, you don't actually have to do every available thing in each section to get 100%  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 25, 2013, 10:06:18 AM
Around midnight last night I'm supposed to be finding 3 or 4 of a certain car and modifying them to carry a lot of weight. Around 3am I wake up on the couch to find my character's sat in one of those cars, but he hasn't taken it to where he's supposed to be taking them. Switched the machine off. I'll re-do the mission tonight.
That's another three hours on my stats with zero accomplished! :-[

Has anyone been busted yet? I've died loads of times (about 40-50, rough guess, without checking that stats site), but I've not been arrested once. As a consequence every character is walking around with about 20 guns in their arse pocket, and around 20,000 rounds of ammo.  I'm not complaining, but it's a bit weird.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 25, 2013, 12:05:31 PM
"Might & Magic - Clash of Heroes HD (http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-gb/Product/Might-Magic-Clash-of-Heroes/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258410a19)" is apparently the next free game for xbox gold subscribers.
That should be for the first half of October.
Some sort of "Match three" puzzle game, I believe.
Oh how you spoil us, Microsoft...

I've not downloaded the current free game - Rainbow Six Vegas. Played it about 6 years ago. It was a good game but I've better things to do than replay that one.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 25, 2013, 12:17:13 PM
I thought Might and Magic was an RPG..? :-\ :o :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 25, 2013, 02:48:38 PM
So did I. I guess this is some sort of spin-off game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 25, 2013, 03:19:18 PM
Going to be interesting to see whether they'll up the quality of these shite games once the One launches. They've been beyond pitiful so far. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 25, 2013, 03:48:15 PM
If memory serves, the plan is to release 2 games a month for the xb360 up until the end of the calendar year.
I don't think they've committed to give away any games on the xb360 after 31 December, nor any games at all on the xb1 (other than what they're giving away in launch bundles etc.)

Not sure what would be best for them in 2014, tbh. They should be pushing the xb1, but they can't really give any old games away on that if there's only a handful of games and they're all new. And I'm not sure how much they want to push the xb360. It's a nice earner for them, still, but they don't want to make it a more enticing buy than the xb1.

Sony are in a similar position, really. Do they continue to give the ps3 fantastic games for free every month, and not give anything to the ps4?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 26, 2013, 08:06:32 AM
Spent about 4 hours playing GTA5 last night.. and managed to move about 3% up on the 100% checklist.. lol.. finished all the trafficking missions, done about half of the nuclear wastes.. until I beached the sub again.. which is really annoying as the sub goes slow enough as it is!!  Finished a few parachute jumps which were quite fun actually, finished a lot of the races, finished the bail missions (without help) and found a few more letters.. just generally fucked around for 4 hours.. it was great fun.

After I have the 100% checklist done.. think I'm going to start replaying some of the missions to get gold medals on them (for the related achievement).. really handy that the website tells you exactly what you need to do for some of them as some of the in-game descriptions could mean anything.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Edit : Was just comparing missions late.. looks like we've done completely the opposite mission on every single multiple-choice heist  ;D 
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 27, 2013, 01:04:22 PM
A few more details of GTA online
http://www.dealspwn.com/rockstar-reveals-grand-theft-auto-online-details-confirms-microtransactions-155680
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 27, 2013, 04:26:35 PM
An updated trailer for Bayonetta 2 here (http://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Wii-U/Bayonetta-2-765382.html#). Looks like they've updated the textures. I wonder if Platinum are using tessellation on the Gomorrah model, either that or it's a ridiculous amount of polys :o 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 29, 2013, 01:58:45 PM
Woah! 60fps footage of Sonic Lost World here (https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3lkv4FtwrUtSnZubHRsdVZubE0/edit?usp=sharing), looking stunning. What's likely to be 720p native with v-synch enabled, if this is locked at 60fps without any dips that certainly says something positive about what's under the hood. Very impressive. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 01, 2013, 07:59:45 AM
97.5% done on GTA 5.. the collectibles are starting to drag on now though.. only have two bits left to finish off the 100% checklist - 25 stunt jumps and 8 knife flights (which I haven't even unlocked yet).

I started work on the 50 stunt jumps last night but wasn't making much progress.. some of them are really tough!!  There is one where you have to jump from the mainland and land next to the lighthouse that got me stuck for ages.. the problem being that the area doesn't spawn many fast vehicles or motorbikes.. so having to go inland again to pick up the right vehicle to go back and still fuck up the jump was very frustrating.

I gave up in the end and started work on the Under The Bridge.. and I did about 30 in about an hour, so will probably complete those tonight (which unlocks the knife flights).  Again, the frustrating part of it is having to go all the way back to the airport to pick up another plane when you crash, I think I'm pretty good at flying, and some of the bridges are a real squeeze.. I did start following the in-game map (type in junk into the search engine, go-to the energy drink website, confirm your 21, then click the link in the top right hand corner)... but following it is tough because there are so many in the south area, its easy to lose track of which ones you've actually done.

Hopefully though, the online portion is supposed to be released today so will give that a shot I think.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 01, 2013, 11:12:44 AM
Still a way behind you. I'm currently at about 88%. I keep getting distracted and going off exploring.

Spent a pleasant evening at the Playboy Mansion last night.
(http://prod.cloud.rockstargames.com/ugc/gta5photo/2161/Lz6ub9ve7E6SFFtz8_dmww/0_0.jpg)

Finished the ufo parts on Sunday. The one balanced on the bridge was a ball-acher. Tried parachuting onto it; eventually parked my heli on it.
(http://prod.cloud.rockstargames.com/ugc/gta5photo/7882/lQQNsBtkZEqVEERPblQR1A/0_0.jpg)

Then finished the letter parts, and avenged Lenora or whatever she'd called - before tracking down her ghost.
That's some creepy shit right there.
(http://prod.cloud.rockstargames.com/ugc/gta5photo/1985/uuv7kxf3e0yR4nPEid31Jw/0_0.jpg)
That photo's not mine. I did get a pic, but I was too far away and she disappeared when I got closer, so I've used someone else pic there.



I did start following the in-game map (type in junk into the search engine, go-to the energy drink website, confirm your 21, then click the link in the top right hand corner)...
Oooh, nice - ta. Will give that a look.

I'm currently working on getting Michael into the Scientologist cult.



Am up for online, if I get the chance.
Will have to dig out my headset. I know I have one somewhere, but it's about 3 or 4 years since I last used it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 01, 2013, 01:09:54 PM
Yeah I'm halfway through the Kifflom achievement myself.. am on the hunt for vehicles.. some of them you can buy but haven't got a clue where to look for the ones you can't, might have to do a bit of research on that one...

That bridge ufo part was a bugger.. I did do it on my 2nd attempt (I parachuted onto it).. I tried to park a chopper there the first time and blew up lol.  Its so handy putting waypoints on your map (with Y).. although I didn't realise you could only put 10 on it at one go.. and as a result, lost 40 of them when I tried to 50 points on for the ufo parts lol.

I actually might leave online for another day.. rockstar have said (http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/gaming/gta-5-online-rockstar-outlines-rules-for-fair-play-prior-to-launch-8850822.html) the servers will probably be temperamental for the first couple of days.. if I get a good run on the stunt jumps and bridge challenges tonight.. I might go all the way and finish those off before venturing online... apparently the lighthouse is one of the hardest ones.. but seen a video showing you can do it in a taxi.. and autosaving before the jump can save valuable time if you fuck it up.


Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 01, 2013, 02:48:06 PM
Yeah I'm halfway through the Kifflom achievement myself.. am on the hunt for vehicles.. some of them you can buy but haven't got a clue where to look for the ones you can't, might have to do a bit of research on that one...

Try the Lifeinvader offices. Several of them randomly spawn in the parking bay there.
I found 3 in total, and paid for the other two.
(Of course, both the ones I paid for were all over the bloody place just afterward.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 02, 2013, 07:52:50 AM
Completed the bridges last night.. there are two really tricky ones that are low down and really require a plane.. using the quick save was a god-send.. although the long loading times were irritating.. so started on the Knife Flights afterwards.. (which annoyingly don't appear on the in-game map).. done 5 of them and then came up against a real tough one.. so had to call it a day on that.. will go back tonight and use Trevor's drug trafficking plane as its slower than the others... thankfully there are only 15 of these.

Did try online, was quite quirky choosing your mums parents and dads parents to create yourself I thought.. I managed to get to the first race.. then it just sat there "Launching Session" for ages.. so couldn't progress on that.. hopefully they will have that sorted in a few days..

No progress on Kifflom.. to be honest, I couldn't be arsed looking or using Michael, would help if I knew where the LifeInvader offices were.. lol.. will make some progress on that tonight if I finish off the knife flights.. the stunt jumps are the ones I'm least looking forward to completing.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 02, 2013, 09:39:27 AM
I had the same with Online. Got as far as the first race, then was waiting for about 15-20 minutes before I aborted. Annoyingly you have to reboot or go to dash at that point - there's no "cancel" button.
The servers were clearly screwed before I got to the race, though. No textures and terrible pop-up in the lead-up video introduction.

I did get a pop-up message a few hours later telling me that Kenny had broken the world record for the introductory race, so we have a target now when we do eventually manage to get a race ;)


The Life Invader offices are about a block south and two or three blocks west of Michael's house if memory serves.

Found the adrenaline junkies map - ta. Like you say, hard to pinpoint everything on that, and it doesn't show which ones you've done - so I went to the nearest one to my current location. Turns out it was the lighthouse one you mentioned earlier. Give it about 5 or 6 tries then gave up!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 02, 2013, 11:18:58 AM
Apparently Valve registered Half Life 3 as a trademark a few days ago.
That's unconfirmed, and there don't appear to have been any announcements - and of course filing a trademark might just be to protect it for future use.


(http://i.imgur.com/ufStqXq.png]http://i.imgur.com/ufStqXq.png)

techradar (http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/valve-s-half-life-3-trademark-surfaces-on-reddit-1185482)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 02, 2013, 12:23:53 PM
Found the adrenaline junkies map - ta. Like you say, hard to pinpoint everything on that, and it doesn't show which ones you've done - so I went to the nearest one to my current location. Turns out it was the lighthouse one you mentioned earlier. Give it about 5 or 6 tries then gave up!

lol.. its a bugger isn't it.. and totally put me off trying any others.  You can do it in a taxi apparently, hit the jump right in the middle.. its all about the speed and being able to keep your car straight - definitely auto-save before you try it though.

Best tip for the bridges (if your using that map).. do all the ones that are fairly scattered first, most of these are in the top area.. but some in the south (mainly on the roads) are also far enough off the main area so you remember you've done them...you'll be left with about 15-20 on the 2 main canals and surrounding areas that lead to the docks then.  Then concentrate on getting all the ones on one of the canals.. then do the other canal.. you'll be left with about 6 left to do round the dock area.  You can do all of them in helicopter or plane.. I did most with the Mallard plane and there are 2 in the main area that are much easier with a plane (because you have to get really low to the water).

Also auto-save when your approaching a bridge you need to do.. if your about to crash, quickly press start and re-load.. otherwise you have to wait for the wasted + hospital scene to progress before you can do that..  if you don't auto-save, taking a cab back to the airport and flying all the way back to the bridge to fail again gets old.. really fast.

The knife flights are much more difficult.. some are fairly easy, but the trickier ones are annoyingly hard.. I swear I did the one I'm stuck on perfectly and it didn't pop, so annoying.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 02, 2013, 12:47:52 PM
One of the kids has been great helping me with the collectibles. I give her a printed map and she directs me to putting a marker on the in-game map and ticks them off when they're done. Was very helpful on the ufo and letter parts. So I've today printed locations of bridges and jumps. Will hopefully be able to get through some of those tonight.

I've been totally misreading the knife flights all this time. I thought you got knife fights after doing all the "under the bridge" stuff. Which didn't make much sense, but that's how it goes sometimes.  :-X ;D

Not sure if you know, but you get a tough choice at the end of the Epsilon quest line, btw. Minor spoiler:
At the end you can kill everyone for a cool $2.1mil. Or you can walk away - which apparently unlocks a new set of collectibles. You get the achievement either way, and the collectibles are worth nothing. Tough call! I decided I'm not too bothered about 2 mil at this point of the game, so I let them keep it. If I were near the start of the story (you can do the Epsilon story very early in the game) I might've gone for the cash instead though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 02, 2013, 02:01:39 PM
Yeah I thought you had to do the under the bridge stuff first too.. but looks like you don't...

Which maps are you using.. I was going to do the same myself with the stunt jumps and knife flights.. but got sidetracked with the logo creator in my lunch break.. lol.. I put a shoddy logo together just playing around with it but for some reason its not letting me upload it... I cba spending hours with it, I know you like to do logos and stuff in COD.. feel free to upload one to the crew if you can.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 02, 2013, 02:46:52 PM
I think you have to do at least some of the under the bridge, possibly all. My confusion was between fight and flight. I thought you unlocked some bruisers with flick-knives after you flew under a certain number of bridges.


The two maps I printed today, for jumps, and for bridges came from here (http://www.powerpyx.com/guides/grand_theft_auto_v.html).
The maps are massive images (8192x8192 pixels) so if you're to follow suit and print them make sure you set your printer to shrink them to 1 or 2 pages. On the down side, it can be a bit tricky to see them when you shrink everthing all down, and those that are close together can overlap each other.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 03, 2013, 08:00:10 AM
Finally got 100% completion on GTA5.. did 25 of the stunt jumps last night, finished off the knife flights (the one I was stuck on (10).. apparently I had already done.. I must of spent an hour trying to get that to pop.. when I'd already done it  :-[ ),  also finshed off Kifflom - which was just a very annoying mission.. I ended up with a tractor.. so obviously didn't do something right on that last mission.  ;D

Just 25 stunt jumps to complete to get that achievement (I did the lighthouse one first time of asking last night).. but still some of them are quite tough if your not using a walkthrough.. think they would be easier with a motorbike.  And then just 70 missions to get gold on and the single player is done.. although I think I'll venture online once the stunt jumps are finished.. probably wont be till next week now.

I've had some really embarrassing fails recently though lol... when hunting the spaceship parts.. I killed myself twice accidently.. the first time, I landed my heli on a wonky surface, ran round the back of it and killed myself by running into the back rotor lol.. so slightly wary this could happen, I stopped running round the back and always ran round the front, except again I parked the heli on a wonky surface and it tipped forward as I was running round the front and the top blades killed me this time.. I stopped parking on wonky surfaces after this lol.

But last night took the biscuit.. paid 650k for a cheetah to use for stunt jumps.. bright pink.. had it for about 30 seconds before I smashed it into a car.. however that smash catapulted my car towards the train tracks and yes.. just at that very moment a train hit the side of my car.. smashing it along the tracks and eventually flipping it into the air.. it didn't explode.. surprisingly enough, but it was totally fucked afterwards lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 03, 2013, 09:37:41 AM
I'm sick of paying for cars and souping them up only for them to disappear. Own fault for not storing them, I guess, but what's the point of a flash car in GTA if not to drive it. And if I drive it I inevitably either trash it or park it at the start of a mini-mission/race or something, only for it to be gone when I get back.
Doesn't happen with planes, boats, helicopters, etc. Buy those, crash them, go back to your hangar/dock/helipad and they're parked up good as new. Should be the same with cars! :(  (Unless they actually are stored somewhere, and I've just not sussed something. Maybe I've got dozens of cars in a big warehouse somewhere.)

I had a go at "under the bridge" last night. Annoyingly I've got about 45 of them, and there were three that I marked as "too hard - come back later". (2 of those were near the damn, and my helicopter just couldn't get through the gap. I think I might need to knife a plane through them.)
Fuck knows where the other two are. If I want to get all 50 I think I'll need to start the map again, and do all fifty bridges again, and I don't think I can't be arsed with that. Problem is, if you fly under a bridge and nothing pops up you have no idea if it's because you lightly brushed a rotor or wing against a surface or if it's because you've already done that bridge. Frustrating.

You finished the Scientology mission the same way as me, Kieron. At the end you could have killed everyone and grabbed the two mil, but it doesn't really tell you that - just sorta hints at it. Because you delivered the cash like a good boy you'll have received a text saying thanks. That text also says something about praising their god "where the earth touches the 9th paradigm" or something like that. It's a cryptic clue saying to go to the top of Mount Chilead - for the first of ten collectibles. I think they call them the "Epsilon Tracts". I got that one, at which point I got a new clue by text message. They're way too cryptic for me to bother with now, so I'll either leave them or look at a guide. Probably leave them since they give you no reward, and following a guide to get an achievement is annoying enough on the collectibles that actually have a reward at the end.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 03, 2013, 09:58:06 AM
Have you done the two bridges that are really low by the docks..(29) and (30) on the map.. they are green and white bridges.. they are by far the lowest bridges on the map.. at first I ignored them thinking that you couldn't possibly fit a plane/chopper under them.. but you can.. the 4 to the right of them are all tightly packed aswell, could of missed a few of them.. if you were crossing them off as you went along, you've probably miscounted in the south area somewhere where there are lots together.. be a bugger to start all that again...perhaps watch the walkthrough video, might jog your memory if you've missed them off completely.

Problem is, if you fly under a bridge and nothing pops up you have no idea if it's because you lightly brushed a rotor or wing against a surface or if it's because you've already done that bridge. Frustrating.

Yep, which is why I wasted loads of time on a knife flight I'd already done lol.. being extra vigilant with the stunt jumps.. although they are a bit different, because I don't think it goes into slow-mo if you've already done the jump.


Talking about respawning vehicles though.. I was in the sub with Michael and swapped character as I beached the sub.. when I went back to Michael he was coming out of a pub or something.. and parked on the kerb was the submarine lol.. it is quite stupid that you pay for your cars and you can't get them back if they disappear.. that 650k was pretty much wasted as I cant get the cheetah back now... I've learnt that if you leave a vehicle and wander off... your vehicle will still be there if you go back.. unless you've got in another vehicle in the meantime and your previous vehicle is out of sight.. then it disappears. Also if you autosave in a damaged vehicle and reload your game.. your vehicle gets repaired for free.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 03, 2013, 10:59:56 AM
Have you done the two bridges that are really low by the docks..(29) and (30) on the map.. they are green and white bridges.. they are by far the lowest bridges on the map.. at first I ignored them thinking that you couldn't possibly fit a plane/chopper under them..
Yeah, I did one of those two, and marked the other to come back to later. Just couldn't get my helicopter under it, so figured a stunt plane or crop duster would be a better option.
The other two, by the dam (marked 12 & 13) I swear I couldn't get the heli through, but I see he did in the vid - I guess my chopper is too big. (Fnarr.)
I'd done about 8 bridges before I started on these 50, so each time I went under a bridge without the message flashing up, and I was certain I did it cleanly, I assumed it was one of the 8 I'd already cleared. I guess I made that assumption ten times.


it is quite stupid that you pay for your cars and you can't get them back if they disappear.. that 650k was pretty much wasted as I cant get the cheetah back now... I've learnt that if you leave a vehicle and wander off... your vehicle will still be there if you go back.. unless you've got in another vehicle in the meantime and your previous vehicle is out of sight.. then it disappears. Also if you autosave in a damaged vehicle and reload your game.. your vehicle gets repaired for free.
I know there's an impound garage in the city, and I've recovered a few vehicles there, but they're always something shite I don't remember ever owning.


being extra vigilant with the stunt jumps.. although they are a bit different, because I don't think it goes into slow-mo if you've already done the jump.
I think it does, but I could be wrong. There's one near Michael's house that I've used as a shortcut a fair few times, always forgetting it takes longer because it goes into slow-mo, and it always slows down. I'm pretty sure I completed it the first time I did it - but like I say, I might be wrong. Might be worth you revisiting one you know you've done, to test the theory.

I know there's a very annoying one near the airport that I did a week or so back, that has you hanging in the air for what seems like over a bloody minute each attempt. (One of the curved advert things, requires you to land on the roof of a parking lot).

and parked on the kerb was the submarine lol
Lol. Haven't seen the sub on land, but I did come across a shark lying in the middle of the road up in the Vinewood Hills, at one point.
Frustratingly it was night, and I was in the middle of a side-mission at the time (getting some bird away from paparazzi) so I couldn't stop and get the pictures I wanted, but I did manage to rush one (bad) photo of it.
(http://prod.cloud.rockstargames.com/ugc/gta5photo/9153/QncT47U-rkS5VRLQk2UQeg/0_0.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 03, 2013, 12:32:14 PM
lol at the shark.. weird.

You can control the slow-mo on the stunt jumps with your right thumbstick btw.. pushing up on it makes it go normal speed.  If it does go slow mo on every jump regardless of if you have completed it already.. at least you get a message saying pass or fail!

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 03, 2013, 02:27:38 PM
D'oh! Wish I'd known about that before. That airport one was so bad I actually went out for a ciggie whilst waiting for it to land, a couple of times.

Just got my weekly summary from Raptr, showing how much xbox gaming I've done this week, and it's quite embarassing.
It's actually a 5 day report, not a weekly report, as I didn't turn the console on on Thurs or Fri last week due to a migraine.

9/26 to 10/3 - 69h 35m (all playing GTA V)

That's an average of 14 hours a day for five days. Three of those days I was at work (10 hours including commuting).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 04, 2013, 09:37:25 AM
Got GTA Online to work, after a fashion...


As soon as I try to play it puts me in the first race and says waiting for other players. Waited about 20 mins then rebooted. Did that several times, each time waiting 20 mins. On the 4th attempt I nodded off after about 15 minutes. Woke up 2 hours later to find I'd been booted out of the race for being idle, and the map and all missions are now available to me.

So if you're unable to get that first race started but are keen to get into GTAO my advice is put the game on and walk away from the console for a few hours!

I was knackered when I woke up, so did one little fetch mission whilst half-awake then turned it off. Will give it a proper look tonight.

Finished the "under the bridge" collectibles last night. I had one more than I thought, so once I got the 3 I'd found too difficult at first I ended up on 49. Got the map and re-did them all until I got the one I'd missed. Started on the stunt jumps but only did about 3 of them before I got bored.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 04, 2013, 01:10:49 PM
Xbox Live:
All silver users are upgraded to Gold for free, for this weekend only. (4/10-6/10.)
So if you don't currently have a gold sub and have been wanting to check out online play on COD, FIFA, GTA, Battlefield 4 Beta, or whatever, (or maybe grab some multiplayer achievements if you're that way inclined) this weekend is your ideal opportunity.

xbox.com (http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/Live/Free-LIVE-Weekend)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 06, 2013, 10:10:11 PM
So fucked off, 49 out of 50 stunt jumps done, but I've been through the map and video and know I've done them all  :(

Edit : Because it says I've also only attempted 49 out of 50 too.. the only thing I can think of is that I did one twice and then marked off a different one.. just sat through the video again and cant see a single one which I don't remember doing though  >:(  I am literally going to have go through them all again tonight.  Least I don't actually have to land them, can just check to see if my attempted number goes up to 50 if I fail one but its still a major pain in the ass.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 07, 2013, 10:52:49 AM
It tells you whether you've attempted it before?
Mine went a bit batty toward the end. All the way through, upon landing, it'd say how many jumps are remaining - but on the last two jumps it just said "undefined", which had me worrying. One of three bugs I encountered over the weekend. The second saw my characters' stats change (Franklin's special skill was maxed out, but is now at about 65%. Not sure about all other stats.) The other had all three of my characters walking around with 1% health (flashing red), which wouldn't go up with snacks, health packs, visits to hospital, switching characters, or saving/reloading. Fortunately a reboot sorted it.

Hardest jumps for me on that powerpyx guide were 4, 12, 24, and 26.
Got them all in the end, though. I also did the knife flights (damn but one of those was a complete nightmare though!) and got my 100% completion badge.

I'm now going for golds in all missions.
Should be slightly easier than I thought. I did two of them last night, and it seems you don't need to fulfil all the criteria in your attempt - you just need to get the criteria that you didn't already have. So if you need to be fast and accurate and last time you were fast but had low accuracy you can just take your time when you revisit it.

I see you have two achievements I don't have, Kieron.
One required getting all three characters together, off mission, on a 3 star wanted level. I can't do that on my current game (need to restart or reload an earlier save. Tried a few early saves but none would let me get all three guys together).
The other appears to be for getting killed by a shark. Pffft - don't think I'll go for that one.


Online seems to be working much better now, btw, for anyone who gave up - and it's good fun. There's no heists yet, but there's still loads to do.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 07, 2013, 11:48:25 AM
Could be a bug perhaps..? Really annoying when a bug stops you from completing a game 100%. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on October 07, 2013, 04:40:20 PM
I loved getting a little notification saying Late has completed 100% of the stunt jumps.  ;D

Online has been iffy for me but it's improving. I had a few attempts at a horde mission with some people which was tons of fun. Get past wave 6 and you start to make serious dollar. Managed to get myself an apartment but now need to find a good car.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 07, 2013, 06:48:22 PM
Found the last jump  ;D I swear I had at least attempted that one, I may of marked off the wrong one lol

To get all 3 characters together, just use your phone and call the other two to hang out.  I just drove round the airport for 3 minutes until it popped after I finished the game, depends what you chose on the last mission though... maybe, I don't know what the other two options actually entail.

I got eaten by a shark on purpose  ;)

Are we racing towards 70 gold then?  :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 07, 2013, 07:31:30 PM
It's on, Homie
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 07, 2013, 09:51:57 PM
Up-to 36, so over half way.. although I have pretty much done all the easy ones first ;D  They really need a replay mission on the mission completed screen though.. so annoying to miss out on one objective and have to wait through all the loading screens to replay it.. although I have just been killing myself if I think I've mucked up to save time.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 07, 2013, 09:58:49 PM
I gave you a head start because I'm that good...

I probably have about 15-20 golds - not sure.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 08, 2013, 07:53:09 AM
15-20 pfft... that's how many I had when I first completed the game.. without trying  ;)  maybe... seriously though, the strangers/freaks missions are far easier to get gold on.. that's where most of mine are at the moment.. so you'll catch up fairly quickly once you start on them.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 08, 2013, 09:40:43 AM
Oh, I only looked at the main missions... I had 19 golds from 77 missions when I turned the machine on last night, then got about five more done.
Can't get all the pop-ups closed within the time limit on the virus-laden computer at LifeInvader :(

Didn't realise you only need to get 70 and they can include freaks & strangers. That makes things easier! Will probably go for gold in all missions, mind.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 08, 2013, 10:03:27 AM
Some of those gold missions are quite tough...I must of replayed Franklins Shift Work mission quite a few times last night.. its his first race with Hao... one of the requirements is to complete it with less than 5 collisions... which I thought I had done.. I had one crash.. in fact, another racer drove into the side of me and pushed me along for a few seconds.. wasn't sure if this was 1 collision or repeated collisions as he was pushing me.. turns out it was the latter  :(

But yeah, I'm just getting 70 gold and that will be it for me.. am going online after that because I need to crack on getting my last 700GS before Nov 22nd... I was thinking last night that I'm going to try and get to 99980GS and then replay Lost Odyssey to get the last glitchy, missable, treasure trove achievement that I missed on the first two attempts of playing it.  Would be a great send-off to an awesome console and I'm already looking forward to playing it again ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 08, 2013, 11:24:11 AM
I miss having nice round numbers on my gamerscore. Sodding Final Fantasy XIII-2 screwed that up for me :(

Getting to 100k will be quite a milestone. Only recently passed 60k, so I don't anticipate overtaking you any time soon ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 08, 2013, 11:42:17 AM
Developers UFG have announced they're currently working on a sequel to "Sleeping Dogs". No real details as yet other than it's named "Triad Wars". It seems they didn't want to announce it yet, but someone noticed their new trademark registration. Will be announced properly in 2014.

Great news. Sleeping Dogs was a fantastic game. :D

UnitedFrontGames (http://www.unitedfrontgames.com/2013/10/news-from-ufg/)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 08, 2013, 04:01:28 PM
Aw ffs, Mad Catz have now announced a new console. This gen isn't going to end well. Video Game Crash 2014, anyone..? :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 08, 2013, 06:12:35 PM
The android thing they announced about 6 months ago?
That ain't a proper console.
£100 and I might be interested.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 08, 2013, 06:16:38 PM
GTA V missions:
23/77 main
12/43 strangers.
So still a way behind you, Kieron.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 08, 2013, 07:51:53 PM
Nope, that's the Ouya or Amazon one you're thinking of. This news from Mad Catz is new.

So this gen we're going to see the following consoles:

Wii U
PS4
One
Ouya
Amazon box
Apple box
Mad Catz box
Steam box

What could possibly go wrong...? :o :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 08, 2013, 07:54:13 PM
Have just seen this on Gaf (http://www.salon.com/2013/10/05/the_legend_of_zelda_is_classist_sexist_and_racist/). And no, it isn't a parody, it's a serious article lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 08, 2013, 08:27:59 PM
What's this madcatz console called?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 08, 2013, 08:43:29 PM
Mad Catz Mojo (http://madcatz.com/mojo/en-uk/)

Its android based.. so it's not a real console, out on 10th December - RRP = £219.99 - I've got a feeling they ain't gonna sell many with a price like that lol

Done with GTA5 for tonight now:
17/72 main
35/43 strangers.

18 to go.. although I'm really running out of easy missions now lol.. weird that a Sasquatch stranger mission popped up recently for no apparent reason.. I still haven't done Trevor's stranger mission where you have to smash all the for sale signs down.. don't think that would have a medal towards it.  I noticed some missions, if you kill yourself to reset your mission, any counters you have (like the collision counter on Franklins Shift Work mission) accumulate... meaning you have to do that checkpoint first time!  There's a heist mission called Carbine Rifles where you have to lose a 3 star wanted level in 2 minutes... I spent about 10 minutes trying to do that, killing myself if I felt the 2 minutes had passed.... eventually did it and finished the mission only to be clocked in at about 10 bloody minutes accumulative.. d'oh  :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 08, 2013, 08:55:39 PM
What's this madcatz console called?

M.O.J.O., bit of a shite name too lol. Has a Tegra 4 and is going to be $250 when it launches. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 08, 2013, 08:59:35 PM
Android device, and it was announced months ago at e3.  ::)
Definitely not a contender. Was semi-tempted by the £100 ouya but decided against it in the end. Definitely wouldn't fancy paying more than double that for a slightly more powerful version of the same thing.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 08, 2013, 09:13:19 PM
Was it..? Oops, my bad. There's so many of the things it's easy to get confused lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 09, 2013, 09:05:52 PM
Solid gold baby  ;D

Played an hour online, bit disappointed with it tbh, I was hoping for more of a MMO experience.  Some fucker was waiting outside a store whilst I was doing the tutorial and shot the shit out of me when I came out and stole my new car, so I traversed the map and found he had totally trashed it, he got away in a different car just as I was getting up to him, spent another 10 minutes hunting him down for my revenge, which I did eventually get  8)

Also won the first race too by a mile  :P

Don't know why but thought there would be plenty of people wanting to do missions online but seemed like everyone was more interested in just killing you
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 10, 2013, 12:55:07 PM
When I've been online I've spent most of my time just doing races (and the occasional deathmatch or mission).
Start or join a race, and when it's finished it asks everyone in your lobby to choose between doing the same one again, pick one of six new ones, or refresh the list.
Pop out of the game from time to time to bank your cash and have a bit of fun in the open world, then back into the races/matches.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 10, 2013, 01:58:21 PM
Meh, the races don't really appeal to me.. mainly because they are bound to be uneven, in terms of people who have pimped their cars to shit and people like me who are just starting out.. also its racing.. its not that much fun in the context of the other stuff anyway.

Deathmatches also don't appeal to me that much either.. again, you have more money, you can afford better guns - and with everyone having the auto-aim.. its pretty much a given that the player with the best guns wins..

Money = success in all types of vs. modes.. I'm not sure I can be arsed with that.. especially since players can just pay for quick success.. I hate systems that work like that.

I didn't get chance to try a mission out after the tutorial one.. mainly because everyone pissed off and there was literally about 2 or 3 players left... I guess I needed to change server.. but wasn't sure how... but even with the first mission where I was paired with 3 other people, I was driving to the mission and they all bailed out of the car straight away.. I found them later trying to run me over mid mission ::) and when I finally spotted someone actually doing the mission, he was doing exactly what I was doing.. at the same time., I could of just let him do it all... I actually thought they were on a completely separate mission to me at first... it just seemed so unorganized, if the option was there for me to tackle smaller missions on my own (if I wanted too) and then bigger missions like heists required a group of people.. I would probably be able to live with that.. but not sure how much play I'll get out of online.. its just not as good (or rather, its not as suitable to me) as I was expecting.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 10, 2013, 06:04:32 PM
I think the host has the option to allow customised loadouts and vehicles - but in pretty much every race and death match everyone has started with the same. I think you've just been really unlucky there.
I only did one mission, and there were three random guys with me. I died, the other three completed it without me, I got mission success. Again, you've just been unlucky (or I was just very lucky).
I've not done much open play but it's been fine - I got killed one or twice randomly, and I killed one or twice randomly (mainly revenge). At one point I jumped in a random player's car, we went to a convenience store and both pulled out guns on the cashier. My accomplice in crime then shot me and made good his escape. I could be annoyed at that but tbh I just found it funny.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 10, 2013, 06:30:40 PM
Solid gold baby  ;D
Call it a draw?
I'm on 26/77 main and 27/43 freaks. 53 is pretty much the same as 70...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 11, 2013, 01:36:24 PM
 :P  The last 10 did take a while..

I swear.. if I ever have to do Dom's mountain bike race challenge again though, I'm likely to throw the controller out the window.. lost count on the amount of times I had to restart from the top of the mountain checkpoint because I rode off the track by accident  >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 12, 2013, 11:35:11 AM
I think I aced that one on my initial playthrough ;)
I'm close now - think I'm on about 65, but haven't played much in the last couple of days.
Rockstar have announced they're giving everyone $500k on gtao, to apologize for the server problems - which are now mostly solved. Your bank balance should go up by $250k on each of the next two updates so long as you've been online at some point in October.



I was tempted by "Injustice - Gods Among Us" but as a fighting game it's one of those games where you know they'll milk everyone as much as possible with loads of extra characters by dlc - and boy did they. The "complete edition" has now been announced, and is pretty cheap. Available for £22.85 to preorder at ShopTo. Have gone for it.

ShopTo (http://www.shopto.net/video%20games/ps3/PS3IN15-injustice-gods-among-us-ultimate-edition)
hukd (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/injustice-gods-among-ultimate-edition-ps3-360-22-85-pre-order-shopto-1675945)

Edit - autocorrect
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on October 13, 2013, 04:33:19 PM
What's the trick to riding a bike really fast, Late?  >:( ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 13, 2013, 04:55:04 PM
What's the trick to riding a bike really fast, Late?  >:( ;D

Stop talking about late's Mum like that, it isn't nice!!! :o :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 14, 2013, 01:20:48 AM
What's the trick to riding a bike really fast, Late?  >:( ;D
Did I play online with you Sat night?
I have a vague recollection but was pretty blotto.

I usually stick to cars where possible. In bike races I always pick the Bati because I'm used to the handling, but if I won it'll have been been luck more than skill.



I did the estate agent freak mission where you smash the signs today. Unlocks a few new mini missions (but nothing exciting).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 14, 2013, 08:06:06 AM
I played a few races last week, did a few last man standings.. and a few missions.. but think I'm going to put GTA5 on ebay this week.. online mode just isn't for me, plus I can still get £35 for it.. and there are less than 40 days left until the X1 comes out, so it will go nicely towards Dead Rising 3.  Am planning to take the majority of the rest down to GAME this weekend coming.

Started on working my way up to 100k in achievements.. plenty of games to choose from to increase my GS but want a easy, quick one.. so stuck Kinect Adventures in... and got just under 200 in less than an hour.. although I was knackered after that lol.. Just need to get to 99,900 and then I've got plenty of arcade games to choose from to increase it carefully up to 99980.. which at that point.. all bets are off.. no more games will be played and I'm going to stick Lost Odyssey in and play through that one last time  8)

I was thinking of going through Dishonored before you mentioned it on another thread late.. although I just hate the thought of playing a stealthy game.. which is a shame because the game was setting up nicely from what I remember of it and very reminiscent of Bioshock I thought.. and I know the game doesn't always force you to play stealthy, but its always the best approach and you get bonuses for doing so, I just generally hate stealth games.. I find them boring.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 14, 2013, 11:39:30 AM
Looks like I'll be playing the X1 & PS4 in a few weeks.  Been announced they will both be playable at the Gadget Show Live expo which I'm going too.. awesome  ;D  Be interesting to see which queue will be the biggest.. gonna get there quite early and hope we don't have to wait too long to play them  :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 14, 2013, 11:43:15 AM
I was thinking of going through Dishonored before you mentioned it on another thread late.. although I just hate the thought of playing a stealthy game.. which is a shame because the game was setting up nicely from what I remember of it and very reminiscent of Bioshock I thought.. and I know the game doesn't always force you to play stealthy, but its always the best approach and you get bonuses for doing so, I just generally hate stealth games.. I find them boring.

Go for it - you won't regret it.
In some ways it does encourage stealth, but it certainly doesn't demand it - and it caters perfectly well for those who like to be a bit more gung-ho.
If you want to go all Rambo you'll still get a fantastic game. The story caters for it - so if you kill lots of people than certain things happen throughout the story, and there's different endings depending on how you play (what decisions you make, whether you kill or spare key people, and whether you kill or hide from all the guards etc.).
As you say, there's encouragement (an achievement) for being stealthy. But there's also achievements for killing a massive number of people and bringing maximum death and destruction.

I often say I'd like to replay a game, but then don't actually get 'round to it, but with Dishonored I think I restarted the story immediately upon completing it the first time - and I could happily play it through again another once or twice (had I not sold it).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 15, 2013, 08:53:00 PM
Aw bollocks, Watch Dogs has been delayed until after 1st April next year >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 16, 2013, 04:25:37 AM
New screenshots of Super Mario 3D World here (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=86212342&postcount=550) 8)

Looking stunning :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 16, 2013, 08:20:14 AM
Aw bollocks, Watch Dogs has been delayed until after 1st April next year >:(

Shame.. Watch Dogs was one of the PS4 best launch games available.. plus they had a Watch Dogs bundle too... wonder if it will affect sales at all.

Even worse news (imo) is that they also pushed back The Crew to Q3 2014  :(

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 17, 2013, 05:52:57 PM
Looks like Sonic Lost World is going to get mixed reviews tomorrow. It's been available from the eShop since 3pm and going by user feedback so far it's going to take you 45-60 minutes to get the hang of the controls and once you do the game is great...unfortunately reviewers tend to be shite at playing games and don't like anything that involves a bit of skill so you'll have more than a few complaining that the controls are 'broken'. ::) :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 17, 2013, 10:09:14 PM
Rumours abound today that Driveclub is delayed until 2014.
If true, and combined with the Watch Dogs news, Sony's launch lineup is taking a hit.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 17, 2013, 11:14:20 PM
Yup, I've seen a good few people saying they're cancelling their pre-orders and getting Wii Us for Christmas instead which has quite surprised me. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 18, 2013, 01:35:10 AM
(http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lm3c0zSXH81qd7eic.gif)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 18, 2013, 02:18:54 AM
That latest trailer for Super Mario 3D World and those screenshots I've posted above combined with those delayed PS4 games has been the turning point for quite a few people. Like I said I was pretty surprised at that myself :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 18, 2013, 07:56:45 AM
(http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/laughter.gif)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 18, 2013, 11:15:36 AM
Looks like I was right about Sonic Lost World and mixed reviews. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 18, 2013, 11:19:39 AM
Rumours abound today that Driveclub is delayed until 2014.
Now confirmed.
playstation blog (http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2013/10/18/driveclub-update/)

Revised list of Sony disk releases for the ps4 in 2013:

Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag
Battlefield 4
Call of Duty: Ghosts
DriveClub
FIFA 14
Just Dance 2014
Killzone: Shadow Fall
Knack
Lego Marvel Superheroes
Madden NFL 25
NBA Live
NBA 2K14
Need for Speed: Rivals
Skylanders: Swap Force
Watch_Dogs

Note that there are digital releases in addition to the above.
That launch line-up has definitely taken a hit, though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 18, 2013, 12:10:48 PM
Just 2 exclusives now.. ouch.. pretty pointless in getting one at launch especially with GT6 launching on the PS3 around the same time.. madness that its not PS4 compatible.

Gotta get my game pre-orders in soon... was hoping to see cheaper retail prices on Dead Rising 3/Forza 5.. but doesn't look like its going to happen anytime soon.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 18, 2013, 01:07:29 PM
I still haven't decided what I'm doing about COD.
I'll buy it, because I'm virtually guaranteed a lot of gameplay out of it (due to a combination of it's COD, and I won't have many games).
And of course it makes sense to get the xb1 version.
But I'm not sure where to get it, whether to get it on xb360 and upgrade it, or what.

Not so bothered about all other launch games (just to show I'm not biased against Sony, with my earlier post)...

Will almost certainly buy on xb1:
   Call of Duty: Ghosts
   Forza Motorsport 5 (in preordered bundle)
Interested, but happy to get 360 version and/or wait a while:, or miss it altogether   
   Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
   LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
   Battlefield 4
   Need for Speed: Rivals (maybe)
   Killer Instinct (maybe)
   Zoo Tycoon (maybe)
Not interested in the slightest:   
   Crimson Dragon
   Dead Rising 3
   FIFA 14
   Fighter Within
   Just Dance 2014
   LocoCycle
   Madden NFL 25
   NBA 2K14
   NBA Live 14
   Powerstar Golf
   Ryse: Son of Rome
   Skylanders: Swap Force
   Zumba Fitness: World Party


Aside from COD (and the digital copy of Forza my bundle comes with) there's no launch day "must have" games for me.
I'm keen on Titanfall, Watchdogs, and Peggle, but they're all out early next year.

I want AC4 and Lego Marvel, but I'm happy to wait and see if there's good launch offers, and wait longer still if there's no decent prices. And with those titles, I'd be happy to buy the 360 version instead of the xb1 version if the two versions are virtually identical but the prices are far apart.
For instance, I see Lego Marvel can be preordered for £29.85 on the xb360 or the ps3 (from simplygames). The cheapest I can find the xb1 and ps4 versions is £40(zavvi).
I ain't paying an extra tenner if it's the exact same game. I've not read/heard anything on that, but I doubt there's any differences between the versions.
(Speaking of Lego Marvel, I hear a demo was released on both xb360 and ps3 this week.)




So all in all, there's not a massive amount of appeal in day 1 titles for me, personally, on either xb1 or ps4.

Having said that, both options beat buying a Wii U, of course.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 18, 2013, 06:46:55 PM
Bloody retailers take the piss in this country, they always have console launch titles a tenner more expensive than previous gen games. They did the same with the Wii U too. You can generally shop around and get them for the same price but not always. In the States Batman Arkham Origins for the Wii U is cheaper than the others due to the missing multiplayer but over here it's more expensive. I'm going to get the Wii U version at some point because going by Arkham City the single player experience is going to be far superior due to the GamePad use but there's no way in hell that I'm going to get it day one because of retailers' greed. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on October 18, 2013, 08:18:32 PM
In my attempt to frantically chop down my PS3 backlog as much as possible before Playstation 4 arrives, I've knocked out Platinums for FIFA 13 and RAGE recently.

Been having serious withdrawals from FIFA though, but its not quite the same when a new version is out...Have it pre-ordered for the PS4 though, and it would only be a distraction on my backlog anyway. It's quite easy for a FIFA Platinum too, though it does still have that dreaded In Form card trophy (which is now actually unachievable, due to support of the Team of the Week being dropped now FIFA 14 is out)...I got my In Form player comfortably though, so the rest was easy.

I quite liked RAGE, given the fact it was Bethesda who were responsible for it, which is a company I hate for a number of reasons (E.G, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, Skyrim...), but this was alright...It actually worked, for starters, but the trophy list was way too collectible heavy, and I hate lists that lock out a few collectibles when you're visited the area and can't go back, so you have to replay the whole game for the sake of 2/3 collectibles!

It's quite short anyway, so it wasn't too bad to play through again, especially since it had been so long since I last played it. Going through the co-op missions was annoying though...Had to blast through them in split screen with a second controller because the online is so dead these days...Easy, but annoying.

I'm pretty resigned to the fact I'll still have a hefty backlog when PS4 is out, but it's gonna take some time for a sizable amount of games I'm interested in to roll out anyway, so I'll most likely being playing both consoles simulatenously, I'd imagine alot of people on the 360 will be doing the same too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 18, 2013, 10:48:31 PM
Aye, my 360 should still get a lot of play after I've got the One - partly because I've got a backlog and likely still will have for a while, partly because some games will be current gen only for a while (eg Arkham) and partly because games are so much cheaper for the older platform.

Good (ish) news from Microsoft today. They've stated Games With Gold will continue for the foreseeable future. It was originally supposed to go up to December. They're mainly old or rather obscure titles, but free is free.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 19, 2013, 09:15:41 PM
Decided to replay ZombiU again and forgot how tense and stressful the bloomin thing was lol ;D Certainly a very far cry from any other zombie game out there, even two or three zombies are enough to give you problems lol. Definitely the best game released during 2012 for me, I love it!!! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 21, 2013, 09:44:00 AM
Been playing a shitload of NHL14 recently.. even played quite a few games online.. out of 6 games, I lost my first 3 then won the next 2 but then lost in OT on the last one.... it was fun, but there are some far better players online than me... so it wasn't fun in the aspect of getting absolutely creamed in a few matches.

Back onto Kinect Adventures/Arcade Games this week though.. need to get that GS up  8)... will need at least 2 weeks spare to replay Lost Odyssey (probably more)... got to remind myself how to start a new game plus... probably requires me beating the last boss first.. so I'll have to do that, probably not the easiest thing to do first when you haven't played for years.. or I could just start a new game.. haven't decided yet.

I wont be going back to the 360 very often after the X1 comes out.. will be buying all my new games on the new console.. pointless buying one otherwise!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 21, 2013, 08:26:49 PM
Haven't really gone near my PS3 or 360 since I got my Wii U, am getting a couple of games for my 43rd birthday next week - Wind Waker HD and one of the following as a surprise: Sonic Lost World, Deus Ex, Batman Arkham Origins or Splinter Cell Blacklist. Hopefully my Mum's going to realise that some of those games are pretty cheap so she'll get me two of them lol  :P ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on October 21, 2013, 08:48:59 PM
Alright for some. I'm lucky to get a card off my parents these days! Soon as I turned 19 the birthday presents dried up!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 21, 2013, 11:30:02 PM
Shin'en have tweeted that their going to reveal their next Wii U game in a matter of days. Can't wait!

One of if not the most talented indie devs out there, and they always release games with top quality eye candy. They're old-school and were involved in the demo scene for years twenty years or so ago when geeks were doing ST and Amiga demos all over the place. Those were the days!!! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 22, 2013, 08:53:15 AM
X1 - 1 month till launch today  ;D

I've asked for some wonga for my upcoming birthday.. had a lot of stuff to pay out for recently.. all good stuff... but the X1 fund took a bit of a battering unfortunately.. was on £500 but only has £370 in it now.. need to pull my thumb out and sell the rest of my 360 stuff to top that up.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 22, 2013, 09:37:44 AM
w00t @ only one month to go :D

Been thinking what do do with my game credit. Most is going on the console, of course.
I had a little under £530 credit but paid £20 deposit to the xb1 so I have c£510 credit remaining.
£410 of that will pay off the rest of the console purchase, so I have around approx £100 left.

I'm thinking COD on the 360 for about £45 early Nov, upgrade to COD xb1 for £10 late Nov, and one extra controller approx £45.
Means I'm effectively paying £55 for COD on the xb1, which is a bit steep (game sell the xb1 version for £50) but I'm actually paying £55 for the game on xb1 plus 17 days hire of the xb360 version.
I usually pay around £25-£30 for the game in launch day supermarket deals, but this is a bit of a one off. I'll be back to bargain hunting next year but this year I need to use my store credit.

All in all, if I've traded in a load of old xb360 games (leaving myself with two xb360 consoles and about 25 games) in exchange for an xbox one with Forza 5, COD Ghosts, and an extra controller then I'm happy with that. Those games were just gathering dust.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 22, 2013, 02:23:11 PM
I was thinking.. sell GTA5 on ebay this week - will get me up to £400 for the console + Fifa14

Trade enough games in for £100 credit... that will get me Forza 5 and Dead Rising 3 then use any money left over to buy a new controller.. although I can wait on a new controller to be honest.  I keep putting off going into GAME because I cant be arsed to sort out a spreadsheet and then go into town to do it... prehaps I'll get time this weekend.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 22, 2013, 04:36:14 PM
Yeah, I've been in two minds about the controller, too...
It's very rare we play two-player splitscreen in my house these days. But one of the kids likes driving games and is keen to play Forza, and racers are always more fun multiplayer of course - so I could do with a second controller for that.

Most of my gaming is COD, natch, and the kids have played a bit of split screen with me on occasion - but have hardly ever been online. That's mainly because they couldn't because I'm the only one with a gold account. (They've each had a month here and there.)
But on the One everyone can play multiplayer so long as I've got one gold account, so it's possible the kids might play a little bit of COD, too. I'd enjoy that. I believe there's also a splitscreen multiplayer mode where you can customise teams with players and/or NPCs. We used to love playing like that on PDZ back in the day, so I possibly need three controllers.
They might not play COD much, but if I don't get a spare controller they won't play at all.

I figure my best bet is to get a second controller at launch, even though it might not get used much. In the unlikely event we decide we need three (for COD or for anything else) I can look into getting a third - but I won't mind waiting a while to get a third tbh.

It helps that there aren't many launch games I'm mad keen for. If there were several games I wanted I'd probably just get those and put off getting a second controller for a month or two.



If you're going to Game you're probably better off doing it sooner rather than later. Their trade-in values aren't going up. ;)
(TBH, with the older games, they're probably not going down much either.)
As mentioned previously, they'll give you £1 over CEX on the total rather than on each game. But your best bet is probably to assume it's £1 extra per game, and hope they agree - act amazed if they tell you it's only £1 on the total.
If you can be arsed to argue with them the managers are flexible, so you can get extra. I've done so a few times - but it can be a bit of a ball-acher.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 23, 2013, 09:29:45 AM
Well I stuck GTA5 on ebay last night.. should get £30 cleared after fees.. would be happy with that.

Titanfall release date got announced the other day - 11th March - cant wait for that!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 23, 2013, 11:32:30 AM
Tis looking pretty bloody amazing, that Titanfall. :D

(Coming to xb1, xb360, and pc)

youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caiIamHIzBY)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 23, 2013, 12:21:52 PM
Have been checking out reviews for Rocksmith 2014 which I should be getting delivered on Friday (although we are talking about Zavvi here so it's quite likely to be late). Looks like they've taken notice of the feedback from the first game and fixed the issues that it had for the sequel.

They shifted focus from it being more of a game to more of an out and out teaching tool whilst still having the Guitarcade games and multiplayer that the first one had. All looking pretty good so far. Haven't played for a while but am in the process of sorting out my frets and intonation on my SG so should be all set up for Friday 8)

The song list is looking pretty good too, a nice variety of stuff. I'll post it in a minute.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on October 23, 2013, 12:50:42 PM
Are the rumours true regarding COD: Ghosts on the Xbox One only being able to run at 720p? Whereas it's 1080p on the PS4? I've also been hearing about OS problems. More than a bit worrying if true. I did ponder how MS would effectively make 3 OS's run in tandem.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 23, 2013, 01:42:02 PM
You'll probably see a lot of the One games running in 900p native but I wouldn't worry about that too much, there isn't a great deal of difference. Most people don't sit with the right viewing difference between themselves and their telly to appreciate 1080p anyway.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 23, 2013, 02:43:41 PM
We're all well aware of your complete lack of understanding of resolutions, Harv. (Don't bother to deny it or bluff your way around the issue - you've demonstrated it time and time again, and I really can't be arsed with shooting you down on it yet again.)

Are the rumours true regarding COD: Ghosts on the Xbox One only being able to run at 720p? Whereas it's 1080p on the PS4? I've also been hearing about OS problems. More than a bit worrying if true. I did ponder how MS would effectively make 3 OS's run in tandem.
It's a worrying rumour that one. I hear Activition have non-disclosure agreements in place to stop anyone talking about the resolutions on the console versions, so there's no official word, just rumour and anecdotal evidence (such as Activition publishing screenshots of ps4 version at 1080p but not publishing any xb1 screenies at that resolution).

Doesn't directly affect me personally, at the moment, as my tv is only 720p (ironically, a console outputting something at 720p will actually look slightly better on my telly than a console outputting at 1080p would), but it's worrying all the same - partly because I anticipate being on 1080p at some point in a few years' time (I'm in no rush) and partly because the very fact, if true, they're only doing 720p indicates they're struggling for power.

Hopefully the rumours are either completely untrue, or it's just an anomaly this year while they get used to working with the ES-RAM. My understanding is the ES-RAM is inherently less "powerful" than the RAM in the Playstation, but is so much more flexible - so should effectively produce better graphics than Sony's machine if developers can get used to it and fully utilise it - but they're struggling with it in these early days.
I'm not very tech savvy with hardware, though, so I'm only going off what I've heard elsewhere...


I've heard nothing about OS problems.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 23, 2013, 03:33:36 PM
Your average person doesn't sit the required distance from their tellies to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p native let alone 900p and 1080p...most people sit too far away from their tellies. 1080p native graphics will look better than 900p native graphics but there isn't going to be a great deal of difference.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 23, 2013, 04:12:18 PM
You're partly right, partly wrong, and partly missing the main point - but I've already said I'm not going over it again and I'm sticking to that.


Have just now read a report saying the xb1 and ps4 are almost identical in terms of power, graphics, and ease of development according to Shinji Mikami (best known for Resident Evil).
dealspwn (http://www.dealspwn.com/shinji-mikami-ps4-xbox-identical-158211)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 24, 2013, 07:00:52 PM
Finally hit 99980GS.. lol  ;D  The original plan was to play Kinect Adventures to get the majority of the score up.. then use Limbo as a lot of the achievements on that game are just 10pointers which are spaced out over the story so I could just get enough before stopping playing.. but when I came to play it, I remembered I installed Limbo from a disc pack and I had sold it - d'oh.. so put Doritos Crash Course 2 on.. and got a few easy ones there.. was lucky because I unlocked a 15 pointer achievement accidently - fortunately I still had 25GS to get at that point so it actually helped speed things up - but my heart stopped a second when I saw an unexpected achievement pop  ;D

Lost Odyssey going in on Saturday!


 
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 24, 2013, 07:20:52 PM
Bah!!! Going to have to bring my SG into a guitar shop for fret leveling before I can start on Rocksmith 2014 properly. Was going togget some wire wool and do it myself because I thought there were only two that needed doing but I checked it earlier and there's loads of them that aren't level. Oh well, you get what you pay for I guess lol. Will have to make do with my strat in the meantime but I need to do some work on that at some point.

Mind you, knowing how shite Zavvi are I probably won't get it until next week lol ;D

The feedback on this has been great so far, I thought it would be too. I kind of saw the first game as a Beta version and was originally planning on getting a pirate version to test it out and buy a cable separately but found a new game on eBay with the cable for less than the price of a separate cable so it all worked out nicely.

Not too sure where I'm going to get the 50 quid to get my SG sorted though, hopefully I'll get some cash for my birthday on Monday otherwise I'll have to raid my William Hill account lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on October 25, 2013, 11:00:25 PM
Another Platinum knocked out...Far Cry 3 makes it 59 for me now, I gotta be honest though, even though I did find it enjoyable, I'd definitely question it as a Game of the Year contender, which it was...

Story missions are by far the most interesting aspect of the game, but the side stuff is so mundane and repetitive...Hunter Quests, Liberating Outposts, De-activating radio towers, Supply drop quests...Everything follows the same pattern for completion, and the tasks just get boring after you've done the first 2/3 because they never change and vary in any way. It's actualy a good job the trophy list was really half-assed (and I don't say that often), because beating everything in the game would have been one of the most tedious grinds ever....Thankfully you don't have to though, which makes me believe they probably realised the sheer tedium would ignite a plague of bordem-induced suicides from those who wanted to complete the trophy/achievement list, so good call there I think.

Great story though, excellent bad guys and varied and interesting missions, which is pretty much the games only redeeming feature. Co-op is fucking naff though.

I started God of War : Ascension earlier this week too, which is a wicked game so far, but you can always get that guarantee from a GoW game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 26, 2013, 01:21:34 AM
Fuck me ragged with a wire brush, Ubisoft. Rocksmith 2014 is as buggy as fuck lol. For starters you can't use anything other than an onboard soundcard because it breaks the sound. And when I installed it I couldn't get past the second loading screen just aftertthe various splash screens when it starts up. So I uninstalled it and re-installed it and it worked okay...JUST ONCE lololol. And if that wasn't bad enough there's a really annoying bug that turns down the recorder on the guitar cable to 17 which breaks the tuning, so you have to Alt+Tab and turn the volume up lmfao. It's probably going to be a bunch of easy fixes to sort it all out with a patch but I can't believe they released the PC SKU in this state :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 26, 2013, 05:16:43 PM
Sorted out my problems being stuck on the loading screen now after checking my hard drive. Haven't looked at the log yet but I reckon there were problems with my system files somewhere because after that check it's working fine. Had a quick go and it's a vast improvement over the first Rocksmith. No audio or video lag this time around, virtually no loading times and from what little I've seen of it so far they've improved and added to the teaching side of the game.

A good mixture of songs too, although I'd prefer more classic rock and blues tracks tbh. I'll post a list of the songs in a bit.

No news on custom DLC yet though, I really hope the whizz kids can work it all out again because there's thousands of songs thatppeople have done for the first game which was really cool. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 26, 2013, 05:25:55 PM
Aerosmith - "Walk This Way"
Alice Cooper - "No More Mr. Nice Guy"
Alice in Chains - "Stone"
Arctic Monkeys - "R U Mine?"
Avenged Sevenfold - "Bat Country"
Bob Dylan - "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
Boston - "Peace of Mind"
Bush - "Machinehead"
B'z - "Ultra Soul"
Def Leppard - "Pour Some Sugar on Me (2012)"
Deftones - "My Own Summer (Shove It)"
EarlyRise - "Wasteland"
Fang Island - "Chompers"
Foo Fighters - "Everlong"
Gold Motel - "Brand New Kind of Blue"
Green Day - "X-Kid"
Iron Maiden - "The Trooper"
Jack White - "Sixteen Saltines"
Jaws - "Stay In"
Joe Satriani - "Satch Boogie"
Kiss - "Rock and Roll All Nite"
La Sera - "Love That's Gone"
Magic Wands - "Black Magic"
Mastodon - "Blood and Thunder"
Minus the Bear - "Cold Company"
Monster Truck - "Sweet Mountain River"
Muse - "Knights of Cydonia"
Nirvana - "Heart Shaped Box"
Oasis - "Don't Look Back in Anger"
Pantera - "Cemetery Gates"
Paramore - "Now"
Paws - "Sore Tummy"
Queen - "We Are the Champions"
Radiohead - "Paranoid Android"
Ramones - "Blitzkrieg Bop"
Ratt - "Round and Round"
Red Fang - "Wires"
R.E.M. - "Losing My Religion"
Rise Against - "Savior"
Rush - "The Spirit of Radio"
Screaming Females - "Rotten Apple"
Slayer - "War Ensemble"
Splashh - "All I Wanna Do"
System of a Down - "Hypnotize"
Tak Matsumoto - "Go Further"
The Dear Hunter - "Stuck on a Wire Out on a Fence"
The Kinks - "You Really Got Me"
The Police - "Every Breath You Take"
The Rolling Stones - "Paint It Black"
The Shins - "For a Fool"
The Smashing Pumpkins - "The Chimera"
The Who - "My Generation"
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - "Mary Jane's Last Dance"
Weezer - "Say It Ain't So"
White Zombie - "Thunder Kiss '65"

Not a bad mixture there, although there's no hope in hell that I'll be playing any Satriani anytime soon unless someone batters me with a large Talent Stick lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 27, 2013, 05:51:46 AM
Wow, the developers on the Smithy's Anvil forum are well on the way to bringing custom DLC for Rocksmith 2014 - and the game was only released on the 22nd. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 27, 2013, 09:18:54 AM
Forgot how fucking awesome Lost Odyssey is, 2 hours into a brand new game and loving it all over again, definitely top 5 game this gen and top 5 rpg ever, I'd love for them to do a sequel
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 28, 2013, 09:23:55 AM
Next gen marketing is gearing up properly, now, with less than a month to go. (Pay attention, Nintendo - who I don't think have started marketing the Wii U yet, a year after it's release...)


Sony started with an advert 2 weeks ago, featuring the song "Perfect Day" by Lou Reed. Great artist, sad to hear he died over the weekend. Rest in peace.
Official PlayStation 4 Perfect Day Commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0d9d-cdxhk)

Another Sony advert was released back end of last week.
PlayStation: The Best Place #4ThePlayers to Play (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1KFlyzsDdU)

Microsoft's first proper advert also appeared at the end of last week.
Xbox One: Invitation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1mfIg1I3zE)

I'm preferring the xbox advert, personally. (I'll concede I might be slightly biased, though.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 28, 2013, 11:03:12 AM
As per usual, Infinity Ward won't be putting Nazi Zombies in their version of COD this year. They usually have something else in, but it's never been a patch on Zombies imo.

This year they've got something called "Extinction" - and they've released no details. Someone's uploaded a load of pics that suggest it's quite similar to Nazi Zombies, but fighting aliens instead - and it looks rather promising!
imgur (http://imgur.com/a/FCK8Q)




EDIT:
Now confirmed.
Official trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyewd0mPC8I)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 28, 2013, 02:36:23 PM
Aiming to get disc 1 of Lost Odyssey done by the end of the week.. I think I'm about 1/3 way through at the moment (just about to fight the second boss).   Knowing how the game works with the rings and learning skills from the outset is a lot easier, although I couldn't be arsed figuring out how to start a new game plus, so I started from the basic levels and I had a bit of trouble beating that first boss again - he really is a tough cookie!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 28, 2013, 03:20:54 PM
Apparently developers are having serious problems with the Ones OS and Live, and that it's likely to take months to get sorted out rather than weeks :o Means that launch games are struggling to pass certification apparently. :-\

Going to be interesting to see how this plays out if this rumour is true, although the source isn't Cboat so I'm not sure that I trust it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 28, 2013, 06:33:18 PM
Bollocks, had my first crash on lost odyssey, lost about 30 minutes, thankfully most of it was cut scenes, but still pissing annoying, should be done with disc 1 tomorrow I reckon  ;D
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fucking 'ell, crashed again at the same point.. this is not good... :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 28, 2013, 06:52:27 PM
Lol, it's looking like the PS4's online is going to be fucked on day one too if they don't pull their fingers out. Apparently PSN isn't working with PS4s at the moment either. Unless both Sony and Microsoft look lively we could be looking at both consoles launching with broken online systems. :o :-\ :(

Plus Smartglass is supposed to be fucked beyond all recognition too for the One, which isn't really a big deal for some but it did take up the fair amount of this year's E3.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 28, 2013, 07:17:28 PM
Have now added my Mum and Step-Father's zombiefied faces to my collection on ZombiU. Real shame you can't add them in-game lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 29, 2013, 10:48:22 AM
It seems Battlefield 4 is running at 1600x900 on the ps4, and 1280x720 on the xb1 - and the ps4 has a slightly better framerate too.
Might change before release next month, but it seems unlikely.

To be fair, it looks great on both. But if the ps4 is outputting 1.4 million pixels and is keeping a more consistent framerate than the xb1 which is only outputting 0.9m then it's a worrying sign.
 :(
eurogamer (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-battlefield-4-next-gen-vs-pc-face-off-preview)
youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWzkw32amOM)



In other news, Microsoft have signed some sort of deal with Jonathon Ross.
Ugh.
I've gone for the wrong console, haven't I.
dealspwn (http://www.dealspwn.com/microsoft-hire-jonathan-ross-change-thinking-158675)


Ah, but can the ps4 do this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIb5pjPi-E0)?...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 29, 2013, 11:41:25 AM
(http://sophieduffy.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/jonathan-ross1.jpg)



Xbox on.
Xbox, go to Wyse.
Xbox, play Wwwyse.
Xbox, WYSE!
Xbox, go to Wyse, son of Wome.

...

Xbox, play Cwimson Dwagon.
Xbox, go to Cwimson Dwagon.




(http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/003/617/okayguy.jpg)

Xbox off.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 29, 2013, 03:49:26 PM
Finished Disc 1 of Lost Odyssey.. bloody crash on the first disc was annoying - but got round it.. all treasures collected (I hope) and 8 hours in so far.. its flown by to be honest!

Will do a bit more tonight but will have to use my phone for the guide as I only printed off the guide for disc 1 and have to wait to go back to work to print the rest - it was 27 pages long lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 29, 2013, 05:00:55 PM
Brilliant late lololol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 29, 2013, 06:59:10 PM
lol... Sega have released Typing of the Dead Overkill today - which is basically a modified version of HotD Overkill

As a very niche game... I loved the first one.. I did buy it on the dreamcast with keyboard attachment and kept a pirate copy for the pc... but have just purchased the new one off steam as it has 50% off straight away - cant download fast enough lolol  ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 29, 2013, 07:29:10 PM
Whoops, looks like Blockbuster have finally gone under and they're not honouring PS4 and One pre-orders...although anyone stupid enough to pre-order a console from them doesn't really deserve one lol :P ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 29, 2013, 08:29:02 PM
lol this game is fun.. although I can feel my wrists getting a bit tired out already - lol - I mean by playing the game of course.. topped the global leaderboards on a few levels already - although I imagine as more people play I'll be knocked down a peg or two.. but goes to show.. I'm an awesome typist!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 29, 2013, 08:58:03 PM
Has it got the same story as House Of The Dead Overkill..? If you haven't played Overkill it's really funny in places lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 29, 2013, 09:11:32 PM
Yep think so.. oodles of swear words, stupid plot - but funny regardless.. another leaderboard topped.. go me  ;D   I only started it on Agent.. its way too easy.. will finish it first, then swap over to Motherfucker lol

______________________________________________________________________________________

Fuck me, gotta stop playing now, hands are really aching after I tried the mini-games lol... shame there are no leaderboards on them... didn't realise but it has both The Typing of The Dead Overkill & The House of The Dead Overkill - I guess you use your mouse?  Will try it out tomorrow at work  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 30, 2013, 04:13:54 PM
Too late for Kieron, but if anyone's interested in that "Typing of the Dead" game it can be had a bit cheaper if you get it from greenmangaming. Using the code GMG20-50Z66-SCTEU brings it down to £5.99.
(Source (http://www.dealspwn.com/games-boost-productivity-typing-dead-overkill-steam-158858#67815))




"Planetside 2" (ps4) has been delayed. Was supposed to be a launch title (digital) but is now pushed back until early 2014.
Free to play online MMOFPS with paid content, I believe the game is popular on pc. Not the biggest of the ps4's launch titles, but still annoying for those who were looking forward to it.



New trailers for Sims 4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=N6XP8ko-Emo) (doesn't really tell or show you anything), for Command & Conquer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7dLWafeCbac) (doesn't show much, looks pretty, but I preferred the series when they were more basic), Lords of the Fallen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AucmqzBdl4&feature=youtu.be&annotation_id=annotation_2763640545&feature=iv&src_vid=8wmHQEmztA0), and Fifa 14 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZVx7vqtzACE).
C&C has been binned.
I used to love the Command & Conquer games back in the day, but haven't been keen on most of their efforts in the last decade or so, so not a massive loss really imo.
I believe it was supposed to be free to play PC - but the beta didn't go down well.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 31, 2013, 03:23:49 PM
Odd news on Titanfall (which is looking absolutely fantastic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caiIamHIzBY)).
It was originally announced as a Microsoft timed exclusive - coming to xb1, xb360, and pc.
It was never specifically stated that it'll definitely come to Sony's machine(s) but it was pretty much widely acknowledged.

But yesterday Respawn Entertainment announced that the first Titanfall will never be released on ps4.

Strange that Microsoft seem to have moved up from timed exclusive to full exclusive for the game. That must've cost an absolute fortune, as it's one of the most talked about upcoming games and a later release to ps3 and/or ps4 would've brought in much coin. But the "first" in that statement is also very telling - indicating they're already planning Titanfall 2, and have no exclusivity deal in place for it. Yet.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 01, 2013, 02:24:56 PM
Finally priced up my games on GAME/CEX/ebay in a spreadsheet.

There's actually only 6 games which I'm not going to sell on ebay, where CEX offers more than GAME - so I'm going to take those 6 games into GAME tomorrow - try and wing the £1 deal on each of them.. but if I can't then its only a fiver I'll lose out on -> should get £23 for them.. then nip to the next GAME shop which is just down the road and sell on the 6 where GAME beats the price of CEX.. should get £24 for that lot - so a shade under £50 for 12 really old games isn't too bad at all.

Had a look at the average price of some of my stuff that has been sold on ebay in the last few days and surprised that I can still get quite a bit for some of it.. used controllers going for £15.. 20gb hard drive for around £10.. my 2 guitars should fetch £10 each too I reckon.

One of my venom controller plug and play leads is fucked too.. so I might as well sell my extra controller.. since I can only really charge one at a time now (that's if I can find the actual battery pack for it)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 02, 2013, 01:00:20 PM
Did alright out of game, not only did I get £1 extra on each price matched game but also 20% extra on top of each of the others as I was trading in more than 3 games at a time and they have a deal on.  God knows why they are doing that as the guy said they have way too much preowned stock at the moment
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 02, 2013, 01:05:06 PM
Good result :D

Used £20 of my Game credit yesterday to buy SR4. Wanted something different to play. Forgot I have a games backlog.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 02, 2013, 02:20:01 PM
Did alright out of game, not only did I get £1 extra on each price matched game but also 20% extra on top of each of the others as I was trading in more than 3 games at a time and they have a deal on.  God knows why they are doing that as the guy said they have way too much preowned stock at the moment

There's no such thing as too much stock at Christmas, that's why they're doing the deal.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 03, 2013, 04:36:20 PM
Well had a hands on with Forza 5 today, and it's absolutely stunning, can't wait to get it now, wandered over to the ps4 stand and drive club in comparison looks awful, couldn't be arsed queuing to play it but I have to say everytime we went over to the gamezone, there looked to be way more people crowded round the Microsoft stands.

Also played battlefield 4 which just looked exactly like bf3, wasn't too impressed
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 03, 2013, 06:34:40 PM
Yup, and Battlefield 4 is your usual DICE mess too apparently. It's buggy beyond belief and the online is pretty much broken. Sony and Microsoft shouldn't allow publishers to release games in that state, it couldn't have passed Functional Testing let alone Standards Testing. I don't know how EA get away with it tbh. I've seen nothing but gamers complaining about it since it launched. :-\

If you're going to get it then you're better off waiting for another month or so for a patch or two.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 04, 2013, 07:54:58 AM
The reason I was unimpressed was to do with the fact that it just felt exactly like Bf3 and there was nothing new there. we did only play it for 10 minutes because we wanted to get round the other stuff.


On disc 3 on lost odyssey now.. the weakest disc imo as all your party get split up for the majority of the disc.. should be onto disc 4 by tomorrow I reckon - should experience some real difficultly spikes then.. its been plain sailing so far.. but then I have already played it through twice  :P  Not looking forward to traversing the Temple of Enlightenment to get all the treasures in there  :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on November 04, 2013, 08:16:38 AM
I don't know if I've played a better JRPG than Lost Odyssey this gen. Probably not... most were a letdown. I even read all the dream sequences... they were so good. Would love a sequel.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 04, 2013, 10:59:00 AM
Couldn't be arsed with the dream sequences, but thoroughly enjoyed Lost Odyssey.

Been playing Saints Row 4 over the weekend. It's an odd one. The story's completely batty, but I'm comfortable with that. The city layout is decent, but familiar - being largely the same as previous instalments. Running and jumping around the city is fantastic fun. Combat is okay. Definitely not it's strongest point, but workable.
But the missions are so bloody repetitive. I swear there's about 100 missions but it's just the same ten missions played over and over but with tiny inconsequential differences.

Will get another couple of days out of it, then I imagine I'll move on to COD. I've not preordered it yet, and am not sure where I'll get it, but I'll probably pick it up in the next day or two from whichever place has the best deal (probably a supermarket).
Speaking of COD, I never did get the single player campaign mode finished on the last instalment (Black Ops 2). In fact I barely started it. Did an hour or two when my internet was down one day, and that was my lot. First time I've ever skipped the story in a COD (and I hear it was actually decent).

Was going to get COD from Game, and then use their guaranteed £40 trade-in to upgrade to the xb1 version in two and a half weeks, but it's £45 for the xb360 version and £50 for the xb1 version so I'd end up paying £55 total.
If I can get the xb360 version for about £35 elsewhere, then find a way to trade it up to the xb1 version for a tenner* then it's £10 saved.



*I know there's some sort of initiative by Activision to allow people to trade up for £10, but I've no idea how it works - i.e. which retailers are doing it.
Just looked it up. Looks like the upgrade program for Sony is a lot better than the Microsoft one. Way to go yet again Microsoft.
ps3 copies of the game all include a code in the box. The code allows you to download a digital copy of the game for ps4 for $9.99. (Apparently you'll need to keep your ps3 physical disk to play your ps4 digital version. I'm not sure how that works.)
xb360 copies don't come with a code in the box. With xbox if you download the digital version to your 360 you can later buy the digital version on your One for $9.99. The only options for upgrade of they physical game are Game's offer, or the old "buy it, play it a while, and sell it when you get your new console"...
Might be best to go with Game's offer after all. On the bright side it means you get a bonus map.
Ridiculous that I'll be paying £55 and at the end of the day I'll have the game on the xb1, whereas Playstation owners will probably pay around £45 (assuming there's a £35 launch day deal) and will have the game on both ps3 and ps4.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 04, 2013, 02:27:49 PM
I'd definitely recommend playing Lost Odyssey again (if you still have it).. the dream sequences are a bit long winded.. but do add to the story, in fact some major story elements come from them.. unfortunately my game has crashed a few times trying to load some dream sequences up so I am skipping pretty much all of them.. I had read them before though.. if you do fancy giving it another shot - there's some great websites here (http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/showthread.php?t=63877) and here (http://www.gamefaqs.com/xbox360/928334-lost-odyssey/faqs/51920) which are helping me out... I have transferred the x360a guide all to Word in an easy "mark off" sheet - reduced the font size and put them altogether in a nice format - and it still spans 17 pages lol.

Whilst I agree its probably the best JRPG this gen.. this gen has been woeful in terms of quality JRPGs.. Lost Odyssey, Resonance of Fate and Blue Dragon were the only 3 I really enjoyed.. and I pretty much owned 90% of all of the ones released in Europe.  I hope they make a sequel - there is so much scope for it.. but I wouldn't hold out for one...

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 04, 2013, 02:43:07 PM
Xenoblade Chronicles is the best JRPG released last gen. Nothing else even comes close.

If you like JRPGs then it's worth buying a Wii for alone. No exaggeration.

I've seen plenty of people cancelling their pre-orders for Ghosts because Infinity Ward have decided to only allow 2 player splitscreen local multiplayer instead of 4. Didn't think it was a big deal myself but there's a fair bit of Nerd Rage going on :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on November 04, 2013, 03:21:38 PM
Whilst I agree its probably the best JRPG this gen.. this gen has been woeful in terms of quality JRPGs.. Lost Odyssey, Resonance of Fate and Blue Dragon were the only 3 I really enjoyed.. and I pretty much owned 90% of all of the ones released in Europe.  I hope they make a sequel - there is so much scope for it.. but I wouldn't hold out for one...

For sure. I hope next gen isn't so FPS-centric... but I know it will be. Since Square Enix haven't made a good FF since X and Tri-Ace aren't making any more Star Ocean games, I'm not too confident about the situation improving. :( American action-RPGs seem to be the preferred route for devs now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 04, 2013, 03:29:09 PM
Traded it in for about £2.
Crying shame, but I could say that about pretty much every game I traded in - but the reality is most would've never been played again.

Have you played Lost Odyssey, Harv?


Hadn't heard that, about COD being only 2 player splitscreen. Damnit IW - I was looking forward to playing it with the kids. :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 04, 2013, 03:56:58 PM
Nintendo have always had decent JRPGs.. mainly because its a Japanese company that Japanese developers prefer to work with - but there's no way I'd want to play on a wii - with its shit visuals and shitty control system - if it was on the xbox harv, I'm sure I'd of snapped up xenoblade.. as it is, I haven't played it.. and I don't feel like I have missed out on anything because it is on a shit console!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 04, 2013, 07:31:06 PM
Traded it in for about £2.
Crying shame, but I could say that about pretty much every game I traded in - but the reality is most would've never been played again.

Have you played Lost Odyssey, Harv?


Hadn't heard that, about COD being only 2 player splitscreen. Damnit IW - I was looking forward to playing it with the kids. :(

Yup, borrowed it off a mate of mine a couple of months after it came out. The story is great, the characters are great but the combat, like the majority of JRPGs, is turn-based bollocks. Xenoblade Chronicles is so much better in so many ways. The story and setting in particular is original, the combat is fluid and doesn't take hours to beat an enemy lol. If I wanted to play a turn-based RPG I'd do it properly and dust off many D4, D6, D8, D12 and D20 lol, either that or play Crimson Shroud on my 3DS.

But what really sets Xenoblade Chronicles apart is the scope of the game. The world is bloody HUUUUUGE, and the exploration possibilities are unbelievable...and that's what RPGs should all be about imo.

You can pick up a Wii second hand for a pittance these days and it's worth doing so just to play Xenoblade Chronicles. It may not look great, particularly the character and enemy models, but as far as JRPGs goes it's not only the best of last generation but is right up there with the best JRPGs of all-time.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 04, 2013, 07:32:59 PM
And I also forgot to mention The Last Story and Pandora's Tower, although the latter is more of an Action RPG. Those three games were a great swansong for the Wii.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 05, 2013, 09:16:56 AM
Grandma vents whilst playing GTA-V:

British Gas bastards (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Knab9oQIMOQ&has_verified=1).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 05, 2013, 03:20:21 PM
Lmfao ;D ;D ;D

Have started playing Wind Waker HD and it's awesome :o Looks amazing, and the bloom, which looks awful in screenshots, is a very clever design decision which makes the islands appear to be tropical. Weird how it doesn't convey that in screenshots but as soon as you view it on a HDTV in 1080p and 60fps you 'get it'. :o 8)

The Miiverse interaction is excellent, you get to send messages in a bottle which float in the sea of other people's games, the first one I sent was the first few lines of the Police song lol ;D Not very original but I don't care lololol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 05, 2013, 09:47:09 PM
Have Activision run out of money..? That Ghosts advert was partly an old ad and a new ad duct-taped together, wasn't it..? :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 06, 2013, 04:30:22 AM
Yeah, they're probably flat broke...

No idea what ad you're on about.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 06, 2013, 11:33:46 AM
The original ad was for Modern Warfare 3 or Black Ops 2 and has gamers with weapons fighting as if in real life. They've just added a few Ghosts parts to it like the space suits and dog.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 06, 2013, 07:05:12 PM
Bloody game.. I asked the guy in the shop - can you use the gift cards online - "yes you can was the answer"... just found out you cant use them for pre-orders so that's bloody useless! ::)

I wanted to pre-order DR3 and Forza 5 online, I told the guy I was going to pre-order DR3 and he bloody pre-ordered it for me there and then - I'm sure I didn't actually ask him to do that.. but he did.. so I should of pre-ordered Forza 5 at the same time.. but it was still in my mind I was doing it online... so now I either have to go back into the store to pre-order Forza 5 or don't bother and just hope they have a spare copy on launch day.


Stuck the last load of games/accessories on ebay now.. including Kinect, guitars, hard-drives and controllers lol - shelf is looking decisively bare.. only keeping the console, 16 games, 1 wired controller and a headset (as its worth nothing).

And just finished Disc 3 of Lost Odyssey.. 26 hours in.. Disc 4 is going to take a while as I've got to do a lot of the side-quests as well, I'm planning to have it finished a week on Sunday.. then the ceremonial moving of the 360 from the lounge to the bedroom can begin.. and reserve the space for the new daddy!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 06, 2013, 09:17:43 PM
Apparently the PS4 SKU of Ghosts has some major framerate issues. That's Infinity Ward for you I guess, I expect that the One version will also be buggered.

Had a look at reviews the other day and they're mixed, Metascores hovering around the 75 mark or so. Could this gen see the end of the franchise or will people continue to buy anything with the Call of Duty name on it..? :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 06, 2013, 10:23:31 PM
Still haven't bought COD yet. Will probably just leave it until the 22nd, now, and skip the xb360 version. (I assume Game will have plenty of stock.)
I've plenty of games to keep me busy for the next fortnight. Still quite a lot left to do on Saints Row 4, and I was about a quarter of the way through Far Cry Blood Dragon when I put it aside to play GTA 5. And there's plenty of life left in GTA - especially with us supposedly getting out first $250k this week. And that's without looking at the game backlog that I've not yet tried, which includes Witcher 2...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 07, 2013, 10:31:59 AM
Probably the best thing to do... I think harvs right in a way - I can see this COD being the last yearly iteration of the franchise (maybe).. they need to go away and rebuild it from scratch again - come up with some original ideas and actually make a different game to the generic formula they keep ploughing out year after year... you can get away with that in a sports game - not in an FPS...I suppose if they get the sales numbers.. they may not change at all - but I think this years COD will sell far less than normal - and not just because the next gen is just around the corner, so I don't think you'll be left behind (too much)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 07, 2013, 11:27:18 AM
Ugh. Just checked my holidays, and I've already used up all of my allowance. Thought I had about 3 days left, and was planning on using two of those to play with my new toy on Fri 22nd and Mon 25th. :(
And nobody's going to fall for it if I take a sickie just as the new console I've been telling them about comes out.

COD will be around and annualised for a long while yet. They'll have to come up with a new engine sooner or later, hopefully sooner, but while it keeps making fucktonnes of cash it makes sense to keep milking it as long as possible, from a financial standpoint - and it's going to keep making money as it is.
It helps that BF4 isn't getting the best reviews. A lack of competition makes it easier for Activision to be complacent. :(

Haven't played this year's instalment but I find I'm already looking forward to Treyarch's 2014 instalment. IW were the daddy for a long while but Treyarch's definitely come up with the better versions in recent years imo.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 07, 2013, 02:04:40 PM
Could this gen see the end of the franchise or will people continue to buy anything with the Call of Duty name on it..? :o

COD Ghosts is breaking sales records.
First game ever to break $1 billion in it's first 24 hours (breaking GTA:V's short-held record $800 million).

Not bad for a game that not only uses an old engine, and has reported framerate issues, but also apparently duplicates an entire section of MW2 in the early part of it's campaign mode. (Meh - nobody buys COD for it's single-player.)


sky news (http://news.sky.com/story/1164788/call-of-duty-ghosts-tops-1bn-on-first-day)



EDIT - ah, looks like that's just a bit of Activision spin. They seem to be counting copies sent to retailers rather than copies sold. Weak.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on November 08, 2013, 02:00:11 AM
God of War : Ascension makes that another milestone Platinum for me, number 60 now...

Great game, as you'd expect from a GoW game, it's not as good as GoW 3, imo, but some of the set pieces and boss battles are still some of the best you can see in any game series to date...It's quite a short game though, knocked off the whole story on hard difficulty in just over 13 hours and at least 2 of those hours was spent stuck on the various puzzles throughout.

Combat is still satisfyingly gory, boss battles are big and spectacular and the story ties up alot of loose ends nicely. Many of the game mechanics are unaltered...Still alot of QTE's, upgrading weapons/Kratos still works through collecting orbs and gorgon eyes/feathers and many of the enemies and weaponary are recycled from previous games.

Some people would be critical and call it stale, but if it isn't broken theres no reason to try and fix it, it doesn't effect the overall quality of the game and it works for games like FIFA and CoD every single year.

Platinum is super easy, little bit of end-game grinding needed for some trophies, but still a sub 20-hour Platinum.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 08, 2013, 07:46:54 AM
EDIT - ah, looks like that's just a bit of Activision spin. They seem to be counting copies sent to retailers rather than copies sold. Weak.

That's probably because they have 6 different SKUs this year instead of the usual 4.. I doubt very much that the game will sell as much as it previously has..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 08, 2013, 10:55:46 AM
Still considering buying a ps3 next year. They're cheap now, they'll be cheaper still next year - and there's a cracking and very cheap back-catalogue.
Probably wouldn't get many trophies - partly because I'm not into achievements, partly because each game would probably get less play than it deserves, what with it being a second/third machine and mainly older games. But in a quiet month in a toss up between getting one game on the xb1 or getting 5-10 games on the ps3 for the same price the ps3 seems an enticing option.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 09, 2013, 04:28:49 PM
Hmmm...an interesting rumour has been doing the rounds these last couple of days regarding Latte, the Wii U's GPU. Apparently it's supposed to be a 160:8:8 chip - 160 ALUs, 8 TMUs and 8 ROPs. This is unusual because only having 160 shaders is pretty low and because the number of ROPs is usually twice the number of TMUs. And the space on the die taken up by the ALUs is too big, they're almost twice the size that they should be. ???

Very strange, although it could point to the Wii U having an evolution of the TEV Unit.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 09, 2013, 07:25:06 PM
I also hear it has twice as many WTFs and STFUs as it has LOLs, which is quite unusual.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 09, 2013, 08:22:54 PM
Someone on Gaf has an interesting theory about it. He's speculating that perhaps Latte doesn't have any TMUs at all but has 8 TEV Units instead which would be insane. :o Doesn't explain the ALUs being so big though. Certainly a conundrum for a geek like me lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 10, 2013, 08:33:12 PM
Worked out I've got 84 items to find (out of 683) in lost odyssey, which equates to about 5 hours gameplay based on my average of 16.6 items an hour... lol.. the sidequests are great, it's the last three dungeons (forgotten cave, temple of enlightenment, grand staff) I'm not looking forward to doing, should be finished by friday I reckon  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: larry on November 11, 2013, 10:14:00 AM
Anyone got a good map for GTA, Jumps and spaceship parts?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 11, 2013, 10:44:07 AM
Late posted this link a few pages back - was the main one I used...

GTA Collectibles (http://www.powerpyx.com/guides/grand_theft_auto_v.html)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 11, 2013, 10:48:39 AM
If you sign up to the  rockstargames social club (http://socialclub.rockstargames.com/) and link it to your account there's a map that'll show the location of events, missions, ufo parts, letter fragments, etc - marked in yellow if you've done them and white if you haven't. The site also has lots of other stats etc. about your game performance. Definitely worth signing up imo.

If you've got the iFruit app on your ios or android device you can play with Franklin's dog, Chop, to make him like you more. If he likes you and you take him out with you when hunting collectibles he'll help, apparently. (I've not tried this - I had them all before the app came to android.)

I also used maps from here (http://www.powerpyx.com/guides/grand_theft_auto_v.html) for jumps, and for bridges.
The maps are massive images (8192x8192 pixels) so if you're planning on printing them make sure you shrink them or have a ream of paper and a load of ink spare.


(Ah, I see Kieron provided that map link while I was typing ;) ).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 11, 2013, 12:14:39 PM
Am I the only one thinking we should switch to having a separate thread for each game, rather than lumping virtually everything in this one?

Would make it a lot easier to find stuff - and means you can ignore any posts about games you're not interested in, if you want.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 11, 2013, 02:00:41 PM
Would be practical if we had more than 3 or 4 regular posters...  GTA 5 could of had its own thread because anyone in a sound mental state has owned or owns that game
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on November 11, 2013, 04:11:58 PM
Why on earth would you play GTA V when you can enjoy classics like Wii Party U and various iterations of Mario?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 11, 2013, 05:52:17 PM
Lol, I'll be getting GTA V but will wait for the next gen version and get it for my PS4 next year. It's only a matter of time before they announce it imo. Although if they announce a Wii U version I'll get it for that due to the advantages the GamePad will provide. Pressing pause every time you want to see the map was a huge pain in the arse with GTA IV. Having the map on the touchscreen and being able to set waypoints without pausing the game is worth its weight in gold for me personally.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: larry on November 11, 2013, 10:15:02 PM
Cheers guys, I'll check them out.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 12, 2013, 11:15:57 AM
Playing Gran Turismo 5, using five 80" screens.

(http://cdn.acidcow.com/pics/20131112/this_is_by_far_a_gamers_dream_come_true_24.jpg)

Source (http://acidcow.com/pics/52758-gamers-dream-come-true-30-pics.html)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: larry on November 12, 2013, 11:43:15 AM
I love GT5, still play it from time to time. Cant wait for GT6, which just happens to be released a few days after my birthday ;D

Having a steering wheel does make the game come alive, my g25 and wheelstand pro are the muts nuts
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 12, 2013, 06:18:27 PM
That's pretty cool, Project CARS should be amazing with that setup, although you'd need a PC, PS4, One or Wii U to play it because the developers canned the PS3 and 360 SKUs because they weren't capable of producing good enough eye candy to meet their expectations.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 13, 2013, 03:14:14 PM
Playstation Plus games for December:

ps4 - Resogun
ps4 - Contrast

ps3 - Grid 2
ps3 - Guacamelee

psv - Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed
psv - GTA Liberty City Stories

(ps3 and psv games available from 27/11, ps4 from 29/11).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 14, 2013, 01:16:19 PM
Sold all my latest ebay offerings.. quadrupled the offer GAME made.. £120ish instead of £30ish.. so definitely worth doing some things on ebay.. although got a bit stung by the postage - should of taken some time to research how much some of the stuff would of cost - for example I estimated £13 to send the guitar and Kinect - it cost me £13 to send the guitar alone lol  ;D  Although I did make some money off the postage of the other stuff I sent.. reckon I paid out a fiver extra in postage in the end - so nothing major.

Bit fucked off with Lost Odyssey - my fault really, but got to the end of ToE and decided not to save and go straight onto the boss as my party are hard as nails... I got royally trounced.. so I had to repeat some of the ToE to get back to the same point.. and did save this time.. but I've decided to come out of the ToE altogether as I need to buy a shit load of healing/revive/mana items and I need to level some of my characters up in easier fights - which means I've got to traverse ToE entirely again.. and its a fucking nightmare!  Wont have that achievement by tomorrow... but hopefully early next week.. its getting close now  :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 14, 2013, 05:18:59 PM
Just ordered another wireless sensor bar cos I dropped my old one and bust it and Georgie and Georgie chewed through my wired emergency backup >:(

Have downloaded Wii Sports Club (why haven't they called it Wii U Sports Club? Very odd!) and they've finally embraced online multiplayer. Only 2 games available so far, Tennis and Bowling, and I can see myself putting in A LOT of hours into bowling. Will also put in a shitload of hours into Golf when it's available. Plus Boxing is always a giggle lol :P ;D ;D ;D

You lot need to get a Wii U so we can have an SL competition going 8)

So glad they've brought the original games back because the Resort games were nowhere near as good imo, although I can see Nintendo bringing them all over to Club in time. I was just saying to someone earlier this year that I'd still be playing Wii Sports now, 7 years later, if Nintendo had got off their arses and included online multiplayer. Maybe someone working for Nintendo overheard me :o :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 15, 2013, 11:54:20 AM
"Games with Gold" has now been confirmed as coming to xbox One in 2014.
No further news on what we'll get or when it'll start, but that's definitely good news. They need to step the program up now they're properly competing with ps+
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 15, 2013, 12:51:10 PM
The Kinect Sports games are so much better than the Wii Sports games harv.. and not just saying that with an obvious bias to those consoles.. its true.. the only decent game on Wii Sports was bowling, the rest were absolute shite or boring.

Looking forward to Kinect Sports : Rivals - I think I'll pre-order it nearer the time, so glad Football is back on the menu, the first was so much fun (especially co-op) and I cant wait to see a refined version of it.  WakeRacing looks like an insane version of Wave Race 64 too which can only be a good thing.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on November 15, 2013, 01:04:50 PM
I thought the Wii Sports baseball was fun.  :-[

Good to hear MS are bringing "Games with Gold" to Xbox One. Here's hoping they offer some good games this time around.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 15, 2013, 01:54:13 PM
I quite enjoyed the Wii Baseball for a while, until I realised I was scoring better lazing on the sofa and flicking the wiimote rather than doing the proper motions. Bowling was good fun though. Never really enjoyed Tennis, Boxing or Golf.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 15, 2013, 04:05:16 PM
There's one huuuuge difference between Wii Sports/Resort and Kinect Sports - lag. Pretty important for sports games lol.

Bowling is definitely the best of the lot, never did like the baseball myself though. Boxing was great for drunken giggles and drinking games. The loser has to do a shot. Where's that devil grinning emoticon gone when you need him? lol

Golf had great potential but the motion tracking wasn't up to snuff, should be miles better this time around with MotionPlus, and you've got the added bonus of the GamePad showing the ball on the ground which is going to be cool 8)

My 1p purchase of Golf and Tennis has been cancelled, oh well...it was worth a go lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 15, 2013, 07:20:17 PM
So finally got that achievement  ;D

(http://oi39.tinypic.com/2afa5op.jpg)



Bit fucked off though... going into my profile shows this ...

(http://oi43.tinypic.com/2i6p1sj.jpg)


My OCD is going through the roof at this point...  ;D ;D >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 15, 2013, 07:52:11 PM
Congratulations mate 8)
A very fitting send off for the 360 (though it's not going anywhere yet of course).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 15, 2013, 09:21:06 PM
Aye, I did enjoy replaying Lost Odyssey - clocked in at 46:50 minutes in the end.. I still have 2 achievements to get in the game, so I intend to completely finish it still - but not touching another 360 game now for the foreseeable future.. although I know I want to replay and 100% all the Half Life games in The Orange Box sometime in the future as well..


I tracked down that erroneous 20GS on my account.. its an achievement I got in an arcade game called Catan which hasn't linked up to xbox live for some reason - so my true score is actually 100020GS -  :( lol.. I'm hazarding a guess here, but I think it was around the time I got my last new console and obviously recovered my profile on it, at that time, the profile might of had an achievement on it that hadn't synched up.. that's my best guess.. how I get that achievement back - I don't know.. nor do I want to know.. for the next week  :P   (It might actually synch up again when I get my X1 and add my profile onto that.. or it might synch up if I go back into the game.. and get another achievement on it)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 15, 2013, 09:40:55 PM
Shake about having 4987 achievements complete, mind. So close to 5k... ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 16, 2013, 07:42:31 AM
lol.. stop trying to wind me up  :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 16, 2013, 04:16:18 PM
Bollocks, I'm more out of practice than I thought I'd be with Tennis and Bowling lol :-[ ;D

Had 4 games of Tennis online won 2 and lost 2.

Had 1 game of Bowling online and ended up in last place out of 4 lol :-[ :-[ :-[ ;D

There was only 2 points between 3rd and 4th though so not a complete disaster. Namco Bandai haven't done a bad job as it goes,aalthough the animation with the Bowling doesn't look quite right. Still, a very smooth online experience and I can see myself playing Bowling and Golf (assuming they don't fuck it up) for years. Like I said before I'd still be playing the original Wii Sports games today if it had online play.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 18, 2013, 05:08:06 PM
Ah bollocks to staying on 100k till Friday, itching to play the xbox tonight lol.. wanna either finish Lost Odyssey or try out Iron Brigade.. the free game on Games With Gold.. you might want to check it out late if you haven't already played it.. its tower defense.. and pretty good going by reviews... personally I've never heard of it.. I'm downloading at the moment.. it could be rubbish.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 18, 2013, 06:30:41 PM
Will be sure to check that out - cheers bud.

Tried one of the games with gold offerings from a month or two back over the weekend. Some shite card game. Absolute bollocks.

Finished SR4. Got round the bug by sticking to only using Earth weapons - turns out the alien tech somehow screws that level up.

Played something called Blacksite. Got it for a quid or so s/h a long while back. Pretty short campaign, and got mediocre scores when released way back in Nov 07 but it was okay as a mild diversion for a few hours. Played it on easy as I just wanted to blast through it.

Ordered Arkham Origins (xb360) last night.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 19, 2013, 08:01:21 AM
Maybe Iron Brigade isn't an tower defense game after all.. I didn't get very far before I had to turn it off.. its not bad though.

Seeing as I got 3 more achievements last night - I think I'll be aiming to land on 5000 achievements for friday instead of finishing on 100k  :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 19, 2013, 09:56:54 AM
Yeah, it's a hybrid 3rd-person-shooter/tower-defence.
I prefer out-and-out tower defence, but it's still pretty good. Did the first three levels a couple of times each (to level up my basic guns and towers a little bit).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 19, 2013, 06:59:56 PM
Fuck Lost Odyssey's DLC boss.. I just have to beat this guy for the last chievo in the game and it was my first attempt ever tonight - he's just insanely difficult... there is literally only one way to beat him.. I feel like I've cheated the game in some way having looked it up - but the chance of actually preparing your group correctly and knowing how to beat him without doing so is precisely zero. 

He has over 100k health, physical hits do 1 or 2 damage and he always casts reflect on his 2nd turn - meaning spells are pointless thereafter (you cant remove reflect off an enemy - you have to wait till it dissipates) .. oh and he casts generatus on his first turn as well which heals him for 20k each go.. and his other spells - annihilation and kelo-cannon are capable of wiping your whole party in one go (regardless of any buffs you have)

The most annoying part - is the 20-30 minute trek you have to take to get to him everytime you want to retry (as there are no save points).  I might try and beat him tomorrow (using a guide) - just the once - if I fail, then the game can get fucked lol  >:(


Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 20, 2013, 11:19:18 AM
Ordered Arkham Origins (xb360) last night.
So Arkham Origins arrived yesterday. (Ordered on the 18th, received on the 19th - not bad at all.)
After about half an hour I finally managed to get past the title screen and actually start playing the game...

TBH that's soured the game for me. It seems decent enough once you get into it, but the problems getting the game to actually play are almost enough to make you not want to bother.
PC users might be accustomed to bugs, glitches, and a certain degree of faffing around before playing games, but I'm a console gamer and AAA titles definitely should not have these problems. (Looks like it's a problem with the online servers. Despite the fact I'm not playing online. Disabling xbox live seems to work. Now I just need to find a quick and easy way to disable xbox live without powering down the router or deleting my network from the xbox. I'm sure there's a way...)

Can't comment too much on the story or acting etc. at this point, as I'm not very far through it.
I can say, though, that Tracey's voice is bloody annoying.



One a side note, I'm on a bad run. You go years without seeing a buggy game, especially a AAA one, but the last two I've bought have been horrendously bug-ridden, virtually to the point of unplayable. (Arkham Origins and Saints Row IV.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 20, 2013, 01:22:35 PM
Had another go on Wii Sports Club again last night and lost more matches. The problem is that the 1:1 controls for the Tennis makes the game less accessible, I'm playing it the way I played the original out of habit so a lot of my shots aren't working out lol :-[ ;D

I'm better with the Bowling because Resorts used 1:1 motion tracking, got 4 strikes in a row last night 8)

Definitely worth the £8.99 each I paid for them because whilst the games are less accessible the gameplay is much deeper as a result. Can't wait until Golf and Boxing are released, they're going to be a blast lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 25, 2013, 02:42:40 AM
Some of you may be interested in browsing through the Gaf next-generation screenshots thread (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=716795).

Killzone is looking amazing, and the Wii U screenshots certainly don't look too out of place there, particularly Super Mario 3D World and Pikmin 3.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 25, 2013, 03:16:13 AM
(http://www.lolbrary.com/wall-content/431/wall-content-nintendo-wins-59431.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 25, 2013, 10:05:39 AM
Ugh. How did I miss this major fuckup by Currys...

Some of their customers didn't get their Day One xboxes on Friday, so Currys compensated them with a code for £20 off any xbox one game. Fair enough, except they didn't generate a load of one-use codes for them - they used a generic code which anyone could use, as many times as they wanted. Also turns out you could use it on anything they sell.
The code went viral very quickly. But eluded my radar :(
Unlikely to be honoured, but always worth a try.

Code was posted on hukd (http://www.hotukdeals.com/vouchers/xbox-one-games-currys-20-off-with-promotion-code-curxboxone20-just-dance-14-99-dr3-1719829?page=19) at around 11.30 Friday night. Currys killed it at around 8.45am Saturday morning.

Some folk are now reporting they've had their orders dispatched or delivered...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 25, 2013, 11:01:28 AM
I must of just missed it then.. I thought I had logged in to HUKD around 8:00-8:15 on Saturday morning.. signed up for a currys account, put Ryse in my basket, and the code didn't work.  Not that I can actually afford any more games now - but it was worth a try  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 25, 2013, 03:46:24 PM
The Wii U is set to be overtaken by both the xbox One and the ps4 in the UK within the next fortnight.
lolz.

mcv (http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/xbox-one-sells-150k-units-in-first-week-in-uk/0124857)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 25, 2013, 05:40:11 PM
Yup, it's been failing hard in the UK for some reason. And in indie retailers the PS4 has been trouncing the One too. The PS4 orders are outnumbering the One by 5:1.

Going to be interesting to see what happens when Christmas shopping starts next month. Super Mario 3D World should give the Wii U a good boost and PS4s and Ones will probably be supply constrained. We should see the Wii U having an installed userbase over 7m before the end of the year, and there are rumours of Reggie dropping a Megaton of some sort at the VGX on the 7th December.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: larry on November 27, 2013, 09:29:54 AM
Just finished Dead Space 2, i enjoyed it just as much as the first one! I hate to think how many times i found myself squirming around on the sofa though  :o Having headphones on really add to the atmosphere.

Find myself between games at the mo, ive quite a back log. Infamous 2, Far Cry 3, AC 3, Mafia 2, Battlefield 3, Max Payne, Dues Ex Human Revolution all still to play. Plus ive still a loads of oldies that id like to play before i opt for the next gen!

The Last Of Us
Tomb Raider
Batman: Arkham City
Gran Turismo 6
Skyrim
God Of War: Ascention
Bio Shock: Infinite
Heavy Rain
Dead Space 3
Dishonored
Borderlands
Borderlands 2
Metal Gear Solid 4
Fallout 3
Fallout: New Vegas
Bio Shock
Bio Shock 2
Resistance: Fall Of Man
Resident Evil 5
God Of War: Origins Collection
The Walking Dead
Assassins Creed 4 : Black Flag
Batman : Arkham Origins
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
Portal 2
The Elder Scrolls IV : Oblivion

To name a few :o

PS4 will just have to wait!


Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 27, 2013, 10:50:46 AM
You do right to wait, Larry.
I've got a backlog of games for my 360, including some fantastic ones (and a few bargain bucket ones) - and fully intend to play them at some point. But I feel little inclination to fire up the 360 when the One is sat there! I did start the 360 yesterday at one point but only because I'd picked up the wrong controller by mistake.
(http://www.geezergamers.com/images/smilies/sign_oops.gif)

I was about a quarter of the way through Arkham Origins when I got the new machine. I'm definitely keen to go back to that - despite it being rather buggy.
And I've got Injustice GOTY preordered from ShopTo for the 360. Haven't paid for it yet, and tbh I'm tempted to cancel it - despite it looking great fun, and me having caught it at a good price. Decisions, decisions. Gotta decide today, really, as the game comes out on Friday.



Enjoying COD Ghosts multiplayer, though I'm doing rather rubbish. So long as it's good fun though I don't care. Know my way around a couple of the maps, now, and consistently get lost on the others! They're generally slightly bigger maps than you usually get on COD, which is handy when you've got 18 people playing.
There's still a little bit of aim assist, but it's been turned right down - which is great because it was ridiculous on Black Ops 2 with people quickscoping.
Haven't tried the Alien subgame yet (I forget it's name, but it looks like it's basically a variation of Nazi Zombies). I'll give that a look some time this week, when my second controller arrives. I think delivery's today but nobody's home so I'll probably have to pick it up from the sorting office tomorrow.
Haven't played Squads either. Don't really know what it is, tbh, but I think it's just multiplayer with bots.
My internet was a bit patchy last night so I started the campaign mode, and am enjoying that. It's much more linear than on Black Ops 2, so is not rated as highly, but I like that they keep it simple. Couldn't get into Blops 2 campaign, so only did the first couple of missions. (That's another thing I need to go back and finish off on the 360!)

Haven't played much Forza. It's good, but I'm much more into FPSs than driving games - so I've only done the six races (the first championship), which I played on the first day or two. Sorry about missing our planned race t'other day, Kieron. We'll get a game soon mate.

Watched a BluRay on the One last night. My old BD player didn't have an internet connection, and I've always wondered what all the fancy BDLive stuff was about. I see now that I wasn't missing much. Seems to mainly be an opportunity for distributors to get extra adverts on your telly. Nice to see the One played the film beautifully, though, and with with no noisy fans so I guess I'll give the old BD player to the kids.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 28, 2013, 11:04:58 AM
Microsoft's "Games with Gold" for the 360 in December:

01/12-15/12 - Gears of War. Were you looking for a number, or the word "judgement" at the end, there? Dream on. Yes, this is the original from 2006. Which was a great game in it's day - but if you have a 360 you've either played this or you have zero interest. After all, if you wanted it you'd have bought it long ago. It's probably only about fifty pence for a second hand copy.
16/12-31/12 - Shoot Many Robots. I don't know much about this one, but I'm guessing there's robots. Probably many of them. And I'm going to go out on a limb and say you probably have to shoot them. A quick look indicates it's a side-scrolling shooter that came out on XBLA in summer 2012.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 28, 2013, 06:50:49 PM
Bloody hell, they're getting even worse!!!! :o

What about One titles, haven't they started doing this for the One yet..? You get PS3, Vita and PS4 titles with PlayStation+ when the PS4 launches tomorrow. And if you don't have a PS4 yet you can 'buy' them using a PC browser so that you can have a load of free games waiting for you to download when you do eventually buy one. I really can't believe that Microsoft haven't stepped this up in quality yet. It's a joke tbh :-\ :o :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 28, 2013, 10:41:54 PM
Games for Gold will be added to the xb One in 2014, but they've not given any further details yet.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 28, 2013, 11:02:01 PM
Amazon are doing a year PlayStation Plus subscription for $29.99 which is around £20 for Black Friday. Might jump on that if we can use US codes in the UK. I have a US account so if I can't use my UK account with it I'll just use my US account when I get my PS4 next year.

Like I said, Microsoft really need to step up their game as far as subscriptions goes. It's really piss poor compared to Sony. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: larry on November 29, 2013, 09:27:21 AM
Ive had Playstation plus for 9 months now, brilliant value for money. The only problem is getting round to playing them all!

If anyone spots a UK deal for £29.99 let me know, ill snap it up. Mine runs out in Feb next year, so looking to renew.

Hopefully the titles will still rollout on the PS3 now that PS4 is here!?


Started playing Mafia 2 the last few nights, to sum it up..... a poor mans GTA


Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 29, 2013, 10:14:23 AM
Yeah, Mafia 2 was frustrating. I spent a while off-mission at one point making a load of money (selling cars if memory serves) only to discover that when you do the next mission you get all your money wiped out. I was not best pleased!

Sony have confirmed that they'll continue playstation plus's free games thing for the forseeable future on ps3, ps4, and psv.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: larry on November 29, 2013, 11:45:03 AM
Sony have confirmed that they'll continue playstation plus's free games thing for the forseeable future on ps3, ps4, and psv.

 ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 29, 2013, 02:47:53 PM
Decided to get two, PSN is getting hammered at the moment so can't tell if it's worked okay yet. Can't see it being a problem though. Think I'll register one when the servers stop smoking and one nearer Christmas because they tend to do a register 12 months get 3 months free kind of thing.

Should be set up with plenty of games when I get my PS4 next year, nice 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 29, 2013, 03:19:24 PM
Am I missing something here.. pretty sure you need the PS4 hardware to download the PS4 games on PS+ harv..  :o :-\  What are you actually planning to do ?

And with the one (59 rated) indie PS4 game currently on PS+ I don't think Microsoft have anything major to worry about at the moment.. would be nice if Games with Gold had a better quality releases on it.. but I still wouldn't get much use out of it.. its aimed at people who don't buy many games..

Edit : Ooops there seems to be two PS4 PS+ games available.. Contrast being the one I mentioned, Resogun being the other.. not a bad rating on metacritic - but ultimately just an indie game
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 29, 2013, 03:44:41 PM
Am I missing something here.. pretty sure you need the PS4 hardware to download the PS4 games on PS+ harv..  :o :-\  What are you actually planning to do ?
I believe if you have a ps+ account you can get the games on the interweb without having the ps4, and download to the console later.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 29, 2013, 05:01:16 PM
Yup, what late said ;D

Looks like I haven't lost the knack of breaking software, I broke The Last Of Us twice about an hour ago lol. Crashed it once and managed to lose two NPCs once meaning I had to reload the save lol. Was quite funny because you could hear them speaking but the models disappeared lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 29, 2013, 05:46:02 PM
Had to pay tax on the PlayStation Plus though which was a pain, only two or three dollars but couldn't be arsed to find an address that would be tax free. My US PSN account is registered to a hotel in Utah, probably could have registered with the same hotel with Amazon and not paid the tax but as far as Amazon are concerned I'm living in a 4 star hotel in NYC lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 30, 2013, 05:18:45 PM
Looks like the PSN servers have recovered from the bashing they got from Sony releasing the PS4 in Europe on Black Friday lol. Just sorted out my free games:

PS Vita - Soul Sacrifice
PS Vita - Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
PS Vita - Uncharted: Golden Abyss
PS Vita - Wipeout 2048
PS Vita - Gravity Rush

PS3 - ibb & obb
PS3 - Bit Runner 2
PS3 - Hotline Miami
PS3 - Telltale Games Poker Night
PS3 - Binary Domain
PS3 - Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen
PS3 - XCOM : Enemy Unknown
PS3 - LittleBIGPlanet Karting
PS3 - Galaga Legions DX
PS3 - Star Wars Pinball

PS4 - Resogun
PS4 - Contrast

Do they always have that much going for free each month..? Or do they have stuff on there for a few months and gradually add more stuff to the list..? That seems like an awful lot :o

I could also have added Uncharted 3, ICO and Shadow Of The Collossus but I already own those :o :o :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 02, 2013, 12:47:10 PM
The Wii U is set to be overtaken by both the xbox One and the ps4 in the UK within the next fortnight.
Well that happened slightly faster than expected...
Congrats to Sony - the ps4 is the fastest selling console in UK history.

The xbox one sold 150k units in the UK in it's first 48 hours - which left it just a fraction short of the Wii U's lifetime sales. (The One has since overtaken the U).
The ps4 sold 250k units - an astonishing amount.
Both consoles are now comfortably ahead of the U.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on December 02, 2013, 02:19:25 PM
Yup, both figures are really impressive, but especially the PS4's, to shift quarter of a million consoles in 2 days is mental...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 02, 2013, 04:16:53 PM
Peggle 2 (timed exclusive) will be out on xb One on Monday 9th December, and will cost $11.99

Great news - I'll be all over that :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 02, 2013, 05:30:27 PM
Really weird how the Wii U has done so poorly in the UK, the UK has always been a PlayStation nation (ooh, that rhymes lol) but it's not as if the UK doesn't buy other brands. Major kudos to Sony for shipping that many, Microsoft also shipped more than I was expecting. Going to be interesting to see how both consoles do during their launch windows and beyond next year when the inevitable software droughts start.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 02, 2013, 08:06:09 PM
A Hot Pepper Review for Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7lsRPv-IxZs), lmfao...looks like he's going to throw up a few times there lololol :o ;D ;D ;D

My friend Paula would eat a handful of those without breaking a sweat, but she is certifiable lol :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 02, 2013, 09:21:24 PM
... beyond next year when the inevitable software droughts start.

Go on, I'll bite...

How come when your fisher price console came out and there was a woeful lack of games it was completely unexpected, but now the good consoles are out it's inevitable the same will happen to them?
The fanboyism is palpable.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 02, 2013, 09:51:04 PM
It wasn't unexpected. Every console in video game history has a software drought soon after launch, usually after the launch window. What was unexpected was the length of the drought, caused by Nintendo delaying several first party titles and Ubisoft postponing the launch of Rayman Legends by 7 months despite the game being finished.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 03, 2013, 07:57:54 AM
Really weird how the Wii U has done so poorly in the UK, the UK has always been a PlayStation nation (ooh, that rhymes lol) but it's not as if the UK doesn't buy other brands. Major kudos to Sony for shipping that many, Microsoft also shipped more than I was expecting. Going to be interesting to see how both consoles do during their launch windows and beyond next year when the inevitable software droughts start.

Except for the last gen.. I don't have the exact figures, but I don't think the PS3 overtook Wii sales in the UK, never mind the 360 sales. 
(PS3 was at 5 million sold on 11 October 2012.. the 360 was at 8 million on 14 February 2013, so I think its clear to say that the UK was a microsoft nation last gen)

Great numbers from sony for the launch of the ps4 - but if both systems are sold out everywhere.. does that just mean that the ps4 had bigger and better production than the x1 ??  Its pretty fucking terrible for Nintendo having a years headstart and then being beaten within 48hrs  ;D  I did say its worldwide figure will be beaten within 6 months  ;)


Peggle 2 (timed exclusive) will be out on xb One on Monday 9th December, and will cost $11.99

Great news - I'll be all over that :D

Yeah I saw that the other day.. gonna pick that up myself  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 03, 2013, 06:21:36 PM
The sales of the Wii U should pick up again starting this Christmas. It should easily do over 3m before the end of the year, and they have the releases of Donkey Kong and Mario Kart 8 to keep sales momentum going after Christmas. Patcher reckons it's going to do 6.5m before the end of the financial year, fuck knows where he's getting a figure that high from though. Unless Mario Kart 8 releases earlier than people are guesstimating :-\

They've got Donkey Kong in February and we'll probably see Mario Kart 8 in April or May, I can't see Mario Kart 8 releasing any earlier than that.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 03, 2013, 08:27:11 PM
The Wii U is fucked mate.. sooner you realise that, the better... it'll take 6 months - and then you'll come back saying that it was a one-off or a fluke, or totally unexpected.. or some other inexplicable excuse that further tries to defend Nintendo's gross inability to understand the market... and you'll just look like a bigger prat  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on December 03, 2013, 11:39:55 PM
http://www.ps3trophies.org/news/news-11783-PlayStation-4-Sells-2-1-Million-Units-Worldwide.html

2.1 Million units for the Playstation 4 Worldwide after the European release...and they haven't even released it in Asia yet.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 04, 2013, 04:02:20 AM
The U is dead in the water within a week of the big two coming out, and before either of them has come close to launching worldwide. It's hardware sales have slowed so far I'm half expecting negative figures this quarter.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 04, 2013, 04:42:48 PM
Am three chapters into The Last Of Us and it's pretty good so far. The story is predictable to begin with though, hopefully it's going to get better as the game progresses. Music is great so far, and the atmosphere of the game is great...very heavily influenced by Ravensholme from Half-Life 2 which is awesome.

A bit too easy to sneak up on baddies and stealth kill them so far, hopefully it's going to get more difficult later on. Too much ammo and resources lying around though which is disappointing, ZombiU does that much much better.

Really enjoying it so far.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 05, 2013, 08:36:46 PM
Woo hoo!!! Custom DLC is REALLY close for Rocksmith 2014. Am only partway through reading the relevant thread on the Anvil forums but the way things are going we should have custom DLC before Christmas I reckon.

If any of you have fancied playing the guitar and want to learn it's well worth picking up Rocksmith 2014. I wouldn't go for the bundle that comes with the guitar though personally, better to go for a guitar from preloved.co.uk, there's some real cheap guitars on there.

The PC version is the best one to get and has hardly any lag at all.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 07, 2013, 09:27:46 PM
Am watching Charlie Brooker : How Videogames Changed The World documentary (its on 4seven) at the moment, I imagine its been on before, but I must of missed it, I'm quite enjoying it though... so far so good with Pong, Space Invaders, Pacman and Elite on the 25 strong list, check it out if you haven't seen it already
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 07, 2013, 11:35:00 PM
Yup, saw it last week and really enjoyed it. Particularly seeing as Elite, number 1 in my best 5 games of all-time list, got a good showing. I must have put in near enough a thousand hours into that game over the years :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 07, 2013, 11:52:28 PM
Meh.. the last "game" shown was just naff.. and the list felt expanded in places, could of easily been cut down to 15.... "Shadow of the Colossus", "Parappa the Rappa" and "StarCraft" for example did sod all to change anything lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on December 11, 2013, 08:58:37 PM
Parappa the Rappa was a classic. You take that back sir!!! ;)

Bought my boy Skylanders Giants for his birthday. He loves it and its a very good idea. Does mean I'll be up to my eyeballs in Skylanders characters soon but it's worth it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: larry on December 12, 2013, 01:31:38 PM
Started playing gt6 after getting it last Friday, so far so good until last night!! I was slowly making my way through the game, had over 40 cars and 300,000 in game credits (believe me it takes ages to get credits as they have introduced micro transactions where you can purchase credits, cheeky bastardy). Then I catch wind of a glitch on the game that enables you to get 20 million credits!! But to do such glitch you need to have a million credits to buy the car in question. So I decide to sell all my cars to raise the million required, buy said car and follow instructions and delete the game file reload and sell the car for a cool 20mil!!  Only to find that it had been patched when I was re loading the game, so it didn't work >:( :(

So now I have no credits or cars other than the one I purchased for a million, which is now only worth 300k after trade in, so all in all a Fucking waste of time!!!!!! >:( >:(
 >:(
Back to the credits grind!!!!

Other than that enjoying it  ;)

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 12, 2013, 02:29:47 PM
Cheaters never prosper!

Actually, they usually do. Unlucky, mate!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 12, 2013, 04:49:00 PM
That's the downside of mandatory updates to firmware and software :(

That's one of the few good things that Nintendo have done with the Wii U - even game updates are optional. Was reading about the One firmware update yesterday and it's not only mandatory but it also turns your One off as opposed to putting it into standby after it's downloaded meaning you have to get up and manually switch the thing on rather than saying 'Xbox On'.

Not sure if you can turn it on with the controller though..? :-\

I've always thought mandatory updates are a bit dodgy since that update bricked a few PS3s years ago. I always prefer letting others beta test updates for me since then lol ;D :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 12, 2013, 05:50:27 PM
Yeah, the controller almost certainly would've turned it on.
Mine comes on when I press "watch TV" on my remote, and did so as normal after the update - just took a bit longer than usual.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 13, 2013, 02:37:22 AM
Custom DLC is now sorted...and someone has done Monty Python's Every Sperm Is Sacred. Talking of Catholics popping out sprogs like nobody's business, what's happened to styles..? Is he okay..? :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 13, 2013, 10:58:33 AM
Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DO0l_hwoQ8) for The Walking Dead: Season Two.
Episode 1 coming very soon...

I love these games, and want so badly to play it, but I'm going to wait until at least 3 episodes have been released. I can't bear the wait between episodes.

Fingers crossed they bring them to current gen machines soon.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 13, 2013, 11:45:12 AM
Yeah, the controller almost certainly would've turned it on.
Mine comes on when I press "watch TV" on my remote, and did so as normal after the update - just took a bit longer than usual.

I was shouting at my xbox for a good 5 minutes.. then realised it had turned itself off completely lol - turned it on by controller instead
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 14, 2013, 10:47:19 PM
Aw bollocks, I knew I'd be looking for trouble by downloading and playing the demo of Bravely Default Flying Fairy from the 3DS eShop. Despite it being turn-based combat, which I normally despise, it has enough interest in the mechanics for me to put up with. Along with your usual combat options you have Default, which halves damage taken and generates Brave points, and Bravely, which uses said Brave points to do whopperdonger damage.

The game looks great, good use of depth in particular and it looks like there's plenty to do in the demo alone.

Another game I want to buy >:( ;D :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 15, 2013, 12:00:52 AM
Not shitting you, but someone I know, her ex hubby added me on Facebook a long time ago, he is a bit of a sad layabout, he's jobless, claims disability benefits (he's partially sighted), spends all his available dosh on video games, loves Nintendo, he loves those shitty troma films too.... Anyway, he was blabbering on about that bravely default game, the other day saying how excellent it was, and what a boner he had from buying the super special edition from shopto  :o

... He likes watching and discussing wrestling too though, so if you ever feel low Harv, just think there are tons more pitiful people than you around
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 15, 2013, 12:18:39 AM
There used to be a regular in the Queen's Head that genuinely believed that all this wrestling is real lol ;D ;D ;D

He was a right weirdo too :-\

I won't be getting it for a while though because I'm going to wait for it to drop in retail price and on top of that get it second hand. I'm not buying any Eidos/Square Enix games because of Eidos making my entire department redundant...I'm boycotting the fuckers lol. :o ;D

Am getting Super Mario 3D World and one of Deus Ex, Assassin's Creed IV, Batman Arkham Origins or Sonic Lost World for Christmas, and the ones I don't get I'm going to be waiting for them to drop in price a fair bit before I get them. I'm trying not to spend more than £25 on games this generation, although that's been made more difficult since Flubit went shite ages ago >:(

Most games I've got recently are less than 20 quid which is a lot easier to save up for.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 15, 2013, 12:22:38 AM
Hang on, how the fuck can he play video games if he's partially sighted..? :o :-\

Unless he's like that girl in the States that has to use the GamePad hunched over it with her bloomin great big milk bottle glasses half an inch away from the screen..?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 15, 2013, 07:48:10 AM
Lol, don't ask me, I barely know the guy, his ramblings on Facebook do amuse me though.  To be fair, if I had a 3ds, I'd probably get that game, can't beat a good turn based RPG  :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 15, 2013, 03:01:02 PM
"tons" is an exaggeration, Kieran.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 15, 2013, 08:03:17 PM
And it should be tonnes, shouldn't it..? :-\ ??? :-\ ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 16, 2013, 01:48:04 PM
Halo : Spartan Assault (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCJAllhNXUk) (top-down, dual-stick shooter) releasing on Xbox One / Xbox 360 on Christmas eve.. lovely jubbly, give me something to play over the xmas period.. if I get chance that is, going to a be a busy one this year!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 17, 2013, 03:11:04 AM
I still haven't lost it. Found a Class A in Rocksmith 2014, quitting the game by pressing ESC to quit the profile your using and pressing ESC again to go back to the Windows desktop either deletes or corrupts a file called inputmap.xml and stops the game launching again until you get Steam to check the files and replace it lol ;D

They added that quitting option in the last update I think and it's ridiculously broken lol.

Have downloaded some custom DLC, a few Lizzy songs and a few Floyd songs, and there's already over 400 custom songs to choose from.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 21, 2013, 12:37:20 AM
My Mum and step-father came up to see me today to give me and Georgie Porgie our Christmas pressies. Gave Georgie Porgie hers already cos she could smell the catnip and wouldn't leave the bag alone, was doing my head in so she got hers early lol ;D

Not sure what I've got, I was only expecting 2 games but my Mum has been sneaky and got me 3. One of them is Super Mario 3D World cos that was what I definitely wanted and she was going to surprise me with another one. I reckon she might have got me Deus Ex as a Brucie Bonus cos that's as cheap as chips.

Am very tempted to open it and find out lol :-[ ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 21, 2013, 10:53:37 AM
It's a great game, Deus Ex HR - and the "director's cut" version is supposed to be better still.
I had it at number three in my list of best games of the generation on another site recently.
 Surprisingly I had two Wii games in the top five, too.
1   Portal (Orange Box)
2   Bioshock
3   Deus Ex: Human Revolution
4   Wii Sports
5   World of Goo
6   Crackdown
7   Assassin's Creed 2
8   Skyrim
9   Dishonored
10   Splosion Man
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on December 21, 2013, 11:59:54 AM
Wii games?!?! I have to admit, SMG was a wonderful game. Shame I never got to play the second one.

My top 10 would be something like:

1) Red Dead Redemption
2) The Last of Us
3) GTA V
4) Skyrim
5) XCOM: Enemy Unknown
6) COD 4
7) The Walking Dead (Telltale)
8) Assassin's Creed 2
9) Oblivion
10) L.A. Noire

Although I haven't really put that much thought into it, so there are probably one or two glaring omissions.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 21, 2013, 01:06:07 PM
World Of Goo was awesome, might have to play that again now I'm thinking about it. Little Inferno, done by the same developers, is also brilliant. I transferred World Of Goo over from my Wii to my Wii U a few months ago so it's all ready to go.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 22, 2013, 02:17:26 AM
Bought it on Wii, pc , Xbox 360, and android - so it's definitely doing something right!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 22, 2013, 03:11:59 AM
Most of the development, on the first two versions for the PC and Wii at least, was done by two people. Pretty impressive.

They've also done Little Inferno which is awesome. On paper it really shouldn't work lol. You've got a bloomin great big furnace and a box of matches. So you burn the leaflet that came with it and you get money for doing it. So you order stuff from a catalogue and burn it and get more cash. There are also puzzles in the form of combos, burn the right combination of stuff and you unlock stuff like extra catalogues to order from.

It doesn't sound great but once you start playing it's very difficult to put down lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 24, 2013, 10:12:41 AM
I think we did top 5 games of this gen already.. I cant put my games in order.. too difficult..

Top 10 Retail Games -

1. The Orange Box
2. Lost Odyssey
3. Skyrim
4. Dead Space
5. Fallout 3
6. Halo 3
7. Farcry 3
8. Resonance of Fate
9. Gears of War
10. Bioshock


and my 5 stinkers of the gen.. (games I actually bought, paid for and played)

1. Juiced 2 : Hot Import Nights
2. Saints Row 3
3. Alone In The Dark
4. Brain Challenge
5. Kane & Lynch Dead Men


Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 24, 2013, 03:16:59 PM
I'm REALLY doing my best to be good and not open my Christmas pressie from my Mum early. Wonder if I'm going to be able to manage it..? :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 25, 2013, 05:26:17 PM
Well I managed to be good ;D

My Mum got me Super Mario 3D World, Batman Arkham Origins and Sonic Lost World. Lovely jubbly!

Played a bit of Super Mario 3D World and it's fucking gorgeous! I can see why one of the reviews said that after playing this game he thought that after seeing this he thought everyone else had been doing HD wrong lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 26, 2013, 05:58:47 PM
I really can't believe how unprepared publishers and platform holders are for Christmas. :o

Nintendo, Sony and Steam were all buggered yesterday and it's looking like Ubisoft are buggered today (not sure what their status was yesterday because Steam was fucked but it wouldn't surprise me if they were out of the game yesterday too.

Same goes for console launches and big game launches too. It's inexcusable for them not to be prepared for launches and busy times like Christmas.

Have found a torrent with over 400 custom songs for Rocksmith which should give me well over 500 songs to play. Am working on playing Pinball Wizard at the mo, which I bought from Steam. 5 songs for under a tenner which is pretty good. I can play half the song at 90% speed so I'm quite happy with that. I'm learning the lead part first then will get the rhythm part down next. My muscle memory is developing quite quickly thanks to the mini-games. Ubisoft reckons that with 1 hour practice each day you canjlearn to play the guitar in 60 days and I reckon that's about right (although of course the level of playing will be different for different people).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 27, 2013, 11:18:01 AM
I don't know about the others, but Steam has been perfectly fine for me. It apparently struggled for a while because they gave away left 4 dead 2 for free but I noticed no problems.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 28, 2013, 02:15:50 AM
Yup, it was completely down for me and many others on Christmas Day. Didn't try it again until Boxing Day and they appear to have got things sorted from then onwards. I just can't understand why these companies have these problems, it's not as if it's a surprise for these things to be busy on Black Friday/Christmas/launch day. They should be prepared for these things. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 28, 2013, 08:57:11 AM
Ah, on actual Christmas Day?
No, I wasn't on Steam on Christmas Day, lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 28, 2013, 10:31:30 AM
I heard Nintendo struggled to meet the demands of the extra 10 or so people who got a Wii u this Christmas  :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on December 29, 2013, 06:31:17 PM
So how is everyone enjoying their shiny new PS4 or Xbox One?

What are they like? (particularly PS4 as that's the one i'll be getting when the time comes.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on December 29, 2013, 06:37:04 PM
Also a question for anyone with a 3DS or 2DS.

My mate got a 2DS with the new pokemon game so I had a little go and it's changed quite a bit and looks pretty fun. I haven't played pokemon since the original one on Gameboy which I loved! So considering getting the new one.

But the question is can a 3DS and a 2DS play together online? As my friend has a 2DS would I still be able to connect to him if I got a 3DS or would I need to get a 2DS to be able to play together?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 29, 2013, 07:32:54 PM
Yup, you should be able to play each other. A 2DS is just a 3DS with one screen and no 3D.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on December 29, 2013, 09:07:50 PM
Sweet. I saw a 3DS for £115 and a 3DSXL for £135 and the game is around £32 everywhere I could see. So just considering whether to get the 3DS or the XL.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 31, 2013, 10:58:55 PM
We could be seeing more Nerd Rage next year lol ;D ;D ;D

Not on the same level we saw with Bayonetta 2 but there's going to be an announcement of a 3rd party exclusive releasing in 2014. Probably Devil's Third which would be cool. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 01, 2014, 12:41:43 AM
Nice to see Microsoft have stepped it up a bit. Sleeping Dogs is free on Games With Gold for first half of January. Cracking game, and only a year old.
Definitely recommend it for anyone who doesn't have it already.

They revert to form later in the month with Tomb Raider Guardian of Light.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 02, 2014, 03:33:47 AM
Woo hoo!!! Am now 9102nd out of 33214 people on the Leaderboard for Ducks ReDux on Rocksmith 2014's Guitarcade.

The Guitarcade games are great, the artstyle is the same as old 80s Arcade games even down to duplicating the bootup sequencewyou used to get when the things were first switched on years ago with checking the RAM and ROM and the games being in 16bit-o-vision. ;D 8)

Haven't played any Guitarcade games for a while, have been learning Blitzkrieg Bop and Pinball Wizard. Got over 90% of the former sorted and around 60% of the latter. I should really concentrate on them more because they're fantastic at developing muscle memory.

Not sure how well I'm doing with the 60 Day Challenge thingy because I haven't been playing for an hour or more mostly, and even if I was that part of the Rocksmith 2014 site has been pretty much buggered since launch. A bit daft considering that they've been harping on about it pre-launch.

Still, I know I've improved a great deal since I've started using it - there's no way in hell that I'd have gone anywhere near 90% of Blitzkrieg Bop at full speed before I started, and it's a piss easy song with just 4 Power Chords lol :-[ :P ;D :-[

The custom DLC though is the real huge bonus though. Means you get to learn and play songs that would never appear officially either due to licencing issues or because they're songs that are from telly series, films or video games. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 04, 2014, 06:29:59 PM
Am halfway through Super Mario 3D World and it really is something special. I still can't get over how round everything looks. :o

Decided to have a little break with it though and give Batman Arkham Origins a quick look. Am very disappointed with the GamePad use, you've basically got the map on there and that's it. No Bat Computer in the palm of your hands, no seeing the Baterang's eye view when throwing it. Not sure who did the port but whoever it was just needed to replicate all of the GamePad functions that Arkham City had and you'd be left with the definitive version of the game again. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 06, 2014, 01:29:16 PM
FM2014 has changed a bit.. well from FM2012 which was the last one I had...

I started as Gosport Borough.. working my ways through the leagues again.. definitely feels more and more like a manager simulation and I like the 3d gameplay improvements.. although its a bit slow on my work pc
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 06, 2014, 01:32:34 PM
Aw ffs, Deathstroke has to be one of the most annoying boss fights EVER!!! :o >:(

I'm going to beat him soon but this is REALLY frustrating :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 06, 2014, 02:30:32 PM
Completed Lego Marvel back end of last week.
You all know I'm a big fan of the Lego games (more-so the earlier ones than the later ones, mind) but I've got to say this is probably their best yet. Fantastic fun. Kept me busy for a little over a month, and I haven't put COD or Forza into the machine since the day I bought Lego - so there's gotta be dozens of hours I've played. A couple of the open world gold bricks were irritating (mainly the flight race ones, but that's probably personal preference) but all in all the game was fun from start to finish.

I did have to do a few stupid things I wouldn't ordinarily do, to get the full 1000/1000 gamerscore (including renaming a custom character "Trevor" - like anyone would've done that if it wasn't an achievement...), and ordinarily I don't like to do stupid stuff like that to get achievements, but if you aren't going to fully complete one of your favourite games then you're never going to complete a game. I consider it more an acknowledgement and sign of respect to the developers/publishers than anything else.


Have been playing steam games on the pc this past couple of weeks. Not loads, as my computer's pretty lame, but most of my steam games are fairly old and run okay. Also got a dongle so I can use an xbox controller on the pc. I should probably get into keyboard and mouse, but I'm lazy and accustomed to the xbox controller ;)
Still very much looking forward to seeing what the Steam Machine does and costs when more details come out later this year.
Enjoyed "The Stanley Parable", have replayed "Portal", and am part-way through "Papers Please", and "Mirror's Edge". "Final Fantasy VII" will probably be soon. I've got about 85 games in my Steam Library.
Computer crashed a couple of times whilst playing Mirror's Edge, so decided a driver update might be in order. I don't really know much about computers and rarely go on mine (until last week) but I'm lead to believe a new graphics card driver can improve performance.
Updated from a driver dated 2007 to one dated 2012 and now Mirror's Edge won't play at all. Freezes up completely just before it gets to the menu screen, and when you reboot (long press on the power button. Oh how I detest doing that!) the desktop resolution is all different.
Hopefully it's just a conflict with that game - which I was enjoying but after spending hours trying to fix it yesterday I gave up and started "Portal 2", and that works just fine.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 06, 2014, 02:44:26 PM
I read a review of Papers Please the other day, it sounded fun.. how much did you pay for that late ?  Don't really fancy paying out £7 for what looks like a flash game at best.

Have been meaning to download FF7 for a while.. although I know if I download it, it'll sit in my library for ages.  I've only got 15 games in my steam library lol.. theres only a few games worth getting on a pc imo.. I don't buy many indie games.. they only have a certain amount of appeal.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 06, 2014, 03:26:25 PM
I got Papers Please half price in a Humble Bundle sale on the 20th Dec - came in at £3.15. That offer's finished now though.
Tis good fun, but I'm playing it with one of the kids and only for half an hour or so at a time once or twice a week, so we're not very far through our first playthrough yet. The 8-bit graphics work well in the game, fitting the time-frame (set in late 1982) and providing just enough info without becoming bogged down in detail.
It can be played as a simple endless "flash style" game, but I've not tried that - I've just been playing the story mode, which I think lasts for about 40 in-game days and I'm up to about day 12-14.
I recommend it at £3. Wouldn't pay full price for it.


I quite like the indie games, so most of my library is from bundles where they might give you about 6 games for about £3.
The Valve collection (http://store.steampowered.com/sub/29197/) is the most expensive purchase I've made on Steam, at ten quid, but it's 24 games including both Portals, both L4Ds, loads of Half Life, loads of Counter Strike, and more. (Again, that's a deal that has since ended.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on January 06, 2014, 08:19:56 PM
Careful, Late, there's a bit of nudity in Papers, Please!

Would you guys recommend Peggle 2?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 06, 2014, 08:44:39 PM
If you liked the first one, definitely... there's just not enough of it.. annoyed that I finished it so quick.. but it was so addictive  :'(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 06, 2014, 10:10:41 PM
Careful, Late, there's a bit of nudity in Papers, Please!

Would you guys recommend Peggle 2?
Not to worry - my delicate eyes won't be subjected to any more since Papers Please apparently doesn't work now I've updated my driver... :(
PCs are a pain in the arse.

As Kieron says, Peggle 2 is just more of the same - which is a good thing. Just a shame there's so few matters. I imagine more will be added later - for a charge. I say go for it. It's great fun and cheap.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on January 08, 2014, 12:54:51 PM
I had a similar problem with 'Gone Home'. Saw it on Steam for like £6 and couldn't resist. Then I discovered it had a problem with Windows 8 and so none of the lighting effects in the game worked.  :-[ Fortunately it seems to be fine with 8.1 so I got to play it properly, eventually.

Loving Peggle 2. Dunno how you guys have got all the objectives already! I love the game but I'm not very good at it, so I can see it taking me a while.

Quite excited about Evolve (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/444165/left-4-dead-studio-unveils-next-shooter-evolve/) recently announced for Xbox One and PS4. Made by the guys who made Left 4 Dead which was probably the most fun co-op game of last gen!

I was thinking there wouldn't be too many games to get excited about in 2014 for the next-gen consoles but I was wrong. Right now my likely 'day one' purchases are

Titanfall
Watch Dogs
MGS5
FIFA 15

with so many more that could join that list like Evolve, Destiny, Dying Light and the new Tom Clancy game once I see more of them.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on January 08, 2014, 03:26:22 PM
Aw ffs, Deathstroke has to be one of the most annoying boss fights EVER!!! :o >:(

I'm going to beat him soon but this is REALLY frustrating :o

Took me a good hour before I mastered it. For one of the first boss fights its rather difficult.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 09, 2014, 10:13:39 PM
Took me about the same amount of time I think. It was easy once I figured out how to grab him and draw him towards me with the Bat Claw.

I really like the franchise, although I'm a bit annoyed that we didn't get to be able to swoop around Gotham City until the third game. It's also disappointing that it doesn't have the same GamePad use that Arkham City had. It really made the Wii U version the definitive version, having the Bat Computer in the palm of your hands was full of Instant Win with Awesome Sauce. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 13, 2014, 12:05:18 PM
Not to worry - my delicate eyes won't be subjected to any more since Papers Please apparently doesn't work now I've updated my driver... :(
PCs are a pain in the arse.

I bit the bullet and bought it last week.. although I had to reformat my pc at work the other day, and got an error when trying to load it, something about my graphics card needing to support OpenGL1.4

A Windows update actually sorted the issue for me out by downloading the correct drivers.  If it hadn't of sorted the problem out, my first port of call would of been typing in "dxdiag" into Start->Run box, find out what my graphics card is - my work one is a "Nvidia Geforce 8500 GT", going to the Nvidia website, choosing that product and downloading the latest driver for that one.  If you've downloaded a driver that is not fully compatible with your card then you can get all kinds of errors - although it really shouldn't install the driver.

You can uninstall your graphics card driver and try reinstalling it again by going to Control Panel->Device Manager, and then looking under Display Adapters - if you have any warning triangles around your stuff, that is an alert to say the driver is not working properly or the driver needs updating.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 13, 2014, 03:20:52 PM
Looks like EA are finally giving SimCity an offline mode.. so surely theres no need to cap the city size limit ?  Theres a massive bug that stopped me playing it which is as soon as your city gets to a certain size, it just becomes completely unstable and impossible to manage.. the traffic is really badly handled too, you could build the perfect road system and it would still get gridlocked..  would be nice to get back into that game as I do love the series.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 14, 2014, 07:00:39 PM
Not to worry - my delicate eyes won't be subjected to any more since Papers Please apparently doesn't work now I've updated my driver... :(
PCs are a pain in the arse.

I bit the bullet and bought it last week.. although I had to reformat my pc at work the other day, and got an error when trying to load it, something about my graphics card needing to support OpenGL1.4

A Windows update actually sorted the issue for me out by downloading the correct drivers.  If it hadn't of sorted the problem out, my first port of call would of been typing in "dxdiag" into Start->Run box, find out what my graphics card is - my work one is a "Nvidia Geforce 8500 GT", going to the Nvidia website, choosing that product and downloading the latest driver for that one.  If you've downloaded a driver that is not fully compatible with your card then you can get all kinds of errors - although it really shouldn't install the driver.

You can uninstall your graphics card driver and try reinstalling it again by going to Control Panel->Device Manager, and then looking under Display Adapters - if you have any warning triangles around your stuff, that is an alert to say the driver is not working properly or the driver needs updating.

(http://s17.postimg.org/8t6dq70n3/dxdiag.png)

All looks fine from that dxdiag thing.

AMD's site indicates I should install something called CATALYST. I tried that last week, but I think it made things much worse.
Am installing it again now, and have been told "setup cannot copy the file ati2evxx.exe"
Which is fascinating news and means lots to me.
I clicked "proceed anyway". Fingers crossed, but I'm not optimistic...


EDIT - nope, no joy. It got to about 25-30% but no further.
Best guess is some old crap is causing conflicts. I'm toying with wiping the computer and reinstalling Windows from scratch. It's a lot of chew just to possibly allow me to play a couple of games (but possibly not work), but probably makes sense as it'd likely speed things up a bit - the C drive has gotta be pretty fragmented by now. And if I'm going to reinstall Windows (I don't fancy trying Linux) then I should do it in the next couple of months, before MS stop supporting XP. XP is the only version I have (hacked keyless one, gets all updates). I could probably find a newer one but I like XP and I know the version I have works perfectly whereas a newer one runs the risk of being identified as hacked.
Only thing stopping me is the worry that I'll make things worse - and that's a proper concern for a technophobe who has a computer that does most things he needs!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 15, 2014, 03:47:51 PM
Aw bollocks. >:(

Managed to crash Arkham Origins last night after ignoring the main quest for a bit and find a few datapacks and to just generally fuck about with beating up a hoodlum here and there. Just started the game today and the bloody marker thingy for the sewer entrance has bloody disappeared!!! >:( :( >:( ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 16, 2014, 04:36:17 PM
You're better off having a fresh install of Windows every so often. It's a shite OS and tends to fall apart every few years. I did a fresh install of Vita recently for the exact same reason - Rocksmith was having problems running.

I usually have a fresh install every year but due to my depression I hadn't done it for quite a while, probably 4 years :o

Everything now is running sweet though. ;D

Have any of you bought and played Resident Evil Revelaitons yet..? If not then you should blow the dust off your PS3/360 and give it a go. It's the best Resident Evil game since RE4. If you're a Resident Evil fan you really need to experience it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 17, 2014, 11:27:38 AM
Nintendo have today revised their Wii U sales estimates for the current year down from 9m units to 2.8m units.
Just a small shortfall, then.

Projected profit/loss for the year is amended from a £587m profit down to a £205m loss.

We all know what it's like when you find you've got a few quid less than you thought you had. I bet that missing eight hundred million pounds is either down the back of the sofa, or in the pocket of the jeans you were wearing last week.

Surely Iwata can't hang onto his job now?




EDIT - 2.8m, not 2.7m as I originally posted. Clumsy fingers...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 17, 2014, 11:45:40 AM
It's 2.8m...although not much difference lol.

Yup, Iwata has to go I think.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 17, 2014, 11:53:42 AM
Nintendo have today revised their Wii U sales estimates for the current year down from 9m units to 2.8m units.
Just a small shortfall, then.

Projected profit/loss for the year is amended from a £587m profit down to a £205m loss.

We all know what it's like when you find you've got a few quid less than you thought you had. I bet that missing eight hundred million pounds is either down the back of the sofa, or in the pocket of the jeans you were wearing last week.

Surely Iwata can't hang onto his job now?

EDIT - 2.8m, not 2.7m as I originally posted. Clumsy fingers...


Oops - fat fingers. Thanks Harv.
Worrying in my profession if you can hit a 7 when you're aiming for the 8...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 17, 2014, 12:57:19 PM
Been playing Theme Hospital a little bit today.. don't know why I fancied playing a bit of that... perhaps everytime I have looked into the mirror this week, I just see that fat inflated head person that's in the game  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on January 22, 2014, 02:58:35 AM
Yeah, I'm so done with Call of Duty, it's gone downhill so much in recent times and I am absolutely not enjoying Ghosts. They took out all the good game modes (Headquarters, Demolition..) and replaced them with awful ones, the gameplay is too sluggish and inaccurate and it's still full of campers, dropshotters and bullshit deaths. Definitely done with that series once and for all.

Battlefield 4, on the other hand, is fucking amazing.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 22, 2014, 03:57:39 PM
XBOX 360:

Deals of the week on Gold this week include a few decent buys:
Dark Souls: £3.74 (75% off)
Tales of Vesperia: £6.59 (67% off)
Final Fantasy XIII-2: £4.94 (67% off)
The Witcher 2: £4.94 (67% off)

That's the best four imo.
More details here (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/xbox360-deal-week-more-xbox-marketplace-1800840)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on January 22, 2014, 05:36:43 PM
Cheers, Late. Going to have to fire up the 360 again. Think I'm going to grab Dark Souls at that price.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 22, 2014, 06:20:51 PM
Pretty sure I've got that in my backlog. Really should give it a try. I know a lot of folk love it. (And a lot hate it!)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 22, 2014, 10:25:04 PM
Coming to PlayStation plus at the end of this month:
Metro: Last Light (ps3)
BioShock Infinite (ps3)
Outlast (ps4)
Dynasty Warriors Next (psv)
ModNation Racers: Road Trip (psv)

Outstanding, once again, Sony.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 22, 2014, 10:57:09 PM
Yup, really good value this PlayStation Plus stuff. Should have a good few PS4 games to play when I get it early next year.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on January 22, 2014, 11:11:05 PM
Pretty sure I've got that in my backlog. Really should give it a try. I know a lot of folk love it. (And a lot hate it!)

I took the (small and very reasonably priced) plunge!

I've read about the notorious difficulty, but also that it's immensely rewarding, which sounds good to me. I've played some games that are difficult because the devs employ cheap methods (Seth boss on Street Fighter 4) and I hate that, but the reviews seem to indicate Dark Souls does it right. Going to make a start on it now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 23, 2014, 11:59:11 AM
Finished DR3 today, which prick thought it was a good idea to not let you free-roam after you complete the game? 

The game took me 15 hours to complete, I was doing all the side missions as well, but it's not like the 1st one which was made to replay over and over again, so I don't see the problem in why we can't free-roam  >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on January 23, 2014, 02:49:11 PM
Dark Souls is insane! It took me 3 attempts to kill the first boss you meet like 15 mins into the game! Although, I chose to start as a pyromancer and I don't even know how to use my fireball spell LOL, so I'm just stood there whacking this 20 foot demon and trying to dodge his big stick:

(http://i.imgur.com/CUt9CMy.jpg)

It's a great looking game for one released in 2011. I just need to change my approach from 'YOLO' to 'cautious' and I'll stop getting blindsided in dark corridors.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 23, 2014, 05:27:59 PM
I finished Arkham Origins last night and it was excellent really glad that they kept the Power Gloves that the Wii U version of Arkham City had and explained where he got them from. Probably the best game of the lot, mainly because I was itching to swoopaaround Gotham City after being in Arkham Asylum for two games.

Deus Ex next, but will have to wait a couple of hours for these eye drops to wear off cos I can't see bugger all.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 24, 2014, 11:07:22 AM
Started Deus Ex now, just had my surgery and that sequence was VERY well Directed. Very impressive. Just hoping these augmentations aren't going to make the game too easy, really liked the difficulty of firefights without them although not being able to see the laser sight too clearly was a major pain in the arse.

It's only a small thing but being able to read emails and stuff right at the start of the game on the GamePad's screen is a nice touch, something I'm never going to tire of throughout the Wii U's life. Makes things more realistic and as a result more immersive. I've heard VERY good things about the GamePad use during this game so am really looking forward to it. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 25, 2014, 08:42:25 AM
Fucking hell (http://www.ebay.com/itm/NES-Nintendo-World-Championship-Cart-RARE-Torn-Label-100-Authentic-Adult-Owned-/221357006206) :o :o :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 26, 2014, 10:18:29 AM
Actually I take it back, DR3 implements a new game+ system instead of a free roam, so I started again and all my stats carried across, except there seems to be bloody glitches with a few things.  For starters I've collected every blueprint now but am still a few short, and no I haven't missed any, the game hasn't given me some in the 1st game, when it should have, a common glitch apparently.. Like doing a jigsaw and finding a piece missing at the end - infuriating to say the least.

And don't know if this is a glitch or not, but your zombie kill count carries over throughout games, but the pp trials which require you to kill x amount of zombies don't, you start a new game and you start from 0 again, seems weird as your completed pp trials carry over just fine.  So if you kill 1000 zombies for a trial, but start a new game before beating the 10,000 zombie trial, your 1000 trial is passed ok, but you have to start from 0 again to hit the 10,000 one, considering there's a 100,004 one, I don't think I'll bother, Ive only just hit 53,000 over 2 full games worth!

Anyway, too glitchy for me to even bother thinking about 100%ing it.. Which means I'm pretty much done with it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 26, 2014, 10:25:30 AM
Yup, that's the perils of adopting launch software these days. Having games patchable is the worst thing to happen to this industry, as are trophies/achievements from the point of view of testers.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 27, 2014, 02:01:04 PM
Well the second part isn't a glitch, slightly different than I originally posted.. its just that some pp trials don't unlock until you have finished another pp trial, so when I killed 5,000 zombies and won that trial, it unlocked the kill 10,000 zombies pp trial, but that trial starts at 0.  I think someone counted up the cumulative amount of zombies you would have to kill to complete the pp trials and its around 300k.. theres no way I'm going to do that, plus there are stupid pp trials like craft 50 amount of one particular item.. totally boring and not worth doing.

The blueprint glitch is definitely a glitch though.. and stops people from getting 2 achievements so they really should of sorted that out with the mega patch.. but they obviously haven't, more interested in releasing their DLC, nothing to do with it being launch software.

I had to KO the Kinect voice commands for the game too because there were too many times where it would just pause the game, or snap the help to the side of the screen without me doing anything.  In one funny case, I paused the game, went to go to the toilet and it unpaused the game (I was in the middle of a boss fight at the time).. I then quickly paused the game again.. about to pee and it did the same thing again.. so I had to pause the game and then bring up the bloody dashboard to stop that happening before disabling all Kinect stuff.

I might run through the game on nightmare mode now to get 1 of the last 2 achievements I can actually get and then call it a day... if you stick to the storyline it doesn't take too long to finish the game, but I've done it twice now, so its getting pretty boring.

Aside from that I've ragged the shit out of Forza/DR3 in the past few weeks.. so a new X1 game is calling.. Ryse or Zoo Tycoon.. unsure at the moment.


Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 27, 2014, 02:27:40 PM
Still undecided on whether to get Zoo Tycoon, but I've picked up a decent amount of xbox credit at low cost lately, so its still on the cards.
I got £30 of credit for £20 from ShopTo a month or so back, and then on Friday I got £40 of credit for £24 from Game. Both deals were glitches or misprices that disappeared pretty fast - was lucky to get onboard both. In fact in both instances I tried to buy more a minute or two later and missed out.
Still - it means I have about £97* credit on my account, now, which is a hair's breadth from being two games. One of which will be Titanfall.

Currently playing Assassin's Creed Black Flag - and thoroughly loving it. Definitely my favourite AC game so far. I've enjoyed them all, but being in command of your own pirate ship in a sandbox game is the icing on the cake. I've not actually done much of the story yet. I always like to explore a bit first, and this world is MASSIVE. And attacking/plundering ships is so much fun!

______________________________________________________________

*I actually have £57 credit on my account. Dunno what went wrong when I put the £40 code in. The xbox recognised it as a £40 code, and said my account balance will be £40 higher, but the account balance didn't actually increase. I spoke to MS customer support on Friday evening (webchat) and they told me that there's some maintenance work going on which seems to have delayed my account being updated but it should be sorted within 24 hours. Spoke to another chap on Saturday evening and he's escalated it to some division who'll apparently get it sorted within four days.
It's a little irritating to have this chew, but MS have always sorted my problems out satisfactorily in the past so I have no reason to worry this time will be any different.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 27, 2014, 02:41:14 PM
Yeah Zoo Tycoon and Ryse.. I could find loads of faults with both of them, but I need something as a stop-gap until Titanfall... I've given up on Assassins Creed... they strung it out too much and annualised it, the quality started to drop and all the games felt the same in the end.. don't think I'll bother with it again.


Microsoft have purchased Gears of War from Epic (http://news.xbox.com/2014/01/games-microsoft-studios-gears-of-war)

So expect to hear another Gears game in the works later this year then... 
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 27, 2014, 03:26:23 PM
If you see AC4 on offer go for it, mate. It's much better than the last few. And it doesn't matter if you've missed one or two, as the old story effectively finished at the end of AC3 (with Desmond as your current-day protagonist).

Haven't seen it going for less than £40 on current gen, though, so far. I usually wait until the AC games are about £17 but this one was getting such great reviews I couldn't wait (plus current gen is more expensive anyway).

Have got Rayman Legends preordered for the xb1. Comes out around 21st of Feb. Doubt it's much different to the xb360 version which came out last year, but it got fantastic reviews and it's only £29. (I say "only". I could probably get the xb360 version for less than £15, and like I say - it's probably identical.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 27, 2014, 03:37:05 PM
£26 for Rayman Legends if you apply the PRE10 discount code at zavvi...  not really interested in it though.. although the PRE10 deal can be applied to Titanfall, so I've just pre-ordered that at £39.59... good to get my order in sooner rather than forgetting about it!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 27, 2014, 05:22:34 PM
Yup, the pricing of newly released consoles' games really take the piss. It bloody annoys me every single gen. Mind you, Ubisoft titles always dive in price pretty quickly so it won't be long before they're the same price as the current gen SKUs and Wii U SKU is now. Give it a couple of months at the most, probably half that time. They'll still be more expensive but not the piss taking prices they are now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 27, 2014, 06:16:44 PM
Saw that zavvi order but couldn't be arsed to cancel my order for £3.
Titanfall's gotta be digital for me - save on the disk swapping when I want to play something else or watch a film. Hopefully it's a game I'll want to play a lot. Just so long as they don't make it £70 or something stupid.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 28, 2014, 09:44:55 AM
Digital wont take off until they start undercutting retail prices.. which wont happen because retailers will get the hump and just stop selling the physical copies.. so until a console goes fully digital, I'll always prefer to have my games on physical discs.... I can see the benefit that having a digital copy can bring, but price will always be top priority.. and the ability to resell just adds more to the case of owning physical discs.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Apart from the glitchy ones, I completed all other achievements on DR3 now... not interested in the DLC, so its back in the box for the time being.. moved back over to Forza 5 - I'm on lvl 110.. going to hit 150 and then call that a day too.. the stupid thing is.. the game has a lot of content to fully complete.. but the content is just recycled way too much.. the # of cars you can buy is great, but the # of tracks is just piss poor.. and even if you concentrate fully on the SP mode, which is what I've been doing so far.. when you get to the last 6 or 7 championships.. you'll really struggle to afford the entry cars which is just stupid because it means you've got to go back and race more to earn more money.

I've also decided after countless races that the drivatar is a load of baloney.  What I've found playing on the hardest drivatar level is that if you don't catch up with 1st place on the first corner or early on in the race, and they go out of sight.. once they are out of sight, there is no catching up with them, they basically drive like a professional, so whilst you are fighting it out for 2nd,3rd or 4th place.. 1st has zoomed a million miles ahead... if you do catch up with 1st early on in the race and pass him.. then it is so easy to zoom out of sight of the rest of the field.. so it just doesn't make sense.. If I drop drivatar difficulty, I just win every race.  The one benefit drivatar does have, is the unpredictability of the AI, so drivers will try and cut you up, some will block you from passing, so in that aspect it does work.. but I just find every race turning into the same thing where I will always finish 2nd or 3rd.. and 1st will be a million miles away from the rest of the pack.
 
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 28, 2014, 12:59:35 PM
Digital wont take off until they start undercutting retail prices.. which wont happen because retailers will get the hump and just stop selling the physical copies.. so until a console goes fully digital, I'll always prefer to have my games on physical discs.... I can see the benefit that having a digital copy can bring, but price will always be top priority.. and the ability to resell just adds more to the case of owning physical discs.

So long as I can pick up xbox credit on the cheap from time to time digital is in with a shout. There's no way I'd pay face value when they're charging more for digital than they are for physical.


Weird thing happened over the weekend. I'm sat there playing Assassin's Creed when the game was suddenly replaced by a photo that one of the kids was looking at on her phone in another room. Her mate had sent her a selfie, and god knows what she's pressed but suddenly I've got this teenage lad's fifty inch gurning mug staring back at me!

Second time it's happened. I think. There were a load of images flashed across the screen whilst I was watching a film last week. I didn't recognise anything and when I said "xbox go back" it went back to the film. In both instances I think it went into Windows Media or Windows Video.
It's a bit scary, tbh. I've googled it and I see lots of folk are getting "compromising" pictures and videos pop up on their xbox, apparently coming from their pc or phone.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 28, 2014, 01:51:06 PM
lol... cant say I've had that
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 28, 2014, 04:35:30 PM
Lmfao, just be thankful he didn't send her a picture of his bits :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 28, 2014, 04:41:53 PM
Am really enjoying Deus Ex, the GamePad really makes a huge difference to the game. ZombiU, Splinter Cell Blacklist, Batman Arkham City and Deus Ex are great examples of how the GamePad can improve games. Even Arkham Origins which doesn't use the GamePad that much apart from having the map on it at all times is an improvement over the other SKUs.

Will be adding Watch Dogs to that list soon too I reckon, should be the definitive version.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on February 01, 2014, 12:12:42 AM
The first non-launch day title I'm actually interested in comes out this month, Thief....Played the original on the PC many years ago, memory is quite hazy but it was a decent game from what I recall. Should be good on next gen consoles and I'm eagerly awaiting reviews, fingers crossed it gets some good scores!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 01, 2014, 06:03:13 PM
I've a bad feeling about Thief - the price is falling rapidly and there's been no reviews yet.
Hope I'm wrong. Enjoyed it on PC back in the day, and preordered it for xb One yesterday (£34 at the game collection).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 02, 2014, 08:44:46 AM
Oh, generally I can't stand stealth games.. will be giving Thief a wide birth methinks
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 02, 2014, 09:38:28 AM
It's one of those you can play stealthy or wreak carnage.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 02, 2014, 11:44:56 AM
So a bit like Dishonored then ?   I felt like that game punished me for not being stealthy though.. as a result I never got very far through it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 02, 2014, 02:56:19 PM
Aye, probably not one for you, then.
That said, there's not been many previews or reports on the game yet (hence my concerns) - though I did hear the XP system was tweaked recently because it was favouring folk who killed loads and played stealthily - so I imagine it's now either geared toward stealth or is more evenly balanced.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 03, 2014, 02:53:28 PM
Rumours are is that its not Halo 5 coming this year, but Halo 2 Anniversary edition.. which also includes MP maps.. plus Halo 3 and Halo 4 for the Xbox One.. would be well excited about that.. Halo 2 had the best multiplayer maps in all of the games imo.. Zanzibar is my absolute utter favourite, but Ascension, Beaver Creek, Ivory Tower, Headlong, Warlock, Lockout and Foundation were all amazing maps aswell. 

You see if Halo did a multiplayer game only with the best maps from the series on it.. I'd be all over that like a rash with no hesitation of buying it, still the best Multiplayer FPS game to date for me.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 04, 2014, 10:26:24 PM
Fucking hell, Game Informer have MGS on their cover and a 20 page spread of the game and they've revealed that they've completed the main story of the single player campaign - without side quests - in under 2 fucking hours :o :-\

Unbelievable, how the fuck do Konami expect it to sell..? ??? :-\ ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on February 05, 2014, 01:06:25 AM
MGS 4 wasn't terribly long...it was long with it's cutscenes and breaks in gameplay, but the actual playtime was only about 6-7 hours from what I remember.

It did eventually get patched with trophies, but I don't do retrospective games anymore, not when theres so much available that i still haven't played.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 05, 2014, 11:15:06 AM
Ground Zeroes isn't a full game and was never suggested or intended to be one, Harv - it's just a prequel to MGS 5. It's long been known it'd only be short. Hence it's relatively cheap pre-order price everywhere (around £20 last gen and £25 next gen).
Still not interested, mind. I'll wait for MGS 5. I loved the first few MGS games, but didn't get far through MGS 3 before getting bored, and haven't played any since.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 05, 2014, 01:41:13 PM
I know it isn't a full game, but the physical copy is £40/$40 to buy. Some people have had their £25 pre-orders cancelled too. I really can't see this selling at all. If it was around 4 hours they would be able to get away with it but it's UNDER 2 hours, definitely taking the piss. I can see it failing very hard indeed.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 05, 2014, 03:57:17 PM
I know it isn't a full game, but the physical copy is £40/$40 to buy. Some people have had their £25 pre-orders cancelled too. I really can't see this selling at all. If it was around 4 hours they would be able to get away with it but it's UNDER 2 hours, definitely taking the piss. I can see it failing very hard indeed.
What? Who's selling it for £40 physical?
I don't think I've seen anywhere selling it for more than £30 on current gen, and the most expensive I can see for last gen is £24.99
Current gen can be had for £24.75 at Gameseek or £26.97 at Gamestop. There might be better deals around - I've only had a very quick look.

As I said earlier, I'm not tempted personally. I don't think it's good value for money, and you all know I'm keen on a bargain.
But it's ridiculous to go around saying the game is retailing for £40.

Also bear in mind it's two hours for the main story. There's side quests and console-exclusive stuff that'll extend your playing time well past that.

You're missing a lot of stuff if you only ever dash through the main objectives in your games.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 05, 2014, 05:05:42 PM
Just saw on another forum that someone had pre-ordered it for £40. Obviously you'll be able to find it cheaper but for less than 2 hours gameplay for the main story, side quests or not, I can't see anyone in their right mind paying any more than a tenner for it. It hardly seems worth releasing tbh. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 05, 2014, 06:28:52 PM
Just saw on another forum that someone had pre-ordered it for £40.

Tell him I've got a plot on the moon and a bridge in London for sale.

The rrp for Xbox One and ps4 versions is only $29.99
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 07, 2014, 10:18:27 AM
Looks like Knuckles has been on the 'roids ahead of "Sonic Boom" (Ninty exclusive).

youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTP-JbDBSCw)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 07, 2014, 03:20:21 PM
Yup, saw that yesterday lol. The character models look terrible, game looks interesting though. Quite like the idea of a Sonic gamewwith Ratchet and Clank gameplay elements.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on February 07, 2014, 05:45:10 PM
Noticed it's possible to get Rayman Legends on the Xbox One for £22 at ASDA. Is it worth it?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 07, 2014, 07:19:17 PM
It's a great game but using button presses for the Murfy sections takes a lot of the skill (and fun) out of those parts. Definitely worth getting though, it's a great game with loads of content.

The difference between playing the Murfy sections the way it was designed and with button presses is hard to explain, I guess you have to experience it to realise how much better it is with the GamePad. It's kind of more hectic I guess, you're staring at the touchscreen and swiping your finger across the screen which means you need more coordination to move levers and platforms at speed. And because you need more coordination it makes it more difficult compared to just routinely pressing a button when prompted.

Of course it is a Ubisoft game so it's probably going to be 15 quid in a couple of weeks. I really can't understand how Ubisoft make their money tbh. They have hundreds of people working on games which means they're producing these titles with large budgets and then after they release them they always drop in price pretty drastically soon after launch. :-\ I just don't get it :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 08, 2014, 01:53:40 AM
Lmfao, this can't be fucking serious lololol :o :o :o ;D (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=765440)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 08, 2014, 10:50:38 AM
Noticed it's possible to get Rayman Legends on the Xbox One for £22 at ASDA. Is it worth it?
Do it. Good old fashioned platformer, not just for kids, and scores 9 outta 10 everywhere. And it bulks out the collection a bit ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 08, 2014, 04:04:38 PM
A Gaf gif from that thread I linked to above:

(http://abload.de/img/matrixswallow3dsh7a1x.gif)

Gotta love Gaf and their gifs lmfao ;D ;D ;D

Hope the guy videos his mate doing it and posts it on YouTube lololol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 09, 2014, 04:25:31 PM
 Thief Trailer.  (http://www.dealspwn.com/thief-trailer-emphasises-open-approach-166604)
Looking fantastic :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 10, 2014, 08:06:56 AM
Been playing a lot of Civilization 5 since I have no more xb1 games to play.. there are addictive games and then there's civ.. it takes it to a whole new level for me...

Started a marathon game type on an islands type map on King (Hard) with 12 other civs and around 10 city states, I've never completed hard mode before but I could be close this time.  Started as the Aztecs as I've never been them before and literally been 2nd best to the Romans all the way through - am about half way through the game at the moment, but I decided Rome were getting too far ahead of everyone a couple of hundred turns back and gave them some backhanders to start wars with the other civs.. if anything, simply to stop them trading so much with them.. that plan worked for a while, until Rome started beating the crap out of everyone and dominating the map.

I had wiped the arabs out of the game because they became cheeky and started settling too close to me.. unfortunately starting a war with them turned most of the other civs against me, so I've been in a long war with about 3 or 4 civs but recently made peace with them, I don't particularly want to fight them at this time, I'm worried that if I leave Rome too long, they will just win the game, so I concentrated all my efforts on a new super army, Rome are far more advanced than me, but I declared war on them and captured one of their cities after a very tactical battle.. my empire is not very happy with me at the moment though, so I need to chill for a bit, make them happy again before I can try and conquer more roman land, its going to be a LONG war with them though.. they have so much land and so much money, I'm not even sure I will be able to stop them in time.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: larry on February 10, 2014, 10:17:49 AM
Does anyone know if i can add the free ps4 games to my download list from PS+ even though i dont have a PS4?

Would be good to have a few games when i eventually get a PS4
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 10, 2014, 10:20:35 AM
Yup you certainly can! ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: larry on February 10, 2014, 10:23:42 AM
Ignore my question above, ive just sorted it!

Harv, ive done it via their website, will it show on my ps3, or will it only show as and when i get a PS4?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 10, 2014, 10:26:05 AM
Must give Civilisation at some point. I'm sure I used to play one of the Civ games, back in the day - but I've no idea which one. Thoroughly enjoyed it though.
I believe I have Civ 3, 4, and 5 in my Steam Library (I think 3 & 4 are complete editions, 5 is probably just the basic game without any dlc).

"Finished" Assassin's Creed Black Flag over the weekend. Completed the story, then went around picking up the collectibles I'd missed. Have only got about 700 gamerscore, though. There's one or two little insignificant bits I've not done on the single-player (kill someone in a certain way, that sort of thing) but most of the remaining achievements are for multiplayer. Haven't tried multiplayer, but I might give it a look. Need something to tide me over until Rayman next week, so it's AC multiplayer, COD, or Forza. Or put the 360 on. That backlog isn't getting any smaller. In fact it's getting slightly bigger, as I'm turning the machine on once a fortnight or so to download the latest free game.



EDIT: I got the Sid Meier bundle from here (https://www.humblebundle.com/) - one of the "Humble Bundle" sales. The offer's still on if anyone's interested (ends 18 Feb).
$1 (about £0.64) gets you Civ 3 and Civ 4, plus a couple of other games.
Pay a bit more and you get other stuff.

hukd (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/humble-sid-meier-bundle-1816471)
humblebundle (https://www.humblebundle.com/)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 10, 2014, 10:56:16 AM
Yeah I saw the civ stuff in humblebundle.. I only want the DLC but $15 still seems a bit steep.. maybe I'm being tight as I cant find it cheaper elsewhere... I'll probably cave in soon and buy it though.. if they had Alpha Centauri & Pirates on the list.. I'd be all over it like a rash.

To me, Civ 4 is the ultimate civ, but it's shitty religion system really let it down, Civ 5 is great too, some of the enhancements are really great, but the AI does suck a bit, its just really stupid and dumb sometimes and some of the things it does just don't make much sense... but it is still the computer game equivalent of heroin.. so hard to put down.... 15 minutes turns into 45 minutes and yesterday I was playing for 4 hours thinking I'd only been on for an hour or so....  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 10, 2014, 12:00:44 PM
I hear the "Brave New World" dlc is supposed to be fantastic, but I didn't fancy paying $15. Most of my Steam purchases will probably never get paid. I don't mind that so much if they're about 20p each, but I wouldn't want to pay over a tenner for something I won't play.
Also that DLC has been under £5 several times in recent months, and will be again.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 10, 2014, 03:51:01 PM
Fucking Ghandi declared war on me for some reason.. probably cos I'm giving the romans a good smack in the mouth.. and now every civ left followed suit and is at war with me.. I'm fucked!!  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 10, 2014, 04:51:26 PM
Ignore my question above, ive just sorted it!

Harv, ive done it via their website, will it show on my ps3, or will it only show as and when i get a PS4?

No idea, think it might show on your PS3 but don't quote me on that! You'll see it listed on the web site so I'd assume it'll show up on the PS3 too. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 11, 2014, 01:41:58 PM
There's still no release date, but Watch Dogs has now been confirmed for next quarter (so April, May or June 2014) on all main platforms.
Ubi have quashed the rumours that the Wii U port has been scrapped - but have said it will be delayed. (No, Harv, that doesn't mean they're spending extra time polishing it to make it the definitive version!)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 11, 2014, 08:06:16 PM
Yup, disappointing, but I can wait. The GamePad should make it the definitive version. Just annoying that by the time it's released for the Wii U it's probably going to be twice the price of the other versions given the rate that Ubisoft titles drop in price which isn't going to do the sales of it any good.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 11, 2014, 10:53:34 PM
(http://www.worthzero.com/images/banghead.gif)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 11, 2014, 11:01:50 PM
It's a game with gameplay centered around hacking electronic devices. The gameplay is practically made for the GamePad and its touchscreen. Don't know why you've posted your gif, what I've said is quite valid given the Wii U's controller. As long as there aren't serious performance issues the Wii U SKU should be the definitive version.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 11, 2014, 11:09:16 PM
It's a game with gameplay centered around hacking electronic devices. The gameplay is practically made for the GamePad and its touchscreen. Don't know why you've posted your gif, what I've said is quite valid given the Wii U's controller. As long as there aren't serious performance issues the Wii U SKU should be the definitive version.
The Gamepad is a gimmick that nobody is interested in, the U is a dying novelty console with no support. As a consequence Ubisoft have clearly decided to focus on the decent consoles, and put the U version on the back burner.
It was inevitable that you'd see the clear negatives as positives, though. You've got form...


Yeah I saw the civ stuff in humblebundle.. I only want the DLC but $15 still seems a bit steep.. maybe I'm being tight as I cant find it cheaper elsewhere... I'll probably cave in soon and buy it though.. if they had Alpha Centauri & Pirates on the list.. I'd be all over it like a rash.

To me, Civ 4 is the ultimate civ, but it's shitty religion system really let it down, Civ 5 is great too, some of the enhancements are really great, but the AI does suck a bit, its just really stupid and dumb sometimes and some of the things it does just don't make much sense... but it is still the computer game equivalent of heroin.. so hard to put down.... 15 minutes turns into 45 minutes and yesterday I was playing for 4 hours thinking I'd only been on for an hour or so....  ;D

A few new bits were added to the middle bundle today (currently about £5.70):
Pirates, plus a couple of DLC packs for Civ V.
www.humblebundle.com
Cracking purchase for folk who don't already have any/many of those games already.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 12, 2014, 12:27:26 AM
I haven't seen clear negatives as positives at all. I've even stated that I'm disappointed with the delay. You were the one that mentioned the delay being a positive thing. Think you're getting your post confused with mine lol ;D

It could be released tomorrow or could be released next year, it's going to be the definitive version for the reason I've given as long as the GamePad's features have been implemented even half decently.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 12, 2014, 01:50:27 AM
If people want to use a second screen iOS and android would be options. Options nobody's interested in - so developers don't bother wasting the time implementing it.
I hope the U version is decent. The platform desperately needs good games.
Not that it'll help, mind. Nobody's going to rush out to buy a Nintendo console so they can play the "new" game - which they completed months earlier on their other console.

I know you're a retro fan though, so I'm sure you'll enjoy playing the game when it eventually comes out on the Wii.
Don't worry about it being expensive. It's the Wii U were talking about, here. There are no expensive games.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 12, 2014, 02:31:38 AM
The Wii U, the PS4 and the One have all had expensive cross-gen games. It's publishers being greedy bastards, happens every gen. And by the time the Wii U version launches - even if it's a matter of just a few weeks delay - it's going to be more expensive than the other versions. Ubisoft are basically releasing it to die. :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 12, 2014, 11:31:24 AM
A few new bits were added to the middle bundle today (currently about £5.70):
Pirates, plus a couple of DLC packs for Civ V.
www.humblebundle.com
Cracking purchase for folk who don't already have any/many of those games already.

I'm glad I held off.. but I'm gonna have to buy it now aren't I lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 12, 2014, 12:35:31 PM
I had only bought the lowest tier, but upped it to the middle tier last night.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 13, 2014, 07:48:38 PM
There's a Nintendo Direct at 10pm. It's much later than usual and is 41 minutes long which is 11 minutes longer than average. I'm doing my best not to get hyped but Nintendo Directs have revealed Megatons in the past!!! :o :P

I'm hoping for a 3DS Majora's Mask remake, news of Bayonetta 1 coming to the Wii U, an extended trailer and release date for Bayonetta 2 and X and news that Retro is working on another Metroid FPA.

I'm probably going to be disappointed lol ;D :-[ ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 13, 2014, 11:41:49 PM
Yup, disappointed lol. Nintendo know that they need something to save the Wii U. So I'm thinking more HD remakes like Wind Waker. Bayonetta 1. Metroid FPA. Something with a bit of Megatonage.

What do we get..? Most of the Direct was stuff for the 3DS and the thing they decide is going to save the Wii U..? NES Remix 2. Lmfao. You couldn't make it up lololol ;D ;D ;D

New trailers and gameplay from Donkey Kong, Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2 and X which I was expecting as was impressive but NES Remix 2..? Really..? Time for Iwata to go I think. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 14, 2014, 08:00:10 AM
Time for a new console yet harv?  ;D

Missus got me Ryse to play as a bit of a v-days prezzie... it got totally slaughtered in reviews, so I'm not expecting the best of games.. but it should look stunning at least  ;D  I'll probably make sure I finish it in time for Rayman next week.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 14, 2014, 10:05:02 AM
(http://s29.postimg.org/4ftjds9p3/wiiurip.png)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 14, 2014, 11:37:12 AM
Lol, not time for a new console yet. Am getting my PS4 in January next year. Still happy with my Wii U and still have a backlog of games to play. It's just frustrating that Nintendo appear to be not bothered about the console. The 3DS is getting plenty of love though.

It only took them a matter of months to develop Wind Waker HD from start to finish so I can't see why they didn't have a few more lined up to fill in the gaps. Paper Mario Thousand Year Door, F-Zero and Eternal Darkness would have been great examples to plough through their conversion software. As things stand at the moment we've got Donkey Kong on the 21st and nothing until Mario Kart 8 in May. It just makes absolutely no sense at all. :-\ ???
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 14, 2014, 12:53:38 PM
Day Z might be coming to xbox One (as well as State of Decay 2).
Fantastic news if true :D


totalxbox.com (http://www.totalxbox.com/71379/dayz-could-come-to-xbox-one-developer-has-talked-extensively-with-microsoft/)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 15, 2014, 01:30:08 AM
HD footage of Bayonetta 2 at 60fps without the usual YouTube artifacts (http://www.platinumgames.co.jp/#!/item_bayonetta-2/). Looking VERY nice indeedy 8)

Voice acting is fucking awful though, am hoping that Platinum Games are going to give us the option of Japanese audio and English subtitles. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 17, 2014, 12:45:24 PM
So I already finished Ryse.. took about 7 hours overall to finish.. so quite a short game.. but I think I will definitely replay it on the hardest difficulty.. the best part of the game for me was the story, it is really strong and the setting is great.. as a historical game, it throws away pretty much all fact.. but it's originality is brilliant.  The 2nd best part are the graphics, they are immense... everything looks pretty amazing and realistic, even down to Basillius' (Nero's fictional son) facial expressions - you could tell he was a cunt from when you first saw him lol.

The weakest point of the game, you begin to realise at the end of chapter 1, when you've already done 80-90% of everything the game offers.  The combat is good, not great.. but good.. not as fluid as batman nor are they that many moves, but the executions are great, although they start to get a bit repetitive after 5 or 6 more chapters.  If this game threw up some more variety and different set-pieces, it'd easily be a 80+ rated game - I'd probably rate it as a solid 70 though.

Saying that, I'm pretty certain I'll give it another run through as its a relatively short game and will probably try out the multiplayer too.  I wouldn't recommend going to buy it straight away, but when the price dips it'll probably be worth picking it up at £10-£20 as a distraction.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 18, 2014, 08:57:41 PM
Blimey. Ken Levine has just announced (http://www.irrationalgames.com) he's winding up Irrational Games and walking away from BioShock.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 19, 2014, 11:40:35 AM
South Park : Stick of Truth is out on 7th March, PS3,360,PC - debating whether to bother getting it now seeing as

a) I'd have to get it on the 360/PC
b) It's due out a week before Titanfall
c) It's going to cost full price - and cant find any deals (for the preferred 360 version)
d) I've only recently got Ryse and Rayman is on it's way.

But I have been waiting for this game for an age now, it looks great and funny as fuck too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 19, 2014, 12:17:56 PM
My copy of Rayman arrived yesterday. I installed it, but haven't tried it yet. Played a bit of Titanfall last night - make the most of the demo before it disappears - but fell asleep pretty early.

Stick of Truth looks good fun, but I'm in the same position as you. I'll just be too busy with other games in the next couple of months to give it a look. Rayman, Thief, and Titanfall should keep me busy for a long while - and I also have COD and Forza to fall back on, neither of which has been given anywhere near as much time as they deserve. Not to mention the backlog of 360 games.
And don't get me started on Steam. I've properly played about 3 games, and have had a little look at about 10 others. But there's about 150 games in my library now...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 19, 2014, 01:14:46 PM
I'm expecting Rayman tonight.. will probably do the same as you.. probably wont play it until the weekend though as I want to get through a bit of Ryse on legendary first.. and because I'm busy for most of the week now.  Played about an hour extra of Titanfall last night.. total game time was just under 6hrs... got a bit bored of the same two maps after a while to be honest... I hope there are a lot of maps.. and a lot more weaponry too.. and I hope users will be able to vote on maps.

I think if you can stand the temptation, wait for Stick of Truth to fall in price.. it should fall fairly quickly due to it not being on next gen.. I don't think I can do that though.. open-world RPGs are one of my favourites.. and south park to boot.. it should be ideal for me.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 19, 2014, 01:37:08 PM
Rayman Legends is awesome, loads of content including Origins levels and daily and weekly challenges which are great fun. If you liked Origins you'll love Legends.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 19, 2014, 03:00:38 PM
Think the last Rayman game I played was Rayman 2 back in the day, I think we got it free with a pc we bought (which had Windows ME) on it.. it was probably the best thing about having that pc lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 20, 2014, 09:09:40 PM
So I played about 30 minutes of rayman tonight, what's up with the lack of story?  The game just chucks you in, no explanations to why/what your doing, I still don't understand the point of what I'm supposed to be doing other than going through a level and collecting things. 

I wasted about 20 minutes trying to start level 2, don't know what happened, but I wasn't connected to live, and all my paintings were locked, eventually had to restart the Xbox one, then connect to live and the paintings became unlocked.. but it wasn't obvious they were locked, absolutely zero explanation as to what I was supposed to do just compounded the issue and pissed me off  :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 21, 2014, 01:01:45 AM
Yeah, it's all a bit random.
Started it today too. Have played the first 3 or 4 levels - but did each several times over to pick everything up.
Wasn't really feeling it, but I'm sure I'll get more into it when I've played a bit more, and it'll tide me over until Thief next week.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 21, 2014, 03:34:55 PM
I hear the "Brave New World" dlc is supposed to be fantastic, but I didn't fancy paying $15. Most of my Steam purchases will probably never get played. I don't mind that so much if they're about 20p each, but I wouldn't want to pay over a tenner for something I won't play.
Also that DLC has been under £5 several times in recent months, and will be again.

Civ 5's "Brave New World" DLC is currently £4.99 at gamersgate if you're interested, Kieron.
hukd (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/civ-v-brave-new-world-steam-4-99-gamersgate-gods-kings-also-4-99-1811669)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: larry on February 22, 2014, 08:45:57 AM
Just finished DMC Devil May Cry. I wasn't really expecting much, but really enjoyed it! So much so that ill have to keep alook out for a cheap copy of the HD collection of the older titles that i haven't played as yet.

Yet another good game that ive had from PS+  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 22, 2014, 12:09:37 PM
 ;D ;D

(https://scontent-b-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1/1621864_613167918767777_2008693634_n.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 22, 2014, 08:26:58 PM
Getting into Rayman a bit more now. It's not one of those games you rush to turn on as soon as you walk in the house, but it's fun enough. The daily challenges add something - is always nice to have someone on your friends list to shape up against.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 22, 2014, 10:44:33 PM
It's a half decent distraction game, gets a bit boring over long periods though, I only played it today because I couldn't be arsed to change discs, I do like the music levels though
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 24, 2014, 08:24:48 PM
Getting into Rayman a bit more now. It's not one of those games you rush to turn on as soon as you walk in the house, but it's fun enough. The daily challenges add something - is always nice to have someone on your friends list to shape up against.

Yeah, its not bad beating your scores each day  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 24, 2014, 09:41:06 PM
Pfft. Winning is for losers.


Damn but that argument is rock solid.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 25, 2014, 07:46:11 AM
I nearly got into the pink zone (ooh-err) on yesterdays challenge.. couldn't of been far away at all.. but my thumbs started aching, so I couldn't be arsed to go any further.. only about 100m off the top ten though...

Have to say, some of the levels in Rayman are brilliant, the first two.. meh.. but the Mexican Fiesta one was excellent.. and the first level on the undersea one where the fishes sing to you - bloody brilliant lol.  Still I think it would be far better if there was some story to actually play along too... its just missing that bit of cohesion to bring everything together.  Whilst I appreciate that the main hub is very simplistic and therefore easy to navigate and quick to get around.. it just seems quite basic and without a story, just makes the whole experience feel more like a load of levels to play through instead of a game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 25, 2014, 09:16:21 AM
I'm some way behind. You mentioned the music levels last week - I finally got to the first one of those on Sunday. (Wo-oah Black Betty, bammalam - awesome :D )
It's taking me a while because I've been 100%ing every level, but we're getting close to Thief's release so I need to pick up the pace a bit. I walked away from a level last night where I didn't get 600 of the yellow blob things! I know - I'm a disappointment to myself, my family, my town, and the gaming community in general. :( 

I think I completed the third area (Mexican) last night. Haven't looked at any of the "Legends" levels yet. I have gone back and done every invasion level as it's been unlocked though.
There's definitely enough to keep completionists busy for quite some time (as is usually the way with Rayman games tbh).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 25, 2014, 09:42:23 AM
Don't think you are too far behind if you've just completed the 3rd level.. I'm only half way through the 4th and haven't 100%'ed them all.. (only the first level).  I've done 1 legend level.. it was meh.. Think I have around 200 teensies and just passed 100k lums.  Considering there are 700 teensies to collect.. there's loads left to do - certainly worth the value!!

The invasion levels get progressively harder.. I was at least 3-4 seconds out on a 40s time (its a desert one) - I find those levels more irritating than anything because they require perfection to beat.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 25, 2014, 10:04:24 AM
Have been alright with all the Invasion ones so far. Most frustrating level so far for me was the Mexican "Eye of the Tiger" musical level. I could not get my bloody timing right on that one for some reason. (Made it in the end. With all three of the little blue chaps, of course. ;) )

Oddly, it sounds like we're at about the same point in teensies count, give or take (I think I have about 65-75 each in areas 1-3, and there's probably been a couple of others from scratch cards and whatnot); but I think I'm only on about 50k of the little yellow things.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 25, 2014, 11:52:47 AM
PvZ Garden Warfare is out today.. so disappointed they made a multiplayer only FPS instead of a tower defence game  :(  Would of been a day1 purchase for me.. as it is.. no thanks.. I reckon it would of done well on the Wii U though since that has zero decent FPS games on it and this is fairly family friendly... but then its third party.. it will never appear on the Wii U
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 25, 2014, 05:20:24 PM
Bah! Ubisoft have censored parts of The Stick Of Truth. >:(

Not sure whether to boycott it or just import it from the States. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 25, 2014, 07:44:50 PM
That's ridiculous  >:(

Don't know if you've tried the compare games feature through the xb1 late, it's a little more powerful than on the 360, apparently you are 27% through rayman in 9 hours, I'm 34% through in 7 hours  8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 25, 2014, 08:54:20 PM
Aye. You didn't fall asleep playing it did you...  ;)

Tbh I'm not sure if that time was counted.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 25, 2014, 09:42:32 PM
I'm REALLY pissed off with censorship in video games tbh. If some content is fine on the big screen or DVDs/Blu-Rays it should be fine in a video game with the same classification certificate. Manhunt 2 last gen was one of the best games released last generation when played the way it was supposed to be played but was completely ruined by the BBFC and ESRB.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 25, 2014, 09:50:59 PM
[http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/namco-bandai-targets-sega-hq-with-pac-man-pr-stunt-security-shuts-it-down/0128679]Lmfao, awesome lololol[/url]
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 25, 2014, 09:52:18 PM
Aw bollocks >:(

You'll have to copy and paste it lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 27, 2014, 01:23:19 PM
No word on March's "Games with Gold" on xbox, yet, but there's rumours it'll be Arkham Asylum (2009) and Ninja Gaiden 2 (2008).

Meh. Free's free, so I'll take them. I maintain they're falling a long way short of Sony's efforts, there (ps+ currently includes Outlast, Bioshock Infinte, XCOM, Borderlands 2, and Uncharted 3, amongst other games. Most of those are of course AAA titles from 2012/2013).

We get some decent games but we're generally looking at two decent games from five years ago (or one decent game from five years ago and one pretty rubbish arcade title from a year or two ago) versus half a dozen great games from one or two years ago.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 27, 2014, 04:05:10 PM
Yup, the latest is Remember Me if you have a US account with PlayStation Plus.

Have Microsoft started to give away any Xbox One games yet..? We haven't seen any retail PS4 games yet but there's been a couple of indie games that have been made available.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 27, 2014, 04:29:22 PM
No, they've said it'll be in 2014 but I doubt it'll be in the first half of the year.
I'm not a betting man but I'd put a decent wedge on Ryse being one they give away in the first few months.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on February 28, 2014, 01:50:52 AM
The PSN store sales are actually good at the moment.

I got all the Battlefield DLC (£19.99), all the Borderlands 2 DLC (£14.59) and Dead Space 3 Awakened DLC (£3.99) for under £40 collectively.

Really good value.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 28, 2014, 10:13:43 AM
No, they've said it'll be in 2014 but I doubt it'll be in the first half of the year.
I'm not a betting man but I'd put a decent wedge on Ryse being one they give away in the first few months.

I'd take that bet any day of the week.. think you're being VERY optimistic there mate...

I'd go along the lines of something like Crimson Dragon or Powerstar Golf instead...both of which I'd be quite happy with as a first offering... I doubt you'll get a full retail game this year.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 28, 2014, 11:54:37 AM
Ryse should never have been a full retail game.
Fair call on the games you mentioned, though.

Mind you, if they're too give away one game a month from the marketplace they'll run out after about 5 months anyway ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 28, 2014, 12:27:31 PM
Well I can't see there will be anything until after E3.. I'd go even further.. September/October if I had to hazard a guess, by then, there should be a load more games available.

1 month until Titanfall today  8)

Edit : Scratch that.. 1 month until the 360 version drops.. 2 weeks until the xb1 version drops  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 28, 2014, 12:53:32 PM
Tempted to switch my region to USA so I can get it three days sooner.
Probably won't bother, as I'd need to buy some USA credit rather than use the UK credit I have, but the temptation's there. When we get the game the servers will be full of people with upgraded weapons etc. Especially if I need to spend about ten hours downloading the bugger. Digital, eh - it's the future.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 28, 2014, 01:37:51 PM
You'll be better off going for the US SKU, will work out cheaper. But I thought the One was region locked..? Or did they do a U-turn on that when they changed the DRM situation..?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 28, 2014, 04:12:13 PM
They did indeed.

I'm guessing the Uk SKU will be about £55 and the US about £40 so there's definitely good reason to go US - but I have about £125 of Uk credit and it's non-transferable.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 28, 2014, 10:41:05 PM
Just did a quick Google search on it yesterday and there's reports a few days back saying that digital purchases and DLC are region locked. A bit weird though because FIFA 14 is fine apparently...maybe it's up to the publisher. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 01, 2014, 03:49:18 AM
No word on March's "Games with Gold" on xbox, yet, but there's rumours it'll be Arkham Asylum (2009) and Ninja Gaiden 2 (2008)...
The thing with rumours is they're often bollocks...

March Games With Gold:
“Civilization Revolution” (2008) and “Dungeon Defenders” (2011).
Xbox.com (http://news.xbox.com/2014/02/games-march-games-with-gold)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 01, 2014, 12:16:28 PM
Lol, they might as well not give anything away. :o

Mind you, having decent games being given away with PS+ isn't doing the industry a lot of good. I haven't bought Tomb Raider because I'm expecting to get it from PS+ at some point. Same with Bioshock Infinite which I got not so long ago.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 01, 2014, 08:16:13 PM
Tomb Raider was announced for March PS+ a few days ago.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 01, 2014, 11:47:44 PM
Really..? :o That was a bit quick!!!

Hopefully it's going to come to the US version of PS+ ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 03, 2014, 07:46:24 AM
Done one playthrough of all the levels in rayman.. on 676 teensies, so 24 to go... but also have a few levels I didn't get the gold cup on.. the Origins levels are a bit shit to be honest, got bored of them fairly quickly.. Nowhere near 1m lums.. am only under 400k at the moment.. I think that's going to be an absolute arse achievement to get...

There's also one invasion level giving me a bit of jip.. its a dark rayman one.. the one where you go through the room maze - seems impossible at the moment.. there are 2 other ones I found hard.. but I have completed them.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 03, 2014, 07:07:54 PM
Still a bit behind you. I've just now finished the Origins levels, and am on 653/700 blues and 414,810 yellows. Best thing about the Origins levels is the music on the undersea levels. Cracks me up every time I hear it. :D

Not terribly impressed with Thief. It's okay enough but is definitely a poor relation of Dishonored - the master had become the apprentice.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 04, 2014, 07:57:08 AM
Aye your definitely behind me now as I finished it off last night  :P  Plus, it took me a while but I beat your cracking time on the daily challenge lol.

Got a few gold medals to still do.. but all the blues are done.  You get an extra 150k when you finish.. so I'm now on about 650k yellows.. still a way off 1m..

That invasion level was a bitch but I finally did it with about 0:05 left on the clock.. if you're having trouble.. you can save time in the room where you have to fly to hit the switch - you have to snake between the bombs.. and also the last room you have to arse-smash the switch to fly up quicker to the exit.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 04, 2014, 10:11:47 AM
I think I've done that one, but one of the other dark rayman invasion levels is giving me grief. Was trying for ages and finally managed to get a bronze. Nowhere near the gold. Not sure what world it was, but you have to kill a half dozen frog things in four rooms (the exit to each room only opening when you've killed them all).
I quite enjoy most of the Invasion levels, but the ones with the dark rayman following you aren't fun - they're a chore.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 04, 2014, 10:54:21 AM
Yeah.. I got stuck on that one for a while too.. you have to learn the pattern to kill the frogs.. its an arse.

From memory you want to be doing the 1st room in 10-11s.. the 2nd room you should have done in 20s total.. the 3rd room around 28s which will leave you with enough time to do the fourth room.


If you need some more tips, I can memorise most of the pattern I used.. but feel free not to read on if you want to do it yourself...

So as soon as you jump the first pipe, kung-fu kick the stilt frog which also kills the second frog.. run up plant, kill third frog, wall jump backwards, kill falling fourth frog, slam on the fifth (stilted) frog.. that should kill the other one too.. exit room.

Run left, kill frog, wall jump backwards until new frogs appear, slam on bones to kill 2nd frog, from the resulting slam, you'll bounce upwards, with that bounce kill 3rd frog.. jump on hook, kill big dude.. wall jump backwards to end wall, slam down, on the bounce upwards, kill 4th frog, should push it into 5th frog.. exit room.

Hit right stilted frog first, (you only have to knock him down - don't have to kill him - he'll die before you leave the room).. then kill 2nd frog on right, wall jump backwards to ropes, bounce on third frog (the other (normal) stilted frog), kung-fu kick the 4th frog and slam on the 5th frog, exit room.

This is where my memory gets a bit hazy.. but kill 1st frog, wall jump backwards.. get onto rope going left and kill 2nd frog - get back onto the rope going right, kill 3rd frog, get back onto rope going left kill 1st big dude, you must wall jump now otherwise shadow rayman will catch you.. back onto the rope, kill 2nd big dude, then wall jump up to the teensies.. you'll need to do 3 wall jumps quickly.. 2 wall jumps aren't enough to make it to the platform.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 04, 2014, 12:06:33 PM
Yeah, I think that's pretty much how I was doing it, first three rooms. I can't even picture the fourth in my head now. I probably just need to fine-tune my timing. Will probably leave it until last. Was playing for a while last night and cleared up a few more blues then fell asleep.

Annoyed you beat my daily challenge yesterday, btw  :P - took me bloody ages to get that! It was fairly early on the morning (had the day off) so I figured it was my best change to get into the Platinum times, even though I'd likely slip to Gold by the end of the day. Have never been Platinum before - and that still hasn't changed. I was bloody close but not quite there. (I'm guessing the one above gold is platinum, but that's just a guess. I didn't think platinum was pink, mind. Ah. Just checked and it seems it's Diamond. Whatever.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 04, 2014, 01:14:49 PM
I think the .. "how far can you go" challenges are the best ones to get diamond on.. it would take a while, but if you've got a good memory then its easier than the dropping ones which require absolute perfection... I was only a few hundred meters off one diamond medal.. my fingers & thumbs started hurting though so I just gave up..

.. it took me ages to beat your time.. well ok.. about 30 minutes.. you did most things perfect except the rings and the 2nd wind part - so as long as I could keep up with you up until the rings, I knew I could beat it... but I was still about a second short of a diamond medal myself.. there's no achievement for one.. so I'm not too fussed.. there is an achievement for beating 30 friends times though ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 04, 2014, 01:59:59 PM
I have ghosts turned off. I can see the appeal of them, but I just end up getting confused as to which one is me!  ;D
Alzheimers is probably setting in.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 04, 2014, 04:43:53 PM
Batman: Arkham Knight has been confirmed for 2014.

It's being made by Rocksteady so should be back to it's best rather than the slightly flawed sub-contractor job we got from WB-Montreal last year.
You can finally drive the Batmobile.
And Harley Quinn is looking damned fine, as usual.

Four minute trailer below.


youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dKjR9-dDvA)
gameinformer (http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2014/03/04/april-cover-revealed-2014-1039752374.aspx)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 04, 2014, 05:41:32 PM
Hmmm...I think they're starting to milk the franchise a little now, will still buy it anyway though lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 05, 2014, 07:55:27 AM
Finished the gold trophies on rayman off last night and mopped up the rest of the easy achievements.. cant 100% it until I buy a 2nd controller though which is a tad annoying.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 05, 2014, 09:11:41 AM
Hate it when they throw crap achievements in. What do you need a second controller for?

I got the one for beating a friend 30 times last night. I'd assumed you had to beat friends on 30 different levels so might take a while, but it turns out you can just get someone to post a poor time and then beat them over and over. The friend can then go back into the game and post a proper time. Did you get a chance to go back and post a proper time, Kieron? Thanks for the weak one you posted on the Daily Extreme challenge ;)
(Your time wasn't actually bad :p , but it was one of those freefall ones and I enjoy those - so I played it a lot looking for that elusive Diamond. Without joy. Though I was bloody close.)


I finally got past that Invasion level I was stuck on - with a little help from youtube :-[ . I was getting nowhere, but managed to scrape it in the end, so that's all the blues saved.
I think I have gold trophies on all levels but I'll have to recheck that tonight, along with picking up a few other achievements. (Suddenly after seven years I'm turning into an achievement hunter? Not sure what that's about. Probably a passing thing, while the game library is a bit light, to ensure I'm getting more value for money.) Had a couple of goes at the "Splinter Ray" achievement, where you have to get through the castle without breaking a laser beam or being spotted by the security lights, but kept making silly mistakes. Thought that was a bit more "Stealth Bastard" than "Splinter Cell", personally, but they probably thought "Splinter Ray" was a more suitable achievement name than "Ray Bastard Deluxe".
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 05, 2014, 10:14:38 AM
You have to win a game of Kung-Foot.. which is local play only.. meaning you need two controllers to play it

Yeah I didn't spend too long with the Daily Extreme yesterday, long enough just to get a gold cup.. I spent too long doing the normal daily one.. which I bet you didn't beat...it was only a few hundred meters off a diamond when I finished with it..  unfortunately, people are hacking the daily challenges and racking up stupid times/distances meaning the top 1% you need to get in to get diamond can be impossible.  I don't believe for one second someone clocked up 4000 meters on the challenge yesterday.. yet that was the top score.

I noticed you could beat a friend on just one challenge 30 times.. and I would of done that one last night, but you hadn't clocked any times when I checked  ;)  I guess you could start a new game on a different profile, log a crap time and then beat it on your main profile.. too much hassle though.. I'll just wait until you post a time before I play :P

The last level of awesomeness achievement is a grinder by the way.. the only way to get more points towards it (after finishing the game with everything done) is to do the daily challenges.. and if you get 2 gold cups every day and 2 gold cups every week.. it'll still take about 12 weeks to complete... so I probably wont bother anyway.. nothing else will get a look-in for a while when Titanfall drops :D

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 05, 2014, 11:50:46 AM
Hmmm...I think they're starting to milk the franchise a little now, will still buy it anyway though lol ;D

You'll be buying a new console first then.. or getting the pc version  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 05, 2014, 01:44:18 PM
Have lined you up for that achievement, Kieran. The extreme challenge will be the quicker option but I've had a crap run on both of today's challenges.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 05, 2014, 02:32:54 PM
Hmmm...I think they're starting to milk the franchise a little now, will still buy it anyway though lol ;D

You'll be buying a new console first then.. or getting the pc version  ;)

Yup, will be getting a PS4 next year, although it wouldn't surprise me if it's available via PlayStation Plus by that time.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 05, 2014, 09:24:50 PM
Ta late, twas a pretty tough distance to beat, but I managed to do it  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 06, 2014, 03:56:25 AM
I don't understand this world sometimes.

Have installed the new Twitch app on my xb One. For anyone who hasn't heard of it (I hadn't until this week) it's a broadcast thing. Allows you to broadcast yourself playing games (and probably doing anything else) and allows you to watch others playing, if they're broadcasting. At present you can't broadcast on the One, just watch - broadcast will be enabled later this month.
Can broadcast the game only, or the game with yourself in a frame in the corner.

So I hop into one of the first channels I spot - someone called summit1g playing dayz on the PC. There was no action at the time - he was just running across open fields, with the occasional hill and copse. I kept hoping to see some zombies. So I kept watching for about half an hour.
In that time I didn't see a single zombie, or a single shot fired. But I did see him making money. People were sending text messages or something attached to PayPal, generally just $2 sometimes $5, $50, and on one occasion $300. The message popped up at the top of the screen and the guy read them out as he was playing. This fecker must have made around $3000 in half an hour. Insane.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 06, 2014, 08:38:24 AM
Wtf :o

Maybe he was doing something for charity or something..? :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 06, 2014, 01:18:23 PM
If you go on his twitch channel it says..

Quote
Welcome to the channel. A little bit about myself: I'm an EX professional Counter-Strike player. Been playing CS since I was 14. I've gotten into streaming this past year and been doing it ever since. I stream full time, 7 days a week starting at 1pm-2pm PST. I also like to stream other games, some competitive, some casual, whatever I feel like at the time. Hope you enjoy your stay, be nice to the people in chat! :D

Quote
I do this as my full time job so donations are very much appreciated, but will never be asked for.

Top All-Time Donators: BigHerp $20010 M184 $16250 Reapzpwnz $4840 Bas $3483 Sambicker $2448 Ownthecourt $2170 Deadication2 $1737 RapidStabber $1450

Why would someone donate $20k to watch someone play video games lol.. these people are even sadder than a person who claims video gaming as a life career.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 06, 2014, 03:20:36 PM
Lmfao, that has to be a wind up..? Nobody in their right mind would give the bloke 20 grand lol.

Perhaps he's doing it as some sort of con. Those aren't real people and he's chancing his arm and hoping real people will see these fake people 'donating' and follow suit. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 06, 2014, 06:25:11 PM
Watch Dogs finally has a release date - launching worldwide on May 27th for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
No date for the Wii U yet.

YouTube (http://youtu.be/NuAbH8Z8iwk)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 06, 2014, 06:33:59 PM
Started to play through Resident Evil Revelaitons on the Wii U. Infernal difficulty is a bloomin nightmare lol. Had to switch to Normal instead. There should be a difficulty level somewhere between the two tbh, the problem with Infernal is that the enemies are just plain bullet sponges. And Normal difficulty is too easy. Still, the best Resident Evil game released in donkey's years...even better than 4 imo.

It could still do with being a little more survival horror and a bit less action horror though, but it's a good step in the right direction. Hopefully Resident Evil 7 is going to follow in the same sort of vein (was that grammatically correct..? Not sure!) ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 07, 2014, 11:01:01 AM
Tell you what, Ryse is a bit of a challenge on the hardest difficulty.. I walked the game on the previous one.. this one, I'm getting stuck at every pissing checkpoint for ages and to be honest, its losing its fun factor now I'm nearing the end of my second playthrough.  Plus I'm annoyed I've missed some collectibles despite the game having a very linear path..

Think I'm gonna shoot off down Tesco later and see if I can pick up Stick of Truth, cant wait any longer to play it  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 07, 2014, 03:31:01 PM
Happens a lot, it's down to not enough focus testing (via both members of the public (usually people working in other departments at the publisher) and other members of QA that haven't worked on the game before). You have the same team of testers working on the game for at least 40 hours per week and they just get used to playing the game at that level so can't judge on whether the game is too hard or not.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 07, 2014, 03:37:41 PM
Well I was expecting a graphical downgrade for Watch Dogs but this is a bit ridiculous lol:

(http://i.minus.com/iboqqHgyy5tOsD.gif)

I think we can safely say that this game has been in development hell. :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on March 07, 2014, 05:27:48 PM
That's mad. Compare the E3 2012 trailer with the trailer released yesterday and the difference is astounding. From what looked a true AAA next-gen title they've made it look like GTA.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 07, 2014, 06:08:11 PM
GTA looks better.

And if the huge delay and the huge graphical downgrade wasn't enough to point to the game being completely fucked they had to get the entire dev team from Ubisoft Bucharest that were working on the Wii U SKU to help finish the game.

Ubisoft really need to sort out their project management, it's been a mess for years. I really wonder how Ubisoft make any money tbh with having hundreds of staff working on each game and the games dropping in price in a matter of weeks of being released. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 07, 2014, 08:21:38 PM
Stick of truth is probably the funniest game I've ever played, its fucking awesome, I love it!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 07, 2014, 08:57:42 PM
The deleted scenes are easily found on the internet, but leave it until after you've completed it (unless you're playing it on pc , which I think is uncensored).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 07, 2014, 11:32:34 PM
Already came across a few censored scenes.. annoying to say the least.. cant believe they censored the alien anal probing... its a flippin cartoon, you can watch much more violent and graphic material in an 18 film in Europe..   

People say its Germany and their censorship policies - but they haven't censored the battle you can have with an alien Nazi tramp lol.. and they haven't censored the european pc version.. its just bullcrap.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 08, 2014, 01:52:18 AM
You should have imported it from the States. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 10, 2014, 08:09:05 AM
Yeah.. maybe.. bit of a hassle.. you do miss some great scenes in the European version.

I haven't finished it yet.. but I'd definitely stick it in top 10 games ever played, quite possibly top 5.... it is so funny.. my favourite scene so far is when the underpants gnomes come and shrink you at night and you have to climb through the walls fighting them, culminating in a fight in your mum & dads bedroom who are romping in the background.. then the boss gnome appears and you have to fight him on their bed.. with your mum's tittys and dad's gonads swinging around in the background... one of the boss gnome's special attacks is to call your dads testicles to swing at you, and you have to do a kind of matrix bend to dodge it LOL  ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 12, 2014, 01:04:28 PM
Bought Lego Marvel last night for £19.99. It's going to be the first Lego game I've gone anywhere near since Lego City Undercover, hopefully the outright awesomeness of that game isn't going to spoil my enjoyment of Lego games because that game raised the bar pretty high tbh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 12, 2014, 02:14:21 PM
If you like Marvel you'll love it, mate. I believe I've played all Lego games apart from Undercover, and the new Hobbit one (not sure if that's out yet - I think it's due around now), and the Marvel one is definitely my favourite.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 12, 2014, 04:59:32 PM
You're missing out by not playing Undercover. It isn't restricted to a particular film so it has a lot more freedom and it contains loads of characters and jokes from loads of police telly series and films. And Frank Honey in particular is really funny. There's no co-op though so it's pretty much a single player game which is a departure from the traditional Lego game formula. The city is bloody HUUUUUGE too and there's a ridiculous amount of content.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 12, 2014, 06:13:12 PM
The Lego games are great - I'm happy to pay twenty quid for them. I'm not going to pay £250 to play the one that you think is best from the one you've played....
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 12, 2014, 08:18:32 PM
I've played most of them, the ones I haven't played are Lego Batman 2, Harry Potter and that Rock Band one.

And it's not just me that says it's the best of the lot, it's the most critically acclaimed last I saw unless another one has taken the crown since last March when it released.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 12, 2014, 08:22:30 PM
Just had a look at Metacritic and the Metascore has dropped since I last saw it. It was 84 back then. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 12, 2014, 08:44:55 PM
Oops, forgot about the Movie one too!

I think they've been milking the franchise a bit too much tbh though :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 12, 2014, 08:59:33 PM
Okay, you're right. I'll go pay £250 for it.


Yeah, I forgot about the movie one, too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on March 13, 2014, 12:32:12 AM
Same old Harv. If a game is critically acclaimed he's happy to cite that fact in support of his point, and if a game is critically panned it's because the reviewers are all useless and don't understand games.  ;D Sure it's not cognitive dissonance affecting your mental health?  :P

Cancelled my Watch Dogs pre-order the other day. Going to wait and see what it's like now after the recent disappointing trailer. Looking forward to getting Titanfall though. :)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 13, 2014, 11:34:53 AM
Mario Kart "Honest Game Trailer"

 8)

youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6pGl0J5MdE)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 13, 2014, 03:55:59 PM
Saw that on another forum earlier today lololol ;D ;D ;D

When I saw the title of it I thought it was in response to the Downgradeaton Saga with Watch Dogs, so was expecting a series of clips showing dodgy Watch Dogs-esque situations from third parties contrasted by Nintendo's honest approach where games look like their original reveal trailers where the game looks as good as if not better when they're released lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 15, 2014, 12:16:09 AM
Fucking hell, someone's missus on Gaf put their 3DS through the washing machine the other day. He bunged it in rice and the thing still works. The top screen isn't too clever though:

(http://i.imgur.com/u0cLHovl.jpg)

Looks like the Nintendium Mine is still producing good quality ore lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 15, 2014, 02:32:20 AM
(http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/550x/7e/46/03/7e4603fab1ef7671507e1c2360662959.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 15, 2014, 07:02:27 AM
Lmfao ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 16, 2014, 03:36:19 PM
Fucking hell, that 3DS picture was taken after 3 days in rice. The 3DS was also on when it went into the machine. The guy put it in rice for another day and a half and the screen is pretty much sorted:

(http://i.imgur.com/lt9CLM5l.jpg)

He said there's a tiny problem around one of the letter o's but it didn't show up in the photo. And the 3D still works too! :o

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on March 19, 2014, 07:32:34 PM
They're making a new Oddworld game. May have to get finally go over to the dark side for that game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 20, 2014, 11:41:16 AM
Rumour has it we'll have two new Assassin's Creed games this year.

"Assassin's Creed 5: Unity" (on current gen) will be set primarily in France during the revolution, with a main character called "Arno" - and a revised parkour system.
No details of the other title, to be released on 360 and ps3 - though it might be called (or codenamed) Comet.
I'd imagine one or both of those will make it to pc.
The Wii U might get one of them, too, though Ubi seem a bit disenchanted with the platform lately.


kotaku (http://kotaku.com/leaked-images-reveal-one-of-this-falls-two-assassins-1547111652)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 22, 2014, 01:02:31 AM
Assassins Creed Unity has now been confirmed by Ubisoft.
Short teaser trailer below.

YouTube (http://youtu.be/wLcjwqXATIM)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 23, 2014, 02:35:43 AM
Aw ffs, got Lego Marvel in the post finally. Total disaster. Opened it up. No instructions. The case wasn't a proper Wii U case.

Okay, I can live with that. No big deal.

Put the fucker in and it tells me it's an invalid disc. It's a fucking NTSC disk for fucksake. >:(

Cunts. Now I'm going to have to post the fucker back to get a fucking refund I reckon, have sent them an email saying I'm going to take legal action if I have to pay to post it back. Bunch of wankers. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 23, 2014, 11:45:21 AM
Where'd you buy it?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 23, 2014, 11:50:11 AM
Play.com, some outfit from Switzerland.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 23, 2014, 03:45:21 PM
And it said original pal on the listing?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 23, 2014, 04:09:35 PM
It didn't specify what region it was just said Lego Marvel Heroes Wii U (Wii U) and had the price in Pounds Sterling. I wasn't aware of the company being Swiss at the time but if I had been aware of that it would also be an indication of it being a PAL game. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 23, 2014, 05:49:46 PM
Got an email from them apologising and they've told me to include a receipt for the postage costs and they'll refund it. Wonder if they would have done the same thing if I hadn't threatened legal action..? ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 23, 2014, 08:50:54 PM
Yes, I'm sure the threat of legal action swayed them.
The thought of someone in a foreign country paying £45 to take them to small claims court and then paying for international bailiffs to enforce judgement (assuming you got judgement in your favour) will have had them very worried.  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 24, 2014, 07:57:30 AM
Harvs reaction when he found out the Xbox One was region locked ->

Aw ffs...Microsoft really have gone insane...they've now confirmed that the One isn't going to be region free. :o :-\ :o


Harvs reaction when he finds out the Wii U is region locked

Put the fucker in and it tells me it's an invalid disc. It's a fucking NTSC disk for fucksake. >:(

Cunts. Now I'm going to have to post the fucker back to get a fucking refund I reckon


Got to laugh  ;D ;D Especially since the Xbox One & PS4 are actually region free
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 24, 2014, 02:33:08 PM
You expect Nintendo consoles to be region locked, you don't expect Microsoft consoles to be region locked. And it's only partially region free because Microsoft did a panicky U-turn. And the Xbox One isn't completely region free anyway. All DLC and downloadable titles are region locked apparently, so if you import a game from the States you're screwed if you want to buy any DLC for it. There was a big fuss about it a few weeks ago.

Got my Elder Scrolls Anthology today, a day earlier than expected. Difficult to believe that the first game was released in 1994 and that for its time the game was jaw dropping in terms of eye candy lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 24, 2014, 02:45:04 PM
(http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/253335)

Awesome sauce lol. Am surprised there aren't any mods for it though. Never mind, I like going old-school :P 8)

It's really difficult too to begin with if I remember correctly. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 26, 2014, 12:58:50 AM
Blimey, Facebook have bought Oculus for $2bn apparently :o

Unless it's an early April Fool's joke..? :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 26, 2014, 01:18:46 AM
Nope, officially confirmed. Oculus should have made a LOT more out of that deal, $2bn is a steal :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 26, 2014, 10:00:30 AM
On the other hand, the directors have made a cubic fucktonne of money and can now live on their own private islands in the sun.
Makes sense to cash out now, before Sony and Microsoft (and probably others) bring out VR devices in the next couple of years. If Sony and Microsoft's headsets do really well then the Rift will lose market share. If Sony and Microsoft's headsets don't do well then the Rift becomes market leader in a failed tech. It's a good move to get out of the race with as much money as possible (and I assume they got as much as they could).


I do wonder if it would've made sense for Microsoft to acquire Oculus though.
Not because they want or need Oculus' research - I'm sure they're proceeding nicely with their own - but because there's awareness of the brand, there's been a lot of work done on re-coding a good few pc games to work with the tech, and Microsoft like to own technology that will integrate with both PCs and xboxes.
These headsets aren't going to be cheap when they hit the market, and it's an easier sell if your device is compatible with both console and pc.
I'm sure their own headset will do all that, but maybe it's a missed opportunity. Or maybe they've saved themselves two billion dollars by not spunking it on a technology that's not really any different to what they've already built...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 26, 2014, 10:10:58 AM
Simpsons called it first.  ;D




(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bjm-H2ECcAAcps0.jpg)
Credit to ‏@meowza on something called twitter.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 26, 2014, 11:12:50 AM
Lmfao, awesome ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 26, 2014, 11:45:00 AM
haha.. I pretty much said to a guy at work today, that he'll be playing a VR version of Farmville in a few years time...

Surely its gotta be bad news for PC gamers.. facebook is casual.. pc gaming is anything but casual.. its nerdy, geeky and antisocial... I cant see how this deal is going to benefit anyone apart from the guys cashing in...  The deal is risky for FB in a number of ways... if Microsoft do have a pc product under wraps they will be a massive competitor, especially since Microsoft are already the leaders of motion tracking with Kinect.  The mass-market is also completely untested - nobody wanted it in the 80's.. and I can't personally see a use for a VR headset outside of games - I reckon facebook will want to build the first virtual chat-room.. where people can sit and talk to virtual avatars.. who cares  :-\

Edit:  And never mind Microsoft - I'm positive they have their own thing.. I'm more surprised Valve didn't buy into it.  Apparently the guys over at Razer might have something in the pipelines (http://www.vg247.com/2014/03/26/razer-could-be-moving-into-the-vr-space-rumour/) as well  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 26, 2014, 12:46:19 PM
(http://www.dealspwn.com/writer/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/facebook-face.gif)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 26, 2014, 02:17:56 PM
You can't see a use of a VR headset outside of games..? Seriously..? :o

Training for surgeons, pilots, armed forces, referees and umpires in sports, astronauts, divers...the list goes on and on.

Uses in the classroom for kids at schools and universities.

And entertainment - porn, video games, films, sporting events.

Its use in porn alone is going to be worth a ridiculous amount of money, It's what made VHS a success over the far superior Betamax format.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 26, 2014, 03:18:31 PM
Dayum.
It'd be rather embarrassing to finish off and remove your visor only to find you're not alone.

It's dodgy enough knocking one out worrying the wife might walk into the room. I like to break a lightbulb and scatter it over the stairs so I can hear her approaching.
Lightbulbs are second only to petrol in my monthly budgeting...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 26, 2014, 03:23:32 PM
You can't see a use of a VR headset outside of games..? Seriously..? :o

Training for surgeons, pilots, armed forces, referees and umpires in sports, astronauts, divers...the list goes on and on.

Uses in the classroom for kids at schools and universities.

And entertainment - porn, video games, films, sporting events.

Its use in porn alone is going to be worth a ridiculous amount of money, It's what made VHS a success over the far superior Betamax format.

VR is existing technology though harv - I know that.. it's application is already used in many specialized things - what is a headset that comes to the MASS market going to offer other than playing games on was more my point.

Education.. no - I imagine it would have an adverse effect on education if used to be honest.
Films.. no - 4k resolution TV's.. would rather watch a film on that without having to wear a fucking headset.
Sporting Events.. no - I don't know what you really mean by this.. watching sporting events at home on the tv? - refer to earlier point.
Porn.. maybe, but who in their righ... oh you.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 26, 2014, 03:32:10 PM
Rumour has it that Sony's April ps+ games are:
PS4: Mercenary Kings
PS3: PES 2014, Sly Cooper Thieves in Time
Vita: Hotline Miami, Moto GP13

I stress it's rumour only. (I believe Sly Cooper is cross-platform, so would presumably also be on Vita.)
Good month for Vita, if true.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 26, 2014, 04:59:22 PM
VR is basically going to be used as a cheaper and better alternative to 3D. That's what I mean by the entertainment options I listed. Yes, you can go out and buy a 4K television if you have the money to spare but that television won't allow you to watch a sports event as if you're actually there. Or a film as if you're actually a part of it in full 3D. We're not far away from it happening, and Facebook are going to make billions and billions and billions from it. :o

And if you fancied a quick wank, what would you prefer..? Watching porn on your 4K telly or watching it in VR..? Anyone in their right mind would choose the latter instead of the former.

And as far as I'm aware those training examples aren't currently being done using a VR headset, although I will stand to be corrected of course.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 27, 2014, 11:17:31 AM
Think I'm gonna sell south park and buy Kinect Sports Rivals instead.. 11th April release.. I haven't seen many previews of the game in action, I've obviously played the demo.. but the face scan function looks pretty awesome and I did enjoy the football game from the first one, which has been rebuilt for Kinect v2.  Cant believe that new games are still £50 RRP.. its a joke really... thankfully not all companies are selling at that price.. Grainger Games have it for preorder at £39.99
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 27, 2014, 09:40:17 PM
I do hope this is real rather than an April Fool's joke (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvWGLcdI8o8), it looks fucking awesome lmfao. ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 28, 2014, 03:09:17 PM
Yeah, Goat Simulator's real. Was mocked up for lolz a while back, but got so much interest they're making it for real.




Dead Space is currently available for free on Origin.
Offer ends early May.
Origin (https://www.origin.com/en-gb/store/buy/dead-space/pc-download/base-game/standard-edition-ANW.html)

(https://eaassets-a.akamaihd.net/origin-com-store-final-assets-prod/52209/231.0x326.0/70367_LB_231_%5E_2013-01-18-11-15-56_bc99d91ebc8054c08362288d6b2baaed680eabbc54b7932fa3b5e65dc2879f38.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 28, 2014, 03:29:23 PM
Theres also Bear Simulator (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1330754003/bear-simulator) as well  ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 31, 2014, 12:54:32 PM
Trailer for the new COD:Ghosts map pack. Nice cameo at 2:28.
I've not played Ghosts in months - last time was probably before xmas. It was okay but definitely not one of my favourite COD instalments. And now that Titanfall is out I'm even less likely to play COD.

The new map pack is great if you've bought a season pass, though. Or if you're a fan of a certain late '80s action franchise.

youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2Xrul2xDDM#t=153)

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 01, 2014, 10:31:58 AM
April's "Games with Gold" on xbox:
Hitman: Absolution and Deadlight.

Not too bad. Still falls a long way short of ps+ of course.
I wasn't expecting much from Hitman Absolution but really enjoyed it once I stopped playing rambo style and switched to stealth.
Haven't heard of Deadlight, but it seems it's some sort of side-scroller zombie thing.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 03, 2014, 11:17:31 PM
(http://a.pomf.se/elispp.gif)

Fuck me ragged with a wire brush :o :o :o

Mario Kart 8 is looking amazing. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 03, 2014, 11:32:58 PM
(http://abload.de/img/animation4wwwrhuup.gif)

 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

Little wheels on the Piranha Plant too lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 04, 2014, 12:43:10 AM
Tis looking good.
If it still has blue shells it's still gay though. They take all the fun out of the game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 04, 2014, 12:59:22 AM
Yup, still has Blue Shells. But you can completely customise races apparently. Don't like Blue Shells..? Host a game without them. Love Blue Shells..? Host a game with only Blue Shells and no other power ups and get prepared to play on your own lmfao ;D

Mario Kart 8 and Infamous Second Son are imo the two best looking games of the generation so far.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 04, 2014, 04:17:27 PM
A five year old kid managed to get into his dad's xbox account by just entering a load of spaces instead of a password.
He's now been given some goodies by MS, and is credited as some sort of security consultant.

Nice. But how the hell did MS let that happen?!

BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26879185)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 04, 2014, 05:14:04 PM
Quote
The company also gave him four free games, $50 (£30), and a year-long subscription to Xbox Live.

Just a 1 year subscription..? Fucking hell that's tight. Should have been 5 years, enough to last the family until the end of the generation. :o :o :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 05, 2014, 01:23:18 AM
Have just read that they've balanced the Blue Shell now. When it hits your Kart you do a backflip and wave your hands, and you keep the item you're carrying. They've also made it so that you can only hold one power up at a time, so you won't be able to have one in reserve.

I still can't believe how they've managed to pull this off on the Wii U's hardware. The Kart models look high poly and like with Super Mario 3D World everything looks so ROUND. There are plenty of high poly looking models on either side of each track, most of which are also animated. And this is all in 720p native, 60fps and with v-synch enabled. This shouldn't be possible on a GPU with 176GFlops/352GFlops [delete as applicable lol] drawing 30 Watts of power. Same goes for Super Mario 3D World and Bayonetta 2 as well.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 06, 2014, 12:30:51 AM
(http://i.minus.com/iKnwEtMYI4PF9.gif)

Fucking hell, this is a prime example of what I'm talking about. :o

That shouldn't be possible lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 06, 2014, 03:26:00 PM
(http://i.minus.com/iTOYijoVY4gtK.gif)

Note To Self: Whatever you do, DO NOT take hallucinogenic drugs before playing Mario Kart 8 lmfao :o :o :o ;D :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 08, 2014, 03:08:39 PM
Just got myself another awesome t-shirt from TeeFury.com:

(https://images.teefury.com/products_large_images/battle/1395958057_left-banksymario.png)

lolololol ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 09, 2014, 07:35:09 PM
Wolfenstein : The New Order (https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yd2oInvp8ls) trailer - definitely a day 1 purchase for me.. looks great.. killing Nazi's will never get old - I cant wait!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 13, 2014, 01:21:56 AM
Best. Thread. Ever. (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=780398) :o ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: bealec on April 13, 2014, 08:16:39 AM
Anyone who has an IPhone and wants a Gameboy Emulator I'm currently using www.gba4iosapp.com (http://www.gba4iosapp.com) Apple don't allow them so you can't download through the App Store. You usually have to jailbreak your phone to get one but not with this one. Just download it off the site. You need to set the date on your phone to February 17th whilst it's downloading but once it's downloaded you can just change your date back. It works great. Bit if a battery drainer though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 14, 2014, 01:01:32 PM
Trials Fusion is out on Wednesday.. no idea how much it will cost.. but I'm absolutely broke this month, so might have to wait until I get paid before I get it... or I might be able to squeeze it in.. no multiplayer this time around.. don't think it really gave much to the series - but I hope they haven't skimped on the single player
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 15, 2014, 04:16:29 PM
Looks like Watch Dogs is going to be a pile of old shite. Apparently games journalists are being given free Nexus 7s...bribery, much..? :o :-\ :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on April 17, 2014, 06:47:48 AM
Had a couple of hours on Trials Fusion yesterday. Downloaded it from the Marketplace for £15.99... From what I've seen of the beginner levels, it's quite nice looking (for a 900p game :P), and as addictive as ever. Can't wait to play it later today and enjoy some more expletive-inducing fun.

Also picked up Rayman Legends last week and have played that a little bit. Great fun but I seem to miss like one teensie on each level so will have to go back through to get them all.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 17, 2014, 07:45:59 AM
I'll get Trials Fusion at the end of the month.. and Wolfenstein next month too.. bad reviews of Kinect Sports Rivals has put me off buying that until the price drops.

One tip for Rayman Legends is not so much to get every teensie on the first run through (as they are easy enough to go back and get) but to make sure you get the gold medal on as many levels as possible.. otherwise it requires replaying the whole level again and not just looking for one or two teensies.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 17, 2014, 09:41:49 AM
Have seen a few good prices for Wolfenstein and WatchDogs - which is always a worrying sign.

Wolfenstein (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/wolfenstein-new-order-xb1-ps4-37-75-with-code-gameseek-1878049) £37.75 at Gameseek.
WatchDogs (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/pre-order-watch-dogs-xbox-one-ps4-for-32-using-10-off-40-code-tesco-direct-online-1879239) potentially £32.00 at Tesco.

I like the look of both, but won't preorder - I'll wait for reviews.
Will pick up Trials Fusion some time soon. I do love a bit of Trials (though I usually struggle more than you lads with the toughest levels - credit where it's due).


Make sure you do the Daily Challenges, Kenny (preferably getting a Silver or better on each). Naturally you'll be behind me in the leaderboards, but I'll deliberately post some crap scores in the next week so you feel better about yourself and get the achievement.
(That's my excuse in :D )
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 17, 2014, 10:32:49 AM
Well there is no multiplayer for Wolfy - so I can't see it getting too high a score - but from what I've seen it should be getting a high 80's score - personally if the single player campaign is lengthy, I'm all for ditching a multiplayer mode.  I wouldn't say £38 is that cheap either.. think that's around what I paid for Titanfall.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 17, 2014, 11:49:24 AM
The fact that Ubisoft felt the need to bribe journalists with Nexus 7s is a bit of a concern too. Doesn't bode well so far, but we'll have to wait and see. I just hope this isn't one of those games that SHOULD have been awesome but turns out that for various Development Hell reasons turns out to be a pile of old pants. :-\ :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 17, 2014, 12:15:26 PM
WatchDogs might not be the jaw-dropper we initially thought it might be, but it should do okay. I get the distinct impression it's largely Assassin's Creed with a new skin - and that's no bad thing.
Most of the Assassin's Creed games have been very good, and the latest one in particular was great.

Whether your character having near-future hacking tech is better than him having a pirate ship is something only time will tell... ;)

Not too worried about the so called "bribes". It's fairly common to get goodie-bags at such events, and the tablets probably cost them around $150 each which is not really exorbitant in terms of corporate freebies. I'm not sure why it's being sensationalised.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 17, 2014, 05:54:03 PM
Titanfall servers down AGAIN, bought trials fusion, fuck it
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 17, 2014, 06:35:30 PM
Have just bought that Nintendo Pocket Football Club game from the 3DS eShop. Really liked the look of it from that Nintendo Direct a while ago. Taking forever to download though. Going to be the first football management game I've played since I was made redundant by Eidos, really looking forward to it. Only cost £10.79 too.

Am really surprised they haven't released it in the States though given football's rise in popularity these last 10 years over there. It's not as if it's that much of a risk, it looks like a reasonably low budget title and is only available through digital distribution. Particularly with the World Cup coming it would make sense releasing it worldwide (although it is club football and not national football).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on April 17, 2014, 10:29:25 PM
Had a couple of hours on Trials, smashed all Jman's scores (as ya do :P). The only part I seem to struggle with is perfecting the landings after big jumps.

FFX/FFX-2 HD Remaster came through the post today as well. Gotta find time to get stuck into that and kick Sin's arse again. X is Probably my 3rd favourite FF.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 18, 2014, 12:16:43 PM
Everyone knows I only take one go to post a gold medal, I'll be going back later to beat scores, knew late wouldn't be able to resist  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 18, 2014, 09:56:37 PM
Just finished my first season:

Played 10, Won 10, Goals For 26, Goals Against 5, Goal Difference +21

Not too bad. ;D

Got knocked out of the first round of the Cup after getting hammered 7-0 though  :o

It's pretty basic as far as the tactics options go but I guess they've done that to keep it accessible to as many people as possible. You've basically got 3 options: 1) To go after every scoring opportunity, 2) Balanced play and 3) Defensive and counter when possible. Then you have the option of changing how high or low your defensive, midfield or strikers lines are.

Simple but it works.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 18, 2014, 10:17:31 PM
Here's my team (http://microsite.nintendo-europe.com/NPFC/enGB/team.php?team_code=45A6C2722). Those stats for the players have been improved though, not sure how often they update the site. And that isn't my first choice lineup now either.

I really love games like this, although working on Championship Manager for so long has jaded my enthusiasm for the genre somewhat. I think what I like the best about this is that it isn't a barrage of spreadsheets being thrown at you, it's a lot simpler.

The training is also interesting. When you play matches you get training cards awarded to you. And those training cards when combined with others at the training ground unlock stuff like switching play from one wing to the other for example as a bonus. And of course different individual cards up certain stats. I think I've got a couple of players still with an E grade stat or two but should get that sorted before the next season starts.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 18, 2014, 10:28:15 PM
I've reached the point where you're happy if you get Silver, and don't exactly hate it if you get a Bronze.
And I'm not even on the Extreme difficulty levels yet.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 21, 2014, 02:03:00 PM
Real Madras are now in 177th place out of 1900 clubs in Europe in the online game. Not too bad. Really need to find more bonus combos for my training cards though. This game is VERY addictive, not as much of a football management sim as I first thought...it's more RPG than management sim and it works really well.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 22, 2014, 07:52:51 AM
I've reached the point where you're happy if you get Silver, and don't exactly hate it if you get a Bronze.
And I'm not even on the Extreme difficulty levels yet.

I noticed your times getting progressively worse lol.. 400 try agains on that first extreme track I see  ;)

To be fair, I couldn't post a time on any further extreme tracks, some of those obstacles just seem impossible.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 22, 2014, 09:50:34 AM
A new Fatal Frame has been announced for the Wii U. Nice! ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 22, 2014, 12:17:37 PM
I noticed your times getting progressively worse lol.. 400 try agains on that first extreme track I see  ;)

To be fair, I couldn't post a time on any further extreme tracks, some of those obstacles just seem impossible.
Gave up after trying and failing the second extreme level - haven't looked at the others.
Am now doing some of the challenges.

Also still playing Rayman every day.I now have 5000 XP. Need 6k to get that final achievement, so that'll take me about ten more weeks I reckon.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 23, 2014, 03:29:57 PM
Leaving PS Plus on 30th April:
Mercenary Kings (PS4)
Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 (PS3)
Bioshock Infinite (PS3)
Hotline Miami (PS3/Vita)
MotoGP13 (PS3)

Entering PS Plus on 30th April:
Stick it to the Man (PS4)
Payday 2 (PS3)
Puppeteer (PS3)
Muramasa Rebirth (Vita)
Everybody's Golf (Vita)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 24, 2014, 12:56:28 PM
Watchdogs multiplayer trailer.
Looks intriguing.
youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKwn4nK5J28)


There's also this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P60eyU7qCh8) 1hour and 38 minute video. Ain't nobody got time for that.
I watched the first 30 mins, actually, and enjoyed most of it. It's lots of clips stitched together. First 15 mins or so is a walkthrough of some single-player action with a voiceover explaining stuff, but with another person jumping into the game at one point (then you jumping into their game for retaliation), next 6 mins or so is just some random gameplay with no commentary, then there's a 3 or 4 minute advert, and so on...
I had a quick look at later parts of the video and there's interviews and a fair bit of repetition of game clips.

Release date May 27.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 24, 2014, 10:37:40 PM
Funniest video I've seen for a while lmfao (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u44BOrGuQU0) ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on April 26, 2014, 12:42:05 PM
I bought the FIFA World Cup 2014 game for the PS3 the other day. It's pretty good, but very fast paced compared to FIFA 14, makes it difficult to adjust to at first, but every single team that competed in the World Cup qualifiers are present and fully licensed and the range of game modes is still extensive. Gonna be a bitch to Platinum though, gotta win the World Cup online with a half star team! Looking forward to the challenge though.

Been blasting through all the Battlefield 3 DLC recently aswell, the Premium pass went on sale for £20 last month so grabbed that straight away, just can't finish the last 2 packs because they have trophies that involve getting kills with jets which is borderline impossible unless you have a real RAF pilots license  ::)

So I moved onto Black Ops 1 DLC instead for the meantime, has a bunch of annoying zombies mode Easter Egg trophies that you need partners for, so just knocking out what I can do solo and worry about that afterwards, it's not an issue getting willing participants, just requires alot of forward planning and co-ordination.

I was gonna start something new aswell, and it was meant to be The Last of Us, but they've announced a Re-mastered edition for the PS4 in June so I'm gonna sell my copy and buy that instead. It's still sealed so should fetch a bit extra, GAME are only willing to give me £9 for it (£13 in store credit) the tight bastards, and eBay will easily give me £20 for a sealed copy.

Might start Hitman Absolution or Metal Gear Solid : Vengeance instead.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 26, 2014, 04:16:54 PM
The Last Of Us is excellent, hope they haven't fixed that amusing bug I found where the two NPCs you're with at the beginning disappear. Couldn't reproduce it either which was annoying lol. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 28, 2014, 12:21:21 PM
Anyone used Gameseek before.. best price for Wolfenstein - £37.75 (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/wolfenstein-new-order-xb1-ps4-37-75-with-code-gameseek-1878049)

Interested in the Doom Beta that comes with the preorder aswell.. didn't even realise Doom 4 was coming out anytime soon  :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 28, 2014, 01:19:10 PM
Doom 4..? Where the fuck has that appeared from..?!!?!?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 28, 2014, 03:26:49 PM
Doom 4's been in development hell for a long long time. About a year ago they announced they were binning everything they've done so far and starting afresh, and then John Carmack threw id Tech into turmoil by jumping ship (he went over to Oculus Rift).

I've never used gameseek but I'm sure they're perfectly fine. They've been around for ages, and the only negative stuff I've seen on them was when they mispriced a preorder game a year or so back then cancelled all orders and everyone got their panties in a twist.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 28, 2014, 03:33:59 PM
Speaking of Oculus Rift...
link (http://acidcow.com/video/58747-hilarious_oculus_rift_testing_gone_wrong.html)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 28, 2014, 04:00:50 PM
Omfg, lmfao ;D ;D ;D

That's getting sent to a few people lololol ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 29, 2014, 12:11:21 PM
Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory (multiplayer game) is currently available for free on pc, from splashdamage.
Haven't heard of the instalment, personally, but it got very good reviews when it came out - back in '03.

splashdamage (http://www.splashdamage.com/content/download-wolfenstein-enemy-territory)
metacritic (http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/return-to-castle-wolfenstein-enemy-territory)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 29, 2014, 04:05:40 PM
Nintendo have announced they're not really doing E3 this year.
Baffling.
As last year, they'll be doing their own Nintendo Direct presentations around the same time as E3. Unfortunately the mass press cover most of the big stuff at E3 but didn't report much of Nintendo's plans (such as they were) last year, and I doubt that's set to change much this year.
EDIT - to clarify, they've said they'll have a booth at E3, so they'll have some presence there - but they'll be doing their main presentations elsewhere.



DriveClub (ps4) has finally been given a release date - of October 2014. Only a one year delay, then ;)



I finally got round to installing the beta SkyHD OneGuide over the weekend. (I registered for betas a couple of weeks back, and I think the OneGuide has been ready for me to install for over a week, but I've been busy.)
From the little I've used of it it's pretty decent. As with most Kinnect voice control things, it's not really giving you anything new other than the voice control, but that's fine by me - it's still pretty cool to switch channels using your voice. (I currently prefer the normal Sky on-screen-guide, but if the remote's more than two foot away I can save expending a calorie or two now.)
Needs a few tweaks, mind. I'm only on a cheap Sky package, so I get some HD channels but not all - and if I tell my xbox to "watch Sky One" it seems to have a fifty-fifty chance of whether it goes to Sky One or it goes to Sky One HD (which means just a blue screen with a message to upgrade). Would also be nice to be able to say "watch Sky Sports News" instead of having to say "watch Sky Sports News HD UK". I'm sure those niggling things will be fixed before the proper release, though (and in fact there might be a way to fix it already - I've not looked at it in too much depth tbh).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 29, 2014, 05:37:07 PM
Very odd. I can understand last year because the PS4 and One would have overshadowed anything that Nintendo had at the time but you would have thought they would have something this year...although the Nintendo Treehouse could be very interesting.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 30, 2014, 10:59:23 AM
I've never used gameseek but I'm sure they're perfectly fine. They've been around for ages, and the only negative stuff I've seen on them was when they mispriced a preorder game a year or so back then cancelled all orders and everyone got their panties in a twist.

Gone with them - you pay on order but £37.75 is not a bad price for a new game.. they have the release date down as the 23rd (when its actually the 20th) but hopefully they will be ok.  Cant believe most retailers are still selling next-gen games at RRP of £50 though  :-\

Edit : Really hyped for the beta of Doom 4.. nobody knows what the fuck to expect..  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 30, 2014, 03:23:36 PM
Buying Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U?
Register it with Nintendo online before the end of July and they'll give you another game free. You can pick one from the following ten games:

Nintendo Land
New Super Mario Bros. U
Game & Wario
Pikmin 3
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD
Sonic Lost World
Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
Wii Party U
The Wonderful 101 *
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate *

*Must be aged over 12 to get w101 or mh3


Not bad. Not bad at all, Nintendo.
The Mario Kart bundle is available at Tesco (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/wii-u-premium-pack-mario-kart-8-bundle-199-tesco-with-code-extra-free-game-download-1892609) for a shade under £200, which isn't looking too bad when you consider you're getting the console plus MK plus one of the above games.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 30, 2014, 03:48:38 PM
*Must be aged over 12 to get w101 or mh3

That rules out half their audience then  ;D

Not a bad deal but the console is still a stinker.. if the bundle was sub £100 - I might contemplate getting one - that's all its worth.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 30, 2014, 03:53:18 PM
I've been thinking that for most of the last two years, but as a second console I'd be happy paying £100 for the console - so £200 including two of it's top games it's looking a decent proposition.

(That said, I couldn't get it if it were £50, with the current state of my finances!)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 30, 2014, 04:56:24 PM
Definitely a great deal, the free game also goes if you buy and register the game only too.

They also have a similar deal for the bundle in the States but less games to choose from but you also get a remote+ and wheel included too for $329.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 30, 2014, 05:44:16 PM
Just watching the Mario Kart 8 Nintendo Direct. It really is looking amazing.

Just seen that most of the music was recorded live. Sounds great :o ;D

Can't believe how many polys this game is pushing, it's fucking ridiculous lol.

They've also addressed the Blue Shell problem by toning its effect down and by giving players a Horn item which can be used to defend against other items.

They also have this thing called Mario TV which allows you to save videos of races and upload them to YouTube. Nintendo have finally joined the 21st Century lol :o ;D :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 01, 2014, 11:34:26 AM
Microsoft's "Games With Gold" for May:

Dust: An Elysian Tail (first half month)
Saints Row The Third (second half month)


Decent. I've heard good things about Dust, but I don't think I have it (it's possible I have it on xbox or steam).
SR3 was okay fun (though not as good as SR2 imo).

They're still not coming remotely close to competing with Sony, on the free games thing, but I'm sure I'll download one or both of those. And then never play them. Like pretty much every single GWG they've given us to date.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 02, 2014, 09:58:45 AM
Call of Duty trailer.

That's actually looking good, from the little we see, there.
I love Kevin Spacey (not that I'll see much of him, as I play COD for the multiplayer, not the story) and the near-future tech all looks good - as does the hint at a more parkour-influenced movement. Definitely reminds me of Titanfall, tbh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 02, 2014, 03:24:54 PM
Looks more like Duncan Bannatyne than Kevin Spacey - I see graphics have taken a back seat again  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 05, 2014, 02:13:42 PM
Woo hoo!!!

Real Madras have just won the Advanced League! 8)

Played 20, Won 14, Drawn 2, Lost 4, Goals For 49, Goals Against 21.

Not bad for my third season in charge. First season won the Mickey Mouse League, second season stayed up in the Advanced League and third season won it.

I'm thinking about applying for the United job lol :P ;D 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 05, 2014, 04:48:29 PM
Just had a look at my Activity Log on my 3DS and I've spent 36 hours and 25 minutes playing it so far, and I only bought it on the 17th April :o

Only found 22/125 training card combos so far but I've discovered them myself and haven't looked them up online. It's a real interesting take on a football management game, it's more of an RPG than a simulation. Tactics take a second seat to your players' skills. You basically have formations, three different styles of play - attacking, balanced and defending, you control the positions of your defensive, midfield and forward lines and can man mark up to two players of your opposition. And that's it. The tactics are very bare bones.

It's all in the individual players and unlocking skills for them. If you want you wingers to bomb down the wing, your full backs to overlap with your wingers or your central midfielders to shoot well from distance then you need to unlock those skills with training card combos. It's really well done.

Just unlocked a goalie combo that enables him to come out with confidence and claim the ball at great speed which has been VERY useful and earnt me a good few points during this season. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 05, 2014, 04:52:09 PM
European Ranking Rank 400 (previously 522) / 4410 clubs
Country Ranking Rank 65 (previously 91) / 822 clubs

There's my latest European and UK rankings 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 05, 2014, 11:03:23 PM
Number 261 in Europe and 40 in the UK now for online matches, Played 33, Won 18, Drawn 3 and Lost 12. Not too shabby ;D

Thought I'd get automatically promoted after winning the League but it turns out you enter a playoff with the relegated side of the Pro league to fight for promotion/survival. Oh well, wasn't much in it, I'll have it next season. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 13, 2014, 06:13:40 PM
Games With Gold for June:

Xbox One:
Max: The Curse of Brotherhood
Halo: Spartan Assault
(As with PS+ the game will only be available while you keep your subscription going.)

Xbox 360:
Dark Souls
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition
Charlie Murder
(Available to play even if your subscription lapses.)



They're also starting a "Deals With Gold" initiative, offering discounts of 50%-75% on select games. In June these will be Ryse Son Of Rome and Forza Motorsport 5.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 14, 2014, 12:24:23 AM
I wonder if Microsoft are going to implement a 3DS-esque Ambassador Programme..? Would do them a bit of good, a 6 months ordeven 1 year subscription of Live Gold for free for early adopters perhaps..? There must be a fair amount of people a bit pissed off that they've been forced to pay a premium for Kinect.

I'd imagine there would be a fair few developers a bit pissed off that Microsoft are making Kinect an optional extra, I can't see that many people choosing to buy it if they don't have to and that will mean the userbase is going to be split. :-\ :o :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 14, 2014, 07:52:47 AM
There won't be any developers pissed off.. they will be pleased I'd imagine... initial adopters could be left feeling a bit ripped off... especially since Microsoft categorically said there was no way to remove Kinect.

... me, I'm a bit meh over it.. lets face it, its not been the success Microsoft wanted it to be.. I still think there is merit for it and the technology is pretty fantastic.. I use it everyday to turn my "XBOX ON" at least - but if given the option of a Kinect-less/Kinect-included SKU at launch - I don't honestly know what I would of chosen.. with hindsight, probably Kinect-less - as I don't think its worth the extra £100 or whatever it added on to the cost - bear in mind that over time I did get quite good usage over Kinect v1.0 but I did wait for a drop in price before buying it.


The Games With Gold news is pretty good.. but as usual with these things - I already own the best half of what they are offering...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 14, 2014, 10:48:57 AM
lol @ Sony announcing that WatchDogs will be 1080p @ 60fps - only for Ubisoft to come along and rubbish those claims.  ;D


(http://i.imgur.com/ZdkIoQf.png)


(http://s10.postimg.org/7yg5spqt5/ubiblog.png)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 14, 2014, 01:48:01 PM
The game really has been in Development Hell, I hope it's going to be good by the time it comes out but I have my doubts. I'm expecting a bug-ridden mess :( :'(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 14, 2014, 02:08:43 PM
TBH I can't see them going far wrong. The engine and a lot of the movement mechanics etc look to be taken directly from Assassin's Creed - and they've ironed out any problems with that over the years (and to be fair it didn't have any from the start - the only problem with the first AC was the combat). And whilst the graphics maybe don't look quite as crisp as they did in the trailers a year ago, they still look good, as do all of the gameplay trailers we've seen.
There's a possibility of it being bad, certainly, but I'm pretty sure it'll be good, and I'm looking forward to buying it.
(I've not preordered it, though. I'm not stupid...)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 14, 2014, 03:03:33 PM
I'll be giving it a miss unless the reviews are really good for it.. being anything like AC is a bad thing in my books.. maybe it will have an original story which Ubisoft will destroy over the next 6 or 7 sequels that it churns out year after year too  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 14, 2014, 03:40:19 PM
The new "Deals With Gold" initiative has me wondering whether to buy new games now, tbh - especially digital ones. Buy it when it's new for about £50, or wait a 6-12 months and maybe get it digitally for £15, and wait 12-24 months and maybe get it free then there's a bit of an incentive to just ignore new games.
And that's how it should be, tbh - as with most products, the price goes down when the product is old.

But it can work against sales of new things. I wouldn't buy a game new to Steam, as I know it'll be dirt cheap less than a year later. I wouldn't buy an indie pc game because I know it'll be in a humble bundle along with a half dozen other games for about 66p within a few months.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 14, 2014, 04:52:54 PM
Yup, I won't be needing to buy any games for a while when I eventually get my PS4 next year.

I don't normally pay full price for games anyway tbh, this generation my limit is £30 maximum...although that has changed as far as Nintendo games are concerned because they rarely go down in price by much.

It's a real shame that Flubit went down the loo and only deals with Amazon prices because I got some really good deals from there. The Wonderful 101 and I think Pikmin 3 set me back somewhere between £22-28 if I remember correctly.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 15, 2014, 04:44:46 PM
lol at Phillips not noticing the Wii's existence for five years.
They're taking Nintendo of US to court for deliberately and without permission using tech that they (Phillips) say they patented, and are seeking to make sales of Wii and Wii U in the USA illegal, and to obtain substantial damages.

Law isn't my strong suit, especially US patent law, so I'm not going to make a prediction, but it sounds like the usual US patent trolling to me - which usually results in multiple counter-suits.


1996 - the date of Phillips' patent (http://www.google.com/patents/US6285379) for motion-control pointing devices
2006 - launch of the Wii
2011 - Phillips contact Nintendo on the subject
2014 - Court petition
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 16, 2014, 10:27:21 AM
Ubi have announced Far Cry 4, set in the Himalayas, will be released in November 2014 on current and last gen platforms (excluding Nintendo).

Hated Far Cry 2, but Far Cry 3 was fantastic. I have high hopes for this fourth instalment.  8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 16, 2014, 11:41:57 AM
Yeah but god, I didn't half have to tell you to play FC3 enough times before you got it  ;) ;D

Was talking about FC3/FC4 in the office earlier.. Vaas has to go down as one of the best bad guys in a game ever.. such realistic voice acting, you really got the impression he was fucking insane!  FC3 was definitely a top 5 game from last gen for me.

I hope FC4 is not a rinse/repeat of FC3 - am looking for another original strong storyline and some totally new features... not just a change of setting with different animals to hunt.. although hunting and killing animals was pretty fucking cool!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 16, 2014, 11:50:56 AM
Just seen that Halo 5 : Guardians got announced today for Fall 2015 - great news.. but they are holding something Halo related back for release this year (probably Halo 2 Anniversary edition with the Halo TV series thingybob) - not to be announced until E3 - which fuck me, has crept up really fast.

Microsoft dropping all these newsbombs before E3 - hopefully they have got something left to show... VR possibly...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 16, 2014, 11:52:38 AM
I think they said you can ride elephants, so it's already a winner!  ;D

Yeah, I took some convincing.
FC2 was just so annoying, though! If there's even a hint in FC4 of having to inject yourself with antidotes, or respawning baddies then I'm out!



"Halo 5: Guardians" has been announced for Xbox One in Q3 2015.
They've also stated that there'll be some Halo stuff in 2014. That's almost certainly going to be Halo 2 Anniversary.
Great news on both fronts.

news.xbox.com (http://news.xbox.com/2014/05/games-halo-journey-announcement)



Edit - beat me to it  :P 
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 16, 2014, 12:12:33 PM
I've read speculation that Microsoft are keen to announce before E3 because their E3 announcements usually get drowned out by other companies later that day, predominantly Sony. Microsoft announce some things, everyone gets excited, a couple of hours later Sony announce some things, everyone's excited, and most folk and journalists focus on the more recent stuff they heard. Whether there's any truth to that I have no idea. I'm certain they'll still have lots of big stuff to announce at E3 next month either way.


Expected E3 stuff:
Sony:
Morpheus VR
Uncharted 4
Gran Turismo 6 (ps4)
God of War 4
Syphon Filter reboot
WipEout
The Order 1886
The Last Of Us 2
Project Beast
Microsoft:
Ryse 2 (Middle-ages)
Forza Horizon 2
Halo 2: Anniversary
Halo TV
Halo 5
Perfect Dark reboot
Epic's unnamed Samaritan game.
EchoBlack (Kinect)
Gears of War
Fable Legends
Quantum Break
Sunset Overdrive
Nintendo:
Legend of Zelda (Wii U)
Castlevania (3DS)
Other (multiplatform):
GTA 5
Mass Effect 4
Deus Ex
Dishonored 2
Destiny
Star Wars: Battlefront 3
plus the usual annual games such as Fifa, COD, NFL, NHL, etc.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 16, 2014, 12:59:36 PM
Can feel an E3 thread coming on soon.. its always exciting stuff.... I've heard there is a small chance of hearing news regarding a Valve release - Left 4 Dead 3 or Half Life 3 - I know its bollocks but I get excited every year for the same fucking news  :(

Halo 2 Anniversary will be massive.. IF 343 keep the online mode untouched - I truly haven't played a better online FPS since... it will sell really well and will be a massive hardware seller too.. I'd fully expect it to have beta access to Halo 5 aswell to get even more punters in.

Plus I saw something about Platinum Games going into partnership with Microsoft to develop some games.. this is weird.. as I thought Platinum Games were a Nintendo 2nd party indie developer  ;D ;D  And for an "indie developer" they sure do release a lot of "mainstream" games.. (everything they have ever produced)

In terms of hardware.. Its been said that there will be a white version of the X1 / Controllers on show at E3 too  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 16, 2014, 04:22:31 PM
The Division has been delayed into the 2015/2016 year.
Ubisoft seem to be struggling with deadlines lately. Everything they're making seems to be good - just a bit delayed. Which is probably a good thing, all in all - certainly beats bringing games out on time but with problems. (Are you listening, EA?)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 17, 2014, 12:51:56 AM
There's no such thing as a second party indie developer. Platinum Games are an indie developer, full stop. ;)

And Nintendo have more than Zelda U and Castlevania to show at E3 too lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 17, 2014, 02:35:02 AM
Yeah, I should've been more clear there.
I meant to say those are the games that are likely to be revealed and that people might be interested in.
Of course that meant zero Nintendo games, so I put two in as a token gesture.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 18, 2014, 10:28:04 PM
This is fucking brilliant lmfao (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCLZvpQJHFw) :o ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 19, 2014, 07:43:27 AM
There's no such thing as a second party indie developer. Platinum Games are an indie developer, full stop. ;)

Glad to see you agree that Platinum Games are not a second party developer - hence making it impossible to make second party games  ;)


Wolfenstein out tomorrow, so I should get it then, but gameseek had 23rd down on their website, so might not get it until Friday..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 19, 2014, 09:41:08 AM
I  didn't agree any such thing. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 19, 2014, 12:28:57 PM
Got my dispatch email from Gameseek today so perhaps I will get Wolfy tomorrow.. surprised there are zero reviews posted so far for it.. kinda worries me a bit  :-\

Edit:

Few reviews popped up overnight.. averaging a 78 on metacritic at the moment.. which is not great.. I've read part of some reviews and they all say the gameplay is pretty good, especially the gunplay.. so if the reviews are going on opinions on the story and how gruesome and offensive the storyline is - I can put up with that.. there's never enough "true" 18 rated video games these days in my opinion.. whenever one that "truly" earns its 18 rating is released, it pretty much always splits opinions - GTA being the exception.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 20, 2014, 03:23:01 PM
Whenever a game that is 'truly' an 18 rated game comes along it doesn't get released. And there has only been one game that fits that criteria so far, Manhunt 2, and the fuckers at the BBFC and ESRB completely ruined it by cutting it to pieces. Uncut it was one of the best games available last generation.

You see MUCH worse stuff on the big screen these days. >:( >:( >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 20, 2014, 10:34:55 PM
So initial thoughts on Wolfenstein are mixed at the moment.. I've only played about 2-3 hours this evening though

It took me about an hour and a half to get through the epilogue type mission - which I have to say - was pretty uninspiring - the gunplay isn't as cracked up as some reviews suggest, but it takes you through all the basics and you get a good feel for the weapons and basic combat - the first hour of it was pretty dull and as generic as any other shooter... I was getting quite disappointed playing it... but then when you get near the end of the epilogue you storm some german castle (which was a nice reminder of the original) and it starts getting a bit better, the storyline kicks in and then you have to make a small game-changing decision at the start which is pretty cool... I definitely started warming to the game more and more after the epilogue... Like I said, the gunplay isn't what I was expecting, although you can duel-wield anything straight from the start.. knives, pistols, assaults rifles and even shotguns which is pretty nice.

The controls are somewhat fiddly to get used to, the graphics aren't the best in the world (but the pre-rendered cut-scenes scattered throughout are pretty good).. the storyline is just getting going for me and I'm enjoying it (I got as far as shagging some polish nurse on a train heading to Berlin - this is 15 years after the war ended and the Nazi's won, you've been stuck in hospital for that long with some kind of brain damage you suffered trying to escape that Nazi castle.. and have just awoken and haven't got a fucking scooby what's going on, except for saving this polish nurse bird.. who does you rodeo style)

There's opportunity to play the game stealthy or guns-blazing.. I'm not a big fan of stealth at the best of times, but its been limited so far and not that bothersome... the game warns you about parts which would be better to use stealth tactics quite subtly and it works quite well... of course its all optional though.. I've been mixing it up quite a bit..

The perk system is pretty good, one of those systems that makes you try different stuff/weapons to unlock various perks throughout the game.. I've unlocked a few so far and there are quite a few hidden collectibles.. but fortunately if you find the map in an area, they are all revealed on the map which is handy and something which will make me want to go back and pick up the bits I've missed throughout each section.  You can collect enigma papers and then play some kind of puzzle game once you've collected enough to unlock even more stuff/modes.. but I haven't tried that yet.

All in all - I'm looking forward to playing some more.. I just hope they can keep the storyline running at a nice pace and ensure there is quite a lot of variation in gameplay as the game is quite linear in terms of go here, do that (so far).


Edit:
And successfully registered for the Doom beta.. I'll be notified when its ready.. which could be anytime this or next year!  Wolfy takes a few bits from Doom like the health and armor stuff which is quite nice... I guess in a toss-up between Doom or Wolfy - Doom would have to win due to it's game quality consistency... although Wolfenstein 3D is up there with the first Doom game for me.. both as equally awesome!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 21, 2014, 04:20:46 PM
New trailer for Arkham Knight.

youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q4U_QRcg84)

Looks fantastic. Not sure how much of that's actually gameplay, how much is cut scene, and how much is just a prerendered video clip made specifically as a trailer and not at all representative of the game at all. I suspect (and hope) it's all genuinely from the game, and if so they've definitely stepped up their game from the previous instalments.
It helps that the game is only coming to current gen, so they can focus properly on that and not be restricted by the xbox 360 and ps3 limitations.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 21, 2014, 04:47:45 PM
It's confirmed to be only coming to the PC, PS4 and One due to the extra grunt needed for the Batmobile.

Even if they decided to port it across it would be a nightmare to do due to the PS4 and One (and Wii U for that matter) being 'GPU heavy' and the PS3 and 360 being 'CPU heavy'. They can easily port from the PS3/360 to the PS4/One/Wii U because the current generation consoles are more powerful and are able to 'brute force' the code without much of a drop in performance. Basically they can do 'lazy ports' to the current generation consoles but not the other way around.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 22, 2014, 12:27:29 AM
Lol, Zenimax are now suing Oculus VR. VR shit just got real :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 22, 2014, 09:30:55 AM
"Facebook probably don't have much money, following their multi-billion dollar floatation.
Let's take them on. We'll win easily..."

                    - Zenimax
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 22, 2014, 09:46:22 AM
The graphics on Watch_Dogs seem to be getting worse each time they bring out a new trailer:
youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml3jjWssiCs&t=0m25s)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 22, 2014, 04:25:30 PM
Yup, and Zenimax aren't too far from financial dire straits either. This could end up finishing them.

I can't see them having a hope in hell of winning their case, you don't spend $2bn without doing due diligence. They're probably hoping that Oculus are going to settle out of court just so that things aren't held up by the case.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 27, 2014, 09:03:47 AM
Finished Wolfy over the weekend.. the storyline gets a bit nuts when you have to go into outer space.. (there's Nazi's on the moon)... and that whole chapter is probably the weakest chapter too... but overall I was impressed with the game... the only disappointing parts to the game is the AI is pretty terrible and that it's not long enough to warrant a single player only type game.

I started my second playthrough on Uber difficultly and about half way through that.. and going to unlock every single perk this time (only a few left at the moment) finish the game - then I will play through the relevant chapters again to pick up any collectibles I missed.  Going to do it old-school, so not using a guide and also not looking for hints when cracking the enigma codes.. I cracked one yesterday - took a while but there's 4 in total.  Doing all that will 100% the game too..

Will probably sell it after that, don't see the point in keeping the game if I'll never play it again and will fund another game purchase, depends whats out I guess.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 27, 2014, 10:07:41 AM
I don't do pc games (my pc is ancient, and I get confused by them) and I usually limit my piracy to tv/film, but I downloaded South Park The Stick of Truth a few days ago. Didn't expect it to work on my computer, but it's working just fine (apart from a minor problem with some cut scenes - and it seems that's happening to some people with legit copies on powerful gaming rigs).

Great game. I've spent most of the last two days playing it. Am probably between a quarter and half way through it.
Haven't watched much South Park in recent years, but still enjoy the program when I see it, and am thoroughly enjoying the game.

Good old-school rpg with turn-based combat (you know I prefer the turn-based combat :D ), the game mechanics are completely solid, and the story/characters/jokes are directly from the show - so it's win-win.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 27, 2014, 03:38:33 PM
"LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham" has been announced for early Q3 this year (so around July/August).
Nice :D
That's two Batman games I'll likely be buying in that quarter (Arkham Knight is supposed to be late Q3, so around September - though there's rumours it might be delayed into Q4).


youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl9T3u4vSQk)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 27, 2014, 04:57:00 PM
Can't wait to see what Mario Kart 8 is going to look like on my new telly. Am finishing off Wind Waker HD at the moment  and getting Mario Kart 8 on the 31st from Tesco. Really annoying that Nintendo's games rarely go down in price, means I've had to go over my limit of 20 quid for a game but saying that you do get 2 games for £35 quid thanks to their promotion. Am planning on trading in Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and getting Lego Marvel with the proceeds...and then of course downloading the digital version for free.

Along with Infamous Second Son, Mario Kart 8 is one of the two best looking games of the generation so far. Pretty surprising tbh, I was expecting more from the PS4 especially by now. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 28, 2014, 10:59:12 AM
The Order: 1886 (ps4 exclusive) has been pushed back to 2015.
Shame, as it looks great, but better to get it right than release a buggy mess of a game.


Steam Machines look to have been pushed to 2015, too. Well the controller's been delayed until then, at any rate, and there's supposed to be one with each Steam Machine...
I was interested in the Steam Machine at first, but they look to have priced themselves out of my range.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 28, 2014, 04:09:41 PM
Has anyone ordered a game from Tesco before..? Just wondering how long it takes them to arrive once they get posted?

They posted my Mario Kart 8 today so am hoping I'll be getting it on Friday... ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 28, 2014, 09:11:50 PM
Someone on another forum was asking about the most violent game on a Nintendo system, has to be Manhunt 2 Uncut (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbb0z4oqpNY). Some of you may want to make sure your kids don't see the video, and it's definitely NSFW lol. All executions uncut. One of the best.games released last gen, and VERY satisfying to play with the motion controls ;D :o :P

Normally you wouldn't see any of that, you'd just see the grey screen that the uploader has used to split the executions up. Ridiculous that the BBFC and ESRB refused to give it an 18 certificate, you see MUCH worse things in films all the time these days. The game was ruined with it cut to pieces >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 28, 2014, 09:39:26 PM
I can get pretty violent if someone gets a blue shell when I'm leaving on Mario Kart...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 28, 2014, 10:01:41 PM
Not with Mario Kart 8, they've lessened the effect it has on you and if you have the loudspeaker power up you can blast it away 8)

Watching that Manhunt 2 video earlier I forgot how great the pen was as an execution tool. :o 8)

So have you ordered a game from Tesco before..? They posted it today but when I ordered the game the blurb said to expect delivery 31st or before. I'm guessing that they're not sending stuff first class so I won't get it tomorrow...so maybe Friday then..? :-\

Am going to trade in my copy of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate tomorrow, not sure what to get though. Am thinking Lego Marvel or Need For Speed Most Wanted. Or maybe Lego Batman 2 if I can find it. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is the obvious choice as my free game when I get Mario Kart 8 because that's something that I can plough hundreds of hours into. Going to look great on the big screen too. Monster Hunter and CoD are good fits for the Wii U because the games look cinematic with the HUD on the touchscreen.

I just hope that the telly works okay, I've read a few reports of faulty sets so my fun may get delayed if I get a dodgy one. Have also found out that, like my InspiRED 37" telly, it has AVL (Auto Volume Leveling) which automatically adjusts the volume when adverts come on so you don't get blasted every time the adverts appear during a break! Should be an industry standard imo. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 29, 2014, 12:18:47 AM
I don't recall ordering a game for home delivery from Tesco in the last few years.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 29, 2014, 01:18:50 AM
Oh well, I'll let you know how it goes. If it arrives before my new telly I'm going to have to resist the temptation to play it lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 29, 2014, 11:20:57 AM
I've pre-ordered from Tesco before.. I can't remember any items I received on release date, but I remember a few things arrived the day after... I wouldn't use them as my first port of call for a pre-order unless they were considerably cheaper.

No-one got Watch Dogs yet?  I see it's averaging around the 80 mark - it doesn't sound like a bad game from the reviews.. but I was to pick it up.. it'll be when its a lot cheaper.

Doesn't look like there's anything I'm interested in coming out in the next month or so.. probably going to get back into Footy Manager soon with the world cup coming up.. I bought it on release and didn't even finish half a season before giving up.. it always takes a good 3 or 4 restarts before I get used to the new game mechanics
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 29, 2014, 11:47:56 AM
Yeah, I'll probably wait for Watch_Dogs to drop in price a bit.

People have been complaining for a while that the game isn't graphically as good as the trailers we were originally shown. We now have a direct comparison video, thanks to some helpful chap who uploaded it to Kotaku.
Bear in mind that he's comparing the trailer with the actual game on PC on "Ultra" settings.

youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_A6Z3gkXlk)
kotaku (http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2014/05/28/heres-exactly-much-watch-dogs-changed-since-e3)

That's a worryingly large drop in quality.


I'm sure the game's very good. It just doesn't seem to be as good as it should have been - so I'm happy enough to wait a while, see if I can get it a bit cheaper.
Titanfall's keeping me busy, and I could do with going back to Trials at some point. And COD hasn't been played much. And I don't think Forza has been in the machine since launch day. That deserves another look.
Not to mention the 240-ish games on Steam, of which I've tried about ten.
And the big stack of unplayed 360 games (some physical, still in cellophane, some digital, downloaded but not yet looked at).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 29, 2014, 01:20:47 PM
Battlefield 3 is currently free to download (pc, Origin), for the next few days.
Offer ends 3rd June.


origin (https://www.origin.com/en-gb/store/buy/battlefield-3/pc-download/base-game/standard-edition)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 29, 2014, 08:03:05 PM
100%ed wolfy  ;D Didn't take long, think I'll sell it along with south park and pick up either kinect sports or zoo tycoon
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 29, 2014, 10:44:38 PM
Anyone interested in game design might want to check out the latest Humble Bundle.

hukd (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/humble-bundle-weekly-rpg-maker-60p-1917094)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 30, 2014, 06:20:28 PM
Have set up my telly and it's fantastic. ;D Mario Kart 8 looks amazing :o ;D

Am ready for the football now. People have complained about the sound being tinny but it's fine once you fiddle around with the EQ. Have found the right setting so that I can use my GamePad as my remote control and unlike my InspiRED 37" it gives you an extra button on the GamePad screen to access the EPG, not sure why my InspiRED one only gave me Volume up and down and channel up and down.

Very happy with my purchase, it's like having a cinema in my bedroom lol 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 01, 2014, 04:17:37 PM
(http://i.minus.com/iWBcrxrRHgdN0.gif)

Who would have thought that Luigi was such an evil fucker..?!!?!? :o ;D :o

That stare is going to give me nightmares lmfao ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 02, 2014, 06:54:08 AM
Back on trials over the weekend... played for a few hours last night... managed to post a time on the first 4 levels on the last track.. fucking hell some of them are hard, especially the 2nd one... I don't know why but I find myself holding the controller really tightly playing it.. woke up this morning and my bloody hands are aching like a bitch..  ;D ;D

Just got to post a time on Inferno IV now - my last track without a medal.. and the one with the achievement, but its bloody tough.. there's one bit I just cant figure out how to do it.  There's absolutely no way I'm getting the achievement for doing ALL the track challenges - if it excluded the last 2 events then maybe...

Edit : Actually I've just found there's a glitch (http://www.trueachievements.com/a185851/is-there-anything-you-cant-do-achievement.htm#) to the hardest achievement in Trials.. I think if I finish all the other achievements off then I might go ahead with using it just to 100% the game..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 02, 2014, 10:05:41 AM
I hope to go back to Trials at some point.
I definitely need to have a proper look at the Extreme levels. I only tried the first two of them. I must've spent well over an hour trying the second one, without completing it - might've even been over two hours. Gave up after that, and didn't look at the other Extremes.
Need to improve a few of my scores on other levels, too, as well as finish some of the challenges - about half of which are probably done.



Wish I had a USB 3.0 HDD kicking around.
I got the June update (on preview) a few days ago. Ordinarily I don't think I'd be much interested in the option to use external storage. But I should be getting my replacement console some time in the next week, and it'd be bloody handy to transfer all of my games etc. over to external media rather than having to re-download everything.



As announced a couple of weeks back, there'll be 5 games on Games With Gold this month.
"Dark Souls" is available on xbox 360 now. (I've "bought" it for free from the website but haven't downloaded it to my console yet.) I think I have Dark Souls still in it's cellophane, on the shelf.
"Charlie Murder" and "Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition" will both be available for free on the 360 in the second half of the month.

"Max: The Curse of Brotherhood" and "Halo: Spartan Assault" will both be available for free on Xbox One this month, but no details yet on the date. Rumour has it, it'll be around the 24th of June, but it's nothing more than rumour.
Was hoping it might be available when the June firmware update is installed, so people on the Preview program might get it early - but I had a look yesterday and Max was still showing as £11.99 on the console's marketplace. :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 02, 2014, 10:28:16 AM
The 1st extreme level - I did that in one go.. think there's only one tough jump.

The 2nd extreme level - I definitely found the hardest.. right near the end there are 3 fucking insane jumps to do.

The 3rd one - has 2 difficult jumps, but none of those jumps as hard as the 2nd level ones..

The 4th one - hardest jump comes straight away, followed by a slightly less difficult jump, the rest of the course is fairly simple compared.


You can use a 2.0 HDD with the Xb1 cant you ?  Also if you do have trouble locating a HDD at all, you can at least save your game saves to the cloud - you would have to reinstall everything though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 02, 2014, 11:09:22 AM
No, I'm pretty sure external storage is limited to 3.0 USB drives (with a minimum of 250gb).

Will definitely look into transferring my save data to the cloud.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 02, 2014, 01:26:46 PM
If it has a USB 3.0 port you should be able to use a 2.0 drive, unless Microsoft have done something daft with the software. The hardware is backwards compatible at any rate. You should be able to find a 500GB USB 3.0 hard drive for around £30-40, although given the daft compulsory installs for the system that the PS4 is also plagued with you'll be better off with a 2TB or 4TB one.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 02, 2014, 02:15:32 PM
Microsoft announced that they're only supporting USB 3.0 drives, but I've not tested it.

I suppose it's possible that USB 2.0 drives might work but be too slow for gameplay. If that's the case that'd do me just fine, as a means of transferring my games (rather than re-downloading approx 300gb).



In loosely related news - I hear some folk are reporting load times are reduced when using an external HDD.
One guy with two Xbox Ones (flash bugger) set them both up to play a certain level of Ryse - one using internal HDD, one using external. The internal one took 1m 1s to load. The external one took 45s to load.
Getting past the fact we have load times at all (come on, Microsoft/Sony - shouldn't we have seen the back of those by now?!), that's quite an improvement. If true.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 02, 2014, 04:45:55 PM
Yup, saw the same thing mentioned on Gaf. Probably means that Microsoft have used cheapo internal drives for the thing to keep unit costs down. Both the PS4 and One having just 500GB internal hard drives is also an indication of cutting costs. With large mandatory installs for each console I was expecting 1TB drives for each console.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 03, 2014, 03:47:08 PM
"LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham" has been announced for early Q3 this year (so around July/August).
Nice :D
That's two Batman games I'll likely be buying in that quarter (Arkham Knight is supposed to be late Q3, so around September - though there's rumours it might be delayed into Q4).


youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl9T3u4vSQk)

Arkham Knight has now been pushed from October to "2015" (nothing more specific than that has been mentioned). :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 03, 2014, 05:03:37 PM
Bloody hell, that's a shitload of games for the PS4 and One getting delayed until next year :o

A right pain in the arse for me personally because I was hoping a few of those would be available as cheap as chips by the time I get my PS4 next year >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 03, 2014, 11:33:26 PM
A system update for the Wii U has given a nice Quick Start menu when you press the power or Home buttons on the GamePad. It displays the most frequently used games and applications so that you can press the icons to start one of them after it has booted up. Nice little use of the GamePad. ;D

Got my glasses this afternoon and Mario Kart 8 looks even better now lol :o ;D :P

For some reason Toad and Donkey Kong are always with me in the top 3, bloody glad that Luigi isn't there because then I'd be seeing way too much of him and his psycho stare. It really is enough to give you bloomin nightmares :o :-[ ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 04, 2014, 07:44:11 AM
Not making much progress on Inferno IV on trials... the first jump took a while to figure out.. it requires a fair bit of precision/skill so its fairly easy to still get stuck on it.. the next 4 checkpoints are relatively easy to do - but the one afterwards is a right bastard.. basically you've got to do a big bunny hop over to some barrels, landing the bike in the right position to ascend said barrels.. if you don't get the ascension right, you're fucked because at the top of the barrels you have to bunny hop over an explosive onto a thin beam - big enough only for your back wheel, where you have to bunny hop over to the next checkpoint.. I've managed to do it once in about 1000 attempts  ;D

On the one attempt I did do it, I spent about 10 minutes stuck on the next jump which is another bastard.. and ran out of time..  I figure I'm about half way through at that point.. but don't really know.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 04, 2014, 08:39:19 AM
Omfg...this is brilliant (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvtHwCb-XF4). This guy must have written the music specifically for this video. A great talent if he has. Amazing! :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 04, 2014, 07:55:27 PM
Yay finally finished Inferno IV, thankfully no bastard jumps after the ones I mentioned, in fact I even had 11 minutes/150 faults to spare.


Edit :
Also finished the squirrels last night - some of them are impossible to find without a guide - I used a guide to get them all - there is the odd tricky one to unlock still though.

Just 2 more achievements left to get... I'm going to use the glitch to get the all track challenges one - it would be practically impossible doing it legit.

Also beat a few of your times last night Late.. still loads where you are ahead, but only because I haven't replayed them yet  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 06, 2014, 12:45:43 PM
Quote from: jman
...still loads where you are ahead, but only because your way better than me, and I'm rubbish at the game...

Fixed that for you.

I had a go on the game last night for a short while. Tried one if the extreme levels (some snowy level) and ended up running out of lives. Stupid bloody game.
Managed to get all platinums in one of the stages, which gives you a little badge.

My badges (as you'd expect they start well but get worse. Then really really bad):

Greenhorn Groove:
3 platinum, 3 gold
Arctic Open:
7 platinum
Urban Sprawl:
4 platinum, 2 gold
Cactus Challenge:
3 platinum, 4 gold
Rainforest Rumble:
1 platinum, 5 gold
Skill Showcase:
0 platinum, 2 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze
Expert's Club:
0 platinum, 2 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze
Master's Gauntlet:
0 platinum, 0 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze, 5 incomplete. :(


Edit autocorrect
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 07, 2014, 08:36:22 AM
Pfft, at least I'm not being beaten by Kenny on any courses, I mean that would be seriously embarrassing  ;D  8)


Edit: Started playing that Max: Curse of Brotherhood this morning, it's not half bad, think of a kids limbo type game, not as ingenious or artistic, has a fun plot and collectibles
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 07, 2014, 03:03:25 PM
I bought Stick It To The Man the other day and it's awesome. The music and art direction is outstanding and it's quite funny. On Chapter 3 so far.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on June 08, 2014, 01:53:06 AM
Pfft, at least I'm not being beaten by Kenny on any courses, I mean that would be seriously embarrassing  ;D  8)


Cor blimey, you're beating a guy who's unlocked about 2 bikes and not played the game in about a month. Well in!  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 08, 2014, 03:33:01 AM
Shut him up by bearing his times, mate.

Just don't beat mine... ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 08, 2014, 09:05:35 AM
Pfft, at least I'm not being beaten by Kenny on any courses, I mean that would be seriously embarrassing  ;D  8)


Cor blimey, you're beating a guy who's unlocked about 2 bikes and not played the game in about a month. Well in!  ;D

Well yeah, thats why it would be seriously embarrassing to be beaten by you.. wouldn't it LATE, nudge nudge  ;D ;D ;D lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 08, 2014, 02:33:40 PM
Well sure, I could easily beat times posted by both of you if I replayed them, but I only play each level once. Playing them again is cheating...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on June 11, 2014, 10:24:05 PM
Thought I'd check in on you guys not been here for a while  ;)

Started playing through the Uncharted series again loving it! Can't wait for Uncharted on PS4  :) so many good games out already or coming out soon but I still don't even have the PS4... trying to finish off old games first but keep getting distracted lol.

Also i have a 3DS now so if any of you guys have one and want to add me my friend code is 0061-1410-7064 :)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 12, 2014, 08:05:29 AM
Have you tried Max : The Curse of Brotherhood yet late.. I'm actually enjoying it way more than I thought I would.. would definitely recommend giving it a go.. I think I'm on the last chapter.. I've missed one or two collectibles here and there, so I'll go back and pick them up after I'm finished with the game.. but for a freebie.. very impressed.  Will definitely 100% this game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 12, 2014, 10:24:04 AM
Haven't had a chance to look at it yet, bud (RL stuff :( ). Look forward to trying it and Spartan Assault when i get a chance.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 12, 2014, 07:46:22 PM
That Nike advert with the clones has me thinking that Nintendo may be planning to clone Miyamoto. Imagine if they had a hundred of him :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 14, 2014, 01:39:29 PM
100%'ed Max:TCOB today - I suppose it loses marks because there is zero replayability once you've completed the game and found the collectibles - which aren't that hard - I missed 6 on the first playthrough - but still kept me entertained for about 10 hours - so as a digital game - not bad at all!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 15, 2014, 02:32:23 AM
Have been playing Unepic on the Wii U and it's excellent. It's an old school dungeon crawler RPG and the humour is pretty good so far. Only available for the Wii U and PC so far but it wouldn't surprise me if they have ports for the PS4 and One on the way. Real time combat too which is handy.

You guys should definitely check it out when it comes to the other platforms.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 17, 2014, 12:37:13 PM
Nice comparison video showing GTA:V on the ps3 and on the ps4.
I was expecting it to look fractionally better, but that's actually bloody impressive.
Not sure I'd pay much for it, mind. I thoroughly enjoyed the game first time round, but I wouldn't fancy forking out more than a tenner to upgrade and replay it, and I can pretty much guarantee they'll be charging more than ten quid!

youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBkCB1zRIx4)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 17, 2014, 03:28:49 PM
Dat 60fps gameplay (http://videos.videopress.com/ebOzQphn/e3-2014-60fps_hd.mp4) :o 8)

Bayonetta 2 is looking amazing, absolutely no idea how they've managed to do this given what we know about the hardware. Either Nintendo Magic or Secret Sauce (or fixed functions of some description) lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 17, 2014, 03:41:10 PM
Dat 60fps gameplay (http://videos.videopress.com/ebOzQphn/e3-2014-60fps_hd.mp4) :o 8)

Bayonetta 2 is looking amazing, absolutely no idea how they've managed to do this given what we know about the hardware. Either Nintendo Magic or Secret Sauce (or fixed functions of some description) lol :P

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay




('cept Liz Hurley in tight leather's okay by straight blokes too.)
(Game's still shite though.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 19, 2014, 10:37:39 AM
Anyone played Outlast - it released on the PC in September and PS4 in February (I think).. just dropped on the Xbox One store today.. survival horror set in a mental asylum.. sounds pretty good from one review I read.. might give it a go - £16

Also Strider has been reduced to £6.00 at the moment - side scrolling shoot-em-up I think.. another one which is supposed to be ok.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 26, 2014, 12:59:45 AM
Definitely getting UFC...gotta love that EA quality (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOOT_3U4rZM) :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 26, 2014, 10:02:07 AM
Anyone played Outlast - it released on the PC in September and PS4 in February (I think).. just dropped on the Xbox One store today.. survival horror set in a mental asylum.. sounds pretty good from one review I read.. might give it a go - £16
I like the look of that one.
I think the main thing putting me off is the pricing. £16 is a good price, certainly, but it seems steep when you consider it's less than £4 on pc (or was when I looked, last week - that sale might've ended, but will probably be back on within the next fortnight) and it was free on ps4.

Despite the fact I don't have a ps4 and my pc probably couldn't play it, those prices have somehow convinced me it's not worth paying £16 for a game that's definitely worth paying sixteen quid for! It's a stupid argument, and is probably just me.
It's worth bearing in mind the xb1 version includes free DLC that the others don't include, mind.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 26, 2014, 10:29:36 AM
Yeah I saw it for £3.50 on the steam sale.. kinda put me off buying it on the xb1.. will wait till it goes down in price - not desperate to play it at the moment - I've just got back into Civilization after seeing the stuff for Beyond Earth got me hyped up for it.  Actually first time playing the DLC for Civ 5 - its not bad at all!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 27, 2014, 11:13:27 AM
Reminder:
If you currently have an xbox 360 and haven't upgraded to an xbox One (and you have a Live Gold account) you can log into xbox.com and "buy" the free (GWG) xbox One games for £0.00.
If at some point you later get an xbox One you will be able to download those games for free.
Only a few days left to pick up Halo Spartan Assault, if you don't already have it, folks. Tis an okay game - better still when it's free... ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 03, 2014, 11:19:48 AM
Just downloaded Guacamelee.. hope to give it a go in the next few days..

I just bought Kinect Sports Rivals as well for £30 preowned from Grainger Games.. really needed a game and it was a toss-up between this and Watch Dogs (which is also the same price)...

I know KSR got battered in its reviews.. which initially put me off from buying it at launch.. but I dunno, I enjoyed the previous games and the demo - and it has Football which IMO was the best game from the entire KS library of mini-games..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 03, 2014, 11:42:42 AM
Largely ditto here.

Downloaded Guacamelee last night, and will give it a go some time soon.

Could do with a new game to play, and been tempted by Watch Dogs, but I think I'll wait until it's dropped a bit further (maybe £25 second hand). Feeling particularly broke lately.
I should probably fire up the 360 and finally play some of the backlog on that instead of wishing for new games on the One.
And then there's Steam, of course. Literally hundreds of games in my library - and I've tried only a tiny fraction of them.*

Still getting a fair bit of play from Titanfall, mind. Matchmaking is much better since the patch last week, and the new game mode is decent fun (though I switched back to Hardpoint after a few games).
Haven't tried any of the new burn cards out yet, but I have a few in my deck (including amped cluster missiles, amped slave warheads, and amped vortex shield).






*
(http://s28.postimg.org/8qbz7cr31/wastedonsteam.png)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 03, 2014, 03:54:37 PM
Civilisation: Beyond Earth is looking promising.


youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHwnBB1e-R4)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 03, 2014, 04:09:15 PM
Have never understood the popularity of Populus clones. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 03, 2014, 06:12:56 PM
Yeah, we're all aware you have poor taste in games... :p
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 03, 2014, 06:29:36 PM
Meh :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 03, 2014, 07:10:12 PM
Have you ever played populous, it's nothing like any of the civ games  ::)

Beyond Earth looks great, but looks so different, I might even have to go through the tutorial for it  :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 04, 2014, 12:27:58 PM
It's based on the same idea. Without Populous you wouldn't have games like Civ. A 'god' creating people and elements needed to survive - farming, food, weapons, smiths, armies, mines etc etc. Throw in an enemy (a rival tribe, nation or in this case aliens) and you've got very similar sort of games.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 04, 2014, 01:09:59 PM
You could argue it's beginnings are in Populus (as a god game), in Sim City (as a human management and growth simulation) or in Dune/C&C (as a resource and strategy game) but the reality is it's got roots in them all - as well as others.
Populus will definitely be an influence in some way, but it's a long way removed.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 04, 2014, 01:50:45 PM
Hate to tell you this harv.. but the first Civilization was based on the board game Civilization which was released in 1980 - a whole 9 years before Populous was released.  ;D  (It also took bits and bobs from Risk too).  But there were people working on the first civ game far before Populous was released... it was only until Sid Meier took over that it was released (it just so happened that at that point, Populous had already been released).

Anyway, you don't even play as god in the game.. and its not real time like everything else mentioned is - Civ's genre is actually classified as 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate) - I only heard this term a month or so ago.. but its been around for ages.. Civ is pretty much the defining title of that genre.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 04, 2014, 02:58:14 PM
Well, that puts that to bed, then. =))
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 04, 2014, 03:54:31 PM
Okay, fair enough. Still can't understand the appeal though lol :P ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 04, 2014, 05:10:06 PM
Have never played a Civilisation game (got one sitting on my 360 HDD but have never even booted it up - Civilisation Revolution?) but I'm intrigued by Beyond Earth. I used to play RTS games a lot like Age of Empires and C&C but this seems different, I might give it a go.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 06, 2014, 12:00:05 PM
Played Guacamelee for a few hours this weekend.. pretty indifferent about it.. neither love it nor hate it.. did take me a while to get into the game though..

Also received Kinect Sports Rivals.. created my "champion" using just Kinect... looks nothing like me  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 07, 2014, 08:31:08 PM
Have played a little bit of Guacamelee too. It's fun to play and I really like the art style and music, and I'm getting a bit of a Mario vibe from it with all the princess-kidnapping. Will probably finish try to finish it at some point.

Looking forward to the finale episode of The Wolf Among Us out this week. It's an episodic point and click story game like The Walking Dead, but it's even better. Highly recommended.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 08, 2014, 07:48:40 AM
I finished Guacamelee the other night.. it doesn't last very long.. I guess I can go back, do some of the side-quests and 100% a few areas.. got the inferno challenges - although some of those are right bastards... I might do that.. probably wont bother replaying it on hard for the full 100% achievements though.. we'll see... I'm not liking Kinect Sports Rivals that much lol.. they've fucked the football right up.. >:(   Should of bought Watch Dogs
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 08, 2014, 09:19:59 AM
Have quite enjoyed the little bit of Guacamelee I've played, but I'm not very far through it yet - have only been to 2 towns/areas so far.
Reminds me a little of the old Metroid games, with all the locked off stuff that you can see from the start and know you'll need to come back to later when you're unlocked a new ability.

I'm keen to play The Wolf Among Us, but will probably wait a while and get it on the One. (TWAU and TWD are both due on the One later this year.) Unless it's a stupid price in which case I'll probably just get it on the pc or wait for an xbox marketplace sale.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 08, 2014, 10:44:57 AM
Some very good sale prices on the xbox 360 at the moment.

dealspwn (http://www.dealspwn.com/xbox-live-ultimate-game-sale-begins-today-177306)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 08, 2014, 11:45:26 AM
Reminds me a little of the old Metroid games, with all the locked off stuff that you can see from the start and know you'll need to come back to later when you're unlocked a new ability.

Thankfully there is very little backtracking that needs to be done in the main story (unlike Metroid games) - which means respawning enemies aren't much of an issue - without that filler, the game doesn't last very long though.

I unlocked everything last night.. so just going through each area and trying to 100% them and also do some Inferno challenges when I get bored of that.. like I said, I don't hate it.. but equally don't love it.. it definitely helps to pass the time though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 12, 2014, 01:28:39 PM
(http://cdn.acidcow.com/pics/20140711/gifs_14.gif)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 12, 2014, 02:25:13 PM
That stare still gives me nightmares lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 12, 2014, 03:09:12 PM
It's a shame he didn't have that stare in Luigi's Mansion. None of those ghosts would have fucked with him!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 12, 2014, 05:18:38 PM
 ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 13, 2014, 07:20:29 PM
Almost went for Luigi's Mansion 2 today but got Bravely Default instead. It's great so far, but I knew it would be good because I started to play the demo. The very start was quite a nice surprise, it comes with an AR card which you use at the beginning of the first cutscene, made the bird that gets kidnapped grabbed from my bedroom lol :P

I've only seen small stuff being done with AR cards before so it was pretty cool seeing a life size use for it, although the dozy tart kept on moving around a little too much when she was crapping herself about the hole opening up on my bedroom floor lol ;D

Only cost me 12 quid because I traded in my Wii U retail copy of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate after getting the digital version for free via the Mario Kart 8 free game promotion. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 14, 2014, 07:07:53 PM
Aw bollocks...decided to continue and finish my play through of Twilight Princess but when I did my Wii transfer ages ago it transferred some old saves from my Wii and overwrote my newer saves >:(

Oh well, good job I love playing the game lol :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 16, 2014, 01:12:28 PM
Bought Watch_Dogs yesterday (£25 second hand at Grainger).

I'm not very far into it so far but it seems decent. As the reviews indicate, it's not the ground-breaking title we'd been hoping for, and it's not as shiny as Ubi had initially led us to believe, but it all seems pretty good fun.
Haven't done much of the story yet. I did the first couple of missions then switched to just doing my own thing - so preventing a few crimes, unlocking a few ctOS towers, playing a few mini-games, and skimming a lot of folks' bank accounts, etc.

Some of the controls and objectives aren't all that intuitive, but I should get used to them soon enough.
Car handling isn't great, but remotely controlling barriers and traffic lights to stop pursuers is fun (though not always that effective - but that's probably just me needing to improve my timing and skills).

Was playing a bit of Texas Hold-em in a residential basement with a few NPCs last night. It's as you'd expect, but with it's own twist. There was a camera on the back wall, and I could remotely access it an occasionally see other players' cards - and I could also monitor heart rate etc. to see who's stressing out. Nice additions - though I mainly just played the game without resorting to those measures. Until a bug stopped me playing, anyway. My controller was working fine, but the game just stopped responding to my inputs to call/raise/fold. Hopefully that's an anomaly (possibly partly caused by my falling asleep for a couple of hours mid-game) and not indicative of the game having lots of bugs.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 16, 2014, 04:15:55 PM
Unfortunately any open world game is going to be full of bugs, they're a real nightmare to work on. Particularly when you find a crash. There are so many different variables involved that often you have absolutely no idea why it crashed which makes it impossible to reproduce. You're guaranteed to see a shitload of 'Once Only' crashes in the bug tracking database that were 'Closed As Not Seen' at the last minute before the game was sent for Submission to Microsoft and Sony for Standards and Functional testing.

And technically a game that forces you to quit the game and restart it is a Class A bug but Lead Testers like the easy life and usually have those as Class B bugs because it makes the bug statistics look better to QA Supervisors and Producers during meetings. Has always annoyed me, that. Any bug that forces you to restart a game should be a Class A, it's as bad as a crash. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 17, 2014, 02:42:04 AM
Completed Guacamelee! Should be in bed really but had to defeat the final boss and I was too tired to read his attacks so it took me a few tries... Definitely wasn't the hardest fight though. I'd have to give that to the Javier Jaguar guy. Great fun.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 17, 2014, 11:46:59 AM
Calaca isn't that tough because he has a pattern of about 6/7 moves that are fairly easy to remember and he gives you plenty of time to get out of the way, whereas Javier, whilst he also has a pattern is much harder in dodging because his attacks are faster and not as easy to spot.. plus he will go between worlds just when you don't want him to, I beat Javier first time on normal, but he took me a good 30 minutes on hard I'd say.

Normal was fairly easy to complete, a few fights I had to re-do but not many.... the hardest fight for me though (on hard) was one inside the last area (leading up to Calaca) - some of those fights are pretty insane.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 20, 2014, 06:47:54 PM
Just started playing Assassin's Creed IV and really wish developers/researchers would do their jobs properly. It's supposed to be 1715 (or close to that year, can't specifically remember the year now). Have been looking at the character database and with the bit of crumpet it references the word 'cad' in her background. That word shouldn't be used, it wasn't used to describe people like that until well over a hundred years later. 'Ruffian' would have been a better word to use.

Bloody useless Frogs lol :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 20, 2014, 06:55:50 PM
Christ, sack the lot of them!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 20, 2014, 07:41:43 PM
Partly the writers/researchers to blame but the QA staff need to take some sort of responsibility too...although it wouldn't surprisemme if one of the testers bugged it and it got closed as 'By Design', also known in the trade as 'Can't fix, won't fix' lol ;D ;D ;D

Just winds me up when things in video games aren't historically accurate :-[ ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 20, 2014, 08:35:41 PM
There's also this thing where you jump back in time slightly if you die.
And everyone speaks English.
Incompetent game design if ever I saw it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 20, 2014, 10:39:23 PM
Everyone speaking English fits in with the story, as does what happens when you die. But the use of the word 'cad' is incorrect, the word simply didn't exist. You could argue that the text in the database was written in the game's present time, but that wouldn't work either unless you can imagine that the use of the word gains popularity in the future like it did with the upper class in the 60s. :-\

It should be 'ruffian', not 'cad'.

Just one of these things in games that really annoys me, bad research. We used to get instances of bad research all the time when I was working at Eidos. It wouldn't annoy me so much if these fuckers didn't earn more than twice as much as I used to lol ;D

Bad game design is also a major bugbear of mine too. These days you need a design degree to get a design job but unfortunately the vast majority of people that get a design degree fail to get even the basics right. Years ago, when game design was a great deal better, all you needed were talent, imagination and, most importantly, extensive experience in actually playing games. To know what works and what doesn't. I've lost count of the amount of atrocious design bugs I've entered during my career, some of which were closed 'By Design' and mentioned in reviews as design issues lol. Bloody annoying, that's the sort of thing that made me want to email the designer in question with a link and a quote saying, 'I fucking told you so, you twat!!!' :o ;D ;D ;D

You can't do that sort of thing though unfortunately...I got myself in a bit of bother years ago with sending the Producer of Champ Man an email saying that the Eidos logo splashscreen needed to be changed because it looked like it was designed by a 5 year old lmfao ;D ;D ;D

Could be a coincidence but it was changed in the following game the next year ;) 8) I got a right bollocking for it though lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 22, 2014, 09:21:27 AM
Jeez, is this what this thread has come too ?  ::) 8)

I'm holding off buying anything new for now... got a 2 week holiday in a few weeks and when I get back there will be plenty coming out :

NHL 15 in September
Destiny in September
Civilization 6 in October
Sunset Overdrive in October
Evolve in October
Far Cry 4 in November
Halo MC Collection in November

Its gonna be a busy winter  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 22, 2014, 09:42:24 AM
Quote
Destiny in September
Evolve in October
Far Cry 4 in November
Halo MC Collection in November

I'm definitely keen on those four (and Sunset Overdrive has my interest piqued, too) but realistically I'm probably going to have to limit myself to two of them at release and maybe get the others a few months later.
I'll also probably get Minecraft when it comes out on the One, in August. I've never played Minecraft before but I've played a rip-off version (Fortresscraft on the 360) and enjoyed it. And it's likely to be only £15-£20 rrp.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 22, 2014, 10:18:46 AM
Am getting Hyrule Warriors in September and Bayonetta 2 in October myself. Got too much of a backlog to get anything else.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 22, 2014, 10:48:46 AM
Minecraft is utter shit.. and has an average age of around 13-15 years old... why Late.. WHY!!!?!?!  Its for the children.. right.. right!!

I don't get why it is so popular.. there is this one guy at work, all he ever fucking talks about is Minecraft.. he knows I don't play it.. he *should* be able to judge when he's talking to me that my expressionless face means I couldn't give a shit what he does in Minecraft or how many people he had on his server last night... but every time he goes on a ciggy break at the same time.. that's all I'll hear... he's such a boring twat... I've been actively avoiding him for the past 6 months now.. but sometimes there is no escape.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 22, 2014, 01:12:22 PM
 ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 22, 2014, 02:19:46 PM
I'm looking to pick up:

Evolve
Assassin's Creed Unity
FIFA 15
Alien: Isolation

Then on the maybe/buy later list:

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Halo: MC Collection
Sunset Overdrive
Civilisation: Beyond Earth
Destiny (not sold on it yet, gonna try the beta tomorrow)
Either Forza Horizon 2 or Project CARS (only want one racing game)
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments (love a detective game)

It's going to be nice to finally have a bit of choice rather than hoping someone releases a game worth buying. :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 22, 2014, 04:04:01 PM
Have you gone insane..? Or got more money than sense..?

You'll be better off getting Assassin's Creed Unity after a few weeks rather than at launch, it's a Ubisoft title after all so you'll be able to get it half price by then. I really can't understand why Ubisoft do this for every single title and how they don't end up going bust lol :o :-\ ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 22, 2014, 04:18:36 PM
Yes, you've posted that about 30 times already, just like the majority of your posts are things you've said before, many times.

"United are amazing"
"Arse(nal) suck lol"
"I love Nintendo"
"There are so many good games on the Wii/Wii U/3DS ;D ;D ;D " (lists a number of games no one over the age of 12 cares about)
"I love my cat"
"Ubisoft suck lol  ;D ;D :-\ :-\ :o :o"
"Eidos suck  :o :o :o ;D ;D ;D"
"Reviewers are idiots lol" (if a bad review is given to a game Harv likes)
"Well reviewers like it" (if a good review is given to a game Harv likes)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 22, 2014, 05:12:08 PM
I've never said that Ubisoft suck. Just that buying a Ubisoft game on launch day is a daft thing to do. Anyone with an ounce of sense would put a Ubisoft title on the buy later list. I still can't work out how they're still in business tbh, they have always had poor project management (way too many staff working on a game in particular) and cut the price of their games as early as a couple of weeks after launch sometimes...and after a month or two you can pick them up for as little as £19.99. It's insane. :o

Feel free to buy Assassin's Creed Unity on day one if you want to, I'm just saying that you're better off saving ten or twenty quid and getting it a week/two/four weeks later. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 23, 2014, 02:57:53 PM
Might have to move Destiny from the maybe list to the must-buy list! Despite not generally being a fan of FPS games, I enjoyed the few hours I played of the beta last night night. I got a sort of 'Prometheus' vibe from it (love that film). What I've seen so far of the game is beautiful and I want to carry on exploring with Peter Dinklage guiding me. ;D I like the level of customisation too, I feel like I've barely scratched the surface when I've already picked up a load of guns/armour.

The enemies could be a bit more dynamic rather than just spawning near a rock/building and defending it for dear life. At times it's just a mad XP grab where you see people dashing around an area waiting for enemies to respawn. Only other little annoyance was that I got disconnected a few times but then it's a beta, so it's always likely that'll happen

Oh, and I've got a spare code if anyone wants it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 23, 2014, 03:36:32 PM
Yes please!
I'm itching to give that a go.

___________________________________________


Was tempted to have "Battlefield: Hardline" in my maybe list, but it's in a busy period so probably wouldn't get a look in.
Today they've put it back to Q1 2015, though. Which definitely takes it out of the list of games I might buy in 2014, but makes it a contender for a game I might buy in 2015.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 23, 2014, 03:42:43 PM
I tried to win a Destiny code on Facebook.. no luck  >:(  To be honest, I'm not sure how much time I would be able to give it at the moment.. I've hardly touched the X1 since completing Guacamelee.. but if you have any "spare spares".. let me know!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 23, 2014, 03:50:01 PM
Check your PMs, guys!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 23, 2014, 03:59:38 PM
Yes please!
I'm itching to give that a go.

___________________________________________


Was tempted to have "Battlefield: Hardline" in my maybe list, but it's in a busy period so probably wouldn't get a look in.
Today they've put it back to Q1 2015, though. Which definitely takes it out of the list of games I might buy in 2014, but makes it a contender for a game I might buy in 2015.

With a bit of luck Battlefield will be playable by the time you get it next year :P  ;D

Will be getting Destiny myself when I get my PS4 next year I reckon. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 23, 2014, 04:09:21 PM
"Success!
You now own Destiny Beta." (xbox.com)

Thanks Kenny - I'll be driving that little bit faster to get home tonight :D

____________________________________________


It's always a gamble buying multiplayer games a long time after their release, Harv.

That said, you probably just want it for the single player  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 23, 2014, 04:24:44 PM
Will probably delve into the online play but will be as cheap as chips by the time I get it anyway so no biggie ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 23, 2014, 08:19:52 PM
Nice one Kenny, just downloading now  :D

Any idea when it ends ?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 23, 2014, 10:39:25 PM
Not long. It's only scheduled to last until 27/07.
I've got it downloaded and will have a look tonight.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 23, 2014, 11:26:03 PM
Started downloading the beta at about 6:30. It said it was okay to play a few minutes later, with 10% downloaded - but there's been lots of people saying it caused them a lot if grief doing that and you're better if waiting until it's fully downloaded, so I opted to wait.
Five hours later and it's still downloading :|
(Is at 91% so not long to go, but I'm really looking forward to my broadband increase next year, now! )
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 24, 2014, 07:42:19 AM
Mine took about 2 hours.. I got to the class select screen and then turned it off.. was too tired. 

Will give it a quick go tonight or tomorrow
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 24, 2014, 10:21:23 AM
Yeah, I didn't get a chance to play it last night (been doing a bit of hill walking on evenings lately, so that's taking up time and is also leaving me a bit tired on a night) but will definitely have a look tonight and hopefully get some serious time on it this weekend.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 24, 2014, 03:36:27 PM
Hill walking..? :o

Blimey, what with Jman and his cycling and you with your walking I'm beginning to feel chubby lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 24, 2014, 04:02:35 PM
Never really got into Halo but I'm told the Destiny gameplay is very Halo: Reach-esque. I think when it comes out I'm just gonna hang around with Jman as he was obviously a Halo God.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 24, 2014, 06:38:41 PM
Hah, do love my halo.. especially killing n00bs.. probably wont get to play tonight.. but forgot the missus is out tomorrow so be able to give it a good go then..  busy all weekend unfortunately so wont get any time then  :(  If its anything like Halo, I'll be putting a pre-order down  :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 24, 2014, 07:44:09 PM
Have done the campaign/tutorial stuff, and am impressed so far - before getting to the real game and multiplayer. Plays well, and it looks like there's some nice rpg-type elements to improving skills and equipment as you progress.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 25, 2014, 05:49:33 PM
I was enjoying it until I went to the space hub.. then went to do the next mission.. and saw other players joining in the fighting... no no no... I don't want to play an MMO in any shape or form.. I looked for an option to just play on my own.. but couldn't find any.... the server chucked me off soon afterwards.. I'm sure random disconnections will be encountered less in the real game.. but it's a problem that hampers any kind of online-only game

Sorry Kenny, think you might have to find someone else to hide behind.. I don't particularly like it and I think the beta is enough to put me off buying it... whilst some parts are definitely Halo-esque.. its got more in common with Borderlands.. which I never really got on that well - my friend who loves Borderlands 2 bought me a copy and we played it through to the end, there were some enjoyable parts and its better playing with a real life friend... but on the whole, I never got into the game as much as other people who have played it have.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on July 25, 2014, 10:39:42 PM
I never played Borderlands, but it sounds like I would enjoy it! I did most of the missions available myself on the beta but the final one I had to do with 2 other people as it was very difficult. It was a bit annoying as one guy didn't seem to realise getting blown up by a huge spider tank thing (called Devil Walkers, I think) means instant death, so he didn't bother trying to dodge its attacks and just kept dying... I think the MMO elements are going to be alien to a lot of standard FPS players just expecting to come on and shoot things, so getting any sort of teamwork going might be tough. I'll probably play by myself a lot unless I have a couple of friends online I can party up with.

I tried out a second class today, made myself a Titan and I can now see why I wasn't doing so well in the Crucible (player vs player) as a Warlock! The classes seem balanced but I think I'll need to learn more about fighting as a Warlock if I choose to be that class in the full game as they don't seem to be quite as good in close combat as Titans.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 26, 2014, 02:58:21 AM
Had my first go in the Crucible (multiplayer arena) this evening. Not sure what class I am. Sine sorry if robot magician.
I didn't fare very well. I think I had something like 4 kills and 20 deaths.
Kept getting crushed by people jumping into the air and doing some sort of ground smash move.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 26, 2014, 11:56:27 AM
(http://abload.de/img/d768b3be0988faa500bc13ooaz.gif)

Bayonetta 2 is looking better and better each time I see it. Dat wave :o 8) ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 26, 2014, 07:07:12 PM
And in 60fps-o-vision:

http://a.pomf.se/whxbap.webm

Fucking hell, this game looks sooooooo fucking smooth!!! :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 26, 2014, 11:02:59 PM
Still Bayonetta. Still rubbish.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 26, 2014, 11:24:02 PM
Meh. :P

Just coz u don't have da skillz 2 play action gamez 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 28, 2014, 12:18:48 PM
I'm undecided on Destiny.
I enjoyed the single player, but was rubbish on the multiplayer. But I'm not sure if that's just because I had rubbish weapons and unlocks compared to other folk.
I only actually played two games of multiplayer. One with a level 6 warlock, and one with a level 8 titan.

Actually, I played one more game with the level 8 titan but I'm trying to pretend that never happened. It started as 6-v-3 (I was one of the 3) and then one of my team-mates left. I don't care how good or bad you are, if you're playing an FPS with six people against two or three it's going to be a total whitewash.

I see the comparisons to Borderlands, now you mention it, and that's strange - because I really didn't like Borderlands (I played the first, but didn't get very far through it - never tried Borderlands 2) but I'm enjoying Destiny's campaign. :\
My best bet might be to leave it a few months, pick it up cheap, and stick mainly to the single player.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 30, 2014, 06:24:15 PM
Leaving PS Plus:
6th August: TowerFall Ascension
6th August: Strider
6th August: Dead Space 3
6th August: Vessel
6th August: LEGO Batman 2 DC Superheroes
6th August: Doki Doki Universe

Entering PS Plus:
6th August: Road Not Taken (ps4)
6th August: FEZ (ps4)
6th August: Crysis 3 (ps3)
6th August: Proteus (ps3)
6th August: Metrico (psv)
6th August: LEGO Harry Potter 5-7 Years (psv)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 03, 2014, 09:09:59 AM
Has anyone played Child of Light, it's a Ubisoft RPG 2d side scrolling fairy-tale adventure, sounds pretty good, a bit easy if anything but I think I'm gonna give it a go
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 03, 2014, 09:39:37 AM
Child Of Light is delightful. Very well put together, looks gorgeous, great story and all of the dialogue rhymes. Haven't got around to finish it yet though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 04, 2014, 02:00:51 PM
Well I played CoL for about 2 hours at the weekend... I can appreciate the graphics and rhyming dialogue and how they come together to create a certain style of game.. but the dialogue is annoying me because I feel like its holding a half decent story back, so the graphics aren't really doing it for me either.  There are certain parts of the game I like such as the hybrid RPG style (turn based and real time) - but there are also parts I don't like.. having to collect orbs to regen health/mp for example - also its been plain sailing for me so far... very few tactics required in any of the fights.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: larry on August 05, 2014, 09:24:21 AM
Ive just started playing Heavy Rain, its been on the shelf for a while (plus another 7 still not even opened :o)

Great story thus far, love the way you flick between characters for a different approach on the story. Cant wait to see how it pans out  :) Mind you, it depends on the way you play to what ending you get, so defo another play through i think.

Anybody know how many different endings there are? i dont want to have alook as i dont want any spoilers ;)

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 05, 2014, 11:51:40 AM
lol - fair call. Would love to play that some time, but not having a playstation I'm happy to google it for you...

brb...

Okay, it seems there's around 22-24 possible endings. That seems to be six main ones, and then another 16-18 variations of those.

Some of the branches happen quite near the end (and naturally some are much earlier) - so if you want to it's possible to see several different endings just by replaying the final chapter, but for others you'll need to do another full playthrough or two.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 05, 2014, 02:42:33 PM
I figured it all out about two thirds of the way through because I'm too clever :( PM me when you've finished the game and I'll tell you how I worked it out. 8)

A great game though, keep on meaning to play it again because I'm one trophy away from a Platinum.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 05, 2014, 03:45:50 PM
I figured it all out about two thirds of the way through because I'm too clever :(

(http://www.quickmeme.com/img/ba/ba11fd0a157c548e894006954b90437c42d83009017f9e2c3ff5e0a9ef65a2f2.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 05, 2014, 03:51:02 PM
Okay, not clever exactly. Can't say how I worked it out without giving anything away lol :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: larry on August 06, 2014, 08:25:56 AM
Okay, it seems there's around 22-24 possible endings. That seems to be six main ones, and then another 16-18 variations of those.

 :o Bloody hell! I knew there were a few endings, but 22-24! thanks for looking  ;)

I actually finished the game last night and really enjoyed it, great storyline with a few twists and turns along the way. Harv, i didnt realize who it was until it was mentioned towards the end. I cant see when you would have known who the killer was before TBH, but then again im obviously not as clever as yourself!  ;)

Great game, something completly different that i havent played before. Yes there are a few glitches here and there with the controls and graphics (quite a few in the police station, with phone hand pieces floating in mid air!) But none the less a very enjoyable game. I loved the fight and chase scenes, really good fun, and some of which carry on for a good few mins :)

Ive just got a few trophies to collect (handy having chapter select) then it will go back on the shelf. I cant bring myself to sell it, as i think ill defo play through again at somepoint.  9 out of 10 from me  8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 06, 2014, 11:24:16 AM
Evolve has been pushed back from October 2014 to February 2015.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 06, 2014, 12:53:50 PM
It was his scar above his eye. In the flashback you saw the kid getting the injury that caused the scar. I spotted it because for years at work when testing I needed good attention to detail so I tend to notice small details like this.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 06, 2014, 04:35:02 PM
"The Expendabros" is currently* free on Steam.

It's effectively an extended demo of "Bro-Force", but is released as a tie-in with "The Expendables" film.

I'll have to give it a look some time.


*(until the end of the year)

Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/312990/)
dealspwn (http://www.dealspwn.com/expendabros-piece-free-promotional-material-played-179020)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on August 16, 2014, 12:50:00 AM
Finally got round to playing The Last of Us...picked up the Remastered edition for the PS4 and it's already my game of the year...True 1080p, 60 frames per second...looks absolutely wonderful in HD utilising the full force of the PS4...Gritty and hard storyline, characters you actually immersed in, wondefully crafted environments and game mechanics that work well with the survival horror theme.

Will check out the Multiplayer next and see how that compares, but Naughty Dog are the masters of the Single Player experience, never thought Uncharted could be topped, and even though Uncharted had a serious side to it, it was always a bit tongue in cheek and never took itself too seriously...The Last of Us is definitely the opposite...it's brutal and edgy, has a true horror feel to it and it's incredibly dark, but it's all for the better of the experience.

Need to move back to FIFA World Cup and finish that before FIFA 15 comes out now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 26, 2014, 02:58:58 PM
Pre-ordered NHL 15 today as its out in a few weeks.. couldn't remember if I had already done so, so I might end up with two copies..  :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 26, 2014, 03:13:09 PM
The mind is always the first thing to go... :o :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 27, 2014, 03:45:08 PM
I don't usually buy annualised versions of games in successive years but I did own NHL14 and Fifa14 last year and played NHL an obscene amount - probably the best hockey game in a long time.  Downloaded the demo of the new one on the X1 and it looks absolutely gorgeous and plays really well too, looking forward to it
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 27, 2014, 08:23:26 PM
Are PC games going up in price.. £38 seems to be the norm for a new copy of The Sims 4 - I might of had a look in if I could get it for £25.. no way I'm forking out near on £40 for it though.. perhaps these are retail prices only ?  :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 28, 2014, 03:15:27 AM
EA have definitely been putting prices up in the last year or two. They seem to be the main culprits - I've not noticed a price increase policy from other publishers.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 30, 2014, 02:52:26 PM
Started playing Dead Space 3 (got it free when I got Sim City) - its bloody rubbish compared to the first 2  >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 01, 2014, 09:42:12 AM
Games with gold, September 2014:

XBOX ONE:
Super Time Force (https://store.xbox.com/en-GB/Xbox-One/Games/Super-Time-Force/90c5260d-0e1b-42f2-a121-c286d0952a5f) (new - available now until 30 Sept)
Crimson Dragon (https://store.xbox.com/en-GB/Xbox-One/Games/Crimson-Dragon/22562d7e-152c-4b14-8091-c8656dcb7f46) (was free in August - available now until 30 Sept)

XBOX 360:
Monaco (http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Monaco-Whats-Yours-is-Mine/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258411297) (new - available now until 15 Sept)
Halo Reach (http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Halo-Reach/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8024d53085b?DownloadType=Game) (new - available 16 Sept until 30 Sept)

Reasonable result. Super Time Force looks like it could be good fun, and I don't think I have Halo Reach.




PS+ games September:
Velocity 2x (http://blog.eu.playstation.com/tag/velocity-2x/) - ps4
Sportsfriends (https://store.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/#!/games/sportsfriends/cid=EP4471-CUSA00484_00-SPORTSFRIENDS000) - ps4
Playstation All Star Battle Royale (https://store.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/#!/games/playstation-all-stars-battle-royale/cid=EP9000-NPEA00413_00-PSABATROYL000001) - ps3
Hoard (https://store.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/#!/games/hoard/cid=EP2046-NPEB00395_00-HOARDDEMOEURO003) - ps3
TxK (https://store.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/#!/games/txk/cid=EP4461-PCSB00494_00-LLAMASOFTTXK0001) - psV
Joe Danger (http://blog.eu.playstation.com/tag/joe-danger/) - psV
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 01, 2014, 10:11:59 AM
Aaaaargh!!! Abyss is doing my bloody head in lol :o ;D ;D ;D

Like I said before it's one of those old-school games in terms of difficulty that you used to see regularly released 20 or 30 years ago. You'll end up dying LOADS as you play it but keep on coming back to it saying, 'RIGHT!!! Just ONE more go!!!' ;D ;D ;D And then when you do beat the level eventually you get a ridiculous amount of satisfaction from doing it. I ended up a couple of days ago being in the position you always find yourself in with these sort of games where your Mojo is working like nobody's business. I breezed through 3 or 4 levels without a problem, all apart from one in my first go. But I was pretty tired and it was late so I decided to stop and go to beddy byes. Fatal mistake!!! :o >:( ;D :P

Now I'm stuck on mission 9 out of 12 and have been for a couple of days. Bloody typical lol ;D

The game is fantastic, most of the work done by just 3 people too. If they decide to bring it to the PS4 or Xbox One I highly recommend it, VERY reasonably priced on the Wii U eShop as well, just £1.79...and I got it for 75% off too because I had bought another game previously so it only cost me 44p lol. I really like some of these deals that are regularly featured in the eShop. 8) ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 01, 2014, 07:02:51 PM
That super time force is a pretty mental, complex game.  It looks fairly simplistic but I bet some of the challenges/achievements are a bitch... Will be going for 100% before NHL is out  :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 02, 2014, 01:35:37 PM
cdkeys selling Sims 4 for £25.99 that's more like it.. downloading now.. release date isn't until the 5th September.. but its out in other parts of the world.. so you can use a vpn to trick origin into letting you play the game early  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 02, 2014, 02:36:10 PM
Would probably get that for the kids - if my computer could handle it, and if the kids weren't such complete morons with tech.

Banned one of them from the computer, last night. She knows she's not allowed to download or install anything (I'd have her on a limited account, but for some reason Steam wouldn't play unless I gave the account admin rights).
Last night I discovered that in the last few days she's installed a load of dodgy video-editing tools so she could put a video (ice bucket challenge) onto youtube, and has also installed several games. And also - and most worrying - she's installed a logmein type program to allow someone remote access to my computer.

Ugh.

Banned for a month, I've removed all recent programs (including the logmein thing), and done an AVG virus scan - found 14 (mainly trojans).
Fourteen?! I've only had two viruses in the last twenty years before this week!
If she does anything that stupid again she's banned for life. She's already, when much younger, borked an old computer I gave her, a laptop she got new a few years ago, and the family pc to the degree I formatted and reinstalled the OS a few months ago. I thought we'd be okay now she's 17 and supposedly not so stupid and naive.
FML.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 02, 2014, 04:39:23 PM
Lmfao ;D ;D ;D

I hate to think what you'd find if you checked it with a decent virus checker :o

You should check it out with Eset instead mate. It's the best there is mate imo.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 03, 2014, 07:31:18 AM
Know the pain dude.. well kindof.  Being the only one in the family with any modicum of sense when it comes to computers, I've always been the one having to sort shit out like this.

My dad gave my little brother his own pc and within a matter of months it was ruined.  It basically got to the point where he couldn't even use the internet because of the amount of crap on it.  He had downloaded some kind of browser hijacker which kept sending them to pages telling them they had loads of viruses and to pay and download this thing that would get rid of it.  My dad's never been that clever when it comes to computers, so actually paid for this thing  ::).. which obviously in turn downloaded more crap on the computer... at that point, he rang me up and told me what was going on.

It wasn't even worth my while trying to delete stuff.. I just told him to reformat it and lesson learnt.  Although a few months later I went round and there was tons more spyware and malware on there  :o  I don't think I've had a single virus on my pc for about 10 - 15 years now.  Anything potentially dodgy I do download, I'll download to a virtual machine first just to make sure it doesn't mess stuff up.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 04, 2014, 10:50:20 AM
I mainly bought the Sims 4 for my missus as she loves these games, but I've been having a go myself in the same world as her sim (but a different household).. twas funny last night.. she had been playing for hours.. I was moaning for her to get off and to stop pestering my sim... then she said.. I think my Sim is dead.. I looked up and her sim had been "woohooing" with my sim and whilst mine went to sleep, hers got out of bed and died... LOL... she was literally shagged to death.

Late, you might find your pc is ok for TS4.. they lowered the specs to make the game more accessible to people.. its not bad.. the loading times are pretty minimal and I like some of the upgrades from TS3... but a typical EA release.. loads of content missing.  And we are talking basic content.. like the ability to build a pool (which has been in every iteration of The Sims).. they have also got rid of the toddler lifetime and removed ghosts, and plenty more.. they even got rid of the pretty impressive creation mode from TS3.. obviously you can still create your sims how you want.. but its very limited in comparison to TS3.

On the plus, houses are much more flexible to build, the emotions between different sims are much more complex, there are additions to the jobs/skills system and you sim can multi-task at last.. so you can have a crap while reading a book for example.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 04, 2014, 11:40:44 AM
I have Sims 3, and I think that played fine, but I think I checked whether my pc could run Sims 4 with http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri and got a negative.

Maybe I'm remembering it wrong, though, and thinking of another game.
Have just checked the office computer, which I think is similar to my home one, and this'll run it. Just about. (http://s1.postimg.org/r46a70eu7/CYRI_SIMS4_OFFICE.png)


Really need to upgrade my computer at some point, but I'm broke.
Could maybe get away with just upgrading the OS, but tbh I'd probably be better off just getting a new tower. The one I have was second hand when I bought it, and that was best part of a decade ago!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 04, 2014, 09:47:57 PM
Was right about that Super Time Force.. I've completed the game and some of the remaining achievements look pretty tough.. got a week to do it before NHL comes out... I reckon I could probably do it.

Definitely check it out if you haven't already.. its a fucking manic, quite funny and mad game which has some pretty repetitive but fun gameplay.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 04, 2014, 10:49:39 PM
Had a play of it last night. Okay, but not really my cup of tea.
Might give it another play tonight, but I think Minecraft is out tomorrow so STF probably won't get a look in after tonight.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 05, 2014, 11:06:52 AM
Took me a while to get into STF.. the first chapter isn't the best.. but if you don't like the gameplay or mechanics then the game doesn't really do much different.

So far I've enjoyed all of the free Games With Gold games on the X1 - apart from Crimson Dragon which I'll admit is a tad disappointing.. and I also had already purchased the Halo game.. I think my live subscription comes to an end this month, so will be on the lookout for deals soon.

Edit : Actually my Live sub ran out tomorrow, so just extended it, 13 months for £24.49 from cdkeys, £1.88 per month.. will do me.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 05, 2014, 02:55:16 PM
Just seen the Bayonetta Nintendo Direct and I NEED THIS GAME IN MY VEINS NAO!!! :o :o :o

Comes out on the 24th October too, 4 days before my birthday so I can get my Mum to get it for my birthday! Nice! 8)

I don't think it's going to be as good as The Wonderful 101, but then it's going to take something VERY special to beat that as my personal best game of the generation. It's number 2 in my 5 best games of all-time list and I didn't think ANYTHING would knock Football Manager (the original for the Speccy, not the latest one!) off the number 2 spot. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 06, 2014, 02:36:55 PM
Bayonetta 2 launch trailer in 60fps goodness (http://www.gamersyde.com/hqstream_bayonetta_2_launch_trailer-32909_en.html). Looking absolutely beautiful. ;D 8) :-*

They also announced and showed a couple of new outfits for her - Princess Daisy and a saucy looking Fox outfit. Had the Hendrixpsong going through my head the second I saw it lol :-* :-* :-*
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 07, 2014, 04:51:05 AM
They also announced that the first game, which they've always said will be be included for free, will cost a tenner. "Free" lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 07, 2014, 03:56:47 PM
From what I've seen Bayonetta 2 Solus Edition is budget priced - around 30 quid. The Special Edition is the price of a normal game, around 40 quid and the First Print Edition is a fiver more expensive. Still means that if you buy the Special Edition you're getting two games for the price of one, just means that the Solus Edition is a bargain if you don't want to buy the first game again.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 08, 2014, 10:32:52 AM
Looks like NHL could be a disaster of all proportions if rumours about missing features and what not are to be believed.. and we are talking basic things.. simming to next shift in Be A Pro is missing - so unless you play with the entire team.. that mode has become completely unplayable - so annoying as this is my favourite mode.  Editing Players is missing, playing friends in HUT is missing.. there are a ton of other things too.

I believe this is only on the next-gen consoles.. although unsure.. I've already paid for the X1 version.. my mate is getting the X360 version.. I'm gonna compare the two and if the X360 has these features.. I could well be trading mine early on for the X360 version.. is a shame because the demo showed off some gorgeous graphics, the commentary has been improved ten-fold and the gameplay is great..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 08, 2014, 05:58:47 PM
Is that the first NHL on current generation consoles..? Thought there was one for launch day last year..?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 08, 2014, 06:17:10 PM
Yep, NHL 14 was released on 360/PS3 only... So you'd think they'd of had time to get things sorted
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 10, 2014, 09:10:09 AM
So NHL 15 on the X1 is ranking at 68 on metacritic.. mainly because of all the missing features... I've read a few reviews now its out and they don't even have a seasons mode or tournament mode for gods sake.. lol.. EA have shared some post-launch update plans.. but the things they are adding don't amount to much in the scale of things.

But the 360/PS3 versions are identikits of NHL 14.. pretty much exactly the same - even down to the menus.. NHL 14 was brilliant don't get me wrong.. but you'd basically be paying full price for a roster/shirt update... so I don't think I'll be bothering with that version since I still have NHL 14.

They really needed to hold their hands up and not release one this year.. its nowhere near ready.. I'll probably keep the X1 version as playing the demo, the gameplay is great and totally different to NHL 14.. its just a shame that they are releasing a half-baked game.

Still NHL 16 *should* be a cracker!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 12, 2014, 02:12:33 PM
GTA 5 releasing on X1 and PS4 on Nov 18th and PC on 27th Jan - about time innit!

Edit : No Wii U version announced though harv... remember when you said you were absolutely sure they would release the next one on a Nintendo platform... lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 12, 2014, 11:30:42 PM
It's a real shame because Lego City Undercover has shown how ideally suited the GamePad is to these sort of games. Same goes for Godfather Blackhand Edition, Bully and GTA IV last generation too. >:( If they did decide to bring GTA V to the Wii U the Wii U version would have been the better one to play in gameplay terms, the same way that Rayman Legends, Splinter Cell Blacklist and Deus Ex were. :'(

Godfather in particular was awesome. Grabbing people by the lapels and bouncing their heads off stuff never got old lol ;D ;D ;D 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on September 17, 2014, 08:44:51 PM
Must have put near 30 hours into Destiny already. Enjoying it a lot. The story was pretty weak but I think that's to be expected in this sort of game. It's just there as a tool to get people to hit the level cap, and that's when the real fun tends to start in MMOs. Reviews have been tepid so far, I think that's down to it being a game easier to enjoy with friends rather than by yourself.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 19, 2014, 11:06:24 AM
Am surprised at how much I'm enjoying Minecraft, and how many hours I'm putting into it - without actually accomplishing a great deal.
Have probably racked up over 50 hours in the fortnight since it came out. Might even be close to 100 hours.
I'm still playing the game I first started - I've not binned it off and started a new game at any point - so you'd think I'd have loads done. But no.

I've built a couple of fairly bigish homes, and a handful of cottages here and there, but I've not explored all that much, haven't mined many diamonds, haven't built anything remotely advanced (eg minecarts, switches, pistons, etc.) and I haven't progressed the story (such as there is) recently.
I seem to spend most of my time just ferrying resources around and building lego houses. It shouldn't be fun - but it is!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 19, 2014, 12:34:24 PM
I think it's pretty cool when a game that shouldn't really work well on paper ends up being ridiculously entertaining. The same can be said for Little Inferno, done by the same guys that did World of Goo. You've basically got a catalogue that you can order stuff from and a furnace and set light to things that you order. And that's it lol. When you burn stuff it drops money which you use to buy more stuff. It's kind of a puzzle game where you burn different items together, the combo name gives you a clue of what items to use. Once you solve the combos for a catalogue you get another catalogue in the post lol. It REALLY shouldn't be fun. But it's a real blast. :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on September 19, 2014, 03:08:00 PM
Should be lots of cool Minecraft content for Xbox users down the line now that MS have acquired it (well, Mojang) for a cool $2.5billion.  :o :o :o

They even think they'll make that back by the middle of next year! I'm ignorant to the popularity of it as it doesn't appeal to me, but I'm reliably informed that there's potentially a lot of money to be made from merchandise, toys and perhaps even a film adaptation.

Talk about splashing the cash. They're apparently sitting on about $80bn and it looks like they're prepared to throw some of that around to back the XB1.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 19, 2014, 04:10:23 PM
Played Little Inferno a fortnight back. Was okay, but I got bored and just printed out a list of combos about a quarter of the way through, so that I could see the ending. Which I didn't understand.


I seem to recall reading a while back that Mojang made 70m profit last year. I think that was in GBP£.
So you could argue that if it continued at that pace Microsoft will start reaping the benefits in about 21 years' time.

TBH it'd be a fantastic acquisition if they'd bought it before the game came out on Sony's platforms. But afterwards? I'm not so sure.

Certainly can't blame Notch for walking away, with billions in the bank and no responsibilities.
He could even afford to have plastic surgery so the disgruntled portion of the interwebs can't find him.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 22, 2014, 10:39:46 AM
Been on a retro trip recently...

Downloaded a decent emulator at work called RetroCopy64.. its an Arcade, NES, SNES, Game Gear, Master System and a Genesis emulator all in one.

Started with the Megadrive... first games I downloaded were Aladdin, Road Rash and Urban Strike.. started playing Urban Strike and I couldn't put it down.. its still so good to play.. I'm actually gonna stop playing and download Desert Strike today instead and play Desert/Jungle/Urban back to back

Also finally downloaded SNESDroid for my phone (which has a psx controller built in).. and started playing Super Mario All-Stars (SMB1, 2 and 3 in one cart).. worked perfectly with the controller and has given my phone a new lease of life... will probably download Chrono-Trigger and Super Mario Kart tonight and that will do me for a while.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 26, 2014, 01:03:48 AM
There's a Road Rash inspired indie game coming to consoles soonish called Road Redemption.

Have been continuing my playthrough of Hyrule Warriors and it just gets better and better. The music in particular is fantastic.

Am on level 5 now. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 28, 2014, 02:05:29 AM
Well my guess of a couple of hundred hours worth of entertainment from Hyrule Warriors was pretty spot on. The Completionist put it at 200+ hours to 100% the game :o And that's before you take into account the DLC being released between October and February next year.

Just had a quick look at Adventure Mode and Challenge Mode and they're great. Adventure Mode has a front end that has a grid of squares (in NES Legend Of Zelda-o-vision) and to travel to the adjacent squares you need to complete the square you start on with an A, B or C grade. Have only done a couple so far and the challenges are things like kill 300 enemies in 10 minutes and stuff like that. There's also an online component to that mode but I haven't looked into that yet.

As far as entertainment goes I'm putting this slightly ahead of both Super Mario 3D World and Mario Kart 8 but behind The Wonderful 101, but it's going to take something VERY special to beat The Wonderful 101 as my best.game of this generation.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 03, 2014, 06:24:58 PM
Downloaded Chariot for the free game this month on X1 and after only playing for an hour, I absolutely love it, a very addictive puzzle/logic platformer, could easily sink 30+ hours into this if I went for the full achievement list I reckon.  Plus it's simplistic approach should make co-op mode quite fun, I might even buy a 2nd controller just for this!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 04, 2014, 03:05:22 PM
Also saw that Defense Grid 2 was available to download from last week.. £20 seems a bit steep though although its pretty much the same price across all platforms.  I might give in if I get bored of Chariot.. I've played it for a good couple of hours extra and the play is wearing a little thin because it doesn't do much to shake things up - still a great game.. just a bit repetitive

And saw the trailer for D4 - that game looks Japanese bat-shit crazy.. although I like the sound of the plot... shame its episodic.. doesn't make me want to play the first episode straight away.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 05, 2014, 08:59:00 PM
Have downloaded the free game but haven't had a look yet.
Will definitely have to buy defence grid 2 at some point. Loved the first one.
Still busy with Minecraft for now though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 05, 2014, 09:11:05 PM
I'll get defense grid 2 next month I think, chariot is perfect in small bites, so will easily last me the month.. Im half way through the story mode at around 7-10 hours but there will be plenty to do afterwards

Been playing super knock out on the snes, jeez how hard is Aran Ryan... a right bugger
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 08, 2014, 07:56:06 PM
Completed Chariot's storyline.. some of the levels take an age to complete... only about 45% through the 'chievo list... some of them are rock hard... but I don't think I will be 100%'ing it.. mainly because I cant be arsed getting gold on all speed-runs... not only are the speed-runs really hard to get gold on... but some of the levels are just fucking annoying... it would definitely be easier if you upgrade the sprint perk to the max... but I haven't done that yet... so perhaps if the speed-runs are easier with it.. I might consider it... but also you need a 2nd controller to 100%.. and I don't think I will be buying one just yet.. maybe Christmas.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 10, 2014, 04:44:35 PM
I've now played the demo of Bayonetta 2 and am a very happy bunny. Everything I was hoping it was going to be. I've absoltely no idea how Platinum Games have managed to squeeze this game into the Wii U, it's absolutely stunning. Going to take me AGES to memorise the different combos though, there's LOADS of them :o ;D

Also helped my first Network Link in the online feature of Hyrule Warriors, no thanks to him/her though because they did bugger all of any use so I had to do most of the work...and in doing so I took too much damage and missed out on an A rating which is bloody annoying >:( Still, got a bloody great big fuck off weapon for my troubles lol 8)

First bit of DLC is going to be automatically downloaded to my Wii U on the 17th of this month, got the Season Pass equivalent for £13.49 which gives you all 4 bits of DLC and you get a good amount of extra content to add to an already content-rich game. I'm probably going to put hundreds of hours into this game :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 13, 2014, 07:50:37 PM
Blimey, looks like Bayonetta 2 is going down well with reviewers so far (http://www.metacritic.com/game/wii-u/bayonetta-2/critic-reviews) :o

At the time of posting there's 9/35 perfect scores so far. And one clickbait review from Game Revolution giving it 3.5/5 lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 13, 2014, 08:14:48 PM
So many games I want out in the next month or so

Shadow of Mordor looks great
So does alien isolation, they are already out
Sunset overdrive out in the next week or so
Civilization out at the end of the month
Halo MC collection out in a month
Then far cry 4 a week later
 8) 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 13, 2014, 08:45:52 PM
Going to get Bayonetta 2 for my birthday on the 28th of this month and depending on reviews Sonic Boom and Watch Dogs for Christmas. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 14, 2014, 05:11:27 PM
Well that's chariot well and truly done with... Crashed on loading and I had to reset, now I can't even get into the load menu to try and load the last game, am stuck on the press A to start screen and nothing works, I imagine if I delete my save file it would let me back in

Bollocks to that, I was pretty much done with the non-insane achievements anyway... question is, do I buy defense grid 2 now knowing that in a few weeks I'll have enough games to keep me going till xmas and probably not play it again until afterwards, hmmm
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 14, 2014, 10:32:19 PM
I'll wait for Alien Isolation. Looks great, but looks likely to drop in price pretty quickly - so I'll wait a few months.
I need Masterchief Collection and Far Cry but things are a bit tight so I will probably just buy one and ask someone for the other for Xmas.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 18, 2014, 05:39:21 PM
Have had 6 or 7 goes on the Bayonetta 2 demo now and I'm getting better lol. Gone from Stone to Bronze to Silver. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 20, 2014, 07:04:42 PM
Oh yes.. just watched the IGN video (http://www.ign.com/videos/2014/10/20/zanzibar-stonetown-1-flag-ctf-gameplay-footage-halo-the-master-chief-collection-ign-first) of a sneak preview of the remade Zanzibar map.. 1-Flag CTF.. probably the best multiplayer map, with the best multiplayer mode in the best multiplayer game ever!!  Cant wait.. frustrating watching that video as the guy playing is below average.. I could of won that game solo against the red 4 I reckon  ;D

Think there are 6 maps getting the next gen treatment.. Ascension, Lockout, Sanctuary, Zanzibar, Warlock and Coagulation... Halo 2 is the goldeneye of the 21st century, I cant wait to play.. if anyone else is getting it.. give me a shout if you want me to help your n00b asses... I am pretty fucking awesome at it if I do say so myself.. think I managed a level 48 on most of my favourite gametypes.. there were a lot of modders/cheaters in the game though.. hopefully that shit will be gone.

Wow just seen theres a whopping 20GB Day 1 patch on the MCC so circumvent using multiple discs...  :o  Fucking hell.. I might have to buy an external hard-drive soon  :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on October 20, 2014, 10:20:12 PM
Halo isn't for me.  :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 23, 2014, 10:10:06 AM
Whaaa ?  ;D

What is it exactly that you don't like, the gameplay or the lore... I absolutely loved the games.. 343 studios did a good job with Halo 4 - but it didn't feel the same without Bungie... which is why I'm so excited about MCC because its bringing back the good old days.

Just seen the first proper Nightfall (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe5iGKfl_ws&oref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQe5iGKfl_ws&has_verified=1) trailer.. which also comes as part of the MCC - it looks boss!  Can't believe Microsoft still haven't cashed in on a Halo movie.. it would make bucketloads.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 29, 2014, 07:21:21 PM
Holy fucking shitballs the halo 2 anniversary trailer (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7_64VHqDHQQ trailer) looks amazing, don't think I've seen a cinematic trailer for a game look so good before... I can't bloody wait for this!!  8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on October 30, 2014, 02:16:49 AM
Whaaa ?  ;D

What is it exactly that you don't like, the gameplay or the lore... I absolutely loved the games.. 343 studios did a good job with Halo 4 - but it didn't feel the same without Bungie... which is why I'm so excited about MCC because its bringing back the good old days.

Just seen the first proper Nightfall (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe5iGKfl_ws&oref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQe5iGKfl_ws&has_verified=1) trailer.. which also comes as part of the MCC - it looks boss!  Can't believe Microsoft still haven't cashed in on a Halo movie.. it would make bucketloads.

Was just never really into shooters (crap at them, more like). Don't mind a bit of COD these days and I've put a lot of time into Destiny but I'd say they're rather casual pick-up-and-play FPS games that don't require an awful lot of skill, unlike Halo. I'm tempted to pick up the MCC though.

Got a spare Evolve alpha code for XB1 if anyone wants it. It begins today (30th October) and ends Sunday night so it's a pretty small window.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 30, 2014, 08:55:20 AM
Have been really enjoying Bayonetta 1, just completed Chapter III last night. Some of the QTEs are a pain in the arse though. Got Platinum for the Prologue, Gold for Chapter I, Silver for Chapter II and Stone for Chapter III. The Silver and Stone ratings were due to getting screwed by the QTEs >:( :( >:(

A major improvement on the 360 and PS3 SKUs (although improving on the latter wouldn't be too difficult lol), the framerate is about the same as the 360 SKU but thanks to having v-synch enabled there's absolutely no screen tearing.

Am playing in the default Bayonetta costume at the moment but the Link, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy and Samus Aran Power Suit costumes are all available right from the beginning. No sign of the Star Fox costume yet though, am guessing that you have to unlock it.

I've always liked hack 'n' slash games and this is right up there with the God Of War games so far, graphically I'd probably put it ahead of the God Of War games because the camera isn't fixed.

Started to get the hang of Dodge Offset pretty early on thanks to the demo of Bayonetta 2 although the timing for Witch Time has been tweaked for the sequel I think to make it easier to get so there was a small adjustment period.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 30, 2014, 10:27:48 AM
I bought Halo MCC digitally from the UK marketplace last week. I don't think it's available to play yet, but I believe there's an option to pre-download it. I'll have to have a look into that.
I did see someone on my friends list was playing it last night. Not sure if that means it's been brought forward, or if he downloaded from a foreign marketplace. (I know some folk were changing their region to Hong Kong because it works out a bit cheaper on their marketplace and they get it a little earlier than we do.

Digital's a bit more expensive than buying the disk, on the face of it, but when you factor in the discount you get when buying credit (I had about £70 credit on my account but I think I paid about £50 for it) it works out at a similar price - and I'm happy to pay a similar price for digital. I know it has it's disadvantages - mainly being that I can't resell it - but with the amount of content in the game and the very nature of the game I'll happily forgo that option if it means I don't have to keep dicking about with disks.
Having to switch disks is so 90's/00's.


Still busy with Minecraft. I completed the story about a week ago, but am still thoroughly enjoying it. Have mainly been playing it on one of the kids' profiles, lately, after she's gone to bed. She's going to be surprised/amazed when she finally finds this humongous pyramid I'm building in the middle of a desert in an area she's not yet explored.  ;D


Wouldn't get much of an opportunity to try Evolve, even though it looks really promissing, Kenny - so I'll pass (unless it's going to go completely to waste in which case I'll take it and hopefully squeeze in one game at some point - but that seems a bit of a waste if you know someone who will get proper use out of it!)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 30, 2014, 11:54:38 AM
There's a story in Minecraft..?!!?! :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 30, 2014, 03:16:26 PM
Yeah, I was surprised at that.

There's two game modes - Create, where you have unlimited resources and just build giant structures etc (which was what I thought the full extent of the game was), and Survival, where you have to mine or craft (ooh, I get it!) your resources, everything is finite (though the world is massive - albeit much smaller than on pc, natch) and you usually want to be inside shelter at night - when the beasties come out.
I've only played Survival.
The "story" isn't actually fed to you in any way - it's just a series of things you do that unlock new things. Effectively, you need to mine diamonds so you can get strong equipment, mine obsidian (toughest material in the game - can only be obtained with a diamond pickaxe), use the obsidian to build a portal, which takes you to a new hellish dimension, and eventually you go to a third universe where you have to fight a dragon.
Tis good - keeps it interesting and fun.
Though it's ridiculous how much fun it is even without following the story stuff, and just mining and building things. It really shouldn't work, and it doesn't sound fun at all - but somehow it works. (Or thirty million people are mistaken ;) )
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 30, 2014, 04:07:11 PM
Am quite pleased with myself again. Got a Gold for Chapter IV of Bayonetta 1. Will probably get screwed by a QTE or two in Chapter V just to bring me back down to earth. Bloody game lmfao :P ;D

Really glad that I didn't get the 360 SKU when Bayonetta 2 was first announced because the screen tearing would have driven me nuts lol ;D

Loads of lore to pick up and read too, I love that in games. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 30, 2014, 05:01:56 PM
Aw bollocks, would have got a Platinum for Chapter V but rather than running in Witch Time, which you're supposed to do, I didn't realise I had to do that and was looking for where the enemy was so that I could kill the fucker. Silly sod!!! Got a Gold instead of a Platinum because I died >:( >:( >:( :( ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 31, 2014, 10:17:20 AM
Downloaded Defense Grid 2 last night.. its very similar to the first one, which is a good thing.. but there looks like there are a ton of extra stuff to do which is also good.. so many options for repeating levels.. there are still only 20 levels and so far I've had no problems playing on normal.  I think I unlocked about 15 achievements just completing the first level.. it was mad.. the bloody achievement pop wouldn't bloody stop  ;D  There are so many achievements in the game - which is also a good thing in my book.. but the only thing that has disappointed me are that there are multiplayer achievements.. tower defence and multiplayer... really?  I cant see that being one of the most requested features for the sequel... it certainly doesn't interest me in the slightest.

I also downloaded the Evolve beta although yet to play it.. I probably wont get time in all honesty as I'm busy this weekend.. but I got my code free just by taking part in the Xbox Preview Program - you should have a message on your xbox account.


I still cant wait for MCC though.. if you do find yourself online at the same time as me late (unlikely as I usually play early evenings) - just jump in.. I'm planning on playing a lot of halo 2 multiplayer though so I'm sure there will be a few late night sessions from me 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 31, 2014, 08:36:14 PM
Thanks Kieran. Never noticed I had a message.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 03, 2014, 06:58:03 PM
I don't know why but for some reason I'm struggling with Easy Mode on Bayonetta 2. You've got 3 difficulty levels, same as the first game Climax 1 (Very Easy equivalent), Climax 2 (Easy equivalent) and Climax 3 (Normal equivalent).

With Platinum Games games I usually make the fatal mistake of starting on Normal, get my arse kicked and start again on Easy. This time I started on Climax 2 and am getting my arse kicked lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D

The game is fantastic so far, they've pretty much fixed the problems that the first game had - no daft QTEs and less mini-games (although personally I loved the Space Harrier part!) - and just about everything is bigger and better than the original. The pacing of the game is phenomenal so far. I can see this winning a few GOTY awards.

They've got rid of the sepia-ish filter and have changed the film strip partially animated cutscenes with partially animated cutscenes on a clock face. I guess they had to lose the film strip idea because they got rid of the sepia look which gave the original a nice Noir-ish feel to it. Ideally I would have liked to have seen them go the whole hog and had the first game in black and white with interference between frames to give it a real authentic Noir look but the majority of people wouldn't appreciate it, a lot of people didn't appreciate or understand the Noir-ish design choices they made for the first game so going entirely Noir on the thing would have been a disaster lol :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on November 04, 2014, 01:55:41 AM
Played a few hours of COD:AW today and enjoyed it, despite sucking at it a bit  ;D (think my K/D is around 0.95 atm). Can't say yet whether I like it as much as I did MW and MW2 but it's certainly an improvement on the last few iterations. I think having scorestreaks instead of killstreaks means more people play the objective. SMGs seem underpowered at the moment and sniping seems more difficult, so assault rifles and heavy weapons seem to the way forward.

The exo-suits are a lot of fun. It can get annoying in core modes as people can quickly exit the area with boost jumping after you've unloaded half a clip into them, but I mostly play hardcore modes so it's not so much of an issue. My early impressions of the game are good.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 05, 2014, 08:30:36 AM
Finished Defense Grid 2 last night.. bit disappointed by the end of it that they really didn't build on the first game much at all.. in some places they took features away.. such as flying enemies.. at the same time, the core game is still great.  Tried multiplayer and couldn't get a match up after 45 minutes.. great!

Several achievements left to get.. some will take a lot of time.. looking forward to doing 100 waves on the grinder type missions.. I love a good slog type mission however its too easy when you can rewind each wave.


My MCC order is currently being processing.. the price has gone down £5 since I pre-ordered it in June.. so Zavvi should honour their price promise...

But have just also pre-ordered Far Cry 4 from Zavvi too.. purposely haven't read anything about the game, but if it's as enjoyable as FC3 I'll be a happy boy!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 07, 2014, 01:27:48 AM
Finally got around to playing October's free game, Chariot. Meh. It's not completely awful but I'm not enjoying it much. Don't think I'll get very far before I give it up. Haven't yet tried November's game (Volgar the Viking, or something like that), and still haven't bought Defence Grid 2 - though I definitely will at some point.

Didn't want to buy any more games for a while as I'm a bit skint but couldn't resist Zoo Tycoon for £14.99 from Game (http://www.game.co.uk/en/m/zoo-tycoon-249623?).
Will probably arrive next week when I'm busy with Halo, so Zoo Tycoon will get pushed aside and forgotten about, but such is life. TBH I bought it more for the wife and kids. They don't game much, and the Kinect doesn't get used much in gaming, so this game might remedy both of those issues. Had my eye on it since day one but it's always been stupidly priced (around £45). Would have preferred it digital rather than disk but I anticipate being busy with Halo (which is digital) so won't really have to worry about switching disks all the time.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 07, 2014, 12:12:07 PM
I thought Chariot was a great little indie game - just wears you down after a while because its quite repetitive in nature.  I probably wouldn't of paid more than a fiver for it, but it lasted me about 15 hours I'd say.

I managed to find a multiplayer match on Defense Grid 2 last night and its quite unsatisfying.. I won the game easily by spamming loads of gun turrets.. but I wont be going back (I only did it for the chievo's).  I found a match on the co-op type mission but they cut out before the game was finished - again it wasn't great fun.. but I will have to go back to this one as I didn't get the achievements for it.  Getting 100 gold medals on any missions will take some time doing (think I have 25ish).. but there's no set difficulty rating on any of the achievements.. so they are all fairly easy to get.. but I do enjoy a challenging tower defense game.. so I'm going to replay the story at some point (try and understand the completely stupid story line) on harder difficulties.


I tried Volgarr the Viking out last night - what a bastard of a game.. its dead hard.. we are talking Ghosts 'n Goblins type hard and I say that because it is similar in nature to that game as well.. took me about 45 minutes just to do the first half of the first level lol.  I imagine loads of people will give up on this game before they even complete the first level - I don't blame them because it gets very very repetitive when you die all the time!

Good little find on Zoo Tycoon - I might snap that up as I wanted that as a launch game but decided it wasn't worth it - it wont get much play outside of MCC, Far Cry 4 though - so might wait until after Christmas (if it is still on offer).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 07, 2014, 03:23:42 PM
Play.com (rakuten) have an offer on, to promote their new website - a fiver off a ten pound spend.
I've just taken advantage to buy some xbox credit.
You could probably get one £10 voucher (costing £9.99) and add a filler item for a few pence if you can find one, to effectively get your xbox credit at 50% discount. I couldn't be arsed with that so just bought two £10 vouchers. Net result £20 of credit for £14.98.

Need to use code "SPEND10", which is good for new accounts only. If you did find a cheap filler item you could presumably use several different accounts to get loads of xbox credit for half price.

dealspwn (http://www.dealspwn.com/20-xbox-credit-1498-rakuten-184909)

Shame they're posting the vouchers, rather than email. If they were instant I'd probably use them to buy DG2 tonight. But instead I'll get the vouchers at the same time as I get Zoo Tycoon and Halo MCC - so I'll probably just bung the credit on my account and leave it a few weeks before buying DG2.

There's a survey on xbox rewards this month, btw. 250 reward credits ain't worth much but it all adds up and I think it was only four questions.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 07, 2014, 03:53:23 PM
Nice one, was trying to do it with a guest account.. then I realised you needed to register - otherwise there is nowhere to put the code in.  Might use them for xmas prezzies since they will be physical copies!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 07, 2014, 04:16:58 PM
Turns out you need to spend a tenner with a single retailer to take advantage of the discount code (hukd (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/two-microsoft-xbox-10-cards-for-14-98-rakuten-play-shopto-2044678)), and this retailer (shopto) doesn't seem to have anything for only a quid or two. Cheapest I could see was a mario kart DS controller thing for about three quid - effectively meaning you're getting your credit for £8 plus some tat to throw in the bin, so that's not really a better deal than buying two £10 vouchers for £15. Unless you actually want a mario kart DS controller thing.

Shame they're selling the £10 vouchers for £9.99. Would be a fantastic deal if they sold them for a penny more. And it's not often you can say that.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 10, 2014, 10:19:39 AM
Quick delivery hey, ordered mine close to 4pm and received them the next day around 1pm.. think I'll keep one and give one away for a xmas pressy.  See you downloaded DG2 late.. I still haven't completed the DG Combined thingy achievements.. so if you feel like helping me out.. I usually put my multiplayer on to search whilst playing the campaign - I set all my options to Any/Any/Any.. I've gone whole hours without finding a match though  :-\

Done a ton of easy gold medals the other day to boost my numbers in a bid to hit 100.. and currently playing through the story on Hard now.. and its certainly feels a lot tougher.. was going easy before I hit level 9 and then hit a racer wave on wave 10 which took me an hour or so to get past.. realised that laser weapons do work so much better against them than anything else, couldn't just spam gun turrets, love it!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 11, 2014, 01:50:39 AM
Yeah, can't argue with the delivery times for both my orders at the back end of last week. My Xbox credit arrived next day - together with the Zoo Tycoon game. Didn't expect either until Monday/Tuesday.
Love Defence Grid (screw you America - my autocorrect wants to spell it that way and I'm sick of arguing with it!) - especially those levels where you can affect the enemy's route with strategic placement of towers. I love making intricate and convoluted paths that mean the enemy has to take a ridiculously long route and passes all of my towers 2 or more times :D
Will try to sort you out with the multiplayer achievements some time, but I might not play again for a while. Currently playing Halo.
Damn but you forget how much graphics improve - until you hit the "select" button to switch graphics from Anniversary Edition to Classic.
4 achievements done. 446 more to go... :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 11, 2014, 09:38:57 AM
Still haven't had my dispatch email from Zavvi for MCC yet.. so unsure if I will get it today or not.. I better do otherwise it will be the last piece of business I do with them considering I preordered in June.

450 achievements though.. wow.. that's gonna take some effort to 100% lol

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Got my dispatch email today... which probably means I wont get MCC until Thursday/Friday now... not happy, especially since I was charged at the pre-order price which was £5 higher than the price they eventually had on their website

Cancelled my Far Cry 4 pre-order I had with them and gone with GAME instead.. not using Zavvi anymore.. they can get fucked.

Its not too bad though.. my missus got me Civ : Beyond Earth for me biffday, so just about to play that for an hour or so.. graphics are pretty awesome!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 12, 2014, 11:42:10 AM
You should have known better than expecting a game delivered on launch day from Zavvi. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 12, 2014, 12:52:47 PM
I expected it to be dispatched before launch day at least!  I cant remember a time where that has happened before.. especially concerning a fairly big game release and the fact I pre-ordered months beforehand.  Even generic retailers like Asda/Tesco make some kind of effort to get pre-orders to you on time.

I've complained about the fact that I paid more than the price on their website.. and asked why it was only dispatched on launch day... if I don't get a decent reply, I'll make sure that when I get it, I'll return the item and get a full refund just to spite them  >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 13, 2014, 07:49:13 AM
Have managed to get a shitload of Model Packs for FPS Creator so when I'm feeling up to it I'm going to do another online multiplayer game if you guys fancy giving it a go..?

Might use FPS Creator Reloaded instead though, it uses a new engine which performs a lot better and also lets you use explosive weapons.

Can't believe it was around 9 years since I did the last one :o We had a lot of fun with that last one.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 13, 2014, 08:21:41 PM
As tempted as I am to open MCC which turned up today.. its going back to Zavvi as they wont refund me the extra £5 I paid.. apparently because I applied a discount on pre-ordering.. my price no longer falls inside their pre-order price promise.  So even though the pre-order price minus the discount was more expensive than their list price with no discount.. they refuse to refund me the difference.

So if I had cancelled my pre-order and re-ordered it, I would of got the lower price... unacceptable that I have to do that, especially since they didn't even get the fucking product to me on time given 5 months notice..  so I'm processing a return with them now and I'll get my money back that way... I'm done with them... I've just ordered it again from ebay for £39.99... what a joke, its not the price that is the issue but the principle  :o

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 14, 2014, 10:30:09 AM
Open it, play it, and when you get your copy from ebay send that one back to Zavvi for your refund.

You might be best off looking mainly at the campaign to start with, rather than the multiplayer. I've not actually tried the multiplayer yet but I've heard reports it's borked.
Not a problem for me (so long as they get it fixed in the next few weeks) as I definitely want to play the campaigns at least once each. Played most of them when they first came out but can't really remember them - and I keep getting lost. And dying. Lots. And exploring, and doing daft things like taking vehicles to silly places that vehicles shouldn't be going to.

Par time 15 minutes for most of the levels I've looked at so far (Halo 1, levels 1-6). My time usually around 2-3 hours...

Thoroughly enjoying myself, but I wish there was a run button. This guy moves so slowly (having spent most of my gaming time in recent years playing COD and Titanfall).



Won't be online much this weekend - cos I'm off to Wembley. Woot! :D
A mate bought first class train tickets, tube tickets, match tickets, and hotel - but can't make it, so said he'd prefer I go rather than the tickets just going in the bin. (I hate that I'm benefiting from a death in his family, mind! :( )
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 14, 2014, 10:39:47 AM
Have managed to get a shitload of Model Packs for FPS Creator so when I'm feeling up to it I'm going to do another online multiplayer game if you guys fancy giving it a go..?

Might use FPS Creator Reloaded instead though, it uses a new engine which performs a lot better and also lets you use explosive weapons.

Can't believe it was around 9 years since I did the last one :o We had a lot of fun with that last one.

Will happily take a look, mate.


Not sure if this is any use to any of you folks interested in making games... I posted it on here in January, in it's own thread, but I had a link in the first post which means it needs to be approved by a moderator. Not sure if we have mods on here these days, but that thread's still awaiting a moderator ten months down the line.
http://gamemakerblog.com/2013/11/25/gamemaker-studio-standard-edition-is-currently-free-50-value/
Was supposed to be free for a short time, but looks like it's now permanently free.


Not sure any of you would be interested, but development tool "GameMaker: Studio" (used to create the likes of "Hotline Miami" and "Gunpoint") is currently free for a limited time. Usually about £40.

gamemakerblog (http://gamemakerblog.com/2013/11/25/gamemaker-studio-standard-edition-is-currently-free-50-value/)
dealspwn (http://www.dealspwn.com/gamemaker-studio-free-download-fancy-dabbling-development-161254)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 14, 2014, 11:44:54 AM
I'm happy to wait until the ebay one turns up now.. to be honest, with the matchmaking bugs and the fact I'm gonna be pretty busy over the weekend.. its no biggie to wait until Monday to start playing it now.  I would like to 100% Defense Grid 2 first aswell otherwise I'll never go back to it - I think I'm about 20-30 gold medals short of 100 at the moment.  I've finished the campaign on normal/hard.. just going through it again playing each story missions twice (once on easy, then again on elite)... I can see some of the later elite levels being a right pain in the arse.  Volgarr the Viking can fuck right off though.. its so tough.. I cant get past the 2nd level boss at the moment, and its too much hassle having to replay the whole fucking thing just to die again in the same spot a hundred times.

I'd definitely recommend jumping in with me on MCC (once they have sorted matchmaking out) before trying it out online.. I can imagine you getting your arse handed to you on a plate otherwise lol  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 14, 2014, 04:43:40 PM
First time that Xbox owners are getting the chance to play the online multiplayer for the first game that PC owners got to play the first time around. I was seriously addicted to that donkey's years ago. :o

Halo 1 and Counter Strike took up A LOT of my time in those days 8)

And I was pants at both lmfao :-[ ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 14, 2014, 06:52:30 PM
Just had one quick game online on Halo.
3 kills and 10 deaths. I rock.

In my defence I was playing splitscreen, with one of the kids, and I'm sure I wouldn't done better if I was full screen - but that was pretty weak any way you look at it!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 17, 2014, 07:39:56 AM
I hear matchmaking is getting fixed on Wednesday... just in time, I should receive my 2nd copy tonight.. although FC4 has already been posted aswell.

I realised on Saturday that the 100 gold medals on Defense Grid 2 only count once per difficutly.. so the fact I've finished the story missions 3 times over (on different difficulties) was for nothing  ::)  So I actually only have about 50 medals now... but I completed killing 50k aliens plus I've done all the multiplayer achievements already.. so I think that's going to have to be put on the back burner for now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 17, 2014, 06:10:37 PM
Oh yes.. I'm back in the game.. just waiting on it to finish the install and I'm jumping straight into MCC multiplayer.

First thing I did when I started playing the campaign was to change the stupid controller settings.  Funny that it doesn't start on the "Default" setting.. which is the most comfortable to me... doesn't feel natural reloading with Right Bumper at all.

So I've played the first Halo:CE campaign level.. been there, done that level so many times lol..
Played half of the first Halo 2 level.. but itching to play MP now.. so just waiting it out... it taken 2 hours, 10 minutes so far.. but nearly all installed.

Got my emblem sorted.. gone back to my old Halo 2 emblem and colours... even gone back to my old tag - I love the fact it allows you to do and change EVERYTHING the original games did.

Will post my first game scores tomorrow... hopefully I get a map I like and I haven't lost too much of the magic.



Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 18, 2014, 07:57:51 AM
Well bit of a mixed bag with matchmaking.. it took a while to get a game.. and then it was a 4 on 2 slayer game..  ::)  13 kills, 7 assists and 2 deaths for me..

Then I finally got a CTF game, 4 per side which was a bit more even.. I think I was on 11 kills and 10 deaths.. with a flag capture

Then I played one classic game on midship and got mullered.. didn't help my phone rang just as the game was about to start and I had to answer it, and the fact that midship is one of my least favourite levels.. we lost quite significantly but I pretty much got 1/2 of all the kills our team did

Then I couldn't get a game for love nor money.. think I wont bother with any more online matchmaking until they fix it.. such a shame as its got massive potential.  I'm enjoying the halo 2 campaign all over again though.. the cut-scenes are so good.. and I like the fact you can flip to the old game even in the cutscenes.. I don't remember it being that bad graphically.. but obviously it was  ;D

Should be getting Far Cry 4 tonight.. definitely giving that a go when I get home.. quite worrying that I don't have much hard drive space left though.. might have to invest in a hard drive for xmas.  I've got a few games I can delete off there but not many.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 18, 2014, 08:04:41 PM
Oh FFS.. when are developers going to realise that putting mandatory stealth parts in an FPS game sucks fucking donkey balls... was playing through FC4 quite merrily until I got to a part which requires you killing all the guards and saving two survivors - except if you get spotted, the AI suddenly deems killing the survivors more important than attacking you and you have to restart the mission unless you kill all the guards.. so I've cocked this part up so many times already - I doesn't help I started on Hard.. but I just don't have the willpower at the moment to continue on anymore tonight.

At least with FC3, if you cocked the stealth part up then you knew you probably had a long fight on its way.. but it was entirely possible to just go in guns blazing if you wanted to.

Stays true to the FC3 formula which I half expected.. the story doesn't seem half as decent... and it doesn't seem like you can break out of a mission and go wandering once you've started one.. which is very annoying.   At the moment - 2 hours in, FC3 is the better game... although I'm looking forward to seeing some of the new stuff... grappling looks like it could be fun.. and I've already whacked an ATV into the back end of a rhino  ;D


____________________________________________________________________________________

Well I completed that bit in the end.. took me about 20-30 minutes as I had to be patient with a few guards and was chucking rocks to distract them.. but this hostage thing seems to be a side mission thing as I've encountered another one which I turned down doing. 

Got on an elephant last night.. that was great fun.. charging and smashing people into the air.. its like a tank!  Also found a gyrocopter which was fun to fly around the map.  One of the low points from yesterday was getting killed by a honey badger.. fucking little thing is a bastard to kill because its so small, but it can really do some damage. 

I think there are too many animals in the game personally.. there was one point where a bunch of wild dogs killed 2 men.. and then I killed the dogs.. before I could skin them and loot the men.. a honey badger showed up.. which I used a grenade on (second time round).. went back to skinning and another pack of dogs turned up.. I had run out of bloody ammo at this point so chucked a Molotov at them.. lol... went back to skinning and another honey badger turned up.. I was just like FFS.. and just left the area in the end..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 22, 2014, 07:45:34 PM
Lmfao, that has to be a bug, surely..? :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 24, 2014, 01:28:55 AM
Have been playing a bit more of The Swapper, it really is fantastic. I think it's also available for the PS4 and One too so you should all buy it! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 24, 2014, 08:52:59 AM
Too busy with Far Cry 4.. its good.. the gameplay is as addictive as Far Cry 3 - but nothing really fits together.. I'm going off doing random sidequests and such.. but it doesn't really make as much sense as it all did within Far Cry 3 which for me is still by far the stronger game.. even though Far Cry 4 has a lot more content to it.

I mean there was a point to skinning animals for example, increasing the size of your weapon/ammo/loot pouches.. it fitted in with the survival storyline.. in this game.. same mechanics and everything.. but doesn't feel like I'm doing it for any other reason except that its fun killing different animals.  Same can be said of the outposts, climbing towers.. pretty much everything. 

Its like they took one absolutely excellent game and tried to sell the same game again (albeit with a different story, setting and a few other extras)... its not like Ubisoft to do that *cough cough* Assassins Creed  ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 24, 2014, 12:22:35 PM
Haven't had much gaming time lately what with one thing and another, so I've put Halo aside for a while. I need to be a bit more focussed to play that, so I've been playing a bit more Defence Grid. Like you, Kieran, I didn't realise doing a mission on both Easy and Normal didn't count as two golds, so I'm a bit behind where I thought I was in going for 100 golds. Counted them up yesterday and I think I was at about 52 golds - which is a bit disappointing. (That might not be totally accurate - it's hard to be sure how many golds you have if you have to keep flicking between difficulties - and the achievement doesn't tell you you're XX% toward completion. Will almost certainly be around 50-60 though.)

Limbo became available yesterday afternoon, so I downloaded and played through that. Cracking game, and a bit longer than I remembered it, but still easily finished in a 2ish hour sesh.
Not sure whether to go back through it for achievements. I think I found about 3 or 4 of the ten or so hidden items playing normally. Could probably find another 2 or 3 if I went looking for them, or I could use a guide. Which I don't like to do - but these buggers are worth seventy gamerscore each.
Playing through the full game in one session with less than five deaths is a big ask, though.

Enjoyed Sunset Overdrive while it was briefly available. The game didn't really appeal to me all that much before, but it's more fun than I thought it'd be. Just a shame I didn't get much chance to play it before it was disabled.
Might pick it up next year, if I see it cheap.
Ditto Far Cry 4 and Assassin's Creed Unity. Loved FC3 and have enjoyed every AC game, so I'd like to play them both, but neither sounds deserving of full price.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 24, 2014, 12:23:57 PM
Have never thought much of the Far Cry franchise right from the beginning tbh. Same with Crysis too. They both have always looked great but for some reason neither franchise has floated my boat. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 24, 2014, 12:41:13 PM
Yep, I don't plan on playing Halo again until they completely fix matchmaking and when I've finished FC4.. obviously Halo is great and all, but I've played them to death... I think the Halo 5 beta is out 8th December if memory serves me right.. so I'll definitely be all over that like a tramp on chips.

Annoying that I actually got 100 gold medals on Defense Grid 2 before I realised that annoyance.. sometimes it helps looking online for the achievement requirements before doing it, to say I was a bit narked off is an understatement lol.

I got sod all in that Xbox One promotion.. a free poster to download lol.. great stuff.. I reckon it must go on how much you've spent in the marketplace in the last year rather than tenure or when you bought your console.

I definitely didn't have time to play Sunset Overdrive over the weekend, but I am still planning to pick it up in the new year, perhaps for a few quid cheaper.. and when I have a new hard-drive.. I've only got 40 GBs free at the moment  :-\


In regards to Far Cry I've been a fan since the very first one.. I didn't like the fact they changed it so much in FC2, but you could see where they were going and it was good but they ruined it with stupid gameplay mechanics such as malaria and respawning enemies.  FC3 fixed that and was my GOTY in 2012.  Then the spin-off 80's B-movie styled Far Cry was awesome too.  Crysis has never been that great.. just the amazing graphics in the first one carried the name.. its nowhere near as fun as Far Cry.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 26, 2014, 11:11:48 AM
Ugh, don'cha just hate it when a game is reduced to half price a week or two after you buy it...

Defense Grid 2 is £10 on xbox One, now, as part of the "Black Friday" sales.

Other offers on the One, from xbox marketplace (http://www.xbox.com/en-GB):
Rayman Legends £12
Valiant Hearts £6
Assassins Creed Black Flag £28
Killer Instinct Ultra £16
Amazing Spider Man 2 £20
Angry Birds Star Wars £8
Sniper Elite 3 £30
Diablo 3 £36
UFC £18
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 26, 2014, 11:46:49 AM
Hah, that sucks alright  >:(

How the fuck did I miss the release of Geometry Wars 3 - that totally sneaked under the radar.. I didn't even realise they were developing it.. I thought the studio had been shut down for good  :o :o :o

YES!! Just had a quick peek at some reviews.. definitely downloading that tonight!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 26, 2014, 05:58:43 PM
Games With Gold, December 2014:
Xbox One:
Worms Battlegrounds

Xbox 360:
The Raven: Legacy of a Master Thief
SSX


majornelson (http://majornelson.com/2014/11/26/xbox-live-games-gold-december-2014/)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 27, 2014, 05:44:44 PM
Black Friday deals on xbox marketplace, tomorrow (Discounts are valid 28/11 - 1/12)

NHL 15   Xbox One Game   45% £30.25
Madden 15   Xbox One Game   45% £30.25
FIFA 15 Holiday Edition   Xbox One Game   45% unknown price
Watchdogs   Xbox One Game   33% £40
Titanfall   Xbox One Game   75% £10
Titanfall (Bundle)   Xbox One Game   75% unknown price
Titanfall Season Pass   Add-on   75% £5
Battlefield 4   Xbox One Game   50% £20
Battlefield 4 Premium   Add-on   50% £20
Wolfenstein   Xbox One Game   50% £25
Ryse (Legendary Edition)   Xbox One Game   50% £22.50
The Evil Within   Xbox One Game   50% £25
The Walking Dead Season 1   Xbox One Game   40% £12
The Walking Dead Season 2   Xbox One Game   40% £12
The Walking Dead Season 1 + 2 bundle   Xbox One Game   50% unknown price
Call of Duty Advanced Warfare Digital Pro   Xbox One Game   10% £81
Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor   Xbox One Game   50% £27.50
Destiny Digital Guardian Edition   Xbox One Game   10% £76.49


Definitely gonna have to buy me some Walking Dead. Been hoping for a price drop on that. I've already played Season 1 on the 360 but I'm tempted to get the bundle and play the first one again on the One before playing the second. Great game and I'm happy to play it again, and doing that will mean my choices from S1 will carry over to S2. (The choices don't make a massive difference, by all accounts, so it's no biggie, but would still be nice to be in my own position rather than the "default" one as S2 starts.)

Titanfall for £10 (and the season pass for £5) is an absolute steal for anyone who doesn't yet have it.


majornelson (http://majornelson.com/)
hukd (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/xbox-digital-deals-from-tomorrow-2063804)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 27, 2014, 07:33:35 PM
Nice one late

Not interested in any of those though, saw game were selling watchdogs for £15 earlier though.

I did get limbo, just hadn't checked my messages on the xbox, just assumed it would of come through email with the other guff they sent
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: AVFCRoss on November 28, 2014, 06:51:26 PM
GAME have some nice deals on, shame their website is totally fucked and you can't order bollocks all... ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 03, 2014, 11:55:16 AM
Assassin's Creed Victory.
Next year's Assassin's Creed game will take place in London during the 19th century.
Kotaku (http://kotaku.com/next-years-big-assassins-creed-is-set-in-victorian-lond-1665343788)

Blimey that's an early leak.
Doubt I'll even buy this year's game, Unity, for another six months. If at all, tbh. I like the AC games, but reports aren't great on Unity. Sure it's pretty (aren't all of the AC games?) but if it's part of Ubisoft's recent attempts to be the new EA* (nobody likes EA - don't try to be them!) then there's little appeal.
Shame, as Ubi have perhaps been my favourite publisher in recent years.



*i.e. their recent policies which appear to be:
release games as soon as possible - no matter how glitchy they are;
charge as much as possible for additional content and season passes;
stick as many "microtransactions" in there as possible; and
switch all pc games to their own client (drop steam etc.) and hike the prices.

I put microtransactions in quote marks because there's nothing micro about some of this stuff. In some cases they're asking you to pay more than £60 for stuff. In a game that you've already paid £40 for. Ridiculous.
The Crew - pay £39.99 for 600,000 "Crew Credits" (allowing you to buy better cars).
AC Unity - pay £64.99 for 20,000 "Helix Credits" (allowing you to buy upgrades).
These things are optional, of course, and you don't have to buy them. And in fact I'd argue you're a bloody idiot or have too much money if you do buy them. But it's indicative of the way Ubi are making games these days. Make it so that you can do everything you want to if you spend a ridiculous amount of time grinding, but present the option of paying to speed things up. In fact, don't just "present" the option. Push it. Push it hard.

And it's not like they're subtle about it. They've made it clear they want to turn every $60 customer into a $200 customer [Youtube] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY5L95BOQTg). It's understandable you want to make more money. It's what you're here for. But you don't do it by alienating people. By reducing the quality of the product you're selling. Increase the quality, and sell more copies!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 03, 2014, 02:35:00 PM
Duuuuuude!

Sir Clive Sinclair is crowd-funding a Spectrum.
Seems to be a controller with in-built emulator. Plugs directly into your TV, and has a thousand original speccy games built in - but you can download roms for other spectrum games and stick them in on an SD card.
Play the games instantly, without having to listen to 5 minutes of: loading screen (http://youtu.be/8fYFsBRVC8Y?t=1m50s)

Target - raise £100k within 61 days.
Progress - raised £108k so far. With 59 days still to go, lol.


TBH I'd love one of these. For about an hour. Then it'd end up in the back of a cupboard.
So not worth the £100 asking price.
Might be tempted if it were about £20 though.


indigogo (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/sinclair-zx-spectrum-vega)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 03, 2014, 04:01:46 PM
Fucking hell, I'm going to be all over that!!!

The original Football Manager game (written in BASIC!!!), Elite, Jetpac, Lunar Jetman, Manic Miner, Lords Of Midnight...loads of top quality games. I've probably put around a thousand hours into Elite over the years. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 03, 2014, 05:09:49 PM
Actually, now I've had a look at it I'm not going anywhere near it. Way too overpriced. I'd pay a hundred quid for it if it was a portable job. As it is I can do exactly the same thing on my PC for free. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 06, 2014, 09:31:10 AM
Passed 75'000 gamerscore a few days ago, which I think takes me to the highest level on the rewards scheme. Not that that's worth anything really, but still a nice milestone to pass.
I see they're giving reward points to people who buy Halo in December. Bit of a kick in the teeth to those of us who bought it on release, in November. And I've barely played it yet.

edit - autocorrect
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 08, 2014, 12:20:11 PM
Well done, seen you've been earning a ton of achievement points over the last month.. I cant keep up.. mostly because I've been hooked on Geometry Wars.. and some of those achievements aren't easy or quick to get.. annoyingly they put local co-op achievements in there, so I wont be getting them as I still only have one controller, but gonna try for all the single player ones before I go back to Halo.

How stupid is it that Far Cry 4 doesn't have a 100% completion achievement.. I finished the game last weekend, and have no real reason to go round completing absolutely everything.. I'm not a big fan of some of the side-missions (like hostages) so I'm just not going to do them with no incentive whatsoever.. I've got all the single player ones and some of the multiplayer ones, but I think I'm done on that game.. nowhere near as compelling as FC3.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 08, 2014, 12:43:09 PM
I've spent most of the last fortnight replaying Limbo and The Walking Dead Season One and then playing Season Two for the first time.
Those games all came out on the 360 and all had 200 gamerscore. Then they bring out the same game - and it's a relatively small game with fairly easy achievements* - but you can now get 1000 gs on it.

Pow - three thousand gamerscore in a week, without really noticing it.




*The two thou for Walking Dead is just for playing the game. They pop from time to time as you progress the story, and it's literally impossible not to get them.
Some of the Limbo ones were a bit trickier, but fun to get. Seventy gs for each hidden object makes it a bit more compelling, mind.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 08, 2014, 04:36:05 PM
Am going to get both Walking Dead games for the PS4 when I get one next year I reckon, assuming that they don't come 'free' with my PS+ subscription before then.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 09, 2014, 11:26:12 AM
The Witcher 3 has been pushed back to May 2015.

Fair enough - I'd rather a game be late and great than be on time and grate.

cdprojektred (http://en.cdprojektred.com/news/the-witcher-3-wild-hunt-an-open-letter/)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 10, 2014, 08:23:53 AM
Started Limbo last night.. great game.. although already played through it on the xbox..  I quite fancy my chances at the 5 life thing.. theres only one or two really tricky areas.. the others are just about remembering what to do.. its the doing it in one sitting thing that's a bugger because it would take an hour or two with solid concentration.

Also tried out Worms at the weekend.. its OK but a far cry from the glory years... bit like Sonic... never been the same since the jump to 3D.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 10, 2014, 09:32:34 AM
I think it took slightly under an hour when I did it.
Like you say, it's not that it's difficult - it's just that you inevitably make silly mistakes. Especially with the gravity puzzles near the end.
I got right near the end a week or two back, with two puzzles left and had only used 3 lives.
Went nice and careful...
Died once on the last-but-one puzzle. Screamed. Succeeded on that puzzle with four lives gone.
Remembered exactly what I need to do on the last bit. Steadied my nerves. Tried it. Died. Shouted some more. Stuffed a towel under each armpit. Tried it again, and got the achievement. Then put the sweaty tea-towels back in the kitchen.


Had two quick goes on worms last night, but wasn't feeling it. I liked Worms back in the day, and was okay at it - though I was not one of those who mastered the ninja rope to the degree they could get out of a tiny nook on one edge of the screen, whiz around the full map, drop dynamite onto an enemy's head, and get back to the relatively safe place where they started all in a few seconds.
Some of the new (to me, at least) weapons are great, though. The holy hand-grenade, the banana bomb, and the exploding sheep were always fun, and continue to be, but this is the first I've seen of the concrete donkey, the herd of buffalo, and a few others - all of which have had me laughing out loud (and cringing as I invariably cause more friendly-fire damage than enemy damage).


edit: typo
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 10, 2014, 02:04:12 PM
Those of you that have worms there's tablets you can take for that sort of thing. They'll clear up in no time lol :o :P

*Grabs coat*
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 13, 2014, 01:51:22 AM
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w5L9giBrjEA/VItVNfu4ooI/AAAAAAAAIhI/Get4Oxvk8H8/s1600/nicelightmapping.png)

FPS Creator Reloaded is looking streets ahead of the original so far. The screenshot above runs at over 60fps apparently. Allows you to create terrain and the online multiplayer will allow you to use explosive weapons and will use Steam's online infrastructure. It's still a long way from being finished but it's looking pretty tasty already.

Am in the process of designing a Vietnamese village hut and will post a screenshot when it's done. I fancy doing a single player Vietnam game at some point. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 13, 2014, 09:33:09 AM
I think it took slightly under an hour when I did it.
Like you say, it's not that it's difficult - it's just that you inevitably make silly mistakes. Especially with the gravity puzzles near the end.
I got right near the end a week or two back, with two puzzles left and had only used 3 lives.
Went nice and careful...
Died once on the last-but-one puzzle. Screamed. Succeeded on that puzzle with four lives gone.
Remembered exactly what I need to do on the last bit. Steadied my nerves. Tried it. Died. Shouted some more. Stuffed a towel under each armpit. Tried it again, and got the achievement. Then put the sweaty tea-towels back in the kitchen.


Had two quick goes on worms last night, but wasn't feeling it. I liked Worms back in the day, and was okay at it - though I was not one of those who mastered the ninja rope to the degree they could get out of a tiny nook on one edge of the screen, whiz around the full map, drop dynamite onto an enemy's head, and get back to the relatively safe place where they started all in a few seconds.
Some of the new (to me, at least) weapons are great, though. The holy hand-grenade, the banana bomb, and the exploding sheep were always fun, and continue to be, but this is the first I've seen of the concrete donkey, the herd of buffalo, and a few others - all of which have had me laughing out loud (and cringing as I invariably cause more friendly-fire damage than enemy damage).


edit: typo

I take it back,  it's fucking infuriating!!  >:(

I just did it in 8 lives, a couple of those were stupid, died 3 times on that bit where you have to pull the train cart back then run over the electric floor before the train cart hits the button.  I've never died on that bit before.  The last few gravity puzzles always claim a life or two as you say.

I will do it though!!!

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 14, 2014, 09:18:04 AM
Fourth time of asking and I got it, I pretty much was in the same scenario as you late, had died 3 times before the last couple of puzzles, made it to the last one on 4 and then died again, doesn't half get your blood racing lol.

Is there an issue with achievements though, I haven't had one "properly" pop for like a week now, they unlock but I miss that sound!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 14, 2014, 04:52:30 PM
That happened to me a while back, but it's been fine lately.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 15, 2014, 05:49:11 PM
Glad to see halo matchmaking is STILL fucked, over a month now... Been sitting in BTB for over 10 minutes with zero sign of it connecting to anyone... This is really piss poor.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 17, 2014, 11:14:50 AM
lol Ubisoft, you crazy crazy fools.
New patch (http://assassinscreed.ubi.com/en-US/community/liveupdates/live_updates_details.aspx?c=tcm:152-188856-16&ct=tcm:148-76770-32) for Assassin's Creed unity is 6.7Gb - but in many cases on the One it's forcing through a 40Gb download of the revised game instead of just the patch.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 17, 2014, 06:24:48 PM
Another matchmaking update for halo.. Just sat in the BTB lobby for 25 minutes and no joy... I cant believe they released the game as broken as this.  Late, if you get a minute can you see if you can connect, surely this can't be the same for everyone  :-\

Still no achievement popping either... I just remembered the first one that failed to pop was on far cry 4, where the achievement said it was unlocked, but I had to wait for it to unlock properly to get the points... Don't know if that has anything to do with it, but it's bloody annoying.  Have just power cycled fully so see if that fixes it
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 17, 2014, 07:28:53 PM
I think Ubisoft are determined to be the new EA. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 18, 2014, 12:41:37 AM
Another matchmaking update for halo.. Just sat in the BTB lobby for 25 minutes and no joy... I cant believe they released the game as broken as this.  Late, if you get a minute can you see if you can connect, surely this can't be the same for everyone  :-\

It isn't looking good, mate. Have been sat in the BTB lobby (zero customisations or options set) for fifteen minutes so far and I've not seen a single person. It occasionally says "PLAYERS FOUND..." but it isn't connecting to them.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 18, 2014, 01:11:28 AM
Lol @ nodding off shortly after posting that, and waking up quarter of an hour later in the middle of a battle with 0 kills and 8 deaths...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 18, 2014, 07:29:38 AM
lol.. well at least you got into a game.. I haven't seen "Players Found" since the first week of release...  :'(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 22, 2014, 09:32:37 PM
Fuck sake... having a bit of a sesh on Halo matchmaking.. playing the anniversary playlist.. completed about 10 games tonight and still haven't played all the 5 maps since I owned the game... Keep getting bloody Warlock and Shrine... with a few games of Zenith thrown in every now and then... So haven't played Lockout or Stonetown.

Finally get Stonetown up (my favourite map) and start playing.. then after a few minutes of playing and doing well.. the xbox decides the game needs an update and kicks me out  >:(

The sooner they get an Objective playlist in the better... the problem with bunging it in with slayer is that 9 times out of 10, everyone will pick the slayer mode.. I don't mind Slayer, but much prefer CTF, Oddball and Bomb type games, plus you generally get better players in objective... I've had a few Slayer games tonight where my team have been bloody awful and in one case, someone commiting suicide constantly.  Also they should definitely get an Infection/Grifball playlist in there too... I've seen Grifball in the Halo 3 playlist.. but again its bunged in with everything else so rarely gets picked.


So finished Halo 2 and Halo 3 now... probably going to go back to Halo before doing Halo 4 - some of the achievements seem a bit glitched though... I completed Halo 3 on Heroic and didn't get any of the achievements.. all the missions are complete but the achievements sit at 88% so perhaps one of the levels didn't unlock properly :-\

So much content in this game though.. its crazy.. this probably bests The Orange Box for me in terms of value, content and enjoyment to be had.. and I loved The Orange Box.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 23, 2014, 10:22:33 PM
Fucking hell, my brother - who earns a ridiculous amount of money but despite that is as tight as a gnat's chuff - has bought his kids a Wii U for Christmas :o

I'm absolutely gobsmacked lol ;Dlol

Put it this way. My brother and his missus had a small, old CRT telly for years. His missus wanted them to buy a HDTV for years but he steadfastly refused. So she 'accidentally' spilt something down the back of the fucker lmfao ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 24, 2014, 11:41:59 AM
By waiting a few years to buy his telly he probably saved a couple of hundred quid. Which will easily buy a Wii U - so he essentially got it for free... ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 24, 2014, 02:42:02 PM
Was more than a few years lol. That's why his missus destroyed the CRT lololol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 25, 2014, 06:31:05 PM
Omfg, just talked to my Mum. Apparently my brother was going to buy them a Wii instead of a Wii U because it was cheaper until his missus pointed out that the price of the Wii U wasn't THAT much more expensive considering it's a new console. And he also managed to get a shitload of stuff on eBay for it too, I'm guessing Wii remotes and nunchucks. :o

Seriously, he's earning a small fortune and his missus is a teacher so she gets paid a good few quid too. He's even appeared on breakfast telly as a finance expert ffs. :o ;D ;D ;D

Christ, I hate to think what his kids are going to be like as adults. I don't know where he gets it from tbh. Our family never had a great deal of cash growing up but I've had the same upbringing and am quite happy to spend money when I have it. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 27, 2014, 07:28:08 PM
Have been messing about with Blender and Photoshop and created this:

(http://i.imgur.com/zfCYAqP.jpg)

Only took me about half an hour 8)

FPS Creator Unloaded in still in Beta (actually it's more like an Alpha stage but they're calling it a Beta for some reason) and you die whenever you hit water lol, but at some point I'm going to start work on more stuff I can stick in an underwater game. Wasn't meant to be looking like the oil drum has been underwater for donkey's years, I kind of got carried away with the rust texture lol. :-[ ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 29, 2014, 07:30:31 PM
Awesome. Fucking. Sauce. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMli33ornEU)

Very clever! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 03, 2015, 10:52:22 PM
D4 is a bit too japanesey for me, might give it another go in the future, but certainly didn't make a good impact on the half hour I played this morning

Played about 5 minutes of Lego marvel, it's a shame it's a talking Lego game, takes away a lot of the charm for me.  I'd of rather of bought Lego hobbit but I'm not paying much more than £10 for a Lego game, just not worth it imo

Finally finished all the halo campaigns on MCC, took a while, don't know why I did halo 2 on normal, I did all the rest on heroic.  Did start on legendary on a few but they are a slog in single player. Nearly at 25% achievement completion lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 06, 2015, 07:05:34 PM
Ah FFS... been playing Lego Marvel the last couple of days.. had 2.7% done by the end of yesterday.. did about 3 hours tonight... went to save and exit within a level.. it exited the game but then when I went to the load screen to see my percentage.. it said there was no load data at all.. it kept asking me to choose a profile as well (even though I was signed in on a profile).

So I quit the game entirely and restarted it.. and I'm now back on 2.7% and lost all the progress I've done today... fucking annoying... I reckon what happened was that when I started the game I didn't go through the load game screen.. it went straight into the game (the instant-on feature on X1).. I never got asked to choose a sign-in.. but it looks like when it was saving, it wasn't saving against my profile. 

A quick google search has just confirmed that... users recommending always restarting the game before playing.. its stupid because with other games they will chuck you back to the start screen if a sign-in change has occurred or if you haven't been recognised before playing. >:(


Edit : Looks like there are a ton of bugs/glitches with this game!  :o :o Cant say I've had any major problems with lego games before


Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 06, 2015, 11:18:56 PM
I had a couple of problems with Lego City Undercover but then that's basically Lego GTA in a huge open world. Think I managed to crash it twice if I remember correctly, but given the scope of the game and the amount of different variables involved I wasn't surprised or disappointed by that. I was expecting more Class As tbh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 12, 2015, 08:29:41 AM
Dunno what happened with Halo the other day, but got awarded with loads of achievements I quite clearly haven't done yet lol

Sat there with my Complete 100 missions or multiplayer games achievement pop.. earnt legit... then all of sudden, 150 one popped, then 200, then 250, then 300, then 350, then 400, then 450 and then 500 lol.  Not gonna complain about that - 80gs for nothing!

So I've done all the terminals on Halo 2 now.. I have the glitchy IWHBYD skull to get to complete the skullset still, but decided to do speed runs on each of the levels now as I'm getting a bit sick of replaying the same level to get that skull.

So many achievements.. and they've just added 500gs more for the Spartan ops...  I'm 29% complete at the moment.  8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 12, 2015, 03:50:40 PM
So much for paying off a bit of my credit card last month. Got an email from Nintendo saying that because I'm a loyal customer they were offering me the chance to buy a New 3DS Ambassador Bundle before the New 3DS launches here in Europe. £185 including next day delivery. Will worry about paying for it later :-[ ;D

The Super-Stable 3D that the New 3DS uses is a real game changer. It basically uses the camera the recognise whether your head changes position and adjusts the 3D screen so that you don't get double vision on the screen when you move your head or the 3DS.

Have also ordered a Gateway flashcart too, the fact that the New 3DS ships with 9.0 firmware and that the Gateway flashcart supports any firmware from 7.x to 9.2 and the New 3DS hardware swayed my decision. Have over 600 3DS ROMs sitting on my hard drive lol ;D ;D ;D

Going to CEX once I get my flashcart and Gateway release their New 3DS exploit and trade my old 3DS and games in, should get me around a hundred quid so I can pay some of that credit card off again.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 20, 2015, 01:34:47 PM
Hit over 200 achievements unlocked on Halo:MCC last night.. woop.  Nearly half way there now lol.

Think I'm done with Halo 2 for a while.. will go back at some point to get the par score achievements, the ones I haven't got are either a massive ballache or ones that will take more than 5-10 minutes.  Time to have a good go at the Halo 3 achievements methinks.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 22, 2015, 12:44:35 PM
Microsofts augemented reality headset just announced..

HoloLens (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-01-22-microsoft-hololens-impressions)

Sounds boss!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 22, 2015, 01:52:04 PM
Sounds pretty cool, and the headset doesn't look too bad either. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 23, 2015, 09:26:18 AM
That HoloLens looks like a fantastic piece of kit.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 23, 2015, 12:00:33 PM
10% discount code for UK Playstation Store (Sony's apology for the downtime over xmas):

T6R3KB529K

Code is valid until Monday morning.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 23, 2015, 12:13:12 PM
Dunno if you got a message the other week about the continued support of MCC Late.  Got a free month worth of xbox live added on to my subscription.. presuming this is because of the stupid amount of downtime the online multiplayer had.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 23, 2015, 01:00:37 PM
Yeah, I think I got something. Not sure when my Live subs go up to so can't be sure if they've actually added it yet though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 29, 2015, 09:12:10 AM
GWG for February on Xbox One -

#IDARB
What the fuck is that.. looks absolutely mental  ;D ;D

In some ways I wish they would release more mainstream titles.. but then on the other hand.. at least I don't own these games  ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 30, 2015, 07:48:47 AM
Downloaded Resident Evil HD Re-master last night.. didn't even realise it had released on the X1/PS4/PC - lt's a HD Re-master of the Gamecube remake.

Its a great fucking game and one of my favourites of all time.. but the re-master is disappointing on two counts...
1) They changed the voice acting.. I can understand why, but they should of had an option to keep the original in there.
2) They kept in the door opening sequence.. again this should be an option, its not needed these days and just slows the game down.

One of the nice things is that you can use the d-pad to play instead of the analogue sticks - which just don't work with the tank controls.

Anyway, I started playing last night.. and I swear I don't remember some of the stuff... it has probably been well over 10 years since I've played.. but I thought I knew this game from back to front.  I guess I still have my original PS1 game if I ever did want to get really nostalgic about it.

 
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 30, 2015, 08:08:06 AM
I loved the PS1 original, I remember me and a mate playing it and both nearly shitting ourselves when the zombie dogs jumped through the window Lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D

At the time the graphics were jaw dropping too lol :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 30, 2015, 09:42:23 AM
Yep, luckily I know where they jump out now lol.

For me, the highlight was playing it without a memory card on the PS1, in the dark one night.. I was doing so well.. I got up to the part where you first meet the other type of zombies (the ones that jump at you and try and lump off your head).. it was the furthest I'd ever got, met the first one.. took my time over killing it, but took too long and got my head chopped off lol.  After that I went and bought a memory card!

I also loved Resident Evil 2 - that was a great game.. Resi Evil 3 was also good but was a bit short compared to the others.. I might go back to the 360 and get RE4 finished.. I just hated the controls in that game, tank controls just don't go with dual analogue sticks.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: ancelotti on January 30, 2015, 12:36:13 PM
Having seen Wii U's going for close to £100 now, I'm tempted to grab one. There's a lot of attractive first party software there! Although I'm not sure about the 8GB of storage space. Might opt for a 32GB console if I can find one at a reasonable price.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 30, 2015, 01:45:22 PM
There's certainly a few games I wouldn't mind giving a go.. even with the dodgy controller

But said it earlier in this thread I think.. I wont touch one until it is under £100 with a game I want bundled in.. it just wouldn't be worth it otherwise... hopefully the Tesco reduction is a sign of more discounts to come.. but I imagine its just stores clearing their stock... Nintendo cant afford to sell for that little price.. they would make no profit.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 30, 2015, 02:03:58 PM
Having seen Wii U's going for close to £100 now, I'm tempted to grab one. There's a lot of attractive first party software there! Although I'm not sure about the 8GB of storage space. Might opt for a 32GB console if I can find one at a reasonable price.

8GB will do you fine if you're not going to buy anything from the eShop...but if you're not going to buy anything from the eShop then you're missing out on A LOT of quality indie titles that are as cheap as chips. Just get yourself a USB hard drive for £30-40 and a Y cable and you're good to go.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 30, 2015, 07:28:55 PM
Forgot to mention that if you didn't own a Wii last generation there's a shitload of cheap and top quality games to play. Most of them you've probably never even heard of:

Deadly Creatures
Xenoblade Chronicles
The Last Story
De Blob
House Of The Dead Overkill
Dead Space Extraction
Trauma Center Second Opinion
Trauma Center New Blood
Trauma Center Trauma Team
Mad World
Rayman Raving Rabbids (the very first game)
Zack & Wiki's Quest For Barbarosa's Treasure
Pro Evo
Red Steel 2
Okami
Muramasa The Demon Blade
Geometry Wars Galaxies (the entire 360 game is just ONE LEVEL of the Wii version)

Unfortunately they're upscaled to 1080p so they're Jaggie City but the sound of these games on the Wii U is greatly improved through HDMI. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 31, 2015, 03:32:11 AM
I quite fancy trying Xenoblade Chronicles, but it's bloody expensive everywhere. (And tbh I'd probably not actually get round to playing it. I've a handful of Gamecube and Wii games been sat there for years gathering dust having never been played.


Turned out Microsoft sent our lass a 1 months Gold code, and not me. Not sure what that's about. I stuck the code onto my own account, so not a problem. Runs out around August, I think.


Have downloaded IDARB, but haven't tried it yet. Doesn't look appealing, tbh, but I'll certainly give it a look at some point.


Enjoying COD:AW at the moment. The campaign was good, the multiplayer's pretty good, and the new Exo Zombies mode is fantastic fun. (That was in DLC pack #1 - released a few days ago on Xbox and in about a month's time on other platforms)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 31, 2015, 12:03:27 PM
Yup, it's expensive because it's quite rare. I paid £50 for mine. Going to be an investment for my brother's kids though. In 50 years time it's going to be worth A LOT. Same with Metroid Prime Trilogy too.

It's a game that you can easily spend over 100 hours playing. The game world is huge and there's loads of side quests. It's being released for the New 3DS in April too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 02, 2015, 09:52:59 AM
Cant believe I've only just remembered how to burn the zombies in RE... wasted too much ammo at the start by not doing that  :-\

The hunters still managed to shit me up.. ;D  I knew when they were coming.. but there's one that waits for you to go to a specific view in a room before it shows itself that absolutely made me crap my pants as I wasn't expecting it.

Have died 3 times so far.. 2 of them were totally preventable though... (I forgot how to kill the giant shark and got killed by it + I got crushed in a room because I'm a douche lol).  I will definitely try a speed run + no save run at some point I reckon.

If I remember rightly, the secret room behind the mansion picture in the art room is the costume changing room isn't it - which is why I cant access it yet??


Hehe, just seen they have a "Jill Sandwich" achievement.. I'm playing with Chris at the moment, will definitely play with Jill straight after though
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 02, 2015, 09:42:48 PM
Finished first run through of RE.. 9hrs and 52m lol.. 22 saves.. pretty pansy really.. will go through with Jill on the next difficulty up... I didn't bother saving Rebecca or Jill with Chris lol.. well I fucked up Rebecca early on...and there's an achievement for not saving anyone.. so I couldn't be fucked with Jill... I also didn't save Richard with that fucking serum lol.

So I've unlocked Real Survivor Mode - basically the same as hard mode.. but the item boxes are not linked.. which is tough.
There is also an Invisible Enemy Mode - fuck that lol!!!
There's an achievement for completing the game in under 3 hrs  :o
And also one for not saving - so would make sense to do that with the 3hr or less one..


Edit : I only realised after I wrote this post last night that I actually completed the game on Easy difficulty.. LOL.. I thought it was a tad easy - I had so many unused medicine supplies left over and tons of ammo.. ashamed that I actually died 4 times now  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 03, 2015, 06:10:16 PM
The original game didn't have difficulty levels. The difficulty was dependant on which character you choose to play with. Chris was more difficult than playing with Jill. Is that not the case with the remake..?

The best game as far as difficulty is concerned was the first Max Payne game. The game adjusts things such as enemy accuracy and damage so that the game remains challenging no matter how good or how bad you are at playing the game. I'm surprised that more games in the industry didn't follow with this design choice tbh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 03, 2015, 08:32:43 PM
I believe the original game is the "Normal" mode... when the Original Directors Cut came out, that had a few difficulty levels.. but the Gamecube remake changed it all.. and the re-master is just an HD version of the remake.  The game isn't any harder or easier with Chris or Jill.  Jill has more inventory space but Chris has more health.. Jill has access to the grenade launcher.. but Chris starts with a lighter.

The reason I thought I was playing on normal mode was because the remake asks you a stupid question at the start.. something like.. how would you walk up a mountain.. One was a "walk".. one was a "brisk walk" and one was a "hike"... I thought "hike" was Hard mode.. so went for the middle difficulty.. but it turns out the options translate to "Very Easy", "Easy" and "Normal"...

Now I've completed that level.. I've unlocked the "Once Again" mode.. which allows you to pick the difficulty but with the words "Very Easy", "Easy", "Normal" and "Hard"

When you've completed Chris + Jill on Normal or Above you'll unlock the Real Survivor Mode.. which is basically "Hard" but the item boxes are not linked... sounds pretty tough.. unsure I will be able to stomach playing the game so many times to get all the achievements.. I reckon I'll need to go through the game at least 7 more times to do that.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 06, 2015, 09:27:21 AM
Back to Halo for a few days before starting second run of RE..

Up to 273 achievements now..will be aiming to finish Halo 1 of par times/skulls & terminals tonight.. and then I'll be starting on Halo 4 and doing the same... then I'll start having a look at the new Spartan Ops achievments they added.  2290 GS - 46% through the list lol., I reckon I can get 75% done.. some of them are just not worth while doing though..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 06, 2015, 01:22:48 PM
I need to get back to Halo at some point, but I'm in no rush. Still got a backlog to work through.
Thoroughly enjoying COD's recent DLC. Killing zombies rarely gets staid.
Finally got round to taking the cellophane off Zoo Tycoon and installing it a couple of weeks ago, and whilst I've not actually played it yet I have watched the kids do a bit and it looks okay. Will definitely give it a look soon.
Still haven't tried out Alien Isolation. Must play that one soon.
Have played a bit of the Battlefield Hardline Beta the last couple of nights. I haven't much of a clue what I'm doing and my K:D is absolutely horrendous (something like 1:5!), but I've still enjoyed it. Wouldn't fancy paying forty-odd quid for it, though - especially when lots of folk seem to be saying it's just a re-skinned Battlefield 4 and should've just been released as DLC for that.

Haven't tried #IDARB yet, but I get the impression it's the sort of game best played locally with a load of friends. (Convenient if you've got a load of friends living nearby, and lots of spare xbox one controllers. Not so much if you don't...) Will give it a look at some point - but as is the case with most of the games with gold, it'll probably be a quick look and then never played again after that first hour or so.
Not to complain. Free's free...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 09, 2015, 12:51:19 PM
Blimey- it's amazing what you can do with Unreal 4 - if you have a decent pc.

The below link takes you to a stunning demo which lets you walk around a beautiful apartment set in Paris.
This isn't a game, just a demonstration of the capability of Unreal 4's Engine.

Runs at 60fps if your PC has the horsepower:
benoitdereau.com (http://www.benoitdereau.com/unrealparis.html)

Below is a gif someone made using the above demo. (I've linked rather than embed it, as it's a large file.)
Gif (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/20406996/hotukdeals/paris.gif)

Credit to "fluidz" on hukd (http://www.hotukdeals.com/misc/unreal-paris-demo-for-pc-most-realistic-graphics-ever-2139122) who brought it to my attention.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 09, 2015, 01:14:01 PM
That's pretty impressive..  :o

Had a look through Febs update for the Xbox One.. apparently there's a controller update which requires linking to the console via USB.. I'll have to sort that out later this month.

But seen every game now has it's own dedicated GameHub.. I checked out my Halo one.. (it probably already had a gamehub but had not checked it out before).. apparently I've put in 94 hours already.. eek... not sure if that includes idle time as well though.. i.e. the game is running but you are on the dashboard.

Finally past the half way point in terms of GS in the MCC achievement list.. just got a few par-times and terminals on H4 to finish off, and that will do for the time-being.. back to RE I think then.  Keep forgetting there are achievements for playing the single player portion on certain days of the month... I'll just put them on here in a bid to remind myself to play them on that day (I know you can change the internal clock of the xbox one.. but I cant be arsed.)

Halo 4 - 6th of the month.
Halo 2 - 9th of the month.
Halo CE - 15th of the month.
Halo 3 - 25th of the month.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 09, 2015, 02:01:47 PM
Had a look through Febs update for the Xbox One.. apparently there's a controller update which requires linking to the console via USB.. I'll have to sort that out later this month.

The controller update is sweet. It was a little irritating how long it took to turn on and sync with the console before, but that time has been cut from 5 seconds to just 2.

I can't remember if you have a play & charge kit, but if you don't have one you can update the controller using any old micro USB cable.

Had a quick look at hubs a month or two back when it first appeared on the preview program but it didn't seem to show anything that wasn't already available, but I'll have another look some time.

Have just stuck another year onto my Gold subs, so it now goes to the back end of August 2016. £22-ish from cdkeys.
While I was logged into my xbox account I saw I bought The Lego Movie Game between xmas and new year. I'd completely forgotten I'd bought that one! Was unsure what to play starting from tonight (assuming the Battlefield Hardline beta has now ended) and was torn between trying Alien Isolation, trying Zoo Tycoon, or going back to Halo - but now there's another game to throw into the mix... :D
TBH I think I'll go with Alien first.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 09, 2015, 06:48:43 PM
Have they fixed the online yet for Halo..? Most of those 94 hours would have been wasted waiting for an online game, wouldn't they..? :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 10, 2015, 07:54:46 AM
They sorted that ages ago.. most of it has been the single player campaign...

I've been through each campaign on heroic difficulty.. went through Halo 2 on legendary difficulty too, and I've been through each one on Easy difficulty doing speed-runs (just a few more missions on H4 to finish that off).

The controller update is sweet. It was a little irritating how long it took to turn on and sync with the console before, but that time has been cut from 5 seconds to just 2.

I can't remember if you have a play & charge kit, but if you don't have one you can update the controller using any old micro USB cable.

Keep forgetting I can use the play & charge cable as the usb cable..  ;D ;D  Updated it last night.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 11, 2015, 09:30:38 AM
Just been announced that Bethesda will be holding their first E3 conference this year Link (http://www.pcgamer.com/bethesda-to-hold-its-first-e3-conference/)

That means the new Doom will be shown.. good news  but enough for them to do a E3 presser.. probably not.. wonder if it means there will be a new Fallout  :o  or even better another Elder Scrolls  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 11, 2015, 10:51:21 AM
I would love another Fallout. I'm still pissed off that Ian Livingstone and the other 3 staff in his Acquisitions Department at Eidos thought that Escape From Bug Island was a great idea and turned their noses up at both Fallout 3 and Bioshock. You really couldn't make it up >:( :'(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 11, 2015, 10:53:22 AM
Also a real shame that we won't see it for the Wii U, having a Pip-Boy in the palm of your hands would be unbelievably awesome :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 12, 2015, 10:05:51 AM
Yeah, but it's not worth the cost of the development, as you won't make the money back even if both Wii U owners buy the game...


 ;)


Have played a bit of The Lego Movie Game or whatever it's called, and I'm just not feeling it. Which is strange, as I love the Lego games and I loved the Lego Movie. Have played about one level a night for three nights. It's going to take a long while at that rate...


Installed Alien Isolation last night. As is usually the way on the xb1, it didn't wait until fully installed before letting you play. At about 35% installation it told me I'm good to go.
So I did. And I ended up walking around corridors with no textures, just the occasional person or object floating there, and lots of invisible walls.
Ditched it for a few hours, and it was fine when I went back to it after full installation. Was pretty funny, but it's a bit ridiculous that the game tells you you can play it before it's installed the textures for the first area of the game.

The game seems pretty good so far, but I've not yet got to the aliens.
I like that there's an option during initial set up, to have the kinect sound sensor affect gameplay - so if you make a noise in your front room the aliens might hear it. I actually disabled that feature (mainly because the wife and kids are noisy buggers, and the spirit of the feature is surely to capture noises you yourself make) but I like that it's there. Might turn it on and see if I can draw the Aliens toward me with a loud fart. #justblokethings
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 13, 2015, 08:48:07 AM
Downloaded The Escapists (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-02-12-the-escapists-review) on Xbox One.. its been out in beta for a while on PC.. but full release is today.. bit cheaper on PC.. but being on Xbox One is more convenient for me.. so don't mind paying a few quid more..

Looks funny, and it does remind me a bit of Skool Daze.. absolutely.. and I loved that game.. looking forward to playing it this weekend.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 13, 2015, 12:20:10 PM
Downloaded The Escapists (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-02-12-the-escapists-review) on Xbox One.. its been out in beta for a while on PC.. but full release is today.. bit cheaper on PC.. but being on Xbox One is more convenient for me.. so don't mind paying a few quid more..

Looks funny, and it does remind me a bit of Skool Daze.. absolutely.. and I loved that game.. looking forward to playing it this weekend.

Will probably pick that up some time soon. I loved Skool Daze and The Great Escape, back in the day.

Still got a backlog to work through, though, so no rush.
Added Far Cry 4 to my collection this week (a shade under £30 at Amazon - so "free" thanks to the xmas vouchers - cheers mum & dad :D ).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 15, 2015, 09:29:41 PM
The Escapists is a tad frustrating to be honest... and unless you cheat (which I haven't).. the difficulty is rock hard...  I probably wouldn't pay full price knowing what I know now.  It definitely does have a skool daze feel to it.. but just remember, there weren't much to skool daze!

The main problem with the game is not being able to save as and when.. you can only save at the end of each day (provided you go to sleep)... but the thing is, because the game relies on trial and error so much (and this is part of the fun)... if you fuck up.. you get chucked in solitary, all your contraband gets taken away and all your hardwork has vanished.... you soon find out its just easier to load up your previous save instead of doing solitary - but because the best time to escape is at lights out... you load up in the morning and have to plough through a whole days jails sentence of doing the same kind of stuff before you get to try another escape plan... and this is why it takes so fucking long to do anything and the gameplay feels repetitive.

Also what is frustrating is the hints/tips you pay for in each level really don't help much.. lol.  You usually find out what you wanted to know in the prison afterwards.. and by that time, its useless information for that prison.

What pissed me off though is that I spent hours and hours trying to escape in a particular way.. to find out that it wasn't possible to do what I was trying to do... then I accidently stumbled on an easy way to escape the prison and felt like I had completely wasted my time.  This happened on my first prison escape.. and I was expecting the second prison to be a lot harder.. which it was in a way... but I escaped in the same manner as the first prison escape.. which felt cheap again.  I'm not even going to contemplate a different escape route on the third prison if again I can escape in the same manner.. we'll see.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 16, 2015, 09:49:43 AM
I love the Alien films (well the first two, anyway - I prefer to pretend the latter ones didn't happen. Like the Matrix. But I digress. Already. I'm only five words into my post and I've gone off on a tangent for ages. Get some control, Late!) and have tried most of the games that have spawned from the franchise, and they've all been a bit rubbish (though I was in that minority that quite enjoyed AvP) - so I was overjoyed when the latest one, Alien Isolation got very good reviews.

Yet I gave up on it last night - about half-way through. :(
I'm alright at stealth games. I like to explore most games anyway, and I always enjoy finding alternative paths, so a game based on some of my favourite films and with mechanics that I like should be right up my street! It's very tense as you creep around a newly unlocked area of the space station collecting everything you can scavenge (ammo, and parts to make smoke bombs etc.) and checking in at computer terminals etc., whilst constantly checking your motion detector; before scooting into a locker or similar hiding place just as the alien appears. And then you're trying to peek out through the slats to see where it is. It's incredibly tense. You can't see it. Take a peek at the motion scanner. The alien hears the beeps, and kills you. You restart from the last save point (which was only a couple of rooms back, but it took you 20 sodding minutes to get through those couple of rooms). You repeat every step from above. Including the bit where you get killed in the locker you were hiding in. You repeat it all again (collecting all the stuff you can each time, checking the computer terminals again each time) but hide in a different place. Different place but same result. So this time you decide to be a bit less cautious, you don't skirt around the edge of the room in a crouched stance, but instead walk at normal pace through the middle, and you're fine. You walk into the second room, your attention has perhaps slipped a little, you don't notice that tell-tale gloopy mucussy stuff dripping from the overhead vent, you see the alien's tail go through your torso. You restart from the checkpoint. You switch it off and watch tv for a while, having wasted over an hour without really progressing. And when you do make it to that next checkpoint it's pretty much the same thing again. You're in a new area. You explore it. You die repeatedly.

I'm playing on medium/normal difficulty, and I'm a seasoned gamer. I don't know if I'm just being rubbish, if I'm getting old, if I'm so used to games being easy these days that I have a hissy fit when I encounter a little difficulty whilst completely forgetting that games used to be way more unforgiving.
Whatever it is, I give up.

Installed Far Cry 4. Absolutely loving it, so far. I'm not very far into it, but it's so much more intuitive, so much more fun. So much easier.
Is that last part a good thing? I'm not sure. It sure feels like it, though, as I whiz around this war-torn land like the genetically engineered spawn of Rambo, Che Guevara, and John Marston.


Also been enjoying #IDARB (playing local 1v1). Great fun.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 17, 2015, 11:41:03 AM
Sounds like something I'd hate..  :o

So, I've found out I can't escape from the third prison in the escapists in the same manner as I finally did in the first two.

I think I'm going to dig my way out.. and it would be a lot easier if I could work out how to use a contraband bag to get my contraband through the detectors.. but like everything in the game.. nothing is really explained to you lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 17, 2015, 04:01:59 PM
Dunno if you got a message the other week about the continued support of MCC Late.  Got a free month worth of xbox live added on to my subscription.. presuming this is because of the stupid amount of downtime the online multiplayer had.


Turned out Microsoft sent our lass a 1 months Gold code, and not me. Not sure what that's about. I stuck the code onto my own account, so not a problem. Runs out around August, I think.
Microsoft sent me a code for a month's Gold, because of the MCC downtime this morning.
Sweet. That's two months I've had.
Will have to have a look at the kids' accounts, see if they've had codes, too. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 18, 2015, 09:48:53 AM
Nice.. perhaps its got something to do with profiles that logged into MCC and tried to play multiplayer in the first month or something... pass.

I'm on 311 achievements unlocked for MCC now lol.. 54% through with a total of 2690 out of 5000...

Got a day off work on Friday, had a lot of work on recently and haven't been sleeping great, had colds for the past 2 weeks and soon as I've got rid of them, one of my wisdom teeth starts playing up and had tooth ache all this week... feeling totally flaked out at the moment.. so just gonna chill on Friday, not gonna worry about anything, planning to get a phat pizza and some milkshakes in, and play some god-damn games!!  Probably try and get back into Lego Marvel... pissed off since it lost all my progress but ready to give it another shot soon.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 18, 2015, 07:36:06 PM
Ah FFS.. turned on The Escapists to break out of the 3rd prison, I've got loads of stuff and ready to make my escape.  I didnt want to spend too long on it tonight..the plan was simply to get inside a empty room near the outskirts of the prison, dig about 5 squares to the left and dig up to escape out of the side of the prison.

Waited till dark, had 3 of the best shovels you can get and a wooden frame to hold the tunnel.  I start digging just before Evening Roll Call which gives me around 2 hours in game-time worth of digging before the guards know I'm missing - I should get at least half the tunnel done by then.

So I start digging, I've done 5 spaces, how the fuck do I dig up... took me too long to realise and my plan is rumbled before I get the chance to dig the entire way out.

So I have to resort back to the morning save... fuck waiting all day to mill around the prison waiting for dark to try again, if I check in very briefly to the Morning Roll Call, they don't know I'm missing and I don't need to be back in again until Afternoon Roll Call, I do that and zoom back off to the same room... start digging again.. now there are large boulders in the ground where I had dug before ... WTF ??  Reload.. do the same thing over and over again.. each time, either boulders block my path or I get caught before I can dig the required spaces.  Finally get to 5 spaces and about to dig the very last bit and get caught...  #%*£  !!  Spend another 30 minutes rinsing and repeating... and I finally do it...

... to be greeted with... The guards have noticed your digging habits.. blah blah blah.. you are sent to solitary for the next 3 days... WTF.. I'm outside the prison walls.. I can see myself on the other side of the wall... there are no guards on the screen...

So I'm guessing this is because I escaped during the day... so have to sit through a whole days of prison life just to try again at night... andddd the boulders come back and I run out of energy trying to dig round them and eventually get caught... I mean this could take all fucking day to keep replaying and replaying... its so frustrating.

Edit:
I finally did it at night.. and same thing.. so it looks like you cant escape out of the side of the prison... great!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 20, 2015, 05:30:58 PM
Finally escaped prison 3, I dug a massive tunnel down to the front door of the prison, looks like you cant escape by digging whatsoever...

I changed tact completely and escaped within 3 or 4 days, open world game my arse.. This game is just seriously frustrating!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 21, 2015, 11:20:23 PM
It's a prison escape game and they've included the mechanics to dig tunnels but you can't escape by digging a tunnel?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 22, 2015, 10:21:10 PM
It would seem so!  Maybe I'm doing something wrong, I don't know but as soon as I emerge from the tunnel I've dug I get caught instantly.  It's perfectly ok if you dig from one area to another but outside the gates - no.

You get very vague hints on how to escape each prison and up until the 3rd prison, I thought of these as suggestions, but it would seem that 3rd prison and beyond, following the hints are mandatory in understanding how to escape as there is only one way.  Looks the same with the 4th prison too...

I am a bit fed up with its slow pace though.. I started playing D4 over the weekend, feels a bit like a phoenix wright game, I got into it a lot more than first impressions, I like the episodic feel but the story is just fucking bonkers and it's not the full game, the ending of episode 2 was just stupid.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 23, 2015, 12:08:12 AM
Sounds a bit pants to me :-\

You should buy The Swapper if it's available on Live, it's a great game. All of the models for the game are hand crafted from clay, has a real unique look to it, it's beautiful. It's a puzzle/platformer. You can create clones of yourself and switch control between them if your Swapper beam can contact it. It's awesome, and I don't normally like puzzle games. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 25, 2015, 07:59:14 AM
Kinda given up on The Escapists for now... am close to 100%ing D4.. I've finished it once.. just going through it for a second time and mopping up pretty much every other achievement... there's a couple I've missed and a couple of grindy ones.. but nothing that will take forever.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 25, 2015, 10:24:50 AM
Still enjoying Far Cry 4, but it's getting close to becoming a chore. I like the quests but they're rather repetitive. It doesn't help that the game is pretty much the same as FC3, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but it means that repetition is more pronounced. It's not that I've done it 20 times already in this game and have to do it another 10 times. It's more like I've done it 50 times already, including 30 in the previous game, and have to do it another ten times. Fun every time, but definitely in real danger of becoming stale.
As a result I'm only playing for an hour or two each night, instead of my usual 3 or 4. And I don't want to play anything else until this is finished, else I'll probably never put it back in the machine (and I am still enjoying it). So Kinect Sports Rivals, Lords of the Fallen, etc. still haven't gotten a look in.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 25, 2015, 10:53:01 AM
Far Cry 4 isn't as good as Far Cry 3.. the storyline is nowhere near as good.. the characters don't have as much depth and whilst there is a quite a bit more content, i.e. elephant riding, grappling.. the gameplay is all too similar.

I gave up going for 100% - mainly because there was no achievement for it, but because I was fucking bored with the game by that point.

Far Cry 2 is the equivalent of Assassins Creed - some broken elements but has all the makings of a great game...
Far Cry 3 is the equivalent of Assassins Creed 2 - a definite improvement on the subsequent game with original ideas and a real enjoyment to play
FC4 is the equivalent of Assassins Creed Brotherhood - some very subtle improvements and changes, but ultimately the same game as the previous instalment.

FC5 better not be the equivalent of Revelations.. I'd struggle to find enough interest to buy it.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 25, 2015, 11:37:06 AM
Good analogy - can't argue with it!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 25, 2015, 03:01:43 PM
New trailer for Batman: Arkham Knight

dealspwn (http://www.dealspwn.com/gotham-batman-arkham-knight-gorgeous-trailer-196890)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 25, 2015, 03:46:40 PM
FPS Creator Reloaded has now been renamed to GameGuru, and an Early Access version is being released on Steam for $19.99 on 27th February and they're having it 25% off to begin with too. Works out as £9.68 at the current currency conversion.

When it's first released on Steam, because the software is still being developed, the online multiplayer is using the Steam online infrastructure but at this early stage of development you can only host and join games if you actually own GameGuru. That's probably going to change sometime before the end of the year hopefully.

They've renamed it because they have plans for the not too distant future for it to be used to make not just FPS games but any genre of game that uses a 3D game engine, so things like TPS games, RPG games, driving games etc. Here are the system requirements:

Quote
Minimum:
        OS: XP, Vista, 7, 8
        Processor: Intel Dual-Core 2GHz or AMD Dual-Core 2GHz
        Memory: 2 GB RAM
        Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 400 series or AMD Radeon HD 6000 series, 1GB Video Card (Minimum Shader Model 2.0)
        DirectX: Version 9.0c
        Hard Drive: 4 GB available space
        Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card with latest drivers

 Recommended:
        OS: XP, Vista, 7, 8 - (64 Bit)
        Processor: Intel Quad-Core (i5 2300) or AMD Octo-Core (FX 8150)
        Memory: 4 GB RAM
        Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 660Ti or greater, AMD Radeon HD 7950 or greater, 2GB Video Card (Minimum Shader Model 2.0)
        DirectX: Version 9.0c
        Network: Broadband Internet connection
        Hard Drive: 8 GB available space
        Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card with latest drivers

Because I gave them 40-odd quid to help fund development a while back I'm a Gold Pledger and will have 4 serials to give away so that you can all have a mess around with it. Here's a few YouTube videos and a Facebook page so that you can see what people have been doing with it so far:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UglkGZtwJXU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfTjwnC6DEI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oWZlPx83Cg

https://www.facebook.com/antinomy1

The first two YouTube videos have been done by some VERY talented people using their own models etc. The third YouTube video I think has been done entirely with models you get included with the software. If you're artistic/adventurous you can create 3D models in something like Maya/3DS Max/Milkshape/SketchUp/Blender and use them for your games. There's also a shop where you can sell or buy stuff too, both from the developers and from members of the forum.

The current multiplayer situation is a pain in the bum but this is an Early Access version, the software is still being developed so they have plans to sort that out.

Let me know if you want any serial numbers, I have 4 of them! Might be handy for those of you who have kids that are interested in getting into the industry I reckon. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 26, 2015, 02:20:13 PM
March Games With Gold on xbox:

XBOX ONE
Rayman: Legends - Available from March 1-31

XBOX 360
Tomb Raider - Available from March 1-15
BioShock Infinite - Available from March 16-31


Blimey, Microsoft have upped their game!
Three fantastic games, there.
On the down side, I already have all three so I'm actually better off when they give away crap stuff!
I'm not going to complain at Microsoft suddenly giving away great games instead of shit ones, though.


They've also announced that in April they'll be giving away double the number of games - so four free games on the 360 and two free games on the One.


xbox.com (http://news.xbox.com/2015/02/xbox-march-games-with-gold)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 26, 2015, 04:30:26 PM
What is happening at Microsoft this week?

They've decided to give us Bioshock Infinite, Tomb Raider, and Rayman Legends for free, instead of the usual pish on GWG; they're giving us a Forza F&F game for free as a one-off promotion; they're making Fable Legends free to play; and they're giving away 6 games instead of the usual 3 in April's GWG.

Tis a good time to be an xbox owner!



(Forza game (http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/forza-creators-revving-fast-furious-video-game-29211295) is a tie-in with Fast & Furious, to celebrate the release of Furious 7. The game will be free to download for a fortnight at the end of March and early April. They'll charge people to buy the game after that point. So long as you download in that fortnight you can continue to play for free though.)
(Fable Legends (https://www.fablelegends.com/news/fable-legends-is-free-to-play) has been announced as F2P on xbox and on Windows 10. There will of course be premium options in the game, but apparently you can play the game from start to finish for free.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 26, 2015, 05:57:44 PM
So do you two want one of these Steam keys each..?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 26, 2015, 06:31:31 PM
Not me thanks harv, I just wouldn't use it.

March GWG certainly upped in quality... but same boat.. have owned and completed them all... If they are doubling the quantity that's great news.. one better game and one downloadable game type quality would be awesome sauce.

Not convinced with Forza F&F.. its an expansion... it'll play like a glorified demo of Forza Horizon 2 I reckon.. and I stopped watching the F&F films when they started to lose originality and get silly... (the 2nd one  ;D).  Same with Fable Legends... Freemium gaming.. it sucks because it usually contains a lot of grinding aspects.. tbh I've never been a big fan of Fable anyway - as an RPG it has never quite hit the spot.


Edit : Has anyone pre-ordered Dying Light - it looks almost exactly the same as Dead Island.. which was a game with its faults.. but it had some good gameplay elements to it.. Dying Light looks like a slightly more serious Dead Island.  Reviews aren't great, but could be worth a punt until Dead Island 2 drops.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 26, 2015, 09:09:47 PM
No thanks Harv - wouldn't get used here either. My PC struggles with ms office these days, and wouldn't manage anything remotely close to 3d graphics.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 26, 2015, 09:15:14 PM
Okay, no probs. I know a few people that will be interested but thought I'd give you guys first refusal. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 02, 2015, 09:08:24 AM
I know you liked the Lego Marvel game late..

..personally I think its one of the crappiest lego games along with Lego Batman.

Loads too it.. but there's too many boring fetch quests and I'm not a fan of the story levels.. it feels like there's too many characters with too many abilities, plus boss fights are boring.. every level has one!!  I finished the main story at the weekend and finished a few city quests... but I feel most of the time that the puzzles are more about just swapping the right characters in and out... which can be problematic in itself.. two different iron-man suits that look the same but that have different abilities for example - that's just fucking annoying.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 02, 2015, 04:30:42 PM
Lego City Undercover has spoilt my enjoyment of Lego games now because it's too good. None of the others come close to being as good. :(

I'm still hoping that they're going to get together with Rockstar and do a proper Lego GTA, it would be amazing. :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 03, 2015, 03:46:15 PM
If you have an xbox 360 (and a gold account) but don't have an xbox one you've probably already been adding the xbox one games to your account via xbox.com, so they're ready to download for free if/when you get the console.

Apparently they've now made it possible to add xbox one games to your account from your xbox 360's dashboard, if you prefer. Just click the "games with gold" banner on the dash and it'll show you what's available on the 360 but also show what's available this month on the One. Just click it and it's yours - ready to download and play if you get the console at a future date.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 03, 2015, 03:55:28 PM
Unreal Engine 4 development tools have today been made free.
I haven't had chance to have a proper read up of it all, but it seems clever creative folks can make their own games for free (and pay a small royalty if they make a game that starts making serious money).

Info at: unrealengine.com (https://www.unrealengine.com/what-is-unreal-engine-4)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 04, 2015, 09:19:00 AM
PS+ games this month:

Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty (PS4)
Valiant Hearts (PS4)
Papo and Yo (PS3)
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments (PS3)
OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood (PS4/PS Vita)
CounterSpy (PS4/PS3/PS Vita)

Not bad at all. Trumped by Microsoft this month, of course, but I already have their offerings whereas I don't have Sony's.
I loved the Oddworld games back in the day. Downloaded one of those old ones last year and couldn't really get into it (and the kids thought it was naff) but I'm still semi-tempted by the new one.
Downloaded Valiant Hearts to my xbox in December but haven't gotten around to playing it yet.


If you haven't already added last month's games make sure you get them before they switch, this afternoon. Titles include: Apotheon, Transistor, Thief, Yakuza 4, Rogue Legacy and Kick and Fennick
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 04, 2015, 06:31:01 PM
Unreal Engine 4 development tools have today been made free.
I haven't had chance to have a proper read up of it all, but it seems clever creative folks can make their own games for free (and pay a small royalty if they make a game that starts making serious money).

Info at: unrealengine.com (https://www.unrealengine.com/what-is-unreal-engine-4)

Not sure about a 'small' royalty, it used to be 50%...although I expect they've reduced that now unless they've gone mental. It's looking like they're feeling the pressure that Unity is giving them. Mind you, a lot of developers out there can't stand working with the Unreal engine because they're a nightmare (the people, not the engine itself) to work with apparently. :-\ That was true up until a year or so ago anyway, if I remember correctly it was to do with the quality of support you used to get and the attitude of the support staff.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 04, 2015, 06:40:07 PM
It's 5%. And only if you're bringing in over $3k per quarter.
Can't begrudge them that!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 04, 2015, 07:09:48 PM
That's better lol :o ;D

It was 50% a few years ago, that's why loads of developers didn't go near it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 05, 2015, 03:52:21 PM
EA have shut down Maxis... no more Sim City then !  :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 05, 2015, 05:49:33 PM
Really..?!?!? :o

Didn't The Sims used to print money for them..? :-\

Oh well, no great loss, it was a game for girls anyway lol ;D

Going to take my phone with me next time I'm able to go out and take some pics of tree bark and brickwork, plus a few street lights and traffic signs etc. Am going to start on a zombie game using GameGuru using my own models. 8) ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 05, 2015, 06:02:10 PM
Rock Band 4 is coming this year, to xb1 and ps4.
Old instruments should all work (though new ones will also be available) - and dlc songs you bought for your last gen console should also be available to download for free.

Great result! :D
(Provided I still have my old instruments. I think they're still around here somewhere.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 06, 2015, 08:35:53 AM
Well apparently they are still supporting The Sims 4.. but I think EA were disappointed with The Sims 4 sales along with the troubled SimCity.. so they decided to close Maxis for good.  I think its a shame really.. I enjoyed playing The Sims with my video game-phobic missus.. something that we could both play together... and I've wasted so much time on the SimCity franchise.. Sim City 3000 probably being the main culprit.

Rock Band 4 is coming this year, to xb1 and ps4.

I never bought a Rock Band game.. I bought into Guitar Hero instead as it was first to market and continued to buy those games.. even though Rock Band to me sounded like it had a much better system than Guitar Hero (i.e. importing songs).  I think these games have lost their legs a little bit these days.. there's no more innovation there... although ardent fans will definitely snap them up.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 06, 2015, 09:44:09 AM
Unfortunately they milked these sort of games to death. There was a new guitar game being released every five minutes it seemed like.

You're better off getting a proper guitar and Rocksmith imo. Much more useful.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 06, 2015, 09:45:31 AM
And that's the PC SKU, best to learn to play the thousands of custom songs out there imo.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 06, 2015, 12:43:00 PM
Screw that. It has its place but I don't want to learn to play the guitar for real. I want to play pretend instruments with the kids, and Rock Band is perfect for that.
The market was definitely over saturated for a while, but there hasn't been a music rhythm game in almost a decade now so this is overdue.

Also announced late yesterday - Elite Dangerous is coming to consoles. Will be a timed exclusive to xb1 (ps4 will follow at some point) and the developers insist none of the features of the PC version will be cut. Sounds good. Loved Elite back in the day, and Elite Dangerous looks great.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 06, 2015, 01:23:24 PM
Will be getting it for the PC I think. Valve and HTC are getting together to release a VR system this year. Need to upgrade my PC first though. Oculus is taking too long and the PS4 and Xbox One aren't powerful enough to do VR systems any justice.

Elite Dangerous HAS to be played in VR.

Should have 355 quid going spare in May/June because of the way I pay my rent whenever I'm out of work and receiving benefits, I'm surprised that everyone doesn't do it to be honest. The council pay all my rent, but the way the payments and the calendar work out there's 10 months where I get two fortnightly payments and 2 months where I get three fortnightly payments. For 12 months of the year I make up the difference by paying £30 towards my rent every fortnight, including those two months (which are split 6 months apart). Those 30 quid payments add up to 710 quid per year, meaning I get to keep a fortnightly payment of my Housing Benefit to myself every 6 months.

It's a very easy way for people on benefits to save money.

Going to lend that £355 to my Mum so she can do some Bonus Bagging for me, she should be able to triple it I reckon.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 11, 2015, 09:44:12 AM
All three map packs for Titanfall are now available for free (on both 360 and One).
Very nice. I already had the first pack. Have now added the second and third via xbox.com and will hopefully check them out some time soon.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 11, 2015, 12:44:41 PM
Dragon Age Inquisition is free for 7 days on xbox One (started last night, I think) - will lock up after that point, but you'll keep any progress and achievements on your account. The game is also currently reduced on Deals With Gold.
Will have to give that a look.
I'm not sure of the terms, but I think you're limited to only 6 hours of play, or something like that - so don't be thinking you can complete it for free ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 11, 2015, 09:37:04 PM
I didn't expect the Dragon Age Inquisition!!! :o ;D :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 11, 2015, 11:19:07 PM
Nobody does
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 12, 2015, 08:01:54 AM
Played the first Dragon Age on the 360 for about 1 hour.. absolutely hated it...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 12, 2015, 10:16:36 AM
Started downloading it last night, but it was slow going.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 12, 2015, 01:27:19 PM
Nobody does

No one!!!! No one expects the Dragon Age Inquisition!!!!!!

You've got to do it properly lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 12, 2015, 02:15:39 PM
You sure? It was before I was born, but I'm pretty sure it's "nobody", not "no one".
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 12, 2015, 05:00:36 PM
I think so...but then again I am getting on a bit so my memory is kind of foggy sometimes lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 12, 2015, 05:15:22 PM
Oops, my bad...you were right. Just watched both of them on YouTube. Still very funny all these years later ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 13, 2015, 11:40:51 AM
It comes as no surprise, but Respawn have announced Titanfall 2 is in development.
Expected to be multiplatform (unless Microsoft break the bank to get exclusivity again, but that's probably unlikely).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 13, 2015, 02:30:59 PM
Gateway have FINALLY released their exploit for the New 3DS. It's a savegame exploit for Ocarina Of Time 3D, silly sods should have released this in December last year when they discovered it, they've lost out on A LOT of people forking out on Sky3DS flashcarts instead between then and now. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 16, 2015, 07:48:23 AM
It comes as no surprise, but Respawn have announced Titanfall 2 is in development.
Expected to be multiplatform (unless Microsoft break the bank to get exclusivity again, but that's probably unlikely).

Awesome news.. I think they should stick a single player mode in personally though... it could be one of the best games in the last decade if done right.


I've been catching up a bit on Defense Grid 2 over the weekend... beating a lot of your scores along the way - its not hard though  :P  Think I'm up to around 70ish individual gold medals.. its just bollocks that each gold medal has to be done on a separate stage (rather than difficultly).. some of the game modes are just so boring and uninteresting (power outage/focal point) and some are just so easy (practice/fully loaded)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 16, 2015, 03:22:54 PM
Lego Jurassic Park been announced Link (http://www.dealspwn.com/lego-jurassic-world-include-movies-trailer-199531)

Where is my frickin Back To The Future one!!!  >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 17, 2015, 02:59:00 PM
Nintendo announced "NX" today.. new hardware...probably no real information for another year.... dunno if its even a new console or handheld.. probably console seeing how bad the Wii U is doing. Link (http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/mar/17/nintendo-new-gaming-hardware-platform-codenamed-nx)

Also Nintendo going into partnership with iPhone..  I never intend to own an apple product and I don't intend to own another Nintendo product again.. so its a good fit in my sense.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 17, 2015, 03:31:44 PM
It'll be a new handheld, probably released in November/December next year. And Nintendo will release the next home console a year later. And you can expect the PS5 and Xbox [insert name here] to be released the year after that. We're going back to a bog standard 5/6 year home console lifespan again.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 17, 2015, 05:46:59 PM
Never been interested in KickStarter or pledged any money to anything..

But a new ToeJam & Earl game.. wow.. I'm very tempted!!
Link (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1578116861/toejam-and-earl-back-in-the-groove)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 18, 2015, 09:24:47 AM
...you can expect the PS5 and Xbox [insert name here] to be released [2018]

I'll file that prediction in the same drawer as all your other predictions. I say "drawer". It's a small wicker basket in the corner of the room, and gets emptied regularly.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 18, 2015, 10:42:34 AM
lol.. I don't know where he gets this stuff from sometimes.. its like his brain has diarrhea  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 18, 2015, 10:57:22 AM
We're not going to have another 8 year long generation. Last generation was a bit of a freak one. It's back to a traditional 5/6 years one again this generation and all other generations going forward. Nintendo will release their next home console in 2017, the next consoles from Sony and Microsoft will release a year later. There's no way that Sony and Microsoft will wait until 2020/2021 to release a new home console when Nintendo's new machine has been on shop shelves for 3/4 years. No chance.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 18, 2015, 12:29:12 PM
I'd say there's more weight in the predictions that the current or next generation will be the last ever generation, than in any argument that we'll see the release of the next Sony/Microsoft consoles as soon as 2018.
And I don't have much faith in that particular prediction.

If Nintendo were to bring a new console out in 2017 (unlikely) it won't incite MS or Sony to release early. Nintendo's new console would probably be about as powerful as a ps4, but with no games other than Mario Kart 12 or whatever number they're up to - and that'd only come out two years after the console. But of course they'll have the facilities in place for you to re-purchase your favourite classic games in the meantime, so you can pay yet again for the games you've already bought.

No, I don't think we'll see a new console release from MS/Sony before 2020. And if Nintendo are coming up with something "new" some time soon it'll be a product that they've already released but in a new colour or with a new ram-pack screwed onto it or some such typical Nintendo bollocks.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 18, 2015, 01:03:08 PM
When the JAGUAR released some several years after the SNES and GENESIS consoles did with improved graphics and new games... did Sega and Nintendo stop to create another iteration of their home consoles... No.. the Jaguar was utter shite, nobody bought it and it died a death.

Welcome to the NX harv ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 18, 2015, 05:31:51 PM
Well we'll have to wait and see. ;)

Have been playing Castlevania on my 3DS and it's awesome. Probably the best game I've played on my 3DS so far. I've always loved Metroidvania games and games that have plenty of lore hidden around to read. The 3D works well, although it's mostly a 2.5D game in appearance but the camera does shift around during parts of boss fights to make them properly 3D.

The music is great, the story is pretty good and apart from a few instances where the Director doesn't take advantage of using the 3D effect of things appearing to appear outside of the screen the direction is pretty good.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 19, 2015, 09:23:33 AM
Have barely touched my xbox One in the last fortnight or so.
Got into a few games on Steam, on the pc, and been playing them a lot. And I got a new media player for under the tv. Android based, with xbmc. Have spent a lot of time playing around with the settings etc as well as watching a lot of tv in the last couple of days.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 20, 2015, 02:53:09 PM
Halo 5: Guardians - HuntTheTruth (http://huntthetruth.tumblr.com/).

Not sure what that's about...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 24, 2015, 01:39:27 PM
You can now apply to join the Beta for Rainbow 6 Siege here:

http://rainbow6.ubi.com/siege/en-GB/beta/

(If you don't have the game pre-ordered you'll need to login, and answer a few questions.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 24, 2015, 02:32:51 PM
Nice one late... I signed up for it on the PC.. although could very well buy it on the X1 - haven't decided yet.. depends if my geeky pc mates get it
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 26, 2015, 06:33:46 PM
GWG April

* Pool Nation FX ($9.99 ERP): Available all month on Xbox One
* Child of Light ($14.99 ERP): Available all month on Xbox One
* Gears of War: Judgment ($19.99 ERP): Available from April 1-15 on Xbox 360
* Terraria ($14.99 ERP): Available from April 1-15 on Xbox 360
* Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag ($29.99 ERP): Available from April 16-31 on Xbox 360
* Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel ($19.99 ERP): Available from April 16-31 on Xbox 360


Child of Light is okay - good,  would recommend that if you haven't already played.  Looks like just pool nation for me
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 27, 2015, 01:59:55 AM
Not bad. I've only got one of the six.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 27, 2015, 07:40:54 AM
Yeah its not a bad list at all.. and to be honest, I'd be quite tempted to play Black Flag.. although I don't want to go back to the 360 and I dont really want to get started with Assassin's Creed again...

Installed Murdered Soul Suspect last night.. I now only have 9GB available  :(  I think I'm gonna have to go with a 2TB hard-drive - so on the lookout for a bargain.. really don't want to pay more than £70 for one..

And finally 100%'ed Defense Grid 2 last night.. 100 (DIFFERENT) Gold Medals obtained - it was a right chore if I'm honest.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 27, 2015, 09:58:58 AM
Have definitely deleted over 200gb of games from my xb1's hdd in the last six months. The bugger's always full.
I'm in no rush to get an external drive, though. I don't mind deleting games (and reinstalling later if needed).

I've only turned the 360 on once or twice in the last year and a half, but still add the free games twice a month (via the website). Might've missed one, possibly two, but I've effectively added about 35 games to my account without once looking at them.

I do recommend Black Flag, mind. Definitely my favourite AC game to date. Assassins are cool, pirates are cool, but Pirate Assassins are the ultimate ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 27, 2015, 11:33:44 AM
Forza Horizon 2 Presents Fast & Furious Digital Edition is now available to download for free on both xbox one (https://store.xbox.com/en-GB/Xbox-One/Games/Forza-Horizon-2-Presents-Fast-Furious/aaae1849-53dc-453f-8b38-27955610925d) and xbox 360 (http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Forza-Horizon-2-Presents-Fast-Furious/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8024d530ab5).
Price goes up to £8 next week. Even if you're not interested in playing it, and have no intention of every installing it there's no harm in adding it to your account while it's free. (It'll still be free to play if you add it now and don't get round to playing it for a few months.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 27, 2015, 02:49:51 PM
£21.85 for 12 months Xbox Live Gold membership at cdkeys:

http://www.cdkeys.com/xbox-live/memberships/12-month-xbox-live-gold-membership-xbox-360?mw_aref=4589656

(Price listed £22.99, but you can get 5% discount via the link at the top of the page.)




Recently checked mine and it runs out in March 2017 so I don't think I'll bother topping up just yet... ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 28, 2015, 02:28:14 PM
I'm quite enjoying Murdered Soul Suspect.. I haven't got so far yet but the story is pretty good - I'm wondering why this game got so badly reviewed.. perhaps its not the most action packed game and its quite linear.. but the story is making up for it - its like the game equivalent of the film Ghost.

Edit: Played a couple more hours now.. the story is still going strong.. I really like it... its by far the most redeeming feature of the game.. the game is very easy.. I haven't died yet, unsure if you can.. considering your a ghost.. but there are no tricky parts.. finding all the collectibles in a mission can take a while though... The gameplay.. yeah, its not the best in the world, and it goes at quite a sedate pace.. there's no guns or weapons or anything like that and I don't think its going to last much more than 10 hours in total to fully complete it.. but for £6.50 odd.. I'm pretty pleased with it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 30, 2015, 08:36:43 AM
Well I actually finished and 100%'ed Murdered Soul Suspect over the weekend lol.. The xbox said I had been playing for 14 hours on it.. but I suspect quite a few of those hours I was actually idle.

So I can see why the game didn't get very high marks, its quite a short game, there's little re-playability, despite a small sandbox hub area, the game funnels you down a linear path, your ghostly powers are very limited, it is a very easy game with no difficulty levels and there is occasional screen lag.

However, for £6.50, I thought I definitely got my moneys worth, because the story is excellent with roots in the real world, the graphics are not bad.. and your a ghost detective!!  I'd love to see a 2nd game that addresses the main issues, but also ups the violence, horror and gore.. so basically a bit like Condemned.. but with a much better story.  There weren't any real scary bits in M:SS, but there was a point I was concentrating and my phone went off and made me shit my pants lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 30, 2015, 08:20:40 PM
Fuck it, saw Sunset Overdrive on sale for about £18 somewhere last week but didn't pick it up.. bought it brand new from Amazon for £20 tonight.. really looking forward to playing it.  Also bought Watch Dogs (used) from Grainger for £10.

Should keep me busy for a while at least.  :D

Edit: Had to un-install Ryse (40GB) lol.. hopefully be enough space.. but maybe not.  Will be buying a hard-drive next month.. I don't like un-installing games  :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 31, 2015, 12:44:47 PM
Linear isn't always bad. In the last week or so I've replayed both Portal games (for about the fifth time each), and they're about as linear as it gets. Love those two games. I know everyone's keen for Half Life 3 but I'd personally much prefer Valve made Portal 3.

I'll probably play through the three Bioshock games again soon, too. I started the first one on the pc a few months ago but I much prefer to use controller than kb/mouse (I know kb/mouse has a lot of advantages, but it's just what I'm used to) and my controller wouldn't work on the old pc for some reason.

Mostly been playing FTL (on pc) this last month or so. Have got over 80 hours racked up on it, and have completed it lots of times, but there's so much more to do. Have completed it with less than half of the ships available, and I hope to complete it with each and every one of them - and the different ships require different approaches and strategies. Very good game (though rather hard - I still occasionally resort to "savescumming" - backing up my save file from time to time, when the game's supposed to be a rogue-like).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 01, 2015, 07:53:14 AM
Some bird at work plays FTL every single lunchtime.. TBH, I'm not a massive rogue-like fan.. although there are some exceptions...but this one doesn't appeal at all.. its rather a geeky game for you late ;)

I downloaded the DLC for Peggle 2 last night as a very short distraction.. admittedly they should of been included in the full game.. but for £3.20 for both sets.. its not a massive deal because the extra 20 levels + 20 challenges are quite fun.  They won't take long to complete but I forgot how enjoyable I found the game.  If you are to get one.. I'd recommend Jimmy's one as being better.. the "boing" sound effects are great lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 01, 2015, 09:08:56 AM
.. its rather a geeky game for you late ;)

I've been known to change the characters' names (Kirk or Picard for the captain, Scotty or LaForge for the person in the engine room, etc.)  :-[ ;D

(Usually I just change their names to "Engines", "Shields", "Helm" etc. though - makes life more simple.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 01, 2015, 09:37:13 AM
Blimey, Sony have made a very poor attempt at an April Fool's joke ;D

PlayStation Flow, if you're playing a game with a swimming section you can wear gear to continue the game in the pool lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 01, 2015, 12:43:43 PM
Heh - I saw that one, and pointed out the dangers here (http://www.dealspwn.com/daily-bite-playstation-flow-officially-announced-203134). ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 01, 2015, 04:32:00 PM
The best video game related April Fool's joke ever has to be the cyberpunk Zelda one. It had concept art and everything and looked fantastic. Epona was a motorbike and the Master Sword was a light saber. Still pisses me off that it wasn't real :'(

And the best non-April Fool's joke has to be Predator football boots. They were announced on 1st April years ago in the national newspapers, boots designed to put extra curve on the ball had April Fool written all over it. Was gobsmacked that it was real lmfao ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 01, 2015, 09:58:55 PM
Woo hoo!!!

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is out and about, am downloading it now. One of the best games released last gen, can't wait to play it again in Glorious 3D-O-Vision. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 02, 2015, 03:21:49 AM
I liked the look of the steam machine announced yesterday.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/iljn/?pfm=HP_FeaturedProducts_4_iljn

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 02, 2015, 08:13:54 AM
 ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 02, 2015, 05:09:46 PM
Ooh! Elite Dangerous is on Steam! £39.99...might wait for it to go on offer but I'm VERY tempted.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 03, 2015, 09:39:19 PM
Finished the Peggle 2 DLC.. only took a few days.. but it was good to jump back on that again.

Got WatchDogs on Friday.. played for an hour or two.. its ok.. it doesn't seem to stand out much though.. the whole phone hacking and stuff.. its not that interesting so far.

Played PoolNationFx.. its a bit boring to be honest - but I think pool/snooker are not the most exciting games to play on the computer.  Its got tons of modes.. but they are ultimately all the same game with modified rules.. I think there are trickshots and stuff to do in the game... but I only played for about an hour before getting bored.

And got Sunset Overdrive in the post today, played for an hour this evening and enjoying it so far.. funny script with some entertaining moments.. its basically Crackdown fused with Jet Set Radio.. both great games in their own rights.. can see myself getting hooked on this.. especially with the collectibles and shit.

Lego Hobbit on digital sale for £12.80.. not sure I can justify another game now.. dammit!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 03, 2015, 11:19:41 PM
Forgot how amazing Xenoblade Chronicles is. Am about 6 hours in so around another 60 hours to finish the story and I'll probably spend another 120 hours or so just exploring the beautiful world. Everything about the game is of the highest standard you can imagine - the story, the world, the music and sound. All top-notch.

The game starts off with two Titans fighting, a biological entity called Bionis and a mechanical entity called Mechonis. They end up fighting for millennia and eventually kill each other. Then the world and its inhabitants evolve on top of the entities' dead forms. Such a great idea for the setting of a game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 08, 2015, 07:10:17 PM
Great to see "Deus Ex: Mankind Divided" revealed today :D
I loved Deus Ex Human Revolution. Apart from the boss fights (which were subcontracted out, and a mess - but done properly for a "directors cut" later) and the "multiple endings" (which didn't take into account any choices you'd made throughout the game - it was simply a case of picking one of three options at the end) it was one of my favourite games of the last generation. The new game is looking great.
https://youtu.be/uvSs5b6y-YM
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 20, 2015, 12:10:05 PM
The more I play Sunset Overdrive.. the more I love the game.

Still think the Overdrives and Amps feel a bit tacked on.. and don't really change much in terms of gameplay.. but when you get used to grinding, bouncing, wall running, the game becomes much more fun to play.  And with tons of collectibles, (600+) and plenty of time challenges, there is enough to do.  I've moved onto the 3rd area of the map now.. the story is pretty funny with the character's self-awareness at its best.. and whilst the missions are all very repetitive find-destroy missions.. the core gameplay along with the story is enough to deal with this.  Its a brilliant time-waster that's for sure.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 20, 2015, 02:20:48 PM
Star Wars Battlefront is looking absolutely stunning.
Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwWLns7-xN8)
Would've been nice to see actual gameplay, but there's plenty of time between now and its release this xmas, and this footage (all made with frostbite) is incredible.



I ordered Final Fantasy Type-0 HD today (£18.95 at thegamecollection (http://www.thegamecollection.net/final-fantasy-type-0-hd-xbox-one.html)).
Haven't actually played on the xbox in well over a month - still absorbed with playing some of my steam games on the new pc.
I do like a bit of FF, though, and there should be the demo for FF15, too - and the kids might play this, as well.
("Kids". Not sure what age you stop calling them that. My eldest turned 18 a month or so back... Damn but that makes me feel old!)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 20, 2015, 08:34:58 PM
I'm still waiting for them to continue the Jedi Knight franchise. Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy were the two best.Star Wars games ever released.

And I still can't believe that they didn't release a decent Star Wars game with 1:1 light saber controls. The nearest anyone came was Ubisoft with Red Steel 2. Substitute the Wild West location with a Star Wars location, Wild West weapons for Star Wars weapons, Samurai powers with Force powers and the Samurai Sword with a light saber and you would have seen the best Star Wars game EVER!!! :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 21, 2015, 04:08:44 PM
Sunset Overdrive pre-owned £13.99.
Tempting, but like I say - I've not actually played on the console for a long while, and I've already ordered one game this month. (Plus there's the GWG freebies for the last month or two, yet to be played. And I never really got Halo MCC played - I only did something like a quarter of the first game. And I don't think I got very far through The Lego Movie. And I haven't yet picked up the latest COD map pack - always worth it just for the zombies levels. Oh - I also got sent that SMITE alpha invite about three weeks ago. Haven't tried that out yet either. Not sure if it's still active tbh.)
gamescentre (http://www.gamescentre.co.uk/product/specialOffers/Sunset%20Overdrive/XO22)




Edit - oh, just remembered I also have "Kinect Sports Rivals" and "Lords of the Fallen" that I bought digitally two or three months back and haven't yet looked at.
Too many games, not enough time.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 21, 2015, 06:11:35 PM
Xbox One has no gaems... :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 21, 2015, 06:14:04 PM
But Wii U has loads of Gayms?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 21, 2015, 06:22:59 PM
It does as it goes, just none from third parties lololol :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 21, 2015, 07:55:15 PM
(http://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz106/Rafterman1/Anigifs/bs_meter_1.gif)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 21, 2015, 07:58:49 PM
If you liked the first Crackdown late, you'll like Sunset Overdrive I think.

The repetitive missions do "grind" a bit.. heh.. but overall its a very playable time waster with loads to do in it.

Certainly beating everything else out of my machine at the moment.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 22, 2015, 12:54:10 AM
Yeah, I didn't much fancy it from the adverts and reviews but I played it when they made it free for a weekend and enjoyed it, so I'm sure I'd enjoy the full game. I'll hold off for now, and maybe get it at some point in the future.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 22, 2015, 08:34:29 AM
Wolfenstein : The Old Blood (http://www.polygon.com/2015/3/4/8146679/wolfenstein-the-old-blood-prequel-the-new-order-machinegames) prequel set to release in May.

Might have to snap that up, I quite liked the first one..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 22, 2015, 09:14:00 AM
The third one you mean..? :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 22, 2015, 09:38:56 AM
Yeah, I'm tempted by that, too.
The only down side is I really enjoyed the alternative 60s setting (with German versions of Yellow Submarine & House of the Rising Sun, news clippings about the war and the resistance throughout the 40s and 50s, etc.), and will miss all that.
Can't argue with the price, either. I think it's £14.99 most places. Cheapest looks to be £12.06 at videogamebox (http://www.videogamebox.co.uk/Wolfenstein-The-Old-Blood-Xbox-One-p/160338631544332.htm?CartID=1) (listed at £12.70 but use code 'VGBDISCOUNT' to knock 5% off). They're probably perfectly fine but I've not used them before so can't personally vouch for them.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 22, 2015, 12:42:17 PM
Big new patch for Halo MCC today - seems to be mainly aimed at tracking and punishing quitters and betrayers.

343 also announced ODST will be added to the Collection (no extra cost) in May.

halowaypoint.com (https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/community/blog-posts/4-21-15-halo-the-master-chief-collection-update-notes)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 22, 2015, 01:44:28 PM
Haven't been on Halo MCC for a while.. nice to see a release date for ODST though.. its by far the worst campaign to play through in terms of fun and it didn't really do much for multiplayer.. but I'll probably go back to the game when it releases.. worth while playing through it another time.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 23, 2015, 03:47:33 PM
The new Mad Max trailer looks great.

youtube (https://youtu.be/Q5pjON5rwxU)


This wasn't supposed to happen. It's a game tie-in of a film remake. It has disaster written all over it, and yet it looks really good!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 29, 2015, 09:35:58 PM
Xbox games with gold for May:

Xbox One CastleStorm: Definitive Edition
Xbox 360 Mafia II
Xbox 360 F1 2013


Sony PS+ games in May:

Ether One (PS4)
Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (PS4)
The Unfinished Swan (PS4, PS3, PS Vita)
Race the Sun (PS4, PS3, PS Vita)
Murasaki Baby (PS Vita)
Hohokum (PS4, PS3, PS Vita)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 29, 2015, 10:19:01 PM
The PlayStation Plus games have been a bit pants for a few months :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 30, 2015, 01:39:36 PM
MS HoloLens demo at BUILD

https://youtu.be/3AADEqLIALk

Damn but that's impressive!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 30, 2015, 09:30:25 PM
Pretty awesome,  but he did look like a bit of a dick with the glasses on
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 01, 2015, 09:56:59 AM
Yeah, but I won't realise what a dick I look when I wear one as I'll have installed an app that overlays Brad Pitt's face over my face&visor whenever I wander near a mirror. Should be do-able.

Will be a shame to look that ugly compared to my normal handsome self, of course, but I'll get over it.




Actually, screw that. I'm having Michelle Keegan's full body overlay.
They reckon VR/AR is mainly for gamers, but I reckon perverts (i.e. the average bloke) will get a lot out of it too!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 01, 2015, 10:02:11 AM
(http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view7/20140108/4948135/red-dwarf-vr-sex-o.gif)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 01, 2015, 12:12:04 PM
Looks pretty cool, hopefully there's not going to be any sort of delay to it. Going to be VR for me though, the whole point of something like this (for me personally anyway) is to get away from your living environment...certainly in terms of gaming applications anyway, actually being in the game itself.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 01, 2015, 12:26:04 PM
Yeah, full VR is probably going to be better for gaming than AR (though an AR headset should of course be perfectly capable of doing full VR) - but it depends on the game. For driving and flight sims VR is going to be spot on. Things where you're not moving, but you want to be able to look around you - while the controls stay in front of you.
I'm not so sure about FPSs etc though. Could be sickeningly disorienting to turn using controls and have your whole vision change without moving your body (but we'd probably get used to it, and it might even feel instinctively "right" right from the get-go).


AR should be great in gaming - but it's the non-gaming applications where it could excel.
If everyone has AR headsets then TVs and tablets are completely dead. Why put a tv in your front room if you can watch all of your favourite shows on a massive (and fully adjustable) virtual TV screen that either floats in front of your eyes or is temporarily pinned to any wall. Why pick up a tablet to browse the internet and play a few simple games in a small screen when you can do the same thing in a virtual window that only you can see.

AR is the future. (Lets pretend Google Glasses never existed!)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 01, 2015, 05:35:53 PM
It will be capable of doing full VR...but don't expect more than a few FPS lol :o ;D ;D ;D

AR is still pretty cool with games though, it's really annoying that developers for the 3DS haven't taken advantage of it more. The only game I can think of that uses it is Bravely Default right at the start. You have the crumpet that gets grabbed from where you're playing into another dimension. It's really cool for a geek like me...fisrt time I've had a woman in my bedroom for years lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 01, 2015, 05:39:48 PM
Oh! And Face Raiders which comes with the 3DS. You take pictures of people's faces and it turns them into baddies for you to shoot lol. I had my face, Georgie Porgie and my big ginger nut, Mr Rufus Roughpaws. Might have to go back and play that again now I'm thinking about it, it's surprisingly good entertainment lol. ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 01, 2015, 10:09:18 PM
There was a US only Nintendo Direct last week (http://www.nintendo.com/nintendo-direct/04-24-2015/#/video-ndirect) that I totally forgot to watch until now. I really don't know how Monolith Soft do it, this really shouldn't be possible on the Wii U's hardware...and the same could have been said about the first game on the Wii too. The scale of both games is completely ridiculous and if this game is anything like the first there's going to be virtually NO loading times :o :o :o

You've got a maximum of 4 or five seconds for the first game, and that doesn't happen that often :o

Am pretty sure that they've made some deals with the Devil to make this all possible lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 02, 2015, 11:34:45 AM
So much for HoloLens being the dog's bollocks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfC8RoQcez0) >:( :( >:(

Maybe they're going to fix this before it releases otherwise it's going to be about as useful as a chocolate tea pot unless you're viewing small items or large items from a distance. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 06, 2015, 08:59:14 AM
Xbox games with gold for May:

Xbox One CastleStorm: Definitive Edition

Takes a while to complete the campaign.. I've nearly done all 4.. but I must have logged at least 10 hours on it I reckon.. to be honest, its not even that good a game.. but there is something that is somewhat addictive about it.. It could of been so much better though.

Don't really fancy playing it online.. and some of the achievements can go to hell.. but I think I've got another good couple of hours left it in yet.


I think I'm done with Sunset Overdrive... cracking game.. really enjoyed it.. haven't tried out the online mode because I can't get a game.. definitely recommend though.

So it'll be back to Watchdogs for a bit... which I'm a bit annoyed about because its a bit shite.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 06, 2015, 10:58:24 AM
Quite enjoyed Watch Dogs, once I got into it (once I got used to the controls, and my timing got better when it came to raising barriers to stop pursuers, etc.)
Will get it's sequel. Watch Dogs 2 hasn't been announced but it's inevitable - and I recall there was a kinda leak that it's on its way a few weeks ago (some programmer had it listed on his CV, or something like that).

I do wish they'd set it somewhere without guns, though. With all the fancy hacking tools at your disposal it's often easier to just ignore them and get the mission done using ordinance.
I've seen people saying it should've been set in London, for instance. Loads of CCTV and other tech, but not many guns.


Pfft. If you want somewhere with lots of cameras you need to be setting the game in my particular neck of the woods. I recall reports a while back saying Middlesbrough has more CCTV cameras per person than any other town in the world. Some of them even talk to you thanks to speakers connected to a mic in CCTV monitoring/control. (In fact the glut of cameras spawned a Robert Carlyle film called The Tournament.)

There's no shortage of crime, too, (which arguably demonstrates CCTV has little effect on crime rates) so you can play vigilante to your heart's content.

And of course with the local smog you won't look out of place with a bandanna covering your lower face.




I can see it now.







Coming Holiday 2016:



(http://s29.postimg.org/40y05xppj/watchsmogs2.png)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 06, 2015, 12:02:32 PM
They don't talk to you at all...you must remember to take that medication! :o :P ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 06, 2015, 12:48:28 PM
Oh dear  :-X ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 06, 2015, 07:57:36 PM
I've just submitted a design for a t-shirt to TeeFury so keep your fingers crossed please! ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 06, 2015, 08:00:39 PM
Needless to say it's a Nintendo game themed one, Super Metroid. Although the Metroid I've put on it is an 8 bit one from the first game cos it's a lot easier to draw lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 07, 2015, 10:49:20 PM
Aw bum, my design got rejected :'(

Have submitted it to Qwertee just now too.

Have also ordered a graphics tablet too on my credit card because I've got a few more ideas but they're going to need to be drawn and it's a bloomin nightmare doing anything with a mouse :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 07, 2015, 11:55:01 PM
Well fuck them! My design just got accepted at Qwertee. ;D

Trouble with them is that designs for them have to be voted for before they will print them. :-\

Will pop up a link tomorrow and would really appreciate it if you could all sign up to the Qwertee site and vote for it and maybe you could get your friends and family to vote too..?

I knew it was a good idea. Am going to email TeeFury tomorrow to find out why they weren't happy with it which should help with any future designs hopefully. I've got around 15 or 16 different ideas for designs but not sure if my artistic skills are good enough to carry them off. :-[ :-\ ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 08, 2015, 12:09:00 PM
Here it is, 5 votes so far (https://www.qwertee.com/tees/vote/newest#y-can-t-metroid-crawl)...although one of those is mine lol ;D

So please register and vote and get all of your friends and family to vote too if possible! :P

Really annoying that TeeFury didn't like it because they do more shirt colours and it looks amazing in purple. :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 08, 2015, 12:37:55 PM
Thought that link would point to my design but it didn't. The one you want to vote for is Y Can't Metroid Crawl by thesnowdog ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 10, 2015, 03:35:04 PM
Have made an edit to the preview pic so that it stands out more, just showing the 8 bit Metroid now, got to wait up to 48 hours for it to be approved again which is a pain in the bum. :-\

Have any of you lot voted yet..?

Bought Trine Enchanted Edition yesterday and as you all know already it's great ;D Works well with the touchscreen too. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 11, 2015, 11:13:23 AM
Ermm... am I the only one that had never heard of that "meme" ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 11, 2015, 11:40:28 AM
Can't actually see it.
Kept scrolling down and the page kept getting longer until there were about 800-1000 designs on the screen, and did a page search for "metroid" and got zero results.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 11, 2015, 12:03:46 PM
Oh, I saw it over the weekend... think its been removed as harv made an edit...



Pssst... its really not worth it
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 11, 2015, 02:12:18 PM
Yup, it will be back shortly. I edited the preview because none of the Selected ones have the default preview picture. The preview picture now has a bloomin great big close up of the 8 bit Metroid and looks much better.

Shame that TeeFury didn't like it because it looks amazing on a purple shirt :o

Had 23 votes when I edited it, hopefully it's going to appear at the top of the new t-shirts again so it's not going to be buried under newer submissions. :P

Got my Huion H610 graphics tablet delivered today, two days earlier than expected. Only £36.17 from eBay, about 4 times cheaper than a Wacom tablet and is just as good. :o

Getting a USB extension delivered tomorrow hopefully too.

Then all I've got to do is learn how to draw lololol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 11, 2015, 11:34:53 PM
Had a quick go with my tablet earlier and it's really weird, it's difficult to explain. If you hover the pen over the tablet it detects it and moves the mouse pointer and if you touch the tablet it draws stuff...but after so many years of using a pen and paper it's really weird not drawing on something when you're actually drawing on something lol. And it's difficult to keep track of things because when you're looking at the monitor whilst drawing on the tablet it's almost as if you're drawing in third person :o ;D

Going to take a lot of getting used to I think. ;D

I think things will improve when I get my USB extension cable, hopefully tomorrow.

The tablet itself is pretty cool though, it actually feels like paper when the pen draws on it. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 12, 2015, 12:42:01 AM
My design is back now, between Iron's Gym and Epoch Battle. Get voting please! :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 12, 2015, 07:41:15 AM
I've had a Wacom drawing tablet for years now.. to be honest, when you realise that it makes things slightly easier but still doesn't really give you super-human drawing powers, you'll get bored of it.

Harvs link (https://www.qwertee.com/product/y-can-t-metroid-crawl) by the way
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 12, 2015, 10:26:56 AM
No, I've never heard of that one, either. Simple mistake for a newcomer to the franchise, tbh; and I'm not sure it qualifies as a meme if nobody outside of the "Wii-verse" has heard of it.

Voted up. (There was no "vote down" button.)
They'd better not start sending me spam.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 12, 2015, 01:42:57 PM
Depends how much you're into video games tbh. For geeks like me it's well known and very funny (no, we don't get out much lol) ;D ;D ;D :-[

Weird how I couldn't link to that page with my mobile :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 12, 2015, 02:41:11 PM
Sitting further back from my telly and facing it makes quite a big difference. Think I might have a look at the manual and do something about the smoothing though because my hands shake a lot, making my lines dead wonky lol. Going to take me a while to get used to things but I should get there eventually. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 20, 2015, 10:27:29 AM
Been getting into Watch Dogs more recently.. the online hacking thing is a pile of shit.. over the course of the last few days, I've had people trying to hack me in the most annoying places. 

In one place, I was literally 1 second from unlocking a CTOS tower.. and of course the online hack starting up stopped me from doing that and I had to do the climb again after I'd sorted out the hacking thing.  Then yesterday, again I was in the middle of a CTOS tower climb and had to abandon... and then later on, I was just about to start a fixer contract and another one popped up.  Good mind to switch the fucking thing off.. its not even that much fun
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 22, 2015, 07:32:22 AM
Forgot about that tbh. Never really got the hand of it in the tutorial, later got hacked by one outsider and didn't know what I was doing, then turned the feature off. Might've been fun if I'd known what I was doing but there must've been something else going on in rl when I did the tutorial, and I just had no idea what I was supposed to be doing.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 22, 2015, 08:48:06 AM
I'm turning it off tonight.. again last night.. I was playing the shell game.. about to start round 3 and I got hacked.. meaning I had to come out of the shell game and lose my current level's progress on that..


Just realised E3 is in a couple of weeks  ;D  Just saw a rumour about Shenmue 3 being announced for PS4/PC at E3.. (to be honest, I don't care what platform it comes out on)... but its probably a load of old bollocks.  Shenmue 3 / Half Life 3 get rumoured every year and you never see hide nor hair of them.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 26, 2015, 10:27:59 AM
Mario Kart Fury Road (parody)

https://youtu.be/NAxFjVCkpRY

 ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 26, 2015, 01:06:09 PM
Arkham Knight next month.
I was planning on buying it on the xb1, but at £35ish for the base game and £35ish for the season pass (if you're that way inclined - and I don't usually buy dlc) I was interested in seeing the minimum spec for the pc version - which is £23.74 for the Premium version (includes season pass).

Ridiculous minimum spec, tbh. An i5 processor, six gig of ram and two gig vram? For MINIMUM? ffs.

Minimum:
OS: Win 7 SP1, Win 8.1 (64-bit Operating System Required)
Processor: Intel Core i5-750, 2.67 GHz | AMD Phenom II X4 965, 3.4 GHz
Memory: 6 GB RAM
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660
Graphics Memory: 2 GB
DirectX®: 11
Network: Broadband Internet Connection Required
Hard Drive Space: 45 GB


PCs are so confusing.
It seems my shiny new pc falls at the first hurdle - you need an i5 processor. Even though my i3 benchmarks higher than that i5. :|
cpubenchmark comparison (http://tinyurl.com/obe6k9q).
(I guess the number of physical cores holds me back.)

According to
http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri (http://s18.postimg.org/a7ozvnag9/cyri_Arkham_Knight.png)
I can't run the game - it fails on cpu and passes everything else.

According to
http://www.game-debate.com/ (http://www.game-debate.com/)
I can run the game, the cpu is perfectly fine, and the gpu is the main thing holding me back from playing on the higher settings.

These things are soooo much simpler with consoles... :(


Anyways, I've decided to have a roll of the dice. If it doesn't work the wasted £23.74 is not the end of the world. If it does work I'm quids in.
Best guess, it'll probably work okay on low settings, and might crash from time to time. I'll take that, tbh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 26, 2015, 02:38:39 PM
Wouldn't call it ridiculous min specs.. moderate maybe... but you should be fine mate.. i5-750 (Lynnfield) released way back in 2009.. whereas your i3-4160 (Haswell) is much newer... only a few years old.

The fact that all i3s are dual-core and don't have turbo boost is probably the reason its been flagged up... but according to that first link.. your processor looks more than capable of handling everything that i5 can.

So I imagine it'll be alright on the low settings...
...but of course, the console version will look and play much better.. and you'll be able to sell it on. 
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 26, 2015, 03:43:11 PM
It should run it fine. You may have a few framerate drops here and there but nothing game breaking. My PC runs all sorts of stuff that it shouldn't be able to, although that's mainly due to my GPU, a Radeon HD 4870 that punches above its weight.

Going to upgrade my PC once VR starts happening though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 26, 2015, 09:23:54 PM
...but of course, the console version will look and play much better.. and you'll be able to sell it on.
I don't usually sell games on. Shifting all of my xbox 360 games just before the One came out was an exception, and most of them had dropped to around £3-£5 value by that point. So I don't mind forgoing the option to sell a game - especially if it means getting the full game for £24ish instead of paying £30ish for half of the game.
Will be a shame if the graphics/performance suffer, of course, but hopefully they won't be noticeably behind the console version. That's the gamble I'm taking. Fingers crossed it pays off - because I'll save hundreds a year by switching allegiance to the pc.
Bearing in mind I've not played on the xb1 since 28/02/15 it looks like my allegiance may have already switched, tbh!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 27, 2015, 10:40:52 AM
ODST gets added to Halo MCC this Friday.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 27, 2015, 01:26:37 PM
You've also got the advantage of Steam, although if you're anything like anyone else you'll end up with much more games than you have time to play them lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 27, 2015, 03:14:56 PM
Yeah, I'm loving steam at the moment. Have been on it pretty much every night for the last 3 months or so.
Haven't made much of a dent in my library (of over 400 games), and have mainly been replaying old games, but have had a lot of fun replaying the Portal series, the Bioshock series, the X-Universe games, and a load of others (Deus Ex Human Revolution and FTL have both seen some serious hours put into them).


I noted my Steam stats on another site two and a half months ago:
363 games
292.5 hours on record
Profile created about a year ago
(Probably around half of those 292.5 hours are me - the rest being the kids.)


Have just checked again now:
427 games
989.2 hours on record
Profile created about a year ago

I don't think the kids have been on steam in that time, so I've racked up 700 hours on steam in the last 11 weeks. That's over nine hours a day on average - and bear in mind I'm out of the house for ten hours a day (including commute) weekdays!
And I've acquired over sixty new games in that time. Even with me playing 9 hours a day I'll never get through my backlog if I'm buying five or six games every week! (That said, a LOT of the games I have are cheapo indie things that probably don't deserve more than a couple of hours before being "binned".)


Fingers crossed Microsoft will announce at E3 that we'll soon be able to stream games from pc to xbox One, so that I can play my steam games in the front room. They've already announced you'll be able to stream from xbox One to pc, but that's the wrong way round for me.
Failing that, I might buy a "Steam Link" around November - though I'm happy enough playing my steam games on the pc in the dining room (mainly using xbox 360 controller).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 27, 2015, 03:54:44 PM
I racked up 2304 hours on Football Manager 2010 alone -  ;D ;D the best FM there has been for a while.

Since then FM 2012 got around 500 hours whilst FM 2014 has only seen 55 hours.. I still haven't taken to the last one - they messed around with the training too much and it seems a few stupid things have crept in...

Get this, I took over a team that were predicted to finish rock bottom.. I finished one place outside the playoffs (7th) in the first season and was floating around the same place half way through the next season.  However the board sacked me because they told me to stop playing one of my players because they thought he was rubbish and I ignored them because his ratings weren't that bad and my only other left sided defender had a long term injury.  And this was in the Skrill leagues I hasten to add - how realistic is that  ::)


I usually only play games designed for the PC on the PC... despite having a fairly decent setup.  Had my steam account for well over 5 years now - still only own 22 games lol.  Much prefer having the ease and comfort of console gaming personally.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 27, 2015, 05:14:59 PM
Haven't you got a DVI or HDMI connection on your GPU..? You can plug your PC straight into your telly these days. Just get a long HDMI cable and Bob is your Dad's brother. If they do enable streaming to the Xbox One there's bound to be lag.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 27, 2015, 06:14:10 PM
Of course the graphics card has hdmi. I ain't going to put the pc in the front room, though, and I don't want a cable or two trailing across two rooms.
Steam Link is reported to be effectively lag-free. Sounds good to me. Especially as I don't really play Steam games on online multiplayer.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 28, 2015, 08:01:39 AM
Halo vs. Call of Duty (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-QTsRAz1Bo)

Very funny.. definitely give it a watch!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 28, 2015, 05:07:14 PM
Lmfao, that must have been a real blast to shoot lololol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 28, 2015, 06:31:00 PM
 8) :D Especially loved the supply drop, and the bit with Captain Price.


June's Games With Gold:
Massive Chalice (xb1)
Just Cause 2 (xb360)
Thief (xb360)

June's Playstation Plus:
Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes (PS4)
Skulls of the Shogun: Bone-A-Fide Edition (PS4)
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (PS3)
Cloudberry Kingdom (PS3)
Futuridium (PS4 & PS Vita)
Super Exploding Zoo (PS4 & PS Vita)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 31, 2015, 12:07:35 AM
Bloody hell, Splatoon is addictive as crack cocaine lol :o ;D

Looks great, the colours really pop and it's fast as fuck. Games last around 3 minutes and it's 4v4. The aim of the game is to paint more of the map than your opponents. You kill them by splatting them with paint. Only 5 maps so far and you only have two maps available at a time with those maps changing every 4 hours. It's actually quite a clever design choice because it makes you want to check in on the game regularly to see what maps are available, and it's VERY easy to continue playing once you start because the games are over so quickly - you end up in the 'Right...just one more go, and that's it!!!' situation again and again lol :o ;D

Nintendo are onto another winner here, sold out quickly in Japan, hopefully it's going to sell well here in the West too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 31, 2015, 05:04:17 PM
Probably won't sell all that well, as it's on a dead platform...


[/bait]
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 31, 2015, 05:39:01 PM
 :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 31, 2015, 05:44:45 PM
Going to be interesting to see whether it keeps the same online presence that Mario Kart 8 has later on down the line, I reckon it might do because the game is A LOT of fun and will continue to get more content released down the line, and for free too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 01, 2015, 08:00:11 AM
Much love for the Wolfenstein prequel here.. started playing it at the weekend.. and its basically more of the same.. less puzzles, but more action!  Plus it has Zombie Nazis which I'll never tire of killing  ;D  Will definitely 100% this game.. I do love a bit of Wolfy  ;D

This one also has 8 "Nightmare" levels instead of just the 3, which is awesome sauce.  That's where you go back into playing a slightly altered original version of Castle Wolfenstein.. those fucking dogs still scare the shit out of me  ;D  I hope when Doom is finally remade, they put something like this in there.

£10 definitely well spent.. highly recommend.. especially if you got any sort of enjoyment out of the first one
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 01, 2015, 12:51:20 PM
Castle Wolfenstein was amazing back in the day. The very first FPS game ever created. Have a homebrew version on my Wii that I had A LOT of fun with. Although most youngsters would struggle to play any FPS game without crappy auto-regenerating health and aim assist. Bloody whippersnappers >:(

GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!! :o ;D :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 02, 2015, 11:54:28 AM
XCOM 2 is coming November 2015. PC only (though I'd imagine it'll hit consoles in 2016).
I can't wait. I loved the xcom games back in the day, and the reboot a couple of years ago was fantastic.
This time the aliens have all-but taken control of Earth, and XCOM are the resistance.
XCOM2 - youtube (https://youtu.be/bgZ9QUJ9EiM)



There's also a new trailer for Tomb Raider.
Not much to see tbh.
Rise of the Tomb Raider - youtube (https://youtu.be/vF07oLpHEBw)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 02, 2015, 03:51:42 PM
Fallout 4 to be announced tomorrow?
There's a countdown timer appeared on the Fallout website (http://fallout.bethsoft.com/), due to reach zero at 3pm BST tomorrow.


I love E3 season :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 02, 2015, 06:00:15 PM
Just realised that Splatoon hasn't had any need of a patch yet. It's still on version 1.0.0. That's the difference between first party Nintendo efforts and first party games from other platform holders and third party developers.

I'm really liking the nice little design touches in Splatoon, my favourite is that the sound and music drops down a few notches when you go into squid form and submerge yourself into the ink. Only a small thing but it's pretty cool. 8)

Had a good couple of games last night, am averaging the third best score out of the four in my team but had a few where I ended up in second place. ;D

This game is REALLY addictive, probably down to the games being so fast to play and so short. They're just 3 minutes long and the time goes REALLY quickly, very easy to say, 'RIGHT. Just ONE more go, and THAT'S IT!!!'...and then sink another half hour into it lol :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 02, 2015, 06:40:38 PM
I had to big myself up, didn't I..? Just had a few games and got seriously pwned lololol :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 03, 2015, 07:40:07 AM
Fallout 4 to be announced tomorrow?
There's a countdown timer appeared on the Fallout website (http://fallout.bethsoft.com/), due to reach zero at 3pm BST tomorrow.


I love E3 season :D

Awesome Sauce... Strange they didn't wait until E3.. but heavy rumours were floating around and perhaps they thought they'd get in there before a leak.. or perhaps its being released soon?



Just realised that Splatoon hasn't had any need of a patch yet. It's still on version 1.0.0. That's the difference between first party Nintendo efforts and first party games from other platform holders and third party developers.

Funny that I read today that version 1.2.0 of Splatoon was released yesterday.. lololol.. you do talk a load of shit don't you.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 03, 2015, 09:03:43 AM
Fallout 4 to be announced tomorrow?
There's a countdown timer appeared on the Fallout website (http://fallout.bethsoft.com/), due to reach zero at 3pm BST tomorrow.


I love E3 season :D

Awesome Sauce... Strange they didn't wait until E3.. but heavy rumours were floating around and perhaps they thought they'd get in there before a leak.. or perhaps its being released soon?
Tis weird bearing in mind Bethesda are having their own presser at the conference. Everyone assumed that was mainly to announce Fallout 4 but now they appear to be revealing their biggest news a fortnight early? What have they got planned for their press conference, then?
Unless this is just counting down to something lame, like a page saying "Fallout News Coming Sunday June 14th..."
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 03, 2015, 09:26:25 AM
Fallout 3 + Fallout New Vegas HD Remastered perhaps ??  ;D ;D

If its not Fallout 4 - Bethesda can get fucked..  :'(  Personally I think it will be a teaser with no gameplay footage.. a proper trailer will be shown at E3.

(http://i1.wp.com/bcarr.me/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/bcdm_hypetrain.png)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 03, 2015, 09:53:32 AM
Could be right. I just bought Fallout NV last week so of course they'll announce a remaster now  ;D


(Actually, I think it was about a month ago. On Steam. Haven't had a look at it yet.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 03, 2015, 10:14:27 AM
You haven't played New Vegas yet ?  Slacking mate! 

Shame that my memory of F:NV is marred by the multitude of bugs and glitches it had.. but I did enjoy playing it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 03, 2015, 10:44:45 AM
It wasn't when I posted that, and it wasn't there later that night. I just applied the patch this morning ;)

The waiting time in the Lobby is pretty good so far, on average you're looking at around 30 seconds worth of waiting between games. The worst I've seen so far is around 50 seconds.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 03, 2015, 11:34:29 AM
You haven't played New Vegas yet ?  Slacking mate! 
Played a little bit of Fallout 3 back in March 2010, and didn't take to it. I only got 40 gamerscore. If memory serves I was in a bunker, made it outside, and got no further - wasn't enjoying it.
To be fair, I probably didn't give it enough of a try. Was the only Fallout game I've played, so I was in no rush to buy New Vegas. Decided to stick it in my steam backlog when I saw it going for a quid or two, though.
Was similar with Elder Scrolls. I didn't take to Oblivion at all - but perhaps didn't give it enough of a try. Bought Skyrim when I saw it cheap, and ended up playing it for months - was one of my favourite games of the last generation.


Currently replaying the Arkham games, ahead of the new one coming out in a couple of weeks' time. I've done Asylum, and am about a quarter of the way though City. (I won't bother with Origins. Ironic, really, as I've already played Asylum and City on the 360, but have only played about 10% of Origins. But it's not Rocksteady, and just didn't seem all that good.)

Bought "Trivial Pursuit Live" on the One yesterday - reduced from £12 to £6. So another for the backlog. Maybe a waste of money, given I've not played on the console in over three months, but I've got about fifty quid xbox credit on my account, and one of the kids mentioned a month or two back that she's never played Trivial Pursuit but would like to, so what the hey...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 03, 2015, 03:11:04 PM
Fallout 4 announced
Websites down.. but trailer is running on their twitch feed (http://www.twitch.tv/bethesda) - and on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE2BkLqMef4&feature=youtu.be)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 04, 2015, 12:12:26 PM
Fucking hell :o :o :o

I've just got 6 kills and only 1 death in Splatoon :o ;D 8)

For me this is completely unheard of. I'm the Leroy Jenkins of TPS and FPS games lol. Team still lost though. :(

This game is ridiculously addictive, probably the most fun I've had with an online game. So much so that unlike every other video game with an online component I have hardly touched the single player game. Normally I complete the single player game before looking at online play but I've only done three levels of it so far.

My squid thingummybob is on level 10 at the moment so I've been able to have a look at ranked matches, played 2 and lost 2 lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 06, 2015, 02:36:20 PM
Now on level 13. I'm seeing if I can go a whole day and night without playing the game and it's VERY difficult to resist. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 07, 2015, 04:29:10 PM
Have just gone from a ranking of C- to C in the Ranked Battle mode. The normal online games are Turf War games where you need to paint more turf your colour than your opponents, the team with the highest percentage wins. The Ranked games work differently, depending on the map you'll have either one or two Splat Zones that you need to paint and keep in your colour. Once it's your colour (or both if there's two of them) your hundred second countdown starts ticking away and gets paused when your opponents take over the zone and their countdown starts.

Not very original but it works. Games can get REALLY intense lol. The game ends if one of the timers reaches zero or if the three minutes is up, when the three minutes is up the team with the lowest countdown wins. Then you get 20 points added to your total, if you lose you lose 10 points.

The best thing about the online play with both games is that the time and effort that it takes to level up is perfect (imo, some people have moaned that it takes too long). Unlike a load of multiplayer games it isn't too easy, and it isn't hard enough to do so to become frustrating. With the games only taking 3 minutes to play combined with the levelling up system the game is ridiculously more-ish, it's firmly in the 'RIGHT! Just ONE more go and THAT'S IT!!!' territory.

Very impressed with this game, no wonder everyone has been raving about it so much at E3 and other gaming events
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 07, 2015, 09:32:42 PM
I've only heard one person raving about it, and he has crap taste in games; so I don't feel I'm missing anything.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 07, 2015, 09:55:59 PM
Lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 08, 2015, 09:28:12 AM
(http://cdn.acidcow.com/pics/20150608/only_gamers_will_get_this_30.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 08, 2015, 09:50:53 AM
"Metascore of 81"

Everyone's raving about it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 08, 2015, 01:10:57 PM
I said everyone was raving about it after playing it at E3 and other gaming events. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 09, 2015, 10:01:05 AM
Minor teaser from the Mirror's Edge team:
twitter (https://twitter.com/mirrorsedge/status/607989375423664128/photo/1)

EA have registered the domain mirrorsedgecatalyst.com, and the trademark "Mirrors Edge Catalyst"
neogaf (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1058915)

Whilst it might be a new pc/console game, popular opinion is that it'll probably be a mobile spinoff/companion app.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 09, 2015, 10:05:53 AM
Splatoon mod for Minecraft:
youtube (https://youtu.be/cG-asw9shvY)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 09, 2015, 05:50:09 PM
Saw that the other day, very clever ;D

Hopefully there's going to be a Mirror's Edge sequel, and even more hopefully it's going to be 60fps. The first one REALLY needed to be 60fps. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 11, 2015, 08:48:58 AM
Been playing that Massive Chalice game for the past few days... its not bad, but feel like it could of been so much better.  It feels boring in places, the combat is too easy and its quite repetitive.

So I'm just over halfway through the 300-year war.. and OK, I fucked up a bit at the start with breeding my bloodlines - But I still have two of my starting bloodlines going - Entroh and Augen.  I love the concept of creating these bloodlines and marrying off regents with other people and creating children - but other than this - there is nothing else that really becomes of this.  Okay, yes the heir to the throne is passed down through generation, but by half-way through, I have a ton of Entroh children and adults and basically I'm picking the heir based on how horny (fertile) they are - there is nothing to micro-manage in the "keeps" (palaces) and because of this, the only time I hear from a regent is when I'm appointing them and when they die, you don't really care when your regents pass away - all they are, are baby machines to me.

The fighting (I heard its like XCom - although never played that) also gets a bit stale.  You get a battle every 15-20 years I'd say.. all my Entrohs are either Hunters, Enforcers or Trickshots..  the Hunter is the base class for all of these, so they all fight with a crossbow and wear the same armor.  Because the Entroh bloodline is so fucking massive, I'm finding myself filling my entire Vanguard with all Entroh's at times - which means going into battle with every soldier as the same base class.  I thought this would mean I'd get squashed in certain battles, but actually the battles are piss easy, and I've only lost one person in battle so far (the first battle - where I hadn't a scooby what the fuck was going on).  Basically if you go around the battlefield very slowly picking off monsters one by one - it takes a long time, but is so easy to win.  That in itself makes the battles a bit boring and they do feel dragged out.

Other than battles and people dying and being born, there are random events that happen frequently where you have to make a choice which could be good or bad.  Since these are all multiple choice questions and anything you pick could be bad or good.. I just find these annoying.


For a strategy game, I feel a bit let down, for a tactical turn-based game, I also feel let down.. if there was more micro-management of the kingdom (the good stuff) and less fighting (the boring stuff), this game could be really good... as it is, it just feels like half a game which is disappointing.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 15, 2015, 05:00:25 PM
I hate to think what was in these things (http://torrentfreak.com/nintendo-seizes-pirated-cookies-to-protect-fans-150614/) :o :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 23, 2015, 08:40:53 PM
Amazing the difference a few years makes.
Arkham City runs fine on my (rather unspectacular in the eyes of proper pc gamers) pc with pretty much everything on ultra. Arkham Knight is a completely different kettle of fish, though.

Despite my "GeForce Experience" app thing telling me not to go above 1280x800 I tried on 1680x1050 (screen's native res). Made it nearly three seconds into the loading screen before it crashed with the most spectacularly lengthy error report I've ever seen. And that was with every option disabled.
Swallowed my pride and restarted in 1280x800. Again with everything turned off. I'm about an hour and a half in, now, and it's had no problems other than those you'd expect (i.e. low resolution, jagged edges, and a general lack of small items and lighting effects, etc.)
Still, I went into this knowing my pc was below minimum spec - before yesterday's revision and before the reports that good machines were suffering a lot of issues, so I'm pleased to have it running at all.

Even with everything turned off or set to minimum I can tell there's an absolutely stunning game here. It's still great fun to play, and I'm enjoying it immensely so far (the Batmobile is so many kinds of awesome). Will be happy to replay it in a few years when I have a better machine - but for now I've no complaints.
Sure, it would've run better on my xbox One. But if it's £23ish for the game and season pass on the pc (and if I revisit it in a couple of years' time it'll look better than ever) or £70ish for the game and season pass on the One I'm willing to take the lower performance now - especially as I needed to test my machine with something a bit more taxing than the stuff I've been playing on it to date.

All in all, quite a promising test for my computer. I've tested it with one of the most intensive games on the market, and it's scraped by. I'll be a lot more confident in buying (or avoiding, as the case may be) most other games I've got my eye on, now that I've measured it's abilities.

There might be something to this pc gaming lark after all...
(I'm still playing on my xbox 360 controller, mind. Baby steps - I ain't fully converting from console to pc that quickly. :p )
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 23, 2015, 09:03:05 PM
Welcome to the PC master race lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 25, 2015, 11:52:48 PM
Turns out that Arkham Knight for the PC was a piss poor port. Loads of complaints about it, so many in fact that Warner Bros has stopped selling the PC version on Steam :o

Expect a big patch at some point and improved performance.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 26, 2015, 07:53:15 AM
Was the same kinda thing with Arkham City though wasn't it... I don't think it was any secret to PC gamers that the PC version was going to be a console port.. they should of expected (purchasing the pc version) that something like this might happen given the poor history... although saying that.. don't think anyone would expect the quality to be so bad that you wouldn't be able to play the game  :-\

Poor show WB, poor show.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 26, 2015, 08:44:12 AM
The majority of PC games last generation were ports with the 360 being the lead platform. It isn't a problem if they do their jobs properly. Same goes for the Wii U too back in the days when developers actually worked on the console lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 26, 2015, 09:12:27 AM
I've had very few problems with the game, tbh - nothing beyond what I'd already expected from trying to run it on a pc that fell below the minimum spec.
I've had to reduce resolution to 1080x800 which was initially frustrating - until I remembered I've done most of my gaming in recent years on a console that's plugged into a 720p plasma, so this reduced resolution is better than I usually have. And to be fair, the graphics are pretty fantastic.
I've also had to disable every optional graphical component. With no anti-aliasing and no v-synch it sometimes gets a bit jaggy. Texture quality is set to low, and I've there's less litter blowing around in the streets, reduced light beam effects, etc. But I knew before I bought the game that I'd have to turn all that stuff off.
I've noticed the frame rate dipping a few times - mainly when I call the batmobile in. That's a little annoying, but (a) I anticipate that being improved in a patch, and (b) it's effectively a kind of cut-scene - you're not really doing much fighting when the camera pans right out to show the batmobile zooming into the battle you're in the middle of - so it doesn't actually affect you if the fps drops at that point. It just looks bad.

All in all I've no complaints. I wanted to put my pc through its paces and I'm now much more aware of its capabilities and its limitations. It plays better than expected a game that it doesn't meet the minimum requirements for. Good result. I'm now going to be a lot more confident of my choices when buying (or avoiding) pc games.

Fantastic game, btw. Having recently replayed the first two Arkham games I can say this is the best of the trilogy.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 28, 2015, 02:32:48 PM
Two free games per month instead of just one on the xbox One, from July onwards. Result.

Xbox One:
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (01/07/15-31/07/15)
So Many Me (16/07/15-15/08/15)

Xbox 360
Plants vs. Zombies (01/07/15-15/07/15)
Gears of War 3 (16/07/15-31/07/15)


Already have AC Black Flag (great game). So Many Me looks a decent little game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 30, 2015, 07:49:58 AM
Result.. I haven't played either of them..

Although I have completely missed out Assassin's Creed 3... from what I've heard.. good old Desmond dies in AC3.. so I imagine AC4 carries on from there, so they can milk the fuck out of the franchise a bit more

So Many Me does look good.. cant beat a good puzzle platformer. 

I've been playing a bit of Pool Nation Fx recently.. was a free game a while back.. its pretty shit to be honest.. spent a few hours trying to get a 30 ball streak on the hardest mode on endurance the other day.. hit 47 and the achievement didn't unlock.. so not only is it a pretty shit game.. some of its achievements are bugged too.. I managed to get over 50% of them in a week.. so that will do me.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 30, 2015, 12:43:27 PM
Picking up a new hard drive tonight for the X1.

2tb Seagate Hard Drive (http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1443673.htm) - £59.99 from Argos (and Amazon).. but got about £10 of Nectar vouchers I can use with Argos and I can pick it up tonight so gone with Argos :D


Edit : Actually going to hold fire on this one.. reckon I can wait for a better deal.. Seagates don't have the best rep either.  Am on the lookout to buy one asap but I want a cheap one initially as I have financial priorities elsewhere for the next 2 months.. perhaps I can get a 1TB and then get another one later down the line.. think the X1 is capable of holding 2 external HDDs at the back

Late do you know if you delete a "free" game, whether you can re-download it again for free later on ?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 01, 2015, 12:22:22 AM
You should be able to, this is Microsoft we're talking about, not Nintendo lol :o ;D

Am getting used to my graphics tablet a lot more now. The secret to using a graphics tablet is to draw a line, have a look and if you don't think it's right undo and start again. It means that you end up drawing the same stuff over and over again but it gets results. Here's a preview of my latest t-shirt design:

(http://i.imgur.com/DR1bfX5.jpg)

I am of course taking the Lazy Bastard option. Am doing one side, copying it, pasting it in another document, doubling the size of the canvas, flipping it along the horizontal access and pasting it in again leaving one whole image. Might not do that with the two long tentacles of my squid to stop it looking too odd though lol :o ;D

When I'm feeling a bit more adventurous I'm going to try and draw Link from the Twilight Princess but I'm miles away from doing that yet I think. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 01, 2015, 12:42:54 AM
It's a squid?

Late do you know if you delete a "free" game, whether you can re-download it again for free later on ?
Yeah, that's absolutely fine. Once it's on your account you can download, delete, and redownload any game repeatedly.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 01, 2015, 01:08:49 AM
Well it will be when it's finished. It's a squid from Splatoon ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 01, 2015, 02:41:51 PM
Couldn't get the second long tentacle to look right so I just mirror imaged the first one. Just got the shading to do now and it's done:

(http://i.imgur.com/A0lS2yu.jpg)

Doesn't look too shabby even if I do say so myself ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 01, 2015, 02:56:18 PM
Ooops. Serves me right for not checking with my reference image for ages, I've got his head the wrong shape. Needs to be more triangular. :-[ ;D

Easily solved though! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 02, 2015, 03:26:10 AM
Looks more like metroid to me.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 02, 2015, 03:37:51 AM
Had a go myself, on my new tablet.
I should probably not give up the day job!
(Actually, I kinda did, temporarily. Was made redundant after seventeen and a half years last week. Starting my new job (doing the same thing but only a 25 minute drive instead of a 50 minute drive) mid July. But I digress...)


(http://s21.postimg.org/ji697710n/2015_07_02_03_30_32.png)

I know, I know - I should've been a professional artist.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 02, 2015, 06:57:08 AM
Looks more like metroid to me.

Yup lol. Have finished it now, and like late's one it's now more triangular. Will post a pic later.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 02, 2015, 07:42:31 AM
Wow Late.. that's really impressive.. where can I buy a t-shirt with that design on ?  ;D ;D ;D

(Sorry to hear about the job fella.. sounds like you've landed back on your feet quite quickly though!)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 02, 2015, 11:52:16 AM
If you vote for it on gayasstshirtdesigns.com you'll soon be able to buy the full range of merch - including a baseball cap and a squidy backpack. Only £29.99 for the tee, £24.99 for the cap, £47.99 for the backpack or special offer £149.99 for the full set. Use code "DAMNBUTTHATSSOMEDOPEASSSHIT" to get another 15% off (new accounts only).

Thanks mate. Been a stressful couple of months, and I got robbed of most of my redundancy money (they offered me a position in another office at the last minute, which I didn't want, and because I'd refused an offer for alternative employment I wasn't entitled to any redundo payment. In the end we settled on a few thou payout, less than half what I thought I was on for). It's gratifying that I was able to find alternative employment straight away though. Can start whenever I want but while the weather's lovely I'm taking a few weeks break. Well be nice to have a shorter commute, too - saving loads of time and fuel.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 02, 2015, 01:20:12 PM
Am submitting it to TeeFury first, no voting needed :P

Here it is:

(http://i.imgur.com/LRfkrK0.jpg)

Decided not to go with shading, thought I'd go for a clean simple look instead. If they don't like it I'll submit another one with shading for them to look at.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 04, 2015, 12:01:29 AM
Miserable gits didn't like it >:(

Will submit it again with shading to see if that makes any difference.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 04, 2015, 12:27:33 AM
Strange. They accepted mine straight away.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 04, 2015, 08:58:33 AM
 :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 05, 2015, 05:31:31 PM
Aaaaargh!!! There's absolutely NOTHING that annoys me more than rage quitters, particularly in an online game such as Splatoon when games where one side is miles behind the other can be turned completely around in less than a minute when it's 4 vs 4. Drives me bloomin mental. >:( >:( >:( :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 09, 2015, 07:34:51 PM
Aw ffs. ANOTHER Remaster on the way..? Just got an email from GameSpot and have just seen that they're remastering God Of War 3 for the PS4. Christ on a fucking bike, we've had nothing but bloody remasters this generation. Enough is enough, surely..? :o :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 13, 2015, 01:25:06 AM
Fucking hell, Iwata has snuffed it :o :'(

Maybe we'll get someone in to replace him that is a bit more clued up on what the Western gaming world wants..? :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 13, 2015, 04:07:34 AM
RIP Iwata-san.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 20, 2015, 07:43:26 AM
Nearly finished Assassins Creed : Black Flag now.. I know a lot of people say its one of the best.. I personally don't think it comes anywhere near AC2 in terms of story or gameplay. 

In fact the story missions feel like some of the worst.. there is just so little variety to them.. and tailing and listening in to conversations is just dull and frustrating.  Gun and sword play feels slow and clunky and the controls still do my head in... perhaps it has always been this way?  It has been a while since I played one...

Sailing the high seas and upgrading your ship is great and it is the core mechanic of the game I suppose.. I just feel that everything else is a little bit stale.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 24, 2015, 01:00:39 AM
Playbox 4one. (http://www.edsjunk.net/wordpress/playbox-4one-mk-ii-built-to-order/)
Playstation 4 and xbox One combined into one laptop (and yours for only about £1700).

He's got a few other cool designs. I like his R2-D2 playstation 4 laptop (http://www.edsjunk.net/wordpress/r2-d2-themed-star-wars-playbook-4/).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 24, 2015, 11:38:56 AM
Omfg, I would commit blue bloody murder for one of those R2D2 ones!!! :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 30, 2015, 09:41:19 PM
ZombiU - or rather Zombi lol - is coming to the PC, PS4 and One as a digital only title. I can't see it being anywhere near as stressful and tense as the original though without the GamePad use. Still, it's a great game so I'm happy that more people are going to get the chance to experience it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 06, 2015, 11:46:41 AM
Got my Rare Replay the other day and tried it out for an hour last night.

Blast Corps is still addictive as ever :D lovin that... played a bit of Atic Atac too, looking forward to finally being able to beat it... bit older and wiser since I last played it  ;D

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 06, 2015, 12:03:20 PM
Xbox Gamescom news in brief for people who may have missed it :

Halo Wars 2 announced - really excited for this.. love an RTS, hope they can move it into a good direction.
Quantum Break - gameplay demo and release date set - April 6th 2016
Crackdown 3 - gameplay demo
Scalebound - 8 minute gameplay demo.. open world RPG.. actually looks very, very good.
Backwards Compatibility launching fully in November
Full DVR Functionality coming (subscription free)..

This link (http://uk.ign.com/articles/2015/08/04/gamescom-2015-micrsofts-press-conference-wrap-up?page=1) has all the info (plus links) on.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 06, 2015, 05:54:02 PM
I posted my thoughts here (http://www.dealspwn.com/microsoft-gamescom-2015-presentation-impressions-222824).

Crackdown and Scalebound both looked great, and We Happy Few (http://www.wehappyfewgame.com) is now firmly on my radar.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 07, 2015, 09:22:40 AM
One thing they announced just before Gamescom was that Gears Of War Ultimate Edition will contain all the previous Gears titles (as backwards compatibility titles) as well.  As a gears fan, I probably owe it to myself to buy this.. cant help but feel a tad disappointed though as I would of liked a brand new game.. not just another anniversary rehashed title.


Looks like I wont need to play the Banjo games in the Rare Replay collection again.. as I've already completed and obtained all the achievements these should all unlock when I attempt to start each game again.  Good in a way.. but I was looking forward to completing these games again and unlocking the achievements again.  Unsure if I 100%'ed Nuts & Bolts though.. will have to check that out.  Be good to increase my pathetic 50gs I got on Perfect Dark Zero.. that game always bugged me when I used to look through my achievements as it was one of my lowest scores on any game.. if I remember rightly.. I got stuck on one level and didn't want to change difficulty.. so gave up on it as it was a pretty shite game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 10, 2015, 10:49:23 AM
Nearly finished Blast Corps... just all the bonus missions to finish off.. and then get a platinum medal.

I forgot how frigging frustrating it can be in parts.. but its been great to re-play one of the better N64 games I owned... lot of nostalgia there.


I'm having a blast with the collection for under £20.. this could keep me going for a long time.. what I'm doing is concentrating on one of the bigger games (i.e. Blast Corps) whilst playing the smaller arcade games in the background (Jetpac/Atic Atac).  So after Blast Corps I'm probably going to give either Conker/Jet Force Gemini/GBTG a go as my central game.  You forget how hard some of the older games are.. thank fuck there is a 10 second rewind button to cheat on a few lol.. although I keep forgetting to use it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 10, 2015, 04:31:57 PM
Yup, those games were done before the upper management of game publishers realised that the easier games are the quicker idiots like me can test them lol. That's also why the average play through time has dropped too. It means that testers can play through a build from start to finish at least once during a working day.

I reckon the average play through time these days has to be around 6 hours or so. :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 11, 2015, 11:03:58 AM
There is a thin line between a hard game and a frustrating game though...

and most older games fall into the frustrating category if I'm being perfectly honest.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 15, 2015, 02:52:10 PM
Have just started to mess around with the Elder Scrolls Anthology. Found a mod for Oblivion that uses the Morrowind assets and runs it using them with the Oblivion engine which basically gives you the Morrowind game playable from Oblivion with the same eye candy quality as Oblivion. Looks pretty good.

Only problem is that my Oblivion mod that adds 360 controller support doesn't allow you to use the A button for some reason. Going to see if it's just Morrowind or if A also doesn't work with Oblivion too. If it also doesn't work with Oblivion then I've obviously messed something up somewhere. :-\ ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 15, 2015, 03:27:23 PM
Yup. I've messed something up somewhere lol.

I also fucked up the Morroblivion mod too somehow. When you click on New it's supposed to bring you to a character creation screen that looks like it's in a fiery pit, and after you've created that character you can choose whether you want to go to wherever Morrowind is set or wherever Oblivion is set (forgotten the name of both now, am getting old and senile lol).

But in my case you just jump straight into Morrowind lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 17, 2015, 08:36:51 AM
So far got 100% on Blast Corps, Jetpac and Battletoads out of the replay collection - all great games too.

Started playing Perfect Dark.. never played in back in the N64 era.. but it is pretty much Goldeneye with a bird.  Its alright... I would of probably loved it back in the day, but like Goldeneye, doesn't really hold itself with the test of time - the AI is hilarious in places.

So also started playing Jetpac Refuelled.. which is quite a cool XBLA upgrade on the original which I didn't realise I loved so much until getting into it again recently.  Refuelled has 128 levels (but with level selection).. so will take me a little way to complete.  Also started with Lunar Jetpac, although I don't like this half as much as the original.

Enjoying the snapshots as well.. little challenges you have to do - there are 5 per game (retro games only) and you cant use rewind - so some are a little challenging.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


I'm buying NHL 16 in September.. this will be the 3rd annualised NHL game in a row.. which is unusual for me.. but NHL 15 was pants as they took a few steps forward and then 15 steps back.. but NHL 16 seems to be righting all the wrongs of NHL 15 and then some.. so I expect it to get much higher review scores and for it to last a bit longer than NHL 15 did.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 17, 2015, 11:08:54 PM
Just had a quick go on Skyrim and my PC can quite happily handle High settings which has surprised me tbh. Mind you, it did cost me around a grand in 2008, but that included a 24" monitor that was around 150 I think. I also made sure that I got one of the best.GPUs at the time when 2GB of RAM for a video card was top of the range, it still outperforms plenty of 5000 and 6000 GPUs that were released after it. Also made sure to get the fastest DDR2 that was out at the time.

Am going to try playing it without using magic, magic is for wimps lol

Will probably end up as Dragon food lmfao :o ;D

Not sure what order I'm going to play these games in now though, think I might do them in order - Morrowind, Oblivion and then Skyrim...with the first two heavily modded. The same people that did Morroblivion are working on similar mods for Skyrim which will basically allow you to play Morrowind and Oblivion inside Skyrim using its engine. Not too sure how it's going to handle Oblivion though because from what I've seen there are a lot more open areas whereas just about everything I've seen of Skyrim is 'corridor'-like. Loads of trees, mountains etc that hide a shitload of polys with Occlusion.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 27, 2015, 08:04:38 AM
Started watching those Rare Revealed videos last night.. on Rare Replay... goes into telling you how each specific game was built, the ideas they used and how it came to being, interviews with the staff.  Great stuff... recommend watching them on youtube if you don't have the game... I'm actually looking forward to playing (for the first time) Conker, Kameo and Viva Pinata now... I am however struggling to finish Jetpac Refuelled.. up to about level 95 at the moment, so not far to go.. but progress is slowing quite a bit  :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 27, 2015, 06:12:58 PM
Back in the day, I tried Fallout 3 on my xbox 360. Didn't get into it at all. I designed my character, left the vault, found the first town (Megatown, or something like that) and then gave up. Didn't take to it. Around that time I also tried Oblivion - and had pretty much the same experience. Designed my character, did teh training stuff, then walked away when I got to the open world.
A few years later I got Skyrim even though I knew it wouldn't be my cup of tea (it was cheap, and I loves me a bargain) - and I loved it.
I've always wondered whether that meant Bethesda had just made a much more interesting game than their earlier ones that I'd not liked, or if perhaps it was me that had changed. So on Saturday I fired up Fallout 3 on the pc (bought it about a year ago for about a quid. Even though I knew I didn't like it. But like I say, I like a bargain!). Come Sunday evening I noticed I've racked up over 20 hours. Loving it. So it seems it's definitely me that's changed!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 27, 2015, 07:24:00 PM
Yup, the Fallout franchise is great but the first two were ruined (imo) by not only turn-based combat but also turn-based fucking movement :o

Having Fallout 3 in 3D-O-Vision and in realtime for the first time for the franchise was awesome.

It still pisses me off today that that wanker Ian Livingstone and the other 3 cunts that worked in his Acquisitions Department were all getting 7 figure salaries and made some atrocious decisions that contributed to Eidos going tits up and my entire department getting made redundant. They basically turned down Fallout 3 and Bioshock but thought that Escape From Bug Island was a great idea lmfao :o ;D :-\

I often daydream that I'm killing the fuckers. Very. Fucking. Slowly. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 28, 2015, 08:38:47 AM
I was sorta like that with Morrowind late.  I was so hyped to play it when it released on the xbox - but I acutally found it a massive disappointment and didn't get very far at all (I've never played it again since then).

So I completely ignored Oblivion when it released.. and after it had released I started reading reviews.. and everything I hated about Morrowind (mainly the fact that it was all text-based).. was changed, and I think the fact Patrick Stewart and Sean Bean were providing voices for Oblivion pushed me over the edge into buying it.  So glad I did as I loved it.. just the open-worldyness (if that's a word) was great and you could go round on a horse too!  Fallout 3 came out a few years later.. and it was great.. I got addicted to that for a long time.. that was bought based on the fact I loved Oblvion though because I've never played Fallout 1 or 2...New Vegas was good too... but Skyrim is the best of the lot by a long shot IMO - I did over 100 hours in 2 weeks on that game before easing up on it a little bit lol.  Think I stopped around the 150 hour mark.. that's good going for any game in my book.

________________________________________________

Started Conkers Bad Fur Day last night.. just played an hour.. the controls are nowhere near as fluid as Banjo and the plot is crazy as shit, I can see why so many people think of it as a classic though... Birdy is a great character and Gregg the Grim Reaper was hilarious lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 28, 2015, 10:23:35 PM
Been playing a bit of "Ark: Survival Evolved (http://store.steampowered.com/app/346110/)" tonight. I seem to recall it's coming to the xbox early access program
soon. Anyways, it's free to play this weekend on Steam so I've been giving it a look.

(http://bitspers.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/ARK-Survival-Evolved-4.jpg)

Seems good fun. Doesn't give you any clues what you're supposed to be doing, mind.
I was unlucky enough to spawn in the middle of the night, hadn't a clue what to do, and couldn't see fuck all. When
it got lighter I wandered a while until I found a dinosaur and punched it for a while, then died. Unsurprisingly.

(http://torrentsgames.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Ark-Survival-Evolved-PS4-600x300.jpg)

Next respawn I punched a boulder until it exploded. Little bit of a disparity, there.
Getting to grips with it now. In a minecraft stylee hit things with your fists until you get a few resources, learn to craft
weapons and tools, use tools to gather resources more quickly, and before you know it you've built a lovely little shack
on the beach, with a respawn point in it and crates to store resources/clothes/weapons/food, etc.
Didn't get myself into a strong enough position to take on any dinosaur as big as myself in the time I played it, didn't
get anything more advanced than axe, pickaxe, and spear, and didn't tame any dinosaurs, but I was getting stronger
all the time and was thoroughly enjoying myself.

It's online multiplayer, and I get the impression it probably goes much more smoothly if you have a bunch of friends
playing (no, I'm not suggesting a 00's style SL invasion ;) ) but most folk seemed to be playing as individuals, and I
only bumped into one or two other players, as the map was pretty massive. (I think there's room for 70 people on
each server/map.)

(http://i.neoseeker.com/gg/uploads/news/7-2015/news_img_81369_0.jpg)

I'm not sure if there's some sort of ending to it. Shortly before I turned it off I noticed the moon was decimated and meteors
were shooting toward us (http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/619597245237024171/664F5B1D33FA04E61996332D1397BE5BF97BC008/?interpolation=lanczos-none&output-format=jpeg&output-quality=95&fit=inside%7C1024:576&composite-to=*,*%7C1024:576&background-color=black). Not sure if that was there all along and it's just scenery (I wasn't looking up, much) or if
it's part of a timer mechanism.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 28, 2015, 10:48:37 PM
Sounds like a Monster Hunter clone with real monsters, that's pretty cool. ;D

You can easily spend a few hundred hours on Monster Hunter games, one of my favourite franchises.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 29, 2015, 09:48:53 PM
Started Viva Piñata today, it's fantastically addictive!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 02, 2015, 09:18:49 AM
Played Viva Pinata for over 10 hours now... the only thing I don't particularly like about it, is that its open-ended - i.e. there is no end goal.. also its a bit annoying that your garden can get "too full" when there's too much stuff in it.. I tried laying pavement around the garden but had to take it away as it actually takes up space in your garden like a building does.  Pavement should be like grass and soil in that its free to lay and doesn't take up actual space, but its not... its bloody expensive too so I wasted a lot of time and money on that experiment.

So I'm on 540GS for the game.. I'm gonna go for the 750GS required by Rare Replay to unlock all the stamps for the game and then call it a day I think.. probably take about 3-4 more hours I reckon looking at the list.  If I had bought this for the 360 when it came out, I would probably of wasted a lot of time going for the full 1000GS, by collecting all the species and playing for 50+ hours as it is very addictive... but with its sequel on Rare Replay, I don't think there's much point doing that.

________________________________________________________

Am trying to squeeze as much playing time as I can out of Rare Replay... I've got NHL 16 coming in a few weeks which will definitely distract me for a while.... then Halo 5 at the end of October and Fallout 4 in November should sort me well out until Christmas.  Star Wars Battlefront is out towards the end of November as well I think... and not to mention the backlog of free XBL games I've got mounting up...  :-\  Too many games, too little time
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 02, 2015, 06:20:26 PM
Yeah, my backlog's getting silly, too. Have barely played on the console in the last six months or so, so there's a lot of GWG queued up, plus a handful of other games I've bought but not yet played - both physical and digital.

Still busy enjoying my steam catalogue on the pc. "Finished" Fallout 3 on Monday. I put that in quote marks, as I've finished the main story but didn't actually do much else - and there's LOADS of other stuff to do.
I would enjoy playing it more, but there's so much else to play so I've moved on. Will play New Vegas some time soon, and I'm definitely looking forward to Fallout 4 later this year, now.

Bought Mad Max (pc) a couple of days ago. It's not getting the rave reviews I'd been hoping for, but it's getting okay ones and it looks fun. I wouldn't fancy paying £30-£40 for it, but I didn't mind paying £12 for it on Steam, with the early DLC thrown in.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 03, 2015, 08:04:07 AM
So Viva Pinata is done,..that's #14 out of 30 completed now.  Just need one more Jetpac Refuelled achievement to make it 15.. although that game is properly doing my nut in now  >:(

Cobra Triangle is next on my list though.. good little game but hard as rocks if you don't know what you are doing.  Shouldn't take more than an hour or two to finish the game (with rewind of course).  :D

I would love to get 100% on Rare Replay.. but you need at least 75% of the achievements in each of the 360 games to be able to do this... and I just cant see myself bothering that much with Perfect Dark Zero - its a stinker of a game.  Would have to 100% Killer Instinct and Conker (which include 30 games of multiplayer) too which sound like a bit of a chore... and I haven't even started Jet Force Gemini, Grabbed By The Ghoulies or Viva Pinata 2 yet - a long term project perhaps.  I saw someone completed it within 10 days of release... crazy  ::)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 08, 2015, 09:54:56 AM
Finshed Snake Rattle 'n Roll and Knightlore last night to give me 20 out of the 30 games completed in Rare Replay now.  I actually had Knightlore and didn't like it at all when I was a kid.. I actually found it enjoyable when I realised what the point of the game was as an adult.. although turning into a werewolf constantly is still fucking annoying.

I've left some of the worst games till last.. as I said previously PDZ is the worst of the lot and will take ages to get 750GS in.  Killer Instinct will be a complete and utter ball-bag without a second controller (although I should be getting another controller before Christmas).  Jet Force Gemini is going to take between 20-30hours alone to complete too, I've heard its quite tough too.

Started work on Solar Jetman last night.. I'll probably move on to Digger T. afterwards.. that will complete all the pre-N64 games.  Then I'll start on Viva Pinata 2 as I liked the first one and I want to at least get that one finished before NHL 16 next week.

Realised the other day that I never completed Assassins Creed Black Flag before I went away on holiday lol.. so got to go back to that at some point... I was getting quite close to the end aswell.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 09, 2015, 09:16:11 PM
Oi!!! What are you two doing posting on my personal blog..?!!?!? :o :P ;D

Am going to start working on my huge PS3 backlog soon. Have decided not to renew my PlayStation Plus subscription because this generation I'm going for a Wii U and VR PC combo rather than getting a PS4. So that leaves me 4 months or so to finish off my 'free' games. Should be plenty of time I think.

Assuming that the NX console releases in November/December next year I'm also going to resist the temptation to get it at launch because I'll be Stepping Into The Rift around that sort of time.

May have to get an IV line, a catheter and a colostomy bag sorted out because I'm going to be so busy playing Elite Dangerous that I won't be taking a break to eat and go to the loo :o ;D ;D ;D

Saw a review of the VR Elite on YouTube and the dozy n00b says you need to research online so that you know what you're doing. Bloomin idiot. :o ;D It's not bloomin rocket surgery:

1) Have a look at the local prices, if you're in an agricultural space station take note of the price of agricultural stuff. If you're in a technological space station take a note of the price of the tech stuff. Buy it.

2) Go to the solar system map and find the opposite marketplace, tech for agricultural stuff, agricultural for tech stuff.

3) Launch into space and learn how to control your ship.

4) Warp to the space station that you want to sell your stuff to. Sell it.

5) Repeat steps 1-4 until you have enough cash for a Fuel Scoop.

6) Kill innocent (and not so innocent) spacefarers and nick their stuff that's floating around in space

7) Sell the stuff

8) Upgrade your weapons and defences

9) Repeat 6-8 until you're Elite and hope to whatever you hold holy that you don't end up in Witch Space lol

It doesn't sound like an interesting game when you list the instructions like that lol, but for some reason it's fucking insanely addictive lol. Over the years I must have put close to a thousand hours into the game altogether, and that's just the first Elite with wireframe graphics, I didn't like the look of Elite with filled vectors for some reason. Don't know why. Always thought the wireframe graphics suited the game more.

Might get my Mum to make a small donation for my new Beast for my birthday and maybe an early Christmas pressie 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 10, 2015, 07:17:47 PM
A nice feature that's appeared with Windows 10 is that it automatically turns your 360 controller off. Very handy. Previous versions of Windows you had to pull out the battery thingummybob lol :o ;D

One thing that they STILL haven't sorted out is Windows being tied to your hardware. So if you upgrade or build a new machine you can't just switch the fucking hard drive from your old PC to the new one. You have to install Windows again. Bloomin ridiculous. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 12, 2015, 12:19:46 PM
Ugh.
Was quite enjoying Mad Max, but my game is now borked. 74 hours played, and all lost due to a stupid bug.
I've reported it, but won't hold my breath for a fix.
Basically you're on a mission and at one point an enemy npc character raises a bridge, stopping you progressing. You need to work your way to the controls and lower the bridge again.
Problem is, I saw the guy and shot him with a rocket launcher before he could raise it - and now I need to lower the bridge to progress. Except it's not been raised. And the controls have been destroyed.
Can't progress the mission at all. Can't leave the area, as it says mission failed and puts you back in the same spot you were in. Can't load an old save as it only has autosaves, and the last autosave was after destroying the controls.

I see there's been a fair few people with the same problem, and most are submitting bug reports, but I'm not optimistic about it being fixed any time soon. And if it ain't patched in the next couple of days I'll have moved on and lost interest in the game.

Fuck you WB and Avalanche. :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 12, 2015, 10:30:56 PM
Why the fuck didn't you stagger your saves, you looney..?!!?!? :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 13, 2015, 03:52:20 AM
I save a ridiculous amount. I have over 100 saves from my recent playthrough of Fallout (I saved over 500, and kept each fifth save).

But for some ridiculous reason Mad Max has an autosave with no obvious way of saving. I don't think there's any way of making saves. If there is then it eludes me - and I did look repeatedly. I suspect the only way would be to find the save file in explorer and manually copy it from time to time to a separate folder (I'd imagine that'd work but I can't be sure, and who can be arsed with that unless you're expecting a game-breaking bug).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 13, 2015, 09:48:27 AM
Bloody hell, that's AWFUL game design :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 24, 2015, 01:34:36 PM
Finally, finally.. bought a new hard drive for the Xbox One.. pick it up tonight, gone with a 2TB Seagate - £60 from Argos, but got £15 worth of nectar points I'm going to cash in.. will at last be able to have my whole library of games installed in full again... being a complete OCD about it, I hate the fact I had to uninstall a shit-ton of them!

Wonder how long this will last until I need to buy another one  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 24, 2015, 07:05:31 PM
Not long, I reckon.

Well, you'll not need to buy another, but you'll be deleting old ones to free up space within a year :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 24, 2015, 09:35:58 PM
Elite Dangerous is now £17.99 on Steam. Had a quick go earlier and it's just like the original, even down to the key mapping :o

It's going to take a bit of customisation to get the controls tight enough for me, I'm tempted to go old-school and ditch the mouse and go for 100% keyboard control...but I'll try and persevere with the mouse and keyboard I reckon. Won't be long before I start dealing in slaves, narcotics and booze again mixed with a bit of piracy here and there. Just working through the tutorials first because it's been about 3 or 4 years since I played the original :o ;D

Can't wait to play this game in VR-O-Vision, it's supposed to convert gamers who weren't interested in VR gaming that much into people that NEED VR gaming! :o 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 25, 2015, 05:03:17 PM
Bought myself an SSD the other day for £24.99 thanks to a £10 Amazon voucher from my pension company. Am cloning my Windows 10 hard drive now.

It's only 128GB but you can't go wrong for 25 squid. It's kind of floating in my PC case at the moment, disconnected one of my DVD drives and there isn't enough length on the power and SATA cables to have it sitting on top of my floppy/memory card drive. Oh well, it'll do lol. Will have a nice bay for it to sit in once I get my new PC build going in November. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 25, 2015, 05:46:50 PM
Fucking hell, that's a bit of a difference :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 27, 2015, 12:22:01 AM
I WANT VR-O-VISION RIGHT NAO!!!!! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBfWWLdiaDw) :o ;D ;D ;D

Fan-fucking-tastic 8) 8) 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 27, 2015, 02:49:39 PM
Fucking hell, we're REALLY entering the world of science fiction now (http://www.fastcodesign.com/3051459/this-unobtrusive-arm-band-lets-you-feel-virtual-reality-with-your-hands). :o

Forget about the armband, I want a full body suit for VR porn lmfao :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 28, 2015, 07:54:43 AM
Started playing So Many Me over the weekend.. well I actually 100%'ed it aswell.. its a nice little puzzle/platformer game.. some of the puzzles do require some brain power and skill.. I didn't resort to looking up the answers.. so quite chuffed I managed to work everything out.  The game does start to feel a bit worn out after a while.. the gameplay mechanics only stretch so far... but it was enjoyable enough while it lasted.

Had a quick look at How to Surive : Storm Warning edition - it looked a bit averagey.. but has potential.. so will keep that running in the background with NHL.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 28, 2015, 08:35:36 PM
I'm bloomin useless at puzzle games, I used to have the third highest IQ out of my year at school but years of headbanging and alcohol abuse since then have obviously taken quite a toll lmfao :o ;D

Have downloaded the free version of the Unity engine and am going to get one of those Google Cardboard thingies for my HTC Eye smartphone. Going to start messing around with creating 3D games in preparation for Oculus Rift next year. Going to take a lot of effort due to my depression but hopefully I'll be able to get something half decent going on my smartphone and port it to the PC. Should be quite therapeutic I think ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 29, 2015, 08:01:29 AM
Someone at work has got that Google Cardboard thing.. its bloody rubbish and makes your eyes go googly after 2 minutes.


Be A Pro mode in NHL16 is just shit.. so I got sent up to the main team from the minors.. and played there for about 10-15 games when they sent me back down to the minors... fair enough, I wasn't playing brilliantly for the main team and my pro still needs to work on his stats.  Anyway,  I played on the 1st line in the next game, scored 7 goals which is not an easy thing on the level I'm playing on.. assisted 1 and met all my expectations in that game.. next game they started me on the 3rd line.. WTF!

Now I've been told I have to fight my way through the minors again... which means playing 5 games per line.. if I hit expectations in those 5 games, they send you up a line... so it will take me 15 games just to work my way up to the main team again.. fucking stupid.. I'm the highest points scorer in the minor league by a million miles so that logic is just shit.. makes the mode completely unrealistic and has put me off playing it anymore.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 29, 2015, 10:00:01 PM
Have ordered an Unofficial Cardboard 2.0 Plus, should be fine with that because it has adjustable lenses. Not just the distance but also the space between them ( the IPD - InterPupillary Distance). Basically different people have a different amount of space between their eyes. Some people, like our very own Drags for instance ( :P ;D ;D ;D ), have their eyes too close together :o ;D

That's why a lot of these Google Cardboard thingummybobs don't work for some people and make their eyes go 'googly'. A fair amount of devs have this adjustable in the options part of their apps and games I think, which will widen or close the gap between the two video displays but that's far from ideal because the lenses are still physically in the wrong place.

I'm going to be SERIOUSLY pissed off if I get simulation sickness (aka VR sickness) because I've been dreaming of VR gaming since the 80s lol :o :-\ ;D

I don't get travel sick at all and my hearing in my left ear is partially screwed which apparently should go in my favour as far as resistance to simulation sickness goes. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 30, 2015, 05:09:22 PM
Quite like Unity so far. I remember the days in the 90s when you had to do all this manually with c++. It was a fucking nightmare :o

Unity and Unreal have physics and everything built-in.

I've now got a sphere rolling around on top of a plane with 4 walls stopping it from rolling off.

Think I might start working on a VR Pacman game in third person. Still a long way from getting anything like that done though. Baby steps! :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 06, 2015, 01:49:14 PM
Pre-ordered Halo 5, out on the 27th October.. £36.99 from Game using the code 5OFFGAME - best price I've seen that includes delivery  :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 06, 2015, 02:59:46 PM
Just got my Intel i7 6700K delivered ;D

And now it's going to be teasing me sitting on my shelf until I can afford the rest of my parts for my build of my Beast, the saucy minx lololol :o ;D ;D ;D

The rest of the build is going to be made up of the following parts:

A Noctua NH-D15 CPU Cooler
A Gigabyte Z170XP-SLI motherboard
16GB of Kingston HyperX Fury Black DDR4-2133 RAM
Cooler Master Storm Stryker ATX Full Tower case
EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Fully Modular PSU

Saved around 36 quid on the CPU which was great and for the rest I'm going to be going on Bespoke for better deals so I should have JUST enough money saved without doing my credit card too much damage.

Going to be using the iGPU on the CPU until May next year when I'll be getting either a Radeon Fury X or the new GeForce Pascal GPU if they've managed to bung in Asynchronous Shaders at the hardware level.

And then in November next year it's going to be time for VR goodness. Am leaning towards getting the Oculus Rift but may change my mind if they announce Half Life 3 as a launch title for HTC Vive. :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 08, 2015, 02:41:56 AM
Got my Unofficial Cardboard 2.0 Plus in the post and it's pretty good. Wish I'd got one of those plastic ones though cos my dozy old puss keeps trying to chew it. ;D

Only tried a couple of Android VR apps so far and tried getting Half Life 2 to run on it but my current rig isn't up to the task...was getting less than 10fps I think lol :o ;D

The best app so far is Titans From Space which has you flying around in a seat looking at the Sun, the Earth, the moon and other planets in our solar system and a few suns and planets outside it. Makes you realise how small and insignificant we all are compared to other planets, suns and moons. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 09, 2015, 02:51:02 PM
You may be small and insignificant.

I'm mighty!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 09, 2015, 03:47:32 PM
Not compared to Rigel you're not :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 10, 2015, 03:04:04 AM
Sorted out VR in Half-Life 2 now, had to change one of the settings in Trinus VR and now it's A LOT smoother. And I played it for half an hour or so and no dizziness. I must be immune to simulator sickness 8) ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 16, 2015, 11:05:20 PM
Fucking hell, I've just read that Microsoft want $3000 for a Holo-Lens devkit :o

So there goes a fair amount of indie support.

Better than Sony with the PS3 devkits before the PS3 launched, they would set back developers and publishers £18,000 :o :-\ :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 17, 2015, 08:22:01 PM
Have just been watching some guys with Oculus Rift DK2 headsets playing War Thunder in VR-O-Vision and it looks absolutely fucking amazing :o

Makes you realise just how difficult air combat was during both World Wars. Just a plane with a radio and machine gun duct-taped onto it :o :o :o ;D

I'd love some old pilots to try this out and give feedback on how accurate the game is, but I guess there's not too many of the fellahs left these days :-\ :(

The game looks absolutely amazing, even watching it on YouTube in 2D.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 21, 2015, 05:34:12 PM
Some fucker just blew my ship up. :'(

Commander Georgie Best lost his cargo, but I rammed the fucker before I died and must have done a shitload of damage to his ship, there was a shitload of smoke and sparks coming off his ship lmfao :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 22, 2015, 07:38:20 PM
Am well and truly back in business now. I now have 31,000 credits, another couple of deals and I'll be able to get rid of the Sidewinder I've borrowed off somebody (I'm sure we owned our first ship outright in the original!). This game is every bit as addictive as it always was. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 27, 2015, 02:48:43 AM
My combat rank has now gone up from Harmless to Mostly Harmless. Have now killed 28 pirates and been destroyed by 6. Not a bad K/D ratio.

And my combined assets are now worth over half a billion credits. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 27, 2015, 07:55:17 PM
Make that 38/9 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 28, 2015, 04:21:58 PM
Whoops, nearly made a HUUUUUGE cock up :o ;D ;D ;D

I had just over 750,000 credits so decided to completely upgrade the thrusters, weapons, shields and power generators of my ship leaving me with around 73,000 credits in the kitty. Then decided to have a go at killing pirates at a Resource Extraction Site, which is basically where everyone goes to mine stuff, so it attracts pirates. Then got blown up.

Being the fool that I am, I completely forgot about Insurance and realised that the additions to my ship had bumped up my payment needed (5% of the ship's value!) for me to get my ship back. I was left with 34,000 credits...5,000 credits short of the payment needed to get my ship back if I got it blown up again lol.

Have now flogged off most of those new parts and downgraded them slightly so I now have 172,000 credits to my name lol ;D

Going to wait until I get a Cobra Mark III and a good few credits on top before I do that again lmfao ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 28, 2015, 11:10:25 PM
November's Games With Gold:

Pneuma: Breath of Life (Xbox One) - November 1st - 30st
Dirt 3 (Xbox 360) - November 1st - 15th
Knight Squad (Xbox One) - November 16th - December 15th
Dungeon Siege 3 (Xbox 360) - November 16th - 30th


Still haven't really played on my console much lately - though I did have a go on COD Zombies for a few days a couple of weeks ago. Still mainly doing my gaming on the pc though.
Or I was - until my external hdd went tits up last week. I had a 2tb external drive with my full Steam library installed on it, but it's just got a flashing light and can't be accessed.
Have today taken delivery of a new 4tb drive.
Not too bothered about the data loss. All of the games can be downloaded again free of charge, so it's just a matter of time before I get all of my games back. And most either store game saves etc. on the C: drive or on the cloud, so I've not lost much (and I've probably only played about 50 of my 500-ish games anyway).


Nice to see Assassin's Creed is getting decent reviews. I'll definitely pick that up at some point, but I'll wait for a drop in price. I'm in no rush.
Will probably buy one or two games in November from COD/Fallout/StarWars. Undecided on which to buy, and undecided on which format to buy (xb1 or pc). My pc would struggle with all of them, but it's generally sooooo much cheaper.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 29, 2015, 08:49:57 AM
Looking forward to Pneuma.. would of never paid for it, but it looked intriguing - could be a load of shit for all I know.  Keeping my eye on Plague Inc on digital download - I played the flash game a long time ago, be nice to see what ways (if any) they have evolved it for consoles - I don't fancy paying £12 for it though.

Started Halo 5 on Tuesday, and I've had the missus out of the house for the past few days... mind you, I've been too busy doing other stuff to get really stuck into it.  From first impressions, its good, better than what I was expecting... I've only done the first 2 chapters on the campaign.. but going at a steady 60fps is pretty fucking awesome.. it feels really slick.  Itching to check out the vehicle based sections of the game... its not a Halo without extensive vehicle combat but sadly the first 2 chapters don't have any vehicle gameplay.  The actual storyline is a load of pony... Spartan Locke is trying to find Master Chief... that is the entire premise of it....  Looking forward to trying out multiplayer.. looks like they have stirred a few things up in this department since Halo 4.

More than anything though, I'm looking forward to Fallout 4 - its going to be so good.  Star Wars looks amazing and there are a few other games I wouldn't mind picking up at some point... but nothing looks or sounds half as good as F4... I'll be surprised if it isn't GOTY
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 29, 2015, 06:28:27 PM
It's always better to buy Bethesda games for the PC just for the mods and bug fixes. Fallout 4 could be good for furure VR adoption too, I know a lot of people that are upgrading their PCs to play it and if they do that they'll also have a machine capable of Oculus Rift/Vive use. I don't remember hearing anything about Bethesda having the game in VR-O-Vision but there's loads of third party software that let you run games in VR-O-Vision so I'll have that option available if Bethesda don't have native VR support.

Should get some decent deals on Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas when it comes out too.

Also realised what I did wrong with that Resource Extraction Site business too (apart from the insurance thing). I went to a High Resource Extraction Site without realising that the pirates that are attracted to those sites are Deadly-Elite level pilots lol. No wonder they tore my ship to pieces lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Next time I do that I'm going to a Low Resource one, less pirates and when they do appear they don't fly like Han fucking Solo and have weapons like the fucking Death Star ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 29, 2015, 06:53:00 PM
Not to bothered about mod support, but I think it's supported on Xbox anyway.

Tempted by Plague Inc, too. Enjoyed it on Android.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 29, 2015, 09:08:39 PM
Woo hoo!!! Got over a million credits in assets now and 425,000 credits. 8)

Just did a couple of jobs for two groups of pirates, both wanted me to kill their competition, i.e. each other lol. So I got paid by pirates to kill pirates and also got cash for their bounties with the local security services lmfao 8) ;D

Have also just realised why I was getting killed so easily, I'd forgotten to upgrade the outside of my bloody ship :o Bloomin thing was made of Light Alloy :o :o :o ;D I've now got Military Grade Composite now. Still, despite that handicap I've still got 52 kills and only 11 defeats.

I always seem to do better with flying games than any sort of driving or FPS game for some reason.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 31, 2015, 03:13:21 AM
A video of planet battle action (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOfw7ipXJIk), looking a bit frantic :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 31, 2015, 10:01:11 PM
Finished Halo 5 today - didn't last very long.. played on Heroic.. probably took about 7 hours.. there used to be a time where Heroic was tough.. I will start a Legendary replay next week I think.

Played my first multiplayer game too.. took seconds to get a game and no problems whatsoever!  It was actually quite fun despite the fact it was on Midship which I hate - but it was CTF which I love....The Requisitions integration looks interesting but its an absolute aberration that they have shoe-horned in micro-transactions  :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 03, 2015, 12:11:44 AM
Oops. There is now a price on my head.

Commander Arv 117 (1)
Evil Pirate Fuckers 18

That 1 in brackets is due to me accidentally murdering an innocent trader who got in the bloody way when I was trying to kill the Evil Pirate Fucker that was attacking him. Whoops! :o :-[ ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 03, 2015, 08:15:15 AM
Well thank god I didn't buy Pneuma.  Took me about 90 minutes to complete it and an extra 30 minutes to 100% it... absolutely zero replay value in it.  Also it must win the award for the most annoying narrator in a game.. after a few sentences I just wanted to punch him - yet he doesn't stop rambling on.  Kinda makes sense in the end.. the ending was nice.. I didn't see it.. mainly because I stopped listening to him half way through the game.


New xbox update last night.. new dashboard... just as I was getting used to the old one.. annoying.. but some things instantly look better.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 04, 2015, 09:35:19 AM
Played a bit of Multiplayer in Halo 5 last night.. both Arena and Warzone... MP is undeniably good and I've had zero problems so far.. matchmaking has been really quick - although I'm not 100% happy with their playlists.  Firstly you can't vote on a map/gametype anymore, and secondly they have shoved Slayer in with all the Team Objective gametypes.. unsure why, when they have a separate Team Slayer playlist - surely if I wanted to play Slayer I'd play in the dedicated playlist for that.  Lastly, I don't actually like the whole Requistions thing either.. I just want to play on an equal level with everyone else.. so if I want to play Big Team Battle (which is one of my favourite gametypes) I have to play Warzone as BTB has been removed from Arena - which means playing with the game-changing Requistions on - I played 1 game of Warzone last night and as expected it was mostly just carnage - there were 3 wraiths on the playfield at one time for instance!

Halo has historically been good with evolving playlists along with fan feedback, so I hope they change things before I stop playing it altogether.. I love the Team objective modes.. but what's the point playing in that playlist if I don't get a game of a type I actually like.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 05, 2015, 04:24:24 AM
New xbox update last night.. new dashboard... just as I was getting used to the old one.. annoying.. but some things instantly look better.
I like the new dash. Got it a couple of months ago.

Do you have backward compatibility yet? (You can tell by looking at "my games and apps" - you should see some xb360 games there, ready to download, if you now have the feature.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 05, 2015, 07:54:58 AM
Oh right.. I stopped bothering with the preview program a while ago.. really not that fussed... some things seem faster on the new dash, but I'm finding some things are taking longer to navigate to... maybe just need more time with it..

I've had some backwards compatible games since they announced the feature, but the list doesn't seem to of changed since then...I got an email a week or two ago saying BC was being rolled out proper this winter.. so expecting there to be a lot more games very shortly?

You pre-ordered F4 yet ? Its going to be all kinds of awesome, you know it!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 05, 2015, 05:29:34 PM
There's been a Fallout 4 Loot Crate doing the round (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6UhSMbHczU)s, looks pretty cool. I particularly like the hoodie and the Nuka Cola machine.

That video is from Game Hard 4.0's channel, he's majorly into VR...his entire channel is around 99% dedicated to it.

He comes pretty close to shitting himself several times during this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykPSoPP-UJ8), it looks to be ridiculously immersive :o ;D ;D ;D

He should have his own TV or Radio show, he's got the perfect voice for it!

UKRifter (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykPSoPP-UJ8) also has a great channel, he's a bit of a wuss who REALLY doesn't get on with horror experiences in VR lmfao ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 08, 2015, 09:52:24 PM
Haven't ordered Fallout 4 yet. I'm keen to play it but in no immediate rush.
Got Cod Blops 3 a few days ago (arrived the day before release date - well done ShopTo - but I didn't actually get a chance to play it for the first couple of days).
The campaign was okay. Have played through it once.
Haven't tried Multiplayer yet.
Zombies looks cool, but I've only had one game so far, so don't know my way around the map nor its secrets yet.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 09, 2015, 12:52:23 AM
Nobody with any sense is going to get Fallout 4 on day one, it's going to be practically unplayable until at least one proper patch has been done, and by proper patch I mean the patch after the day one emergency patch lol. I can sympathise with the Bethesda QA staff though because I know from experience that these sort of games are an absolute nightmare to test. :o

There's just too many variables to take into account, VERY easy to find crashes but VERY difficult to find what causes them, and if you can't find the cause then it's very difficult to regress the bug when it's 'Claimed Fixed' by the dev team. A great deal of these bugs end up as 'Closed As Not Seen' only for them to reappear after the game has been released. Champ Man and the first Just Cause game were a nightmare :o >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 09, 2015, 09:23:59 AM
Regardless of any issues, I'm not waiting to play it any longer than I have too.. same reasoning as to why I buy launch consoles - not bothered.. I'll be playing it this week and you wont  :P

Stepped up on Halo MP session this week/weekend... getting a bit more adjusted to Warzone.. although a) it really needs more maps and b) it still sucks compared to arena.  Must of played at least 10 different games of Team Arena.. not one CTF game at all and played about 8 games of slayer.. that's just ridiculous considering Slayer has its own specific playlist.  MP is definitely better than in Halo 4.. but there are a lot of improvements that could be done.. mainly more maps/gametypes!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 10, 2015, 08:44:28 PM
The graphics for Fallout 4 are pretty dog-shit to be honest with you...
...but I absolutely loved the opening sequence and hooked on the storyline... far more compelling than previous versions..

Is going well 2 hours in.. not one single bug.. nor issue.. so no complaints so far.  I'm a bit unsure about some of the game mechanics though, the game is slightly vague in various places on why/how you should do things... certainly with workshops and such anyway... I'm not sold on the whole idea of building settlements.. I love looting, picking and choosing what I want to carry, selling the stuff I don't want and rinsing and repeating.... and whilst you can still do that.. I think the onus in Fallout 4 is that EVERYTHING has a purpose.. so now junk can be scrapped into a base material (steel/wood/concrete) which can be used to build buildings/furniture/loads of other stuff...  so now it feels like selling anything (despite the fact I haven't found anyone to sell too yet) seems like the wrong thing to do - I don't like the feeling of change for change-sake...

However these type of games always start off slowly for me* and then progress into an absolute addiction as I get more and more into them so I'm sure I will get into the whole crafting thing over time. 


*Apart from Skyrim.. that was just brilliant from start to finish.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 10, 2015, 09:24:33 PM
That's one advantage with buying the PC SKU, it should be better looking than the other SKUs right off the bat if they've put any sort of effort into that version, but even if it isn't it won't be long before modders improve it considerably. But given the recommended specs that Bethesda released, a PC that powerful will piss all over the PS4 hardware let alone the Xbox One.

That's why us PC gamers are known as The Master Race :o :P 8)

Think I'm going to buy and replay Fallout 3 and New Vegas before I get Fallout 4 though. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 11, 2015, 08:10:19 AM
These type of games are never noted for their graphical prowess though.. and you are forgetting that Bethesda announced that mods will be supported across all platforms.. albeit mods can only be created for the PC and there will be far more to choose from.. mods that are shared through Bethesda will be available for the consoles. 

Also lets not forget the recommended specs for the PC version include a GTX970 graphics card.. which alone costs more than the price of a console.  So if you want to pay a shit-ton of money to reduce a few jaggies and improve the shadow effects - be my guest!

That's why you PC gamers are known as nerds!

Also, Fallout 3 is included with Fallout 4 on the Xbox SKU aswell.. so enjoy paying for Fallout 3 separately on the pc  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 11, 2015, 07:53:55 PM
Bit more difference than that mate 8)

Just got another 2 parts for my new rig, the heatsink and fan and the Power Supply. Just got the motherboard and case to arrive and I can start putting it all together. Going to get the GPU in May next year then Oculus Rift around this time next year. I might hold off buying Fallout 4 until I'm able to 'Step Into The Rift' with it. Being INSIDE THE FUCKING GAME is going to fucking rock!!!!! :o ;D 8)

Plus by then there'll be plenty of patches and mods available, and the price should be cheaper too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 12, 2015, 08:44:06 AM
Well I spent an hour last night fannying around with building a settlement as it was part of a quest... and managed to build a house inside-out lol - it meant I couldn't put a roof on it and had to scrap the whole thing.... in fact, I found it really tough to actually build anything without using the pre-fabricated rooms.. even then I couldn't get it totally as I had imagined. 

I have come around to the idea to scrapping junk to get its base material rather than selling.. and can see where it is going to excel when creating mods for weapons and armor.. but building stuff is not very good (or easy to use) IMO and I don't think I'll be bothered again (unless I have too).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on November 12, 2015, 08:02:57 PM
Hey guys I recently just signed up again here so thought I'd check in.  :)

Been playing The Walking Dead Season Two since it was free on PS+ this month. I'd never seen The Walking Dead or played an episodic game before. But I absolutely love it! Always thought these games were a bit pointless as you're doing more watching than playing but it's brilliant.

Thinking of getting Season One now too but not sure if it's worth it now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 12, 2015, 08:41:29 PM
Hello mate, good to see you back! ;D

Have been meaning to get The Walking Dead for a while now but haven't gotten around to it yet.

Have just been looking at mods for Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas and discovered The Two Wastlands which runs both games using the New Vegas engine. It looks awesome :o

Have been watching a guy playing it in VR-O-Vision, think he's also got other mods running too including Dynavision which improves lighting and gives a cool DOF effect. It looks amazing. :o 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 14, 2015, 12:48:13 AM
Welcome back, Stu. :D
I loved season 1 of TWD - can definitely recommend it.
You might also like to try The Wolf Among Us. Made by the same people, but based on a different comic book series (Fables - with the characters from fairy tales).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on November 14, 2015, 09:36:02 PM
Yeah I've been thinking about trying some other episodic games now. Wouldn't mind playing the game of thrones one once that's finished. Will have to look at the wolf among us although I have already heard good things about it.

My worry with the walking dead season one is that I now already know what happens in season 2. But if I can find a good deal for it I'll probably pick it up anyway.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 15, 2015, 09:41:23 PM
Previews of Xenoblade X are starting to appear (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=185360600&postcount=1).

Apparently it's supposed to be bigger in scale than Fallout 4, Skyrim and Witcher 3 combined :o

Will get my Mum to get it for me for Christmas 8)

Will hopefully get my Asus Maximus Ranger VIII motherboard tomorrow and can put my new Beast together. ;D

Going to have to do a fresh install of Windows 7.1, get myself on the waiting list for Windows 10 and do a fresh install of that too. Shouldn't take too long now that my OS drive is an SSD. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 16, 2015, 11:12:11 AM
Fucking hell, people are going apeshit over the performance issues in Fallout 4 so far. Can't believe that Bethesda have released the game in such an un-optimised state, the Xbox One SKU appears to be the worst...the framerate drops to single figures when you switch weapons whilst moving :o

It's supposed to be using a new engine too but it's got the exact same problems with dodgy animations etc that the last one had.

Hopefully they'll be able to patch some of these performance issues with an update or two :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 16, 2015, 06:03:21 PM
Well coming from someone whose already plugged more than 20 hours into the X1 version... it does drop at some points... maybe 3-4 times for me so far.. usually only when in a big firefight at the same time as moving and changing weapons.. and only when using the quick select menu.. its certainly not affecting my enjoyment in the slightest... if it was worse and happened a lot then maybe..

But I'm very impressed that I have encountered zero game-breaking bugs and I've had a total of zero crashes so far though.. it seems much more stable than previous versions..

People are always going to try and find faults with the game.. especially people who don't actually have it and feel the need to justify why they haven't bought it  ;) ;D  All I can say.. is its great.. and very fucking addicitive.. its got that "just one more go" feel to it
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on November 16, 2015, 08:05:49 PM
Have any of you played The Elder Scrolls Online? Thoughts if so?

I absolutely loved Skyrim and played the shit out of that game. Favourite game of all time.

But I've read that ESO is not on the same level as Skyrim, but then I don't really read that much about games.

I think having to do quests with other people will completely ruin the game and the story.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 16, 2015, 08:54:24 PM
I think that the problem that most people have with it is that they weren't expecting the very same problems that previous Gamebryo-driven games had given that Fallout 4 was supposed to be created with a 'new' engine.

Personally I think that the devs have done a great job. 1080p native on both console SKUs, vsynch, superior lighting and shadows and superior AA all make it a 'next gen' game. I've seen plenty of idiots saying that the game doesn't look any better than Fallout 3 on the PS3 and 360 which is fucking ridiculous. They obviously need to go to Specsavers :o ;D

I'm not too worried about the game myself because by the time I build my new rig (bloomin motherboard didn't arrive today and according to the tracking it's been waiting to be picked up by the courier since 14th...I'm thinking it may be coming from France, perhaps..? :-\ ) including my GPU in May next year I'll be able to run it with everything on Ultra in 1080p at 60fps 8)

Hope I get my motherboard tomorrow, I'm like a kid at Christmas at the mo lololol ;D

Edit: Forgot to add vsynch to the list!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 18, 2015, 09:31:48 AM
Aaaaargh!!! My motherboard STILL hasn't been picked up by a courier :o >:( :'(

Bloody ridiculous >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: dannyjames2 on November 18, 2015, 06:14:47 PM
I'm getting a playstation 4 tomorrow.

Anyone recommend any games? Apart from the obvious ... Fiffa 16 of course  :)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on November 18, 2015, 06:48:10 PM
Well GTA 5 is a must for any gamer of course.

If you haven't played the Uncharted games then definitely get Uncharted The Nathan Drake Collection. And Uncharted 4 in March.  :D

I played all 3 Uncharted games about 3 times each on PS3 and I still can't wait to get the collection on PS4 and play them all again.  :)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: dannyjames2 on November 18, 2015, 07:04:44 PM
Thanks Stu.

Do you play Pro Evo or Fiffa?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 18, 2015, 07:31:50 PM
Aw ffs, my internet has gone down again. It's been spotty for the last week while they've been trying to fix an email problem (that I personally haven't been experiencing) but now it's gone completely.

Which of course means I can't play Elite: Dangerous :o >:(

Hope it's going to be sorted by the time I go to bed otherwise I won't be able to watch Netflix until my medication kicks in and sends me to sleep. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on November 18, 2015, 11:13:22 PM
I play FIFA but having a break this year so not getting 16.

The current weather might have something to do with that Harv.  ;)

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 19, 2015, 12:38:19 AM
It's back now ;D

Have had my pilot rank promotion from Novice to Competent. First time I've been competent at anything in my life lmfao :o :P ;D

Am scanning planets at the moment. Assuming that I don't get killed before I travel 20+ light years I can sell it to space stations via the Universal Cartography people. Once I do that the planets will come up as 'Discovered By Commander Arv' when people scan them which is pretty cool 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 19, 2015, 01:05:09 AM
Shit. I've been thinking about my motherboard. No activity on the tracking system since 14th, the day after the Paris atrocities. Hope they haven't decided to X-Ray everything otherwise my motherboard is going to be about as useful as a chocolate teapot :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 19, 2015, 08:02:51 AM
I got Gears of War Ultimate Edition the other day, haven't fired it up yet, still too engrossed with Fallout 4  ;D

Found an Explosive Powerful 10mm Pistol and its my new favourite gun.. it causes explosive area effect on contact... so my new tactic is to shoot for the legs and get them to explode.. it works great on the Feral Ghouls..  But I've also got a bad ass magnum which works great against pretty much everything.

One of the quests I did last night saw me travelling across the Glowing Sea which is a heavily radiated part of the wasteland.. I got attacked by a Legendary Alpha Deathclaw.. basically a big bad motherfucker that you would stand little chance of killing on your own, luckily I was in my power armour so it didn't kill me straight away... I started to run away but looked back and saw it getting attacked by 3 Radscorpions and a Legendary Radscorpion.. I just stood on a rock for a while and watched them fight.. occasionally chucking a grenade into the action just for fun... they did a great job in reducing its health.. but half way through the fight, another Deathclaw came along and kicked the shit out of the remaining Radscorpions  ;D ;D.. I actually managed to take down the Alpha Deathclaw eventually.. pretty much spent all my fookin ammo on it though, luckily the other Deathclaw ran away lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 19, 2015, 12:18:39 PM
Bah! It turns out that the courier company have lost my motherboard. Fuckwits. Just emailed the support staff and told them that I want them to send me another one with next day delivery. A right pain in the arse. :'(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 19, 2015, 02:42:45 PM
Should be getting it tomorrow! ;D

The Game Creators developers have just done a MAJOR performance update to GameGuru, it's almost tripled the framerate on my machine :o

Hopefully this means they're going to re-enable the VR flag. Should be VERY easy for a PC having the recommended specs for Oculus Rift to run a GameGuru-driven game at 90fps now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 20, 2015, 12:39:01 AM
Woo hoo!!! Just made 243,300-odd credits from my exploration data.

I now have 4.2m in credits and 7.8m worth of assets (including the cash of course!).

Once I get another couple of million I'm going to pimp up my Cobra Mark III a bit more. Need a top of the range power supply and a better power distributor and another few million and I'll upgrade my lasers too. 8)

Elite Dangerous is definitely number one in my Best Games Of All Time list, and I can't see ANYTHING knocking it off number one (although I did say the same thing about the original Elite which is now at number two!). Every bit as addictive as the original game.

Going to be interesting to see how the iGPU in my 6700K handles games when I build my game tomorrow. Should outperform my 2GB 4870 I think, just about. ;D That 4870 is still a bit of a beast tbh, probably the best GPU that AMD have released so far for its time. My Q9550, 8GB of DDR3 and 2GB 4870 really punches above its weight. Can do Skyrim on Ultra at around 30fps if I'm remembering correctly. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 20, 2015, 06:22:47 PM
The best thing about building a PC is that feeling of potential impending doom before you turn on your new build and the immense relief you get when you do turn it on the thing POSTs successfully lol  ;D

Not too sure what's going on with the BIOS though because it's only taking up the top half of my telly screen lmfao. Might have to read the manual lol :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 22, 2015, 07:26:37 PM
Managed to sort out my half screen problem. It's still half screen sized when it starts up but by the time Windows 10 starts it changes the screen and resolution to its proper size. Very strange problem though. I don't think the [Auto] option for the GPU selection was working properly. Changed it to IGP and it started working properly.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 22, 2015, 10:42:46 PM
Have now done a gentle overclock, only from 4.0 to 4.5 because I'm going to do my usual and have this PC on for 24/7.

Only problem I have with the machine so far is that one of the fans isn't working, there's a loose wire on it. Could probably fix it myself but it's less hassle to just spend a couple of quid and get another one. ;D

Running nice so far, can now run Elite Dangerous on High settings at 60fps compared to Medium on my old machine. Haven't tried Skyrim yet but I should be able to run it on Ultra I reckon. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 02, 2015, 01:41:55 AM
Bah! Turns out that Skyrim has some sort of problem with Intel iGPUs. The auto settings thingummybob brought everything down to Low quality and it crashes every time I try and start it lol. Probably a fix for it but Elite Dangerous is taking up all of my gaming time at the moment and probably for quite some time.

The Beta for Elite Dangerous Horizons has been out for a day and everyone is nerd wanking all over the place lol. For good reason too. Over 60% of the planets and moons in 400 billion star systems can be landed on and explored. There are plenty of systems with 20+ planets in them too. Even if there were only an average of 10 planets and moons in each system (and I'm certain that's a VERY low estimation), that would make it possible to land on and explore 6 x 4000 billion planetary surfaces, that's, what..? 24,000 billion..? :o

I'm mathematically dyslexic so have probably messed up somewhere. But it's a ridiculous SHITLOAD anyway lol :o ;D ;D ;D

The sooner May comes along the better 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 04, 2015, 04:10:01 PM
I did get my maths wrong, it's 2400 billion or 2.4 trillion. Fucking hell, that's bloomin ridiculous lmfao :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 04, 2015, 07:33:29 PM
If only you could see what I've seen with your eyes...

...I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-Beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears...in...rain. Time to die...



You could almost believe that Roy has been playing Elite Dangerous Horizons on an emulator a few hundred years in the future!!! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ShAxd36bE0)

 :o 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 05, 2015, 10:40:21 AM
Done with Fallout 4 now.. 100% achievement completion.. completed every ending... it was good fun but am definitely ready to move onto something else now.

Caved in and bought Plague Inc: Evolved.. its very much like its flash counterpart.. but bought it more as a time-waster which can sit between games.

Just tried out the Doom : Closed Alpha multiplayer... I'm loving it.. took a few go's to learn the map but when you find out where the power items are.. it becomes a LOT easier.  Love the Demon Rune feature.. no stupid long timers telling everyone where it is going to be placed on the map.. 3 seconds and its in gameplay.. first player to get it turns into a hulking Demon with enhanced weaponry and jetpacks.. if he dies, then the killer gets the power.. Weapons are great, unlimited ammo in all.. but each weapon with different traits.. naturally I plump for the Rocket Launcher/Shotgun combo.. even if its not really a balanced and sensible combo.. its bad-ass!  Everyone has access to 90% of the weapons in load-outs which they choose.. having no ammo/no gun pickup feels weird at first... but it makes for a really fast, fluid and frenetic gameplay which is very reminiscent of the old doom/quake games.  Doom has definitely shot up in my "must buy" list for next year - I just hope they nail the campaign.. don't make it too linear or too short and I'll be a happy chappy.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 07, 2015, 10:25:43 PM
Prestiged (first time) on COD Blops 3 over the weekend. So now I'm back to basic weapons/equipment, and doing pretty rubbish again (though a lot better than when I first started out - knowing your way around the maps and having access to one of your favourite pieces of equipment makes life a lot easier).

Played Pneuma yesterday. Was okay. Wouldn't have paid more than a quid or so for it, but it entertained me for a while. Lots of easy gamerscore there, too, if that's your bag.

Tried another of the GWGs - "Castlestorm". Kind of a mesh of Angry birds, Worms, and Tower defence. Couldn't really get into it, so doubt I'll play it again.
Similar story with Deer God. Very odd game (though oddly pleasing retro visuals) but the story was too batty for me to put up with, and the objectives and controls are often difficult to fathom. Possibly rewarding if you're willing to invest a day or two, but I'm not. Not when there's loads of other games for free that I'll probably enjoy more.

Still haven't tried (GWG):
How To Survive: Storm Warning Edition
Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (played it on the xb360, and wasn't a massive fan, so might skip this one)
Valiant Hearts: The Great War (bought it ages ago, well before it was GWG, but haven't tried it yet)
Knight Squad
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing

Still got a few paid for games still unplayed, too.
Halo MCC (played a little of the first game, but not much. Played the first 3 on the xbox 360 way back when...)
Rare Replay (haven't tried any of them yet. Naturally I played a few of them back in the day, but surprisingly few of them)
The Escapists
Life Is Good
Final Fantasy Type 0 HD
I'm sure there's a few others.



Speaking of Final Fantasy, I see FF7 remake is going to be released in instalments. FFS, Squeenix, what are you playing at?!

Looks stunning, though:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3sBZ5Nr4hc

Still no news on release dates, and still no news on how long Sony's timed exclusivity is for... :\

Shame they got rid of the turn-based combat - I love turn-based combat - but it was to be expected (and was strongly hinted at six months ago when Tetsuya Nomura said "...we can't have these upgraded, beautiful 3D models of Cloud and Barrett, still lining up in a row, jumping forward to attack an enemy, then jumping back to wait for their next turn. That would be bizarre." His opinion. I personally think I'd prefer that, but I can understand where they're coming from.)

Having recently played much of the original, the story still stands up well, but the visuals (and lack of speech) are incredibly dated now, This, however, looks better than I'd hoped - so I'm still very keen to play it.
For anyone who doesn't remember the original (or, god-forbid, hasn't played it) here's a comparison:
http://www.gamespot.com/videos/final-fantasy-vii-original-vs-remake/2300-6428489/

As with many folk, though, I'm not interested in it until it's fully released. Come on, Squeenix - you want time to make sure you do the job well but you've had two decades. How many more years before the remake is complete? I suspect we're talking years, here.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 08, 2015, 09:11:17 AM
I haven't been keeping up with news on the remake of FF7.. say whaaaat ?  Releasing in installments and getting rid of turned-based combat.. that doesn't sound good AT ALL!  If I had a PS4 - it would be an instant buy.. but for someone who would be buying a console to play that game.. its losing that value..

I've played *most* of the GWGs this year late.. my quick opinions :
Jan : D4 - good but it is weird Japanese shit.. completed it 100% achievement wise
Feb : IDARB : only played for about an hour - it was wacky.. but I found it a bit crap to be honest..
Mar : Rayman Legends - already had.. great little game, highly recommend.
Apr : Pool Nation FX - shit, don't bother.. wasted several hours on it and some achievements were glitchy.
Apr : Child of Light - already had - great little RPG game, doesn't last that long, but nicely styled and worth a go
May : Castlestorm - I actually quite liked it, took me ages to fully complete it - it does get a bit samey after a while but it did get difficult in some of the later levels.
June : Massive Chalice - I enjoyed this one mainly as I like strategy games, spent several hours playing through it.. but it wont be everyone's cuppa tea.. the game needed to be shorter to be honest, its quite difficult in places and the replay value is limited.
July : AC:BlackFlag - Great game for GWG - hadn't played it before.. completed the entire story.. didn't finish it completely until a month or two ago so it lasted me a while - plenty to do in the game
July : So Many Me - quite enjoyed this game too.. tough puzzles in places, doesn't last very long though - 100%ed
Aug : Metal Gear Solid 5 Ground Zeroes - haven't played yet.. not a massive fan of MGS - although Phantom Pain has got amazing reviews, so perhaps I should give this a go after Christmas ?
Aug : How to Survive : Storm Warning Edition - liked the idea and thought I'd like the game, but I found the gameplay annoying and niggly.
Sep : Deer God - definitely weird.. but strangely enjoyable (in parts).. glitchy achievements stopped me getting 100% on it.
Sep : Tomb Raider : Definitive Edition - played on the 360 and loved it.. haven't played the x1 version yet though.. will play at some point I expect
Oct : Valiant Hearts - doesn't last very long, but a very stylish game that is very easy in gameplay but enjoyable and the story is quite enjoyable as well - 100% finished.
Oct : Walking Dead - downloaded.. but not played.. I haven't seen a single episode of Walking Dead and don't intend too.. would play if I was desperate for something new.
Nov : Pneuma - lasted about 2-3 hours before I 100%'ed it - no replay value at all.. annoying voice acting but the story was mildly entertaining.
Nov : Knight Squad - not played yet.
Dec : Van Helsing - not played yet.. although I hated the film - so not expecting much
Dec : Thief - not played yet - dislike stealthy games
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 08, 2015, 12:14:39 PM
There's a screenshot and video competition on the Frontier forums for the Horizons Beta (https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=204138). Some of them are jaw dropping. :o 8)

I'm REALLY hoping that I'll be able to play Horizons on my iGPU when it launches otherwise the wait until May is going to fucking KILL me lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 08, 2015, 10:59:07 PM
Give The Walking Dead a look, Kieron. It's set in the same universe as the TV show but is completely unrelated - an entirely different cast. Try the first episode to see if you like it. (If memory serves the game is spilt into about six episodes.)
I don't know anyone who tried it and didn't like it, but to be fair they probably all enjoyed the TV series so I can't say for absolute certain that you'd like it, but I definitely recommend it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 09, 2015, 12:53:50 PM
Why on earth don't you watch The Walking Dead, you looney..? One of the best telly programmes to have come out of the States in recent years. :o :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 09, 2015, 06:15:33 PM
Gameplay trailer for Horizons here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX_E6jCGusM). Looking amazing. Am going to need a meaty GPU to play it with that high IQ lol

It's out on the 15th, nearly there! Going to be interesting to see if my iGPU can handle it. I wasn't expecting it to handle vanilla Elite Dangerous at High settings so maybe it'll have a chance at Medium settings and 720p..? :-\

HTC have announced that HTC Vive won't be released until Q2 next year...but I reckon that HTC might go bust before then :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on December 09, 2015, 07:44:47 PM
I've also never watched an episode of The Walking Dead but would also recommend the games. Season Two was free on PS+ last month so I tried it and loved it.

Managed to get The Telltale Games Collection bundle on the PS store on Black Friday. The Walking Dead Season One and Two, Game Of Thrones, The Wolf Among Us and Tales From The Borderlands all included. Looking forward to playing them all.  :)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 09, 2015, 09:10:14 PM
You both REALLY need to start watching the programme, it's awesome :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 10, 2015, 08:31:27 AM
Why don't I watch it.. the same reason I don't watch any american-made shows.. they are shit... like all american tv!

Barring the animated shows.. (I will watch Simpsons from time-to-time.. and I am a big fan of South Park - the others I don't really care for).. they haven't made a decent American TV series since the X-Files - and that's my honest opinion.


But I'll give Walking Dead (the game) a fair chance then chaps.. I've got a few games on the run at the moment.. so probably wont be until after xmas.. but I'll let you know my thoughts once I've gone through the first episode.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 10, 2015, 04:19:26 PM
Blimey, you're missing out on A LOT of quality television :o

The Sopranos, The Wire, The Shield, Oz, Arrow, The Flash, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, The Walking Dead...you've missed out on ALL of those..? Bloody hell, you haven't lived :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 16, 2015, 03:24:04 AM
Just tried out Elite Dangerous Horizons. Again, I'm REALLY surprised by the iGPU in the Intel i7 6700K. I didn't hold much hope of it being able to run the game, but I've brought the resolution down to 720p and the settings from High to Medium and I'm getting around 30fps driving around on the planet surface. Going to visit an icy planet next to see how the Intel HD 530 handles the SSS (Sub-Surface Scattering).

Going to take a while to tweak the controls to my liking though.

Pretty awesome landing the ship, managed it first time without doing any damage, although it was on a planet with low gravity which makes things A LOT easier. With high grav worlds you need to make your descent with your ship pointing upwards and giving it loads of thrust to stop yourself from splatting on the surface lol :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 20, 2015, 03:26:12 PM
Got my Christmas pressie from my Mum today, Xenoblade Chronicles X. Not sure if I'm going to have the patience to wait until Christmas Day to open it though. Another time sink too, the game is fucking HUUUUGE. Bigger than Fallout 3, The Witcher 3 and Skyrim combined. :o

Elite Dangerous Horizons is fantastic. Worth every penny just for the Planetary Landings part of Season 2 let alone the other bits and pieces they're going to be adding during the next year. They have plans to do 10 seasons altogether and I'm planning on buying every single one if they manage to pull it off.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 21, 2015, 05:57:50 PM
Haven't had much chance to game, lately, but when I have I've mainly been playing "How To Survive". It's okay. Not great, but definitely not awful. I'm about 60% through with one of my characters, but not sure I'll bother to finish it off. It's in danger of becoming a chore, and I've much better things to do with my time than play games that are becoming a chore. Like playing Fallout 4, which I picked up a week ago but haven't yet taken out of its cellophane.

Will also be getting Assassins Creed and Rock Band 4 on Friday.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 22, 2015, 07:54:24 AM
Still ploughing through Plague Inc... to be honest, I'm pretty much satisfied I'm done with the game (novelty is wearing off a bit).... but there are so many achievements.. and each one has a random luck element to it.. so its taking a bit of time to get them.. definitely not worth the price I paid.. but a good enough time waster.

Mixed in with playing a bit of Gears Of War Ultimate Edition.. really good to get back into the game.. I forgot how good the first game was and why I loved it so much... although I started on Insane mode, so its taking a bit of time to actually get anywhere in the game.. think I'm nearly half-way through.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 25, 2015, 05:28:29 PM
Fucking hell, just started playing Xenoblade Chronicles X and it's beautiful. :o The sense of scale is ridiculous, although not surprising for a game that's bigger than Fallout 3, Skyrim and the Witcher III combined. And the music, as with the first game, is outstanding. I'm only about 15 minutes or so in but I'm VERY impressed so far. I honestly don't know how MonolithSoft do it. Amazing given the Wii U's hardware.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 05, 2016, 08:00:32 AM
So I got Tomb Raider for Christmas which is what I wanted.. I did ask for Rainbow Six Siege but went off it when I realised that 99% of the game was to be played online..  so glad I didn't get that.

Anyway, I finished Tomb Raider the other day... it was great.. really enjoyed it.. very much like the last game, but this time, felt a lot like the Tomb Raiders of old as well which was great.. just a shame that part of the game has fucked up and left me in a state where two of the achievements are now impossible to get (unless I restart a new file).  Basically I started one of the many missions you can accept on my way through the game.. the mission is to track a crow and then shoot it... I didn't realise I had to shoot it... now when I've come back to the area to finish the mission, I cant restart it and the crow is gone and won't re-spawn.. looked online and it looks like a glitch that CD thought that had fixed with a patch... but looks like it didn't work  >:(

Apart from that though - great game and there is plenty to do after the main story has finished aswell... I might even download the DLC for it too (if its reasonably priced).


Played Knight Squad over the xmas break too... that was surprisingly good, could see it having massive potential if you get loads of humans playing it... but as you can get all the achievements offline and in single player - I didn't bother playing anymore than I did - still enjoyed it though.

Still steadily working my way through Plague Inc's achievement list.. 86/127 done now.. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 05, 2016, 12:12:02 PM
Oculus are going to start taking pre-orders for the Rift tomorrow, we'll have details on it all tomorrow at 4pm during their CES showing. We'll finally get a price and release date for it. Lucky's Tale gets packed in with every Rift and people that pre-order will also get EVE Valkyrie.

HTC will also be announcing their 'game changing breakthrough' this week. Hopefully it's going to be something that's going to keep the price down otherwise I think the Vive is going to be dead in the water when it releases after the Rift. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 06, 2016, 04:23:08 PM
Well pre-orders have now started. $599/£499/€699 :o

If HTC match those prices then the Oculus Rift is going to flop harder than the Wii U. Remember, the Oculus Rift price comes with an Xbox One controller and they'll probably have the Touch controllers going for another $100. Having the HTC Vive going for the same price but including the wand controllers will have units flying off shelves.

Well I was limiting myself to £500 and that's what we've got but I'm going to watch what HTC do with interest. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 06, 2016, 07:59:57 PM
Good news for the PSVR.. although I see Sony didn't include a price yet... and a few people think its going to cost more than a PS4 alone  :o

If they price it between £100-£199 then I cant see how Oculus stands a chance... I would hazard a guess at £299 for PSVR.. which would still look miles better than the stupid Rift price point.

If it did come in at that price point... I'd rather buy a PS4 + PSVR than a Rift unit.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 06, 2016, 10:59:29 PM
Five hundred quid! Wahahaha.
Oh, Zuckerberg, you do crack me up.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 07, 2016, 12:07:48 AM
Yup, I'd put my money on PSVR being £299.99. I think that Facebook hasn't done PC VR any favours unless the HTC Vive gives better value. If HTC can release the Vive for £500-550 then it's going to be better value. Vive includes 2 wand controllers and the Touch controllers are probably going to set you back £100 give or take 20 quid.

We'll have to wait and see I guess. The Rift order price of £499 doesn't include shipping or Customs fees either. I'm going to wait and see what Amazon are going to be selling them for, they'll probably have them on their site to buy in April.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 07, 2016, 07:47:37 AM
New tech always comes in at ridiculously high price-points though.. mobile phones - remember how stupidly expensive they were.. I still remember our 2nd hand Spectrum 48k costing well over £100 although it did come with a lot of games.... in fact, if you take the retail value of £179.95 back in 1984 for a spectrum 48k - according to this website (http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1633409/Historic-inflation-calculator-value-money-changed-1900.html) - that's £543.18 in today's money lol.. for a spectrum!!!

Cant see any of the VR hardware being cheap... but I would expect PSVR to be cheaper than the others.. quite simply because it will be a budget version, Sony will shift bucket-loads if they get the price point right.



Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 08, 2016, 06:30:25 PM
I bought my Speccy for 20 quid I think, but it was hot I reckon. Got it from a mate at school. He also had a ZX81 but I wasn't going anywhere near that lol :o ;D

Apparently Palmer Luckey said in an interview yesterday that they had sold all of the Rifts that they had made. Probably 100,000 or so I reckon. Pretty good going considering the cost of the thing.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 15, 2016, 06:39:15 PM
Apparently Game have started taking pre-orders for the Oculus Rift. £500, so £28 cheaper than getting it from Oculus because you don't have to pay for delivery. I'm going to be getting it from Amazon myself, or rather Flubit. Should get at least 5% off I reckon, so 475 quid which isn't a bad price considering you get the HMD, a game (Lucky's Tale), a headset and an Xbox One controller.

I was setting myself a 500 quid limit and will pay less than that so I'm quite happy.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 16, 2016, 09:39:55 AM
Must be mad spending all that money.. especially when you consider you'll need to spend around £250 just to get the minimum spec GPU for it aswell..

There wont be space for two highly expensive VR units in the marketplace.. Vive or Rift will be the Betamax of the VR generation.. I'm not buying anything until it goes mainstream.. even then I think I'd stick to a console version.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 16, 2016, 03:56:16 PM
It doesn't matter which one sells more, thanks to SteamVR it's going to be VERY easy to port between PSVR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. Unless developers get moneyhatted, or are owned by their respective platform holders, the vast majority of VR titles are going to be multiplatform.

And I'm not getting a minimum spec GPU either, I'll be getting either a Pascal or Arctic Islands GPU in the Summer, assuming that they'll be released by then. I've been saving up for this for 18 months, will be 2 years in November when I get my Rift. You should always have a GPU in your gaming PC being more than half the price of the rest of the components. Anything less than that will give you a CPU bottleneck.

Going to be interesting to see what happens on the 29th February when HTC announce the price of the Vive and open pre-orders. Despite the Nerd Rage after Oculus announced the price of the Rift they're now back-ordered until July :o

If the HTC Vive is $200+ more expensive than the Rift then I reckon demand for the Rift is going to increase even further...the only thing I can see changing that is having Half Life 3 or Portal 3 as an exclusive lol :o ;D ;D ;D

Consoles are going to be dead for me next generation, I won't even be getting a Nintendo console for the first time in two generations unless it has VR. Apparently once you experience VR going back to a 2D telly or monitor screen is pretty much an empty experience.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on January 16, 2016, 11:04:47 PM
They probably said the same about the Wii and motion controls.  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 16, 2016, 11:55:37 PM
lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 18, 2016, 01:29:56 AM
If the NX has VR support surely you'll be getting that, Harv.

My taxes increased recently, so it probably means you're getting some new toy soon.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 18, 2016, 08:06:51 AM
They probably said the same about the Wii and motion controls.  ;)

No.. that's what harv said about motion controls... he'd never go back to normal controls again... yet he's plumping for the VR kit that comes bundled with an XBOX ONE CONTROLLER... hah.. gotta love that!


If the NX has VR support surely you'll be getting that, Harv.

My taxes increased recently, so it probably means you're getting some new toy soon.

lol.. but he's saved for 2 years for this stuff.. god knows why he doesn't just do some guaranteed NO LOSE bonus bagging/gambling with his benefits... he'll of had the money in no time at all..   You'd think in all seriousness.. that someone in harv's position - given a grand.. would have more important things to spend it on than a GPU and VR Helmet.. and in terms of value for money and depreciation.. gaming is always a raw deal...  less than a year of the X1's launch for example... it was given a massive old price cut and 6 months later a big increase in storage space with even more cuts.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 18, 2016, 01:15:27 PM
I already said I won't be getting a Nintendo console for the first time in two generations unless it has VR.

As for 'more important things', yes there are plenty. But VR gaming is going to be the dog's bollocks. 8)

And yes, I could be doing some more bonus bagging but I've pretty much run out of reputable bookies now lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 21, 2016, 10:11:06 AM
But VR gaming is going to be the dog's bollocks. 8)

Is that the same dogs bollocks that motion controls were... and the same dogs bollocks that 3D TV's were? 

At the end of the day, these things failed because 1) people just want to play games normally.. and 2) people just want to watch TV normally.  You could argue that motion controls didn't fail because of the sales of the Wii and the re-introduction of VR... but ultimately it was a fad that didn't last very long... as evidenced by the quick demise of the Wii, the poor sales of PS Move and the complete failure of Kinect.

Can't help but feel like early adopters of VR are just wasting their money for the exact same reason... the tech will struggle to go mainstream.. and if it does, the early hardware is going to be pants compared to what other manufacturers produce a few years down the line
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 21, 2016, 07:45:46 PM
PSVR will end up being the VR choice for the mainstream. And the comparison with 3D television that people keep on coming up with is completely ridiculous. A normal telly is 2D, a 3DTV is effectively 2.5D and VR is true 3D.

And yes, of course it's going to be expensive to begin with, but as time goes on the technology will get better and cheaper. And everyone will end up with VR being the center of not only entertainment but also with training and education. VR is going to be HUGE, that's why Facebook spent $2bn on it
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 23, 2016, 09:12:18 AM
I'm not comparing the tech to 3Dtvs, but people's adoption of it... No-one wants to wear stupid glasses to watch TV... Just like, if you want to play a game, no-one would necessarily want to wear stupid goggles which is why VR could run out of steam after a few years.

So what Facebook are onboard, how much money did Toshiba and Microsoft lose on hd-dvd?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 23, 2016, 05:31:55 PM
People will have no problems wearing goggles to play games once they realise how good it is. I've seen someone on another forum I frequent saying that after selling his DK2 he tried playing a flight simulation on his monitor and it made him want to read a book instead lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D

All Oculus and HTC need to do is set up demo stations in shopping centres and malls for people to try out and they'll sell an absolute shitload. Playing something like Elite Dangerous, War Thunder, Project CARS or Assetto Corsa is enough to convert ANYONE to VR gaming by all accounts.

Bought myself a Thundermaster Flight-T X HOTAS the other day, got it delivered yesterday. Only £27.99 on Amazon, got it for 15% off via Flubit so only paid £23.81. Am now ready for flight/space sim goodness in VR as far as the controller goes, just got to get a Polaris/Pascal GPU and an Oculus Rift and I'm all set.

And once I've got that all sorted out I'm going to get myself a steering wheel controller and build myself a mount for it out of PVC piping next year.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 24, 2016, 09:42:50 PM
Fucking hell, weird how gaming goes sometimes. Yesterday I couldn't hit a barn fucking door in my Vulture and got my ship blown to smithereens several times over. Tonight I've been flying like Han fucking Solo lol. I've been bounty hunting in a Resource Extraction Site, which is basically where players and NPCs mine for goodies in the asteroids that make up the rings in gas giants. I was nipping between asteroids at high speed and didn't even scratch the paint on my ship lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D

Just collected 1.6m in bounties 8)

Definitely getting used to my HOTAS now, I'm still not quite as good as I was with my mouse and keyboard but I'm getting there. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 28, 2016, 10:34:39 PM
NASA are working on a VR experience on Mars with the Unreal Engine (https://www.unrealengine.com/showcase/nasa-is-using-unreal-engine-4-to-make-mars-a-virtual-reality). Awesome fucking sauce 8)

Wonder if we'll see any Markers..? :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 29, 2016, 03:23:38 PM
Who needs VR ? - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrSEhzwGohU lol

One thing that VR is going to suck at.. is third person perspective games.. games like tomb raider, etc.  The mechanics just won't work... playing as a third person.. in a 1st person view.. as the third person.. its like a fucked up version of the matrix!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 29, 2016, 05:21:03 PM
Third person games work pretty well surprisingly. Edge Of Nowhere is a third person game, as is Chronos and Lucky's Tale.

First person perspective games can cause some people to have simulation sickness, but I'm hoping that this isn't going to stop developers from releasing first person perspective games. Oculus are going to have a 'Comfort' rating apparently. All horror/suspense/thriller games will HAVE to be in first person for my money.

I've also got doubts about HTC's Room-Scale VR. Sounds great...but once you've moved your protagonist by walking across your room...how the fuck are they going to carry on moving..? They'll have to turn around and walk back again, which will break the feeling of presence, surely..? And there'll be a risk of people tripping up over their cables lol :o ;D ;D ;D

I'm REALLY hoping that developers are going to continue to cater for those of us who are immune or have a high resistance to simulation sickness.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 30, 2016, 11:16:28 AM
Thoroughly enjoying the Rare Replay collection... Damn but games were hard back in the day, though. Most are pretty much impossible without cheat modes activated.
Have been working my way through them in order, but I'm not picking up all that many achievements. I see little appeal in doing unnecessary and daft things in those games just to get some gamerscore.

Couldn't get into The Escapists. I kept finding myself with a stockpile of hundreds of fairly pointless things, and no real escape plan. I'm guessing I'm in prison because of my kleptomania.

Am also enjoying The Division beta. Wasn't really all that interested in the game before but tempted to buy it now.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 01, 2016, 03:51:17 PM
Rather disappointed by Zombi. It was the one game that most tempted me to buy a Wii U so I was pleased when it came to the Xbox One. But it's nowhere near as good as I'd been lead to believe.
The map is incredibly restrictive and linear, there are hardly any zombies, there's barely any different zombies (there's about 10 skins total), there is a massive excess of ammo and health kits, the lighting effects are weak, the graphics look like early xb360, and mirrors don't reflect.
It's also ridiculously easy, from what I've seen so far (I believe I'm approx half way through it). I've been killed twice so far, and in both instances it was me accidentally dropping a claymore at my own feet. The zombies are no threat. Avoid picking up explosive ordnance and you can breeze through the game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 01, 2016, 05:21:19 PM
Unfortunately Ubisoft patched the difficulty out of it, when it first released it was difficult to kill one zombie let alone three or four, and ammo and resources were REALLY scarce. And as the gameplay centres around the second screen you're not going to get the same experience without it. You really need to play the unpatched Wii U version to appreciate it properly. When it first released it was the first PROPER survival horror game released in donkey's years.



So much for me paying off my credit card in preparation for getting my monster GPU in the Summer. I bought a Thrustmaster T150 still sealed in its box for 90 quid last night lol :o ;D

It's £109.99 normally, if I had gone for Flubit I would have got 15% off at best so I've saved myself a few quid. I'm going to be building myself a DIY steering wheel stand from PVC waste pipes and a shelf that I haven't used, shouldn't cost me more than 20 quid I reckon.

Kev owes me a few quid and should be paying me in the next month or so, so that's the price of that taken care of.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 01, 2016, 07:27:58 PM
Thoroughly enjoying the Rare Replay collection... Damn but games were hard back in the day, though. Most are pretty much impossible without cheat modes activated.
Have been working my way through them in order, but I'm not picking up all that many achievements. I see little appeal in doing unnecessary and daft things in those games just to get some gamerscore.

Tell me about it.. have you completed Battletoads yet.. just try doing that without the rewind.. it's a complete bastard of a game!  Oh I liked getting the achievements.. especially in the older games.. the challenges which have to be done without rewind were probably my favourite part.. but it is a bit annoying they locked some of the bonus videos and stuff behind the achievement system.  Also Viva Pinata was unexpectedly good.. I will go back to it at some point - I haven't played Kameo yet and didn't get very far through Viva Pinata 2 before I got distracted.

Couldn't get into The Escapists. I kept finding myself with a stockpile of hundreds of fairly pointless things, and no real escape plan. I'm guessing I'm in prison because of my kleptomania.

Yep.. I never finished it.. got to the 4th prison I think.. I got fucked off with the fact that there is a linear path to escaping each individual prison and it became more of a trial and error game.. which just became really frustrating.. and completely different to what you are lead to believe the game is about..


Rather disappointed by Zombi. It was the one game that most tempted me to buy a Wii U so I was pleased when it came to the Xbox One. But it's nowhere near as good as I'd been lead to believe.

LOL.. This was the seminal Wii U game according to harv... please tell me you didn't buy into his BS.. :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 01, 2016, 09:27:13 PM
I fear I may have, slightly. It's not completely awful, mind. Just very run of the mill. The sort of game you'd pay a tenner for. Not £250, as he's now suggesting.

In Rare Replay I'm up to a skiing one and got bored. Will go back to it soon.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 02, 2016, 12:11:08 AM
Like I've said before, it's not going to work without the second screen. That's where a lot of the stress and tension comes from. The game was quite difficult when it was first released. Very much like the original Resident Evil game you couldn't afford to waste any ammo, and you ended up dying. A lot. lol

It was rough around the edges, being a launch title and all, but it was a fantastic game. Especially if you're a nutjob like me and turned off the crosshairs and aim-assist lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D

A lot of people found it too difficult so Ubisoft patched in a shitload of ammo and resources. :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 02, 2016, 08:08:54 AM
Rough around the edges.. lol.. I remember you distinctly hailing the "eye-candy" in the game as some of the best you'd seen..

How did gameplay centre around the second screen.. if I remember rightly, its used only when you are rummaging through your backpack and as a map for the rest of the time.. hardly game breaking not having it there.  Instead of re-tooling the multiplayer component of the game.. Ubisoft got rid of it altogether.. that should of had the biggest impact.. (unless Ubisoft realised it was not worth their effort).  Metacritic only scores the X1 version 5 points less than the Wii U version, so your argument doesn't stack up. (cue harv's excuse about launch games scoring less than they should)...

Let's face facts for a second.... its always been a middle-of-the-road game that you hyped up to cover up the disappointment you must of had buying a launch Wii U.  And talking about the Wii U.. apart from getting Xenoblade (which I will admit - is the only 3rd party game worth its salt on that console).. you haven't mentioned it for a long time.. I can only presume its because you are now bored of the console.


In Rare Replay I'm up to a skiing one and got bored. Will go back to it soon.

Its not the best one that.. I had to use rewind quite a lot to get through that game... I enjoyed the Pro Am games.. and Atic Atac, Sabre Wulf and the Jetpac games (with the exception of Solar Jetman).  Blast Corps, the Banjo games and both Viva Pinatas are probably my favourite (newer) games on the list.. I never played Conkers Bad Fur Day back in the day.. but it really hasn't aged well.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 02, 2016, 04:40:45 PM
Like I've said before, the mechanic of rummaging in your backpack and picking locks on a separate screen creates stress and tension, as did the fact that a single zombie was VERY dangerous. You have to flick your gaze from the second screen to the telly screen. I've never played a game with more stress and tension, the Nursery in particular had a great deal of people shitting themselves early on before Ubisoft ruined the game.

And it the lighting and shadows and level design that I was hailing as top notch.

And, again, they had to leave out the multiplayer because you needed a second screen for one of the players to make it possible.

As for third party games, Xenoblade Chronicles X is a first party game. If you want to talk about third party games that are worth their salt then how about Rayman Legends, Lego City Undercover, The Wonderful 101, Bayonetta 1 & 2, Deus Ex Human Revolution, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate..? Some of those are by indie developers but published by Nintendo but should be included as third party titles because they haven't been developed by a first or second party developer. Rayman Legends and Deus Ex in particular are miles better on the Wii U thanks to the GamePad.

I'm doing the vast majority of gaming on my PC now that I've built a new one, a great deal of my time is being taken up by Elite Dangerous. And like I've also said before once I get my Rift/Vive in November all consoles are going to be dead to me, I won't be getting a Nintendo console for the first time in 2 generations. Once you go VR you never go back lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 02, 2016, 06:34:07 PM
On the One you bring up the second screen by holding a button. As you can't move around while using it its effectively the same as physically holding the second screen.
At no point has there ever been a scare whilst rummaging through the backpack. Tbh you never really need to look in it, though. You're tooled up with a cricket bat and there's rarely more than one or two zombies in a room, and they move too slowly to touch you (and would have to hit you about ten times to kill you). Why open your backpack?
On the rare occasion I do open it, though, it's when I know there are no zombies around. Since you can see them a mile off and you have a permanent radar pinging anything that moves it's impossible to get surprised by an npc.

Level design is okay for a game with such small set areas, but all in all is one of the weakest parts of a game that has a great many weak parts. Why isn't it open world? It should at the very least have several choices in routes you take. Way too linear for my taste.

Lighting is pretty dire. Everywhere is either brightly lit or pitch black. Walk down a corridor between those extremes and its not a gradual thing - you're in light then you're in darkness. But it doesn't matter because you have a torch that you just leave turned on all the time. (You'll occasionally need to stand still somewhere for a minute to let it recharge, but that's fine as you can do it anywhere. It can be pitch black when your torch runs out but if you just stand still when it does you'll be perfectly fine until it recharges.)

It's the lack of skins that really irritates me though. I've killed the same six or seven zombies twenty times each, and each in the exact same way. No matter where you hit them, the top right of their head always goes on the first hit, whether you're using melee weapon, crossbow, gun, whatever, then nothing changes on the next five hits, then their head explodes on the seventh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 03, 2016, 10:00:40 AM
Heh.. that sounds more like it... like I said.. the X1 version only scored 5 less than the Wii U version.. so there can't be too much difference..


I've finally started playing Civilisation: Beyond Earth.. which I got at release over 15 months ago... took a deep breath and ploughed into it.. started playing a marathon game on the easiest setting (Sputnik) with only a few other computer controlled civs - just to get a feel of it - and now I'm nearing the end game (as usual I've resorted to obliterating everyone) - I found that I enjoyed the playthrough - even though it was REALLY easy... it has some really nice features and gameplay nuances that make it feel rather different to Civ 5 - but it is important to remember that different does not mean better.. Civ 5 is still the champion here.. and I'm still not 100% totally onboard with the alien setting BE gives you.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 05, 2016, 07:53:21 AM
Just pre-ordered Far Cry Primal - coming out on the 28th Feb.. looking forward to it.. even if I know it's literally going to be a re-skin of FC4.. there's no way they can turn-around a complete new game that quickly.. but I did really enjoy FC4 and the stone-age setting looks good.

Also saw that Doom got a release date of 13th May.. which is VERY exciting news.. along with a few others its one I'm looking forward to the most  8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 05, 2016, 06:57:21 PM
Got my Thrustmaster T150 delivered today, tried it with Project CARS and it works great...or at least will do once I build my steering wheel mount. At the moment I'm playing it sat on a book on my lap and the thing is moving around all over the place lmfao :o ;D

And not having driven a car before I'm a bit confused by the pedals...there isn't a clutch so you've just got a brake and accelerator, but I thought the brake is the pedal on the left and the accelerator is on the right..? Jumped into a kart for my first go and it's the other way around. :-\

Have I got that wrong or are karts done differently..? Or maybe cars and karts in the States..? :o :-\

Am going to get the bits and pieces for my steering wheel mount from Wickes tomorrow, should cost around 15 quid. 2 x 32mm 2m waste pipe, 4 x 90 degrees corners, 2 x tee junctions and 4 x L braces. Have an old shelf that I can use so don't have to buy any wood.

Going to do a loop with one end of the loop going under my sofa, the 2 tee junctions pointing upwards and then use the L braces to connect the shelf either side outside my knees:

Code: [Select]
____________
[                     ]
[                     ]
[                     ]
[ o              o ] T junctions pointing upwards with shelf on top
[                     ]
[                     ] Under sofa
--------------------

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 05, 2016, 08:09:02 PM
Just done a Google search and I was right about the pedals lol, think I might have changed one of the options at some point so that it thinks I only have one pedal, the brake, so that the brake is both the accelerator and the brake lol.

Also having a problem quitting Project CARS for some reason. Have to do it via Task Manager and my wallpaper and window's colour settings have gone back to the default. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 10, 2016, 12:08:52 AM
Hmmm, interesting news on the game engine front. Amazon have done a deal with Crytek and have released a game engine called Lumberyard for free. I've always been a fan of the CryEngine and it's looking like we're going to see some nice looking games being released with this engine. It's basically the CryEngine that has Amazon Web Services duct-taped onto it. Developers can use it for free to create single player games but when using AWS stuff like online multiplayer and Twitch services they pay a fee on a 'pay as you go' basis.

No flat out fee or subscription fee for the engine, no royalties to pay. You probably have to have your game available on sale on Amazon but you can have it for sale anywhere else you want.

Going to have a look at it tomorrow and see how easy it is to work with. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 11, 2016, 05:33:44 PM
Someone spotted this in the Lumberyard ToS:

Quote
57.10 Acceptable Use; Safety-Critical Systems. Your use of the Lumberyard Materials must comply with the AWS Acceptable Use Policy. The Lumberyard Materials are not intended for use with life-critical or safety-critical systems, such as use in operation of medical equipment, automated transportation systems, autonomous vehicles, aircraft or air traffic control, nuclear facilities, manned spacecraft, or military use in connection with live combat. However, this restriction will not apply in the event of the occurrence (certified by the United States Centers for Disease Control or successor body) of a widespread viral infection transmitted via bites or contact with bodily fluids that causes human corpses to reanimate and seek to consume living human flesh, blood, brain or nerve tissue and is likely to result in the fall of organized civilization.

 :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 13, 2016, 06:54:39 PM
Am struggling with Project CARS a bit. Probably because it's a proper car simulation rather than a bog standard driving video game. In bog standard driving games I always put the 'pedal to the metal' and take my thumb or finger off slightly to slow down and take turns, I don't normally go near the brake...I usually bash into the side of other cars on corners if I need to slow down faster lol :o ;D I also tend to have Automatic gears too to make things easier. :-[

Tried all that in Project CARS and it didn't end well. :o ;D ;D ;D

And I can't play with Automatic gears either, when you leave the track there's no way to put it in reverse gear so once you're off you stay off lololol ;D

Am slowly getting used to playing it properly now though, although I'm still coming in 12th every time but I was only 6 seconds behind 11th place in the last.game I played just now :-[ ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 16, 2016, 11:23:19 AM
Just admit it harv.. you're just crap at driving games... can you actually drive a car (have a licence?)  If there's no way to put it into reverse with automatic.. it sounds like a crap game lol.

Realised Far Cry Primal is out on the 23rd.. not the 28th.. GAME just emailed telling me they were taking the money tomorrow... looks like I'll be getting my cave-man on in a week then  ;D ;D

Just had to replace the CPU fan in my PC - bought a flipping huge bugger (an Arctic Freezer) - literally about 5 or 6 times bigger than the stock fan I had in.. lol... just about fitted in my case...  Basically my CPU was hitting highs of 80 before switching itself off whilst I was playing Civilisation and it was doing my head in.  Replaced the fan last week and now it barely reaches 60c at 6x less the speed.. you can hardly hear it  ;D

Anyway, started the 4th game of Civ.. doing each of the difficulty levels in order.. so now I'm on Hard.. and its definitely more challenging but that's not saying much... as with all the Civ games.. the AI doesn't get any better with the difficulty levels.. it just cheats more lol - I'm finding Beyond Earth far easier than Civ5 - they really need a new aggression and diplomacy engine for Civ 6 IMO.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 16, 2016, 01:17:21 PM
My first paragraph says that I'm crap at driving games lol ;D

I tried driving a normal car last night which is MUCH easier. I ended up in 6th place out of 10 drivers. Karts have a ridiculous amount of oversteer which I'm struggling to cope with.

I think that problem with not being able to put the kart in reverse may have been a bug, but I decided to try playing with manual gears seeing as it's a simulation game. Might as well do these things properly lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 17, 2016, 10:10:25 PM
Still haven't got much of a clue about changing gears. I've worked out when to change up just by the noise that the engine makes lol, but have no idea about when you're supposed to change down. I guess you change down when going uphill or when turning a sharp corner..? :-\ ???

I've also worked out that you have to take your foot off the accelerator when changing down to stop blowing your engine lmfao :o ;D

Arcade driving games are much easier than driving sims lol

Any tips regarding gears and driving and stuff..? I don't know what the fuck I'm doing!!! :P

Finished 7th out of 12 last night so I'm getting better lololol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 18, 2016, 08:34:50 PM
Is there a practice area with a long straight you can practice on, and do you have a rev counter on the screen?

If so, as a general rule while you're learning the ropes, shift up when it gets about three quarters of the way to the red zone (maybe 5000 revs or 7000 revs - depends entirely on the vehicle and it's engine).
That figure is completely variable, depending on the vehicle. You can increase it significantly if you're in a high performance vehicle. If there's a way of testing your time to get from 0-60 or 0-100, or perhaps over a set distance (quarter mile perhaps) run it a few times with the gear shift at 5000 rpm then a few times at 7000 - see which one gives you the fastest time. Tweak it from there.

After a while you'll know when to shift up by sound - which is imperative, as you can't really be watching the rev counter in a real race. You're only watching it now while you get to grips with things.
It also seems pretty obvious but it's worth saying - you'll only ever shift up when you're accelerating. Take your foot off the gas while you make the gear change (leaving the gas on while you're in between gears just revs the shit out of your engine, overheats it, and uses fuel without any power going from the engine to the wheels).
Once you have shifted up and put the gas back on you'll effectively be going at the same speed you were before the gear shift, but at lower revs - meaning your new acceleration will be better than it was when you were in the lower gear (torque has increased).


Similarly, you need to downshift when you're decelerating. (You'll never shift down when accelerating hard - save that shit for Chase HQ and Outrun).
If you're decelerating and your revs drop below around 3000 shift down.
The reason for changing down a gear (or two) is really just forward planning. You know you'll need to accelerate in a second or two, once you get past the corner you're on, and whilst you can accelerate from a slow speed when your engine is in a high gear and at low revs, it'll be a tortuously slow affair. If you want to accelerate out of this corner you want to ensure your vehicle is in a lower gear and revving around 3000 (that figure again is variable).
Again, you'll eventually do this by the sound of the engine, but while you're learning the ropes use your rev counter religiously.

As I say, get some practice in on a long straight stretch of a training course. Tell yourself you'll spend a couple of days learning to drive and avoid races.When you go back to racing in a couple of days' time you'll be in a much stronger position.

Do you know about apex cornering (going wide before a corner, cutting in at the right moment, going wide after the corner)? It's an essential skill for maximising speed over a distance, and something else you'll want to practice before racing, but for now just focus on working out the best time to change up gears, and then on working out the best time to shift down.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 18, 2016, 08:48:47 PM
Yup, I know about apex cornering, I do that when playing arcade racers. I also know when to change up, it's changing down that I was struggling with.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 22, 2016, 09:27:01 AM
Started playing Hand of Fate at the weekend - its one of the free GWG this month.. its actually pretty enjoyable!! 

I'm not a massive fan of "card-deck" type games.. but it seamlessly blends in RPG elements and 3rd person fighting and it turns it into something completely unique.  If you ever played any of Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy books (or the like)  - then that's how it feels to play Hand of Fate - which is fucking awesome - I used to love those kind of books.

Unfortunately there are a few niggles - firstly I think the load times between card play and fighting take too long (its about 10 seconds).. and it kinda breaks the immersion factor for me.  Also the fighting is fairly bog standard and pretty easy.. I haven't even come close to dying once and I'm nearly half way through the whole thing.  Other than though - its a great little time waster.. and I'm looking forward to playing it more  ;D

Edit:  I take it back about the difficulty of the game.. playing for ages last night on one of the later levels.. took me an absolute age to complete - I died about 8 or 9 times on that level alone.. although I would also throw another niggle into the pot - the frame-rate can be pretty awful in some fights when there is a lot going on
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 22, 2016, 12:57:02 PM
HTC have announced the price of the Vive, $799. That's a hundred dollars cheaper than I thought it would be. Two games bundled in too, Job Simulator and Fantastic Contraption, neither of which I have any interest in. Even if they were packing in a couple of games I want I'd still be opting in for a Rift instead, for several reasons:

1) The Vive is too rich for my blood. If I get a Rift I can spread the cost of the motion controllers, getting them at a later date. £689 is too much in one go.

2) Setting up the Lighthouses is going to be a pain in the arse, I'm going to have to start drilling holes and mounting them rather than plonking a camera down on my desk.

3) I don't have enough room for Room Scale VR.

4) I prefer the design and functionality of the Touch controllers compared to the Vive controllers.

5) The Rift is going to have more developer support due to developers having access to Rift devkits for 3 years. HTC haven't made enough effort to get devkits out. They shipped just 7000 at the start of this year, Oculus must have shipped over 300,000 by now. :o


Going to be interesting to see how much Oculus are going to sell their Touch controllers for. $200 would make the complete Rift setup the same price as the Vive.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 22, 2016, 08:11:27 PM
I won't be buying either, because I have a family and a mortgage and bills to pay, and a job that probably doesn't pay me much more than dole-wallahs get.

Basically, I'm a mug, from the perspective of a large portion of the UK.









(Fortunately they're a portion whose opinion means slightly less than fuck all, to me.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 22, 2016, 08:46:25 PM
Lol, it's not as if I have loads of money. I've been saving for VR for quite some time now and have had birthday and Christmas cash from my Mum contributing to these things. I've also cut down on my Diet Cherry Coke, don't drink, don't smoke and have cut down on how much money I'm spending on food.

As for your wife and family, throw them out of the house and get yourself a Rift. Job done :P

You've already got a PC capable of Riftness so you're halfway there. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 23, 2016, 08:53:24 AM
Two games bundled in too, Job Simulator and Fantastic Contraption, neither of which I have any interest in.

You don't have any interest in a game called Job Simulator?  No shit Sherlock!!  ;D ;D 
Even in a VR world - you can't get him to go to work  ;D ;D

Although I imagine, if you were to play it and simulate your job...you'd just see yourself.. sitting on a sofa.. playing on his VR machine... it'd be some kind of fucked up Inception/Matrix infinity loophole..  8) ;D


I wouldn't worry Late.. VR tech is either going to take off - and the tech will be better, cheaper and more convenient for people to buy in a few years time.. or its going to be an abject failure and completely disappear again just like it did in the 80s.  If I wanted to get one of the systems I could.. ( I have no mortgage or kids ;) ) .. but I'd like to see which way the tech goes first - plus I'm really not excited by any of it at the moment. 

The Rift has ZERO body tracking and comes with a Xbox One controller - this is an instant failure for me.. any immersion the headset gives you will be completely lost without any kind of tracking... I know the Touch controller releases later this year.. but that's completely untested and only provides limited hand tracking - you might as well get Google Cardboard over this.

The Vive has a WIRED headset - another instant failure for me.. it has limited head tracking but has a more complicated setup - it does come with proper VR controllers - but then its also pricier.

The quality of games being launched is also quite worrying.. nothing sounds good at all... how someone can get excited about playing a 3rd person game in a 1st person view is beyond me and I know I was joking earlier.. but how can a Job Simulator game appeal to anyone??
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 23, 2016, 11:31:38 AM
There are plenty of games for the Rift to get excited about, some of which are already available:

Elite Dangerous
War Thunder
Assetto Corsa
Project CARS
DCS
Alien Isolation
Lucky's Tale
Chronos
Edge Of Nowhere
EVE Valkyrie
Climb
Dreadhalls
Surgery Simulator
Adr1ft

Doesn't look too shabby to me. 8)

And that's before you think about VR injection programs such as Vorpx and TrinusVR that will allow you to play the likes of The Orange Box, Bioshock Trilogy, the Metro games and countless others in VR.

The one thing that Oculus in particular don't have to worry about is good quality content at launch and in the future going forward.

A bit weird that HTC and Valve haven't announced that much though. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 23, 2016, 01:04:30 PM
I was talking more along the lines of Native VR games.. or rather official Oculus Rift DK2 compatible games.. some of those games don't fall into that category - and whilst you can still play them in VR - they will no doubt be beset with latency problems and lack of features.

Besides which - the list of games aren't as important as the actual experience.. if someone finds the experience nauseating.. or doesn't get that wow factor from it.. likelihood will be that they don't buy into VR - regardless of the games.  The lack of any kind of body tracking and only having limited head tracking in the DK2 makes me think of Oculus as nothing more than a glorified Google Cardboard - which did nothing to endear itself to me.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 23, 2016, 04:21:36 PM
The only game above that doesn't have native VR support is Alien Isolation, and even so it still has full positional tracking as far as I know. And none of them have any lag. ;)

Simulation sickness won't be a problem for most people because all of the games, apps and experiences available from Steam and the Oculus Store should be fully optimised. And those that do have problems with simulation sickness will experience less problems the more they try it. Wouldn't surprise me if both Oculus and HTC recommend 15 minutes per day for the first day and increasing that time by 5 minutes every following day in their instructions for their HMDs to build up a resistance to simulation sickness. I've seen people on forums say they've been cured of simulation sickness by doing this.

Thankfully I'm immune 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 23, 2016, 07:32:04 PM
Forgot to say that comparing the DK2 to Google Cardboard is pretty much comparing a black and white 15" portable TV from the late Seventies with a wonky coat hanger for an aerial to a 50" Vestel 1080p flatscreen lol, and the Vive and Rift being a 60" top brand 1080p flatscreen. :o

The Rift CV1 has full head tracking with one camera including positional tracking. With the second camera that will be available when the Touch controllers release later this year (my money would be just after E3) the Oculus Rift will be capable of Room Scale VR, the same as the HTC Vive (albeit without the chaperone system).

You also have Leap Motion which provides individual finger tracking, and the Touch controllers recognise finger movements such as a thumbs up and pointing.

VR is going to be HUGE in the not-too-distant future for gaming, sports, entertainment, education and training. I can't wait to get stuck in!!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 24, 2016, 08:14:14 AM
The Rift has full head tracking with one camera... so no body tracking then! 

The fact you have to use an xbone controller is going to suck the most.. how immersive can it feel playing with a joypad..  The comparison to Google Cardboard may sound silly... but what is Google Cardboard if its not just a screen that's strapped to your head which uses rotational tracking... Oculus is two screens strapped to your head... which uses rotational tracking and a camera which tracks head positioning... aside from the actual base requirements to run each system (a phone vs a computer) - is there that much difference??
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 24, 2016, 12:28:24 PM
There's a huge difference, even between a DK2 and a Google Cardboard let alone a CV1. My TV analogy should tell you as much. Much higher resolution, higher refresh rate, virtually no SDE and most importantly positional tracking. Even with the DK2 you can get out of your car in a driving sim you can get out and walk around your car to check it out or take in a view.

The Rift and Vive are so expensive because the displays and lenses are such good quality.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 24, 2016, 10:14:31 PM
Quote
You don't have any interest in a game called Job Simulator?  No shit Sherlock!!  ;D ;D 
Even in a VR world - you can't get him to go to work  ;D ;D

Wahahaha! How did I miss that.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 25, 2016, 08:47:42 AM
Even with the DK2 you can get out of your car in a driving sim you can get out and walk around your car to check it out or take in a view.

You try to make that sound impressive - (even without the following caveat statements that you failed to mention) - its not!

1) Whilst you can stand up and sit down.. positional tracking all relies on being in range of the sensor.  even with the CV1, 10-12 feet away is the maximum - so you must have a small car if you can walk around it since even a Mini Metro is 11 feet in length.
2) This also requires the sensor being able to see the headset.. an object blocking its view will stop all positional tracking.
3) You are also restricted by the tethered wire that runs to the back of the headset, spin around a few times and its tangle-time.
4) There is still no body tracking.. only head tracking - you can't actually do anything whilst you are out of the car - which begs the question.. what's the fnarging point?

Like I said.. VR tech might take off in the near future.. by that point though the specs/experience are going to be wildly different.. I'm happy to wait for now.. nothing you say is going to change my mind because I've seen all I need to see.. Vive.. Oculus - they are more of a toy/gadget - in terms of gaming - I just don't find them that impressive.

And in response to the games list that you claim are all native VR games - I could only find War Thunder on the official Oculus Store... go figure!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 25, 2016, 05:52:35 PM
All of those other games - plus Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator which I forgot to mention - are available through Steam. They're not non-native just because they happen to not be available in the Oculus Store, not too sure where you got that bizarre idea from tbh :-\

I personally don't think that Room Scale VR is going to take off, even if during the next few years we get wireless HMDs. Great if your gameplay area in real life matches the game environment size but if it's bigger developers have to use a teleportation mechanic to move to different areas, breaking immersion, and if you've moved forward to the edge of the real life space you'll need to turn around and walk back again.

Plus the majority of gamers are fat lazy fuckers that can't be arsed to get out of their armchairs lol :o ;D

Apps like Medium and Tilt Brush will work great when standing up and moving around but I just can't see that many traditional games benefiting from Room Scale VR.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 26, 2016, 08:29:32 PM
Apparently a journalist has managed to bung a Vive CV1 on some scales and it weighs 555g :o

That's not too good :-\

The Rift is supposed to be a lot lighter, can't imagine that many people playing extended sessions with the Vive if it's that heavy. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 29, 2016, 09:22:13 PM
Bloody hell, have just had a look at Vive pre-orders. The price of the Vive is £689 but they want £57.60 on top of that for shipping :o

They're getting free shipping in the States :o

I guess if you wait for Amazon UK to start selling it you'll end up getting it for £689, but that's still £190 more expensive than the Rift. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 02, 2016, 04:35:41 PM
AWESOME FUCKING SAUCE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHkyVOc3nrg&feature=youtu.be) :o

He's using those Razer Hydra thingies at the moment but he has said that he'll probably work on Vive and Touch controllers when they release. Leap Motion would be a great idea too seeing as that's as cheap as chips to buy now ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 04, 2016, 08:48:01 AM
Downloaded a game called Clockwork Tales : Of Glass and Ink.  The steampunk setting and puzzle mechanics sold the game to me and they are top notch.. works in the same vein as Professor Layton.

Cost £8 - probably worth about £2 in honesty.. storyline will take about 2.5 hours to complete and little to no replayability factor.. was fun while it lasted though.


Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 04, 2016, 11:33:48 AM
No Man's Sky is looking phenomenal :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 11, 2016, 08:43:23 AM
Pretty much finished Far Cry Primal.. to be honest.. its nowhere near as good as FC3 or FC4.. I missed the guns within a few hours gameplay and had to push my way through the early parts of the game which aren't the easiest nor most exciting - once I got into the swing of the game and accepted that the bow/spear/club weapons were pretty much all I was going to get and had a few upgrades under my belt - it became a bit more enjoyable. 

The best parts of the game (by far) was taming the animals.. but I managed to tame the special rare animals very early on which made the rest of the game far too easy.. having the bloodfang sabretooth tiger by your side for example stopped any other animal trying to fuck with you.. and coupled with the owl.. I could take down a "Very Hard" fort without actually stepping foot inside it.

Got a few achievements which will add a little longevity to the game.. but at 21hrs in with 75%+ total game completed... it feels more like an expansion than anything.

Pre-ordered Quantum Break which is out in April and Doom which is out in May... probably try and get through some of the free Gold games in the backlog until then.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 11, 2016, 04:18:29 PM
Elite Dangerous has FINALLY had confirmation of Rift support on launch day. Awesome sauce for those lucky enough to be getting them then ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 11, 2016, 06:45:34 PM
If the latest rumour is to be believed then NVidia have gone insane :o

Apparently their 1070 and 1080 GPUs are going to be released in May. Intelligent decision, means that those people wanting a new GPU for VR can get one soon after the Rift and Vive launch.

Why have they gone insane, I hear you ask..? Because they're both going to have only 8GB of GDDR5. GDDR5 VRAM was great in its day but now you have GDDR5X and HBM2 available which has FAR superior memory bandwidth.

It has to be bullshit, I can't believe that NVidia would be this stupid. :o :-\ :o

The Polaris GPUs are expected to be using either GDDR5X or HBM2 and will probably have 16GB. That, combined with Asynchronous Shading will mean that they'll absolutely obliterate any Pascal GPU except the 1080 Ti which is expected to have the same VRAM.

Will have to wait and see I guess :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 12, 2016, 10:14:25 PM
You should send nvidia your CV.


Waiting for the big tech companies to headhunt you as special consultant doesn't seem to be working.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 13, 2016, 01:21:43 AM
To put this into perspective, if NVidia and AMD were producing cars then NVidia would be releasing a Porshe where the acceleration pedal only went down halfway and AMD would be releasing a Porshe with not just a fully working pedal but also a larger petrol tank.

These rumours have to be a load of old bollocks. ??? :-\ :(

AMD are having a reveal of something involving their good selves, HTC, Oculus and Crytek on Monday at around 9pm.

I'm hoping that Crytek are going to announce that they're going to have Return To Dinosaur Island (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPKRNls9sUc) as a full game but they're probably too busy working on The Climb I reckon, at least to have something else available for the Rift and Vive on launch day.

They're already working on Robinson The Journey (http://www.robinsonthegame.com/) for PSVR, but maybe they'll re-use the assets and create a dinosaur game for the Rift and Vive..?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 16, 2016, 08:35:09 AM
Sony announced PSVR is going to release in October for $399

Great price point and releasing this year - I don't know what games are scheduled for it.. but if they don't have a ton of games - sales will suffer.. regardless of it being much cheaper than the other options.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 16, 2016, 11:50:15 AM
The Future Of Gaming (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_osTLYxp7Rk) ;D ;D ;D

Yup, it's a decent price (although those of us unlucky enough to live in the UK will get shafted as usual and pay £349) but doesn't include the camera or Move controllers. They're having a separate bundle that includes everything but no mention of a price for that yet.

I think that both HTC and Oculus will be happy with that because it's important for the VR industry to have an affordable mainstream option for consumers which will drive VR adoption. We'll end up seeing plenty of multiplatform games with the PSVR as the lead platform and ports to the Rift and Vive.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 24, 2016, 06:22:34 PM
Fucking hell, there are PS3, 360 and Wii U emulators being worked on :o

The PS3 emulator in particular is looking VERY impressive so far since they switched to DX12, the framerates have gone through the roof apparently ;D 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 29, 2016, 10:41:40 AM
Had to cancel my Quantum Break pre-order... GAME properly screwed up.

So the offer was.. Pre-order Quantum Break and get the Alan Wake (downloadable 360) game for free.. along with all the DLC for it (The Signal and The Writer) plus American Nightmare - which was a sort of spin-off half sequel.  I really enjoyed Alan Wake and had its DLC but never played American Nightmare, so I was up for this.

Got an email the other day saying that the free game was being replaced by Kameo : Elements of Power...( a game I already own courtesy of owning Rare Replay) because Quantum Break is classified as a 16+ and American Nightmare is an 18+ - so they can't sell it to me based on the grounds that I might not be old enough.  They would still honour American Nightmare by giving me a code.. but I'd have to go into store on launch day and provide proof of age... fuck that - do I need proof of age to buy a stand-alone 18 rated game.. no.. so what's the big problem here - it sounds complete bollocks to me.. Amazon are offering the same exact deal as GAME were offering and no word of them having to change the deal.. so I've gone with them instead.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 29, 2016, 11:27:34 AM
And this is part of why Game's finances have been going down the toilet for years. And they always hire staff that don't have a clue about video games and consoles. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 31, 2016, 08:10:52 AM
Well actually... I got an email from Amazon yesterday telling me that they are replacing American Nightmare with Kameo too...  >:( >:(

... fucked off about that.. but I guess I was kinda expecting it after GAME pulled out.. amazon & GAME both know I'm 18+ as they've sold me 18+ games in the past.. I don't see what the problem is. 

The only place to get American Nightmare now is from the Xbox Store... if you are under 18 you get Kameo, else you get American Nightmare... except it costs £5 more on the store.. not a big deal.. but if I'm paying more... I definitely don't want it in digital format... but if I did buy it from the store, I'd also get a free Windows 10 copy of the game.... grrrr too many decisions!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 31, 2016, 08:31:20 PM
Fuck 'em both.. ebay have got a 20% sale off EVERYTHING over £20 with code CUK20 (before 10pm tonight). I just pre-ordered it from simplygames ebay outlet.. cost less than £34  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 01, 2016, 03:25:09 PM
Omfg, can't wait to buy one of these, hope they're not too expensive because it looks amazing!!! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkOuShXpoKc) :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 01, 2016, 06:40:54 PM
I wouldn't actually be surprised.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 01, 2016, 08:21:44 PM
Oculus have been having problems with getting Rifts out since it launched on 28th March. Rumours are that they've had a problem with a third party company that have fucked up but they can't make any statements about due to contractual issues. My money would be on the company they had dealing with the payments for pre-orders. :-\

Hope they get all of this sorted out by November lol :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 02, 2016, 06:35:57 PM
Looks like Oculus have finally got their arses in gear, and any pre-orders made until today will have free shipping. Pretty good of them, although tbh I was hoping that both Oculus and HTC would offer free shipping for all orders considering that people are spending £499/699 on their products.

Looks like HTC have fucked up their launch for UK customers too. Something to do with the UK banking/credit card systems treating deductions of foreign currency at 1am as card fraud and refusing payments or something. There are LOADS of people pissed off about it. :o

Should get some details on the Pascal GPUs from NVidia on 5th at around 4pm. Think I'll be getting a 1080 when they're available if they outperform the equivalent Polaris GPUs from AMD.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 04, 2016, 07:41:16 AM
Fuck 'em both.. ebay have got a 20% sale off EVERYTHING over £20 with code CUK20 (before 10pm tonight). I just pre-ordered it from simplygames ebay outlet.. cost less than £34  ;D

And after all that Quantum Break landed on my doorstep on Saturday.. doesn't even release till Tuesday  ;D ;D  Been itching to play this since I saw the original trailer back at the X1 launch.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 05, 2016, 08:22:07 AM
Played through to the end of the first episode of Quantum Break.. and I'm enjoying it a lot so far.  There was about 60-90 minutes gameplay before you make a key decision in the story - then you sit through a 20 minute episode which can play out slightly differently depending on stuff you might of done in game prior.  I believe there are four 20 minute segments in a game.. so probably a total of 8 depending on the choices you make.

I'm in no way a fan of american cheesy TV - and I'll admit the episodes do feel like a cable tv program rather than an action blockbuster - but it does work well within the game.  To be honest though, I'm enjoying the game itself, some decent gameplay mechanics - I would put a caveat in there though that it does feel like the game is going to get very repetitive at this stage... I'm being funnelled from area to area to just kill people... there's nothing spectacular happening at the moment.. although I think Ep.1 is more about getting used to the game more than anything.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 05, 2016, 12:13:08 PM
Does the game have several different endings depending on what choices you make..? That mechanic isn't used anywhere near enough in this industry imo, and the film industry too for that matter.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 05, 2016, 06:47:37 PM
Finished "Remember Me" recently. It's a futuristic world where it's possibly to remix peoples' memories - erase bad memories, replace them with good ones, etc.
Wish that shit was real. Then I could get the treatment and I'd remember the game as being good.
Unfortunately that tech doesn't exist, so I distinctly remember being rather disappointed. The memory remix sequences were pretty cool, but weren't used anywhere near as much as they should've been. There's only 3 or 4 times you use the ability. (I say "3 or 4" not because I've forgotten - more that it's done 4 times but one of them is a remix of a scene you've previously already done.)
Shame. The remixes are cool. You change someone's memory of an event and their entire world outlook can change - and you can see how tiny changes play out before rewinding the scene and altering it again.
The majority of the game, though, is a fairly run-of-the-mill fighter. Run along this corridor, into an open area, fight a bunch of baddies, climb the ladder, eun along another corridor - and try not to be too surprised when the big room at the end of said corridor turns out to have a load of baddies in it. The fighting itself wasn't horrendous - it had some nice twists to it - but it became way too repetitive.

If they make a sequel I'll probably buy it - so long as it has a lot more memory remixes in it.

Started watching "The Shield" again recently, and seeing the LA gang violence etc. must've gotten me hankering for some GTA: San Andreas - so I'm currently replaying that (pc/steam). Naturally the graphics are pretty lame by today's standards, but the game still stands up very well. Might have to play GTA 4 and 5 after I'm finished with this.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 05, 2016, 07:18:39 PM
The Shield was fantastic, although I reckon they must have got their wrists slapped for the violence because it was REALLY toned down for the last series. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 05, 2016, 07:26:09 PM
NVidia have just finished their webcast from GTC 2016 and there is PLENTY of Nerd Rage going on :o

No gaming Pascal announced and the high end Pascal that they did show ($129,000 worth lol) won't be released until Q1 2017. Unless they have something to show at Computex then AMD will be pissing themselves with laughter. :o :-\

Everyone was expecting the first Pascal cards to be released last year. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 07, 2016, 12:57:25 PM
Does the game have several different endings depending on what choices you make..? That mechanic isn't used anywhere near enough in this industry imo, and the film industry too for that matter.

From what I've read, there is only one ending.. but completely separate paths to it - so the story would still be quite different in a replay.

I'm at the end of Act 2 now and I'm beginning to see why it was panned by some critics - the gameplay is not as tight or sharp as it should be.. its a shame because some of the gameplay mechanics are brilliant... it's also very linear.. I don't mind following a set path if there are puzzles, brainteasers or other optional quests to do along the way... but it really is just going through the motions and killing bad guys - there are a few different variants of bad guys I've met now, but the game needs another dimension to it other than just discovering extra bits to the story (via computer/tablets/newspapers) and a tacked on upgrade system.  TBH, the gameplay is pretty much spot on with Alan Wake - it's enjoyable to play with a fantastic story... but just falls short of being brilliant.  Plus I'm playing QB on Hardest mode too and haven't died once.. so difficulty seems a bit easy.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 07, 2016, 08:10:45 PM
That's always the case these days. Publishers tend to have games so easy to play so that QA staff can test them quicker and because they know that the vast majority of game reviewers are shite at playing games. If a reviewer finds a game too challenging then they tend to give bad reviews these days. It's part of the reason why ZombiU had the difficulty patched out of it. When it first released it was a proper zombie apocalypse simulator ( ;D ;D ;D ). There was fuck all resources around, you had to pick and choose your shots because every bullet, flare and explosive was worth its weight in gold. You went back to the days when FPS games were difficult and you were walking around with just a whisker of health left praying that you wouldn't get hit again. :o

Playing the game with crosshairs and aim assist turned off was VERY stressful, I still to this day have nightmares about the Nursery lol 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 08, 2016, 12:26:07 PM
I don't agree.. a hard game is not necessarily a good game - I started playing Lords of the Fallen before Quantum Break arrived and it felt frustratingly hard within the first 5 minutes.. enough to make me stop playing after an hour or two.  If it was a tad easier, I would probably be more inviting to go back to.. as it is, I didn't get very far and it didn't really pique my interests, so I probably wont bother again.  Fallout 4 wasn't a very hard game.. but one of my favourite games of recent times.. it was brilliant - felt like the difficulty was balanced nicely for the most part of the game.  Quantum Break is too easy - no doubts about it... doesn't make it a bad game though.

I did die in QB last night in Act 3 - but not because the game ramped the difficultly up.. the game is still easy, just some jarring spots where you need to do a certain thing at a certain point.. but I'm getting close to the end now and the story is starting to get really good.. it reminds me a bit of a film called Project Almanac (spoilers ahead) where a bunch of kids discover a time-travel machine and use it to change the future by altering the past - but then discover by altering the past, it has unexpected consequences in the future - and then they have to go back into the past to fix their mistakes - which cause more consequences.. and ultimately leads them to travel into the past to stop them finding the time machine.. which actually makes them find the time machine, essentially everyone is stuck in a time-loop and nothing can be done to change it (its a bit silly but I do love time-travel stuff) .  QB has a lot of similarities with this.. although of course I don't know how it is going to end yet.  I reckon I'll of finished the first play through by Monday though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 08, 2016, 08:30:48 PM
Yup, but that's what difficulty levels were designed for. Back in the day Normal was always a challenge to play, even for experienced players. Hard was for complete nutjobs and Easy was a challenge for less experienced players to play.

The change is partly down to publishers and testers, partly down to reviewers being shite at playing games and partly down to making Achievements and Trophies easy to get and complete.

The game industry has gone right downhill during the last 20 years or so, and not just the difficulty of games either. The design of games has also gone right down the toilet too due to developers and publishers not going anywhere near a designer that doesn't have a crappy design degree. It REALLY used to frustrate me when I was working in the industry. There were plenty of shite design decisions across a variety of areas of a game from level design to game mechanics. I lost count of the amount of times that bugs were entered into the bug database as design issues only to be closed 'By design' also known in the trade as 'Can't Fix, Won't Fix' :o , and then of course you see reviewers bringing up these issues as problems during a review.

Used to drive me bloomin mental :'(

You don't need a design degree to design games, if anything it gives you bad habits. All you need is PLENTY of game playing experience to know what works and what doesn't. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 08, 2016, 10:13:12 PM
Alan Wake freebie DLC (http://www.gamespot.com/articles/alan-wakes-two-expansions-now-free-on-xbox-one-xbo/1100-6438647/)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 08, 2016, 10:58:43 PM
Just noticed that you didn't have any Karma late so I've just applauded that post. Not that it makes any difference to the price of chips but you're now on +1 with me and jman lol ;D

Didn't want you feeling unloved :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 09, 2016, 12:16:48 AM
Thanks - lack of plaudits on a dead forum was totally stopping me from sleeping at night.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 09, 2016, 03:35:32 AM
Microsoft ready for cross-platform gaming. No news from Sony...

trustedreviews.com (http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/microsoft-ready-for-xbox-one-ps4-cross-play-your-move-sony)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 11, 2016, 08:27:46 AM
Thanks - lack of plaudits on a dead forum was totally stopping me from sleeping at night.

lol..

You still need to get the Alan Wake base game to play the expansions though.. definitely worth playing if you missed it the first time around.

I finished Quantum Break over the weekend.. I started on my second run through already - its very good how they have weaved two completely separate story branches into one game... after finishing the game, you realise the beauty of only having one ending because now if I try and change the past chapters by choosing different options, the game and story change as I go along, but the ultimate future will still work out the same.... clever!

Did enjoy it, but I'm very close to already 100%ing it.. so I might cash in and trade it for something else seeing as I have finished it super quick.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 11, 2016, 06:45:42 PM
Wasn't a fan of Alan Wake, personally.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 11, 2016, 07:05:49 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJ1r2f1Jv0Y

Titanfall 2 teaser. Coming to xb1, ps4, & pc.

Loved the first, so will definitely get this one.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 11, 2016, 10:25:57 PM
I quite liked Alan Wake, just a shame we had to wait, what? 4 or 5 years for it? I was convinced for a while that it was vapourware :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 12, 2016, 07:43:36 AM
Oooh yeah, loving Titanfall 2 news.. I reckon I'll be getting it...

Whilst I did enjoy the first one a lot.. I want a god damn campaign to go with it !!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 20, 2016, 11:04:17 AM
Been playing a lot of Zoo Tycoon this week.. its alright but there are three really shit things about the game which is culling my interest in playing it much further :

1. The Zoo Limit sucks and is way too restrictive.. put too many things in your zoo and you can't build anymore.. it needs to be relaxed a lot more.

2. Animal Variety sucks.. 9 different types of giraffe, but no penguins, crocs, sealions, gorillas, cheetahs or zebras.

3. The whole game is dumbed down for the consoles.. you cant create your own pathways for instance and that improves playability with a controller - but it just sucks... you can drill into your expenses and such, but micromanagement and customization of most things is pretty basic - one thing I looked forward to doing was to build a lion enclosure and then open the gates so they ran rampant in my zoo mauling guests - nope can't do that - you can't even design the enclosures.. they come in small, medium or large variants and the shapes are always the same.


In comparison to the older PC counterparts - the game is frustrating and sucks.. too much hand holding, not enough customization and its way too easy - but its still fairly enjoyable in some places.. some of the achievements sound like a bit of a challenge.. so I'll go after them.. but there are stupid online co-op achievements so I wont get the full 100% - I hope whoever thought up having an online co-op mode in Zoo Tycoon got fired.. exactly what this game didn't need.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 20, 2016, 02:36:10 PM
That's a game for girls and homosexuals. :o :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 20, 2016, 03:50:37 PM
Well I did partly buy it with my missus in mind as she loves the PC games.. just thought I'd give it a go first...

... besides I hardly think you are one to talk when questioning other peoples tastes in video games...  Raving Rabbids.. Lego City.. Monster Hunter.. you play games designed for kids because that's the only challenge you can muster  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 20, 2016, 06:37:59 PM
I'd never deny that I'm a big kid lol.

It's a real shame that Ubisoft didn't manage to better the first Rabbids game, probably the best launch title I've ever seen in all my years of gaming. It was hilarious and had a ridiculous amount of content. The game with the Rabbids on the toilets was amazingly good fun, particularly when you heard them all straining on the loo :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 27, 2016, 10:24:34 AM
Nintendo just announced that codename NX will be released globally in March 2017.. and basically they have nothing (bar Zelda) to show until then.. oh dear..

A March release would also suggest its a handheld rather than a console (which would typically be released prior to xmas).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 27, 2016, 03:27:28 PM
Not bothered myself, all consoles are going to be dead to me - whether they're home or portable ones - for the foreseeable future in November 8)

Once you go VR you never go back :o :P ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on April 27, 2016, 06:27:12 PM
Games with gold for May:


(https://images-eds-ssl.xboxlive.com/image?url=8Oaj9Ryq1G1_p3lLnXlsaZgGzAie6Mnu24_PawYuDYIoH77pJ.X5Z.MqQPibUVTcw25BdAVArEqp2oT95N7xzK1ldbWNsA.sD.6kMLx0K5SQZMgjeqdvV13tKAID7VAiw4tEl9yJpAoTiAn4cYgtAbivxpCLOW.J6CSuGwa2tquIDQHBKyC18UK020k2sit9.em8ixNt4HHFokAe.ybLqzCKEy0g4mt_KbZeFJorDhk-&format=png&h=294&w=215)(https://images-eds-ssl.xboxlive.com/image?url=8Oaj9Ryq1G1_p3lLnXlsaZgGzAie6Mnu24_PawYuDYIoH77pJ.X5Z.MqQPibUVTc62QVV_kKRkNhqeLVOlIIc4yqYzeWN75xps8.DAntBbzvTz0uR2NiFie2DOktkXBF8gXr3TKN7wC6XCJv7xhyrAetckipg62vKJx5JV2u9Ec6_lMiIZcE_XPBACx21c0aqetyOJvcmi5ClsjpDbqNRTT_s4.o91AG9u_1JxeOiRo-&format=png&h=294&w=215)

(https://download-ssl.xbox.com/content/images/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802434d0844/1033/boxartlg.jpg)(https://download-ssl.xbox.com/content/images/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258410889/1033/boxartlg.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 29, 2016, 07:41:48 AM
Not bothered myself, all consoles are going to be dead to me - whether they're home or portable ones - for the foreseeable future in November 8)

Once you go VR you never go back :o :P ;D

^^ what you said about motion controls  ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 29, 2016, 09:28:06 AM
And motion controls are going to be a key part of VR gaming ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 29, 2016, 11:26:30 AM
That's why you are buying the VR solution that comes with... a Xbox One controller  ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 29, 2016, 02:56:01 PM
I'm buying a Rift over a Vive for several different reasons:

1) The headset is more comfortable to wear

2) The displays are better quality

3) The games are better

4) Having the Touch controllers releasing at a later date allows me to spread the cost of the headset. I can't afford to spend £700 in one go.


I still think that Room Scale VR isn't going to be as big as people think it will be, it's going to go the same way as Kinect for similar reasons. But seated and standing motion controlled games are going to be big.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 29, 2016, 07:13:56 PM
Missed one:

5) I prefer the design and functionality of the Touch controllers

Have been hearing some really good things about Crytek's The Climb which released yesterday. At the moment you can only use the Xbox One controller until the Touch controllers have been released but I can see a traditional controller being the better option out of the two. It's going to be knackering playing this game with your hands in the air 90% of the time, and I've noticed that the gameplay involves your character crossing his hands over each other which is going to be difficult to do with a handhold that's quite far away.

I think it's going to be one of those games where theoretically it's going to look like a GREAT fit for motion controls but in practice it isn't too practical to do. At the moment using your HMD to move your hands and the triggers to grip handholds means that it isn't going to be knackering to play and allows anyone to play the game regardless of their physical reach.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 03, 2016, 09:01:25 AM
You can't have a preference on the design, feel or comfort of an object until you have one in your hand.  I liked the design of the N64 controller.. until I tried one and found out that it sucked balls!  You haven't as much tried any of the VR hardware solutions, let alone the controllers.. so points 1, 2 and 5 are straight out the window.

I'll let you have point 4 - Oculus will be cheaper..  although just because you can't afford to buy the system that provides a FULL VR experience out of the box - that has no bearing on which system is going to provide a better experience.

Point 3 is by-the-by.  99% of all games will work on both systems - and there are already user hacks to play these "exclusive" games on the other system... if you were talking about a comparison with PSVR you might have a point here.


If seated/standing motion controlled games are as far as VR is going to take us - its going to be a great big steaming turd of a failure.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 04, 2016, 09:37:14 PM
Of course I can judge the design of the controllers without using them. Even without trying them it's pretty clear that with the half-moon design and finger and thumb tracking that the Touch controllers are more like extensions of your hands...and hands on reports all confirm this. The Vive controllers are basically just Wii remote clones.

As for 1 and 2 I'm, again, going by reports of people that own both headsets. The Rift display is clearer, focuses into infinity so it has more depth, the colors are more balanced and the 'sweet spot' is bigger. The design of the strap is also superior, wearing the Vive leaves an imprint of the edges of the headset on your face, known as 'Rift Face' back when the DK1 and DK2 did the same thing. If anyone has 'Rift Face' wearing the Rift CV1 then they're not wearing it properly.

The only three advantages that the Vive has over the Rift is availability, motion controls and a less extreme 'god rays' effect, and two out of those 3 will be negated when Oculus ramp up production and release the Touch controllers.

And as for number 3, it isn't 'by the by' at all. Yes, you can run games bought from the Oculus Store using Revive but doing so will impede performance. As Valve's reprojection method stands at the moment it's inferior to Oculus' ATW, it's part of the reason why HTC and Valve won't let Oculus extend the Oculus SDK to allow Vive games to be bought from the Oculus Store. If they did that you'd have games like Elite Dangerous, for example, bought from the Oculus Store performing better than the same game bought from Steam. And if that happened there'd be one hell of a shitstorm :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 04, 2016, 10:10:43 PM
Worth £0.70, Harv?

https://www.indiegala.com/vrbundle

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 05, 2016, 01:06:00 AM
No idea, but you can't really go wrong for 70p lol :o

Both CAT Interstellar and Doorways have been on my radar, will probably get that tomorrow and spend the extra £1.40 to grab them all. Thanks for letting me know about it, much appreciated. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 06, 2016, 08:49:26 AM
Just heard they are remaking Shadow of the Beast which includes the original.. I fucking loved that game.. wasted so many hours on it.. it was rock hard!!

No idea if the remake will be any good - but I'd buy it just for the original - shame its PS4 exclusive though..  :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 07, 2016, 03:46:29 AM
Fuck me ragged with a wire brush :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

Sideways :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

Just finished watching NVidia's live stream with their reveal of their new 1080 and 1070 GPUs. I was going to wait until AMD released details of their Polaris GPUs before making a decision on which one to buy but fuck me, the 1080 is twice more powerful than the Titan X. :o

I wasn't expecting that at all, I think that's caught A LOT of people by surprise lol ;D

I was expecting the 1080 to be 20-30% more powerful than the 980Ti and the 1070 to be around the same sort of power as the 980Ti. The 1080 is twice more powerful than the Titan X (which costs £800-900) and the 1070 is more powerful than the 980Ti. The 1080 is $599 and the $1070 is $399, so we'll probably get shafted over here as usual and have to pay over the odds - £550 and £350 I reckon.

I'm really gobsmacked by that, I can't see AMD going anywhere near that in terms of performance.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 11, 2016, 01:02:15 AM
More GPU rumours doing the rounds. AMD have been so surprised by the power of the Pascal cards that they're bringing forward the release of Vega 10 to October. Probably bollocks, I can't see HBM2 being ready to go until next year.

Benchmarks of the 1080 being released to the public on 17th, ten days before launch. That's a good sign, means that NVidia are confident that the 1080 can walk the walk and talk the talk. If they weren't confident in its benchmarking prowess then they would embargo this stuff until launch day.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 16, 2016, 08:39:31 AM
Have to say.. I got Doom on Friday and I'm really liking it.. its a mixture of modern and old school gameplay - it does feel a lot different to most FPS games which is good.. I'm not getting so much into the backstory  if truth be told.. but you can tell the game doesn't want to bog the player down with a ridiculous plot and it stays faithful to the older Doom games that way too.

I put it on the 3rd hardest level of 5 and I have to say I've died quite a number of times.. its certainly not that easy.. another tick in the box!

Don't know why they bothered with the review embargoes.. its great!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 16, 2016, 05:59:12 PM
I'll check it out when it drops in price a bit. Too much of a backlog at the moment.
Been on a bit of a retro trip lately. Replayed GTA San Andreas and GTA IV, and I'm now playing Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD (which is effectively the old game but with prettier backgrounds and arguably prettier character models - but I'm torn on whether I preferred the old graphics. Either way it wins no prizes for visuals, but you don't play FF for the eye candy...)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 16, 2016, 06:28:07 PM
Doom is definitely on my radar, it works pretty well in VR using VorpX apparently. Like late I'm going to wait until it drops in price a bit before I get it.

Had a bit of a break from Elite Dangerous Horizons and gaming in general for a while because I haven't been feeling too good but started playing it again the other day. This game is going to be amazing in VR. :o 8)

My first choices for VR gaming when I get my Rift in November are the following, in order:

1) Dreamdeck
2) Farlands
3) Dreadhalls (making sure I have plenty of clean underwear handy!)
4) Lucky's Tale
5) Elite Dangerous
6) Elite Dangerous
7) Elite Dangerous
8) Elite Dangerous
9) Elite Dangerous
10 Project CARS

lol ;D ;D ;D

I'm also quite hopeful that the guy developing the wrapper that allows the CV1 to run games with older runtimes is going to have runtime 0.5 sorted by the time I get my Rift, and if so that means that I'll be able to play Alien Isolation and Half Life 2 with native VR support. He's managed to sort out 0.8, 0.7 and 0.6 so far but older runtimes are more tricky to do I think.

Alien Isolation and Dreadhalls are probably the two favourites for causing the first VR-related death I reckon, and there's no hyperbole there at all either. Can't wait to try them both out! :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 17, 2016, 07:53:26 AM
Yep Doom is definitely worth checking out fellas.. even just for the SP campaign.  I picked up the super shotgun last night and currently ripping the shit out of every demon's ass I come across!  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 17, 2016, 04:35:57 PM
Reviews of the 1080 are in now. It's looking like a bit of a beast :o ;D 8)

Haven't seen any reviews of its VR performance yet though but it should absolutely slaughter everything else thanks to NVidia's new methods of handling VR stuff. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 20, 2016, 08:21:29 AM
Ah man.. I must of ploughed at least 12 hours into Doom so far (haven't finished it) and I'm still absolutely loving the old school style of it.. it's such a great game... if their spec was to recreate the old Doom for the modern time with a few new features which appeals to Doom veterans and new players.. they have absolutely nailed it!   This game has gone straight up to the top of my list of favourite games of recent times, it really has..  I'm having such a blast playing through it.   Graphics are awesome, soundtrack is fucking cool, the glory kills are a great addition and increase the gore levels and the gameplay is so good - I really cant recommend it highly enough - especially if you loved the old Doom like me.

If I had to level some criticism at the campaign.. at times, it does feel like you are just being herded through areas to kill one set after another set of demons.. especially in the later levels, but to be fair - its still great fun.. and the variety of weaponry and enemies you encounter are second to none.. I'm still mostly using the Super Shotty.. but I found the BFG last night (you can't miss it).. and having a lot of fun with that.  Each level has its own set of challenges and secrets too.. I've got plenty to go back and finish off - and even when I finally finish all of that.. I'm looking forward to trying out Ultra-Nightmare mode.. going on the difficulty now.. I reckon that's gonna be an absolute bastard!

I played one game of multiplayer the other night.. its not too different from the beta.. it does lack a little bit of quality and finish of the single player.. but still feels like it could be fun in bursts - it really is just a side attraction to the meaty SP campaign.  I haven't tried SnapMap out yet... probably will, just to get the achievements mind.. but apparently its quite good if you're into creating maps and shit.. that's never been my bag to be honest though.


Edit : Slightly disappointing - I just found out that Ultra-Nightmare is one-life permadeath difficulty - too hard for me I'm afraid!  Although I still want to do Nightmare after the first playthrough.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 23, 2016, 07:52:23 AM
Finished Doom now.. was playing it quite a bit over the weekend.. still haven't finished with the secrets and what-not.. so there's a good couple of hours left in the campaign before I start a harder difficulty level.  I played a few more multiplayer games as well - and actually I don't think its as bad as people make out.. yeah its not a patch on the campaign but I was still having fun.  Then I tried SnapMap out (mainly for the 'chievos) - actually its bloody good.. wasn't expecting it to be so customizable.. there's an achievement for making your own map.. so I'm gonna have a good go at making a pretty sweet one.

Best game of 2016 hands down..
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 24, 2016, 05:41:58 PM
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjOvKCzWkAE9bXL.jpg)



Good games, but I already have at least three of them (I'm not sure if I have The Crew, but I'm pretty sure I have Goat Sim on Steam and on one of the xbox consoles, I have X-Com on both steam and 360, and I have SMB on both steam and 360.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 25, 2016, 08:48:55 AM
The Crew looked really good in its trailers and stuff - I think its a bit crap though... Goat Sim does nothing for me.. but I'm looking forward to X-Com which I never got round to playing.  SMB is superb, but I 100%'ed it ages ago.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 25, 2016, 06:21:56 PM
I keep on meaning to get Goat Simulator, might check to see if it's VorpX compatible, it would be insane in VR lololol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 27, 2016, 10:22:08 PM
Rumours abound that Microsoft are bringing two new versions of the xbox One to market.  :|
A slim version (probably with a 2tb HDD) later this year; and a model with more powerful processors next year. Codenamed Scorpio, it apparently would be capable of supporting 4k and Occulus Rift.

Peak performance figures (not confirmed):
1.32 teraflops - Xbox One
1.84 teraflops - Playstation 4
4.14 teraflops - Playstation 4 Neo
6.00 teraflops - Xbox One Scorpio

Sources:
kotaku (http://kotaku.com/sources-smaller-xbox-one-coming-this-year-more-powerf-1778634446)
mcv (http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/new-xbox-50-more-powerful-than-ps4-neo-report-claims/0167497)
videogamer (http://www.videogamer.com/news/xbox_one_slim_coming_this_year_more_powerful_console_in_2017_report.html)


I have no problem with them releasing a slim - it's to be expected with recent consoles.
But a revised console that's 4 or 5 times as powerful as the current version? Fuck that.
I paid a significant amount of money for my xb1, and I'll be majorly pissed off if they're bringing out a new console this soon. Of course they'd still support the vanilla xb1 for a long while after Scorpio, but it wouldn't be getting the full attention it should be, developers would be focussing on the more powerful version and giving xb1 owners a cut down and unoptimised version.

I can totally understand the move (again, assuming it's true), as Sony's pretty much forced them to do it with their ps4.5, but this effectively kills consoles for me. I'd rather just bin them off and join the pc master-race. There's more disparity in pc gaming, but at least there's no pretence about it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 28, 2016, 02:59:08 AM
Don't know why they don't just call them the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Two tbh, and market them both as backwards compatible, this generation of consoles is ending. I said a while back that we'd be returning to a 5 year cycle again.

And the 1080 is available now. 8.9 Tera Flops, and if you overclock it to 2.1GHz you're talking about 10.8, 2.4 and you're talking 12.7 if I'm remembering correctly lol :o

Not worth buying the Founders Edition though, better to wait for the custom cooled AIB cards. Should overclock to 2.2 or 2.3 on air :o

Will be getting mine in August all going well. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 28, 2016, 07:01:10 PM
Whoops! I've been a bit lax with my PC security. :o :-[ :o

I'd allowed my ESET Smart Security to go out of date. Gawd knows how long my PC has been unprotected, it was blocking stuff fine yesterday when I was watching streams but when I was messing about with the Unreal Engine the other day I was dropping frames so ran a virus check last night. Said I had 12 issues but wouldn't allow me to fix them or even tell me what they were...that's when I checked my subscription.

Am running a full check now. :-\

Glad I got my SSD a while back, has really sped things up. Can do an in-depth scan of 5.1TB in about 50 minutes. The sooner the price of these things comes down and the size of them I'm up the better. My machine would be INSANE with 5.1TB of SSDs :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 29, 2016, 01:21:46 AM
Well everything came up clean, everything that showed up as problems were false positives so no worries.

Doesn't explain why my Unreal VR game is having framerate issues though. Might be because I'm using a Preview version instead of a Release Candidate, perhaps..? Had heard that the Preview versions were better for VR though. Not sure if my Preview built game will work on 4.11 though. Might download 4.11 and see tomorrow ;D

Could also be down to me using the iGPU in my Skylake perhaps..? Can't remember if I built much of note when I was messing around with Unreal before. It can handle Elite Dangerous in 720p with high quality textures and shadows at 30fps on planet surfaces though and the experiment I've done is hardly heavy duty. :-\

Will a look at things tomorrow, I reckon it's the preview version that's causing me problems. If it was the iGPU then I reckon that the game would work okay but just at a low framerate.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 30, 2016, 03:08:23 PM
Bloody thing isn't compatible so I decide to start again with 4.11. Running smooth so far but I haven't started messing around with VR yet. I suspect that my iGPU is at fault, it only has 1GB of VRAM so it may be struggling to cope.

My 1080 will solve that issue 8)

Elite Dangerous has had a big performance update. Used to take a couple of minutes for the game to start processing the Compute Shaders when the game starts booting up and now takes around 50 seconds, they've also increased the eye candy too. Asteroid fields and inside space stations look miles better.

Can't wait until August when I get my 1080, I'll be playing games with everything turned up to 11 ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 31, 2016, 02:54:10 AM
Just finished FFX - and started FFX-2 (on Steam).

And 1 hour later I stopped playing FFX-2, likely never to play it ever again.

I really enjoyed FFX back in the day, and thoroughly enjoyed playing it again now. It's not my favourite in the series (6, 7, 8, and 9 all surpassed it) but it's a good story, the sphere grid is inspired, and blitzball was always fun.
I'd never played it's sequel before (and in fact knew pretty much nothing about it other than it existed), and was really looking forward to playing it, but it's horrendous. It appears to be only three characters, all three are incredibly annoying, and they're defeating the forces of evil through the joint mediums of dance and changing clothes. WTAF.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 31, 2016, 04:47:15 AM
 :D ;D ;D :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 31, 2016, 08:57:42 AM
I never finished FFX - in fact I didn't really get very far at all in it... I know the series went massively downhill afterwards though - it won't ever capture the aweseomeness of 7 or 8 again* ... Chocobo Racing and Triple Triad were literally the best things in gaming ever!  Dunno if you played FF13 or FF13-2 yet late, I really wouldn't bother unless you love linear gameplay**

Sega announced the other day they were "investigating" remastering Shenmue 1 and 2.. god how long has it taken them to realise that they were absolutely epic games.. would love to play them all over again.. that reminds me - only 18 months left until Shenmue 3 is finished! Yippee!



*  FF9 was pretty awesome too... although its not in the same class as 7 or 8 for me.

** TBF I never played more than a few hours of FF13-2 - so unsure if that's true about that one.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 31, 2016, 02:31:01 PM
I know that this is JRPG sacrilege but I've never thought much about the Final Fantasy franchise. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 31, 2016, 11:34:08 PM
I never finished FFX - in fact I didn't really get very far at all in it... I know the series went massively downhill afterwards though - it won't ever capture the aweseomeness of 7 or 8 again* ... Chocobo Racing and Triple Triad were literally the best things in gaming ever!  Dunno if you played FF13 or FF13-2 yet late, I really wouldn't bother unless you love linear gameplay**
Never played 13, but I had a run through 13-2 to completion.

FINAL FANTASY XIII-2
Last Played: 31/07/2013
Gamerscore: 343/1000
Was okay, but not a patch on the classics.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 01, 2016, 01:38:45 PM
Just seen Techland have released Dead Island Definitive Edition for PS4, X1 and PC - I could be tempted back... I never finished the original due to a bug that completely fucked the only save file you get.. I could of gone back in at an earlier chapter but I lost all my items/weapons along with the save and was too pissed off (I actually sold the game) to carry on because it is a long-ass game.  Whilst it is a pretty boring/repetitive game - the open world style with zombies is great.. and I haven't played the Riptide spin-off which comes with the Definitive edition - so that would give more incentive to buy this.. especially as it looks like the true sequel looks like its been canned.

Or I could give Dying Light a go as I haven't played that at all... hmmm
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 01, 2016, 07:59:26 PM
Just noticed that the RX 480, the new upcoming GPU from AMD, is pushing 5.5 Tera flops...and so is the GPU in the Xbox Two (because let's face it, it is a new console and along with the PlayStation 4K is the start of a new console generation). Which means that the Xbox Two is going to be powerful enough to run Oculus Rift games.

So is the PS4.5 of course, but given the close ties between Microsoft and Oculus perhaps there's going to be some sort of bundle on the table..?

Better off being a member of the PCMR though imo 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 01, 2016, 08:03:24 PM
...Codenamed Scorpio, it apparently would be capable of supporting 4k and Occulus Rift...

Keep up, sunshine!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 01, 2016, 11:00:37 PM
Oops lol :-[ ;D :P

Have narrowed down my 1080 selection to three cards - an EVGA FTW, an Asus Strix or an Inno3D iChill X4.

Just got to wait for reviews and hands on reports before I make my mind up.

And once I get it I'll be able to overclock my Skylake CPU. I'm just running it at its stock 4.0GHz at the moment, unfortunately the iGPU and my motherboard BIOS don't get on. When I boot up my PC all of the BIOS screen is squished into the top half of the screen which makes it difficult to fuck around with stuff.

Will be getting my 1080 in August. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 02, 2016, 07:18:09 PM
Looks like Oculus have improved the Touch controllers. They now have all 4 fingers and the thumb tracked. Video of a really annoying American trying it out here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPzcTrguPkg), major props to the guys doing the demo for not punching his face in lol :o ;D

I guarantee you that you won't be able to watch for long, this guy is sooooooooo annoying!!! :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 07, 2016, 08:27:03 AM
So I played The Wolf Among Us over the weekend (spoilers in the paragraph ahead)...

I did enjoy it playing through it despite it basically being a massive QTE fest... but I enjoyed the characters, the story, the graphics and the curveball thrown right at the end was great... at first I thought that meant that Faith is Nerissa... but then on 10-15 minutes reflection on the bog.. I realised that Nerissa is (or rather was) Faith.. the Faith that you meet at the start that is.. and that the real Faith was probably killed prior to the events with the punch-up with Woody.... which meant that Nerissa met with Bigby glamoured as Faith to get him interested then planted the head to get Bigby on the case... that's what I got from the game anyway.

What was a bit shit though is that there really is no reason to go back to the game once you've finished it.. took me about 15 minutes to get the achievements I had missed, and that was it.. I wont touch the game again.


So I started The Walking Dead Season 1 last night.. knowing it was in the same vein as TWAU.. and it is, first impressions are that its probably not going to be as good.. but its certainly playable I guess.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on June 07, 2016, 03:19:25 PM
You gave it a lot more thought than I did lol. It was all very confusing. What did you do with the Crooked Man?

I've played 4 telltale games so far, (still got Game of Thrones to play) and as good as The Wolf Among Us is, I'd say it's probably my least favourite. Really enjoyed it though and the story was great, even if it was confusing at times. But for me The Walking Dead 1 and 2 were just brilliant.

I was about to post what I'd like to see in season 3 but not sure if it would be a spoiler for you.  ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 08, 2016, 08:59:27 AM
Crooked Man.. I threw him down the well lol.. the bit at the end with Nerissa kinda makes you realise that you couldn't of been 100% certain that he was definitely responsible for the deaths... so he could of been set-up, I just thought he looked a bit of a twat with his flappy eye and everything and probably deserved to die... besides he's "Crooked" so he must be bad!


Further into Walking Dead last night and what I've noticed from playing more is that 1) its a much longer game than TWAU with more actual play-sections than just choosing an option.. and 2) the options feel more clear-cut and game-defining - such as.. choose one person to live type of thing - ultimately I know the game will go down the same path whatever decision I make, but it doesn't feel like that playing the game... especially with the life/death decisions - TWAU does this in a more subtle way.. but I don't think it really paid off because I really didn't want to replay it again.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 13, 2016, 10:12:11 AM
I finished The Walking Dead Season 1 over the weekend... completely agree stupac - it is much better than Wolf Among Us - I'm actually thinking of buying the second season - although I think £20 is a tad steep.. I see there was a trailer up for the 3rd season.. although I haven't watched it.. no spoilers! lol.

Although since Season 1 has been out for a while, I'll talk about the choices I made.. so spoilers ahead!!

I went looking for Clem with Kenny, Omid and Christa at the end.. and showed them the bite straight away.. I let Ben go.. he was a douchebag - I was gonna bone Carley and he fucked that all up!  I was surprised at just how many different people you could have at that point in the game though.. think Telltale said that at episode 5 they had 32 different possibilities that people could be at.. that's quality. 

I finished the epilogue aswell.. had 3 of 5 survivors come with me.. although I read that this effects Season 2 so I might replay them before I buy it so that I get all 5 to come??
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 13, 2016, 12:41:43 PM
Heh - draws you right in, doesn't it! Amazing, considering it's really just a series of choices and your choices ultimately make (virtually) no difference to anything.

I don't want to give any spoilers for you... but don't necessarily be discouraged at your results in the epilogue thing (400 days? Something like that).


I don't remember all my choices, but I found this screenie of my results from s1:
http://s31.postimg.org/nsf7147ff/twd_season1.png (http://s31.postimg.org/nsf7147ff/twd_season1.png)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 13, 2016, 01:48:41 PM
Ah nice.. you did Season 1 quite a bit different to me..

I did think the whole "Stranger" storyline was a bit pants to be honest.. yesh the dudes crazy.. but I didn't steal anything FFS.. lol  Why wouldn't he go after Duck (because Kenny did steal something) instead of Clem... ah well. I suppose he doesn't know.. but it makes the choice kinda defunct.

I loved the bit where you get to choose to chop your own arm off or not.. fuck it.. I did.. lol.. dunno what happens if you don't though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 13, 2016, 02:38:52 PM
If memory serves, Lee gets greyer and greyer as the story progresses.

I played the first season twice, and watched it played at least twice by the kids.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on June 13, 2016, 08:34:24 PM
I chopped off my own arm aswell. That was brutal lol.

I'm planning on replaying them both again, especially with season 3 on the way. I played season 2 first as it was free on PS plus and it convinced me to buy the telltale games collection. So I played season 2 twice but season 1 only once, so I'd like to see how more decisions affect the story. The 2 different endings I had in season 2 were massively different which is great as it adds replay value.

Saw the brief reveal of season 3 and I'm pretty excited for it!  :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 15, 2016, 08:10:50 PM
Keep on meaning to get The Walking Dead games but haven't got around to it.

I need to stop spending money on my credit card for a few months so that I can get my 1080 GPU though. Luckily Kevin downstairs has just got a job so he'll be able to give me the money he owes me so that'll make things a bit easier.

Have decided to start work on a Day Of The Triffids VR game, just a hobbyist demo type thing with a small level or two. Going to use Unreal Engine 4 for it. Have download the 1962 film, the 1981 telly series and the 2009 mini-series to get inspiration. One of my favourite books and the 1981 has always been one of my favourite series too.

Should be easy enough to model a hospital and car park but will probably have to 'cheat' and download a few free models for cars and stuff. Have got 3DS Max, Maya, Mudbox, ZBrush, Substance Painter and Substance Designer to help with the modelling but my depression is going to make it all difficult to do, who knows...maybe it will be therapeutic..? ;D

Here's my plan:

1) Do a street scene first

2) Use Maya to model houses, walls, fences, hedges, doors, gates, road and pavements

3) Use Maya to animate doors and gates

4) Use Mixamo Fuse to create humans

5) Use Substance Designer for the textures

6) Slap it all together in Unreal Engine lol :P

Going to take me ages but should be fun 8)


Day Of The Triffids was one of the game ideas that I was going to come up with when I was working for Eidos before they told me I couldn't go anywhere near a design job without a Design Degree. Fuckers. >:(

I'm also planning to do a ripoff er...game inspired by Paradroid, loved that game when I was a kid. I started work on the design document years ago at Eidos for the game for the Wii but binned it when they said they wouldn't even look at the thing without said Degree. And of course despite not having that degree I designed the same control scheme that Metroid Prime Corruption and Medal Of Honour Heroes had for pointer controls before they released.

You don't need a Design Degree to design games, you just need common sense and enough experience playing games that you know what works and what doesn't. Going by the amount of awful design decisions I've seen during my years working in the industry getting a video game design degree is about as useful as a chocolate teapot lol ;D ;D ;D

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 18, 2016, 03:07:47 PM
Major supply issues with the 1080 so far and it's not going to get sorted out until late July or early August. Hopefully the prices will come down a bit by then because the price of these things are REALLY taking the piss, especially over here in the UK and Europe. >:(

They're also not overclocking that well either, everyone was expecting them to overclock to 2.1GHz once the AIB cards started to appear with their custom coolers but unless you've won the silicon lottery they're averaging 2.05GHz. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 18, 2016, 11:14:57 PM
You're hoping there's a price drop while the product is in short supply?

Blimey. Economics isn't your strong point, is it!  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 19, 2016, 01:28:07 AM
Whoops, I meant to say that I'll be able to afford to get one in August before this part:

Quote
Hopefully the prices will come down a bit by then because the price of these things are REALLY taking the piss, especially over here in the UK and Europe.

Serves me right for multitasking lol :-[ ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D :-[
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 19, 2016, 04:46:28 PM
Oh wow, xcom is a bit fucking cool isn't it... Am loving it!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 19, 2016, 10:07:32 PM
Hell yeah. I'm currently around 90% of the way through xcom 2.

I can't help but abuse the save system, though. I save every couple of minutes, and reload if something goes pear-shaped, and I'm embarrassed by that.  :-[

Loved xcom the first time round, back in the early 90s (and I've always said it's predecessors "Rebelstar" and "Laser Squad" are my favourite games ever), and Firaxis have done a great job of updating the franchise.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 20, 2016, 03:25:26 PM
To be fair, I thought I would enjoy it.. a turn based game from Firaxis... whats not to like!  Plus I enjoyed (in part) some of Massive Chalice which was free a while ago on Xbox - which uses pretty much the exact same gameplay.

No cheating so far from me.. I've still got some Day 1 soldiers left - I can see how it can get very frustrating though although I am trying to be quite cautious.. its quite easy to kill the aliens if you set your formations up to flank properly... although nothings more annoying that having 80+ chance to hit on your last move to kill an alien who could kill one of your soldiers and then missing.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 27, 2016, 08:50:56 AM
I restarted my XCOM game LOL... now I know why you save a lot Late... I got to a bit on the first game.. and I'd obviously been racing through the story too fast because my whole squad just got completely obliterated.. and I didn't understand the satellite system very well.. so I had lost a few countries.. restarted it.. and doing much better as I'm taking my time doing the story bits...plus I've got plenty of satellites in reserve...  I'm saving on 5 different files (although not every mission)  just in case I do get to a point and realise I've completely fucked something up
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 04, 2016, 10:48:47 PM
It's been cancelled, just in case you were planning a trip (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3673579/Virtual-reality-porn-event-Adult-VR-Fest-01-Akihabara-Tokyo-postponed-overcrowding-premature-evacuation.html) :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 05, 2016, 09:14:09 AM
Huh?  What has ?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 05, 2016, 11:26:32 AM
Click the link ;)

Too many people came :o ;D :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 08, 2016, 02:38:25 AM
I finally got around to updating the BIOS of my motherboard, it now POSTs with a full screen when using the iGPU in my Skylake rather squishing everything into the top half of the screen. Means I've had a quick play around with overclocking and at the moment it's looking like I've got it from the stock 4.0GHz to 4.5GHz. The voltage is a little too high for my liking so I might bring the voltage down and reduce the clockspeed down to 4.4GHz.

Will have another fiddle around tomorrow I reckon. 8)

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 08, 2016, 02:47:11 AM
Looking forward to more news on Phoenix Point - a new game by Julian Gollop (the original creator of some of my favourite games, including xcom):

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/06/14/phoenix-point-new-xcom-julian-gollop/

Sounds very promising :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 08, 2016, 11:31:43 PM
Got my voltage down to 1.385V and am still at 4.5GHz stable ;D

Once I get my 1080 my VR machine is going to be A BEAST :o 8)

Mind you, the stock situation for these things is ridiculous as well as the inflated price of the bloody things. Hopefully the prices will come down when the quid starts to recover. I might hold off buying one until later than I have originally planned I think. I might even end up getting my 1080 and Rift in November together assuming that the pound is stronger then.

It's looking like Oculus have FINALLY managed to sort out their pre-order backlog now. If you order one now you'll get it in a few days.

I reckon they must have shifted over 250,000 units by now, I think that the amount of pre-orders they've had to deal with have been 50,000 per month. And if you add that to the 150,000 (HTC announced 120,000 sales a while back) or so Vive's that HTC have probably sold by now we should be looking at over 400,000 VR headsets in homes worldwide already. :o

When you consider the high-end PC requirement and the price of the headsets themselves that's pretty impressive (even though they are purely numbers I've pulled from my bum lol) ;D

Should be well over 1m VR headsets in homes before the end of the year I reckon.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 09, 2016, 08:22:21 PM
Quote from: Neil Schneider, executive director of the Immersive Technology Alliance
I estimate that there are about three million PCs powerful enough for an HMD like the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive...
Within 12 months from launch, I'm estimating 300,000 to 500,000 units sold including all PC HMD brands. Consumer purchases would be in the 300,000 range, and everything above that would be units purchased or given away for content creation and marketing.

Quote from: Harv, executive director of the Talking Bullshit Alliance
Should be well over 1m VR headsets in homes before the end of the year I reckon.

Two very different predictions from the experts, there...



Meanwhile...

I bought two xbox One games this week. Despite the fact I've not actually played on the xb1 in months. I think the last game I played on there was Fallout. Was enjoying it immensely, but didn't get very far before being distracted and forgetting about it.

I got "Unravel" on Tuesday, as it's had some good reviews and was reduced in a MS sale that day. (It was announced on Wednesday that it'll be added to the EA vault next week, which is a bit of a kick in the teeth, but c'est la vie...) Haven't had a look at it yet.
And I bought "Inside" yesterday. It's effectively a follow-up to Limbo, and I played it today.
Fantastic little game. They've nailed it again. If you loved Limbo you'll love Inside. If you weren't a fan of Limbo, don't bother getting this.
As with it's predecessor, it's a relatively short game (I completed it today), but length isn't everything. Despite what the missus says.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 09, 2016, 10:20:44 PM
If I remember correctly that guy gave those estimates a while back, before AMD and NVidia revealed their 480 and 1060 GPUs which have greatly reduced the cost of building or buying a VR Ready PC.

And there must be over 400,000 HMDs in homes right now, so even if he said this yesterday he's only expecting 100,000 to be sold between now and New Year's Eve. You'll probably see at least the same amount of HMDs sold again that have been sold between the day that pre-orders opened and today before the end of year considering that the time period includes the Christmas shopping season.

We'll have to wait and see, but my 1m guesstimate is going to be closer than his. Only 100,000 sold between now and the end of the year..? Good luck with that lol :o ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Edit: Yup, that guy made these predictions on 6th March, before either HMD had launched. The sales of both the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift have surprised everyone so far, including HTC and Oculus themselves.

We don't know how many Rifts have been sold so far but now that I've done a quick search on Google, going by SteamSpy figures you'll be looking at around 100,000 Vives sold so far (can't remember where I got 120,000 from now).

Even if Oculus have only sold 250,000 and HTC have sold 100,000 that's still 350,000, more than the lowest estimate he gave for 6th March 2016 - 6th March 2017. Even his highest guesstimate for the year would mean that both HTC and Oculus would only sell, what..? 150,000 units, between them, between now and 6th March 2017.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 10, 2016, 11:42:02 PM
Have just started having another go at overclocking my 6700K. I reckon I'll be able to get it higher than 4.5. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 10, 2016, 11:55:55 PM
I'm now at 4.6, remains to be seen if it's stable or not though. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 11, 2016, 01:55:46 AM
Nice. Played an hour and 40 minutes of Elite Dangerous without any problems, no BSODs and maximum temperature was just 73 degrees. Pretty good considering that my CPU is also doing all of the graphics work. Going to fire up Project Cars tomorrow and see if everything is still stable. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on July 11, 2016, 03:04:30 PM
Limbo was a great little game. Enjoyed that a lot. Although I only got it as it was a PS Plus free game. I think I would have been disappointed if I had paid for it, considering how short it was.

Never Alone was another brilliant game that I got for free. I'd recommend that one if you like platform games.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 11, 2016, 10:49:44 PM
Sod it. I have now pre-ordered a Zotac Amp Extreme from Amazon. The prices of 1080s are REALLY taking the piss so I've pre-ordered it before the price goes up AGAIN. Hopefully they're not going to have it in stock before I can afford to pay for it! They were £579.99 I think a few days back and have gone up to £633.99. Ebuyer and Overclockers have them at £672.99 and £695.99 respectively :o

You're looking at £660-670 for a decent AIB card at the moment. :(

I was planning on limiting my spending for this card to £599.99 but the pound dropping like a stone has messed that plan up. I keep on telling myself that it's going to be worth it in 5 years when electronic goods over here will be as cheap as chips due to the unrestricted commercial dealings that the UK will be able to do with the likes of India, China, Japan and the States when we've left the EU. Might even be sooner than that with a bit of luck. 8)

Means that my second Amp Extreme will be A LOT cheaper in a few years ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 12, 2016, 12:50:17 AM
Just given Project CARS a quick go and had a maximum temperature of 82 degrees which is pretty good considering the work that the CPU is doing all on its lonesome. When I get my GPU I'd be surprised if my temperatures go much above 70 degrees under full load. 8)

I still have 2 more case fans to add too, just as soon as I figure out how to get the top of the bloomin case off lol :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 12, 2016, 02:05:13 PM
Bollocks. My Wii U died some time yesterday :'(

Hopefully it's just the power supply, have ordered another one and will be getting it tomorrow. If it's not the PSU then that will be the very first console that's died on me. I never would have guessed that the first one would be a Nintendo one. :o :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 12, 2016, 02:21:04 PM
If your CPU is getting up past 80 degrees then you've got serious overheating problems - past 80 and that's dangerous territory IMO.  I installed a big fuck off artic fan a good few months back and mine didn't even reach 65 when I was doing some CPU intensive video editing the other month.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 12, 2016, 02:46:34 PM
80 degrees under full load is fine. I'd be happier with 70-79 but I'll be getting that with my GPU doing the graphics work easily.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 12, 2016, 06:51:10 PM
So is this something I should be worried about?


(https://s31.postimg.org/gibi3jyt7/Temperatures_12_Jul2016.png)


I've always wondered at the little flame symbol, which I assume means it's too hot, but it's been like that since day one (so nearly a year and a half) - and nothing's overclocked (as far as I'm aware - I don't know about such things).  :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 12, 2016, 07:19:39 PM
Lol... I'm pretty sure your computer would of caught fire if that was indeed the correct reading.

128 degrees is usually the max value so I imagine the sensor is faulty or the software is not reading it right, you could use hw monitor, or check your bios mobo settings prehaps
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 12, 2016, 09:30:21 PM
How the fuck has your CPU not burst into flames..? :o

That can't be right :-\

Maybe that's a Fahrenheit temperature despite the C..?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 12, 2016, 09:35:07 PM
Try using RealTemp instead:

https://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/2089/real-temp-3-70
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 13, 2016, 01:35:05 AM
(https://s31.postimg.org/gibi3jyt7/Temperatures_12_Jul2016.png)

(https://s32.postimg.org/4czxbaadh/hwmonitor1.png)
(https://s32.postimg.org/udxm9rqdh/hwmonitor2.png)

(https://s31.postimg.org/k9n7rz3or/Capture.png)


Well I don't understand much of what I'm seeing, but those figures look a lot more reassuring.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 13, 2016, 02:38:56 AM
Yup, that's much better!

Ideally you want around 30 degrees idle and around 70 under load (like when playing a game or running a benchmark or stress test).

My CPU is at around 80 under load because I'm running Project CARS without a discrete GPU (aka a graphics card), so my PC is coping with both game processing and graphics work. Might have get FRAPS going tomorrow to see what sort of framerate I'm getting. I'm not getting 60fps but it's certainly over 30 by the looks of things, although I'm well out of practice judging framerates by eye having not worked in the industry for so long.

Very impressed by my 6700K so far, particularly the iGPU.

Once I get my 1080 in there it should eat every game out there for breakfast, including VR games. 8)

Haven't been well lately so my Day Of The Triffids game hasn't really been started yet. I've done 2 very simple front garden wall models so far, without textures, but that's it. I've been a bit better today so will try and see if I can do some more models tomorrow if I'm feeling up to it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 21, 2016, 11:30:36 PM
Have had a little break from Elite Dangerous but am back to it now. Going to be doing a bit of bounty hunting for a bit and will then have a go at mining.

The Federation and the Empire are on the verge of war at the moment. Currently I'm on friendly terms with all 3 powers in the Milky Way, I've remained an independent trader so far, doing missions for anyone that's got the cash but if war breaks out I might join up with the Empire...legal slavery FTW :P ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 22, 2016, 04:21:01 PM
Frontier have made some adjustments to the AI in the game, nearly got my arse handed to me when I decided to pick a fight with 3 pirates in a wing. Ended up beating them all with just under 50% damage to my ship. Whoops lol :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 26, 2016, 02:31:18 PM
This is a VR game you DON'T want to play whilst doing drugs!!!! (http://store.steampowered.com/app/379420/) :o ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 26, 2016, 06:09:19 PM
An easier option, nay philosophy, is to not do drugs at all...  :| 
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 26, 2016, 06:56:44 PM
Yup, that's exactly my philosophy lol 8)

But doing hallucinogens whilst playing that game in VR will send anyone directly to the Loony Bin lmfao :o ;D

Even without drugs those graphics will probably blow your mind though. Unlike the majority of indie games these days these two guys have developed their own engine rather than jumping on the Unreal or Unity Engine bandwagons that everyone else seems to be doing. Real old-school developers there.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on July 28, 2016, 06:50:59 PM
Harv - VR sale on Steam:
http://store.steampowered.com/sale/vr_weekend/
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 28, 2016, 11:44:03 PM
Cool, thanks for that! ;D

Am trying not to buy any more games on Steam, I'm very proud to say that I didn't buy a thing from the Steam Summer Sale...but there's a couple of games there that I'm tempted by ;D :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 03, 2016, 01:11:03 AM
Yup. I couldn't resist lol. I did so well during the Steam Summer Sale too!

I ended up spending 21 quid or so on 4 games - Pollen, Legend Of Dungeon, Amigdala and Omega Agent.

I've now FINALLY started work on my first VR game. Haven't been feeling up to it for ages because of my depression so I've taken advantage of having a good day today and started work on my first game.

My first game is going to be a survival horror type game, think Dreadhalls but with enemies you can kill rather than running away from them and set on a space ship in deep space. Have started a Dev Blog on a VR forum and will post a link to it tomorrow if anyone fancies taking a look every now and then to see how things are coming along.

Just started modelling the corridors earlier today. Have done a template with a floor, ceiling, left wall and right wall which I will use to model the corridors I need - straight, left turn, right turn, dead end and crossroads. The first one, the straight, got put together without a problem but the second one, a left turn, is causing me problems. The method I'm using to bridge gaps is leaving holes but I think I can sort that out by using a different program. Will have a look tomorrow.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 03, 2016, 01:21:35 AM
Here's the linkage to my Dev Blog (http://forum.vrspies.com/t/harvs-dev-blog/305) 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 03, 2016, 05:22:18 PM
Why do you need a left turn and a right turn? Surely they're the same object (as approached from different sides)?
________________________________________________________

Been playing "Life Is Strange" lately, on the xb1. Didn't know anything about it before I bought it, other than it was highly rated.
It's probably best described as halfway between Telltale's "The Walking Dead" episodic games, and the film "The Butterfly Effect" - and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I think I've played 3 of 5 episodes.

I'm also playing "The Legend of Heroes: Trails In The Sky SC (Second Chapter)". Really enjoyed the first game, and the second was on sale last week on Steam. Good old-fashioned JRPG with turn-based combat.

I've played a bit of Doom, too, and I'm quite enjoying it - but I'm just not drawn to it as much as I should be. Probably just not in the right mood for it at the moment, but it's very good. (My pc struggles with it a bit, but copes a lot better than I'd expected it to. I wouldn't have bought it as it's too high spec for my computer but I got it free when I recently bought a new monitor - and aside from loading screens taking an absolute age, everything works pretty well.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 03, 2016, 07:00:42 PM
Yup, I realised that soon after I posted. I put the correction in my Blog :-[ :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on August 04, 2016, 02:56:52 PM
I played a little bit of Life is Strange, can't remember if it was the first episode or just a demo.

I enjoyed it, but the only problem I had was that you didn't seem to have to live with the consequences of your decisions like you do in The Walking Dead. I made a couple decisions which were apparently wrong and the game forced me to rewind and do it again lol.  ???

It was a while ago though so that could be totally wrong.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 04, 2016, 03:57:01 PM
I think that Thames Water drilled through an electric cable earlier on today :o

Had a power cut. Didn't hear an ambulance though so maybe it was a planned outage. Good job I wasn't in the middle of working on my game at the time ;D

I've started to have problems with my corridor turn mesh, the bloomin thing has holes in it.  :o >:( I've posted my mesh on a forum and someone is being kind enough to take a look at it). I've probably done something very basic and very stupid wrong somewhere lol. In the meantime in my blog last night I started doing a quick tutorial on using ZBrush which is an AMAZING piece of kit.

ZBrush when it was first created was intended to be used for painting in 3D on a flat canvas but has since evolved to cover sculpting in 3 dimensions proper so that you can turn around your creation in 3 dimensions and export it as a 3D model.

I started work on my first alien creature base mesh the other day using ZSpheres but I wasn't happy with it so have decided to start again and do a basic ZSpheres tutorial on my Dev Blog at the same time.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 04, 2016, 04:51:23 PM
ZSpheres allow you to use spheres that can be connected together and moved, resized and rotated, allowing you to quickly create a base mesh. Here's my first attempt at an alien creature showing the ZSpheres:

(http://i.imgur.com/ugD8Xhd.jpg)

And here's the base mesh:

(http://i.imgur.com/h6Se283.jpg)

It basically allows you to create base meshes for organic models REALLY quickly. I knocked that up in about half an hour. ;D

And seeing as we're on a new page, here's the link to my Dev Blog:

http://forum.vrspies.com/t/harvs-dev-blog/305/5

5 of the images I posted yesterday appear to be broken for some reason. Maybe I used too many and the forum has had a nervous breakdown lol :-[ ;D ;D ;D

Going to try and edit my post to see if I can fix it. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 04, 2016, 05:54:32 PM
I played a little bit of Life is Strange, can't remember if it was the first episode or just a demo.

I enjoyed it, but the only problem I had was that you didn't seem to have to live with the consequences of your decisions like you do in The Walking Dead. I made a couple decisions which were apparently wrong and the game forced me to rewind and do it again lol.  ???

It was a while ago though so that could be totally wrong.


You've got some fledgling ability to rewind time a short distance, so when you get to the bigger decisions you'll pick one option then she'll wonder aloud whether she's made a mistake and it'll tell you you can hit the shoulder button to rewind - but it does that whichever choice you make - it's not telling you that you made a wrong choice. I think the intention is that you can pick one, play out the next 20 seconds or so to see what the immediate consequences are, then go back and see the alternative, before picking the one you prefer.
Usually the short-term consequences aren't all that telling, of course, and the full impact of what you're doing doesn't actually become apparent until much later in the story.


SPOILER:
One thing I liked (and that totally reminded me of The Butterfly Effect) is that at one point when your powers are developing a bit further you find you can go back in time to 6 years earlier - the day your best friend's dad died. She went off the rails when that happened, and is in some trouble in the present timeline. You eventually find a way to prevent his death, and you return to present day - only to find there are some pretty big changes to the world, all caused by that one change you made (the biggest of those changes being that your best friend is now a quadriplegic on the verge of dying from respiratory failure.) You're then in a position where you have to go back in time and allow her dad to die even though you could save his life, if you want to save your friend.
It's quite unashamed of it's Butterfly Effect links, btw. Butterflies feature fairly prominently in the story at the point where you discover your powers, and several times again. There also seem to be some links to Twin Peaks, but I've not actually watched that show yet. (It's on my list to watch "soon". It's been on that list a few years though...) I do recognise some similarities, though, in that a girl is missing and there was the phrase "Fire walk with me" graffiti'd somewhere.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 04, 2016, 06:00:14 PM
You haven't watched Twin Peaks..?!!?!? :o

You need to address that problem asap 8)

I loved the Butterfly Effect, a great film. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 05, 2016, 11:55:39 PM
Okay, I've re-done my alien creature and took a bit more time over it and I think it shows. Here it is:

(http://forum.vrspies.com/uploads/default/optimized/1X/17d443b77917590da89fe8d177dea5a613708440_1_690x388.jpg)

(http://forum.vrspies.com/uploads/default/optimized/1X/312b18e1b6b27c79f8faba324b1af8954b189f6d_1_690x388.jpg)

(http://forum.vrspies.com/uploads/default/optimized/1X/e91fdf86468222ab30481ffc6f04450242a88903_1_690x388.jpg)

It's going to be about the size of a large rat and use it's tail to jump on players' chests. Once it's there a protuberance will pop out and kill the player and lay its eggs. Should freak the fuck out of people in VR :o ;D ;D ;D

I haven't quite got the legs right but am having a break and will sort those out tomorrow.

Once I have the legs sorted out I'll create an adaptive skin for it to create a base mesh and then get started on sculpting the thing. ZBrush really is a fantastic piece of kit, no wonder it costs a few grand. It ridiculously speeds up a game developer's workflow. It has a few idiosyncrasies but once you get used to them they don't get on your tits too much.

Any feedback would be much appreciated by the way. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 08, 2016, 01:20:36 AM
Fuck it. I'm ordering my 1080 tomorrow. I was going to wait for a Zotac Amp Extreme to become available but the stock situation on those cards is fucking ridiculous. Am getting a Palit Super Jetstream instead. It's £63 cheaper and whilst it's unlikely to be as fast as the Zotac card when overclocked it won't be a million miles away unless I lose the silicon lottery. Palit cards are known to be good Overclockers in general so hopefully I'll be lucky. Will keep my fingers crossed! :o

Then it's going to be time to pay some of that credit card debt off before I get my Rift in November. I should have around £380 to play around with in November, will hopefully get £100 cash for my birthday and Kevin will paid back the £70 he owes me so that should be that sorted.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 08, 2016, 07:45:25 PM
Well that's ordered, should be getting it tomorrow.

It has a boost clock of 1845MHz out of the box but no overclock on the VRAM...but that's easily fixed. Palit cards have a reputation for overclocking well so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. The vast majority of these 1080s overclock to around 2050MHz boost so it shouldn't have a problem going that high but even if it does 1845MHz is as fast as fuck as it is lol :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 09, 2016, 05:01:02 PM
Haven't tried overclocking it yet but my GPU is performing well. Had a couple of BSODes from Windows but a quick update seems to have sorted that out. Just did a Fire Strike Stress Test and got 99.1% efficiency so my overclocked Skylake and DDR4 are earning their money lol :P

I managed to crash 3DMark with a Fire Strike Extreme Stress Test but I think that's software related, not hardware related. Haven't tested software for years and I can still break it without thinking about it lmfao :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 09, 2016, 05:39:06 PM
Yup. Got 98.2% on Extreme and 98.1% on Ultra 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 11, 2016, 04:06:17 PM
Now you can play Minecraft in space! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP_pWak1ung) :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 17, 2016, 02:00:27 PM
I love first reaction videos for the Rift:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN4FclVolfQ

Someone's Nigerian Aunt tries the Rift for the first time...and this reaction is just a reaction to the white screen that shows up when Dreamdeck starts: http://www.benfarrell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/dreamdeck.png

 ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

He's going to have her go through the actual content of Dreamdeck tomorrow, she'll probably wet herself when the T-Rex appears in the museum lololol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 24, 2016, 04:33:23 PM
Yup, if she didn't actually wet herself I reckon she came pretty close lmfao:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rdCFB3Vi7E

 :o ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

He's got to get her playing Dreadhalls next...although she might end up expiring lolololol :o :P 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 31, 2016, 09:32:16 AM
I bought Dying Light Enhanced Edition the other day - £17 from Shopto (although it looks like they've charged me twice for it). First time I've bought a game for a while.. I've only done the prologue but it seems pretty good so far.  Nothing too shit-ya-pants scary, but its still early doors.  One thing I get from initial impressions is that its more about running away than killing zombies.

Probably wont get to play it too much for a while as still in the middle of a house move but I like it so far, very similar to Dead Island.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 31, 2016, 02:13:47 PM
That's on my list of games to buy, it's supposed to be pretty good in VR when played via VorpX...although you need to have either a strong resistance or be immune to simulation sickness to play it that way lol ;D

Amnesia and Outlast are supposed to be shit scary in VR too. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 12, 2016, 08:53:00 AM
Downloaded Gems of War ages ago - its free to play... only started playing it on Saturday but I am addicted.. I loved Puzzle Quest when it came out.. and this is even better as it has a much more involved RPG element to it with a very deep deck building system.

Being free-to-play means there are a ton of things to buy in the game, but it doesn't shove it down your throat at all.. in fact, come to think of it - I don't think its mentioned it once - I'm positive that even the tutorial doesn't show you where the shop area is.  To be honest, you can get plenty of enjoyment without buying anything anyway - everything can be earned in-game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 13, 2016, 06:44:49 PM
Lol, The Last Guardian has been delayed yet again. It was supposed to be out next month but has now been pushed back to December. If it does end up being released in December then it would have been in development for 9 years lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D

They will probably have to sell 300,000,000 copies to make a profit lololol :-\ ;D :-\

And I thought the delays for Alan Wake and Duke Nukem were bad at the time :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 15, 2016, 09:52:51 PM
Dear Sega, please take all of my money. From Harv.

Quote
“VR has caught the whole company’s attention,” Post explains. “We have a lot of VR kits in the office and people are playing with it. We are exploring ways to release games. We’ve not announced anything, but we are very close to making an announcement. We did Alien: Isolation about three years ago on Oculus Rift, it was a demo that was bloody scary. To bring that back to VR would be a dream and dreams can come true.

“VR will take time, but we will start releasing some titles just to learn. It is a platform for the future.”

http://uploadvr.com/sega-europe-vr-company-attention/

I'll be quite happy to sign a disclaimer absolving Sega from any blame should I die of a heart attack whilst playing the game lol :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 16, 2016, 01:02:41 AM
To be fair, Alien Isolation would probably suit VR well.
It was a terrible game, in terms of gameplay, but it'd make you shit your pants several times over playing it that way.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 16, 2016, 02:40:16 AM
Yup, it was playable in VR for a while on the DK2 but there was a change in the Oculus SDK that stopped it from working. All you need to do is type Alien Isolation DK2 into YouTube and you'll see LOADS of people shitting themselves lol ;D ;D ;D

I've said for a while that either Dreadhalls or Alien Isolation will be involved in the first VR-related death, Dreadhalls is also supposed to scare the living shite out of you. It's going to be the first thing I try out when I get my Rift in a couple of months.

But of course neither one of those games is going to be as good or as scary as my game that I'm working on...although I haven't been well enough to work on it for a few weeks unfortunately. I've even got a name for it - Nakamura's Pride, named after the space ship it takes place on. 8)

You've been foolish enough to respond to a distress signal from the ship and have a look around the ship to see what's been going on.

Quote
They're dead, Dave.

 ;D ;D ;D

Am planning on having the opening screen inside your ship with instrument panels as the options menus etc and have you starting the game by moving to the door and opening it to leave your ship.

The warp drive of the Nakamura's Pride has gone tits up and is producing a random energy pulse that knocls out the lights temporarily, including your headlamp on your space suit. And of course the alien creatures are going to pop out of light fittings, engineering panels, air vents and corpses ;D

I'll be having computers and tablets filling in details of what happened and what you need to do to get off the ship...once I figure out a reason why you can't do a runner as soon as you realise the ship is full of killer alien creatures :P ;D 8) :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 16, 2016, 09:36:00 AM
Yes but there is a fine line between shitting your pants in horror at a scary game rather than shitting you pants with laughter at a terrible game.  ;D ;D

Need to buy myself a new controller soon so if anyone see's a good deal, let me know - otherwise I've been tempted by the new limited edition gears one :

(http://compass.xbox.com/assets/ed/3f/ed3fd54e-7cd1-49ad-b69b-1e48a458f794.jpg?n=Xbox-One-S-GOW-4_Blade_680x383_GOW-4-Controller.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 16, 2016, 05:40:24 PM
Whilst I'm not expecting my game to be brilliant when I've finished it I'm hoping that I'm going to be able to avoid it being a complete pile of old pants lol :-[ ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 21, 2016, 04:47:52 PM
I've finished my first set of corridors now and you can see them via SketchFab here:

https://sketchfab.com/hsetterfield/models

I've added panels for the air vents, engineering panels and lights and have realised that I can't stop with these 5 models. I'm going to need to do more additions too - another 2 Straight corridors with a door to the left and a door to the right (I've decided not to do one with a door to either side), another 2 Dead Ends with the same, 2 turns with a door at either end, and I'm thinking of doing T-Junctions and Crossroads with a combination of doors at the ends too. :o

For now I'm going to take a break from corridors because I'm sick to the death of the sight of them lmfao ;D ;D ;D

I've now started work on props, I've done the following so far:

Table
Infopad/Tablet (that give information on the story, location of keycards, combinations etc)
Small Storage Crate
Medium Storage Crate
Large Storage Crate

REALLY simple models, the crates are just boxes lol. I'll be able to give them a bit of detail with bump mapping and textures though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 23, 2016, 07:38:42 PM
Well there's been a real shitstorm developing today lol. Palmer Luckey is allegedly funding a far right company that is creating anti-Clinton memes.

Of course, what seems like the entire interwebs has failed to realise is that on that Reddit account the bloke concerned was posting on he stated that he wasn't going to announce who he really was because it would affect his business. And the next minute Palmer Luckey (allegedly) tells a tabloid paper that nobody has heard of that he is that person.

There are loads of people on various forums saying that they're not going to buy a Rift because of this lol. Until I see an official statement I call shenanigans on this.

And it's not going to affect me buying a Rift. It's the best headset that once Touch has released will give you the better VR experience.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 23, 2016, 08:32:48 PM
[Anyone know (or care) what he's harping on about now?]
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 23, 2016, 09:07:48 PM
[Anyone know (or care) what he's harping on about now?]

US political intrigue, old chap. Just visit any gaming website and you'll be able to see what's going on. People are going apeshit in the States, it's hilarious lol ;D ;D ;D

And the worst thing is that BOTH of the possible Presidents Of The United States are fucking awful lmfao. If you thought we had it bad over here with our political options when we get to the Ballot Box the Yanks have got things ten times as bad.

Although I guess if you vote in Clinton you'll be voting in the Vice President as the next President because she looks like she's going to drop dead sooner rather than later lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D

Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump with their finger on the button for 4 years. This is not going to end well. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 23, 2016, 09:51:22 PM
(http://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/s480x480/e15/11254442_862140553858056_2110263480_n.jpg?ig_cache_key=OTgxODM4ODI3OTMxNDI0NzI3.2)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 23, 2016, 11:14:46 PM
Yup. I say this every General Election - it doesn't matter who you vote in, they're all a bunch of cunts lol ;D ;D ;D

But the two options that the Yanks have are the worst two I've ever seen. Although as I've said you won't see Hillary Clinton being President for long if she gets voted in, she might not even last until the election lmfao :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 24, 2016, 09:10:28 AM
...she looks like she's going to drop dead sooner rather than later lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D

...she might not even last until the election lmfao :o

I appreciate you don't like her, but that's not right, mate.
I personally couldn't care less who wins the US election (nor UK elections - I've never once voted in a General Election in my life), but I wouldn't wish anyone death or serious injury/illness unless they'd directly harmed me or my family, or were convicted of a heinous crime.
I think that's rather sick, tbh. Might be something you should mention to your therapist.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 24, 2016, 09:23:24 AM
Anyway, back to games...

Replayed Dishonored this week - in anticipation of Dishonored 2 coming out soon (early Nov, I believe). Still think it's a cracking game. Played it the stealth way (got the achievement for zero kills, but didn't get the "ghost" achievement for not being detected, unfortunately), and am tempted to replay it "rambo style", and get one of the high chaos endings.
Probably won't replay it any time soon though, if I'm honest. Too many other games in the backlog.

Tesco are doing 2 preorders for £70 (http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/2-for-70-variable-savings-4-pre-order-games-with-code-tesco-direct-2515261) at the moment on certain console games, which ain't bad.
Could be tempted by a few, there...
Dishonored 2, Mafia 3, Titanfall 2, Steep, Watch Dogs 2, and Forza Horizon 3 all look promising. Will probably wait until they're cheaper, though, tbh. I don't need to have them at release, what with the aforementioned backlog.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 24, 2016, 10:15:29 AM
I'm not 'wishing death' on anyone. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 24, 2016, 12:03:09 PM
Gears 4 is £35 on amazon anyway, Ive pre-ordered that... And bought a white controller for £45.. Didn't fancy shelling out another £15 for the gears controller
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 24, 2016, 04:28:01 PM
Fucking hell, if the Touch controllers for the Rift released today there would be 651 Rift games available to play :o

Unfortunately though Steam's curation has been piss poor so far, there's a lot of shite on there available to buy and a lot of it is decent but WAAAAAAAY overpriced. :-\

Have realised that due to the dates when I'm getting my credit card bill and can make payments that I'm going to be able to get my Rift before Halloween :o ;D :o

I'm planning on scaring myself shitless lol ;D ;D ;D

1) Dreadhalls https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olvJ7nUX2sI
2) Dreadeye https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_sekZxsAjg
3) Bioshock 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFXF8Y9LI8g
4) Outlast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1XcaFc2MKE
5) Affected https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYC_0nerQ2U
6) The Visitor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GPAzt1SLFw

Not sure if I'll be doing them in that order, I'll probably do the shorter experiences first I reckon. Bioshock 1 in particular is supposed to REALLY freak the fuck out of you lol :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 03, 2016, 02:12:17 PM
I've just won the Poster Of The Week award on the Oculus forums and won myself a T-shirt 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 05, 2016, 05:57:30 PM
Well the reviews for PlayStation VR have started to come in today and it's not good :-\

In terms of ergonomics the headset itself is the dog's bollocks, there's virtually no SDE either. But the tracking is pants due to the camera being a pile of old pants so it loses tracking with the headset at times and the Move controllers jitter. What I was hoping was going to be Sony bringing good quality VR to the mainstream has gone out of the window. There are also frame rate issues with the games but hopefully that will be sorted out with the release of the PS54 Pro.

Those tracking issues are going have people blowing chunks I reckon, and bad VR experiences can put people of it for life. Sony should have included a new camera I reckon.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 06, 2016, 09:10:53 AM
Did you see Lost Odyssey has been added to backwards compatibility, Kieran? If memory serves, you were a massive fan of the game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 06, 2016, 11:11:51 AM
I did indeed see that.. I still own the 360 discs anyway.. but its definitely one of the best JRPGs of recent times.

I replayed it as my last game on the 360 (prior to the X1 release) just to get 20 achievement points (own every single treasure in the game) which took me to 100k Gamerscore too - it took fucking ages lol.

There were some half decent JRPGs on the 360 actually, Blue Dragon (minus the voice acting) and Resonance of Fate were also top notch.. apart from a few arcade downloads.. there's been nothing really of note on the X1 although I do hold some hope that Scalebound is going to change that.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 06, 2016, 11:33:18 PM
Fucking hell, MEGATON after MEGATON dropped by Oculus earlier this evening at the Oculus Connect 3 keynote.

Firstly Facebook and Social VR bollocks which would be really geeking me out if I gave a fuck about social network bollocks lol. Avatars with 1 billion different combinations (I still prefer the simplicity of Miis though myself but they did start a trend I guess). Had Zuckerberg taking a selfie with a selfie stick with some tart he phoned up and his dog sitting on his couch in his front room. Facial gestures for avatars etc. Wasn't paying that much attention to it all tbh because all of this social networking is a load of old bollocks to me personally.

Oculus are working on a Rift/Gear VR bastard child which will be a standalone unit (so you don't need a PC to power it) with positional tracking, still at the pre-pre Alpha stage though.

New $49 in-ear ear buds for the Rift, supposed to be dog's bollocks quality. Not too interested in those because my Georgie Porgie will chew the wires, the little bugger >:(

So where are the MEGATONS, I hear you ask..? And why aren't they 'megatons' or even 'Megatons'. Well here they are:

1) Some of you may be aware that the Oculus SDK has something called Asynchronous TimeWarp (or ATW for short) which when the frames in a game start dropping it kicks in and duplicates the frame before it and calculates what the difference is movement would have been and 'timewarps' that frame so that it resembles what the next delayed frame would have looked like. This means that the display on the HMD doesn't judder and gameplay remains smooth and comfortable to play.

Now ATW only works in 2 dimensions (as far as I understood what they were saying) so if the game is rendering a 3D object that's moving in the Z access ie moving closer or further away from the player you'll still get a bit of judder because ATW can't compensate for those lost frames.

So Oculus have come up with Asynchronous SpaceWarp (ASW). ASW also works in the Z axis so you'll effectively get NO FRAMERATE DROPS AT ALL. Now from a developer's perspective that was the first MEGATON. But it gets better. The way that ATS works is that unlike ATW it doesn't kick in when the frames drop BUT WORKS ALL OF THE TIME. The framerate for all Rift games, experiences and apps is dropped from 90fps to 45fps and for alternate frames the frames are copied and calculated and SpaceWarped whether the game needs it or not. So those 45 frames per second plus those SpaceWarped 45 frames per second make a smooth 90fps.

2) So why is that a second MEGATON ffs, I hear you ask again. Because your PC is only processing 45fps so has less work to do. And that means that the minimum spec for Rift games can be lowered, you can even run these games on a laptop now! :o

3) And if that wasn't enough MEGATONNAGE Oculus have also done a deal with Epic that covers developers' royalty payments (if your game sells over $3000 per month you need to pay them a 5% royalty). If your game makes up to $5m Oculus will pay Epic the $250,000 royalty fees :o

The Touch controllers aren't being released until 6th December which is disappointing but I'm not going to be able to afford them until next year so I'm not too bothered about that.

I was feeling quite deflated about the mainstream VR scene after Sony have fucked things up but Oculus pretty much halving the cost needed to spend on a Rift capable machine has buoyed my hopes about that. Most gamers now won't be needing to buy a new machine or even upgrade their current one to enjoy PCVR. The new minimum specs are now:

GeForce GX 960
Intel i3 6100 (or AMD FX4350)

Absolutely fantastic news! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 08, 2016, 09:01:31 AM
Zzzzzz

I had a go on a gear headset yesterday, totally unimpressed.   What's the point of VR if you have to play with controllers. Also don't want to play games with a giant headset on lol.  Felt a bit pukey after 5 mins playing a game too

Also saw a hololens in action last week, unfortunately I couldn't be bothered to wait around for a demo,  I just watched people using it. They looked stupid
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 08, 2016, 10:32:53 AM
Judging VR after a go with a Gear VR or Google Cardboard is a bit like judging a Porshe after trying a Robin Reliant lol. The Rift and Vive are completely different experiences.

And are you talking about gamepad controllers or the Vive and Touch controllers..? If you're talking about the former then it won't be a problem because the latter will give you hand tracking. If you're talking about the latter then how are you supposed to do stuff without them..?  :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 17, 2016, 09:10:41 AM
Played and finished Gears of War 4 most of last week and the weekend.. I really enjoyed it.. despite not a lot happening throughout the main game.  A bit frustrating that it starts a new story arc off.. but then sidetracks for most of the game and picks up again at the end in preparation for the next two, the ending was a bit sudden but makes sense if you've played the others. 

Most of the time you are chasing after a 'snatch'er which basically resembles a walking vagina that can open its belly up and 'snatch' people lol.. cue loads of silly giggles throughout my playthrough... no wonder this games an 18! 

I played around 5 games of multiplayer last night, its pretty good... first game I ended up with 0.48 K/D ratio.. which was terrible.. but I was averaging at about 1.0 by the end of the session.  Some good gamemodes in there though - Dodgeball is probably my favourite.. you get one life - but every kill your team makes brings back one of your teammates - then there is Arms Race which see you cycle through about 13 different weapons.. every time your team kills 3 enemies - your whole team cycles onto the next weapon.. I am yet to try Horde but will definitely get around to that.  Got a friend coming over on Wednesday to start an Impossible co-op story run-through.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 17, 2016, 09:15:10 AM
Am really looking forward to Titanfall 2 aswell... although it will have to wait as I'm getting married this weekend.. then away for a week... are you planning on getting T2 at launch late - will have to hook up again and kick some ass at that.. although with a single player campaign, I'll probably play through that first.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 18, 2016, 01:47:35 AM
Shite. My PC is playing up. Started off with the Unreal Engine crashing when Building the lighting so I thought I'd update my 1080 drivers to see if that made any difference but I can't get the fucker to install. And now I can't start in Safe Mode to use DDU.

Going to check my c: drive to see if it's on its way out, if it's fine then I'm probably going to reformat the thing and install a fresh Windows 10 on it.

The good news is that I originally thought that the lighting issue was down to me creating my models with SketchUp, if I had to redo those models in Maya then that would add MONTHS onto my schedule. I'm planning on having something playable in a few months and the game finished before next Halloween.

I've been thinking that I should have started on something a bit simpler for my first game but there aren't nearly enough VR horror games out there so as long as it isn't a complete pile of old pants it should get a few downloads and people should appreciate it. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 19, 2016, 01:33:02 PM
No, I probably won't buy it at launch, Kieron. I don't go near the console much these days.

All the best for the wedding this weekend mate!  8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 20, 2016, 07:36:44 AM
Pah.. you've changed bud!  ;D  Cheers matey... looking forward to the big day.. and years of misery afterwards  :P

In gaming news.. I hear Nintendo are officially unveiling the NX today (3pm UK time) - this should be fun seeing what outdated monstrosity they have come up with.  And news of RDR2 was officially confirmed earlier this week.. for release, autumn next year - cant wait for that.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 20, 2016, 01:23:48 PM
No, I probably won't buy it at launch, Kieron. I don't go near the console much these days.

All the best for the wedding this weekend mate!  8)

That's what happens when you join the PC Master Race...although to be fair things can go tits up with PCs. I'm having to format my hard drive and reinstall Windows at the moment. Good job I've got an SSD so it's not going to take long.

First time I've had a problem with Windows to this extreme for YEARS though. I have all of my game development on another drive and have backed up everything that I need from that system drive so it's no big deal I guess.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 20, 2016, 06:36:05 PM
We'll see what happens when RDR2 releases years before the pc version and how long it takes before you give in ;) 
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 20, 2016, 06:51:03 PM
I've now got 70-odd GB of free space on my system drive now...I had been meaning to clear it up anyway lol :o ;D

Not too sure what caused the problem TBH, it was definitely a driver issue for my GPU but the steps I took should have fixed it. Maybe a part of my Registry was corrupted somehow..?

I was tempted to do a format and fresh install of my system drive before I got my Rift this weekend anyway so fuck it lol :P

I'm torn between getting my Rift from Game, PC World or John Lewis, I reckon John Lewis might be my best bet because Game staff in particular are brain-dead so I'll have less problems at John Lewis if I get a wonky Rift to get a replacement.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 20, 2016, 09:06:24 PM
It's mainly family issues (one of the kids is ill, but I don't want to get into it).



"Nintendo Switch" (link to Eurogamer article) (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-10-20-nintendo-switch-nx-games-specs-release-date)
God bless you, Nintendo. Stay batty :D
I have zero interest in buying the console, but I love that they insist on doing things differently. It gives people options, increases the size of the gaming industry's audience, and also keeps the main contenders on their toes.
We have details of how it bridges the console/handheld divide, but not much detail on the processor, resolution, or price. Releases in March 2017.

Not sure that showing off Skyrim on the console is a great selling point. Whilst it's nice you can now play it on a handheld, everyone who's interested in the game played it the better part of a decade ago (okay, the game's actually a few days short of 5 years old at the time I make this post, but it'll be over 5 years old when the console gets released and that qualifies as "the better part of a decade" :P )
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 20, 2016, 11:04:14 PM
Meh. No VR..? Not interested, not even for Zelda :o

Not sure exactly when I'm going to get my Rift. I get a new credit card bill on 23rd so I might be able to get it tomorrow, I can't see the payment clearing sooner than Monday which means the interest won't be added to my bill on 23rd and I can pay that all off before I get my next bill on 23rd November. ;D

I think I'll phone the credit card company tomorrow just in case, I need to phone them anyway so that they don't refuse the payment and freeze my account because they think my card may have been nicked. They did this when I tried to order my GPU a couple of months ago.

Pretty good that they do that TBH, even though it is a bit of a pain in the bum lol  :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 21, 2016, 01:49:17 PM
Fuck it, I've just ordered it lol

Game was out of stock and PC World was out of stock so I ordered one from John Lewis. Looks like they've closed down the shop in Wood Green so I'm picking it up from Waitrose in Crouch End instead.

Can't wait to give it a go! First up is Dreamdeck, then Lucky's Tale and then I'm going to buy Dreadhalls. Time to do some washing so that I have plenty of clean boxers handy lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 22, 2016, 02:09:52 PM
Got my credit card bill today and the payment hasn't cleared. Nice!

Am on the bus on my way home with my Rift!  8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 23, 2016, 02:43:59 AM
I posted my Oculus Rift first impressions everywhere else apart from here earlier! Here they are:

Piss easy to set up, I had already downloaded the necessary software and games and stuff so all I had to do was plug everything in and away I went.

Headset is as light as a feather, really surprised me...I thought they might have sent me one without anything inside it by mistake lol

Headset is VERY comfortable and accommodates my glasses without a problem, although to be fair my frames are pretty small. I did originally try putting in my Lens Lab prescription lenses but had trouble fitting the things but my glasses fit fine without a problem so I won't bother with them.

My USB extension cables I bought a few weeks ago work fine but my HDMI extension cable doesn't. I've solved the problem by using a HDMI auto switch box that I bought from eBay for 99p and a spare 2m HDMI cable I had lying around lol
I've only tried Dreamdeck so far which was amazing, but for some reason I only appear to be 3 foot tall lmfao, and I couldn't find any way to reset the view. I've already felt my first sense of presence when I looked over the edge of the drop on top of the skyscraper, I went a little dizzy and took an immediate step back because my lizard brain thought I was going to fall!!! I'm fine with heights as long as there's no danger of me falling and looking over the edge had me almost crapping myself lmfao

As far as the quality of the display and the optics is concerned I immediately noticed the SDE when I first put the headset on but had no problem not noticing it once I started Dreaddeck.

Time for a bit of Lucky's Tale and then I'm going to buy Dreadhalls. I have clean underwear handy!

Have just had a quick go on Lucky's Tale and it's delightful!!!

Also had a quick go on Dreadhalls and didn't think it was so bad...but then the tension went up a couple of notches after I got the first eye and I nearly crapped myself with a couple of jump scares lol. The sound and music in this game is excellent, and is giving me a few handy pointers for my game that I'm working on.
No sign of any simulation sickness so far which is fantastic, I played around 30 minutes of Dreadhalls and didn't have any problems at all and I turned the rotation speed up a notch too. I'm having a quick break so that I can do my injection and have a bite to eat. Being an insulin-dependent diabetic it's going to be interesting to see if being in VR, particularly playing Dreadhalls or other horror games, is going to affect my blood-sugar levels. Ever since I was diagnosed at the age of 5 high stress situations have drastically lowered my sugar levels, I had to have something extra to eat before all of my exams and started having a hypo when I had laser treatment done on my eyes last month.

I'm REALLY happy with this purchase!!!

Since I posted that I've given Elite Dangerous a go and fucking hell, you have absolutely NO IDEA about the sheer size of everything until you play the game in VR. Everything is so bloody huge!!! I've started a brand new Commander to commemorate me getting my Rift so have gone all the way back from 70m credits to 1000 and from a Vulture armed to the teeth to a Sidewinder lol  :o :P

I also gave a 360 video horror experience a go called Catacombs where you're being wheeled through an insane asylum in a wheelchair. For some reason known only to themselves the first part of the experience is filmed out of focus and low resolution, I almost quit it because the quality was so bad but I'm glad I stuck with it because after a certain point the quality improves greatly and it REALLY freaked the FUCK out of me. I nearly 'noped' out of it lmfao :o :-[ :o

I'm normally pretty good with these sorts of things but this was all in your face lmfao  ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 24, 2016, 03:00:10 PM
Also forgot to mention that I absolutely LOVE the Xbox One controller. I liked the 360 quite a bit too but the experience using it was ruined somewhat by the godawful D-Pad which Microsoft have fixed with the Xbox One controller.

I've tried Elite Dangerous, Dreadhalls, Lucky's Tale and Adr1ft so far, the most impressive two so far are Elite Dangerous and Adr1ft. Both have been 'WOW' moments. When you play Elite Dangerous 'flat' on a telly or monitor you don't have any idea of the scale of everything but in VR it's all pretty jaw dropping tbh.

Adr1ft is also amazing. You really do feel like you're floating in zero gravity in a bloody great big space suit and you feel a bit of real panic when your air starts to run out.

Lucky's Tale is delightful and whilst it's not up to the level of a 3D Mario game it's not a million miles away either - high production values, high budget and tight gameplay make this worth a purchase even if you didn't get it for free with every Rift.

Dreadhalls is also excellent, it leads you in gently and ramps up the stress, tension and scares as the game goes on. I haven't been tempted to 'nope' my way out of the game but I had a few 'ohshitohshitohshitohshit!' moments last night lol :-[ ;D ;D ;D

I have now enabled supersampling with the Oculus Debug Tool and everything looks so much better, although to be fair it all looks pretty good before you start to supersample stuff. I have also worked out how to fit my prescription lens adapters into the Rift which means I don't need to wear my glasses whilst using it.

If you guys get a chance to try out a demo you should give it a go, not sure about Game but some John Lewis stores are doing demos of the Rift.

I've been waiting for VR to be in the home since 1982 when I read William Gibson's Neuromancer and it has definitely been worth the wait! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 24, 2016, 07:18:50 PM
I'd like to give it a try, but we I doubt we'll see it in shops round here (and it's rare I leave Teesside).
I don't feel I'm missing much though. If it takes off I'll get it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 25, 2016, 10:39:39 AM
I can't see it not taking off tbh, it's pretty expensive right now but those prices should come down over time. It's obviously not going to sell a shitload at these current prices but they reckon that HTC have sold 140,000 by now and Oculus should have sold twice that by now being the stronger brand. ;D

And yes, just in case any of you are wondering, I have checked out VR Porn - purely for SCIENCE of course - and it's GLORIOUS :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 25, 2016, 10:41:09 PM
I thought PC gaming was supposed to be cheaper than console gaming.. try finding Civilization 6 for under £40.. impossible..

Apparently its supposed to be back to its best and shit hot - so bit annoyed I'm paying console prices for a pc game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 26, 2016, 12:28:42 AM
I thought PC gaming was supposed to be cheaper than console gaming.. try finding Civilization 6 for under £40.. impossible..

Apparently its supposed to be back to its best and shit hot - so bit annoyed I'm paying console prices for a pc game.

Only if you wait until it's in a sale on Steam (or the Oculus Store).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 26, 2016, 02:18:06 AM
I thought PC gaming was supposed to be cheaper than console gaming.. try finding Civilization 6 for under £40.. impossible..

Apparently its supposed to be back to its best and shit hot - so bit annoyed I'm paying console prices for a pc game.


https://uk.gamesplanet.com/game/sid-meier-s-civilization-vi-steam-key--3031-1

What do I win? :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 26, 2016, 07:54:51 AM
Ermmm £39.99 for a steam key... Nadda lol.

Got a £20 game voucher... But it's bloody £50 there lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on October 27, 2016, 02:53:51 PM
Anyone getting the Skyrim special edition? Definitely my favourite game ever, but not sure if I can do it all again lol. Must of been about 600 hours in total :o

Also not sure if I really want to pay full price for a 5 year old game with shiny graphics and (probably) crap mods.

Also recently finished the Uncharted remastered collection. And have just completed the PS4 version of Canis Canem Edit, just need to buy stuff for the platinum. So not sure if I want another remaster.  :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 27, 2016, 06:15:19 PM
I bought all of the Bethesda games in a mega bundle a while back so I'll be checking it out at some point, but when I do I'll be playing it using VorpX which allows most 'flat' games to be played in VR. Once you go VR you never go back! :P

I have now downloaded a shitload of VR Porn and it's awesome. It's just like having a real girlfriend except that she doesn't nag, has the appearance of any one of a shitload different women, doesn't get pissed off when you come in drunk in the early hours of the morning, doesn't laugh at the size of my small cock, is right up for threesomes and most importantly doesn't want to watch crappy reality telly for 24 hours a day and seven days a week lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Maybe I need to get out more... :-[ :-[ :-[

I tried Project CARS last night for the first time and no wonder everyone is fapping over it lol. It's absolutely AMAZING in VR.

I have also been continuing my playthrough of Dreadhalls and the tension has REALLY ramped up now. It started rising after I found the first eye (you have to collect 4 eyes on the first level and put them on 4 diases to get to the next level). I've now collected 1 of the 3 eyes you need to get to the third one, so I'm guessing it's going to be 2 for level 3 and 1 for level 4. The best monster so far is this bloody great big spherical thing with a face that can only see you when you move, the noises it makes are pretty cool and it's quite spooky to hear it when it's right next to your head lol

I haven't been tempted to Nope out of it yet though!

I'm VERY disappointed that we haven't seen any Halloween sales from Steam or Oculus yet though >:(

Mind you, I've got plenty of games so far to play on Halloween in VR:

Dreadhalls
The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter
Monstrum
Affected
Emily Wants To Play
The Visitor
Five Nights At Freddy's
Boogeyman
Amigdala
Bioshock 1
Outlast
Dear Esther
Alien Isolation

If I don't post after Halloween I've probably died from a heart attack lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 27, 2016, 07:35:58 PM
Someone from Oculus is obviously reading this forum, they've just started a Halloween sale lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on October 28, 2016, 02:27:02 PM
Everybody's gone to the rapture free on PS+ next month. Heard very good things about that so looking forward to trying it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 28, 2016, 10:49:07 PM
Note to self: Whatever you do DON'T PANIC when playing a horror VR game :o ;D ;D ;D

You'll end up dying and get VERY close to needing a change of boxer shorts lmfao.

Dead Secret is fanfuckingtastic. I just got the living shite scared out of me just now lol :-[

If I hadn't started to panic I could have hidden somewhere!!!

Bloody game lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 02, 2016, 09:22:58 AM
Have to say, Dead Secret and Dreadhalls look absolute shit going by youtube videos lol.. pretty sure I'm not missing out on much there.

I bought Civ6 on steam the other day at work.. then find out when I get home that my landline and broadband have gone down with a fault on the exchange.. some twat has probably unplugged me.. not fixed today and not very happy with Sky who I've only had for the past 2 months and already had a problem.  Was with Virgin for 8 years and this happened once or twice at most - no internet means I can't even install the fucking game - even if I bought the physical copy I'd still have to install part of it from t'internet - and this is half the reason why PC gaming sucks these days.

I might go out and buy Titanfall 2 at the weekend, reviews say its pretty good.. but then again I really want to play the new FIFA and I need to pick up NHL 17 at some point too.. Dead Rising 4 coming in December and I haven't finished Dying Light yet.. too many games, too little time!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 02, 2016, 08:02:40 PM
They might not look great but they're pretty scary to play. You really have to experience VR to understand how amazing it is. It's far from perfect - the resolution isn't high enough and the FOV isn't big enough (it feels like your wearing a set of ski goggles or a diving mask) but despite that it's quite easy to feel 'presence', you actually forget that you're wearing a VR helmet sometimes with a few experiences and games.

You start to feel real dread and panic with both Dreadhalls and Dead Secret once you get into the games, Elite Dangerous is another one where I actually feel like I'm sitting in a spaceship in deep space. Same goes for Adr1ft too, you start to get panicky when your oxygen starts to run low.

My first experience of real presence was when trying out Dreamdeck for the first time. In one of the segments you're on the top of a bloody great big skyscraper in a Steampunk world and I foolishly decided to look right over the edge and got MAJOR vertigo and had to physically take a step back because I started to shit myself lol :-[ ;D :-[

And once the Touch controllers release with hand and finger tracking VR is going to get even better.

We're still at the early stage of things at the moment, you're going to need a headset that can give you 8K per eye, an FOV over 220 degrees (if I'm remembering correctly), full body tracking and an improved treadmill type thing like the Omnix before VR will be indistinguishable from real life but even with the 'primitive' stuff we've got here now the brain and body CAN be fooled.

Everyone apart from Nintendo is jumping on the VR hype train, in 10-20 years time you might not be able to buy a 'flat' video game any more. :o

And not just games either, we're not too far away from films and television programmes being the same, although it might take 5 years longer for 'flat' film and television media going the same way as video games...but it WILL happen.

Have decided to pre-order the Touch controllers after I get my November credit card bill, I should have my Rift purchase paid off before I get my November credit card bill and then hopefully get that Touch purchase paid off before the start of the new year as long as my Mum gives me a hundred quid for my Christmas pressie ;D

Mind you it's going to take A LOT of tightening my belt to do that, the same as I've done to get my Rift. I'll have to swallow a good bit of credit card interest in December but it should be doable just about. I need to lose a bit of weight anyway lol :o ;D :-[
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 03, 2016, 01:06:36 AM
Have just finished playing Technolust and it was brilliant, although pretty predictable and unoriginal as far as the plot goes. Absolutely SHITLOADS of video game and sci-fi film references, although plenty of people will probably have most of those going over their heads.

Am definitely going to play it again. I'm surprised that more developers haven't gone for PBR textures (Physically Based Rendering) for the Unity Engine. PBR to cut a long story short is a way of producing more realistic looking textures, particularly when it comes to lighting. It means that your textures are more complicated to produce but look much more realistic.

Takes a bit more work to create them but the benefits are worth the trouble imo.

Going to start work on my game again soon, I've had a 12 day break since I got my Rift but I reckon it's time to get back to SketchUp, Maya and Substance Designer/Painter whenever I can.

Before I got my Rift I tried sorting out my light maps for a simple storage crate but I haven't quite got them quite right yet. Need to do a fair bit of experimentation I think. I've also found that the way that I've turned my third person character into a first person character doesn't work in VR for some reason but, again, I'll have to do a bit of experimentation before I can get this right.

I don't have a Scooby Doo what I'm doing, without Google and YouTube I wouldn't have got very far lmfao. I'm going to need to try and work on things a bit more than I have been since I started this all off in August but my depression makes it VERY difficult to work on. A while back I used to have good days and bad days but these days I'm having good days and bad weeks. :-\  :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 07, 2016, 10:02:59 PM
Have just finished a Mining Shuttle for my game.

(http://i.imgur.com/1KGF2Ro.jpg)

And I've uploaded it to SketchFab (https://sketchfab.com/models/c697a2404c1c41f8b5cc98d24c123928) if you fancy twirling it around and having a proper look 8)

Any constructive criticism of any of my models would be very much appreciated! ;D

And yes, I did rip off the engines from Star Trek lol :-[ :P ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 09, 2016, 09:33:15 AM
I'm really enjoying The Journey on Fifa 17 - its a bit rigid though - you'll follow a set path no matter what options you do and your performance in the games doesn't really have much effect on the story - but its still pretty cool and its got massive potential for the future.  I think it would be more realistic if you started at lower league clubs and worked your way up and also being able to edit your player's name/appearance would of been nice too but its a welcome addition in my eyes.. EA Sports games are great when you can play offline with people - I've never really enjoyed playing those titles online.. (which is why I mainly stick to NHL these days) - but having a more expanded single player game definitely makes it more appealing to me.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 22, 2016, 06:06:19 PM
(https://s15.postimg.org/ki3bp6gzv/dec_gwg.png)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 22, 2016, 08:02:13 PM
I got Outlast from Steam for dirt cheap ages ago but haven't played it yet. It's supposed to be pretty scary played 'flat' but in VR via VorpX it's supposed to be a different kettle of fish altogether. I still haven't finished Dead Secret yet since I got freaked out by Ending D lol :-[ :-[ :-[ ;D ;D ;D ;D :-\

Going to have to go back and finish that soon.

Have now done the protagonist's ship for my game. I decided to take a Star Trek Shuttle, a Star Wars Imperial Shuttle and Flash Gordon's spaceship (from the Buster Crabbe days) and take them to pieces and then build a ship from all the parts. I was going to originally call it The Lancer due to the pointy bit that's on the front of Flash Gordon's ship but I changed the design slightly. When I finished it the ship looks like this:

(http://i.imgur.com/EUpjuus.jpg)

So I've called it The Raven. And that change of design and renaming of the ship has also given me the name of the ship's on-board computer, Edgar, and the name of the protagonist, Commander Allan. 8)

Next up is doing a few asteroids, the docking bay of Nakamura's Pride where the gameplay starts and Nakamura's Pride itself. For the Nakamura's Pride I'm going to go for a Battlestar Galactica shaped ship but with the docking bays at the back and the Star Trek inspired engines being at the sides of the ship. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 23, 2016, 08:58:56 AM
Glad I held out on Outlast... if they would of put it on for a decent sale price - I would of paid for it.. but when you see it on steam for a couple of quid.. there's no way I'm paying over a tenner for it on xbox.

Man I'm addicted to Civ 6 at the moment, definitely the best Civ to date - the two biggest negatives, the diplomacy and AI - the AI has never been perfect (or rather anywhere near good) - it seems pathetic in this game but doesn't distract from the overall gameplay to be fair.  I'm on my 3rd game at the moment, playing on King (one above normal).  I'm allied with the Romans and the Japs but everyone else hates me as I had to smack up the Scythians a bit as they started dominating with their religion and no-one likes a warmonger.  As I'm going for a Science victory, all my tech is far more advanced than the other Civs.. so I've just started the Manhattan Project (in 1890) and will be producing nukes very shortly.. I'm afraid the Japs aren't going to know what hit them  ;D  Whilst we are current allies.. they are slowly but surely creeping up the Culture Victory route, so Kyoto is going to get the shit blown out of it if they continue on  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 23, 2016, 05:02:14 PM
And I thought that Trump with his finger on the button was risky business lol :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 24, 2016, 05:12:03 AM
Talking of Outlast and Outlast 2 you might want to contribute to this Kickstarter before you get either one of them (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1149400304/underscares-the-diaper-from-the-creators-of-outlas) :o ;D ;D ;D :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 24, 2016, 02:02:08 PM
Have now done 5 textures for my asteroids. Have decided to do 5 separate asteroid models and have also decided that there are way too many gray asteroids out there in video games. The vast majority of developers are lazy buggers and just do one model and one texture and make it appear to be loads of different asteroids by changing the scale and rotating several instances of that one model.

Bollocks to that. I'm going to have 5 models and 5 textures for mine just to give it more variety and to make my game stand out more. The textures were VERY quick and easy to do, you can do one in just over a minute if you rush things. :o And these are created from scratch without the use of any photos or anything.

I'm on the bus so I'll edit them into this post later. 8)

Back now, here you go:

(http://forum.vrspies.com/uploads/default/original/1X/6319948faedadd114bb8014ab533afb846814208.jpg)

(http://forum.vrspies.com/uploads/default/original/1X/31999c4af9bf956d9ff2cb5259c5b06697ab4012.jpg)

(http://forum.vrspies.com/uploads/default/original/1X/e4c1a6422c24f868777bc615572f5dda8a3e96cc.jpg)

(http://forum.vrspies.com/uploads/default/original/1X/d34474a09fefec52feeb6a6660f606d845d81faa.jpg)

(http://forum.vrspies.com/uploads/default/original/1X/346b75658d6f16c0f29be9dc41d5f4dff2181753.jpg)

Not sure I like the first one so I might replace it with another one. All 4K at 300dpi. 8) ;D

Please feel free to give me any feedback on this stuff!

Next on the list is the 5 asteroid models themselves with ZBrush, I'll probably have a go at that later tonight I reckon. And after I've done that I need to do the docking bay, Nakamura's Pride and the inside of The Raven cockpit which is going to be the opening screen when the game starts where you can access the menus and stuff on the ship's displays.

Then once I've done all that (and UV Unwrapped the bloody models and sorted out the rest of the textures which is a REAL pain in the arse that I've been avoiding lol) I can start working on the cutscene where you receive the distress signal in a scene in the cockpit (so a seamless transition between the opening screen and the start of the cutscene followed by a fade to black and a fade in to a scene where you're watching the ship trying to dock surrounded by bloomin great big asteroids and you get fired upon, damaging your ship beyond repair and leaving you stranded.

Then I'll have a few missions such as the obligatory keycards to open doors or lifts to different areas of the ship, finding the weapons control center so that you can turn those guns off, into engineering to switch off the one way forcefield that's going to prevent you from leaving and probably a few other bits and pieces that I haven't thought of yet lol

I don't think I'm doing too bad so far. I've got the name of the game, the name of the ship (which are one and the same), have built 12 (soon to be 17) models, have got the name of the protagonist (Commander Allan) and the name of the protagonist's ship computer (Edgar) and have got the basics of a plot which the player can pick up by reading infopads/logs etc.

All I need to do after I've done all that above is do a few more corridor models (for corridors with doors), a few room models, some more props, Commander Allan's model and the enemies' model. Then I can start throwing it all together. I reckon I should have the game finished before Halloween next year all going well. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 01, 2016, 10:02:35 PM
Blimey. 53 Touch titles are going to be available on launch day (6th December). (https://www.oculus.com/blog/touch-launch-lineup/) And 7 of them are going to be available for free:

Unspoken
VR Sports Challenge
Dead & Buried
Medium
Quill
First Contact
Toybox

With an 8th free title, Robo Recall, coming from Epic early next year.

I'm going to hold off buying any Touch compatible games until closer to Christmas, both Steam and Oculus are bound to have some Christmas Sales going on. 8)

Have continued my playthrough of Dead Secret last night, the game is excellent. Very spooky, great atmosphere and took me a few deaths to work out how to stop getting killed by the Witch coming up the stairs. Tried hiding in the wardrobe. Dead. Hiding under the bed. Dead. Hiding behind a chair. Dead. I won't reveal how I did it just in case you guys decide to buy it (the game can be played flat) but if you don't panic you'll see what to do. Very difficult not to panic in VR though lol. And every time I died I got freaked out by the Witch reaching out to grab me. :-[ :-[ :-[ ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 03, 2016, 01:32:34 PM
I completed Dead Secret last night, an excellent game. Decent puzzles and nearly pooed my pants a few times whilst playing it lol. If you like scary games and puzzle games I highly recommend it, although I'm I'm guessing that you won't find it as scary playing it as a flat game. The atmosphere, sound and music are excellent, as is the timing of the jump scares and animation. Definitely worth picking up. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 04, 2016, 02:47:50 PM
Is it as good as Zombiu, which you swore was the scariest and most excellent game ever, and it turns out was a complete bucket of wank?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on December 04, 2016, 02:56:42 PM
Zombi was a free PS+ game a few months back and it was shite lol.

Finished Game of Thrones telltale game a week or so ago which was brilliant. Considering I've never seen the show I really enjoyed it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 04, 2016, 05:54:58 PM
ZombiiU was a completely different game with the Wii U controller and before Ubisoft patched the difficulty out of it. It wasn't really a scary game, just a game with a ridiculous amount of stress and tension. It REALLY had you panicking at times.

In fact this is a game that would translate really well to VR and motion controls, although if they did bring this game to VR they would probably give it a bloody teleport mechanic and ruin it :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 05, 2016, 11:05:15 PM
Loads of people have got their Touch controllers early and the review embargo ended at 4 this afternoon. Everyone is saying that the Touch controllers make the Rift the best VR solution out there and that they're the best motion controllers. No surprise to me tbh. 8)

Loads of free software with Touch too including Medium, Dead & Buried, Unspoken and VR Sports Challenge although those last two are for pre-orders only. I would have quite happily paid good money for those first three, but not too keen on VR Sports Challenge because the sports are too USA-centric. They would have been better off having the same sports as Wii Sports tbh.

Not getting mine until tomorrow, although I've checked the DPD app on my phone and they haven't received it in Leicester yet which is a bit of a bugger. I might not end up getting it until Wednesday I reckon. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 05, 2016, 11:08:28 PM
Just checked DPD again and it's on its way to Enfield and I should be getting it tomorrow! ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 06, 2016, 05:52:08 PM
Fucking hell, these Touch controllers are amazing. The finger tracking is cool and it doesn't take you long to completely forget that you're holding a couple of controllers. All of the hands-on reports and reviews are absolutely spot on - they just feel like an extension of your hands. Amazing.

I've just spent 70 quid on the Touch games bundle - you get The Climb, I Expect You To Die, Superhot, Space Pirate Trainer, Kingspray Graffiti and Ripcoil. I'm not particularly interested in Kingspray Graffiti but I was planning on getting the others at some point so I thought I'd take advantage of the offer.

I'll worry about paying for it later  :o :-\ :o That's what credit cards are for lol :P

Just had a quick mess around with Medium which is a sculpting program and it's pretty cool. It's pretty much a poor man's ZBrush in VR. I'll post a pic of my first masterpiece once I find out where Medium has saved it!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 06, 2016, 10:49:54 PM
Fuck me ragged with a wire brush!!! The Climb is amazing. And bad news for me is that this is a score based game, I have a habit of playing score based games over and over and over and over and over and over again because I get obsessed with beating my top bloody score ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

I'm currently 85th on the Leaderboard on the first mountain, I probably won't get anywhere near the top 20 but I'd be happy with a top 50 score. I'm not very good with heights either so this game is a bit stressful for me lol. My legs started to wobble at one point lmfao :o :-[

There's plenty of content and plenty of replay value too. I didn't think that this game would suit the Touch controllers but it works quite well. I haven't quite got the hang of jumping from one handhold to another one a good distance away, I might have to have a look at the tutorial again I think.

The game looks beautiful too, no surprise given the engine and the developer (the CryEngine and Crytek!).

As well as your bog standard climbing a mountain just cos it's there mode there's also a feature where you can race people to beat their scores and you see ghost hands of which route they climbing and how fast they're going.

I also tried Dead & Buried but I came across a REALLY annoying bug that kept on respawning me about a foot in the air which meant that I couldn't take cover behind stuff so I got pwned like a mofo lol >:(

I'll have another go on that tomorrow I think.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 07, 2016, 03:40:54 AM
Superhot has also been getting rave reviews by everyone so I'm going to have to try that tomorrow at some point too. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 07, 2016, 10:21:44 AM
Here's my very first effort with Medium. I was just messing around with the swirl tool for a few minutes. I'll do something proper later on:

(http://i.imgur.com/aAECWZR.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 11, 2016, 01:17:05 AM
Got my code for VR Sports Challenge and The Unspoken today. Only tried The Unspoken so far and it's awesome. Went through the tutorials and then jumped straight into a couple of Ranked mches and got seriously pwned lmfao :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[

Going to have a fair few practice matches against the AI before I do that again lol ;D ;D ;D

Have been having problems with SteamVR which is a pain in the arse, you would have thought that Valve would have been better prepared for Oculus Touch tbh.

I've decided to go for Touch controls for both of my games now, it will mean that I'll have to scrap the idea of the alien enemies jumping on your chest and have the game in proper first person mode (so that the player model is just a couple of arms) rather than third person mode with a camera slapped on the character's head. It means that you won't be able to look down and see your legs and body but the hand presence should add a bit of immersion. Means that you can punch and grab things, push buttons and flick switches with your pointy finger and bung your thumbprint on scanners and stuff.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 20, 2016, 04:59:29 PM
Looks like Crytek are continuing to go down the toilet. They've just closed down a load of their offices in various countries and haven't paid their staff in months. :o

You would have thought that they were doing better considering the cash they got from the Amazon/Lumberyard deal, the moneyhat they got from Sony for Robinson The Journey and their sales of The Climb.

Perhaps we'll end up seeing Facebook buying them..?

Not sure what happens to a company's debts when they get bought out though. Do they get written off, do the current owners use that money to pay off the debts or does the purchasing company inherit the debt..? No idea how these things work. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 21, 2016, 03:11:25 AM
It ain't my area of expertise, but it can depend on the deal you make (and transfer of debt might have different rules/laws in some countries). Generally if you're "buying" a company you buy the full thing - so you'll acquire all of it's assets and all of it's liabilities.
If all parties agree to it, certain elements can be excluded from the company sale - but if it's a publicly floated company "all parties" can mean thousands of people - as anyone with shares owns part of the company. If the company is owned by one person or a small number of people, they may agree to sell part of the business and retain the rest.

So as a general rule, the new owners become responsible for the debts of the company they're buying.


Naturally, rich new owners are often then in a position to restructure the finances of their new company - so they'd likely agree more favourable terms with the creditors. (From the creditors' point of view, would you rather be owed £500,000 by a company that's massively struggling, or owed £400,000 by a rich company that you know will definitely pay up? For example. Lo and behold, the new owners have just increased the value of their new company by a significant amount, the share values go up, the rich get richer. As is always the way. But I digress...)


An alternative strategy for a prospective buyer is to acquire some of a company's assets without buying the company - so they might pay a large sum to the company in exchange for some of its assets (including intellectual properties and staff).

I could go on, but tbh this post is already way too long for anyone to be arsed to read, and it's 3:30am so I should probably go to bed.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 23, 2016, 04:20:44 PM
I gave my Mum and my Step-Father their first taste of VR yesterday. My Step-Father played First Contact which is a mini-tutorial of how the controls work, how to pick stuff up etc. It has a robot that closely resembles Number 5 from Short Circuit and is done with the Unreal Engine so it looks like the dog's bollocks. You have to do things like put disks into machines, the first to start the robot's programming and then the robot gives you several disks to put into a 3D printer which gives you butterflies, a gun, an old-school football rattle and a sleigh bells thingy to play with, several rockets that you can pick up and pull the string to launch and a final disk that breaks the printer and 3D prints a huge structure made of glowing cubes. He was absolutely blown away, particularly with the finger tracking.

I then put my Mum through Inside Trump's Head (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myrC9KdIwi0) and Dreamdeck. She nearly pooed her pants with the T-Rex in the Museum lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 24, 2016, 11:14:18 PM
Have been playing Edge Of Nowhere which is excellent so far. Very Lovecraftian which is just my cup of tea. I'm playing it on the default difficulty level but will have absolutely no problems at all playing it again on the hardest one. You REALLY get a sense of scale of things in VR, the big monster in it is fucking HUUUUGE.

Gameplay is pretty much Tomb Raider/Uncharted, so you've got a mixture of platforming, sneaking around, shooting and climbing. There's been a few bits of gameplay where you're being chased by monsters whilst the ice under your feet is collapsing which can be pretty tense and the monster design is excellent. I reckon I must be getting towards the end of the game now because the difficulty has ramped up a bit now. I've got bugger all ammo for my shotgun left (2 shells I think lol) and am having to get past a shitload of monsters.

Not sure how long I've been playing, probably around 6 hours or so. ;D

Chronos was one of the games in the Daily Deal in the Oculus Store today so got that for £14.99. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 02, 2017, 03:15:57 AM
I've now unlocked all of the levels in The Climb. So I can now do the Easy, Medium and Hard climbs in each of the four locations (Bay, Canyon, Alps and The North) and both Boulder climbs in each location.

I can do the Medium in all locations but haven't managed a Hard or a Boulder climb in any of them yet. Doesn't help that I'm not too good with heights, my legs tend to go a bit wobbly sometimes lol :-[ ;D ;D ;D

Making jumps is particularly hairy for me which is why I haven't completed the Hard climbs yet.

The Boulder climbs are climbs where you can't use chalk and aren't allowed to get the on-screen guide that shows you which direction you should be going in so you have to work it out. Think I'll do the Hard climbs before I attempt any of those.

The amount of content and replay value makes this game great value even at its full price. Along with SuperHOT it's one of the best VR games I've played so far.

If any of you decide to join the 21st Century you should definitely pick the game up :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 03, 2017, 10:36:26 AM
I've seen gameplay, it looks boring and like it would get old after 30 minutes.

I bought Unravel over the new year period.. was £3.75 on MS Store.. didn't take long to finish, but it is a very beautiful and polished game that was definitely worth that price.  Shame it wasn't a bit tougher with some of its puzzles, but with such basic mechanics I guess it was quite hard - the achievements look like they would take a while though.

Also bought Duck Tales Remastered, I loved the old NES classic, I played it A LOT when I was younger - again was only £3 or so - so worth the money even if it won't take me very long to complete.. its still a bastard of a game in places.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 03, 2017, 06:50:30 PM
Like with most VR games you have to be inside the game to appreciate how awesome it is.

I've been very pleasantly surprised by it tbh. 4 different locations with an Easy, Medium and Hard climb plus 2 Boulder climbs. And there are multiple routes to take so there's plenty of replay value even before you start to think about the leaderboards and races. For races you go to the leaderboard and select another player who has completed a climb and choose to race them. Then when it starts you see your opponent's hands in ghost form and the race starts when you start to climb. Once you start your opponent's previous climb starts and you have to beat their time.

I'd quite like to see a proper online mode for this so that you can race in realtime but what's there is pretty good.

And because the game is score-based it's quite addictive.

The controls are very intuitive and as I've mentioned some of the jumps you have to take can be pretty trouser filling, especially for me because I'm not too good with heights lol :-[ ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 03, 2017, 07:51:26 PM
Omfg, the Touch control update for Dreadhalls is on the way. Again, it's another game that doesn't look all that, but once you're inside the game it's fucking amazing. The stress levels (or maybe more fitting to say Dread levels?) are through the roof when playing it. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 04, 2017, 01:13:07 AM
Have just finished the Medium climb in the North location. It's a lot more challenging than the other locations...I ended up falling to my death LOADS of times and it took me 36 minutes to complete lol  :-[ ;D :-[

Graphically it's the best looking in the game, particularly the wildlife - polar bears, puffins, penguins and woolufs so far. There's a bit where one wooluf is growling down at you from above that's VERY convincing. It looked so real. :o

You end up having to climb on moving icebergs and along the moving props of a crashed plane which are a bit nerve-wracking, particularly for someone like me that isn't too good with heights :o

Medium was bloody difficult, I hate to think what the Hard climb is like lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 09, 2017, 09:54:20 PM
Scalebound cancelled.  :o
Shame - looked good, and surely was nearly completed.

http://www.windowscentral.com/xbox-exclusive-scalebound-has-been-canceled
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 10, 2017, 09:49:30 AM
Well that fucking sucks!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 10, 2017, 05:54:57 PM
Just put my Mum through The Blu which is an Unreal-driven VR experience with 3 scenes underwater. I didn't let her know about the bloody great big whale and I almost had to pick her jaw up from the floor lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D

She also nearly pooed her pants in Dreamdeck with the T-Rex scene in the Museum when she and my Step-Father came down just before Christmas lololol

It's a real shame that there aren't any sharks in The Blu tbh, but what is there is jaw droppingly beautiful and a guaranteed OMG moment.

If any of you have an opportunity to have a demo of The Blu you MUST do it. It'll sell you on getting an HMD. 8)

I almost switched my game development from the Unreal Engine to the Unity Engine the other day because there's A LOT more tutorials and stuff from Oculus for Unity integration but am sticking with Unreal I think. It's just going to take me longer to work out how the fuck I can do stuff lol

It's worth sticking with Unreal because the engine is better suited to realistic looking games and performs better. I am, however, dropping support for the Vive. Oculus have this thing called ASW (Asynchronous SpaceWarp) which allows PCs with lower spec to use VR. If the game or experience falls below 90fps it drops the framerate to 45fps and generates alternate frames predicting where the graphics are going to be to make 45fps look like 90fps.

So basically I only need my game to perform at 45fps which means I can up the eye candy 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 13, 2017, 08:11:53 AM
£280 for a Switch... 32GB internal storage and it uses cartridges... lol - another failed console to add to their list methinks.


Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 13, 2017, 04:10:19 PM
It's actually a good idea and what a lot of people have wanted Nintendo to do for years. We'll have to wait and see how it does but I won't be going anywhere near it myself. If it isn't in VR I'm not going anywhere near it. Not even for Zelda. :o

Dreadhalls has had an update implementing Touch controls and it's made an already great game even better. You end up holding the lamp with your left hand and open doors and stuff with your right hand. The best thing, and it's only a small thing but gives you a greater sense of presence, is the map. Before the update you used to look down to see a floating map but now you press the A button on the right controller and see the map in your hand and you need to move the lamp in your left hand to be able to see it in the dark.

It's in my top 5 VR games list and will be for some time I think.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 17, 2017, 01:48:02 PM
Its a crap idea.. when you are choosing a "home" console to play - why would "portability" suddenly be a main factor ?

Not only that but,
There's hardly any games in the launch line-up
It won't be able to output in 4k
It has a measly 32GB storage space
Its too expensive
The battery life is only between 2.5 - 6 hours.

Its gonna flop hard.. I can guarantee it... what most people have wanted Nintendo to do for years is to release their games on other consoles.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 17, 2017, 08:40:42 PM
What's even worse is their PlayStation Plus/Live subscription. No idea what sort of subscription it's going to be but PS+ and Live give games away for free. Now you'd think with their ridiculously HUUUUUUGE back catalogue of classic games on their previous systems that they would throw in a few of these every month with your subscription. There are thousands of games across several systems that people would be happy to get as part of their subscription fee and still have enough games on the VC for people to buy. And what are they doing..?

They're giving people a ROM. Yes, one. And they're only having it available for free for a month, after that you need to buy it if you want to carry on playing it lmfao :o :D :D :D

So they're effectively loaning you a SNES/NES game for a month lol :-\ ;D ;D ;D

One of the big attractions of the Wii U was free online play, even if I wasn't all in on VR I wouldn't be going anywhere near the Switch. Not even for Zelda. :o

Some of their decisions for the Switch have just been plain bizarre tbh.

Meh, I'm a member of the PCMR now anyway, consoles are for peasants :P

Played Dreadhalls for a bit last night and nealy crapped myself. There's a one enemy that's like a big round ball with a face on it, looks pretty gruesome. It floats around and just like a T-Rex it doesn't see you if you stay still. Thought I'd got past the fucker and looked to my right and the bloody thing attacked me, didn't time it right. I didn't scream like A LOT people playing this game do but I shouted pretty loud lmfao :-[ ;D

Have been experimenting with the VR in the Unreal Engine, think I've got a grasp of the basics now. My FPS character was only about 2 foot tall at one point. Someone on the Unreal forums has been kind enough to sort out some hand models for me which is going to save me a lot of work.

Going to have a mess around with SketchUp later and work on a gun and torch, shouldn't take me long I reckon. I haven't done any work on my game for a couple of months, partly because I've been enjoying the Touch controls and games so much and partly because I've had problems with my depression for a while.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 17, 2017, 10:42:24 PM
Well that's the torch done. Doesn't look very sci-fiey but it'll do for now.

(http://i.imgur.com/6WQZZNO.jpg)

Not too sure what I'm going to do for the gun, will have to think about it a bit, maybe do some sketches. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 18, 2017, 03:42:43 PM
The new Zelda is being released for the Wii U anyway harv.. so you wouldn't even need to buy a Switch for it.  Another key decision that will definitely lower the amount of sales - the only decent game for the system at launch and you can buy it on your old console lol.

I think their online subscription is free.. and then becoming payable in the future - the Switch will be dead on its feet long before then though so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

I think if they had gone for the hand-held which can be played on the main TV - rather than a console that can be played on the move - the concept wouldn't of been so bad.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 18, 2017, 09:26:49 PM
A handheld that could be played on the TV would have been an even worse concept. The games would look AWFUL because the handheld would be considerably less powerful. You'd get considerably more battery power out of it on the go but the games are going to look shite. What they've gone for is a much better idea.

Still not for me though. Once you go VR you never go back. ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 19, 2017, 08:06:43 AM
The games are gonna look like shite anyway :-/  Handheld would be less powerful.. exactly.. and it wouldn't have a stupid price tag which is going to put 90% of your audience off straight away.  Nintendo should stick to what actually makes them money.. handheld gaming... or start producing games for other platforms where they will be played by more than 15% of the gaming community.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 19, 2017, 09:01:59 PM
Fucking hell, just upgraded from the default Sidey you get in Elite Dangerous to an Adder and seen the Adder in VR for the first time. The thing is MILES bigger :o

I think they might have added a second seat to it in the update that allows you to take passengers, am pretty sure that there wasn't a passenger seat when I had one before. :-\

Things look sooooooo much better in VR in this game, it's still number one in my top 5 VR games list.

They've also added an auto center thing for the camera before you jump into hyperpace, something that has been driving me mental since I bought the game. I usually put my ship reticule near enough in the middle before jumping but I don't think I ever had in bang on in the center until now. Must have been driving people with OCD completely bananas lmfao ;D ;D ;D

It's still way too easy to earn money in this game compared to the original and to raise your pilot status too. In the original you had to get 255 kills I think which took you AGES :o

I just got 11 kills by helping out in a civil war, left the space station, headed for a low intensity combat zone and did that in a matter of minutes. Gamers these days wouldn't last 5 minutes playing the original game. Bloody lightweights 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 24, 2017, 09:40:22 AM
Am going to attempt to do my first 100% steam game.. Civ VI.

131 hours in now.. unlocked 70/113 (62%) so far.  Still a ton of easy ones to get but a lot of them take a lot of planning and time... plus quite a few require the DLC which I haven't downloaded yet.  Unfortunately I think there are a few bugged ones too which can be incredibly frustrating - so googling them before attempting takes a bit of fun away but makes it less frustrating if there are any quirks.

One particular achievo took ages to set up - having a city 60 tiles away from your capital, connected by a trade route and a road.  I don't actually get what I did wrong, but the trade route said it was 60 tiles away when I created it.. and it was all by road.. and it didn't pop
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 24, 2017, 02:12:50 PM
It used to be a bloody nightmare testing Achievements. Very easy to find the bugs like Achievements not being awarded when they should be but most of the time you couldn't work out what caused the bloody things. And the worst thing is that if Sony or Microsoft found these things during Standards testing they fail it and send it back. Do that too many times and they charge you a fortune for further Submissions. Can't remember how much it was now, around 12K I think lol :o ;D

We were in that sort of position with Champ Man on the PSP, one more Standards failure and Sony were going to charge us a fortune for the next Submission. The Lead Tester was filling his pants after we sent it off, managed to pass though luckily lol ;D

Most Lead Testers can't stand Standards testing but it's pretty bloody simple. You get a checklist from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo with stuff like what frame rates you need, what error messages you need when controllers are disconnected or run out of batteries, how much space you need around the edge of the touchscreen etc. If it works, tick it, if it doesn't work submit a bug. It really isn't rocket surgery FFS. :o

Achievements and Trophies not being awarded was a pain in the arse but otherwise it was pretty straightforward tbh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 24, 2017, 04:33:51 PM
Had to buy a new hard drive because my 4Tb one is dying. It was supposed to be delivered today but my bloody postman can't fucking read. None of the doorbells in my building work so I put a notice on the door telling people to knock. Went downstairs and there's a fucking card through the door. The fuckwit must have just tried the bells. Wanker. >:(

And now it turns out that whilst my 4Tb drive is on its way out it was my 1Tb drive that was clicking like mental. And it's now completely dead. With my mammoth VR porn collection on it lmfao :o :'( >:(

And I had a 2Tb drive die on me not so long ago too.

Having my PC on 24/7 tends to kill these things off unfortunately :P

So now I'm left with my 120Gb SSD, my 4Tb drive that's on its way out and my new one tomorrow. Can't really afford to get a new drive, have spent WAY too much money over Christmas on my credit card. Oh well, fuck it, you can't take it with you lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 24, 2017, 05:50:57 PM
I think my internal HDD is on its way out, too. They don't make them like they used to.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 24, 2017, 06:13:57 PM
(http://cdn.idigitaltimes.com/sites/idigitaltimes.com/files/styles/large/public/2017/01/24/gwg-february-2017.jpg)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 25, 2017, 02:14:23 AM
Project CARS and Monkey Island..? Nice!

Project CARS 2 is on the way but the first game is fantastic. Not sure how it looks on the Xbox One but the PC SKU looks beautiful with everything turned up to 11 even before you start to think about playing it in VR (although you do need to turn a couple of the settings down to 10 to do that lol).

After a REALLY wonky start the Xbox One games for free with Live have got MUCH better. And the PS4 and PSN went in the opposite way. They started off REALLY well and got MUCH worse as time went on, although to be fair I haven't checked them out for a bit.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on January 25, 2017, 03:11:11 PM
The monthly PS+ games are terrible. Think I've been subscribed for about 27 months or so and most have been trash indie games that wouldn't look out of place on the NES. There have been a few great ones for me personally, but nothing like the 'big' games that xbox have been giving away recently.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 25, 2017, 09:10:22 PM
Yup, and the weird thing is that it was completely the other way around when Sony started doing it. The games for PSN  pissed all over the Live games in terms of quality. I just can't believe they let their standards skip so much. :o

Oh well, better than what Nintendo are going to start doing, whoever thought that lending people a ROM for a month was a good idea needs shooting lmfao :o ;D

Of course, being of the PCMR now, none of this peasant's business concerns me. :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 26, 2017, 08:21:54 AM
I think when you weigh them out over a year.. the offerings by both companies are probably on even keel.  Neither would sway me to buy one or t'other console.. mainly because you have to pay for the service.  Plus the games are only good if you haven't already bought them.

And harv.. you do know, you can play on PC "AND" a console.. limiting yourself to only playing on a PC just makes you a PC wanker :P

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 26, 2017, 02:27:53 PM
Why on earth would I want to play on a console..? Better eye candy, mods, free online play, a decent web browser, VR porn, top quality VR, VR porn, software that allows me to play A LOT of 'flat' games in VR and VR porn.

Consoles are for peasants :P
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 27, 2017, 07:41:22 AM
Because loads of games aren't available on PC?  You literally are a PC Wanker lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on January 27, 2017, 03:07:33 PM
The phrase PC master race is perhaps one of, if the the cringiest thing I've ever heard lol. Can't read a gaming comments section anywhere without someone telling everyone they're a PC gamer as it's been almost 3 minutes since they told everyone they're a PC gamer.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 28, 2017, 01:05:17 AM
The phrase PC master race is perhaps one of, if the the cringiest thing I've ever heard lol. Can't read a gaming comments section anywhere without someone telling everyone they're a PC gamer as it's been almost 3 minutes since they told everyone they're a PC gamer.

Yeah, well, you would say that being a console peasant and all :P

(Just in case you were all thinking I'm being serious about this I am joking lol)

 ;D ;D ;D :P

I used to be attracted to the console exclusives but now I'm refusing to pay a tax every month/3 months/year to play online. That's why I haven't bought a PS4 or Xbox One this generation. And now that Nintendo are in the annual tax business they can fuck right off too lol :o

The PC is the best platform for VR at the moment and has the advantage of VR porn, decent tracking, VR porn, higher resolution, VR porn, allowing me to develop my own game and VR porn. ;D

Did I mention VR porn..? 8) ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 29, 2017, 04:13:35 PM
I've now sold my Adder and bought myself a Cobra Mk IV. The interior of the ship is the best looking I've seen so far. Got myself a mining laser, prospector limpets, collection limpets and a refinery and will start mining once the football finishes.

No idea what I'm doing, I'm guessing all I have to do is fire the prospectors at an asteroid to find out if there's anything worth mining for, burn into it with my mining laser and then use the collection limpets to pick up the fragments and then slap them into the refinery.

I've got cargo space for 24 tonnes of whatever I find so should be a good earner. I need some credits at the moment because my Cobra isn't too well kitted out at the moment and I'm down to my last 480,000 credits or so.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on January 29, 2017, 04:44:32 PM
...now I'm refusing to pay tax...

He's blissfully unaware of the irony.

Probably because he's ripping his bellend off watching porn being projected directly into his retinas.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 29, 2017, 06:21:53 PM
Yup ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 29, 2017, 08:57:50 PM
Didn't get around to any mining, saw a LOAD of haulage jobs to the same place so took them all on. And it was shit. AKA Biowaste lol :o ;D

It's not glamourous being a Space Trucker sometimes lmfao ;D ;D ;D :-[ :-[ :-[

It's not a realistic game though, if it was I would have ended up with more than I started with once I reached the space station :P

Used the credits from that to get me a couple of great big fuck off guns. Mining is dangerous business 8)

Looks like Frontier have done some more work on the space stations, the one I'm docked in at the moment has a load of trees and water features in it. Looks pretty ;D

Elite Dangerous is the best VR game out there BY FAR. The only two things that would beat it would be Alien Isolation and Half Life 2, both of which WERE VR compatible natively until Runtime updates made them incompatible. Mind you, Sega have hinted that they're going to have Alien Isolation in VR again so Elite Dangerous may have some opposition is the Awesome VR stakes. 8)

And of course Valve will do FUCK ALL as per fucking usual. Too busy swimming in their Scrooge McDuck style pool of wonga. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 31, 2017, 01:16:17 AM
Haven't been able to find any bloody Limpets anywhere so I decided to give mining a go manually. Limpets are basically little drones that can be programmed to do different tasks such as analysing asteroids (prospecting), collecting drilled fragments and breaking people's hatches so that their cargo spills and pirates can pick their cargo up.

Found some nickel and iron but nothing really valuable, and to get that I had to drill into a few asteroids and physically catch the bits of asteroid that flew off with my cargo scoop. Am definitely going to try with prospector and collection limpets next time I give this a go.

Had a pirate chance his arm whilst I was mining but my two big fuck off guns and my pulse lasers reduced his ship to scrap in short order lol ;D :P

My pulse lasers still aren't anywhere near as powerful as I want them to be but my guns are pretty much the dog's wotsits, as is every other bit of my ship. 8)

I loved this game playing it in the 80s with wireframe graphics, I loved playing it when it became Elite Dangerous playing it flat but in VR it's truly amazing. I wish guys could experience this, for a sci-fi geek like me this really is extraordinary. I can't put into words how cool this is in VR, seriously. Amazing. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 31, 2017, 06:33:21 PM
Just done my first bit of mining using some limpets, didn't make a great deal of credits - around 33K - and I wasted a load of limpets while I was trying to work out how to use the things but it was good fun. I'm going to have my tea and will carry on after that. I'm currently docked in the George Lucas space station in the Leesti system, which some of you may remember being the next system over from the Lave system that you start off in back in the original game in the 80s.

No pirates attacking this time though, and I was mining in a more dangerous Resource Extraction Site this time too!

I've got a couple of hundred thousand credits worth of bounty hunter vouchers to cash in too but I might wait for a bit before I trade them in and give them to an engineer around 60-odd Light Years away that's asking for them. He's a weapons specialist so it's going to be worth my while doing that I reckon. 8)

There are a few engineers scattered around the galaxy specialising in different areas and you need to satisfy certain conditions before they'll talk to you.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 31, 2017, 10:05:06 PM
I got around 110,000 credits, not too bad.

I might have to have a look at getting some more cargo space I reckon. Have got 24 tonnes at the moment, will have a look and see what I can do without in my ship and bung in another cargo bay.

I'm really liking the Cobra so far, I think I might even prefer it over the Vulture. It's not quite as much of a mental killing machine but it handles really well and is quite versatile.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 02, 2017, 08:10:36 AM
Well the result of the Zenimax vs Oculus lawsuit is in. The jury decided to award Zenimax a total of $500m, I didn't think they would get more than that and Oculus/Facebook are bound to appeal it. Zenimax are saying they're considering an injunction to stop Oculus from selling any VR hardware and software, not sure how much of that is posturing though. I think I remember reading somewhere that the $500m settlement includes a clause preventing them from taking more legal action so they could be saying that in an effort to stop Oculus/Facebook and the other plaintiffs appealing the decision.

$350m is bugger all to Facebook, $50m is bugger all to Luckey and $150m is bugger all to Iribe too.

I'd quite like the plaintiffs to decide against appealing and just pay up - but pay Zenimax in pennies lmfao ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

There probably aren't that many pennies in the whole United States, the US Treasury will probably have to make more lololol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 02, 2017, 06:23:48 PM
350+50+150=500?

Maths isn't your strong suit, is it... :P

(Should be 300 for Facebook, not 350)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 02, 2017, 06:56:16 PM
Oooops, yup. I'm mathematically dyslexic as it goes. Not even sure if that's a thing but I've always had trouble with numbers. I've just had a quick look online and it's called dyscalculia. My depression also makes it difficult for me to concentrate on these sort of things too. :-[

Still, my point still stands, that sort of money isn't a problem to those involved. Zuckerberg probably has around $300m down the back of his sofa lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 03, 2017, 10:12:35 AM
Have now doubled my cargo space, my ship can now carry 48 tonnes 8)

Found 1 ton's worth of Low Temperature Diamonds in an icy asteroid field last night worth around 57,000 credits, shame I didn't find any more though. Each chunk that I cut from the asteroid was only around 5 or 6% diamond too so it took me AGES to get a ton of the bloomin things :o

I ended up with around 200,000 credits worth of stuff so it was a good mining session ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 04, 2017, 01:26:59 PM
Whoops! I decided to go for a High RES last night, had a full cargo hold of loads of valuable stuff including gold and silver. Just finished mining and my ship got practically cut in half by an Elite pirate. That's what you get for having eyes bigger than your belly lol :-[ ;D ;D ;D

Think I'll stick with normal RES sites from now on lol. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 06, 2017, 07:05:05 PM
Just bought a big fuck off scanner for my ship, 1.5m credits :o ;D

It basically scans in an entire system when you use it. Other scanners in the game have a set range which means that some systems have to be scanned more than once. Getting that has severely increased my insurance though. Every time my ship gets blown to pieces I'll have to fork out around 250,000 credits to get a replacement ship :o

Still mining, I wish I had started doing this ages ago. It doesn't sound like much fun - you enter an asteroid field, fire a prospector drone at an asteroid to see what's in it, if it's worth mining you fire your mining laser into it to chip bits off it and then get collector drones to pick up the pieces and put into your refinery - but it's insanely addictive for some reason. Plus you have the odd pirate attack every now and then to break things up a bit.

I'm getting anywhere between 100,000 and 300,000 credits from each trip so it's a decent earner. After getting that scanner I've only got around 1.7m credits to my name so I need to start earning again. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 20, 2017, 09:02:26 AM
Utterly addicted to Fallout Shelter... great little side game - made even better with achievements which feel very well balanced.

Halo Wars 2 out tomorrow - first halo title I haven't pre-ordered.. mainly because I've just had to shell out over a grand for car repairs in the last 2 months amongst other things.. fucking clutch went and then had to replace the rear brake pads, discs and calipers the other day.  I'll pick it up on pay-day.. provided they don't chuck the price up too much.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 20, 2017, 06:42:37 PM
Over a grand..? :o

It would have been cheaper to buy a new car!!! :P

Have just finished playing The Assembly, which is a game in first person with puzzles. Not too difficult as far as the challenges goes but it's a good story and, being an Unreal Engine 4 game, it looks great. Can be playing in VR or flat but the best experience of course is in VR. Cost 15 quid and is around 3 hours long I think so it's a bit pricey but I really enjoyed it. The voice of the female lead is REALLY familiar, not too sure what she's been in but I know that voice from somewhere.

My enjoyment of the game was hampered by the Touch controls being lumbered with snap/comfort turning which I couldn't manage to turn off so I just played it with the gamepad instead which is a shame.

Now that I've got my tracking issues sorted out for my Touch controllers I think I'm going for Doom 3 in VR next, I loved that game back in the day and will quite happily play through it again. ;D

Have also been meaning to play through some of my flat backlog of games on Steam using VorpX but I haven't got around to doing that either. The first Bioshock game is supposed to be amazeballs in VR so I'm going to have to give that a go soon.

I'm still hoping that Sega and Valve are going to announce that Alien Isolation and Half Life 2 are going to have VR patches. So frustrating that neither one of them have done this yet, they had VR support ages ago and whilst it wasn't perfect they're two of the best VR experiences of all time apparently before they patched the VR out.

I also need to get back into The Climb now that my Touch controllers are back in action, it's hands-down the best VR game out there at the moment imo, and I've only done the Easy and Medium difficulty climbs for each region so far...I need to do both Boulder climbs in each region and the Hard difficulty climbs for each region too. Problem is that I'm not too good with heights so I have to play the game in small doses otherwise my legs tend to go a bit wobbly lol :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 23, 2017, 01:41:53 PM
lol.. theres a launch game for the Switch (in japan) that actually exceeds the entire hard-drive capacity Link (http://www.tweaktown.com/news/56392/nintendo-switch-launch-game-exceeds-consoles-storage/index.html)

This could only happen to Nintendo lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 23, 2017, 08:49:01 PM
Whoops lol

Going to be interesting to see how it sells, it's had a shitload of pre-orders so far. Not interested myself, not even for the new Zelda. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 24, 2017, 02:50:56 PM
Zenimax have now tried for an injunction against Oculus lol. This is just an attempt to get the parties to pay up the dosh and settle rather than continuing with their appeal because once they settle there's a condition that stops Zenimax taking any further legal action. They know that they can't afford to pay for a long drawn out appeal process for 4 or 5 years.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 25, 2017, 11:19:09 PM
Just seen the first advert for 1 2 switch... Cringe-worthy is not enough...it's looks truly fucking tragic.  Seeing as Gamestop have announced they will be able to sell consoles on release date to anyone that wants one, I'd say the number of pre-orders are going to be pretty low
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 26, 2017, 09:59:53 PM
Nope. It's actually had more pre-orders than the PS4 so far apparently which has REALLY surprised me. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 27, 2017, 08:07:28 AM
Well the numbers will speak for itself... since they are not sold-out in N/A or the UK and the games line-up is probably the poorest I've ever seen from any console... I'd be surprised!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 27, 2017, 02:34:31 PM
Yup, I can't believe that they've given it such a poor launch line-up but Zelda coming on day one is going to be huge. I might go for a Switch if/when Nintendo jump on the VR bandwagon but otherwise I'm not going anywhere near it. Once you go VR you never go flat lol :o ;D

Obduction is getting Touch controller support on the 22nd March so I reckon I'm going to buy that then, it's from the Myst developers and is supposed to be awesome in VR.

There's also an update for SuperHOT VR coming soon too which is going to add replay value to it, challenge modes and stuff.

I need to get a third sensor at some point too so that I can do room scale VR better. I've got two sensors in opposing corners at the moment but it isn't ideal. You get a fair bit of occlusion. Will get that sorted out in May or June when I have a few quid to spend.

We've also got Robo Recall from Epic being released on the Oculus Store some time next month and it's going to be free, which is awesome! Here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sFqN72Fim0

I love the idea of pulling a robot's arms and legs off and beating them to death with them lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 01, 2017, 06:48:29 PM
Nice! Epic have just announced that Robo Recall is available right now! Awesome!!! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 01, 2017, 06:56:07 PM
Wow. Talk about a Megaton!!! Oculus have just announced a price cut for the Rift and Touch controllers, $100 off each one. That's HUGE :o

Great news for VR! Awesome!!! ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 01, 2017, 11:09:09 PM
Fucking hell, Robo Recall is fucking AMAZING :o

Bullet Train was brilliant but Robo Recall is at a completely different level. And it has full mod support on day one too, including the source code being available. I can see this game getting new regular content for YEARS. If this game wasn't free I'd be quite happy to pay full price for it. Pulling arms, legs and heads off robots never gets old lololol 8)

Just played the first couple of levels so far and it is SO much fun. Not too keen on the teleport mechanic but it wouldn't surprise me if someone is working on a stick locomotion mod as I'm typing this, it's only single player too but it won't be long before we see a multiplayer mod soon too.

That's $10m well spent, Oculus. Very well spent. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 02, 2017, 10:37:31 PM
And the modders have started, this one is quite amusing lmfao:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FErVcDR8-9g

 ;D ;D ;D

Won't be long before we see a few Star Wars and Walking Dead mods I reckon 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 03, 2017, 01:54:43 AM
Hmmmm...this game appears to be easy to play but difficult to master, either that or I'm just pants at it lol ;D ;D ;D

It's quite a work out too once you get into it and start throwing robots about :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 03, 2017, 06:30:52 PM
The best thing about Robo Recall is the music. Very 80s/90s arcade game stuff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv9MBPkCqxs&feature=youtu.be&list=PLmFxivzJFlOhVU68szAEU-vzaGBUZ2QFL

Loads of decent guitar work and pretty much old school arcade electro-rock. A real blast from the past! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 05, 2017, 02:57:13 PM
My Mum and my Step-Father had their first taste of VR gaming today. I put my Mum in Elven Assassin because her coordination isn't great and she managed to kill quite a few Orcs which was quite surprising. I put my Step-Father in Robo Recall and he did quite well too, he couldn't quite get the hang of the teleport mechanic and kept on pressing the Triggers to draw his weapons instead of the Grip buttons but once I saw what he was doing and corrected him on it he got quite a respectable score...although he did nearly headbutt my door when he was trying to dodge bullets lmfao :o ;D

Their previous experiences on my Rift were the Dreamdeck and First Contact demos and a few of the short films that come for free when you get a Rift.

Another couple of goes at VR games and I reckon that Dave will be wanting to buy one. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 12, 2017, 10:18:14 AM
That Layers of Fear game (free with GwG this month) is pretty good... gameplay is a bit mundane and not a massive amount of replay value, but the eerie atmosphere it creates is pretty fucking good, sound is excellent.. worth a check out if you like a good horror flick.. I jumped several times playing through it... fucking creepy paintings and dolls!  Plot is a bit twisted, but you can unravel most of it.. I looked online after I finished it to check what others had said and I had most bits right.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 19, 2017, 08:36:40 PM
I bought Affected: The Manor the other day and it's pretty scary. I nearly pooed my pants with the first jump scare lmfao :o ;D :-[ ;D

Paranormal Activity is supposed to be scary too but can't afford to get that for another month or two. Certainly something I'm going to try out.

I'd still put Dreadhalls as the scariest VR game so far, at least going by what I've played of Affected and what I've heard of PA. It's just so well put together, there's more of a feeling of dread whilst you're playing the game due to the sound, lighting and music and there's very few jump scares in it because it doesn't really need them to scare the living shit out of you lol :o :-\ ;D

I've always loved scary games but playing these things in VR takes things to a whole new level altogether.

I've lost count of the number of times I've shouted 'Oh shit!' playing these things lmfao ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 20, 2017, 11:11:05 AM
I'm not a huge racing fan, but played Project CARS for a good few hours now to be able to compare it to the likes of Forza.. I have to say Project CARS career mode just seems bland and boring... its not a bad game by all means, but I just skip the Practices/Qualifying which means I always start in last place on the races.. and I haven't bothered tuning anything or creating pit strategies - its just boring and I can win easy enough doing what I'm doing.

Is it more of a racing simulator than Forza?  I couldn't tell the difference.. I still slam into cars and push them off the track in Project CARS so perhaps not.  I was racing on a track (Monza I think) with a very sharp hairpin turn.. there were 30 cars on the track.. on the first lap I smashed into a car on the hairpin to take the lead and when I got back round on the 2nd lap, about 4 or 5 cars were stuck there.... when I got round on the 3rd lap.. all 30 cars were stuck at the hairpin lol.. I literally had to smash my way through and ended up lapping every single car... hardly lifelike, but it was funny.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 20, 2017, 04:39:29 PM
Like Forza it's part arcade-style racing and part racing sim. You won't find an accurate racing sim anywhere because it would be practically unplayable lol. Developers have to make a trade-off when designing these things.

I haven't played Project CARS or Assetto Corsa for a while, I might have to get back into them at some point.

I finished Robo Recall yesterday, it's going to take me a while to complete it 100% because there's a load of stars that I haven't got yet and some of them are going to be a real challenge. And once I've got all of those stars I've got to beat each level in All Stars Mode too. In All Stars Mode the bloody things move 1.5 or 2 x the speed they move at in normal play AND they have more health. :o Not sure I'm going to be able to 100% complete this game but it's going to be a real blast trying ;D

I started to carry on with Elite Dangerous last night, 300,000 credits from a quick mining session. FOund a load of silver and osmium. Noice  8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 23, 2017, 06:45:40 PM
Obduction, a VR game done by the same developers that did Myst and Riven, has had an update giving it Touch/Vive controller support. There's a few issues with it but these guys are pretty quick with patches to sort things out. Yet another game on my ever increasing list of VR games to buy.

The Steam and Oculus Store sales can't come quick enough for my liking lol :o ;D

Obduction
Narcosis
Serious Sam VR The Last Hope
Knockout League
Trickster
Nevermind
The Gallery Ep I Call Of The Starseed
Dead Hungry
HordeZ
Detached
Drunken Bar Fight
Time Machine VR
Robinson The Journey
Serious Sam VR The First Encounter
Vanishing Realms
Onward
The Brookhaven Experiment

There's probably a few more that I can't remember off the top of my head too. :o :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 25, 2017, 03:08:12 AM
Bah!!! Fucking pirates!!! I'm still mining and all of this mining has made me soft! I had a shitload of valuable cargo I mined and some pirate with big fuck off guns practically tore my ship in half lol :o ;D

Another one tried it on earlier too but I managed to turn him into space dust without a problem but this other one destroyed my ship pretty sharpish.

Bloody game lol ;D

Going back to that Resource Extraction Site tomorrow, should be able to make that money lost back pretty quickly I reckon. Just bought some new high end parts for my ship too so my insurance went up. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 26, 2017, 02:16:58 AM
Well that's a bit better lol :o ;D

Just made almost 600,000 credits in one mining trip. Another trip like that and I've made back the money I lost getting turned into space dust!

Still haven't found any Painite yet though, it's the rarest material in the galaxy and worth a ridiculous amount of credits per tonne. Time for another trip before I go to bed. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 28, 2017, 12:10:23 PM
Woo hoo!!! Found my very first tonne of Painite last night! Worth 40,000 credits per tonne. Noice! I've also been finding A LOT of Palladium (13,000 per tonne) and Platinum (19,000) too. I found myself jettisoning a shitload of Silver (4000) to make room in my cargo hold for it all lol :o ;D 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 29, 2017, 11:34:46 AM
I made around 900,000 credits mining last night :o 8)

Around 250,000 from a mission to mine 12 tonnes of Osmium and the rest of my 48 tonne cargo hold was full of Gold, Paladium and Platinum. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 30, 2017, 11:32:05 PM
Well it's looking like Palmer Luckey has finally been given the push :o

Am surprised that it took them this long tbh. Wouldn't surprise me if he's got a golden handshake of a decent amount plus an agreement for Facebook to continue to pay his legal fees during the Zenimax appeal process though as part of the termination of his employment.

It's a shame that things had to this way though, but he'll be remembered in history as the man that (literally) Kickstarted this third generation of commercial VR rather than the man that made several huge PR cock ups I think.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 03, 2017, 12:10:10 PM
Fucking hell the Half Life 2 VR mod is going to be released some time this year with Touch/Vive controller support!!! Ravensholme is going to be fucking TERRIFYING in VR!!! :o ;D

I still can't believe that Valve didn't have a VR version of Half Life 2 and a Portal spin-off released on day one of the Vive launching. They could have charged full price for the thing and EVERYONE would have bought the thing. Same goes for Sega and Alien Isolation too. It would have been a licence to print money for the pair of them.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 06, 2017, 05:21:33 PM
When I win the Euromillions I'm gonna get one of these: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1V8QEAdGNM&feature=youtu.be

 :o :o :o 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 14, 2017, 09:59:57 PM
OH.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 14, 2017, 10:01:01 PM
MY.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 14, 2017, 10:01:25 PM
FUCKING.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 14, 2017, 10:10:37 PM
GOD!!!!!

Have just started playing Doom 3 BFG in VR and it's FUCKING INSANE lol  :o ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Looks pretty reasonable too because the VR Mod is compatible with the High Res Texture mod.

It now has Touch controller support and various different options. I'm using the floating hands option so that you can see your hands and weapons in the game but there's also an IK option where you can see your whole body but I didn't want the potential of oddly placed limbs breaking immersion.

It really is pretty mental, I've only just started playing it up until things start to go pear-shaped when you enter the airlock and find the scientist and have just fought my way inside the main base again and it's fucking crazy lol :o :o :o ;D

The mod team doing the Half-Life 2 mod are also planning on releasing their mod too, no date set but they have said it's going to be SoonTM. Half Life 2 in VR with Touch controller support is also going to be jaw dropping, even more so than Doom 3 BFG because it's going to look so much better so will have more presence. 8)

All I need now is for Sega to announce at E3 that they're going to release a VR version of Alien Isolation and I'll be a VERY happy bunny indeed!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on April 15, 2017, 12:31:54 PM
Might be worth starting a gaming thread in the sundayleague general discussion section. Seems to be the only section people use on here apart from a few of us. I'll get one going and see if there's any interest from the players of sundayleague.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 20, 2017, 05:56:59 PM
Well that didn't work :(

Might as well carry on here I reckon because nobody has posted in that one.

I put my Mum in Google Earth VR today and she was blown away. I showed her bungalow and she immediately started to nose around her neighbour's gardens lmfao ;D ;D ;D

It really is a stunning piece of software. It's all done with low flying planes and LIDAR. When I checked it 4 or 5 months ago my home town (Broadstairs in Kent) wasn't done and now the whole of the Isle Of Thanet has been sorted out so it's getting regular updates.

My flat and road has been done and so has Turnpike Lane which is cool, no Wood Green yet though.

For areas that haven't been done you just see height maps for hills and stuff and 2D pictures taken from above to show the buildings and stuff.

No Pyramids Of Giza which is disappointing but understandable given the air space in that part of the world. I also tried having a look at North Korea to see if I could see the fat fella but there was no sign of him lol ;D

Google Earth VR is now top of my list of things to show VRgins, it really is outstanding. I reckon in 10 years or so most of the world will be done, assuming that Google don't do their usual and kill it off. It really is impressive.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 25, 2017, 10:15:48 PM
Downloaded and played through the walking dead 2 in 2 days lol.  Not as good as the first although it felt more open ended.. Especially the end...  Seems I have a penchant for chopping off people's arms though lol.

Went with Kenny at the end and refused to join the camp.. Kennys awesome lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 26, 2017, 12:44:24 AM
Arizona Sunshine is a great zombie game, it's not very scary though but can get quite intense when hordes start appearing.

I bought Narcosis last night, it's a VR game that can also be played 'flat' and have only played the first two levels so far and nearly filled my trousers a few times lol :-[ ;D

Has plenty of jump scares, the atmosphere is VERY creepy, tense and stressful thanks to the excellent music, sound effects and the isolation and claustrophobia you feel due to being confined to your diving exoskeleton thingy. It isn't as scary as Dreadhalls so far but is right up there with Monstrum (which I THINK might also be a game that be played in VR or 'flat', but if you go to buy it please check first because I might have that wrong!).

Outlast 2 was released on Steam today I think, no VR support though which is disappointing, particularly since the first game is supposed to be fucking terrifying in VR using VorpX. Won't be long before we see Ralf, the developer of VorpX, sets up a profile for this though I reckon. ;D

And in January next year we'll probably see Resident Evil VII VR being released. Can't wait for that one!!!

Scary games are awesome! 8) ;D 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 28, 2017, 06:53:18 PM
I've realised what it is that makes Narcosis so good. Your diving exoskeleton thingummybob is a bloomin great big heavy thing so your movements are quite slow which adds to the tension. But what REALLY makes it so cool is that it has the 'tank track' controls that the first Resident Evil games had back in the day. All the movement and the turning is done with the left stick and the right stick is completely disabled! You use your head to look around instead.

I'm just over halfway through now and the game is great so far, easily up there with Monstrum in the scares department. So good! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 01, 2017, 10:00:14 PM
Have decided to have 2 games on the go so I also bought Wilson's Heart the other day too. The puzzles are a bit too easy so far, the gameplay is similar to a point and click job so generally so far it's a case of bring item X to point Y and use it to get past obstacle Z but I'm really digging the art style and art direction of the game so far.

It's a psychological thriller and is entirely black and white so if you think of being inside an episode of a Noir Film/Twilight Zone/Alfred Hitchcock Presents all mixed up together then that pretty much nails it, probably with more of an emphasis on The Twilight Zone.

Can't wait to see how the stories in these two games develop. ;D

I've nearly filled my trousers a few times playing these two games so far lol :-[ :-[ :-[ ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 09, 2017, 08:27:36 AM
Finally caved in and rebought Dead Island - I actually finished it this time.. the game gets a lot weaker in the latter part.. but a lot tougher.  I prefer it to Dying Light - far more action in Dead Island and you don't have to run away from every single zombie.  Haven't bought Riptide yet - but will eventually.

Should be getting Prey tonight - bought it on a whim without reading any reviews - I loved the first game.. and even though this isn't a direct sequel, it should still be quite good - I read a quick review earlier and they described it as a mixture of Bioshock/Dead Space/Dishonoured in space - should be half decent hopefully.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 14, 2017, 08:04:43 AM
It's taken a while to get used to, but I'm really enjoying prey now,  I started on hard but had to put it back to normal, it's got a bastard learning curve to it.  I don't think I have jumped so many times playing a game before though... Those fucking mimics, can basically transform into any object (including stuff you pick up) and then jump out at you when you're close.. I've fell for it so many times lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 15, 2017, 10:17:43 PM
The Half Life 2 VR Mod has got through Steam's Greenlight process. Ravenholme is going to be fucking INSANE lmfao  :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 17, 2017, 02:31:52 PM
You should try out Prey harv.. its got a touch of Half Life 2 to it - the mimics are quite similar to the face-huggers but they can mimic any object in the game world and unless you use the psychoscope you can't tell until you get up close and by then its too late!

16hrs in now - no idea how far I'm through the story but I've done like 1 side-mission so far.. so there's plenty to do still even if I am near the end of the story.  It's still making me jump out of my seat and swear a lot - I opened a door last night and a body fell out - wasn't even an enemy but it made me blow off two shotgun rounds and shit my pants lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 17, 2017, 09:23:54 PM
Yup, I might give it a go in VorpX at some point.

But I've got way too many games to play at the moment and after a long break of 5 or 6 months I've started work on my models for Nakamura's Fall again.

I changed the name from Pride to Fall to avoid any potential licencing issues because there's a retired MMA fighter called Nakamura who won an MMA competition called Pride.

I've started my corridors again, this time they're fully modular and I've cut the polys right down.

Also got my 88 key roll up piano delivered today too. Think I should have gone for the 61key version though because the thing is fucking HUUUUUUGE lol :o

Have found some good lessons on YouTube so I'll start working through those at some point. It sounds pretty good, I'm quite pleasantly surprised  8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 22, 2017, 01:10:18 AM
I'm really loving the bosses in Wilson's Heart. So good. There's been The Fly, some ghosty vampire bat type things and I just beat a bloomin great big Creature From The Black Lagoon type monster. The ghosty vampire bat things were particularly good, got a real sense of presence during that boss fight, same the fishy/Lagoony creature. When you see these sort of bosses on a 2D screen they're really not that threatening but when they're right there, life size and mean and nasty, they can be quite intimidating.

Resident Evil VII is going to be fucking crazy next year, am going to stock up on adult nappies just in case :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 01, 2017, 11:11:14 PM
Star Trek Bridge Crew released on 30th and everyone is raving about it. As a HUUUUGE Star Trek fan I'm VERY tempted to get it but seeing as it's a multiplayer game only I'm going to have to give it a miss unfortunately. I have a big problem communicating with others thanks to my depression so I'm going to have to sit this one out.

The Mage's Tale is releasing for the Rift on the Oculus Store on 20th June, it's an RPG done by, as some of you may have guessed, the same dev team that did Bard's Tale years ago. Have just pre-ordered it from the Oculus Store and got 10% off so it's cost me £26.99. For 10 hours+ content I reckon that's a good deal.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 14, 2017, 01:14:17 AM
It's now official - the Thargoids are back!!!

Going to have to speed up getting some credits together, not going to want to take on a Thargoid ship with my Cobra Mk  IV lol.

Going to carry on mining for a bit and then get myself a T6 or T7 Transporter I reckon and then do some SERIOUS trading or haulage.

So excited about this now being official, I haven't taken on a Thargoid ship in over 10 years!!! ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 20, 2017, 09:25:11 PM
Just bought Robinson The Journey from the Oculus Store, half price in a Daily Deal in their Summer Sale and it's great so far. A real shame that Crytek are on the verge of going under because even at this early stage of playing this game so far I would LOVE a sequel. The CryEngine has always been the best looking engine out of the lot and in VR it's just plain majestic. Everything looks so real.

The best thing about it is that it has a scanner so in Metroid Prime style I'm scanning everything I can see in the game, shame it's just dinosaurs, mammals and insects though because I would love to be able to scan parts of the ship and plant life too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 21, 2017, 11:47:19 PM
I am now officially embarrassed. :-[

I didn't have the guts to scan all of the Raptors lol :-[ :-[ :-[ ;D

They're below you and you're standing on a raised platform with the little fuckers jumping up at you. Did the first couple without a problem but the other two you have to move around so that you can see all of their scan markers, and in doing so they're jumping WAY too close to you to be comfortable. It sounds ridiculous but I've personally got a great sense of presence out of this game despite the lack of motion controls.

I keep on wanting to reach out and pet my baby T-Rex pet that I've acquired lol

It's quite common with games with PBR textures like the majority of Unreal games and all of the CryEngine games so far, as well as the few Unity games where developers have made the effort to have realistic looking graphics rather than 'cartoony' graphics that you see in the majority of Unity games.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 25, 2017, 08:36:40 PM
Looks like there's going to be a new e-Sport on the horizon that people are going to go crazy for in Echo Arena from the developer Ready At Dawn. Everyone is going crazy over it, could be the 'Rocket League' of VR.

Haven't tried the Open Beta yet because I'm too busy playing Robinson The Journey so far. Fucking raptor nearly made me poo my pants last night too lmfao :-[ ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 27, 2017, 08:41:16 AM
Saw this on Steam's summer sale the other day - what the actual fuck.. lol.. it actually looks fun to play though (and I bet harv can't wait for the VR version) ;D ;D ;D

Genital Jousting (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYBITTBluoE)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 27, 2017, 08:24:17 PM
What. The. Fuck. :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 05, 2017, 05:50:34 PM
An indie developer on Reddit is 85-90% of the way through a first release of Alien Isolation VR. :o

That is going to be fucking INSANE lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 29, 2017, 07:43:12 PM
Woo hoo!!! I've had a little luck and should be getting £595 during the next few days! It's money that has been owed to me for a while ;D

Have just bought myself the Indie Substance Pack from Allegorithmic while it was on sale, down from $299 dollars to $199. Substance Designer, Substance Painter and Bitmap2Material are a suite of three programs that are used for PBR (Physically Based Rendering) game textures. PBR textures are basically realistic looking textures that you see in all of the big games like Assassin's Creed, Dishonored etc. PBR makes textures that behave like real world surfaces that you see every day because they reflect light and absorb light the same way they do in real life.

I've needed to buy it because I'm going to want to submit my VR game to the Oculus Store so need to officially own these things legitimately just in case anyone checks, I've been using pirated versions up until now, and the previous versions too because 2017 hasn't been available.

Next up is Headus UV Layout Pro, but I'm not sure if I can afford to get that yet because I need to use a good bit of that money to pay off some debts.

Getting the Substance stuff and UV Layout Pro should almost cut my development time in half I reckon. ;D

I was originally planning to have this on the Oculus Store before Halloween (seeing as it's going to be a survival horror game) but with my depression severely hampering my progress I'll be lucky to get it done before H2 next year. I'm either going to have it available for free, or if Oculus are up to it, having the all of the proceeds from sales going to Cancer Relief or something. ;D

Just working through Allegorithmic's tutorials on YouTube now which coincidentally is a texture for diamond plate metal with rust which is exactly what I was planning on having on the deck of the NMC Nakamura. Once I've walked through those I think I might try and add some paint onto them too so that I can break the different sections of the ship up. I'm thinking on having crew quarters, high ranking crew quarters, engineering, medical, mining extraction and the bridge section as separate floors with the needing to do certain tasks to progress from floor to floor such as getting combinations and passwords, fixing doors and lifts and cutting off thumbs to open door with thumbprint access :P ;D

Am feeling REALLY good at the moment, the best I've felt for YEARS. Just got to make to make the most of it before I get hit by another wave of depression for a few weeks and do some cooking, housework and work on my game. The way I feel right now I feel like I could go back to work tomorrow but I realistically know that another wave will be coming in a few days and knock me again. Still, I feel good right now. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 30, 2017, 09:33:27 AM
Here's a sizzle reel of what games Substances are used in:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM0oQfdoITY

 ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 30, 2017, 10:23:00 PM
Just started playing the Alien Isolation VR Mod and it's fantastic so far. It's the first release and has some issues here and there which the dev is working on but he wanted to get something out there for people to play because he originally said he was going to release it last weekend.

The cutscenes are on a screen in front of you, Ripley Jnr's body placement isn't quite right when you look down and the PC terminals are about 2-3 inches away from your face, making them difficult to read if you don't have the right I
IPD setting on your Rift but overall it's fantastic.

Just played the intro and the beginning of the game on the space station, no Xenomorphs anywhere in sight, and I've nearly pooed my pants a few times already with a few jump scares lmfao :o ;D

Games like this (and my game if I ever get it finished!) are what VR was made for! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 02, 2017, 04:40:04 PM
Oh fuck!!! :o

Just got killed by an Alien for the first time and felt real fucking panic bordering on fear lmfao :o ;D

Just like the bosses in Wilson's Heart and the ships and space stations in Elite Dangerous you really don't understand the scale of these things until you see them in 'real' life. Fuck, this game is going to be INSANE in VR. Those things are bloody HUUUUUUUGE and fucking intimidating when you see them running at you in 90fps. Fuck! :o

I'm convinced that someone is going to have a heart attack playing this game. Luckily, despite my 40 years worth of diabetes my blood pressure, heart and cholesterol are in good shape but someone is going to die playing this game. This isn't exaggeration or hyperbole, this game is SERIOUSLY fucked up in VR.

I'm usually pretty good with scary games and films but even at this early stage of playing this game I feel that I might end up not being able to finish this game. Shit. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 06, 2017, 03:04:59 PM
Have realised that I've done A LOT of models for my game.

Corridor Pieces:

Corner
Corner Light
Crossroads
Crossroads Light
Dead End
Engineering Panel
Light Fitting Light
Light Fitting Panel
Straight Door Middle
Straight
Straight Door End
T-Junction Door Middle
T-Junction Engineering Panel
T-Junction

Props:

Armchair
Bed Pillow
Bedside Cabinet Body
Bedside Cabinet Drawer
Bowl
Double Bed
Infopad
Large Plate
Mug
Mug 2
Nakamura Spaceship
PC Terminal
Scientific Equipment 1
Scientific Equipment 2
Scientific Equipment 3
Shipping Container
Mining Shuttle
Single Bed
Small Plate
Sofa
Storage Crate Large
Storage Crate Medium
Storage Crate Small
Table 1
Table 2
The Raven (Protagonist's Ship)


I've still got cutlery to do and a big fuck off knife so that you can cut off the thumb of the Chief Engineer to get through a door but I think I've got most things sorted out there. Am also going to add some big TV displays in a few of the corridors too I think.

Can you guys think of anything else that you might find on a mining ship in space with all of the crew dead..? Apart from bodies of course, I'm going to be using Mixamo Fuse for those. Any help would be much appreciated! ;D

I'm also going to be doing some big fuck off mining machinery too!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 12, 2017, 02:13:02 AM
Bollocks, had a bad hypo the other day and managed to break my HOTAS :'(

Just ordered another one, should get delivered on Sunday. I had just started continuing my play through of Elite Dangerous too. I still get a bloody great big smile on my face every time I see the inside of a Coriolis Space Station. I don't think that's EVER going to get old in VR. So good.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 16, 2017, 02:15:43 PM
Started playing an old 360 game the other day and accidently got myself an achievement with an odd ending - 7 points (which left me on an ending of a 2).  I have to say when the X1 came out, I've noticed far fewer games with weird achievement endings so I instantly knew I'd ballsed up here because I'm pretty OCD about these things.

Anyway I spent fucking ages checking through my games to find an achievement where I could balance it back out to a 5/0 ending and found absolutely nothing!  The only game I could find that I had was Luxor2 which had a bastard achievement with a GS of 17.  Spent a few days trying to get that achievement and ended up doing a semi-cheat method to get it - its pretty rock hard in the later levels.  Anyway, that still left me on an ending of 9 though.. not sure what my thoughts on what to do after this were (short of checking my 300+ games individually).  Anyway, I found a website where I could put in a GS value and it would show me the entire list of games with these weird achievement values...  - I couldn't find anything with 1 or 6 but I found that Dead Island Definitive Edition had a few 16GS achievments which would get me back to a good old zero ending.

So logged into that and instantly popped a fucking 8GS achievement (for playing it 28 days after the first time I played it) - fuck sake - that would of sorted me out in the first place and now its left me on a 7 ending!  Fortunately though, DIDE also has quite a few other 8GS achievements.. just had to connect to someone elses game to pop one.. and I'm back on a 5 ending.. PHEW!!!  ;D

I won't be touching Dead Island again - useful to have a game like that for any other achievement-dicked games that I might play in the future lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 16, 2017, 03:03:00 PM
Blimey, talk about OCD lol :o ;D

I still prefer the Sony trophy system myself but these are a thing of the past for me. Both Steam and Oculus Home have achievements but there's no score involved in them. The Sony system is excellent though, it has RPGness in that the higher your level is the more trophies you need to level up again.

Much better than a score system imo.

Not sure if I'm going to have Achievements in my game or not, might have to contact Oculus to find out how to introduce them to my game.

I've found an excellent Plugin for the Unreal Engine that makes free locomotion a breeze to implement and he's going to add comfort options to it after I asked him about it. Haven't done much work on my game for a bit because I've been hit by another wave of depression but I'm going to try and do something these next few days if I can.

Going to do some texturing of my props soon using Substance Painter, it really is an amazing piece of kit. Going to start with my storage crates then the shipping containers after that.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 17, 2017, 12:21:05 PM
Well I really haven't used the Sony system so wouldn't really know, only general internet searching on the differences between them and TBH I think I'd still be happier with the achievements system in general:

1)  It has progress tracker across all achievements so you can see how close you are to unlocking one.  The fact I can also pin whichever achievements I want to the screen to track whenever is also a great feature.

2)  Smaller achievements can all have different points values based on difficulty - not just one generic level "Bronze", "Silver", "Gold"

3)  Achievements have been in place since 360 conception so all the games I have played are included in my GS.

4)  Achievements are standard - pretty much every game these days has 1000 GS - I've heard a lot of PS4 games don't have platinums and also in some cases, the trophy count per game is less than the achievement count.

5)  I love the new monthly leaderboard score system - I can see how far I am ahead of everyone every month :P  Although I think Late actually beat me a few months back - I must of been on holiday or something ;)

The only thing I like about the PS system would be the platinum trophy - the xbox used to have a showcase area of all your 100%ed games but they got rid of that ages ago.. although saying that.. most games have multiplayer achievements requirements which I never go for these days - I'd only consider 100%ing a game if it had zero-little multiplayer involvement so its really not that important.  Plus I don't know how xbox would bring a showcase feature back because when DLC comes out, they add the DLC value onto the base score for the game regardless of if you've bought the DLC or not - I guess I would prefer trophies in that aspect.

I used to play on Kongregate a lot - and that has a Badge/RPG level system - to be honest I find it annoying that I can't see what my base score is easily - especially in the later levels when it takes an absolute age to level up.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on August 17, 2017, 11:50:35 PM
I love the trophy/level system on playstation. Just hit level 18 last weekend getting platinums 31 & 32 which is awesome.

If I properly play a game I like to get all the trophies if I can. But if it's trash I'm not too bothered about having 1% complete games on my list, I know some people hate that lol.

There's a few games on my list without a platinum trophy but they seem to mostly be small indie games.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 18, 2017, 01:23:10 AM
One thing I can say for certain is that EVERYBODY working in the industry hates them both lol

They're a pain in the arse to test and an even bigger pain in the arse to fix when they're broken. :o

I'm hoping that Oculus are going to have some sort of trophy room (yes, I know they're achievements but trophy room sounds better I think!) so that you can see what you've got. But that would mean that developers would need to model and texture the things because it would look shite if they all look the same.

I can live without them tbh but I'm still going to put them in my game I reckon. Having problems with my models and texturing them at the moment which is a pain in the arse. Think I might have a solution to the problem but I'm going to look at that tomorrow.

No wonder developers spend most of their lives drunk lmfao :-\ ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 19, 2017, 12:37:52 AM
Started playing Killing Floor Incursion earlier. I started off like a boss, headshots at distance all over the place 8)

But then later on I started having a hypo so it didn't end well lmfao :-[ ;D

Am going to make sure I stock up on chocolate and sweets when the zombie apocalypse hits because I don't want to end up as lunch lololol  :o ;D ;D ;D

Never played any of the games in the franchise before but I quite liked what I played just now.

I've got gaming ants in my pants again, can't settle on one game so I have several play throughs of different games that I'm working on. At the moment I'm switching between Elite Dangerous, The Mage's Tale, Alien Isolation and Lone Echo.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 21, 2017, 05:28:13 PM
Woo hoo! Solved a problem that I was having with Substance Painter so I can crack on with texturing my models now! Awesome! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 22, 2017, 01:32:46 PM
Microsoft just announced Age of Empires 4 for PC :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 22, 2017, 05:27:10 PM
Have never been into RTS games myself, but I might try one or two in VR. VR is a very strange thing, there are plenty of people that change their opinions on some game genres once they've tried them in VR. I was never a big fan of puzzle games (apart from having puzzles as a part of gameplay in RPGs or adventure games) but I've absolutely LOVED the Esper Collection so far.

After messing around with Substance Painter and my Large Storage Crate model I've decided to make a high poly version so that I bake normal, ambient occlusion and height maps for my low res version from my high res version. It's a fair bit of extra work but will add the surface details of this:

(http://i.imgur.com/Yg1JcSj.jpg)

(http://i.imgur.com/JA7Yvg7.jpg)

To my low res version of the model here:

(http://i.imgur.com/ArTcqar.jpg)


This purchase of Substance Designer and Substance Painter is going to make my models look REALLY professional. My plan is to get some sort of prototype done so that I've got something to show and then approach Oculus for funding. To 'officially' get the software I'm using I need around 3 thousand smackeroonies :o

I'm planning on having all of the proceeds from this game and any others I do going to cancer research so hopefully Oculus will be happy to donate their 30% cut to it too. I reckon $4.99/£4.99 will be a decent enough price for a four or five hour long game, although I might raise that by three quid or so.

Getting the price of software right is such a nightmare, too cheap and nobody will go anywhere near it because they don't think it's going to be good enough and too expensive and people will either not go anywhere near it because it's too expensive or if they do they'll buy it and refund it if they're not happy with what they've paid. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 22, 2017, 10:33:58 PM
Ha - it's probably quite a while since I got any achievements. I got some when I picked up Titanfall 2 a while back, but for the last month or two I've been playing it online - and I don't think there's any cheevos for that.

Have never been bothered about achievements, but it does screw with my ocd sometimes. :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 23, 2017, 05:05:03 PM
Well I'm getting there! I decided to use a high res model of my crate to bake in some surface details via normal and height maps and it's looking good even though I do say so myself 8)

Low res model in Substance Painter:

(http://i.imgur.com/nUnQA1h.jpg)

Low res model with baked normal and height maps:

(http://i.imgur.com/4aAEWWN.jpg)

I'm just waiting for an answer to a query I've posted on the Allegorithmic forums and then I can start to texture this baby 8) 8) 8) ;D

Edit: Only 220 polys too!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 30, 2017, 09:40:37 PM
Just started texturing my first crate. First part is done, now I need to work on the display panel and light at the front, some decals with the Nakamura Mining Company logos and maybe paint some parts of it orange. Not looking too shabby so far:

(http://i.imgur.com/jl2bmeP.jpg)

Any feedback, positive or negative, would be very much appreciated! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 08, 2017, 08:03:06 PM
Rockstar have announced that they're working on LA Noir The VR Case Files. It's going to include 7 cases from the original game (not sure how many were in the original?).

What with this, Fallout 4 VR, Doom VFR and Skyrim VR we're starting to see more AAA games from third parties coming to VR. Great news! ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 08, 2017, 11:49:38 PM
Damn but I hated that game. Was a good idea, but poorly executed.
Most people seemed to like it, though. :/
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 09, 2017, 02:09:12 AM
It's a game that I've been meaning to buy since it came out but I never got around to it so I reckon I'll pick up the VR version if Rockstar don't take the piss with the price.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 09, 2017, 07:08:33 AM
I enjoyed it in parts but it wasn't as good as it was hyped to be.. There were parts that were completely stupid
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 12, 2017, 10:07:56 AM
Downloaded Sonic Mania last night - best gaming decision I've made for a while - a brilliant mash-up of all the best sonic games melded into one - felt very nostalgic playing it and its got loads of cool new stuff to do in it.. far better than the Sonic 4 episodic shit.  One of the bosses I've met so far makes you play Dr. Robotniks Mean Bean Machine against them lol.

I still hate Chemical Zone though
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 15, 2017, 07:53:09 PM
Sonic Mania has been great fun to play, pretty much finished with it now, some of the (completely newer) levels which were completely reimagined based on levels in previous games were a bit dull compared to some of the levels which were rehashed and altered.  Casino zone and Starlight zone were probably my favourite levels from all sonic games, so disappointed that the related levels in sonic mania were reimagined in full - they just weren't as fun.  Would of been good to perhaps of included sonic spinball in some way too because that was a pretty awesome game.  Still, would purchase again even with this knowledge,  best Sonic game since sonic 2!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 15, 2017, 08:34:32 PM
I never really got into Sonic for some reason, no idea why. Same with 2D Mario too. Maybe because they're both in 2D?

Mind you, I have to play 3D Mario games in short doses because that character annoys the FUCK out of me. There's only so many 'woo hoos' and 'whee-hees' that I can stand before I want to throw something at my telly :o

Talking of old 3D games someone has done a VR Mod of Quake II which I'm going to have to try out at some point.

I've got so many games to play at the moment that it's ridiculous, and I just pre-ordered Arktika.1 from the developers of the Metro franchise yesterday. Got a few quid off by pre-ordering, it only cost me £19.99. I still haven't completed Killing Floor Incursion yet or any of the other games I've bought recently. My VR libraries both on Oculus Home and on Steam have LOADS of games to play. Keep on meaning to go back to Alien Isolation VR and Doom 3 BFG VR too. :o

Oculus/Facebook have REALLY been knocking stuff out of the proverbial park with their game releases. Hopefully they're going to announce another $250m fund for developers again during Oculus Connect 4 next month because I need 3 or 4 grand to be able to have my game for sale and give all of the proceeds to cancer research (that's assuming that I ever finish it!).

The crates for my game are coming along nicely I think. I've now added an emissive channel to the texture which lights up the red light and screen display on the crates. Here's the Medium Storage Crate:

(https://i.imgur.com/DPkuaS2.jpg)

I'm having trouble with the text on the screen which is a pain in the arse, it looks great at 4K but you can't read it at 1K and there's no way I'll be able to have 4K textures in my game without it running at 3 or 4fps lol :o :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 27, 2017, 12:51:52 PM
Pre-ordered Cuphead - looks like a beautiful little game - doubt it will have much replay factor without a coop partner though but love the look of it.

Been playing through Ghost Recon Wildlands in the last couple of weeks - trying to get it finished before Wolfenstein hits later this month - its got good gameplay - but only in fits and bursts - it gets very repetitive quite quickly - would be great to play with friends, but no split screen and cant play cross-platform (i.e. xbox/pc) means I won't be playing it online at all.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 27, 2017, 05:19:04 PM
The Wolfenstein games are excellent. Only played the first two but they were VERY good. The only thing better than killing Nazis and killing zombies is killing Nazi zombies 8)

FPS games are one of my favourites, particularly scary FPS games. Have never been much of a fan of online multiplayer though, I'd rather play multiplayer on a LAN like we used to do at lunch when I was working at Eidos. I just have a problem with online chat, much better on a LAN so you can talk to each other in person rather than with mics. Way too many annoying kids about playing online too.

I much prefer single player games myself tbh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 02, 2017, 01:14:36 AM
I don't play all that many of the games with gold (partly because I've already played the decent ones) but today I downloaded and played "Gone Home" on the day it became available.

What a bag of shite. Don't bother, people.

Looks and feels like it's going to be a horror, but it's just horrific, instead.
It's some interactive story about angsty teenagers. I play games to get away from that shit... :/
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 02, 2017, 10:06:56 AM
Be sure to watch out for that one lol.

Cuphead's great - but not worth £16ish.. I've already finished it on Normal - it's a beautiful game and reminiscent of vintage Disney cartoons - but there's just not enough variety or longevity to warrant £16 for me - I think you'd get better value out of Sonic Mania personally.  Cuphead is fairly tough in comparison to games these days - but its certainly not impossible - I liked that part of it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 02, 2017, 04:44:02 PM
Has Cuphead only just released? Fucking hell, that was in development for YEARS. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 03, 2017, 12:07:08 AM
Arktika.1 is releasing in a week's time (a week tomorrow at 6pm!). From 4A Games, the developers that do the Metro franchise. It uses node teleportation as a game mechanic which is a little disappointing but it looks like that's going to bring an element of strategy into the firefights which MIGHT be cool if they do it well enough. Anything post-apocalyptic gets an immediate thumbs-up from me and the Metro games in particular are VERY well done imo.

Going to be interesting to see how long a playthrough of it is going to be, it's only 30 quid so we could be looking at 4 or 5 hours I think.

I'm aiming for 4 or 5 hours for my game and am thinking of having it priced at £9.99 or maybe £10.99.

Going to start work on a few asteroids tomorrow if I get the chance, I've still got to sort out my boxes after moving back in yesterday after some work has been done on my flat. Doesn't look too bad tbh but I'm not getting the double glazing sorted out until a month or two later because the landlord 'can't afford it at the moment'. Bollocks to that. He's getting around £3500 per month in rent on these 4 flats in total and he's he's spent fuck all on my flat since I moved in 17 years ago :o

And the builders didn't actually finish what they were supposed to do either, fucking cowboys. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 11, 2017, 10:52:48 PM
Well bugger all work on my flat has been done since I last posted. I've sent the knob head at the letting agents 3 texts and 2 emails. No response. Told him in my last email that I'm going to have a shower tonight and flood the flat downstairs if he hasn't had the work done. I haven't had a shower since I got back a week and a half ago. I've been washing in a big bowl of water but enough is enough!

I tried out Arktika.1 last night and it's pretty good. By 4A Games, the developers of the Metro games. There's a few issues with it but not game breaking - the 'floor' where you drop items is lower than the floor level that the controllers reach so you can't pick things up but whenever you drop a gun it automatically reappears on your back. The intro is a bit weird but worked okay for me because I'm a short arse. You're being driven in a vehicle by Viktoria, who's quite a hornbat, and the way they've done things is like this: she's sitting down and you're standing up so you don't have a seat. Works great if you're 5'6" like me because everything looks okay, but taller people have said that their heads are clipping through the top of the vehicle lol :o ;D ;D ;D

The scale of your hands is also a little off, but I've put this down as being by design. You're wearing gloves and it's bloody freezing so it makes sense that you're wearing a bloody great big pair of gloves tbh.

I like the feel and handling of the two weapons I've used so far. They're on holsters on your back. There's a revolver and a handgun. The revolver is reloaded by flicking the gun left to open the bullet chamber and it fills with ammo and you then flick it back upright to fire. The handgun is reloaded by snapping it down to your waist. The best thing about the guns so far is the rumble, makes firing and reloading them REALLY good and satisfying.

Just done the first level so far and it was pretty good, the first boss was a bloomin great big robot that had gone wonky. These things are designed to kill bandits and these mutant type things but someone has sabotaged it to kill ANY living thing. Including me lol. The best thing about VR is the boss fights, they're actually INTIMIDATING because of their size combined with them moving at 90fps. A couple of them in Wilson's Heart were quite scary at times, and I'm normally great with scary games too. Like all VR stuff it's something you don't quite 'get' until you experience it for yourself but I'm pretty sure that both the PS5 and Xbox Two will have VR goodness out of the box so you'll begin to realise what I've been raving about this last year or so.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 13, 2017, 07:48:14 PM
So much for me not spending any more money on video games lol

The Oculus Store has a Flash Sale for Halloween, 15 games with good discounts. I already had 11/15 that I bought before the sale and one of the 15 has had piss poor reviews so far so I bought 3 - Drop Dead, Duck Season and Don't Knock Twice.

All on my credit card...I'll worry about paying for them later lmfao  :P ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 13, 2017, 09:03:33 PM
Doh! Wasn't a Halloween Flash Sale, it was a Friday 13th Flash Sale :-[ ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 13, 2017, 10:59:31 PM
Just played Drop Dead for half an hour and got halfway through it so there's not a great deal of content but that goes for just about every on-rails/lightgun game. The replayability is all in the Leaderboards. Makes me wish that Sega would get off their arses and port ALL of the House Of The Dead games. Mind you, they probably don't want to do that because the movement in these sort of games might be uncomfortable for some people. Drop Dead has a Comfort Mode that (I think) teleports you rather than wheels you along a track.

Any game involving a weapon is so much better in VR using the Touch controllers, same as the Wii remote for the Wii years ago. Much better accuracy is possible.

Halfway through Drop Dead did become a bit hectic and I even died once on the last level I played (7/15) so it might be a challenge to complete the whole game without dying. There's also a load of props that you get points for shooting too like crows, bottles and pumpkins so they're good for earning bonus points.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 20, 2017, 12:16:58 PM
Playing South Park : Fractured But Whole - great game, plays very much like Stick of Truth which I thought was great too.  There's a new mini-game that you play right at the start of the game where you have to get your character to do a poo on a toilet lol - think there's an achievement for doing a poo on every toilet in the game and each toilet has its own difficulty

Went to the church and Father Maxi said I had to face my demons, locks you in a cupboard and then two paedophile priests turn up trying to convince your character that they are just in your imagination and you eventually have to fight them when they try touching you.. one of the priests attack moves was to pull out some anal beads which he then starting to flog himself with before charging you down.. so funny lol ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 20, 2017, 05:34:31 PM
 ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 21, 2017, 11:19:35 AM
Loved the stick of truth - will definitely have to get the fractured but whole at some point  8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 21, 2017, 10:33:12 PM
I'm VERY well prepared for Halloween now. Have just bought Paranormal Activity The Lost Soul to add to my VR horror game collection:

Paranormal Activity The Lost Soul
Duck Season
Drop Dead
Don't Knock Twice
Narcosis
Killing Floor Incursion
Boogeyman
Dreadhalls
Affected The Manor
Darkdays
Dead Secret
Into The Dead
Alien Isolation
Doom 3 BFG VR Mod

I must remember to do my washing before Halloween Night so that I have plenty of clean boxers to change into lmfao ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 21, 2017, 11:07:15 PM
I've ALMOST finished these three bloody crates for my game. Just waiting for a reply on a thread I started in the Allegorithmic forums and then I'll FINALLY have my first three models finished! ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 22, 2017, 03:06:29 PM
Edit: I've removed that bloody great big picture and rep-laced it with a link to it on my Sketchfab account so you can click on it and zoom in/out and rotate around it so that you can see it better!

https://sketchfab.com/models/617c496555124b2aa916032e59677060

Any feedback will be MUCH appreciated, it's basically a storage crate for materials mined on a mining ship for the Nakamura Mining Corporation. You can see from the Explosive signs that this crate contains combustible material which I need for the protagonist's last objective - escaping from the ship and blowing the Nakamura up!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on October 22, 2017, 10:45:31 PM
Looks good - but explosive creates should be red, obviously. Have you not played computer games before? :p
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 22, 2017, 11:39:23 PM
Thanks lol :D :D :D

They won't be explodable by shooting them though, that's why they put the combustible ore in crates. Safety first! 8)

Am going to have the protagonist (Commander Allen) needing to set charges where the ore processing machinery is in the middle of the ship and have the player needing to get to the escape craft, fix it and leave the ship before it goes BOOM!

The different pieces that you need to fix the ship are going to be scattered in random places apart from the last part which is going to be in the ore processing part of the ship. And in between getting those parts the player also needs to find the Chief Engineer so that you can cut his thumb off for the thumbprint scanner, disable the ship's defences and launch a warning beacon above the nearest planet warning people not to go near it because there are nasty facehugger type parasite aliens on there that caused the Nakamura's Fall (the title of the game!) 8)

Once the fuckers have attached themselves to you mug they lay their eggs and scuttle off again, causing you to lose consciousness and memory loss. As it grows the larvae sends the host insane. I'm going to have half of the crew dying when the fully grown fuckers burst out of their stomachs and half of the crew killing each other during their insanity.

I'm also going to have the things sensitive to sound, which should fuck up a few YouTubers lol ;D ;D ;D

I also decided to go for a Edgar Allen Poe link to it all too after I realised that the protagonist's ship looked like a Raven. The ship's AI is called Edgar, the captain that sent the distress call you responded to is called Commander Poe. Will have a few character names from some of his stories too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 23, 2017, 07:41:47 AM
Loved the stick of truth - will definitely have to get the fractured but whole at some point  8)

I'd recommend catching up on some of the recent episodes before playing if you haven't.

Its very good - I'm about 14 hours in now - I think I'm close to finishing the story - I think the only thing I've found slightly disappointing is that there isn't enough side-quests or they aren't long enough - but there's loads of improvements over SoT- not having to level up your entire party through battling is definitely one of them.  I won't spoil any of the jokes - but my character identifies as Latino Irish who is a Skoliosexual Gender Fluid Chaotic Satanist ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 24, 2017, 05:00:30 PM
Loved the stick of truth - will definitely have to get the fractured but whole at some point  8)

I'd recommend catching up on some of the recent episodes before playing if you haven't.

Its very good - I'm about 14 hours in now - I think I'm close to finishing the story - I think the only thing I've found slightly disappointing is that there isn't enough side-quests or they aren't long enough - but there's loads of improvements over SoT- not having to level up your entire party through battling is definitely one of them.  I won't spoil any of the jokes - but my character identifies as Latino Irish who is called Styles ;D ;D ;D

Fixed lmfao ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 26, 2017, 08:35:55 AM
Finished South Park last night - missed 3 achievements - 1 because I didn't put it on the hardest level (which makes your character black lol) and the other 2 definitely seem to be glitched.
I want to play The Stick of Truth at some point again (which came with the game) so I might replay Fractured But Whole again afterwards - I think 10 hrs would be enough to finish it without doing all the sidequests and skipping the cutscenes.


Started playing The Turing Test last night (free on Xbox Live) - First Person Puzzler - its like a crap version of Portal - except Portal was amazing - so when I say its crap - I mean that in comparison - its not that bad.  I was thinking to myself how can the puzzles even get hard when it utilises such a basic mechanic - I can guarantee there are a few stumpers in there.

I'm just about to get to the final chapter and I'm about 1.5 hours in, so it won't last very long - worth a download though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 26, 2017, 04:08:15 PM
Got another VR game to add to my games to play in VR on Halloween, someone has done a Five Nights At Freddie's with Room Scale VR called Vive Nights At Freddie's. I downloaded it the other day but I'm not going to try it until Halloween. I haven't played the original but have heard that heard that original is pretty scary played flat so I can't wait to play it in VR.

There's a clip of someone playing it (and almost pooing his pants!) here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si4qFeJUFyQ&index=1&list=PL0tD7gHgAbBIa_O2ZqkZ-SJ0YrGwm-QtN

 ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 28, 2017, 05:57:53 PM
Ooops, I just completely broke Substance Designer. I think my problems started when I started using a pirated version of 5.4. When I bought Substance Designer 2017 and installed it I ended up having double nodes appearing. Earlier on today I got REALLY fed up with having two of everything on my shelf (because one was older than the other and some of these nodes had been updated) so I decided to uninstall Substance Designer and start again. I had tried this before but every time I reinstalled the first time I started the program I had one of everything and everything was hunky dory - but every time I started the program after that first time the bloody double nodes kept on coming back.

So rather than just uninstalling Substance Painter I decided to go scorched earth on the fucker and delete every trace of the program from my hard drive. Thinking that would do the job I reinstalled it and found that all of those nodes that were doubled had disappeared completely making Substance Designer virtually useless lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D

I managed to solve it in the end by uninstalling it and then installing the very first version of it (2017.1.0) which was released in June, my nodes were back! Now I've just installed the latest version again and all is well! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 31, 2017, 01:04:06 AM
A company called Pimax has raised over $3bn on Kickstarter  for a new '8K' headset due to be released in January. I've put 8K in single quotes because the dodgy fuckers are adding the two 4K displays together to get 8K lmfao ;D

They've just had v3 of their prototype at various displays and it's looking like the displays can only run at a stable 75Hz instead of 90Hz. I think you'll end up seeing people blowing chunks with these things lol :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 04, 2017, 11:45:38 PM
Swore I wouldn't, but I ended up buying the latest CoD.
Don't know why I keep falling for it.
The matchmaking is terrible (I spend way more time in lobbies than in games) and the maps all seem way too small from the few I've seen so far... :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 05, 2017, 07:13:54 PM
They haven't beaten the first one in terms of awesomeness since they launched it. Good that it's gone back to WWII but the first game was the dog's bollocks. We used to have A LOT of fun playing that on our lunch breaks when I was working at Eidos. Playing on a LAN with the guys from Beautiful Game Studios, the developers of Champ Man who were just across the hall. I can't remember who came up with the idea but playing CoD and having rules that you could only kill opponents with either a melee kill of a grenade was fucking hilarious lololol ;D ;D ;D

I've done another couple of models now, the medium and large storage crates. Linkage here:

https://sketchfab.com/models/a0695c21de8348d88efc0d83cce6abaa

https://sketchfab.com/models/4a260f66d7e64c528f31fc47ebf06b66

I reckon one of the medium storage crates is going to have one of my Easter Eggs on it. Some of the more observant of you may have noticed that the colour of it bears a striking resemblance to the colour of a certain Doctor's ship.

I'm having Ripley, Dr Who, Mork and Captain Picard scratching messages into various props in the game and you'll get an Achievement for scanning each of them ;D

If you have a Google Cardboard headset and the latest Firefox browser you can view those models in VR, but the scale is going to be off unfortunately. ;D

Should have another 4 or 5 done in the next few days I reckon all going well.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 10, 2017, 03:37:25 PM
Looks like EA have bought Respawn :o

Hopefully won't affect the Oculus Store exclusive that Oculus are paying for. :-\
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 13, 2017, 05:42:10 PM
Swore I wouldn't, but I ended up buying the latest CoD.
Don't know why I keep falling for it.
The matchmaking is terrible (I spend way more time in lobbies than in games) and the maps all seem way too small from the few I've seen so far... :(

Couple the above with possibly the most annoying bug I've ever seen.
If you do rubbish in a game (so most games for me) it'll record your match on your record. If you do well in a game (so once in a blue moon, for yours truly) the game won't record it. Seems to be a bug where if you finish in the top three (so your avatar will stand in the winners circle and pose, post game) you'll get disconnected just as the game ends.
There's rewards for doing certain things - like winning a certain game type - where I've done what's required at least five or six times and yet I don't have the reward.

Even more annoying than the multitude of achievements that never dropped on Forza Horizon 3 😠


Nazi zombies is awesome fun, as always, though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 13, 2017, 09:38:02 PM
Achievements and Trophies are ALWAYS a right pain in the arse to test. I don't miss that part of my job AT ALL lol

Some Achievement/Trophy bugs are easy to find and find the cause of them but there are so many that appear completely random (they're not, obviously, but if you can't work out what the cause is they're almost impossible to bug, fix and regress to check said fix).

There are A LOT of 'Once Only' bugs, including crashes, that SHOULD be still open for EVERY game that's EVER been released, you just keep your fingers crossed that Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo don't find them when you Submit the game to them and close the bug with the words 'Closed As Not Seen' lol :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 17, 2017, 08:57:36 AM
Missus bought me an X1X for my birthday last week - still yet to play a game in 4K lol - thought I'd give Gears of War 4 a go as that's been one of the games given the treatment - 60GB patch file.  Running a miserly 2MB connection is taking an absolute age to download it - especially since it absolutely throttles our connection and am having to keep pausing it when I actually want to use the internet at home and the internet drops out several times a day - haven't bothered to complain though, Virgin have recently laid their cables in our street - and should be able to move to them next month, 150x faster - gonna seem like bliss.

I did log into GoW4 last night - couldn't play anything as it was still updating, but the title screen looked pretty boss lol.

Other than that, been playing quite a bit of Trackmania Turbo - bit mean to lock some of the courses behind obtaining a certain amount of medals, the course which requires all Golds up to that point can get fucked - that would be a ball-ache.  Also played Nights into Dreams - I went mad for that back in the Saturn days - but whoever dreamt up that game must have been a proper odd-ball.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 17, 2017, 07:19:58 PM
Yup, the size of stuff at 4K is a bit of a problem. The vast majority of my VR Porn collection is 4K and the files are HUGE for the amount of time the videos are. Luckily I've been with Virgin Media ever since I moved into this flat so my internet speed hasn't been a problem. They upgraded my speed to 200Meg yesterday lol

It seems like Virgin are really upping their game in terms of getting cables down. My Mum in Kent has just had their cables down in her street too.

I would imagine that hard drive space is going to be a major pain in the arse for owners of 4K consoles too.

I'm hoping that Oculus are going to sort out foveated rendering for their second generation VR headset in a couple of years too otherwise they'll be going with 2 x 2K displays instead of 2 x 4K displays. The Rift and the Vive CV1s have 2 x 1K screens.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 18, 2017, 08:19:38 PM
Oh bollocks. Jusdt spent MORE money on games lol :-[ ;D ;D ;D

The Oculus Store have 3 Complete Your Collection Packs:

Collection 1

Lone Echo
SuperHOT VR
The Mage's Tale
Eagle Flight
Space Pirate Trainer
I Expect You To Die
Blaze Rush

Collection 2

Arizona Sunshine
Star Trek: Bridge Crew
Gun Club VR
Chronos
Wilson's Heart
Project CARS GOTY Edition
Ultrawings

Collection 3

Killing Floor: Incursion
The Climb
Rick And Morty: Virtual Rick-ality
Raw Data
EVE: Valkyrie - Warzone
Dirt Rally
The Invisible Hours



Previous to this all games bundled were all at the same price, around £70-80 for the lot. But now they've listened to feedback and you get the ones you don't have at a cheaper price. I went for Collection Pack 3 and because I already have Killing Floor Incursion, The Climb and Eve Valkyrie (plus Dirt Rally on Steam but they can't really do anything about that lol) I got the others for £44 so they're basically £13.66 each. Pretty good deal.

I was planning on getting The Invisible Hours at some point and now have Rick And Morty and Raw Data now too.

I keep on meaning to get around to watching Rick And Morty so now I have the perfect excuse to. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 22, 2017, 01:11:55 AM
Haven't played any of those games yet, I've been continuing my play through of Elite Dangerous. Just traded in my Cobra Mk IV for a T7 Transporter. 128 tons of cargo space, but I've replaced some of those with mining equipment so I've got 96 tons of cargo space now. Means I can do a bit serious haulage and trading now plus will be able to make more dosh mining too.

Have done a few more models for my game, a load of tables, and have got another 5 or 6 to do. They're basically three models with different textures. I'm fed up playing games seeing the exact same piece of furniture over and over again so thought I'd have a wide variety of tables and chairs in my game.

Haven't put them in the Unreal Engine yet to see how they look but they should be fine I think barring a little adjustment to the roughness here and there. You can see the new additions on my SketchFab account here:

https://sketchfab.com/hsetterfield

 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 29, 2017, 08:36:35 PM
The Excorcist: Legion VR Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 were released on the 22nd November and I played the first Chapter last night. It starts off pretty sedately but the scare factor goes all the way up to 11/10 at the end of the first Chapter lol :o :-[ ;D ;D ;D

I completed 75% of it the first go so I'm going to have to go in again and complete it 100% once my soiled underwear comes out of my washing machine lmfao :-[ :P :-[

Chapter 2 is now available so I'm going to give that a go over the weekend. I'm normally pretty good with scary games, even in VR, but this one got pretty scary at the end. Still not as scary as Dreadhalls and Alien Isolation though. Those two games have acted as inspiration for my game, Nakamura's Fall. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 05, 2017, 11:52:32 AM
Fuck me, I downloaded Stardew Valley the other month, just a small indie game in the same vein to Harvest Moon which has always been a guilty pleasure of mine.  Well I've ploughed 130 hours into this bastard game.. mainly because someone at work also has it and I want to 100% it because she's an achievement hunter and she gave up because there are some proper rock hard/grindy achievements in there - I've got 5 left basically and it needs to be done by Christmas otherwise I will abandon this game.

1.  Gain 10million Gold - so just to give you an idea of how grindy this is - at the end of year 2 (about 80 hours in) - I had just over 1 million gold lol - I've come up with a decent way to speed this up, but its taken time to build that setup - I now rake in about 180k-300k on my farm in about 5 minutes and at the moment I'm at 5.5m - so I'd say about 2 - 2.5 hrs should see this complete if I focus on it.

2.  Complete Museum Collection - I have mostly completed this during the course of the game without really attempting it - but this one is completely down to random luck as to whether you will find certain artifacts or minerals, so I may never complete this.  I've done all the minerals, but still have about 6 artifacts to collect - but I think its a waste of time doing this outside of Winter (when there are far more artifact spots) - takes about an hour to skip Spring, Summer and Autumn days without doing anything - I've got a feeling this one could drag on a fair bit.

3.  Find all the Stardrops - the last one I will get by completing the Museum Collection.

4.  Buy All the JoJo Member Levels - I can't even complete this one in the current save file as I completed the Community Center achievement (and I didn't have the foresight to create a second save file to go back too before completing the community center - d'oh).  You need 135k to complete this - but starting from new that will take some time to build up, at least I know the best ways of making money now so hopefully not too long.  Probably leave this one till last.

5.  Complete Journey of a Prairie King without dying - So this is the rarest achievement in the game by far (0.02% of players have it) and I spent about 5-6 hours yesterday playing that fucking mini-game trying this - it took me about 30 attempts just to complete it even with dying!!.  One of my last go's last night saw me get to the final boss (for only the 4th time without dying) just to die with only 3 hits for the boss to take.. I nearly threw my pad at the tv  >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 07, 2017, 08:47:32 AM
Finally did the Journey of a Prairie King achievement last night - part of the mini-game relies on luck in getting enough gold coins to buy the upgrades between rounds.. and I was having a bit of a mare with the coins on the winning run - I hardly got any throughout the game and as such it made the levels much tougher - however, right at the end of the last level (before the boss) I picked up a sheriffs badge (which is the best powerup you can get) - I played it as soon as the boss fight started and absolutely whipped that bitch into shape!  There were a few near-misses - but so glad I've done that one now - 0.02% - must be my rarest achievement I reckon.

Onto 7m gold now too - will finish that one up today and only 3 artifacts to find too - the end is in sight!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 07, 2017, 10:44:13 PM
Well if you only need 3m gold I can sort that out for you the next time I go mining in Elite Dangerous  :P 8)

Oculus have just released Oculus Home Core 2.0 on the Beta Public Test Channel and it's pretty cool. You can now fully customise your Home environment to look how you want it to including having items from various games you've bought. You can have your Achievements hanging up on your wall if you want and you can have your games and a game console in there too. Place a game in the console, turning the console on makes a Rift appear and you put it on to play the game. A bit too gimmicky for some but I absolutely love stuff like this. ;D

I just gave Doom VFR a go and it's fucking terrible. Released WAY too early and there's no free locomotion option. Luckily someone has done a mod already so I'll give it a go later. One of the biggest problems with it is that the hands are in completely the wrong position and the aiming is off.

I guess that's what happens when Valve let ANYTHING on their Store without curating stuff. There's no way in hell that that would have passed Submission for the Oculus Store.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 08, 2017, 10:58:05 AM
Well I finished that one off yesterday - there is still that last achievement to go which is to start the game again and to go down the (evil) JoJo route and buy all the upgrades from them (135k required) - I've paid off 15k so far (in about 2 hours) - but now with a bit of money behind me, I can speculate to accumulate!  Luckily I've done all of this before so now how to maximise profits - its still going to take a bit of time - but this game is getting 100%'ed this weekend, whether it likes it or not!!!

Can't be too many people who have done that - its been a bitch.. but I enjoyed the first 80-90 hours of it - its worth buying if you like a farming RPG (like Harvest Moon).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 08, 2017, 05:43:27 PM
Well that's good cos I've stopped mining now lol ;D

I decided to buy a few passenger cabins and put my mining stuff in storage so now I'm doing sightseeing trips for tourists and transporting rebels and POWs 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 09, 2017, 01:47:15 AM
Fucking hell, this Core 2.0 update for Oculus Home is outstanding. Have been playing Elite Dangerous and watching a couple of episodes of Alfred Hitcock presents on VLC Media Player whilst I'm flying the ship lol. Normally I'd be playing a few tunes whilst playing but having stuff to watch on a floating screen in VR is so awesome. This is The Future :o :P :o 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 14, 2017, 06:08:10 PM
Omfg, the Thargoids have now started to attack space stations!!!!  :o

Going to have to step up my mission completion quite a bit. War is coming and I'm going to need an Anaconda to kick some Thargoid arse next year I think.

Given how many of their ships I destroyed in the 80s, 90s and 00s I reckon they're going to come looking for me soon lol   :P

These stations are outside the main human bubble but it's only a matter of time before they venture into it like they did in the 80s and 90s. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 16, 2017, 03:39:48 AM
Aw bollocks. I just lost all of my stuff from my ship. I inadvertently unchecked the box that says keep all of your shit when you claim your insurance after getting your ship turned to space dust :-[

Not a BIG big deal because I have the credits handy to buy it all again, it's just a pain in the arse because I have to find it all again. Can't find a Space station anywhere with any shields in stock at the moment. Bloody game lol ;D

Looks like HTC have moneyhatted L.A. Noire VR, Rockstar have hardware locked the Rift out of the game. Someone has circumvented that lock pretty quickly but I'm not interested in buying it. It's 25 quid for just 7 cases. The whole original game plus all of the DLC is available on Steam for the same price. Rockstar can fuck right off if they think I'm going to pay that sort of money for what is effectively a fucking demo. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 17, 2017, 03:50:54 PM
I bought Hand of Fate 2 yesterday, I really enjoyed the first one, the second one improves on the first one in a big way, much slicker, less annoying bits and better adventures.  Not a massive fan of dungeon crawlers but this is awesome
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 17, 2017, 05:47:57 PM
I've always loved dungeon crawlers, probably because it reminds me of me playing D&D and T&T when I was a kid. I wrote one in Visual Basic years ago, I would have started doing one for VR but there's LOADS of them available so I decided to go for a sci-fi survival horror game instead. There aren't enough VR horror games out there, and it's another genre that's ideal to play in VR.

I started to play The Wizards last night and think I might need to use the straps on my Touch controllers whilst playing it. I can see myself lobbing my controller at my telly when I do a fireball spell if I'm not too careful lol :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 17, 2017, 08:11:01 PM
Woo hoo!!! Bethesda have just confirmed Skyrim VR for the PC next year! Noice! 8)

Will probably need a mod or two to fix the controls because they're bound to not support the Rift and Touch controls given the Zenimax/Oculus court case.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 18, 2017, 08:35:52 AM
Well Hand of Fate is very much D&D-esque - in fact it reminds me of those Fighting Fantasy (https://www.google.co.uk/search?ei=HXw3Wq_rCJKvkwXx0LGIBg&q=adventure+books+fighting+fantasy&oq=adventure+books+fighting+fantasy&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i22i30k1l3j0i8i13i30k1.1577.3520.0.3639.16.13.0.0.0.0.271.1546.1j5j3.9.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..7.9.1541...0.0.XiP8P5dxE7M) RPG books which I used to play and love when I was younger - Forest of Doom, Caverns of the Snow Witch, Deathtrap Dungeon and Island of the Lizard King were probably my favourites - I still remember them quite vividly.

Also, I never actually finished the first Hand of Fate because the final boss is fucking rock hard.. you basically have to run a dungeon fighting every boss in the game before you get to him.. that's the toughest and longest part - and because the final boss has instant kill attacks - the few times I did get to him were pretty much trial and error scenarios - even when I had learnt his attacks - I think I was about 1 or 2 hits away from killing him before I died - that just annoyed me enough to not bother anymore - the camera and the fighting were a bit dodgy in the last game, they have all been fixed in the sequel.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 18, 2017, 07:50:22 PM
Yup, those books were amazing. A real shame that Ian Livingstone is a clueless cunt that was responsible (along with the 3 other employees in the Acquisitions Department) for my entire department being made redundant at Eidos in 2008. These people thought that Escape From Bug Island was a great idea and turned their noses up at Fallout 3 and Bioshock lol :o ;D ;D ;D

I keep on meaning to send him a turd in a box after I've had a curry but I haven't got around to it yet, plus me not being able to drink Guinness any more will make less of an impression ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 22, 2017, 03:58:14 AM
Have sorted out my shields now, and invested in a better fuel scoop. Now I can do some proper passenger trips and earn a few credits. I'm down to my last 5m credits now so I need to start earning again. I've noticed that Anacondas have sky-rocketed in price, must be due to demand since the Thargoids have started to attack. They cost three times what they did a year ago. Good to see that capitalism is still alive and well in 3303 lol :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 22, 2017, 04:05:51 AM
(https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Screen-Shot-2017-12-15-at-7.48.23-AM-800x449.jpg)


Here's a pic showing the damage these bastards have done. Thousands of lives lost. Fuckers.

The only good bug is a dead bug.

Shit is starting to get real, I'm gonna need a bigger boat lol :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 22, 2017, 07:47:12 PM
I'm quite tempted to go to that area of space to see if I can meet up with any of them. Not sure if my T7 will be able to travel that far though, it's outside of the human bubble or more accurately it's part of a newly formed second human bubble.

There have been passenger missions that have passengers wanting to encounter Thargoids so I might kill 2 birds with one stone. I could also pick up some Meta-Alloys too while I'm at it. They sell for over a 100,000 credits at some stations.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 19, 2018, 08:24:40 PM
Haven't been able to do much work on my game for a while but I've just started again...this time with some ambient music which you can listen to here:

https://soundcloud.com/arv1971/horror-1

VERY easy to do with Audacity and the music has changed so much that it's unrecognisable and won't be a problem with copyright claims. And no, I'm not going to say what song it is lol :P

Please let me know what you think. Sounds about right to have playing to increase tension for my survival horror game if placed correctly. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 07, 2018, 08:04:04 AM
Been toying with signing up to Xbox Game Pass now I have my super broadband connection.. £8 a month for access to over 100 games.. its more like 200 games to be honest.. there's quite a few on there that I've been meaning to buy for a while.. and £8 is really not that much.. but before anything.. I need to finish off DarkSiders - the original one that came out ages ago - I've never played it before and finding it quite enjoyable.. its a Metroid-type game (with DMC style fighting) and you play as War, one of the 4 horse-men of the apocalypse doing jobs for Samael (who is basically Satan) - definitely recommend it, DarkSiders 2 is available on XGP - so that will probably be one of the first I download if I do get that.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 07, 2018, 06:46:30 PM
Yeah game pass is looking more and more enticing - especially since the recent announcement that all first-party games will be added to the pass on their day of release, in future.

Crackdown 3 and State of Decay 2? Count me in.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on February 08, 2018, 07:42:59 AM
State of Decay should be one of those games I loved, it really appealed to me.. but after like 2 hours playing it and losing loads of people.. I basically fucked up - I never went back to it again lol.

Crackdown 3 is a winner, I loved the first two..

Sea of Thieves aswell.. that would appeal if it had a single-player mode.. I don't like people basically and I don't like playing games with people I don't know.. so that can GTFO

You can get a free month of XGP here (https://rewards.microsoft.com/offers?programname=XBOXGPOFFER201802) if you haven't signed up to Microsoft Rewards before, otherwise everyone gets a 14 day free trial via the Xbox dash.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 09, 2018, 06:41:16 PM
Here's an interesting old article on Chris Roberts and Star Citizen, the game that has had over £150m worth of crowdfunding so far and (imo) will never be released:

http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2016/09/26/the-24-year-feud-that-has-dogged-star-citizen

In other news Yaw VR, a motion simulator, has just reached its Kickstarter goal of $150,000.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/346206518/yaw-vr-compact-portable-motion-simulator/description

It doesn't look great by any means but if it works okay and is available for half the Kickstarter backer price at some point in the future I might pick one up. You'll be out of luck if you're taller than 6'3" and over 250 lbs though. The Kickstarter backer price is $890 which is way too rich for my blood but £500 and I'll probably get one. Hopefully they'll be able to get the manufacturing costs down.

This is the sort of thing that needs to be on Dragon's Den or Shark Tank. With a Dragon/Shark behind them they'll be able to probably cut that price in half without a problem.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 09, 2018, 06:51:06 PM
Got that weight limit wrong in my earlier post! It's actually a more impressive 330 lbs. And they're planning to do an XXL version next year. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 18, 2018, 03:09:37 PM
Oh shit. Things are going to start to get VERY real in Elite Dangerous real soon. The Thargoids have just attacked a space station in the Human Bubble. I'm gonna need a bigger boat! :o ;D ;D ;D 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 24, 2018, 09:11:47 PM
That Yaw VR kickstarter ended up raising $219,281 in the end which is quite impressive. I think I'm going to get one next year if there are decent reviews for it after it releases in August. Hopefully by next year they'll have got the price down. It's still VERY cheap compared to other motion simulators but it's still a bit too rich for my blood.

It's an absolutely outstanding piece of engineering even before you start to think about it being collapsible, portable and lightweight. I hope these guys make a small fortune out of this.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 02, 2018, 06:44:02 PM
Fuck me ragged with a wire brush :o

There have only been 112m or so systems discovered by pilots in Elite Dangerous so far, there are over 400b systems in the Milky Way altogether.

(https://i.redd.it/8hb0wvh0udj01.jpg)

Only 0.028% of the systems so far. The scale of this game is just fucking crazy. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 07, 2018, 09:12:38 PM
Whoops! All Oculus Rift headsets are currently unusable due to a security certificate for a DLL being out of date lol

Someone at Oculus is getting the sack over this lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 08, 2018, 11:52:09 AM
They've fixed the problem now and are giving everyone a $15 Store credit. Should be a tenner in pound sterling I think. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 15, 2018, 12:44:16 PM
Skyrim VR is being released on Steam on 3rd April, but seeing how much Bethesda and id fucked up Fallout 4 VR and Doom VFR I'm not getting my hopes up too high. One thing that might do the game a few favours is having the PS4 as the lead platform so it's passed Sony's Standards testing. The PSVR SKU was supposed to be excellent.

If it's any good I can see myself spending A LOT of time in this game.

In the meantime I'm playing the shit out of Elite Dangerous. Have just got myself a Viper Mk IV, am kicking some serious pirate scum arse at the moment to make a few quid.

Will be getting an Asp Explorer at some point and do some exploring outside of the bubble.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 19, 2018, 07:12:30 PM
HTC have officially gone insane. They're releasing the Vive Pro in April for $799/£799 for just the headset lol. So anyone buying one that doesn't already own a Vive will have to buy 2 controllers and 2 base stations. And they're expensive. The controllers are £119.99 each and the base stations are also £119.99 each. So a full system will cost you £1278.96.

I think they're primarily aiming this headset for VR Arcades but even then a lot of them would see that £799 headset only deal being too expensive.

And it's not as if these headsets have the highest resolution either, the Samsung Odyssey is also a 1.5K headset.

And people wonder why HTC have been on the verge of going out of business these last few years. Pure insanity from the HTC board thinking this is a good idea. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 23, 2018, 12:46:36 AM
Have gone from Harmless->Mostly Harmless->Novice->Competent now for Combat in Elite Dangerous with my new Cmdr I started the other week. Only another 5 rankings before I become Elite but it's going to take me AGES. To get experience points you have to kill pilots higher ranked than you otherwise you don't get points for the kills. Am 6% of the way through Competent now. 8)

Think I'm going to buy an Asp Explorer next and work on my Exploration rank by going outside the human bubble once I have enough cash to buy one and kit it out. The crazy thing is that there's still plenty of systems INSIDE the bubble that are still unexplored :o

Over 400 billion systems out there in the Milky Way altogether, the sheer scale of this game is bloody mental lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 23, 2018, 05:51:34 PM
Plenty of positive hands-on reports of the Oculus Go at the GDC so far. No interest in getting one myself but I can see Oculus selling a shitload of these things this year. The displays and optics sound shit hot which bodes well for the Rift CV2 next year.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 26, 2018, 12:34:34 AM
Oops! Got my ship a bit banged up whilst bounty hunting and all of a sudden things started to go fucking CRAZY. I was taking heat damage and all of my ship's modules were crapping out.

Turns out that I accidentally turned on Silent Running by mistake lol. Silent Running basically turns everything off so that your ship and it's cargo can't be scanned, including the ship's cooling system. :o

I was basically sitting in a giant oven lol ;D ;D ;D

I ended up with no thrusters, no warp drive, no sensors, no cargo hatch, no shields and no power distributor lmfao :-[ ;D

Luckily the Old Bill killed my pirate for me and I realised what I'd done before my ship blew up - but it was close! Had 14% hull left before I turned it off. Luckily I had a repair module otherwise I would have had to self destruct to leave the asteroid field!

Going to change that button later lol

In VR these sort of things can be pretty unnerving  :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 28, 2018, 05:58:39 PM
Grainger Games have gone bust by the looks of it.. shame because I've used them a fair bit in the past especially for preowned games.. think its ultimately inevitable for any high-street gaming retailers.. only a matter of time before GAME go bust (again).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 29, 2018, 01:46:50 AM
Game deserve to go bust. Their staff are clueless. The ironic thing is that the Game Station staff were more clued up and they all got the push after they went under. I'm pretty sure that Game staff need to FAIL a video game aptitude test before getting the job lol :o ;D ;D ;D

Am 95% of the way through Competent for my Combat rank in Elite Dangerous now. Have been doing a SHITLOAD of bounty hunting and got over 21m credits now. Have been forced to adjust my tactics when bounty hunting now because the AI has been greatly improved. You have this thing called Flight Assist which basically smooths your ride when steering your ship so you can move around easier. With Flight Assist off if you move in a direction you'll continue to move in that direction until you apply equal force in the opposite direction. Makes it A LOT more difficult to steer but with Flight Assist off your ship turns MUCH faster. So when fighting an enemy ship you need to apply your Boost, then turn Flight Assist off and apply force in one direction until you see the enemy ship again and then turn Flight Assist on again to target the enemy.

Haven't QUITE got the hang of it but I'm getting there I think.

Next up is Expert rank, then Master, Dangerous, Deadly and finally Elite. It's supposed to be a real grind to get to Elite status but I don't mind that at all. Personally I don't think there's enough grind in the game, it's way too easy to earn credits in this version.

Going to buy an Asp Explorer next and kit it out for exploration. My Explorer rank is still Mostly Aimless. Once I've kitted that ship out it's time to go into 'the black', outside the human bubble, to discover new stars, planets, black holes and neutron stars. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 30, 2018, 07:32:35 PM
I'm trying my VERY best not to get too hyped for Skyrim VR but it's proving difficult to resist. The PSVR version is supposed to be fantastic but this is Bethesda we're talking about so it's probably going to be a mess lol

If it is any good I'll probably spend hundreds and hundreds of hours in the game :o

I've spent over 1200 hours in Elite Dangerous so far I think, but that's combining my flat and VR play through times. I started a new Commander when I got my Rift, having done 553 hours playing flat according to Steam. I'm not sure how long I've played using that Commander because I accidentally killed my save off. Must be 600 hours or so I reckon. And now I've done 77 hours so far with my new Commander.

I probably did 4 or 5 times that total playing the first game though. I played it religiously as a kid in the 80s and in the 90s, 00s and early 10s I used to go back and play it every few years via a Speccy emulator.

The Elite franchise is probably the best value for money I've ever had, or probably ever will have, playing video games. Especially seeing as I pirated the first game in the 80s lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 31, 2018, 06:46:56 PM
Just seen this collection of Rick Mayall adverts that he did for Nintendo years ago. I totally missed all of them when they were on, the last two are fantastic lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w24KR30nEsg

 ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 01, 2018, 02:15:37 AM
Lmfao, the Elite Dangerous and Star Citizen sub-Reddits have switched for April Fool's Day lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 02, 2018, 05:15:39 PM
Skyrim VR is launching today. Going to wait and see how much Bethesda have fucked things up before I get it though lol :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 03, 2018, 01:02:40 AM
Just read a review and it's sounding good. Very surprising seeing as how Bethesda completely fucked up Fallout 4 VR but I guess having PSVR as the lead platform ensured that Skyrim VR passed Sony's Standards testing so the game at the lowest settings doesn't perform like a pig.

Touch control implementation is good too, and there's free locomotion and smooth rotation for those of us with superior brains that makes us completely immune to simulation sickness lol :P ;D

Have bought it for £31.99 from Greenman Gaming and have activated it on Steam. It's busy downloading so I'll try it tomorrow. 8)

What with this and Elite Dangerous I can see myself ending up like this:

(http://www.skewsme.com/img/vr-addict.jpg)

 ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Makes me wish I had a wife or girlfriend, I'm going to need someone to feed me and change my adult nappy when it's full lol :-[
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 04, 2018, 05:45:00 PM
Have given it a go and unlike Fallout 4 VR and Doom VFR it's very good. It still has a few issues here and there but they're only minor and most of them can be tweaked by changing some values in the INI file.

Have just started adding a few mods now, there are LOADS of them that are working without any issues, a few that are partially working and two or three so far that aren't working at all. Some of those partially working and non working ones are being worked on by the modders concerned which is cool.

Very happy paying 32 quid for It, money well spent I think. 8)

No performance issues either but there's a huge bug that stops your hit box moving with you if use room scale VR but that should be a quick and easy fix for Bethesda to do.

Going to add all of the graphics mods, environment mods and immersion mods first and then see what tickles my fancy later on.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 05, 2018, 01:32:16 AM
Have now installed a load of mods and the Skyrim 2017 Textures mod in particular is amazing. Makes it look like a completely different game and my 1080 is having no problem at all with the 4K textures.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 05, 2018, 03:20:37 PM
Over a hundred fully working mods available now. Outstanding. I managed to fuck up a couple I think so I've uninstalled the game and am reinstalling the mods again. Seeing the first dragon at the start of the game is a fantastic experience. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 07, 2018, 12:50:04 AM
Just started playing it again. Killing people isn't a problem but for some reason I was on the verge of panic getting attacked by three wolufs lol. Had my heart beating a bit faster to say the least lmfao.

I think I'm going to start a new game again though because I forgot to pick up the first book you come across and that sort of thing will drive me crazy lol

Only have 37 mods installed so far, I might add a few more later on. First one I did was the 4K textures, game looks beautiful now. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 08, 2018, 08:12:46 PM
Fuck me ragged with a wire brush!!! It's looking like people are working on a VR version of the Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE). What does this mean? It means that if they manage to get it sorted then EVERY Skyrim Special Edition mod will work for Skyrim VR including SkyWind and SkyBlivion (assuming that they ever finish them lol.

So I'll be able to play Oblivion and the best Elder Scrolls game of the lot, Morrowind, in VR using the Skyrim engine. This is fucking HUGE for a big Elder Scrolls fan like me ;D ;D ;D

Hopefully they'll both be finished within a year. Can't wait!!! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 10, 2018, 01:33:56 AM
Wish I'd never stepped foot in the pub in Riverwood now. I can't get the song that the bard was singing out of my head lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on April 11, 2018, 03:18:20 AM
I could never go to Solitude without getting a song in the Winking Skeever lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 11, 2018, 08:33:31 PM
I love my horsies in Elder Scrolls games, am going to buy one when I eventually win the Euromillions, but I'm not going near one with Skyrim VR. I'm going to just take my time and walk around taking in the sights. Playing Flatrim you really don't appreciate how beautiful the environments are, particularly when you've added 4K textures, the Static Mesh Improvement Mod and JK's Skyrim AIO Mod.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 11, 2018, 08:41:13 PM
Upload VR have bunged up a Before And After video on YouTube, they've used over a hundred mods here but I've only got 40 or so:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI66Gdd6BoQ

230 mods tested so far - 10 not working, 22 partially working and 198 working without a problem. Mods are one of the reasons why I prefer PC gaming to console gaming, you have mods available on console games here and there but the mod community usually concentrate their efforts on PC versions.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 11, 2018, 10:42:22 PM
Woo hoo!!! Someone has sorted out putting extra perks into SkyrimVR so that we can use the Ordinator Mod. Before someone did the Perk Extender Skyrim VR crashed every time you tried to use Ordinator. Now it's been fixed I've now got 400 or so extra perks to play with for even more RPG goodness. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 13, 2018, 08:35:00 AM
Oh fuck. Bleak Falls Barrow is CRAZY good in VR. Got the Golden Claw and just saved before I open a bloomin great big door. Have had to take a break because my back is killing me. :(

Oops, forgot to post this last night lol

It's really annoying that I can't play for longer periods due to my back. I COULD play sitting down but then combat would lose a lot of its appeal.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 15, 2018, 02:35:39 AM
12 hours into Skyrim VR now and this game is SO GOOD in VR. The only real problem I've had is with punch ups because unless you change the INI file (which I'm going to do tomorrow to save myself having the problem again) your character moves in the direction your left controller is facing. Meant that I was having problems sticking and moving lol :o ;D

The INI change screws up the steering for the horsies but I don't think I'm going to bother riding one because going on foot takes longer and gives you a chance to enjoy the scenery more 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 28, 2018, 01:56:14 AM
Two very important and awesome things happened today:

1) Bethesda released a patch for Skyrim VR which has fixed most of the issues with the game meaning you don't have to fuck about changing values in the INI file.

2) Bethesda also released a patch for Fallout 4 VR which has increased performance, fixed the crappy controls and added compatibility for the Rift and WVR headsets.

I bought Fallout 4 VR earlier tonight and it's awesome. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on April 30, 2018, 08:14:35 AM
Finished Far Cry 5 last week, in my opinion, not as good as FC3 or FC4 - better than Primal though (which isn't too hard) - the story is just a bit crap to be honest, and none of the missions really felt like they added to the story.. great free-play roaming game... although hunting seems almost pointless in this game - worth a play once it comes down in price.

Played (or rather watched) Late Shift last night - its a interactive short film - its pretty good actually, definitely going to go through it again - its got 7 endings - free on Xbox Pass - worth a download.

Downloaded ClusterTruck aswell from Xbox Pass - its mindless and a bit shit.. but somehow has an addictive one last go feel to it.

Also bought A Way Out and played about 75% through that with a buddy.. you can't play it on your own.. some sections in there are awesome.. they really put a lot of thought into the co-op aspect and they do a lot of new things I've not seen before in a co-op game.. but its too linear really.. I was hoping for a bit more free-roaming.. you get funnelled down one route the whole game... and whilst there are sections where you can go off and play mini-games on your own or together.. its not enough.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 30, 2018, 04:13:47 PM
I have a love/hate relationship with 'Okay, just ONE more go' games lol

They tend to drive me crazy because it's VERY difficult to stop playing the things. Only one VR game has done this to me so far, Into The Dead, an endless zombie runner game that I had to force myself into stopping playing lol ;D

It got plenty of bad reviews but I loved it. You're basically running in first person view across corn fields full of zombies and you either have to avoid or kill the zombies with weapons that pop up every now and then. I think most people didn't think much of it because it made them want to reunite with their lunch but I'm completely immune to sim sickness so I didn't have any problems with it at all.

Any games with scores or times to beat I start to get crazy obsessive with pretty quickly lmfao ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 02, 2018, 05:34:12 PM
Think I'm going to start modding Fallout 4 VR, starting with the Unofficial bug fixes patch. Bloody thing keeps on crashing. Surprisingly I haven't had many crashes with Skyrim VR yet, just one so far.

And Bethesda also added hands in the last Skyrim VR patch, makes a HUGE difference to the immersion of the game seeing hands instead of Touch controllers. And as an added bonus it means that Arvina can grab female NPC's bits for a bit of lesbo action lol ;D :-* ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 03, 2018, 11:18:16 PM
Been playing The Witness a fair bit since it was on GWG last month... At first I was very underwhelmed but now I think it is a fantastically difficult addictive puzzle game. So many times I think I work out what I'm doing and then everything changes, it's very rewarding and frustrating at the same time.

I have to admit, I've used a guide on a few puzzles, probably about 10 or so, mainly because it was so fucking difficult to work out what I was supposed to do.. but then later on I found much easier puzzles along the same vein which probably would have made me not need to use a guide.  It's great that you can visit any area at any time, but it would be nice to see which areas are easier to stop you floundering and wasting time.

Got a few areas to find/finish off, some areas are a pain to even work out how to even enter, though... currently wasting a lot of time trying to figure out the swamp.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on May 07, 2018, 11:12:20 PM
Is that the area with the bird sounds? That was my least favourite part of what I thought was a very good game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 08, 2018, 03:06:25 AM
Have started playing The Mage's Tale again since they FINALLY added smooth rotation to the game. They added free locomotion ages ago in a patch (free locomotion means that you can use the analog stick to move your character rather than teleport all over the place) but for some reason known only to themselves they had an annoying snap rotation which turns your character 45 degrees at a time when you move the analog stick to turn.

So now they've got both free locomotion AND smooth turning. The game is excellent so far, launching fireballs and electricity at goblins using the Touch controllers is VERY satisfying and it's a genre that I've ALWAYS loved - an old-school dungeon crawler.

It has a mechanic where you can transport yourself to your base which has a bloody great big cauldron in it and as you pick ingredients up for new spells a giant frog appears and you throw the ingredients into his mouth so that they appear next to the cauldron when you transport there. You then walk over to the cauldron and throw these ingredients in to make new spells.

It's a REALLY cool game. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 08, 2018, 08:13:45 AM
Is that the area with the bird sounds? That was my least favourite part of what I thought was a very good game.

Yeah that area was crap - but at least it was short.  I managed to complete it over the BH weekend.. although had to look up how to access the Caves (as I missed it) - and attempting to do the Challenge at the end of the game with a hangover wasn't the best idea in the world - but I did manage to do it after 2 hours (you can't cheat at all on the Challenge - all randomly generated puzzles and you have a time limit, pausing the game causes it to reset) - good luck with that one lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 08, 2018, 05:29:06 PM
Fallout 4 VR is awesome. As is Dogmeat. I can't stop talking to the fella lol ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 10, 2018, 11:46:33 AM
Finished A Way Out last night - the last 30 minutes of the game is great.. the games a bit short and limited, but it was definitely fun in places and I loved the new spin they put on co-op gaming - worth a go at £18 which is what I paid for it anyway.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on May 13, 2018, 01:57:29 PM
My favourite thing about PS+ is finding little gems I'd never normally have played. Games like Everybody's gone to the rapture, Gone Home, Never Alone, Limbo and The Walking Dead to name some of my favoyrites so far.

Just finishing Hue which is a great little platformer where you solve puzzles by changing the colour of the background. Hoping to find many more in the future.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on May 14, 2018, 11:40:39 AM
Yeah, most of those appeared on Games With Gold at some point, definitely been some good indie games, I just finished Superhot over the weekend, quite short but interesting.

Xbox Game Pass is pretty good for that too, its got Hue on at the moment (I haven't played it), I like a puzzle game, just didn't look/sound very good... but I might give it a go.  I've been downloading loads of games from it recently - ReCore was pretty good, just started playing DarkSiders 2 - I already like how it fits into the first game and I downloaded theHunter: Call of the Wild last week - lol... was a bit precarious at first, it seems wrong hunting and killing poor innocent animals (rather than slaughtering humans in so many games I have) - but good news is that I'm absolutely crap at it.. its tough, I think I've shot 4 deer in about 4 hours playing it lol - the difficultly level makes the game quite unappealing - its more of a walking simulator than anything.  But State of Decay 2 being released on XGP next week - looking forward to that.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 14, 2018, 01:14:21 PM
What does the flat version of SuperHOT play like? The VR version is excellent. Time only moves when you move so it's a cross between a strategy game and an FPS game. It works REALLY well in VR. The VR version is also VERY short but has replay value due to an endless mode.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 17, 2018, 11:48:49 PM
lmfao

(https://i.imgur.com/nGz9ZXT.gif)

 ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 18, 2018, 03:35:32 PM
Bloody hell, LA Noire The VR Case Files is pretty buggy. The interviews are frequently broken either by the pencil not triggering your questions and by the Good Cop/Bad Cop/Accuse options being missing. And I also managed to screw up the scale of my cop somehow, it looked like I was controlling Trump lol :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 19, 2018, 01:21:24 PM
This CAN'T be a genuine picture of a subway car in Japan, surely..?

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DdhmVZTVAAAIOwD.jpg)

 :o :-\ :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 01, 2018, 01:01:15 AM
Quote
Content Guidelines

Here are some basic content standards that we apply to all apps and games. The following is not accepted in the Oculus Store:

  • Pornography, including content for the purpose of sexual gratification.
  • Excessively violent content (including but not limited to: torture, rape, child abuse, animal abuse, cannibalism, glorification of gore, and dismemberment).
  • Hate speech, bullying, molestation, or harassment.
  • Real-money gambling.
  • Applications directed to children or users under the age of 13.
[li]
[/li][/list]

All quite reasonable and indeed expected apart from one thing - no dismemberment. Wtf?!!?!?

I've just posted on the Oculus Developer forum for clarification but if they've suddenly decided not to allow any dismemberment in any games on their Store then I'm going to have to do a bit of redesign. I was planning on having players needing to cut the thumbs off high ranking crew members to gain access to important parts of the ship but looks like I won't be allowed to now.

Fucking ridiculous. Dismemberment has been a part of video gaming for more than 30 fucking years. If they're doing this then you can wave goodbye to decent horror games and decent games with melee combat.

I'm SERIOUSLY pissed off at the moment. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 04, 2018, 10:17:12 AM
Close to 200k Gamerscore now and I picked up a 6GS on Dirt Rally to knock everything off track... fuck sake.. I've already checked out a few of my older games and the only one I have is Dead Island.. unfortunately my save point on that game is after I re-started the game again.. which means I'd have to go through the whole game again to achieve any of the achievements ending in 4.  The opposing 4GS in Dirt Rally is very achievable but its a lot of grinding - and that game is starting to bore me to tears.. mainly because its too fucking hard....this is bollocks!!!

I started playing State of Decay 2 - its good and I want to keep playing but I can't seem to get enough food for my group.. I keep bringing back food packages and nothing seems to happen.. I've even built a food checkpoint.. but still nothing.. I'm now on zero food with a lot of hungry survivors who are all going to die unless I stockpile more food.. I don't have a fucking scooby on how to do that, the game tells you to bring back food packages.. but my number never rises.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 04, 2018, 09:41:13 PM
Do you have a steering wheel controller or are you using a gamepad to play DiRT Rally? It's MUCH easier with a steering wheel controller (although I don't have a hope of getting very far with mine in DiRT Rally VR because I'm shite at driving games lol).

When I play driving games I tend to use opposition cars to stop me going off the track on corners but you can't do that in a Rally lol. Brakes are for wimps :P

I bought Project CARS 2 as well a while back when it was on sale but I haven't tried that yet either. I'm going to have to give these games a go despite my crap driving ability but I've just started playing Elite Dangerous again. Am on my way to buy an Asp Explorer and kit it out for exploration and venture outside of the Human Bubble for the first time.

Should get me a good few million quid by the time I get back, maybe enough to buy myself an Anaconda with a bit of luck. Best. Ship. Ever. 8)

I've got around 47 million credits at the moment which should be enough to kit out my Asp I reckon.

I love Elite Dangerous SO MUCH. It's knocked the first Elite off number one in my Best Games Of All Time List and I NEVER thought I'd see a game managing to do that.

I've put well over a thousand hours into this game so far. :o

I'm also going to have to get back to Skyrim VR and Fallout 4 VR too, me doing a fresh install of my system a while back broke my mods somehow so I'm going to have to install them again and get back to those games. Skyrim VR is now number 3 in my Best Games Of All Time List:

1 Elite Dangerous
2 Elite (Speccy Version)
3 Skyrim VR
4 Metroid Prime
5) Manhunt 2 (Uncut)

Mind you, if you ask me again next week 4 and 5 will probably change lol. 1, 2 and 3 will ALWAYS be the same though until something is released to beat them for awesomeness.

Manhunt 2 Uncut is amazing, it's a real shame that the ESRB and the BBFC completely ruined hands-down the best motion controlled game with censorship. It was VERY satisfying doing executions with matching motions once you patched the censorship out. ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on June 09, 2018, 12:26:37 AM
Crackdown 3 has been pushed back, again. Now scheduled for Feb 2019 :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 09, 2018, 03:36:44 PM
Crackdown 3 has been pushed back, again. Now scheduled for Feb 2019 :(

Better that they've delayed the launch rather than releasing a shite game though. Producers happy with releasing virtually unplayable buggy piles of crap has always got right on my tits. It all started when online patches became a thing during the 360/PS3/Wii generation. During the previous generation, although there were a good few consoles online the majority weren't, publishers used to release much less buggy games because the majority of end users were unable to patch the things.

I never got into Crackdown for some reason and on paper it's the sort of game I should love. Not sure what it is about the franchise but the games just haven't gripped me at all.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 10, 2018, 04:07:01 PM
Crackdown is great, one of the reasons I bought game pass so slightly annoying to hear it being pushed back.

Finally got that wanky 4Gs cheevo from Dirt Rally, being very careful with what I play now because I want to land exact on 200k for posturing purposes...  It's been a while coming... roughly 55 months since 100k.. That's an average of 1800 each month lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 12, 2018, 09:17:07 PM
Just a quick update on my game! I've remodelled my modular corridors and added some geometry, it's raised the poly count but not too much but they look a lot better.

The Unreal Engine Marketplace has just had a sale on. I've bought Dungeon Architect for 47 quid, 50% off. 94 quid was a bit too rich for my blood but 47 quid isn't too bad.

Dungeon Arcitect is an Unreal Engine plugin that procedurally generates levels. Should raise the replay value of my game through the roof as long as the performance is good enough.

So next up is texturing these modular corridor pieces, designing my options menu and control customisation and finish modelling my alien parasite.

Hopefully I'll have a Pre-Alpha build playable in a couple of months. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on July 03, 2018, 05:41:32 PM
Holy shitballs, Sega just announced Shenmue 1 and 2 are being re-released in August for all major platforms!! ;D ;D

And I confirmed my address for my Shenmue 3 kickstarter the other day, shame my pc won't be able to play it anymore :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 19, 2018, 03:48:25 PM
A $69 gaming PC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDDLTwS4zgs

Fire extinguisher not included in the price lmfao :o ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 02, 2018, 02:01:57 PM
Fuck me ragged with a wire brush :o

I was determined not to buy any more games for a while because I've been spending WAY too much money on games lately. But then they released a VR patch for Hellblade and EVERYONE was raving about it.

So I caved lol

Fucking hell, the game is amazing. It's hands down the best intro to a VR game I've seen so far. Amazing. I've played it using my Xbox controller and the combat is top notch. No motion control use as far as I'm aware but this is usual for third person action adventure games in VR.

You wouldn't have thought that third person games would work too well in VR but imo they're some of the best VR games available. Hellblade, Edge Of Nowhere and Chronos are all amazing games as are the platformers Lucky's Tale and Moss.

And it's great to see that more studios are bringing AAA quality games to VR, rather than all us headset owners relying on Oculus-Facebook to fund developers to make these high quality titles.

These last three (Hellblade, Fallout 4 VR and Skyrim VR) are all titles converted to VR but I reckon we're only a few years away from having these sort of titles being made for VR from the start.

We're not too far away from flat gaming dying imo, probably 10 years away...So you Luddites had better get ready for a shock :P 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 10, 2018, 06:37:28 PM
I wish I could play Hellblade in longer sessions. I tend to like playing action adventure games in long sessions because they're easy to get into but my leg means I can only play for around 30 minutes at a time. :'(

Beat the first big boss last night, the Helraven, a bit too easy though imo but it was the first big boss.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 21, 2018, 12:58:55 PM
Well Amazon emailed me saying they couldn't get Shenmue Remastered out to me today, so I cancelled with them, picked it up at Argos a second ago for £5 cheaper too..

Shenmue all-nighter tomorrow methinks, can't wait, I fucking love those games! ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 23, 2018, 09:54:14 AM
Did about 5 hours on Shenmue last night.. forgot how truly tragic the dialogue is ("Don't you know blackmail is waayyy uncool" lol) and the controls really feel wooden by todays standards - and this was a ground-breaking game at the time!  But it's awesome.. I realised that I don't actually remember loads about the first one, and was getting some parts of the second one mixed up... so actually I'm really looking forward to replaying the second one.

Got a feeling the third one (which I think has just been announced to release on 27th August 2019 - which is 1.5 years late) - is probably not going to be as amazing.. but it ties up the trilogy (I hope).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 23, 2018, 01:29:42 PM
Yup, some of the dialogue and in particular the voice acting is pretty dire in a lot of these early games lol ;D

One of the worst has to be the first three Resident Evil games, but the weird thing is that as the dialogue and voice acting improved the quality of the games went downhill.

4 was still reasonable but 5 and 6 were godawful in terms of overall quality. Things seemed to have balanced out with 7 though, but I haven't played that yet because I'm hoping that Oculus will be announcing that for the Rift at the end of September. If not then I'll just buy the flat version and use VorpX to play it in VR I think.

I'm surprised that Capcom haven't brought this to PC VR yet tbh. Most of the work has already been done for the PSVR SKU after all, they could probably do a quick and dirty gamepad only port in a couple of months at the most and it should sell enough to make a profit on it. Hell, if Oculus fund development for it in return for 6 months exclusivity in the Oculus Store then that would be win-win for both parties.

Probably won't see it happening though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on September 03, 2018, 07:35:38 PM
If any of you were fans of Theme Hospital back in the day, I can thoroughly recommend Two Point Hospital. It only can out a couple of days ago but I've got over 30 logged on Steam.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 04, 2018, 06:47:09 AM
Was going to buy it on release, but still haven't replaced my pc and my current one can't run it :(  Looks great and I loved theme hospital
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 04, 2018, 11:47:24 AM
How powerful are you going to go when you build it? Always best to go for the most powerful PC you can afford imo.

Then you can throw away your rubbish Xbox and become a member of the PC Master Race  8) :P 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 04, 2018, 03:05:05 PM
It only needs to be powerful enough to play Shenmue 3 - I won't be going crazy - saying that, the plan is to buy my mates PC - he said he'd sell it to me for £400 - he's had it for around 5-6 years, but it was cutting edge then.  I think he's waiting for AMD/Intel to get off their arse and make something new that is worth upgrading to himself.

I'm surprised Two Point Hospital wasn't released on consoles.. but then it is Sega who are a bit weird - its rare to get a decent full-blown PC exclusive these days.. even Jurassic World Evolution (which is in the same vein as 2PH) was released on consoles, and although I haven't played it, the control scheme is supposed to be pretty good.

Before you start on how great the PC is and how many exclusive games it has.. Red Dead Redemption 2 - good luck playing that on your pc.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 04, 2018, 08:16:25 PM
If it's not in VR I'm not interested. Flat gaming really is dead to me now. It would be like driving a Ferrari and then going back to riding a rusty old push bike lol :o ;D ;D ;D

I can't see myself going back to flat gaming again tbh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 04, 2018, 10:39:38 PM
I have died and gone to  heaven!!! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HJY9gYKT1g)

That's Quake 1 and 2, Doom and now Wolfenstein 3D in VR. Fucking fantastic. 8)

All I need now is Rise Of The Triad and Duke Nukem 3D and I'll be a VERY happy bunny! ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 05, 2018, 04:49:30 PM
The ray tracing shown for the new Nvidia GeForce RTX GPUs is VERY impressive looking. Not impressive enough for me to upgrade to the 20s GPUs though, they're taking the piss with the prices and my awesome 1080 is quite happily eating everything I throw at it with supersampling at 1.5 too.

I might upgrade when the 21s are out though depending on what specs are needed for the Rift CV2.

I also want to get a Yaw VR motion simulator at some point too, hopefully they're going to get funding so that they can move production from Hungary to China which should bring the price of the thing down. I'm currently saving up for one with the hope of getting one next year.

Elite Dangerous in VR with one of these things is going to be fucking CRAZY lol :o ;D ;D ;D

I've always wanted a motion simulator, should bring space sims, flight sims and driving sims - which are already fucking amazing in VR - to a whole other level. All going well I should be able to afford to get one in November next year.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 05, 2018, 07:06:25 PM
Omfg. Speculation is rife that Frontier, the developers of Elite Dangerous, are in pre-production of bringing space legs to the game. One of the developers has dropped a few 'legs' comments and mentioned it's a new era coming up.

It's still pretty far away though, probably a year at least. Some people are also speculating that we're going to be seeing landings on atmospheric planets too but I think we're a LONG way from seeing that.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 05, 2018, 07:14:31 PM
Didn't read the forum post properly, it's gone from pre-production to full production!!! Still probably a year away I think.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 14, 2018, 01:25:52 PM
Well I'm more than a little pissed off at the moment. CBS, the owners of the Star Trek TNG IP appear to have killed off a developer's recreation of the Enterprise from the series. There was a flat version and a VR version. Luckily someone on Reddit is sending me the latest version, version 0.9, because I hadn't downloaded any updates (0.6) in ages.

Such a shame when copyright holders kill projects like this. They weren't making any money on it after all. If anything CBS should have paid them a small fortune for the rights to it so that they can release it officially. Nintendo are another one that tends to kill off good quality fan projects like this too.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 22, 2018, 12:32:43 AM
SKSE VR is working well now apparently and someone has managed to fix the Save/Load bug in SkyUI VR too. Hopefully if things keep progressing well I'll be able to play Skywind and Skyblivion some time next year in VR. Skywind in particular is going to be amazeballs  8)

I'm REALLY missing playing Skyrim VR but have kept myself busy playing seated games such as Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice and Elite Dangerous in VR. Next up is Chronos I think.

Hopefully I'll be able to get back to Skyrim VR in 5 weeks or so ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on September 27, 2018, 05:43:37 PM
I've been disappointed with Oculus Connect 6 yesterday. The Oculus Quest looks great but I was expecting another tease for the CV2 like we had at F8 in May. So basically we're now looking at 2020 for the release of the next Oculus Rift. Some people are speculating that it might not even be released until 2021 or 2022.

There's no way I'm using a 1K VR headset for another 3 bloody years!!! :o

We'll find out more next year I guess at F8 in May or Oculus Connect 6 in September/October. If it's looking like 2021 or 2022 I'm going to get myself a Pimax 5K+ I think.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 05, 2018, 07:37:10 PM
Here's my first finished corner piece for my modular corridors:

(https://i.imgur.com/ggOMCTx.jpg)

As I mentioned in the Arcade Machine thread I was planning on putting some text, handles, vents etc on the yellow engineering panels at the bottom but the texel density is too low so it looks pixelated.

Now I need to save these individual Materials as Smart Materials so that I can quickly finish the other pieces.

Then up next is the ships, storage containers (already done ages ago!), shipping containers and various props for the docking bay which is the opening playable scene of my game.

Haven't been able to do much work on my game this year so far because I've been having a particularly bad time with anxiety and depression but I managed to put in a couple of days this week which is great. I hadn't gone anywhere near it for ages.

My plan is to get something playable (a Pre-Alpha) and then put it on itch.io which is an indie developer's website, some time early next year. You need to have released SOMETHING before Oculus accept you into their Oculus Start programme which I'm hoping to be able to apply for early next year once I have that Pre-Alpha up and running.

And once Oculus accept developers into their Start programme they give them a free Oculus Rift and a free Oculus Go to develop with. Once they do that I can give my current Rift to my mate and his family in Margate who've been very good to me over the last 20 years or so. He was just made redundant and got a new job that isn't paying as much so he can't afford to get one himself, and he was gobsmacked when he tried mine out earlier this year.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 07, 2018, 12:27:21 PM
Have uploaded it to SketchFab now, so you can all zoom in and view it at all angles if you want. If you have a Google Cardboard device you can also see it in VR too. ;D

Be aware though that for some reason SketchFab doesn't replicate Roughness (how shiny something is) properly so things tend to look shinier than they should be.

Edit: Forgot the link!

https://sketchfab.com/models/0690fa6a21cb4af3b647cd0c32e99f13
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 25, 2018, 12:25:12 PM
Forgot RDR2 comes out tomorrow.. so pre-ordered it today via prime.... and taken Monday and Tuesday off work lol.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 26, 2018, 12:39:26 AM
I finished my seventh and final corridor piece around a week ago. You can see them all here:

https://sketchfab.com/hsetterfield/models

I ended up deleting my multitude of sofas because they weren't good enough and accidentally deleted that corner I uploaded ages ago so that link above doesn't work. I'm going to redo all of those tables and bedside cabinets too but am going to keep the old ones on my hard drive because they might come in handy for future projects.

I haven't done anything else for a week because I haven't been feeling up to it but hopefully during the next few weeks I'll be able to get back to things.

I might start messing around with the procedural generation system I bought from the Unreal Marketplace a while back and see how things go just using those corridor pieces and some placeholder rooms. I think I might need to change the center point of the bottom of the floor of those corridor pieces to Maya's origin (0,0,0) otherwise rotations won't work properly I think. Currently the origin point is in the bottom left corner. If I change it then it should rotate the modular pieces without translating (moving) them.

All of those corridor pieces are under a thousand polys so performance shouldn't be a problem. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 28, 2018, 02:18:15 PM
Have just bought the Resident Evil 7 Gold Edition from CDkeys for £9.99...now I've done that we'll probably see Capcom releasing a VR version on Halloween lol ;D

Am going to use VorpX to play it, there's a little ghosting on the weapons and hands apparently but apart from that it works really well in VR using VorpX. Going to play it on Halloween I think 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on October 28, 2018, 06:36:37 PM
Red Dead 2 is fucking amazing... the amount of detail in that game is immense... they even have horse testicle physics lol. 

Pissed off though because I was chasing this guy earlier who was riding near the train tracks, I caught him with my lasso but my horse drifted onto the tracks into an oncoming train lol.  Unfortunately once your horse is dead, it's dead for good :(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 28, 2018, 08:19:24 PM
I never got around to buying and playing the first one, I love a bit of coybows and Indians too ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: captain_kush on October 29, 2018, 04:30:04 PM
Red Dead 2 is fucking amazing... the amount of detail in that game is immense... they even have horse testicle physics lol. 

Pissed off though because I was chasing this guy earlier who was riding near the train tracks, I caught him with my lasso but my horse drifted onto the tracks into an oncoming train lol.  Unfortunately once your horse is dead, it's dead for good :(

Agreed, Red dead 2 looks so so good. I don't even have a PS4 but I am so tempted to buy 1 just for this game. It's a real shame it is not available for PC.
The new Assassins Creed is also really good.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 04, 2018, 12:26:05 PM
Fucking hell, this Elite Dangerous update coming soon is going to be fucking AWESOME  :o

They've made major changes to both Exploration and mining.

The way mining worked before you'd pop into a RES (Resource Extraction Site), fly up to an asteroid, launch a Prospector limpet (a little robot that can be programmed to do different talks such as prospecting, collecting resources, transferring fuel, repairing other ships) and that will tell you what's in the asteroid in terms of mineable materials. You then get a mining laser and zap the asteroid which cuts into the surface and releases materials.

It was always a chilled out thing to do if you thrust your ship away from pirates and had some mellow music playing.

But now they've added some real depth to it. You can still do things the old way if you want but if you want more depth you fire a Prospector limpet into the asteroid and it scans it. Scanning reveals surface materials, sub-surface materials and fissures.

You blast the surface ones with a mining laser like you did before, you get the sub-surface ones with small explosive charges and the fissures you blast with a bloody great big seismic charge which blows the asteroid into different pieces. Awesome. 8)

I have to say that the guys doing the sound effects for this game are doing a fantastic job. This is hands down the best sound effects I've ever heard in a video game. :D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 05, 2018, 09:06:27 AM
Only managed 38% through RDR2 so far.. I think what I love about the game is that it grounds itself firmly in reality and has such a high level of detail - just as an example, you can have a shave in the game, but you can't increase the beard length unless you grow it out.. I'm currently at level 6 of 10 beard lol.  Also I haven't won a fight with a bear yet.. once the bear gets you, you're fucked basically!

Some of the quests are a bit boring, but that's by-the-by when you've got a billion side-missions and other activities to do.  Fishing/Card Collecting/Gambling/Hunting/Geology/Robbing/Bounty Hunting.. just some of them.  So far with the gambling - I've played Poker, Five Finger Fillet and Dominoes, but I've heard there is Blackjack, Liars Dice and Horseshoes somewhere on the map too.


Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 05, 2018, 01:18:09 PM
In those days you were gambling every time you went upstairs with a whore in the saloon lol :o ;D ;D ;D

Can you shag whores in the game..?
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 06, 2018, 09:38:10 AM
Haven't seen you can do that yet.. I would be surprised if you couldn't though.

Went wandering up north doing a bit of exploration last night and finally found a blackjack table - and lost a ton of money, but have managed to get past the next level of Gambler challenges (win 5 times at blackjack when doubling down).  Theres like 6/7 different challenges related to different parts of the game, i.e. Gunslinger, Herbalist, Horseman, Gambler.. etc - I'm finding these quite fun.. but I can't see to do the next horseman challenge which is to lasso someone and drag them 3300 feet lol.


Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 08, 2018, 11:12:10 PM
Was torn between cod and rdr but it was a midnight "ok I'm buying one or the other" moment and cod made slightly more sense as it'd be digital. I figure it's more likely I'll be playing cod for six months than rdr.
I'll probably pick up a physical copy of Red Dead in a month or two.

Loving two of the new game modes in Black Ops 4 (both of which are "heavily influenced" by other FPS games).
Blackout (battle royale); and Heist (start with a crappy gun, get cash depending on how you do, tool up for the next round).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 09, 2018, 09:43:01 AM
RDR Online is supposed to be coming out in November, I'm only 45% through the game at the moment.. so I'm hoping it'll be out by the time I finish it.. and I hope they confirm cross-play too.  I think you could easily get 6 months out of RDR2 to be honest ;)

I've heard you can't shag women in the game.. but you can beat them to death lol.. news of people battering the Suffragette women to death surfaced earlier this week lol.  Don't understand the outcry.. its just a game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 15, 2018, 07:41:26 PM
Plus they should have known full well that if they had stayed in their houses doing the housework and dropping sprogs the way they should be then they would still be breathing. ;D

The company that are making the Yaw VR motion simulators are going to start shipping to Kickstarter backers this month! A bit later than they planned because a few technical issues delayed things a bit. They were originally planning to start shipping to Kickstarter backers in August.

I'm REALLY hoping that these things are going to be great, driving and flight sims are awesome in VR as it is but playing these things in a motion simulator will bring things to a completely different level altogether  :o

With a bit of luck I'll be able to afford one in May next year all going well. I've just got to stop myself from buying stuff that isn't essential so no more games from now on and I'm also going to be watching what I buy when in the supermarket. If I don't get one in May I'll definitely be getting one in November next year, assuming that these things review well.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on November 19, 2018, 09:09:00 AM
Just buy a bucket and sit in it.. tipping yourself from side to side every so often.. sounds like a great way to play games ;D

Myself.. I'd rather just sit on my sofa and play games.. finished RDR2 last night.. just going through the epilogue now.. certainly the most detailed game I've ever played.. it really is the dogs bollox.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 19, 2018, 06:34:22 PM
Well I haven't decided to get one just yet, I'm going to wait for some reviews. It doesn't LOOK very comfortable but appearances can be deceptive for things like this. It also doesn't look very easy to get in and out of either lol ;D

I tend to play flight and driving sims for long periods so I'll be interested to hear how good or bad it feels after four or five hours.

It's an absolutely STUNNING piece of engineering though, particularly the fact that it's so light and collapses inside itself and has a small footprint when assembled. And all at less than half the price of the next cheapest motion simulator too.

They're in discussions with potential investors at the moment so hopefully they'll be able to move the parts being manufactured in Eastern Europe currently to China which will cut the price even further.

It's around this sort of time I wish that I could win a ridiculous amount of money on the Euromillions and give them a million quid or so. Great ideas like this really do need investment to reach their full potential. I'm surprised that they haven't put an appearance on Dragons' Den yet tbh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on November 19, 2018, 11:49:52 PM
Finally activated my trial of Game Pass last week, and I've had a lot of fun playing games I wouldn't ordinarily look at. I can see myself signing up to this.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 01, 2018, 11:14:25 AM
Woo hoo! My credit card company overcharged me some interest and they refunded it, only £107 but I've spent £49.98 on a 480GB SSD and the other 57 quid will be going towards my Yaw VR motion simulator for next year. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 03, 2018, 07:46:03 AM
Finally activated my trial of Game Pass last week, and I've had a lot of fun playing games I wouldn't ordinarily look at. I can see myself signing up to this.

Yep, they've got their hooks into you now, there's no escape...

I just 100%ed Sheltered from XGP - I'd say download it because I got a little bit addicted to it (which is good for an indie game) - very much like Fallout Shelter, but different I guess... unfortunately there are so many minor flaws with the game, it gets a bit frustrating in places.. and its got a bastard learning curve - mainly because the tutorial is total bollox and it just chucks you in the deep end - I ended up restarting 3 times before I found a groove.

Also Shantae the Half Genie Hero is definitely worth a download, linear Metroid style game but its good and addictive too - I downloaded both Shantae games on XGP, but played the HGH one first - then found out that HGH is the 4th and latest game in the Shantae series... the other one (Pirates Curse) is nowhere near as good.. I think perhaps if I had played them in the right order, I wouldn't be that bothered.. but the art style is massively different - and that made me sad.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 09, 2018, 09:06:55 PM
Started Graveyard Keeper this weekend, another life drain like Stardew Valley, although not as good, it's just too difficult to understand what the fuck you have to do, took about 5 hours to really get a grip on the game, and its finally starting to grow on me now but it's so frustrating because every quest is just a grind fest and most of the time you don't even know what to grind.  The storage system is starting to piss me off too.  Anyway, the wiki page is probably the only reason I'm still going with it
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 09, 2018, 11:09:25 PM
Yeah, I heard it described as Stardew for goths, and I think that's about right.
Decent game but feels incomplete. I spent so much time forging complex/advanced glass beakers then destroying them - because forging them gives you blue technology points; but they're not much use and you can't sell them anywhere. The market system is messy - you never know what your can sell, and when you do find something to sell the price quickly plummets.

If you need money get the church and graveyard quality up and do your weekly sermons. It's the best earner.

I'm currently enjoying Mutant Year Zero. Very similar to the xcom games, which I've always been a massive fan of - but without the base building bits.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 10, 2018, 07:59:40 AM
Yep, all the blue points I got by researching all the body parts - I spunked them way too early on tech I really didn't need... so I did resort to making glass beakers for blue points at one point lol.. Writing notes/chapters/books gives way more blue points and is the way to go on that - trying to make some decent prayers so that I can make money because I still haven't got the 20 silver for the trade licence for the merchant, and I have about 4/5 quests that require me to make wine now... and he's the only guy I know who sells grape seeds (although I have found a few seeds in the dungeon - but not enough for the first batch to grow).  One thing I hate is the amount of walking you have to do, ok they have teleportation stones I've seen - but if I can't afford the trade licence, there's no way I'm wasting money on those stones - they should really be craftable at an early stage - I just shudder at the thought of another trek to go and see the astrologer/lighthouse keeper - it takes ages, even with the shortcuts.

Dunno if you worked out how to get alchemy recipes, I just seem to make Goo each time lol... I need a Health Solution, which I've just looked up now (fairly simple) - but how the hell would the player know that, am I jumping too far ahead or is it a simple guessing game?

Stardew is far better, it just flows nicely, theres always a goal in sight, its easy to understand.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 10, 2018, 06:03:30 PM
By the end you're making about 60 silver every time you give a sermon. Church quality dictates the number of worshippers and graveyard quality dictates how much cash they each give. Combined with a gold cash/faith/combo sermon and you're rolling in it. And you need to be. There are a couple of things you need that cost about 10 or 12 gold coins each.

I didn't bother much with alchemy. Mainly just did the things you are required to do to advance the story, and I used a wiki for those instances.

The game world is pretty small, all in all. I never bothered with teleportation stones (I don't think they can be crafted, and I didn't think they were worth the cost). So long as you use the underground tunnels travel to the town is fairly quick.
I'm a little embarrassed at how long it took me to discover the cabin in the woods, and the witch in the swamp, mind. Normally I'm quite the explorer in these games, but I missed both of those for quite a while

Storage and positioning of desks etc was a pain in the arse. I'm sure there just isn't room for everything you want in the church basement. I ended up deleting a few things to make room for others.

Fair warning: the story ending is wank, btw.

All in all I didn't dislike the game. I was just a bit disappointed that it wasn't anywhere near as good as it could've been.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 10, 2018, 07:33:00 PM
Did you REALLY just say you've been spunking on body parts on a public internet forum :o :o :o ;D

Big update for Elite Dangerous tomorrow which has big changes in exploration and mining as well as a nice upgrade to the lighting too. All of the DLC from Frontier this year has been free which is cool, and next year there's going to be a paid DLC. Elite Dangerous DLC is the only DLC that I won't bat an eyelid to pay for because you REALLY get your money's worth and I'm always happy to support them.

They've said that they're going to continue to work on Elite Dangerous for at least 10 years as long as people keep on playing so we could be looking at continued DLCs coming all the way up to December 2024. :o

I reckon next year we'll either see Space Legs (being able to leave your ship and walk or EVA around) or landing on atmospheric planets. Either one would be awesome but I reckon atmospheric planet landings will be more likely to happen.

I just can't put into words how good Elite Dangerous really is, and that's just playing the game on a flat screen, once you try it in VR it's on a completely different level altogether! I didn't think anything would knock the first Elite off the number one spot in my best games of all time list but Elite Dangerous has done it. It's an amazing game.

A great deal of people complain about the grind but if anything it's actually TOO EASY to earn credits in this game. There are various exploits, there are these things called Community Goals which are VERY lucrative and you can also join the armed services of one of the factions to get a decent wage.

Back in the 80s things were MUCH harder. No mission boards, no exploits, no Community Goals and no wages from the armed services. All you could do to earn money was trade, pirate, bounty hunt and mine the odd asteroid you came across. You had to put in a ridiculous amount of time before you could get yourself an Anaconda  :o

For me the game isn't grindy ENOUGH, so I'm playing the game old school. 8)

Can't wait for this update to go live tomorrow, slapping seismic charges on asteroids and blowing the fuckers up is going to be AWESOME  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 11, 2018, 08:53:15 AM
Yeah I built a combo sermon as soon as possible - I'm pulling in about 10 Faith and 5-6 silver each go at the moment - finally upgraded the church last night.. and they want 200 skulls to improve it further.. I nearly spat out my drink when he initially said 800 - LOL - fuck this game!!  I'm on about 80 skulls and 45 crosses at the moment and just got the recipe to build the comfy seats.  I'm guessing there is another upgrade after the cathedral though ::)

I only found the Cabin in the Woods last night - but I've done a few stupid things.. saved up resources for blueprints (like the church workbench).. finally got them and build it to discover I've already built the fucking thing elsewhere.. I've done that twice now lol. 

Finally done enough for the merchant to buy the grape seeds - just after I realised that I can just buy wine from the tavern.  I'm just going to focus on money now, fuck the quests - they are pissing me off.  I've unlocked both sides of the graveyard - so I'm just going to concentrate on building headstones and fences tonight - no doubt at some point I'll have to replace most of them.. but fuck it.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 11, 2018, 06:06:56 PM
Not the Comfy Chair!!! ;D

https://i.imgur.com/CAOuC1u.mp4

 8) ;D

I'm going to jump into Elite Dangerous later on tonight and blow some asteroids up I think. A bit of mining today and then I'll venture outside the Human Bubble maybe on the weekend and do some exploring now that exploring has had a revamp.

Now that we can blow asteroids up I'll have to switch from my usual chilled out sounds like Donald Fagen and Steely Dan to some progressive rock or heavy metal. Rush in particular would be a good fit I reckon. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 11, 2018, 08:37:39 PM
Bah! Server issues! I'll wait another couple of hours and try again. >:(
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 13, 2018, 10:24:21 PM
There's no upgrade after the cathedral, but you can replace the confessional and candles with higher quality ones, and put in stained glass (f*cking expensive, though, unless you are mining your own gold and have a jewelry desk).

You can make decent money mining coal (at the cabin in the woods) and selling it to the blacksmith.

It's a little frustrating to fill the graves knowing you'll end up digging lots of the bodies up later but it's worth it. Eventually you'll likely have every grave ranked 6-10.

It's worth having the grapes - gold quality if possible, as the gold and silver wines sell for a decent price and are great for topping up your energy.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 14, 2018, 10:44:53 AM
I upgraded to the Cathedral last night, took me about 5 hours to grind those fucking marble statues out... need aristocrat papers now - this is where the money starts getting stupid... I've got about 210 skulls in the GY - but only filled in half of it.. every grave is ranked about 5 mainly because I haven't unlocked many tiers of the surgery tech tree and I can't be arsed.. also I just forget to fill up the carrots all the time.. the fact its limited to 10 at a time is just stupid.  I'm close to being able to get a gold-starred prayer though - I'm hoping that will bring in a lot more money compared to my bronze one as I'm bored of burying people now.. and I just can't be bothered to cremate - don't see the point.  I have unlocked the gold mining as I was planning to make the gold jewellery - but haven't unlocked the jewellery desk yet.. and I don't know where to mine the gold either.. so that's proving a bit of a problem that - I only just worked out where the iron ore mine is yesterday because I ran out of deposits lol.

I do feel the map could have been at least half the size it is.. I'm SO BORED of walking to the same locations constantly.  I'm also considering creating more than one axe/shovel/sword/pickaxe.. just so I can leave that at different locations so I don't have to fill up half my inventory with them.. its stupid that you can create tons of stuff.. but you can't upgrade your inventory spaces - I've already built 4 trunks at the house, 3 in the garden, they are all full up with shit lol - I just don't want to walk to town and sell anything because I can't be bothered trying to work out who buys what and I hate that walk!!

I'm getting more and more frustrated with the game as it goes on to be honest - I can see why you didn't bother with the full 100% achievements ;)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 15, 2018, 07:42:17 AM
Looks like Oculus have released ANOTHER wonky update lol. My Rift is now a paperweight AGAIN. Oh well, I'll look forward to getting the inevitable Oculus Store Credit again so it's not all bad lol  ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on December 15, 2018, 09:24:39 AM
Pfft, when do I ever 100% a game? 😋

You can put as many carrots in the box as your want, bud. The 10 limit is just "at a time". Feel free to whack the button a few times and stick a couple hundred carrots in the box.
I used less than half of the crop garden - mainly carrots and wheat (I was baking a LOT of bread before I had access to wine).

If memory serves, you can mine gold in a few spots in the lower levels of the dungeon (only once per, though, not infinite) and I think you get some when you're mining one of the main resources.

I usually had about five good-quality pickaxes at the cabin in the woods. Annoyingly I don't think you can have a grindstone there to repair them, but I don't mind going home to repair them if I'm taking a few at a time.

I definitely wasn't a fan of mining thousands of coal/stone/iron. (Shudder - I recall my brief foray into RuneScape.) Useful to have crates full of the stuff though.

And don't get me started on chopping down the trees... 😡
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 15, 2018, 07:10:12 PM
LOL at the carrots, cant believe i didnt realise that, tbh, i only just realised you could sleep at the cabin in the woods..FFS, this game doesn't really hold your hand at all.

I invested in a teleportation stone in the end, it definitely helps speed up stuff.  I literally can't do anything else now until I get those aristocrat papers though and 12g is going to be a slow fucking grind!!  Up to around 290 skulls and 61 crosses, just tempted to lawn the rest of the GY so I don't have to deal with any more bodies.

Apparently selling veggies is the way to go for gold grinding... ugh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on December 19, 2018, 08:42:49 AM
And.. I'm done.. well I finished it yesterday.. you're right, the ending is shite - I was grinding for ages for that 12G, but finally got there... then found out I missed a gold mine AND a diamond mine on level 15 of the mine.. which instantly would have saved me about 4G worth of grinding ::)  I finished it in 352 game days.

Annoyingly I still have 1 achievement left on the list - catch 200 fish.. bah... its gonna take a hour or two because fishing was not really part of the game in any way whatsoever.. you could just buy the fish you needed for the 1 or 2 quests you needed them for... I think it says I'm about 39% through.. so I need another 122.. I dunno if I can be bothered.



My 5 top tips for anyone else that ever wants to play this game - as its such a dogshit game in terms of how its laid out to you - if you knew this stuff upfront, you'd save a lot of time.
1.  Concentrate more on the graveyard - not on the quests - money counts for a lot in the game and most quest items can be bought - don't bother buying expensive stuff early on unless you really need it.
2.  Research all the body parts/graves to get an early boost in the blue tech stack.
3.  When doing tech research - try and go for the graveyard additions as early as possible (so you go back to tip 2 to earn more blues) - obviously if you can't mine marble, no point unlocking the marble stuff.  If you've messed up, the astrologer sells books to boost red/green/blues.
4.  Buy a teleportion stone as early as possible.  Find the swamp and buy as many speed potions as soon as possible - this game sucks in the amount of time you walk around - these two things will make it less hassle.
5.  When going through the mine, all the silver/gold/diamonds you earn, don't use them at all, you'll want to sell them to the merchant later on to skip the 12G grind for aristocrat papers
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 24, 2018, 03:35:25 PM
I'm really liking what Frontier have done with the mining now. They've added Void Opals to the mineable materials and when a system's financial, security and political status is in the right combination these Opals sell for a ridiculous amount of money, 1.6m credits per tonne in some systems :o

This is creating a California Gold Rush situation, and because these things are a finite resource you see the same sort of frenzy from miners and pirates that you saw in the Wild West in the late 1800s.

It's also made mining ice rings more popular too, before these changes the only type of rings worth mining were metallic ones. You used to get Low Temperature Diamonds here and there but they were difficult to find.

I'm going to do a few days mining and then go exploring some time after Christmas. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 25, 2018, 02:34:29 AM
So much fun blowing up icy asteroids lol

You have to be around 1km away from it before the charges blow. A two minute countdown starts when you plant your first Seismic Charge and you have three different settings low, medium and high level explosions. If you put too much welly in your explosives then you destroy valuable material.

When they eventually blow up your ship's systems go wobbly for a second or so and your canopy ices up. You then have to fly into the area that the pieces are in and zap the surface of the pieces to pop out the chunks of material.

I've just got 9 or 10 tonnes of Void Opals which should get me 15m credits or so. I would have had more but I wasted LOADS of limpets (the little robots that do the prospecting and collection of material). You can collect these things yourself easily enough but it's a hassle so I stopped mining once I ran out.

Am definitely jumping in again tomorrow though. Great fun.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 26, 2018, 02:09:14 AM
Bloody servers were buggered again. I managed to get connected for an hour or so though. Have now unlocked one of the engineers that does FSD Drives due to me scanning a few planet surfaces and cashing them in. My ranks are now:

Combat: Expert (5/9)
Trade: Merchant (5/9)
Exploration: Scout (3/9)

Won't take me too long to reach Elite status in Trading and Exploration but Combat is the difficult one to get. Once you get to Deadly only killing Elite NPCs or players will increase your percentage, and you have to kill A LOT of them.

I still haven't worked out the controls for the FSS (Full Spectrum System) scanner yet but I'm going to sort that out early next year before I do any exploration outside the Bubble.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 27, 2018, 01:48:24 AM
I'm starting to get the hang of this deep core mining now but haven't quit nailed it completely. I'm still wasting limpets on asteroids that aren't worth checking out and when I have found one that's worth blowing up I haven't quite got the strength of the seismic charges quite right. Too much and you blow up valuable materials and too little and you don't break the thing up.

Still, I've ended up mining 4 tonnes of something that I've forgotten the name of, but they're worth 250,000 credits per tonne and 22 tonnes of Void Opals which I can sell a few systems away for 1.6m credits each.

I've still got 20 or so limpets left and I've just docked in a station and will carry on with this mining tomorrow. It's great fun, but would be even better if the Brian Blessed voice pack had been updated for when you plant these seismic charges lololol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 28, 2018, 12:47:00 AM
Have finally nailed finding deep core asteroids and blowing the things up just right to get the maximum possible stuff out of it. I have now got 104m credits which is handy! 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 28, 2018, 04:40:31 PM
Have also increased my Trade rank from Merchant to Broker, and am 5% away from going from Scout to Surveyor for my Exploration rank. ;D

I'm surprised none of you guys bought this when it was 75% off tbh, you'd have a lot of fun going for the Achievements given how much you like to grind for these sort of things. Ideally you'd need a HOTAS but it can also (just about!) be played with an Xbox controller.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 29, 2018, 09:11:12 PM
Aaaaargh!!! Fucking Virgin Media!!! There I was, in an icy asteroid ring in a Void Opal hotspot happily blowing up asteroids when my internet connection decided to go tits up!!!

I was about to blow up an asteroid full of Void Opals too! >:(

The Void Opals and Low Temperature Diamonds I'd picked up to that point will still be in my cargo hold of course, but when I log back in the bloody game is most likely going to spawn my ship right on top of a pirate or two. :o :'(

Am having a blast (lol) doing this mining though. A few more trips and I might buy myself a Python I think, or a Fer De Lance. Am flying around in my Alliance Chieftain at the moment which is quite a nice ship but I've only got 64 tonnes of cargo space.

I'm gonna need a bigger boat for Thargoid hunting and more profitable mining. Thargoids have started incursions into the Human Bubble so I might have to start killing the fuckers again, something I haven't done for 10 years or so. :o

The only good bug is a dead bug  8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 30, 2018, 03:29:06 AM
A nice mining haul I've just had but could have been better, 92m credits plus the 50m or so I managed to get on that previous run when my internet went tits up.

I managed to spawn amongst three pirates which had me filling my trousers when I first saw them, I had 50m credits worth of Void Opals in my cargo hold. Luckily they decided to fight each other to see who would get their hands on my lovely gems so I did a runner lol

I now have around 250m credits which is nice, I might have to have a look and see what sort of ship I can get for around half that (because you should never fly without a rebuy and I'm going to need some credits handy to upgrade stuff!).
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 04, 2019, 06:39:39 PM
I've now got myself a Python and as a result of getting that ship have a 160 tonne cargo hold which has increased my mining profits. I just got awarded Tycoon status for my Trade rank by the Pilot's Federation which is nice, my next one is Elite status 8)

It's all been a bit too easy getting those Trading ranks though. I normally keep away from easy ways to get credits but blowing up asteroids is so much fun!

Once I get Elite with Trade I'll start work on Exploration and Combat. Combat is the most difficult of the lot to get, it's going to take me a while, Exploration should be easy enough - just one quick bit of exploration outside the Bubble for a few days should do it I think. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 06, 2019, 01:00:23 AM
Didn't manage to play today but I reckon I'll be Elite tomorrow  8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 14, 2019, 09:12:25 PM
Oh. Shit.

Someone has recreated the PT demo with the Unreal Engine. And you can play it in VR. :o

I'm downloading it now and have clean underwear handy on standby ;D ;D ;D

If you haven't played it flat before it got taken off the PS Store you can download it from here:

https://radiusgordello.itch.io/unreal-pt

PC only of course!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 23, 2019, 12:53:21 AM
That thing wasn't that scary tbh, nowhere near as bad as Dreadhalls and Alien Isolation VR Mod. Those two are REALLY unsettling.

Have just been continuing playing Elite Dangerous and mining by blowing asteroids up. I can't see that ever getting old, it's great fun. Am now almost halfway through Tycoon status with my Trading rank, another three or four mining trips and I should be Elite 8) ;D 8)

Then I'm going to go exploring outside the Human Bubble I think to sort out my Exploration rank. The Combat one is the most difficult one to get though, but I should be able to grind my way through it without too much trouble I reckon.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 27, 2019, 01:51:33 AM
Frontier have announced on Twitter that 0.036% of the galaxy in Elite Dangerous has been explored. Bloody hell lol ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 08, 2019, 03:58:36 PM
Did some more mining last night and I now have Elite status in my Trade rank!!! Woo hoooooo!!!

On my way to Bugas (my favourite system for mining) I got hyperdicted (ripped out of hyperspace!!!) by a couple of Thargoid ships. My first encounter with Thargoids since the 90s!!! And I nearly filled my trousers lol :-[ ;D

These things are fucking HUUUUUUGE!!! And quite intimidating, especially seeing as I only had a couple of Beam Lasers and some Abrasion Blasters. Luckily they just scanned me and fucked off again because I was nowhere near equipped for a fight with them.

Next up is a bit of bounty hunting to increase my Combat rank a bit. I haven't had a fight for a while so I'll be a bit rusty, then I'm going to buy some anti-Thargoid weaponry I think and see if I can kill one of these things. When you see these things on YouTube they don't look that intimidating but once you see them first hand and in VR they're quite scary. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 13, 2019, 05:59:24 PM
Not sure I like the new Trials Rising game as much as previous iterations.. but it's still nice to see I can still whip Late's arse on the scoreboards heh.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 13, 2019, 09:02:09 PM
Can't argue with either point, there.

My character looks awesome though 🤣



(https://i.ibb.co/sCfDvRS/Screenshot-20190313-205944-1.png)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 14, 2019, 12:21:21 AM
 :o ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on March 14, 2019, 08:25:08 AM
Oh dear lol...

I haven't really done much messing around with my character/bikes yet - level 73 but just can't be arsed opening those sticker packs/cases.

Got A+ in all tutorials so far.. except that last bunny hop 2 one.. the third jump on A1 is a bitch - landed it properly once and then fucked up the easy last jump.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on March 14, 2019, 12:00:31 PM
I've never been any good at the bunny hops. I scraped a B in the first then gave up after about 100 deaths trying the next one 😡
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 20, 2019, 10:58:02 AM
Oculus had a press event at the GDC behind closed doors on Monday and the press embargo is over later on today, 3pm. Rumours are that Oculus are releasing a new PC VR headset this year with a higher resolution and inside out tracking.

I'm not too sure about inside out tracking tbh. The Rift has outside in tracking meaning that it has cameras outside the play space pointing inwards towards the HMD. This rumoured new headset has cameras built into the headset and point out of the play space.

The advantage is that you don't need a great deal of USB bandwidth because there aren't any sensors plugged into your PC but the disadvantage is that your controllers have to be in view of the headset to keep tracking them, which is going to cause problems playing games with a bow and arrow or FPS games if you're planning on shooting from the hip.

We'll see how things go I guess. I'll definitely be getting one, assuming that these rumours are true, and I'll be giving my old Rift to a mate of mine in Kent.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on March 20, 2019, 06:29:19 PM
Well it's official now. The Rift S will be releasing in the Spring:

Inside out tracking (with 5 cameras so should have better tracking than the WVR headsets)
Resolution: 2560x1440
Refresh Rate: 80Hz

A bit disappointing tbh, I was expecting it to have the same resolution as the Oculus Quest that's also releasing in Spring (3200x1400) and they've also removed the headphones and the nose gap that the Rift has, handy for tilting your head back and seeing outside the headset).

Not sure if I'm going to be getting one or not. The Rift S has 5 cameras for its inside out tracking (two on the front pointing down slightly, two on each side and one on top) which means the tracking will be better than the WVR headsets but I REALLY don't understand why they aren't giving us the option to use our current sensors to improve the 360 degree tracking. Currently the controllers going out of view of the cameras will lose tracking which will be jarring in VR.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 23, 2019, 09:00:54 PM
Not sure if it has started already but there's a sale for Elite Dangerous coming up for 75% off.

You guys will probably enjoy the Achievements I reckon because the game can be quite grindy.

Whilst it CAN be played with a gamepad you're better off getting a HOTAS to control the game.

There has been an update to the game released today which makes it easier for new players to learn how to play the game, but if you've ever played any of the previous games the learning curve isn't that steep.

Once you get into the game it's difficult to put down, even when played flat.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 31, 2019, 08:43:02 AM
Oh shit. I didn't think ANYTHING would beat Dreadhalls and Alien Isolation VR Mod in terms of scares but I bought FNAF VR Help Wanted the day before yesterday and it's bloody terrifying lololol  :o ;D

I haven't played any of the games from the franchise before but have seen various videos of people playing Vive Nights At Freddy's and crapping themselves.

FNAF VR Help Wanted has the first 3 games plus three sets of mini games to play so you get plenty of content for the 23 quid you pay for it and it has plenty of replay value for those that like scares.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 10, 2019, 07:58:07 AM
Caught the tail end of Microsofts E3 conference last night:

Project Scarlett is real, a new xbox that is 4x as powerful as the X1X with an SSD with 40x better performance.
Native 4k with 60FPS, Backwards Compatible, has a disk drive, capability to do 8k, ray tracing and 120FPS.
Halo Infinite releasing alongside it - and Master Chief is finally back.
Can't wait, I'm in... nothing beats a launch day console feeling!

No mention of VR - the supposed future of gaming. ;D

Also managed to catch Keanu Reeves bigging up Cyberpunk 2077 - that game looks amazing.

Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 11, 2019, 06:04:25 PM
We'll probably see it being compatible with the Windows Mixed Reality headsets I expect. There's no need for them to release their own because they have numerous VR headset manufacturers doing it for them.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on June 11, 2019, 06:29:40 PM
No plans for Xbox ultimately though...


I upgraded my Xbox Game Pass / Xbox Gold membership last night to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate - this covers your gold membership and game pass membership in one package - there is a special on at the moment - £1 for the first month.. but Ultimate also includes the NEW Xbox Game Pass on PC.

Both my gold/game pass memberships were due in November.. but after upgrading - I've now got a XGPU subscription until May next year...
I guess it worked it out at 5 months left on both subscriptions + the extra month I paid the £1 for = 11 months

So I just downloaded a game on the PC that I downloaded on the Xbox via Game Pass (Wargroove), started it up.. and its exactly at the point I left it at - AWESOME.  And the PC game pass version has stuff like FM2019 and other PC exclusives too.. Rise of Nations Extended Edition.. i loved that game!!  I downloaded 3 games in about 20 seconds as well.. super fast.

Xbox Game Pass is such a great thing to have.. and now on my upgraded PC, its even better!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 17, 2019, 02:56:43 AM
A Post Nuclear Post Mortem of Fallout 76 by Jim Sterling:

https://youtu.be/ghdOSTAda1w

 ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 10, 2019, 09:35:42 AM
There's a HUGE update for No Man's Sky on 14th next week. The game had a terrible launch 3 years ago because Sean Murray, the founder of Hello Games, was a bit green all those years ago and unlike now, where he only comments on things they've actually FINISHED, three years ago he was enthusiastically mentioning things that they were working on at the time. And the vast majority of those things didn't appear in the first release.

Sean and Hello Games have a huge amount of respect from me and many others since then though because they've released a few updates that now have all of those features and plenty more too - all for free :o

The update on Wednesday will be adding VR goodness and according to hands on reports they've done a REALLY good implementation of it.

Plus they've added a feature where you can ride on Alien lifeforms  :o ;D

What they've done since it first launched has been REALLY impressive, I almost feel guilty getting this update for nowt!!! They reckon there are around a million players of the game with VR headsets and of course VR players and flat players can all play together without a problem.

32 players online together on the PC and 16 players together on consoles. And no lobbies. No connection time. No loading screens.

There aren't any loading times throughout the whole game. You can fly through space, dock with space stations, land on planets, all of it seamless. An incredible piece of software engineering.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 14, 2019, 01:12:44 AM
Aw bollocks. No update yet which means it's going to be tomorrow tomorrow instead of today tomorrow lol :D

I was hoping that the Steam update would start at midnight but no such luck. Oh well, something to look forward to tomorrow I guess. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 20, 2019, 06:34:24 PM
Wow. I've had a few days playing NMS now and it's quite exceptional. It's basically a survival/exploration game set in a fictional universe with around 18 quadrillion planets to visit. Yes, you read that right lol. 18,000,000,000,000,000. ;D

You start the game on a random planet surface with your Exosuit's protection being cut down constantly by the heat/cold/acid rain/radiation and you have to mine Sodium to top that up with your Multitool by shooting plants. Then you have to create a scan visor for your suit (more mining) so that you can find your crashed ship. Once you find it you need to mine some more to repair it, then mine some more to refuel it. lol  ;D

It's pretty grindy but it's a good grind, and once you can scan stuff it plays into my scanning OCD that started when I first started scanning in the first Metroid Prime game years and years ago. I need to scan EVERYTHING lol

So with 18 quadrillion planets I'm probably going to be scanning stuff on my deathbed lmfao  :o ;D ;D ;D

The developers, Hello Games, are working REALLY hard - they've released 10 patches since the game released on the 14th and they had the weekend off. :o

VERY happy with it so far, there's around a 30 hour single player campaign but it's VERY easy to get sidetracked by just exploring and seeing what's out there. I'm around 12 hours in I think and I'm only on my second planet, plus Hello Games keep on adding to the content with every major update (and they've released 7 so far since it launched 3 years ago).

Have just built my first Base and am going to fly up and dock with a space station later on.

For my money this is now the second best VR game available right now, and it's also worth playing flat for those of you that don't have a VR headset that like survival and exploration games with a good bit of grind and inventory/resource management.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on August 27, 2019, 04:34:26 PM
I'm hearing good things about it (No Man's Sky) lately. Will probably pick it up on the Xbox if I see it on sale.

Haven't gotten stuck into a game for a while. I'm currently playing Tales of Vesperia (never played any of the Tales games the first time around, and I believe this is widely considered to be the best of them) but I'm not really feeling it

(Am also playing a bit of Minecraft again. I'm building a giant pyramid in survival mode but I bit off more than I can chew. The size is just ridiculous and my attention span isn't the best, so I'm just mining and adding a few thousand bricks every now and then. I think I've been building it for a couple of years now, on and off, and the outer shell is about 80% done, and there's not much inside. I should just delete my save file really, but I can't see that happening.)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 27, 2019, 10:38:26 PM
Yup, it's pretty cool. I just wish they hadn't included a bloody scanning mechanic. I get bloody obsessed with these sort of things. Got a scan them all!!! ;D

The work that Hello Games have done since Beyond first launched on 14th has been incredible. 14 patches altogether. They must be working crazy hard. And there's a 15th patch on the way soon for a VR performance boost too, it's in the Beta tab on Steam.

Am about 14 hours into the game so far and I'm only about to land on my 3rd planet. :o
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on August 30, 2019, 01:01:23 PM
I'm hearing good things about it (No Man's Sky) lately. Will probably pick it up on the Xbox if I see it on sale.

Haven't gotten stuck into a game for a while. I'm currently playing Tales of Vesperia (never played any of the Tales games the first time around, and I believe this is widely considered to be the best of them) but I'm not really feeling it

(Am also playing a bit of Minecraft again. I'm building a giant pyramid in survival mode but I bit off more than I can chew. The size is just ridiculous and my attention span isn't the best, so I'm just mining and adding a few thousand bricks every now and then. I think I've been building it for a couple of years now, on and off, and the outer shell is about 80% done, and there's not much inside. I should just delete my save file really, but I can't see that happening.)

The only Tales game I played was Tales of Symphonia on the Gamecube - I quite liked it, although obviously not enough to buy another one - I have been tempted to get Vesperia - but they rarely go down in price - I remember trading in ToS in at a higher price than what I bought it at several years later.

I started Life is Strange this morning - finished the first episode - but I'm struggling to enjoy the plot or care about the decisions I'm making - its pretty slow.. I might give the second episode a go - but the Walking Dead games are better examples of how to make these types of decision based games.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 30, 2019, 04:37:41 PM
I now have all the parts needed for a Warp Drive so I can leave the current system I'm in and continue the story. But I've only visited 4 out of 6 planets in the system so far and haven't scanned everything on those yet lol ;D

I might have to forgo my usual obsession with scanning everything in games otherwise I'll never get going with the storyline. It's supposed to take around 30 hours to complete and I need to do some of it so that I can start swimming underwater and build bass underwater and take a nice trip in a sub.

Once you get to the underwater bits it's supposed to be very much akin to Subnautica which is another great game.

The planet I'm on at the moment has orange seas and lakes, looks amazing.

Sean Murray has said that he wanted the game to look like the cover of a sci-fi novel, and he's certainly pulled that off so far.

I quite like the way that you learn the languages. With the Gek you can find monuments that teach you a word when activated and you can learn one word from each alien you meet on space stations. So when you talk to traders and stuff you see a load of text with alien sounding words with the odd word here and there in English.

I spent some time last night just reading the notes on the flora and fauna I've discovered. I'm a real sucker for this sort of stuff, I can read it for hours if there's enough info there.

There's just so much in this game that appeals to me. A nice grind, exploration and discoveries, a scanning mechanic, walking around on planets and flying through space.

It's still JUST behind Elite Dangerous in terms of awesomeness though but it's now number two in my Best Games Of All Time list, knocking the first Elite game to number three and I NEVER thought that any game would knock it off top spot for me. Although to be fair to Elite it did take 30 odd years! :o ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on September 08, 2019, 10:01:11 AM
Yoku's Island Express is definitely worth a download on game pass, a pinball based platform adventure (metroid) style.. I didn't realise it was pinball when I downloaded, so that was an awesome surprise.

Was excited to play Gears 5, but had no end of trouble so far... firstly the game makes the xbox go nuts, so mine has shut down a few times over ventilation, it's ok if I move the xbox out the cabinet, buts that's annoying.  Then I've had a few glitches in chapter 1, but chapter 2 starts and some bug prevents me from picking up an item which means I can't move forward, unfortunately if I restart the checkpoint, it takes me back into the back end of chapter 1 for some reason and chapter 2 is still locked in the main menu.... well now it seems to have lost all progress in ch 1. because I tried to load my game by chapter rather than checkpoint... so that means I've got to do chapter 1 all over again, FFS.

I've heard it's supposed to be quite different to the previous gears games by being open-ended world (after ch. 1) so I'm a bit miffed it's quite buggy.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: stupac on September 29, 2019, 02:04:32 PM
I started Life is Strange this morning - finished the first episode - but I'm struggling to enjoy the plot or care about the decisions I'm making - its pretty slow.. I might give the second episode a go - but the Walking Dead games are better examples of how to make these types of decision based games.

I hope you gave Life is Strange more time. I played it (and the prequel) towards the end of last year and absolutely fell in love with it. It's not for everyone and definitely starts off slowly, but it really picks up and has some tough decisions and some heart wrenching moments.

I love the Telltale games, especially The Walking Dead. But imo Life is Strange completely blows it away. The world, the characters, the soundtrack are all incredible!
That's just my opinion, but I hope you.ll give it another chance.

I loved it that much that it's now my 2nd favourite game of all time.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 02, 2019, 06:33:55 PM
Am now almost 40 hours into No Man's Sky and it's awesome. I've had some framerate issues here and there in VR but I've got all of my settings pretty high cos I like games to be pretty and my immunity to simulation sickness means I'm not bothered by framerate drops in VR.

I decided to start doing some of the missions for the storyline and it's pretty good so far. But it's not helping my scanning OCD AT ALL lol, it's VERY difficult for me to resist scanning EVERYTHING but the last three star systems I've been in I haven't scanned THAT much. I've even missed visiting a few planets altogether here and there!!!

I can't wait to get to the underwater parts of the game because it looks VERY Subnautica-esque which is another great game when played in VR.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 13, 2019, 07:41:06 PM
Asgard's Wrath has now been released for the Rift and Rift S. It's now the most highly rated new game on Metacritic with a Metascore of 93 (although that will probably change with a clickbait reviewer giving it 6/10 - always happens with highly rated games on all platforms).

6 reviews so far: https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/asgards-wrath

I'm too busy playing No Man's Sky at the moment, have done 63 hours or so now and have just started the Abyss DLC which is pretty cool so far. Just built myself a mini-sub and am looking for a crashed freighter underwater to continue the story. 8)

The amount of content in this game is just plain ridiculous, there are 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 planets to explore (that's almost 18 and a half quintillion planets lol) and all of them are different. Crazy. Here's a quote from a Polygon article:

Quote
Even if you visited one of those planets every second, and could travel between them instantly, seeing the entire game would take you nearly 585 billion years.

 ;D ;D ;D

I'm loving the shit out of this game, I've always loved scanning things, always loved exploration and always loved sci-fi. Not quite there as the best game of all time though but I'm putting it down as number three which sees Skyrim VR dropping down to number four. Elite Dangerous is still number one and the first Elite is still number two. I don't think anything will move those two games down in my list. 8)

You've really got to take your hat off to Hello Games though. It was hyped like mental before it launched. They launched it and it was a complete fucking disaster, and then over the space of three years have transformed the game with several FREE pieces of DLC into (imo) one of the best games of all time.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 28, 2019, 09:03:58 PM
Oh shit. Someone has released a VR Mod for GTA V and it's supposed to be really good.

So that's ANOTHER VR time sink game I need to play lol

So I'll end up having No Man's Sky, Elite Dangerous, Skyrim VR, Fallout 4 VR and soon GTA V VR and Borderlands 2 VR.

Bloody hell lol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 04, 2019, 08:53:58 PM
I bought Asgard's Wrath the other day and it's incredible. Everything that Oculus has funded over the last 3 years or so has been top notch, VERY close to being AAA quality but this game has risen the bar quite considerably. I'm comfortable in saying it's the very first true AAA quality VR game released.

I'm always a big fan of Nordic mythology and in this game you play as the god of animals. You can possess humans (am currently inside a Shieldmaiden ooh-err missus ;D ) and have created a couple of animal minions, one that's a shark in origin and you can use him to bite bodies in gibbets to open doors and stuff and one that's a turtle in origin who uses her shield to protect me from fire traps.

I'm sure there are going to be a good few more too.

You can also increase your size which is pretty cool, you can then pick up your minions and place them in other areas of the map to solve puzzles.

The best thing to it all so far is the melee combat. They've REALLY nailed it.

I've also now bought GTA V and Borderlands 2 VR but haven't tried them out yet.

So that's my hundred quid birthday money spent!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 15, 2019, 10:56:56 PM
Okay, so I've spent a bit more now. Stormlands was released yesterday by Insomniac so I bought that for 30 quid yesterday.

It's awesome. Has a bit of a Metroid Prime feel to it in the way that you add parts to your robot body that allow you to fire a weapon, climb surfaces and fly around so I quite like that.

The IK isn't as good as the IK in Lone Echo, which really is exceptional, but it's pretty cool playing a VR game where you can see you in-game arms being in the same place or very similar place as your arms IRL.

Asgard's Wrath also has this feature too.

Only played it for about 15 minutes or so because my leg was a bit bloody painful. There's an option to play it seated but playing these things sitting down isn't as cool as playing them standing up.

I've got WAY too many games to play now, I'm going to try my best to complete at least a couple of them before Christmas I think.

I'm going to have to turn the difficulty level down in Asgard's Wrath too, I've got it set to the highest one and I keep getting my arse kicked lololol
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 22, 2019, 02:42:35 AM
Plenty of Nerd Rage going on after Valve announced Half Life: Alyx as a VR exclusive game released next year lol ;D

It looks fucking awesome  8)

The only downside I can see is that because you're playing as Alyx you can't check out her arse in VR lmfao ;D

I saw a mod for Half Life 2 mentioned on Rdddit last month that allows you to play it in VR using motion controllers so I might have to check that out at some point.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 10, 2019, 02:21:16 AM
A strange patent for the PS5 controller:

https://metro.co.uk/2019/12/09/ps5-dualshock-5-controller-single-player-games-multiplayer-11554893/amp/

Sounds like the sort of weird thing that Nintendo comes up with!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 13, 2019, 01:07:34 AM
Oh Shit!!!

https://twitter.com/nibre_/status/1205097012472926208

Done by the same guy that's doing the Alien Isolation VR Mod. :o 8) :o 8) ;D
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 02, 2020, 10:52:58 AM
Wife bought me a switch at xmas with Pokemon (Sword) and Zelda (Link's Awakening).. I like the portability and easy-to-use features and with a few business trips coming up this year - it will be handy as I'll be on my own for a fair amount of time

But.. I'll stand by what I've always said with Nintendo, outside of the Nintendo exclusives.. there is still nothing there.. I went looking for games to buy and felt severely disappointed.. I honestly could have bought a few third-party games... but I'd MUCH rather play them on my X1 - in the end I bought Zelda (Breath of the Wild) and Super Mario Odyssey.. and I've got enough games on that now to last me a while - I am excited to play Breath of the Wild as I have never played it, and Zelda is probably my favourite Nintendo franchise.. I'll probably pick up Luigi's Mansion 3 at some point this year too.

I'm not overly enamoured with the control sticks - playing in portable mode - it does feel a bit too wide, and playing in TV mode - I've had a few synch issues when the controllers suddenly just lose connection.. it also still sucks that Nintendo have NO implementation of achievements or trophies.. or anything - just feels weird playing a game now without a reward for hitting game goals... also gives you nothing to really work towards post-game.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 03, 2020, 08:49:17 AM
Nintendo are dead to me until they embrace the wonders of VR  8)

Epic are giving away plenty of decent free games. I've already got all of the Batman games, including the Lego ones, for free and now they're giving away Darksiders 1 and 2.

Definitely worth checking out.

I've started work on my VR game again, just designing my menus at the moment. Have done the basic movement of the game character and will work on control customisation once I have the menus finished.

I lost a lot of work when my PC got hacked last Summer, I lost the data on two hard drives, one containing my game and the other containing my backup :o

I'm hoping to get a playable demo on the Oculus Store before the end of this year.

For the final game I'm planning on having 5 levels altogether and have 10 versions of each level to give the game plenty of replay value.

I'm also going to have to create my GDD (Game Design Document) again because I lost the original when I lost those drives.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 04, 2020, 03:32:42 PM
There is also now a public Beta version of a VR Mod for the very first Half Life!!!

Means I can now play Half Life, Half Life 2, Half Life 2 Episode 1 and Half Life 2 Episode 2 before I play Half Life Alyx in March.

No news on whether the VR Mod for Half Life works with Blue Shift and Opposing Force though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: jman on January 19, 2020, 06:38:33 PM
One thing I hate about roguelike games is the complete lack of story and the monotonous gameplay - but I'd definitely recommend checking out Children of Morta.. basic graphics, but really good storytelling with RPG elements - free on Game Pass for PC and console too.

Comes from the same publisher as Moonlighter which is another one worth a look too - although I got a bit bored of that towards the end.. and whilst I was mopping up achievements, my save file somehow got corrupted in which it would load.. but not save over... without being able to use save slots (just one save file per game) - it stopped me playing that altogether.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 19, 2020, 11:10:41 PM
Thankfully bugs like that in the Xbox and Playstation games are kept to a minimum. Same with games bought on the Oculus Store too.

I've always argued that ANY bug that stops you from completing a game should ALWAYS be Class A bugs but many Lead Testers bung them in as Class B bugs.

QA is one of the reasons why I prefer buying my games from the Oculus Store instead of Steam, developers can get away with releasing buggy games on Steam because Valve don't curate their Store any more, nor do they bother testing the bloomin things. You can release any old crap on Steam.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 19, 2020, 11:43:14 PM
Forgot to mention that I think I've lost my Rift S  :o

Have spent a couple of weeks at my Mum's in Kent and meant to bring my PC and Rift S so that I could work on my game whilst I'm here.

Unpacked the car when we got here and my Rift S wasn't in the boot. I have a horrible feeling that I left it on my doorstep next to my bag because I thought that my Stepfather was moving stuff from there to the car.

But I can't even remember if I brought the thing down the stairs or not so hopefully I'll get back tomorrow and find it sitting on my bed otherwise some scrote has lifted it off my bloody doorstep.  >:(

Bloody good job I'm expecting a cheque waiting at home worth a grand otherwise I'd be REALLY pissed off! >:(

If I have lost it I WAS tempted to get an Oculus Quest instead but the Rift S is more comfortable to wear and I've already bought all three of the Vader Immortal games so I won't benefit from the freebie cos it's a Cross Play title (one that you can buy in one Store and play both versions at no extra cost).

It does have OLED displays though and a physical IPD adjustment but the Rift S fits my IPD just fine and has the advantage of an RGB Stripe instead of a Pentile display.

Think I'll stick with the Rift S if I need to get another one.

Should also be able to get a Yaw VR Motion Simulator if/when I get my full PPI refund too. Not sure how long it's all going to take tbh. The partial refund took 5 months I think so I would assume about the same for the full refund. And it's all tax free apart from VAT that I need to pay when I give the company their cut.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 28, 2020, 08:15:42 PM
Luckily I left my Rift S on my bed so I don't have to buy another one! ;D

People are really loving The Walking Dead Saints And Sinners. It's supposed to be REALLY intense. Have been reading some of the user reviews on the Oculus subReddit and people have been terrified playing it lol :o

Got my cheque and put it in the bank on Saturday but it hasn't cleared yet which is annoying. I sent off the paperwork saying that I want to go for the full refund but because I filled in the application online and ticked the checkbox rather than personally having the PPI (mis)sold by someone I don't think their solicitors will take the case. They have a 100% record so only go for cases that they're guaranteed to win so I don't think they'll go for it.

Oh well. I got 1036 quid in the end because the taxman grabbed 30 quid of it. Once I give the claim company their 24% and paid off my Capital One debt I'm going to have 496 quid left over to go towards my Yaw VR Motion Simulator.

Not sure when I'm going to get it now, either before Christmas or in May next year I reckon. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 03, 2020, 12:59:32 AM
Oh shit! Killing zombies in The Walking Dead Saints And Sinners is VERY satisfying lol 😂

Grabbing them by the head and plunging a screwdriver or blade into the brain is fucking AWESOME, and killing them with a bloody great big axe is even AWESOMERER 😎😂😎

Found a bug right at the start which is going to stop me from completing the game so I'm going to have to start again but it's no big deal.

There's a bit of crafting to do as well which always floats my boat. 😎
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on February 10, 2020, 07:06:15 PM
Saints And Sinners is VERY heavily influenced by ZombiU I'm VERY glad to say.

They have a similar system with a backpack and inventory handling and when you die you can pick up your loot unless you die again before getting it. I don't think that you face your previous zombie self though because you're always the same character all the way through.

They've also added in a patch an idea that I had for my game - the enemies respond to your headset's microphone.

Annoying that they've added these things cos now it looks like I've ripped the ideas off for my game rather than being a decent game designer lol 😂
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: Late on February 26, 2020, 08:55:22 AM
Two Point Hospital is now out on Xbox, and is on Game Pass. Loved playing it on pc, will enjoy going through it again now.

Basically it's a remake of Theme Hospital, from the olden days...
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on June 13, 2020, 03:16:18 AM
Have been playing Half Life Alyx and it's amazing. Set between Half Life 1 and Half Life 2 in the Half Life timeline.

Am on Chapter 4 so far and the game is just beautiful, definitely the best looking VR game out there so far, but that's mainly down to Valve developing it as a corridor shooter so they can afford to up the eye candy without tanking performance.

I'm doing the same with my game for the same reason.

Biggest highlight for me so far was seeing a dead rat stuck in one of the things you turn to open Combine barriers, nice little design touch.

This really does demonstrate how well shooters with realistic weapons suit VR. You need to empty your chamber, press a button to eject the clip, reach over your shoulder to grab another clip, bung it in and then pull the barrel back to load your first bullet.

Makes things VERY hectic when you have Combine enemies or headcrab zombies out to get you.

There's also a new couple of headcrabs too. A darker one that's more intelligent and takes evasive action and one that has a metal covering on the top so that it's bulletproof, you have to wait until they show their vulnerable underbelly before you can kill them. 😁

The only thing that's pissed me off so far is there's no fucking crowbar. How the FUCK could Valve release a Half Life game without a fucking crowbar ffs?!!?!? 🤬😡🤬😭
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on July 11, 2020, 05:29:51 PM
Aaaaaaargh!!! 😯😭😯

My CPU cooler's fan has died!!! 🤬😡🤬😭😭😭

REALLY hoping that my CPU hasn't fried in the process! 😱
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on August 01, 2020, 08:20:16 PM
My CPU was fine, got myself a Noctua D15 to replace the crappy Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo I installed when I originally built my PC years ago.

I completed Half Life Alyx earlier in the week and it was AWESOME. The last level was a bit of an anticlimax though, and it was a bit obvious what was in the Vault too. Some of the level design was top notch and some of it was disappointing, a bit of a mixed bag.

Have now started playing Skyrim VR with the Wabbajack VR Essentials Mod Pack, 400 mods. 😲😂

Before I used to install a load of Mods, start playing and then install a load more, meaning I'd have to start a new game again...so this time I've gone the whole hog and have installed 400 so as long as I stay away from Nexus I'll end up completing this game I've just started 😂😂😂

Skyrim VR Modded up to the eyeballs looks INCREDIBLE 😲😁😎

Definitely one of the best VR games out there.

And with a bit of luck I'll be getting a few hundred quid around Christmas so I'll be able to order a Yaw VR Motion Simulator. The GTA V VR Mod works with it apparently which is going to be AMAZEBALLS 😁😎
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 03, 2020, 07:20:47 PM
Star Wars Squadrons is AMAZEBALLS :o

It's pretty much a spiritual successor to X-Wing Vs TIE Fighter. It's got HOTAS support (which needs some adjustments by the developers in a patch at some point because it isn't ideal, it IS playable though!) and NO MICROTRANSACTIONS. :o ;D

And of course it REALLY shines in VR, but can also be played flat by you peasants :P ;D

Only played through both Prologues so far (you alternate between an Imperial pilot and a Rebel pilot as the story progresses). The controls are going to take a bit of getting used to but that's what the Story part of the game is for I guess, ready for online multiplayer goodness. 8)
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 17, 2020, 11:51:32 PM
Am I the only one that's bought Star Wars Squadrons? It's basically the spiritual successor to X-Wing Vs TIE Fighter.

It's awesome!!!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 25, 2020, 02:50:30 AM
Have just given the online multiplayer a go and it's pretty good.

These Fleet Battles are quite epic 😲😎😲

Killing enemy ships boosts your morale, and once you have enough morale you go on the attack and your opponents have to defend.

The ultimate aim of the game is to kill the capital ship of your enemy (either a Star Destroyer or whatever the fuck the Rebel equivalent is called).

You can of course decide to do your own thing of course but going after a Star Destroyer on your own in your X-Wing isn't a great idea 😂😂😂

So your capital ship has two smaller ships in support (can't remember what they're called now) so the idea is to attack those smaller ships first and destroy them before taking on the capital ships.

Then once you get onto the capital ships there's different targets you need to hit and destroy before taking them down like the shields, targeting and tractor beam.

It can get a bit hectic 😲

I might try for just the dog fighting next, which basically your standard Team Deathwatch and try switching from my Xbox One controller to my HOTAS and see how I get on.

I've been constantly getting my arse kicked, I'm a bit crap at it so far ☺😂😂😂

The Fleet Battle mode is awesome though.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 13, 2020, 08:20:17 PM
Apparently 0.048% of the Milky Way galaxy has now been explored. 😲😂

Have got a Win/Lose ratio on Star Wars Squadrons of 0.6 now. 😎😁😎

Am having a break from it now and am jumping back into Skyrim VR. Am hanging around Solitude at the moment. This game modded up to the eyeballs is just incredible in VR. So good.
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on November 14, 2020, 12:25:41 AM
In Elite Dangerous, that is!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 12, 2021, 10:22:54 PM
Got my final Plevin payment from Capital One, should be arriving in the next few days 😎😁😎

Not as much as I was hoping, only £329.41 after the company doing all the work for me have taken their cut but it's nearly 330 quid out of nowhere so I'm quite happy. 😁

Means that when I get my £550ish in May that I usually use to pay some money off my credit card I can pay that money off, plus the 330 quid and get myself a Yaw VR motion simulator in a few months time!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on April 27, 2021, 04:24:49 AM
Change of plan.

I'm not getting a Yaw motion simulator. I'm getting a Yaw 2 motion simulator.

I backed this on Friday:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/346206518/yaw2-motion-simulator-and-smart-chair/description

It's basically the Yaw motion simulator with flashing knobs on lol 😂

I've backed it to the tune of $1840 dollars so far, but might increase that by getting the seat too.

I'll have to pay VAT when it gets imported into the country but thanks to one of the backers working for Customs and giving them advice I don't think I'll need to pay a tariff asking that they do the paperwork correctly 😎😁😎

Trailer for it here:

https://youtu.be/jNe77pauQUw

The Yaw 1 looked more than a little dodgy but I was quite happy to invest in it because the likes of Elite Dangerous and War Thunder would have been an incredible experience in it but the Yaw 2 is on a whole different level altogether 😲

I'm a bit nervous as I've never spent that sort of money on a Kickstarter before. Sometimes these sort of things don't get released, but they did a good job with the Yaw 1 so I'm risking it.

If it doesn't get released I'm not too worried about it.

It's due for release in September but these sort of things get delayed all the time and I'm backer number 98 so even if it releases on time I might not get it until next year. 😲

Still debating on whether to add the seat to it or whether I'm going to just get a cheap gaming chair for it.

Some of these cheap gaming chairs are all connected to the plate at the bottom and for a gaming chair to be compatible it needs to have a flat bottom. Don't want to get a cheap chair, start to take it apart and find that it all falls apart when I take that plate off lol 😲😂😂😂
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on May 15, 2021, 04:25:56 AM
I'm now all in on this thing lol 😂

Decided to go for the Pro version of the Yaw 2, the Pro version of the Yaw Platform and the seat too.

I'll worry about paying for it later, might need to sell a kidney 😝😂😂😂

$2390 plus a 3% currency conversion fee from my credit card company. So that's $2461.70/£1750.74 on my credit card.

Then when it gets imported into the UK I'll need to pay 20% VAT on that plus whatever fees for Customs & Excise too. With a bit of luck it'll be classed as a PC peripheral in the code thingy cos there'll be nothing extra to pay. PC peripherals are zero rated for tariffs.

Knowing my luck though I'll have to pay a bloody fortune to Customs!!! 😲

However much it costs me it's going to be worth it, this thing is gonna be AMAZEBALLS in VR 😎😁😎
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 29, 2021, 08:06:40 PM
Been a while since anyone posted in this thread!

Resident Evil 4 VR for the Quest 2 released on the 21st October and it's fantastic!

Graphically it looks pretty dated, it is 16 years old after all(!), but it's definitely the best looking version of the lot.

And it plays SO well.

Plenty of comfort options too for those susceptible to sim sickness as well.

It's been billed as an exclusive by Facebook but there are hints, such as the lack of finger tracking, that it's going to be ported to other platforms in the future. We might see it being a launch title for PSVR 2 next year, perhaps?

There's also a Modder working on VR Mods for Resident Evils 2 and 3 and apparently he has plans to also Mod 7 and Village too. 😎😁😎

Facebook announced that GTA San Andreas is coming to the Quest 2 as well, and after playing the GTA V VR Mod I know that it's going to be AWESOME. No release date on that, and it's another one that's going to be a timed exclusive imo.

If it doesn't come to PC VR at a later date then I'll buy it for the Quest 2 to play it when I go to my Mum's to visit and then wait for the guy that did the GTA V VR Mod to work his magic so that I can play the game with my motion sim 😎😁😎

Talking of which the Yaw2 guys are planning on shipping Standard units to Kickstarter backers VERY soon, and the Pro versions to backers around a month later. Hopefully I'll get mine before the end of the year because I'm planning on going to visit my Mum on 31st December so won't be in for a couple of weeks at least in January.

I can always postpone my trip though!

So that's been some very big name games coming to VR now: Skyrim VR, Fallout 4 VR, Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 7 and now GTA San Andreas is on the way. 😁

Now that publishers are starting to bring big name games to VR, all we need is Microsoft to join the 21st Century and bring a VR headset to the Xbox and we'll start to see VR in gaming take off like crazy.

I reckon less than 10 years after they do this you'll see VR games being released by first, second and third party developers becoming the norm. Can't wait! 😁
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on October 31, 2021, 01:57:03 PM
Resident Evil 2 VR Mod in action:

https://youtu.be/Q2s1cz3Qu6I

This is going to be incredible, can't wait for this thing to get released!
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on December 31, 2021, 09:26:49 PM
The Resident Evil 2 VR Mod is getting released on New Year's Day! 😎😁😎
Title: Re: Video Games Thread
Post by: harv on January 02, 2022, 04:42:40 AM
Tried out Resident Evil 2 and 7. Only gamepad support for 7 and 8 so far but 2 and 3 have full motion controller support. Have nearly pooed my pants a couple of times lololol

Might buy 8 tomorrow and see what that's like and I'll try 3 tomorrow too.

These first two that I've tried have been CRAZY in VR, a few visual errors in 7 but that's because the mod isn't finished yet. I'm expecting 8 to be the same.

Definitely a must-try for any RE fan!!!