Video Games Thread

[ancelotti]

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.

[harv]

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.

[harv]

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.

[stupac]

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.

[jman]

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.

[jman]

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 

[harv]

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.

[jman]

How was "Fifa 06 : Road to the World Cup" a port.. it was exclusive to the 360..  

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

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.

[harv]

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.

[bealec]

Seriously if you can't see that the Wii U will be Wii Shit then there's no hope for you.

[harv]

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

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

[styles]

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

[Late]

I'll probably get one (Sony or Microsoft - no idea which at present) - either at launch or within a few months of launch.

[jman]

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..

[bealec]

I may have to wait depends when the 720 launches.