Video Games Thread

[ancelotti]

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!  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.

[harv]

Yup, think it's got something daft like a 60% failure rate

[Late]

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.

[jman]

I told you it wasnt easy kenny   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.

[bealec]

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.

[harv]

Makes you wonder what the real installed userbase really is lol

[harv]

Eurogamer article on Lego City Undercover.

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!!!

[jman]

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  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..    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.

[ancelotti]

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.

[Late]

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!)

[jman]

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!

[Late]

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...

[Late]

Love PETA. They're proper mentalists

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.

[jman]

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!

[harv]

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.