What are you playing now?

[Zoraptor]

A lot of players like XCOM as well as reviewers so it's polarising more than anything (and doesn't seem to have that many haters really). It's certainly no Aliens: CM where at least early reviewers gave it near universal good marks, while the actual players almost universally loathed it.

 

I've been playing IWD2 as well. The modified UI is very annoying on a big wide screen as you have to drag the mouse across 2/3 the screen area to pick up your 23 GP of reward, but I still think it has the best overall balance of any IE game difficulty wise as almost all fights are challenging without being silly hard. It certainly lacks a bit of personality compared to IWD1, but having said that I'm still slogging through assorted gobbo equivalents in chapter 1 at this point.

[Rosbjerg]

While I do think a lot of score inflation is taking place - a game reviewer usually also a has to at least appear impartial.. I know I'm a lot more critical of non strategy and non RPG genres, because I don't enjoy them as much. So in those cases I always tend to think they score too high. That might factor in for you as well?

[Hassat Hunter]

I hated car stuff in GTA IV. Mostly has to do since driving cars sucked in general. I missed the III/VC/SA driving. Much more fun, much less boring.

 

And what "reviews" are you basing it on? I just ignore online reviews, except by players on fora. They *all* suck. Good thing we Dutchies got a good printed mag that is kinda good...

[Hurlshort]

I'm utterly baffled when I hear people dislike Xcom, for me it was like finding a cool turn based combat drink in a desert of real time shooters.  It's one of the few games I know I will replay for years to come.

 

So yeah, I guess it is simply polarizing.  I know a few folks here really enjoyed it as well.

 

I have noticed it is mostly the latecomers that are critical of Xcom (I think when the game launched there was a thread where most of us enjoyed it, and only one or two people were disappointed.)  Obviously there must have been some initial skepticism about the game to keep Boo and Melk from picking it up earlier, and that must have been justified.   

[ShadySands]

 

Yikes! Does DDO only reward XP for completing the entire objective? No kill XP?

 

 

You get the XP from bonus objectives immediately most of the time but it's not a lot compared to what you get for completing the entire quest. 

[Humanoid]

It's been a year since I quit WoW, though essentially I had begun quitting quite a bit earlier than that - I had decided that Cataclysm would be my last content cycle before it was even released (in late 2010). I sort of played through Cataclysm as a favour to my guildmates rather than for my own personal enjoyment, which was probably a good sign that my time in the game was up. Don't get me wrong, I still had some good moments playing it, but the overarching motivation was no longer my own. One of those organised transitions I guess: gave up most of my formal responsibilities and stopped being involved in the day-to-day running of the thing I had created all the way back, and became sort of an elder/advisor/consultant at best.

 

I wasn't one to fade out by leaving an active sub that's no longer used though - I played about the same amount right up to the very last day of the sub. Indeed in a fluke of timing, the very last day turned out to be the day I picked up the first heroic Spine of Deathwing we had.

[LadyCrimson]

Social call finished, early prep for making dinner later finished...now I could play a game for a few hours, but I can't decide which one to play.  

 

...maybe Grim Dawn.

[melkathi]

Obviously there must have been some initial skepticism about the game to keep Boo and Melk from picking it up earlier, and that must have been justified.   

 

Not so much skepticism. I think it released just as the EU council presidency was drowning in ECOFIN meetings and Cyprus was knee deep in the dept crisis / money laundering alegations. So i was drowning in work.

 

I absolutely loath the move away from action points and to only letting you do specific things in a specific order (you can move then shoot, but you can't shoot then move (unless you are a heavy with the ability), you can move then reload, but you can't reload then move. Touching your gun for any reason other than carrying it ends your turn after all). I find the need for "tactics" this adds to be the cheap kind: add some arbitrary restrictions forcing the players to work around them.

XCOM arguably gives players more toys to play with, with all those nifty abilities to choose from. But I feel I am allowed to do less in the end; the abilities allow me to do what the developer envisioned, not what I want to do. I can't fire my assault rifle in full auto, spray and pray - the character is the wrong class for that, doesn't matter that its a fully automatic weapon. If I want to empty the clip I have to use some sort of supression fire. I wont deal damage anymore, but who would ever think that a clip in an assault rifle, when empited could kill things?

At the same time, I can't duck. I can duck, if the context sensitive environment has a glowing little shield symbol. And of course ducking doesn't steady my aim. It's silly considering that in the games where you only have standing stance and kneeling stance, people have been criticising the lack of a prone stance. But with XCOM all shiny and new its ok that there are no stances at all?

It is irrelevant in which direction I am facing.

There seems to be no friendly fire outside AoE attacks like grenades and rockets. And of course no stray bullets - if a bullet misses the target, it vanishes.

I can have overwatch, but it's a la Warhammer 40k: I declare overwatch and then when it triggers I do my attack in my opponent's turn. No "I have that many action points left over and can make a reaction check to fire with them in my opponent's turn" and deffinitly no setting at what threshhold to start shooting (as some tactics games allow you to).

But what bothers me the most is the fact that aliens on the map seem to exist in potential only until someone reaches a trigger distance: then they spawn in groups of three and immediatly get a free move. There is no sneaking up on them, there is no setting up a sniper from afar, or using thermal imaging or nightvision or psionic detection. If you know where they are, they get to run for cover during your turn.

 

That's what I could think of off the top of my head.

But it results in me personally feeling this game to be closer to DoW2 and even Republic Commandos than older small units tactics games. So I had far less fun than I had with UFO: Enemy Unknown or the UFO trilogy by ALTAR, or UFO: Extraterrestrials or Fallout Tactics. (or even Paradise Cracked and Cops 2170)

[Gorth]

I have noticed it is mostly the latecomers that are critical of Xcom (I think when the game launched there was a thread where most of us enjoyed it, and only one or two people were disappointed.)  Obviously there must have been some initial skepticism about the game to keep Boo and Melk from picking it up earlier, and that must have been justified.

I don't know if I was a late comer (picked it up at full price), but I was definitely one of the majorly disappointed ones. It felt like Pac-Man was a better tactical game. I don't remember my commentary then, but probably amounted to something along the lines of style over substance. Together with Tombraider Anniversary one of the few games I can't be bothered to even try finishing.

[Humanoid]

Ultimately I guess the divide is over this issue of gameplay abstraction. I'm fine to assume for example that a guy standing out in the open, out of cover, isn't just standing there but rather is doing their best to not get shot while running across an empty field or whatever - a turn may represent, what, five seconds of real time?

 

Aside, a technicality that won't change anyone's overarching view, but you can ambush untriggered aliens, using either the Sniper's Battle Scanner ability, or Ghost Armor.

 

 

My position I guess for people undecided would be to watch a few of

videos to get an idea of the tactical depth (or lack thereof, depending on perspective) present in the game. They're edited ~10min videos of single missions, with an entertaining blend of tactical advice and comedy.

[melkathi]

 

 

Aside, a technicality that won't change anyone's overarching view, but you can ambush untriggered aliens, using either the Sniper's Battle Scanner ability, or Ghost Armor.

 

 

I throw a tactical scanner. The scanner reveals three mutons who get a cut-scene of growling and posing for the camera, then scatter and run out of LOS and behind cover. Of course it was the sniper who threw the thing, so her/his turn is basially over as he/she can't reposition and shoot now, having performed one action already. So there goes the ambush. Of course I could have my assault person rush out and shoo one of the mutons out of cover... and be left in the open (but of course with improved defense). That is of course if the Mutons did not run in a way that makes the flush out shot flush them into fog of war.

 

 

As I said though. I believe it has tactics. I don't think they are a result of a great tactics game though, rather that of restrictions and flashy game design.

All I got to see while playing was moving carefully and slowly down the map"so as to trigger alien to spawn in as small numbers as possible at a given moment and each time, followed by using the various abilities of the soldiers to defeat the spawn and move on to where I expect the next group of aliens to spawn.

[Keyrock]

Moar Grim Dawn.  Man, the game is freakin' great, these folks really know how to make a loot em' up.  I originally planned to go Demolitionist/Soldier, but I changed my mind and went Demolitionist/Occultist (because of the summons), which makes me a Pyromancer.  Now I have a raven familiar and I'm a maniac setting fire to everything and everyone, then shooting them just to spite them.  Good times. 

[melkathi]

Moar Grim Dawn.  Man, the game is freakin' great, these folks really know how to make a loot em' up.  I originally planned to go Demolitionist/Soldier, but I changed my mind and went Demolitionist/Occultist (because of the summons), which makes me a Pyromancer.  Now I have a raven familiar and I'm a maniac setting fire to everything and everyone, then shooting them just to spite them.  Good times. 

 

If you had a dragon familiar you'd be Daenerys Targaryen

[Keyrock]

 

Moar Grim Dawn.  Man, the game is freakin' great, these folks really know how to make a loot em' up.  I originally planned to go Demolitionist/Soldier, but I changed my mind and went Demolitionist/Occultist (because of the summons), which makes me a Pyromancer.  Now I have a raven familiar and I'm a maniac setting fire to everything and everyone, then shooting them just to spite them.  Good times. 

 

If you had a dragon familiar you'd be Daenerys Targaryen

 

The major difference is that if my character, Keyrockette, spots a dragon, she won't just immediately strip nekkid. 

[melkathi]

 

The major difference is that if my character, Keyrockette, spots a dragon, she won't just immediately strip nekkid. 

 

 

And its the tiny differences that dictate whether you get to start in a HBO show or not

[Nepenthe]

I hated car stuff in GTA IV. Mostly has to do since driving cars sucked in general. I missed the III/VC/SA driving. Much more fun, much less boring.

 

And what "reviews" are you basing it on? I just ignore online reviews, except by players on fora. They *all* suck. Good thing we Dutchies got a good printed mag that is kinda good...

 

Yeah, I found both the driving (unexpectedly) in GTA IV to be terrible in addition to the (expected) deficiency in the shooting parts. That, and the needy "friends".

[Drowsy Emperor]

 

I have noticed it is mostly the latecomers that are critical of Xcom (I think when the game launched there was a thread where most of us enjoyed it, and only one or two people were disappointed.)  Obviously there must have been some initial skepticism about the game to keep Boo and Melk from picking it up earlier, and that must have been justified.   

 

Its not skepticism keeping me away its just that I don't currently have access to my desktop so I can't play any newer titles.

 

That said, my neighbor, who is much more tolerant about game flaws in general very quickly grew bored of XCOM.

 

I still want to try it though.

[mkreku]

 

I hated car stuff in GTA IV. Mostly has to do since driving cars sucked in general. I missed the III/VC/SA driving. Much more fun, much less boring.

 

And what "reviews" are you basing it on? I just ignore online reviews, except by players on fora. They *all* suck. Good thing we Dutchies got a good printed mag that is kinda good...

 

Yeah, I found both the driving (unexpectedly) in GTA IV to be terrible in addition to the (expected) deficiency in the shooting parts. That, and the needy "friends".

 

 

I remember everyone and their grandmother lauded GTA4 for its realistic driving when it came out. God, that annoyed me.

 

GTA4 was the most boring of all the GTA's so far. I really hope they bring back the fun factor in GTA5 because GTA4 could have been sooo good.. if it wasn't so dull.

[Drowsy Emperor]

GTA IV had the best story and the most realistic city. But yes, the game was duuuuulllllll.

 

I think GTA spent the fun of the original mayhem in the quest for ever greater realism. I don't expect much of no 5.

[LadyCrimson]

Has anyone tried Age of Wushu? It's another F2P type game and unfortunately (to me) it's also a PvP-only environment, so you could be wandering around and get ganked by competing faction groups. One review I read said it wasn't hard to avoid most PvP if you want, but still.

 

But stuff like how, if you're offline, your character becomes a working NPC to populate towns (a waiter, a shopkeeper, a beggar) and might be "kidnapped" and sold by other players, is interesting. So you could come back online and find your chr. in prison. And if you're online and you see someone's chr. being thus taken, you could try to stop/prevent it (they have restrictions to prevent the kidnapping thing from being overly abused). Reviews make it sound likely frustrating in terms of skills and certain game mechanics and other issues, which might overshadow everything else, too much. I'm curious enough I might try it a bit later, tho.

[Nonek]

If Icewind Dale 3 had come out i'm pretty sure Orrick the Grey would have cast a Mythal over Kuldahar, seem to be clues to that outcome all around. One assumes to save it from Belhifet or some other baneful presence.

[Walsingham]

 

 

I have noticed it is mostly the latecomers that are critical of Xcom (I think when the game launched there was a thread where most of us enjoyed it, and only one or two people were disappointed.)  Obviously there must have been some initial skepticism about the game to keep Boo and Melk from picking it up earlier, and that must have been justified.   

 

Its not skepticism keeping me away its just that I don't currently have access to my desktop so I can't play any newer titles.

 

That said, my neighbor, who is much more tolerant about game flaws in general very quickly grew bored of XCOM.

 

I still want to try it though.

 

 

I finished and much to my surprise I'm completely unable to play through again. This is very much unlike me.

 

1. The difficulty is all wrong. The aliens just get crazier, and 'cheat' more.

2. It needlessly annoys me that all my 'men' speak with an American accent, despite being from, say, Brunei.

3. I could complain about the boring weapon loadouts, but ultimately it comes back to lazy alien AI combined with weak mission archetypes.

[Hurlshort]

Has anyone tried Age of Wushu? It's another F2P type game and unfortunately (to me) it's also a PvP-only environment, so you could be wandering around and get ganked by competing faction groups. One review I read said it wasn't hard to avoid most PvP if you want, but still.

 

But stuff like how, if you're offline, your character becomes a working NPC to populate towns (a waiter, a shopkeeper, a beggar) and might be "kidnapped" and sold by other players, is interesting. So you could come back online and find your chr. in prison. And if you're online and you see someone's chr. being thus taken, you could try to stop/prevent it (they have restrictions to prevent the kidnapping thing from being overly abused). Reviews make it sound likely frustrating in terms of skills and certain game mechanics and other issues, which might overshadow everything else, too much. I'm curious enough I might try it a bit later, tho.

 

I tried it and have a friend who loves it.  I couldn't get into it.  It is very complicated, and pretty rough around the edges.  I can't say I really gave it a fair shake, but it didn't pull me in.  

Edited May 18, 2013 by Hurlshot

[Calax]

Has anyone tried Age of Wushu? It's another F2P type game and unfortunately (to me) it's also a PvP-only environment, so you could be wandering around and get ganked by competing faction groups. One review I read said it wasn't hard to avoid most PvP if you want, but still.

 

But stuff like how, if you're offline, your character becomes a working NPC to populate towns (a waiter, a shopkeeper, a beggar) and might be "kidnapped" and sold by other players, is interesting. So you could come back online and find your chr. in prison. And if you're online and you see someone's chr. being thus taken, you could try to stop/prevent it (they have restrictions to prevent the kidnapping thing from being overly abused). Reviews make it sound likely frustrating in terms of skills and certain game mechanics and other issues, which might overshadow everything else, too much. I'm curious enough I might try it a bit later, tho.

http://mmogrinder.net/2013/04/30/age-of-wushu-episode-42/

[ShadySands]

Even more DDO

 

Got my drow druid to level 7 rank 33 and steadily cruising along while making sure not to take any more quests that require a human party

 

pfsh... human party! Ain't nobody got time for that