What are you playing now?

[Drowsy Emperor]

I had but 2-3 fighters until the very end of the game and I got consistent A ratings and an occasional B. You can afford to let the odd UFO through but you can't afford to lose missions. Satellites is the order of the day, the faster you get them up the more money you get - the more satellites you can put up. Etc. Most important upgrade of the game apart from the plasma weapons.

 

I didn't invest anything in armor until the very end. Pointless compared to weapons as soldiers still die easily and take long to heal - so its more worthwhile to have them kill things faster.

[HoonDing]

Replaying Mirror's Edge.

Game is much more fun when you already know beforehand where to go and what to do and not lose "the flow" by bumbling around every twenty seconds.

 

It's also short enough not to become boring and repetitive. Combat will always remains utter crap, though.

[Keyrock]

I'm playing Waiting For Legends of Dawn to Download.  Not the most thrilling game in the world, so I guess I'll play some Unepic in the meantime.

 

@Drudanae - The speedrun challenges are the best part of Mirror's Edge.

[Drowsy Emperor]

Replaying Mirror's Edge.

 

Game is much more fun when you already know beforehand where to go and what to do and not lose "the flow" by bumbling around every twenty seconds.

 

It's also short enough not to become boring and repetitive. Combat will always remains utter crap, though.

 

Yep. I disagree about the combat though. I never used a gun in the game. Its easy to handle the guards with a sliding kick or flying kick and then chaining a few combos in which you almost never have to do anyway because its much easier to run away.

 I'm sick of all the frail girls wearing plate mail and kung-fuing space marines anyway.

[Keyrock]

I agree with Drudanae, the combat in Mirror's Edge is garbage.  Just because the blues are easy to defeat doesn't make the system any good.  It's not what the game was built around, it's built around running.

[HoonDing]

I always kill everyone whenever I can.

It's far more realistic than running up unarmed at SWATs in full riot gear and taking them out with a few button presses. Besides turning the tides on these trigger-happy idiots is satisfying.

[Keyrock]

Any feedback on Legends of Dawn?  

 

 

So far, mind you I only played for a few minuted, the graphics are straight out of 2006 and the game seems quite rough around the edges.  The "story" seems like the prototypical "find the mythic artifact to save the world" crap that's been done a billion times over.  The controls seem fairly awkward, though I haven't tried remapping anything yet.  I guess I'll get used to it eventually. 

 

So basically, not exactly knocking my socks off right now, but I'm barely scratching the surface.  Anyway, I'll report back once I get deeper.

[LadyCrimson]

I have this crazy urge to reactivate my WoW account just to play with my pet leopard for a while. Assuming my chrs are still there. All I have is Burning Crusade, I have no clue what changes the game has made, and not interested in the later expansions. Only just ... to roam around with my spotted fur-face again.

 

...but I think, instead, I'm going to fire up Planet Explorers for the first time in a while (still no new alpha version yet, sigh) and dig a giant crater.

[SadExchange]

 

Any feedback on Legends of Dawn?

 

So far, mind you I only played for a few minuted, the graphics are straight out of 2006 and the game seems quite rough around the edges.  The "story" seems like the prototypical "find the mythic artifact to save the world" crap that's been done a billion times over.  The controls seem fairly awkward, though I haven't tried remapping anything yet.  I guess I'll get used to it eventually. 

 

So basically, not exactly knocking my socks off right now, but I'm barely scratching the surface.  Anyway, I'll report back once I get deeper.

Look forward to hearing more. I already have it downloaded but can't play till Tuesday. If its decent that'll be enough for me till now till other games start rolling out and maybe with a couple patches it'll be better.

[Keyrock]

 

 

Any feedback on Legends of Dawn?

So far, mind you I only played for a few minuted, the graphics are straight out of 2006 and the game seems quite rough around the edges.  The "story" seems like the prototypical "find the mythic artifact to save the world" crap that's been done a billion times over.  The controls seem fairly awkward, though I haven't tried remapping anything yet.  I guess I'll get used to it eventually. 

 

So basically, not exactly knocking my socks off right now, but I'm barely scratching the surface.  Anyway, I'll report back once I get deeper.

Look forward to hearing more. I already have it downloaded but can't play till Tuesday. If its decent that'll be enough for me till now till other games start rolling out and maybe with a couple patches it'll be better.

 

It's pretty rough.  Tooltips are either nonexistent or pretty much useless, there's some stutter, it's crashed a couple of times  Yet I'm kind of enjoying it so far, for whatever reason.  

[Drowsy Emperor]

I completed Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater/Subsistence on the PS2. In many ways, its a great game. Certainly better than the incomprehensible Sons of Liberty. The production values are off the charts, some of the subsystems are great (capturing animals to eat  or throw at guards), the game is wonderfully interactive, every level has a few different approaches - the boss fights are in a class of their own.... Even the characters grow on you over time. 

 

But I wish the whole franchise would throw its silly alternate history and manga like storytelling in the trash bin. Layers upon layers of silly twists, bad exposition that you can't tell if its intended to be a parody, or just plain bad. I assume most of it is a sort of parody of videogame and movie conventions, but when such poor tropes are not just made fun of but an integral part of the game then the whole "parody" moment doesn't work as well. 

 

Its probably the second best game I've played on the PS2 though, unseating Final Fantasy X.

[melkathi]

 

<snip>

Layers upon layers of silly twists, bad exposition that you can't tell if its intended to be a parody, or just plain bad. I assume most of it is a sort of parody of videogame and movie conventions, but when such poor tropes are not just made fun of but an integral part of the game then the whole "parody" moment doesn't work as well. 

<snip>

 

 

And by editing your post like this, I can pretend you are talking about Saints Row and proceed to disagree with your assessment that the parody doesn't work. Furthermore, I can question your sanity for suggesting it could be anything but an over-the-top parody.

 

*beams happily*

[Serrano]

Sorry, accidental double post.

Edited June 28, 2013 by Serrano

[Serrano]

 

 

<snip>

Layers upon layers of silly twists, bad exposition that you can't tell if its intended to be a parody, or just plain bad. I assume most of it is a sort of parody of videogame and movie conventions, but when such poor tropes are not just made fun of but an integral part of the game then the whole "parody" moment doesn't work as well. 

<snip>

 

 

And by editing your post like this, I can pretend you are talking about Saints Row and proceed to disagree with your assessment that the parody doesn't work. Furthermore, I can question your sanity for suggesting it could be anything but an over-the-top parody.

 

*beams happily*

 

I have to admit I didn't think that the MGS series was meant to be a parody ever, it falls in line with managa and many other japanese game series so I assume it was just a culturual style. It's become a barrier for me because as series like MGS and |Final Fantasy become more cinematic and manga-like, especially with the dialogue which rarely seems to translate well, I find it harder and harder to get into them. Which is just a personal gripe but.. anyway, MGS seems more in-line with other big games from Japan so I question whether it actually is a parody or not, even though the series has always had plenty of in-jokes scattered about.

Edited June 28, 2013 by Serrano

[Humanoid]

I have this crazy urge to reactivate my WoW account just to play with my pet leopard for a while. Assuming my chrs are still there. All I have is Burning Crusade, I have no clue what changes the game has made, and not interested in the later expansions. Only just ... to roam around with my spotted fur-face again.

 

...but I think, instead, I'm going to fire up Planet Explorers for the first time in a while (still no new alpha version yet, sigh) and dig a giant crater.

You could try finding someone to send you a Scroll of Resurrection - if your account is eligible, which is to say it hasn't been played since 4 March 2012, you get an automatic upgrade to Cataclysm, 7 days gametime, and an XP boost for any one of your characters to level 80, i.e. the starting level for Cataclysm content.

[Drowsy Emperor]

 

 

<snip>

Layers upon layers of silly twists, bad exposition that you can't tell if its intended to be a parody, or just plain bad. I assume most of it is a sort of parody of videogame and movie conventions, but when such poor tropes are not just made fun of but an integral part of the game then the whole "parody" moment doesn't work as well. 

<snip>

 

 

And by editing your post like this, I can pretend you are talking about Saints Row and proceed to disagree with your assessment that the parody doesn't work. Furthermore, I can question your sanity for suggesting it could be anything but an over-the-top parody.

 

*beams happily*

 

 

I have yet to try the Saints Row series. I dismissed them before as another GTA knock off...

[melkathi]

 

 

I have yet to try the Saints Row series. I dismissed them before as another GTA knock off...

 

 

They are a grotesque. A parody on pretty much everything. If you look at them as anything but a grand rollercoster of immaturity, then you'll hate the game. If you look at them with a fascinated curiosity of just how far they can go without a soccer mom showing up at the devs' doorstep and shooting them, then its gold.

[Drowsy Emperor]

 

 

 

<snip>

Layers upon layers of silly twists, bad exposition that you can't tell if its intended to be a parody, or just plain bad. I assume most of it is a sort of parody of videogame and movie conventions, but when such poor tropes are not just made fun of but an integral part of the game then the whole "parody" moment doesn't work as well. 

<snip>

 

 

And by editing your post like this, I can pretend you are talking about Saints Row and proceed to disagree with your assessment that the parody doesn't work. Furthermore, I can question your sanity for suggesting it could be anything but an over-the-top parody.

 

*beams happily*

 

I have to admit I didn't think that the MGS series was meant to be a parody ever, it falls in line with managa and many other japanese game series so I assume it was just a culturual style. It's become a barrier for me because as series like MGS and |Final Fantasy become more cinematic and manga-like, especially with the dialogue which rarely seems to translate well, I find it harder and harder to get into them. Which is just a personal gripe but.. anyway, MGS seems more in-line with other big games from Japan so I question whether it actually is a parody or not, even though the series has always had plenty of in-jokes scattered about.

 

 

@Serrano

What made me think the game is a sort of self-parody is the occasional moment of truly intelligent self reflection it has. 

 

Like the level that you're wading through the river (Styx) attacked by the spirit of every in game enemy you've ever killed. It actually represents each and every enemy you've killed in the game on a 1:1 basis and the more there are the harder it is to pass - in other words the harder it is for Snake to overcome his guilt and return to the world of the living.

Its a way to make the thinking player feel the impact of his actions and is in stark contrast to the usual game philosophy of "kill them all, let god sort them out".

 

Another contrast is the cartoon villain way the game represents Russians, in line with the typical US good guy-bad guy plot but then  sneaks in moments where you see the Russian soldiers saving each other from the blast when Snake is destroying the Shagohod towards the end, showing them essentially as victims of the player's actions. The game also lets you complete it with tranquilizer weapons, an unrealistic idea but in itself a statement about video game violence.

 

Then the whole discussions about the relativity of the concept of "enemy", the way soldiers are manipulated and used etc. etc. 

 

To me it seems obvious that Kojima is fully aware how ridiculous (and in a way, irresponsible) the stories/films he's imitating are and that he can't resist commenting on their shallowness and stupidity from time to time.

 

But he never goes all the way to making the whole game a serious statement, letting them remain a silly uber spy power fantasy the other 95% of the time. 

I don't know if that's a good choice but it does obfuscate the designer's intent. 

 

Of course, the more practical issue with MGS games as you've noticed is the terrible disjointed manga/anime way of telling a story that's typically japanese.

[Keyrock]

Saints Row is wonderfully crude, sexist, immature, over the top, and absurd.  It's a game series that looks at the politically correct folks, unzips its pants, whips out its ****, and taunts them with it.  It glorifies sex and violence, but it does so in such an absurdly over the top manner that no one could possibly ever take any of it seriously.

[Malcador]

They are a grotesque. A parody on pretty much everything. If you look at them as anything but a grand rollercoster of immaturity, then you'll hate the game. If you look at them with a fascinated curiosity of just how far they can go without a soccer mom showing up at the devs' doorstep and shooting them, then its gold.

Pretty much that. Though I am disappointed at Volition reduced to that

 

Oh right, my games. Well been playing Arma 2, fiddling with the editor mainly.

Edited June 28, 2013 by Malcador

[Amentep]

 

I have yet to try the Saints Row series. I dismissed them before as another GTA knock off...

 

They are a grotesque. A parody on pretty much everything. If you look at them as anything but a grand rollercoster of immaturity, then you'll hate the game. If you look at them with a fascinated curiosity of just how far they can go without a soccer mom showing up at the devs' doorstep and shooting them, then its gold.

 

 

Saints Row is wonderfully crude, sexist, immature, over the top, and absurd.  It's a game series that looks at the politically correct folks, unzips its pants, whips out its ****, and taunts them with it.  It glorifies sex and violence, but it does so in such an absurdly over the top manner that no one could possibly ever take any of it seriously.

 

It was in the second game when you're kidnapped by the Samedi and forced to smoke something as part of their plan to kill you that it finally all clicked with me.  I'd enjoyed it up until that point, but at that point it all made sense to me, and I enjoyed killing everyone while I was too high to walk straight.

 

The third game just piled on more stuff, although some of my favorite diversions were dropped.  Still by the time it got to the Gangsters in Space movie I had huge, huge amounts of entertainment.  Which I'm re-enjoying right now.

[BruceVC]

 

 

 

I have yet to try the Saints Row series. I dismissed them before as another GTA knock off...

 

 

They are a grotesque. A parody on pretty much everything. If you look at them as anything but a grand rollercoster of immaturity, then you'll hate the game. If you look at them with a fascinated curiosity of just how far they can go without a soccer mom showing up at the devs' doorstep and shooting them, then its gold.

 

 

A brilliant description of the SR games. Nice one

[Rosbjerg]

This pretty much sums up the game for me..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2C1tuNY6zo

[pmp10]

Saints Row is wonderfully crude, sexist, immature, over the top, and absurd.  It's a game series that looks at the politically correct folks, unzips its pants, whips out its ****, and taunts them with it.  It glorifies sex and violence, but it does so in such an absurdly over the top manner that no one could possibly ever take any of it seriously.

Actually that's only SR3 and open world part of SR2.

The series wasn't always like that and it certainly worked when it could strike a proper balance.

[Tale]

Borderlands 2, finally doing the DLC. The pirate one is pretty darn good.