[The video game thread]

Post by **Clay** » Sun Apr 07, 2013 1:51 am

I've been playing through Doom and Doom 2 again. I do this periodically as, years later I discovered, each level is designed to be played from scratch with 50 bullets and the pistol to start. Even now, creeping up on 20 years later, I'm amazed at how well-balanced and challenging it can be.

ganon578 · Post by **ganon578** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 4:25 pm

HeavyArms wrote:also buying Gears of War: Ascension Special Edition.

Is this a new PS3/Microsoft hybrid game?

angloconvoy · Post by **angloconvoy** » Tue Apr 09, 2013 11:26 am

Gears of Warfighter: Ascension Duty 3.
The reason I don't bother buying new triple A games anymore.

The PS3 KILLeR · Post by **The PS3 KILLeR** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 2:58 am

Got Call of Duty Black Ops Declassified and it is soooo bad... luckily i bought it used so im getting my money back tomorrow. Seriously dont buy this game.

Slayer-Fan123 · Post by **Slayer-Fan123** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 7:06 am

Why is it so bad?

The PS3 KILLeR · Post by **The PS3 KILLeR** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 1:32 pm

Oh god where to start... The controls are just far too lose and it becomes so hard to aim because the slightest touch sends you aim at the floor, sky, or behind you which forces you to always use hip fire and bounce around which is not how cod is meant to be played. (This was with my sensitivity turned all the way down mind you.) The a.i. is so stupid, sometimes theyll stand still and let you knife 8 in a row, other times theyll engage you heavily and then all of a sudden turn around and fire at the wall behind them. The game is nothing but reused maps with no new content. Its not the same levels exactly but if youve played the first black ops and somewhat payed attention to the enviroment youll reconize so many sections from singleplayer and mulitplayer. The game is literaly 2 hours long ith 10 levels that take on average 5 minutes to finish. Sure its on the go on the vita but at $50 new thats a ripoff! It just doesnt feel like cod, at all. Even the "story" is so laughable and un-orginal that it makes mw3s look like a freakin masterpiece. And instead of zombies mode they added hostiles. which is basicly spec ops survival from mw3 minus all the cool stuff like upgrades perks. Its just you in a multiplayer map with endless waves of russians and at the end of the wave you get a random loot drop, could be an awesome killstreak or pistol. And thats if you can get to it before the timer runs out! Im so glad i didnt pay $50 for this, and that i can get my money back. This was a cash-in plain and simple, and i wont mind not having it in my small vita collection one bit.

Cyberstrike nTo · Post by **Cyberstrike nTo** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 2:46 pm

angloconvoy wrote:Gotten myself ridiculously into the Mass Effect games, even if 3 is a little bit generic shootery. Debating whether (or rather which) DLC to buy. Citadel is a lock but I'm not sure if the other stuff is worth my time/money.

Here are my recommendations:

1) The Extended Cut it does make the endings make more sense and does try to explain the consequences of the destruction and control endings. I will give it an "A" effort for trying to explain the synthesis ending and it consequences but if anything it actually makes it worse, but to be honest I don't think that ending will probably most likely never work and make any sense.

2) Leviathan-if you have to buy any of SP/story based DLC other than Citadel (which is IMHO the best DLC for ME3) this is the one I would go for. It's the one that IMHO has the biggest effect on the game as a whole. Both Citadel and Omega don't feel as relevant to game's storyline as Leviathan does. It's like a deleted sub-plot from a movie that when it's restored to the film in a Director's Cut that actually makes the film better as a whole.

3) Omega is not bad but it's IMHO the weakest of the SP/story based DLC because it plays and feels like it's from another game and once your done with it, that is it you're done. Aria returns to the bar on Citadel and says that she's going to be slumming it because of the all the rebuilding on Omega it's also like ME2: Lair of the Shadow Broker (which in IMHO the best DLC of the entire trilogy) the continuation of a comic book mini-series. But whereas Mass Effect: Redeemption and LotSB explained the drastic change in the character of Liara and gave her an actual arc that shows a character's growth. Mass Effect: Invasion the comic mini-series (and even the second and third novels that reveals the death of Aria's youngest daughter at the hands of Kai Leng), and Omega don't give Aria any such arc, she's still the same character she is when you first meet her. Also Carrie-Anne Moss' portrayal of Aria is just all over the place sometimes she sounds like she's at times it feels like she at least trying give a performance and other times it sounds like she's bored. The VA doing Nyreen gives a GREAT performance as does Jennifer Hale who is VA for femShep.
Now all that said Omega isn't awful by any stretch there are a lot of great things in it: interesting new enemies, powers, weapons, mods, and the chance to have Aria and Nyreen as squad mates and the best thing in Omega is: Nyreen, a female turian biotic a great character and who is an equal to both Shepard and Aria.

3) The various weapons packs and Alternate Appearance Pack 1 some of the weapons are very cool and better than the ones in the game. Now I do like EDI and Garrus' new looks and Liara's black outfit only works (for me anyway) after the mission to her homeworld and even then not for very long.

I hope that helps and sorry if I seem like I'm rambling I just to try to help people get the most enjoyment out of the Mass Effect trilogy as I have.

angloconvoy · Post by **angloconvoy** » Thu Apr 11, 2013 3:28 pm

Nah, I appreciate the input. What about that other one with the prothean teammate? It doesn't come as standard with the PS3 trilogy.

Incidentally, on this playthrough I decided not to bother with DLC apart from the extended cut. I want to do a playthrough with a female Shepard and probably one as a male renegade, so I'll probably buy at least leviathan and citadel for those. Given my available free time it'll likely be the best part of a year to get through those (especially considering the amount of PS+ games I've yet to play through).

Seriously thinking of picking up a Vita sometime this year, the recent price drop actually makes it an attractive bit of kit. Sony would do well to make that a worldwide drop, since sales here have quadrupled since.

Edit: Incidentally, does anyone use the standard Shepard? Mine's a bit less hollywood. Also, he wears ugly as hell bright pink and baby blue armor with yellow trim. Because that amuses me.

The PS3 KILLeR · Post by **The PS3 KILLeR** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 4:10 am

Ive been default male shep since the first mass effect in 07! Wasnt big into RPGs back then and i felt the guy on the cover was the true way i was supposed to play the game. Master chief is on the cover, marcus fenix was on the cover, so to me that was who i was supposed to play as.

Also love my vita! its what i always use to post! only have 5 games for it but i use it every day! I agree if they drop the price here in the states i personalyknow about 20 people that will buy one. And a few must have games wont hurt either... Uncharted is the only real AAA game on vita. Id settle with ports of PS3 games! Give me heavy rain or infamous or even some of those hd collections like jak and daxter, ico/shadow, ratchet and clank and id never put this thing down! Wii u has the same problem only have 4 games for it! but lego city and monster hunter both just came out so ill pick those up soon and dust the poor thing off! :P

angloconvoy · Post by **angloconvoy** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 4:31 am

Well, I already have Uncharted courtesy of PS+, just need the Vita to play it on. Also the Metal Gear collection, FFIX, and some other stuff. When I finally get one (Just bought a new sofa bed so might have to wait a few months) I'll get at least one of the disgaea games and the One Piece Kaizoku Musou game that just came out.

Oh, also, it looks like a good platform for playing Zen Pinball on the go.

As for the default shepard, I'm largely just tired of playing the "handsome generic brown-haired everyman" that graces 90% of game covers. Give me a chance to personalise it and I'll jump on that. The game was meant to be played as you want (which I'm sure you've realised as your RPG experience increased), generic cover guy is purely a marketing decision.

The PS3 KILLeR · Post by **The PS3 KILLeR** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 2:55 pm

Lucky you I paid $50 for uncharted a month after launch. Which is the same price as PS+ in the states...

Id get it every year if i had a bigger harddrive in my PS3 and a bigger memory stick in my Vita. only 20 gigs left in my 80 ps3 and half a 8 gig card on vita. Plus i use my 360 as my main gaming fix, ive got over 100 games for it vs. less than 10 for ps3. I cant stand the sticks on the PS3, but thats another story.

And yeah now i cant stand an rpg that wont let you make a custom avatar. Like game of thrones, it just gives you these two guys and says hey your him and him deal with it. My dream is for everything to have full custom avatars, not just rps but shooters as well. like Battlefield, gears, and cod. Having the option to go male/female, race, voice, id love it! in an fps it whouldnt matter too much but your friends whould know its you and it whould help out majorly in bf when say 2 other people die at around the same time who are the same class as you and your medic buddy doesnt know which one is you. I dont know, is it a pipedream? yep! is it impossible, nope! Halo gets right in those terms, now if only you could take off your helmet and show you face.

ganon578 · Post by **ganon578** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 6:02 pm

The PS3 KILLeR wrote:Plus i use my 360 as my main gaming fix, ive got over 100 games for it vs. less than 10 for ps3. I cant stand the sticks on the PS3, but thats another story.

I dealt with it for a while, but my Sixaxis started acting up - the left stick would be slightly stuck forward, causing my guy in Borderlands 2 to inch forward even though I didn't, and I don't know how many field goals I missed in Madden 13 because the pitch was straight up before I realized what was going on. So I ventured out an bought a new controller.

I ended up picking a wireless Afterglow controller by PDP for my PS3. It's pretty awesome, slightly smaller than the Dualshock/Sixaxis controller, but it's no big deal, and I have rather large hands (I can palm a basketball). The stick layout is set like the 360 controller with the staggered layout. The quality is good and the sticks are rubberized unlike the RockCandy ones also made by PDP. The buttons are responsive and the battery life is pretty good. The only thing is misses is the tilt sensor. And it's only $30 at WalMart, compared to the $55-60 for a new Dualshock. For half the price you get a damn good controller with a better stick layout. I've only had mine a couple weeks, so time will tell if it lasts.

Cyberstrike nTo · Post by **Cyberstrike nTo** » Fri Apr 12, 2013 10:57 pm

angloconvoy wrote:Nah, I appreciate the input. What about that other one with the prothean teammate? It doesn't come as standard with the PS3 trilogy.

Sorry about that I forgot about that one I guess I'm getting old. I would recommend From The Ashes slightly above Leviathan Javik is an interesting character and he does have a weird sense of humor and he is very funny in Citadel.

Incidentally, on this playthrough I decided not to bother with DLC apart from the extended cut. I want to do a playthrough with a female Shepard and probably one as a male renegade, so I'll probably buy at least leviathan and citadel for those. Given my available free time it'll likely be the best part of a year to get through those (especially considering the amount of PS+ games I've yet to play through).

I can't play as a male Shepard I can't stand Mark Meer (the VA for male Shepard) portrayal as Shepard. Jennifer Hale blows him out of the water.

Edit: Incidentally, does anyone use the standard Shepard? Mine's a bit less hollywood. Also, he wears ugly as hell bright pink and baby blue armor with yellow trim. Because that amuses me.

I use the default female Shepard just change eye, skin, and hair color, along with hair styles. The first one I tried but I screwed up her nose and she looked she had Downs Syndrome. The second one I tried to give her an asian look but I could never find a proper skin tone.

angloconvoy · Post by **angloconvoy** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 3:12 am

The PS3 KILLeR wrote: I dont know, is it a pipedream? yep! is it impossible, nope!

Don't see why it should be a pipedream, to be honest. The way you explain it makes perfect sense and making it so everyone has a more involving avatar would get people more involved. Even fairly limited skins would be a good step. Maybe in a generation or two it'll go that way.

Cyberstrike, Even changing the colour and style counts as, not standard in my book. Interesting point about the VA, I quite like Mark Meer most of the time, but sometimes he sounds like he's being a petty bastard for no reason, not sure who's to blame for that (writer, director, actor) so I'm looking forward to hearing Jennifer Hale's portrayal.

The PS3 KILLeR · Post by **The PS3 KILLeR** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 4:17 am

angloconvoy wrote:Don't see why it should be a pipedream, to be honest. The way you explain it makes perfect sense and making it so everyone has a more involving avatar would get people more involved. Even fairly limited skins would be a good step. Maybe in a generation or two it'll go that way.

Ive just heard so many developers cry "its a memory issue" or "our fan base doesnt want that" pft! please what gamer whouldnt want more control of how their in game avatar looks?! Maybe with this next gen itll happen just like you suggested. But with game costing more time and money to make each year, most wont care about what john doe 118 and how he wants to make his Gear have a pink mohawk or something like that. And the few developers who do take the time to add that extra level of personalization for players will shine this next generation, and hopefully rise above the boring standard shooters have fallen into these days! I know im part of the problem because i keep buying them but when 99.99% of the shooter market is that way and thats what you love then what else choice do you have? Im tired of modern shooters with russians as the bad guys! Id welcome the sight of a WWII shooter right now becauze it whould be the most orginal shooter on the market! 10 years ago if somebody said that, every gamer whould call them crazy but anything is better than "Ah its a russian invasion! lets stop them because were the USA and no one can stops us!" Sums up all modern shooters, at least modern warfare added the SAS and thats probably the best parts of those games! Peronaly, i miss shooting nazis in the face with tommy guns! Some developer somewhere please make a AAA WWII fps! Heck id settle for vietnam! just no more modern shooters!!!
Rant over sorry. :P
And ganon ive seen those too! really want one because ive said for years uncharted whould play way better on the 360 gamepad! But seeing as my PS3 Is just a bluray player now ill wait untill a major release to look more into those, last of us maybe?

Also to continue this monster post.... I picked up Skylanders Giants for 360 with the money i got from Black ops declassified. Ive always been interested in the series and the guy at gamestop convinced me that it was a kid friendly diablo. The collector in me, who hasnt bought an action figure in 4 years, is excited. But the actual adult in me hates the idea of walking into the toys again every week, and also says good luck with the ladies bub! I got the starter kit and a free single figure. And i want at least one of each type of skylander so i can 100% it, and well crusher! i must have crusher!!! ive loved the look of him since i saw him at the midnight launch of AC3, and now that i actually bought this stupid thing i must have him! So far i have 4 figures, each of a diffrent class, and theres 8 classes i think so i only really need to buy 4 more. Heres hopin i dont get addicted to these things...

angloconvoy · Post by **angloconvoy** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 4:46 am

The character designs in Skylanders are really cool. My nephew is quite into it, as I think I may have mentioned before.

Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon looks really good, and different, so that might be worth a look. It's only about 15 dollars, too.

Interesting to hear you guys hate the PS controller though, I've always found it way more comfortable than the Xbox's. Just a personal thing there, though.

Notabot · Post by **Notabot** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 5:53 am

I agree with you on the PS controller. I've never liked the feel of the Xbox controllers, but the PS ones just feel very natural and intuitive. I also appreciate that it hasn't changed all that much ergonomically in three generations. They got it pretty darn right the first shot, didn't they?

HeavyArms · Post by **HeavyArms** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 9:02 am

[quote]ganon578
Quote:
Originally Posted by HeavyArms View Post
also buying Gears of War: Ascension Special Edition.
Is this a new PS3/Microsoft hybrid game?[/QUOTE

Damn it! Yes, it's a hybrid game. Anyway, it's meant to be Judgment, not Ascension.

Also, I bought Bioshock Infinite: Songbird Edition, and it does come with a decent size Songbird statue.

HeavyArms · Post by **HeavyArms** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 9:08 am

ganon578
Originally Posted by HeavyArms
also buying Gears of War: Ascension Special Edition.
Is this a new PS3/Microsoft hybrid game?

Damn it! Yep it's a new hybrid crossover game. It's meant to say Gears Of War: Judgment.
Also, I bought Bioshock Infinite: Songbird Edition.

The PS3 KILLeR · Post by **The PS3 KILLeR** » Sat Apr 13, 2013 3:48 pm

angloconvoy wrote: Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon looks really good, and different, so that might be worth a look. It's only about 15 dollars, too.

Interesting to hear you guys hate the PS controller though, I've always found it way more comfortable than the Xbox's. Just a personal thing there, though.

When a game has nods to predator, terminator, and die hard in the first 5 minutes it instantly gets a buy from me! Thank all that is holy that ubisoft isnt charging $40 or even full price! Farcry 3 was just so much fun and with all the 80s neon and freakin dragons, Blood dragon is gonna be one of the best downloadable titles of this generation when we look back!

And I guess its just with the ps controller it just varies from person to person. i had a ps2 3 years before i got my orginal xbox, which was on the day and date the 360 came out, and just find the 360 gamepad fits better in my hands, and the layout of the sticks and the bumpers and triggers just feel better to me. Now honestly i prefer the Wii U pro controller out of all! Its basicly a 360 controller, but having the sticks on top is just so comfortable, but the triggers being digital triggers... well they just suck. Mainly i wish more wii u games used the darn thing! ive only used it once. Darksiders 2 supports it but since your items and inventory are in the gamepad it makes it impossible to play the game with it, and since thq is dead theres no nope for an update to fix it. Still gotta beat that game...