[The video game thread]

HeavyArms · Post by **HeavyArms** » Sat May 30, 2015 3:02 pm

Currently still on Saints Row, about 20% or so.

Notabot · Post by **Notabot** » Sun May 31, 2015 2:13 am

Humble Bundle has a WiiU/3DS sale going right now. Pay what you want for a collection of indie games on either or both systems. I'm really, really liking Humble Bundle lately!

ganon578 · Post by **ganon578** » Mon Jun 01, 2015 4:10 pm

Notabot wrote:Humble Bundle has a WiiU/3DS sale going right now. Pay what you want for a collection of indie games on either or both systems. I'm really, really liking Humble Bundle lately!

I saw that the other day and was thoroughly interested. Trouble is, with my lack of playing time and current backlog of stuff I still haven't played, I couldn't bring myself to bite.

However, I hope Nintendo keeps this thing up, it surely would help boost their sales numbers!

ganon578 · Post by **ganon578** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 2:45 pm

Nothing new, but back to playing a bit here and there after a short hiatus. Started Skyrim (again!) and we'll see how long that goes. Maybe I'll just spread it between other games to keep it fresh. I chose a Nord and I think I'm going to beef up on my bow skills and destruction magicka, while keeping single hand weapons as a backup.

I'm also still playing Wind Waker HD from time to time. I finally cleared the entire sea map (giving bait to Fishman in each square) and got control of Cyclos' cyclones for fast warping. Should be pretty fun to tackle all the items from here on out.

The balance of the two is fun, and striking. While Skyrim is the grim & realistic RPG with a lot of intricacies, WWHD is light, cheerful, and straightforward yet challenging.

Post by **Sades** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 8:12 pm

Mega Mawile has been kicking my ass for a week now on Shuffle. My Pokemon have gained like two or three levels just fighting this bastard. WE HATES HIM.

Post by **Clay** » Wed Jun 03, 2015 9:57 pm

Fallout 4, y'all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE2BkLq ... aSoftworks

Post by **Sades** » Thu Jun 04, 2015 7:35 am

I long ago decided that it's probably better to avoid Fallout, because Elder Scrolls... but still tempted.

After almost a year, I deleted my town on Animal Crossing. It was just getting too ****ing boring. Was going to restart, decided I didn't really want to right now. So, I'm going to beat Civilization Revolution DS with every character again, yaaaayyyyyyyyy.

ganon578 · Post by **ganon578** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 4:07 pm

Sades wrote:Mega Mawile has been kicking my ass for a week now on Shuffle. My Pokemon have gained like two or three levels just fighting this bastard. WE HATES HIM.

Mega Mawile really, really sucks. That's the one I am stuck on too. Granted, I haven't played in a long while, but still.

I did catch Relicanth last night though, so yay.

Unicron · Post by **Unicron** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 5:08 pm

If anyone has been thinking about checking out Marvel Heroes, now is a good time.

They just hit their 2 year anniversary and are doing some stuff to celebrate, log-in gift kind of stuff along with some in-game events. The big one coming with the patch late next week: your choice of a free hero from the entire roster (with the exception of the latest release: Dr. Doom).
Been a long while since I've dealt with the starter stuff but as I understand it, the entire roster of playable characters can all be played to level 10 for free (again, except for Dr. Doom, cause he's new) so you can check out everyone. I know you get to unlock a starter hero for free, might be able to be anyone now, not sure on that.

So yeah, good time to give it a once over if you like Marvel and the Diablo-clone type of game.

Post by **Sades** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 7:21 pm

ganon578 wrote:Mega Mawile really, really sucks. That's the one I am stuck on too. Granted, I haven't played in a long while, but still.

I finally beat him last night! Holy ****.

My Pokemon were all levels 6-7 by the time I did, though. They started out at 3-4. And I only got a C rating in the end. That was more difficult than it needed to be.

I really need to get a different version of Civilization. The DS version is an entertaining game, but it's done too quickly... even going for a Cultural Victory I can get through 2-3 "characters" an evening. More if I just go for a Domination Victory. And the game is really too small to do much exploring, which is a part that I really like.

Dead Man Wade · Post by **Dead Man Wade** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 10:12 pm

Having just finished the storyline of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (less Freedom Cry DLC), I've begun AC: Rogue. I finally reached the point at which the "Rogue" part kicked in, and I'm really rather happy with it.

For one, I'm happy to see that they've brought back some of the moral ambiguity of the original game. I know the Templars are the bad guys, but recent games have had them be cartoonishly evil. The Assassins in this one screw up in a big way, and Shay's disillusionment (though abrupt) is understandable.

The side missions are interesting, given the anti-Assassin slant of the game, as you're stopping assassinations rather than carrying them out. The number of people lying in wait, trying to kill you is fairly annoying, but manageable. I feel like they're trying to punish me for all the stuff they made me do in past games by making me get pissed off with all the people hiding in hay bales and tall grass.

I think it's interesting that Ubisoft has enough faith in the series to allow such a massive departure, story-wise, but I'm only a little ways in. It'll probably be resolved by the end, and the Templars will be back to drinking baby blood before it's all said and done.

HeavyArms · Post by **HeavyArms** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 11:55 am

About 35% through Saints Row 2 and I've decided to stop trying to do the stunt jumps and barnstorms.

Post by **Sades** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 1:29 pm

Out of curiousity, how many people here would consider themselves "hardcore gamers", and what's your criteria?

I am not a hardcore gamer. I like games, though. And for awhile there after Skyrim came out, I forgot the world existed. But I consider "hardcore" to be keeping up with what's coming out, what's been released, buying all types of games, etc...

I was briefly a "hardcore gamer" when I was in my early teens. I knew everything being released, I had stacks of gaming magazines (remember those? Ahhh, I miss those), I played everything. Nowadays I generally stick to a few genres. Generally RPG's and Simulation games. Lately, anything I can slip into that doesn't require a big time commitment to get anything out of, and is ideally portable is good fun.

Post by **Warcry** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 3:04 pm

Dead Man Wade wrote:Having just finished the storyline of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (less Freedom Cry DLC), I've begun AC: Rogue. I finally reached the point at which the "Rogue" part kicked in, and I'm really rather happy with it.

Those two are up next on my to-do list, I think. My wife got me a three-pack that included them and AC3, which I just started the other night.

So far the game is really freaking slow, and it feels like I've spent six hours dicking around with an intro character with no personality that I know isn't the actual protagonist of the game. Meanwhile my favourite thing about AC2 and its' spinoffs -- exploring glorious renaissance architecture and historical buildings -- is completely absent here, since Colonial Boston is nothing but clapboard houses and plain-jane churches.

Hopefully things pick up soon.

Dead Man Wade wrote:I know the Templars are the bad guys

I would beg to differ on that. They're the antagonists, sure, on account of you playing as Assassins all the way through. But I don't think you can call them the bad guys. Both sides are pretty far onto the evil side of the spectrum, its only their methods that differ. The extreme chaos espoused by the Assassins is just as bad at the extreme control that that Templars try to bring about. Whichever side is in a stronger position at the time is the one who

The only character on either side of the conflict in any of the games I've played so far that I'd consider "good" is Ezio, and even then all the positive things he accomplished were motivated solely by revenge.

Sades wrote:Out of curiousity, how many people here would consider themselves "hardcore gamers", and what's your criteria?

Definitely not! I can get "hardcore" about a particular game if I really get into it and pour all my free time into it for a couple weeks at a time. But then I won't fire up any of my game systems for the next three months.

I'm not sure exactly how I'd define "hardcore", though I'd imagine I used to qualify when I was in high school and burnt up fifteen or twenty hours a week gaming (a lot of that spent playing Goldeneye or Perfect Dark multiplayer with my buddies).

Dead Man Wade · Post by **Dead Man Wade** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 3:48 pm

Warcry wrote:So far the game is really freaking slow, and it feels like I've spent six hours dicking around with an intro character with no personality that I know isn't the actual protagonist of the game.

Yeah, 3 is honestly my least favorite. The mechanics it introduced didn't really get good until Black Flag, like the free running over trees and the naval combat. It helps set up the later games, but on its own merits it's just not a great game.

Meanwhile my favourite thing about AC2 and its' spinoffs -- exploring glorious renaissance architecture and historical buildings -- is completely absent here, since Colonial Boston is nothing but clapboard houses and plain-jane churches. Hopefully things pick up soon.

That's one reason I'm really excited about Syndicate. It may not be Renaissance architecture, but there's more than three stories, so a lot more free running opportunities.

I would beg to differ on that. They're the antagonists, sure, on account of you playing as Assassins all the way through. But I don't think you can call them the bad guys. Both sides are pretty far onto the evil side of the spectrum, its only their methods that differ. The extreme chaos espoused by the Assassins is just as bad at the extreme control that that Templars try to bring about. Whichever side is in a stronger position at the time is the one who

And that's really what I meant. A lot of the games have done their best to make the Templars a ruthless organization that doesn't care who it has to hurt or what it has to do to impose order, while downplaying the fact that the Assassins are the exact same way. One of my favorite things about the original game (and, thus far, Rogue) is that the Templars are portrayed as being enemies, sure, but people that genuinely seem to be trying to make things better, and I'm happy to see that they've returned to that to some extent.

The only character on either side of the conflict in any of the games I've played so far that I'd consider "good" is Ezio, and even then all the positive things he accomplished were motivated solely by revenge.

Certainly. I think Kenway gets better before it's all said and done, and Shay from Rogue seems to be a decent sort at this point. As I said, though, I'm not real far into the game, so he may change his mind and realize that the Assassins were right the whole time and blah, blah, blah. I genuinely hope that's not the case, as Black Flag and Rogue have managed to rebuild a lot of the goodwill I lost toward the series following 3.

Re: the "hardcore" question, I guess I used to be somewhat hardcore. I spent a lot of time going for 100% completion on as many games as possible. Here lately, no. Not at all. I play when the kid is asleep and the wife at work, by and large, which does not lend itself to immersion very well, and that's really what I used to go for. I've not been able to play stuff like Skyrim since she was born, as playing that properly requires sitting down and really giving it time and attention.

Post by **Warcry** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 5:27 pm

Upon further review it's actually Liberation that's the third game in the set I got, not Rogue. So I'll have to look into that one later on.

Dead Man Wade wrote:Yeah, 3 is honestly my least favorite. The mechanics it introduced didn't really get good until Black Flag, like the free running over trees and the naval combat. It helps set up the later games, but on its own merits it's just not a great game.

The mechanical changes aren't great, especially in combat. My first fight I had absolutely no idea what to do, because the old control scheme didn't work anymore and they didn't have any tutorial about how to use the new one. I do like the new stealth options they've added, like the ability to crouch in bushes, take cover around corners and the like. But overall the gameplay just isn't as smooth as the previous ones.

And I miss my crossbow, dammit!

Sades wrote:I really need to get a different version of Civilization. The DS version is an entertaining game, but it's done too quickly... even going for a Cultural Victory I can get through 2-3 "characters" an evening. More if I just go for a Domination Victory. And the game is really too small to do much exploring, which is a part that I really like.

I meant to reply to this earlier!

Civ V came out for PC a few years ago, but I've heard nothing but bad feedback about it from people who were fans of previous Civ games. Never tried it myself, though. I think poor AI was the primary problem.

On the other hand, Civ IV is about a decade old but it's still one of my favourite strategy games ever (especially with the added units and civs from the expansion packs). On the largest map sizes and slowest speed, games can go on forever if you let them. And with smaller maps and quicker game speeds, you can have quick games like what you're experiencing on the DS. It's also very customizeable (especially if you're into modding) so you can tailor the game to the play-style you like. Unfortunately, due to its age it's probably not very easy to find anymore.

ganon578 · Post by **ganon578** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 7:42 pm

I'm not sure what qualifies as hardcore gaming, but I believe I've hit stints of that from time to time. Keeping up on current games, buying/playing new things consistently, etc. all weigh in to that 'category'. I myself keep up on current stuff coming out (just being generally aware) but with time and money contraints I really try keep a lid on going bonkers with it. I generally don't have the time to game as much anymore - it waits until the kids and wife are asleep, which means my gaming doesn't even start until 12:30 AM on the weekends - and I don't have the money to purchase games all the time at $60/each.

If you look at my collection in the basement, I surely look like a 'hardcore' gamer - Wii U, Wii (with a bunch of GC stuff), PS3, Xbox 360, 3DS, a whole shelf of games and another just for controllers. That whole time/money/life thing really puts a damper on gaming a lot. Nowadays though, I can't play for long stints in the daytime when it's nice out, otherwise I just feel like I'm wasting a bunch of time.

Auntie Slag · Post by **Auntie Slag** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 8:23 pm

Playing Ghostbusters on the Wii. Luigi's Mansion did it sooooo much better. Really nice to hear the voice cast and all the music & incidentals from the film, and it probably plays quite well on Hard (I'm playing normal setting at the moment).

If only you could have Luigi's Mansion's ghost busting, with the Ghostbusters characters (or Real Ghostbusters characters to make a better fit).

I would love to consider myself a hardcore gamer, but I haven't really done hardcore gaming for at least 12 years when I used to be addicted to Unreal Tournament, Age of Empires II, Starcraft, Sim City 3000 and others.

Just don't have the time now. The longest I've spent uninterrupted in a game lately is probably the 50 minutes I spent on Ghostbusters at the weekend.

Auntie Slag · Post by **Auntie Slag** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 9:29 pm

Re: Hardcore gaming. Over the years I've probably had more fun from the magazines and TV programmes about games than actually playing them. Nowadays I much prefer watching Youtube videos of games, which then moves onto commentary for video games.

I do like Game Grumps and AVGN for that.

Selkadoom · Post by **Selkadoom** » Tue Jun 09, 2015 4:41 am

So the trailer launched and I do recall boston was thwe location of it, any speculations on plot or the game itself?