General Gaming Megathread: What are you playing?

[Wintermind]

Just started Heavy Rain. I know I've heard some bad things here but I might as well play it before I sell it.

People that say that Heavy Rain is a bad game are people that have never played a graphic adventure game in their lives.

Heavy Rain was a terrible game because it presented itself as a dynamic murder mystery that adapts to how you play and your choices, except for the fact that the killer never changes, which is especially annoying since so almost every character in the game could've been the killer. And the killer himself is kinda boring, and his crazy serial killer logic was retarded.

The overall gameplay was okay, some parts were good, some were retarded, but it's ultimately quashed by a severe lack of replay value.

 

[Walpknut]

Just started Heavy Rain. I know I've heard some bad things here but I might as well play it before I sell it.

People that say that Heavy Rain is a bad game are people that have never played a graphic adventure game in their lives.

Heavy Rain was a terrible game because it presented itself as a dynamic murder mystery that adapts to how you play and your choices, except for the fact that the killer never changes, which is especially annoying since so almost every character in the game could've been the killer. And the killer himself is kinda boring, and his crazy serial killer logic was retarded.

The overall gameplay was okay, some parts were good, some were retarded, but it's ultimately quashed by a severe lack of replay value.

The murderer is always the sasme, but how the game ends is based around how you played, a lot of characters can die and their deaths or ausence will lead to different endings to different stages that in their turn will also affect other stages, so replay value is something that it doesn't lack. You could end the game with all the main characters death, with only two of them alive, or only one, even Ethan's son can die at the end, giving you a lot of endings to have.

 

[PainlessDocM]

Magicka and this:

http://www.spacechemthegame.com/

very challenging 'puzzle game'.

 

[SuAside]

Finished Machinarium, playing some Magicka (lol, buggy shit) and as always, TF2.

Magicka is not really that interesting without co-op though.

 

[mobucks]

I hooked up my PS3 pad into my PC, so now im revisiting shitty console ports.

Dead Space is a lot better with a gamepad. A LOT BETTER. Sometimes i have 2 choices,: look away when Im being killed or shut off the game.

Alpha Protocol: I can actually walk now, woot! The twitch aspect of the game is meh, but the rest of it is pretty damn good, and ill say there is something to be learned from this developer about character interaction/freedom of choice.

While I have your attention, something Obsidian (thats who made AP right?) could learn from whoever made Dead Space, is how to make the environments feel lived in, even with limited hardware resources. Dead Space uses the same ship interior geometry, textures and the like to save resources, just like many games these days, but what makes them less generic over the course of the game is the small details here and there (still not enough, but more than status quo) and the excellent lighting.

One feels like walking through an IKEA showroom (AP) and the other is the same IKEA showroom, with blood and grafiti on the walls with a disco light on. The difference is a lot more IMMERSHUN>!

 

[PainlessDocM]

Magicka (lol, buggy shit)

You should have seen it on release day lol, a good thing they are providing patches on an almost daily basis.

And yes co-op is much more fun. (but also a lot buggier )

 

[Alphadrop]

And yes co-op is much more fun.

Not for the faint of heart though.
Also it wasn't till after I finished playing that I realised teleport would of come in so handy the amount of times I got blown of a cliff.

 

[Crni Vuk]

well I would buy all those Ass Creed games. Its just that I dont support EAs politics. Gamers are not criminals and I dont like it to be kept on a short leash just because I am fu*** PC gamer and they use the "piracy" argument when the real truth is that they aim to kill the second hand market of PC games which actually in my oppinion is for them a lot more serious then any piracy.

 

[Atomkilla]

^
1) EA has that thing to, if I am not wrong. There's stuff like that in, for example, CnC 4.
2) There is second-hand PC game market. Not that it's flourishing in most parts, but it exists. Half my games I got second hand.
And there is nothing wrong with games, or second hand market. if I may dare to say, it's often more profitable to buy second hand.

 

[Crni Vuk]

Sorry my bad. I mixed it up. Its Ubisoft (but EA and many other "biger" pubishers have a similar or same system but Ubi is one of the worst).

2) There is no second-hand PC game market. The goal of the DRM in Ubisoft PC games is to kill piracy while simultaneously gaining ground for their (half-baked and useless) UPlay network.

So there is no one ? Are you really serious ? So you never bought a game over E-bay ? Maybe from Amazon even, a "used" game ? Hell not even from your friends ever ? There is a second hand market for games. And its not small to tell you that. I think a game developer in a gaming magazine told once that for every new sold game at least 2 used games change their owner (the same game) like if one is buying like Star Craft 1 2 people sold their used Star Craft game to someone else. Just to clarify. If that is not a "big" market or chance then I dont know what. I have quite a few used games in my collection as well. Mainly older games but still. I also gave away games for free to some friends or workmates.

3) The system has been modified so that now you don't require a constant Internet connection to play most games.

Thats nice. But doesnt change the point I want to make. For me personaly its about the principle behind it. Fuck them. All. Seriously. How many accounts do I have to make just to play a stupid singleplayer game for once ? EA, Ubisoft, Rockstar Games. Then their sociel networks which I never use either. Whats with Windows Life crap which is I swear the cause for a few "instabilities" I experienced with a few games. As like my email and forum accounts are not enough already. Wasnt consumer friendliess once a big point in selling your goods ? Call me a purist or old fashioned. But I dont see that as "friendly" or "comfortable". Its paternalism.

And I dont believe this because of Pracy argument as rason for agressive DRM measures even for a second. We dont need to argue about it. Piracy means damage. There is no doubt about it. And a publisher has every right to call them thiefs. Because that is what they do. They get their hands on something without paying for it. Which is theft. Those pirates are just as dump like publishers when they see them self as "rebels". But letz be realistic. How long has the industry to deal with piracy ? Its like the Chicken and the Egg. What was first ? But I question how much damage is done by piracy. How many companies have been rather killed by mediocre products and not stolen games. Of course its easier to explain your own failure by thiefs instead of facing the truth as it happend with Titan Quest, it was a mediocre Diablo clone, yet its devs think they havnt sold enough games becaues of piracy ? Piracy was always around. Even when I was still a kid. And I admit me and my friends have sometimes downloaded games. But many of the small companies made still a lot of money back then. The one I remember for QUALITY(!) products, be it Comandos or Blood or Duke Nukem etc. All great games. What really kills those companies are idiots as managers.

And for the case I am wrong (I dont know everything so who knows) I dont like the direction of this DRM or the idea behind it. YOu know who is the person they screw ? The "legal" consumer. With this DRM it feels lot like they think about every PC user as potential criminal instead of a potential consumer who wants to buy your games.

Anyway. I still think the REAL target with this agressive DRM is to kill the second hand market for PC games (or games in general). Not possbile ? Think about what their buisness is around. Think about Microsoft. Think about recent multiplayer games that do try force something on players which was always free in the past. No more dedicated server support. Money for multiplayer maps (!). I player many games like DoD or Unreal for years. Maps NEVER EVER have been any issue at all. Even if the Devs did no maps the community would ALWAYS do tons of them. Suddenly thats not possible anymore ? Fuck them. Hence why I play more modifications today then games like Call of Screw us all or Medal of Boner. They can keep their uninteresting games. Many mods today are anyway better. Not the newest visuals. But rewarding and interesting gameplay. Moders and independed Gamedevelopers at least TRY to do new things try to make THEIR vision true. I am very glad to pay for that. ANd before someone ask the last time I have got my hands on "ilegal" games was 10 or 12 years back in my youth when I didnt really cared about it (and I still bought almost all of my games even back then simply because it looks better). And mainly with games you would have trouble to find in Germany.

 

[mobucks]

I share much of what you say but about user created maps:

With the tech being used these days, id wager it takes a more than one guy to create a realistic map compared to the old days of quake/half life/UT. Even back for those games, it took a ton of work to release a quality map.


So, Ass Creed, the first one was boring. I have my cool Console controller, so what is so better than the first about part 2? Isn't there a third one now as well>?

 

[Crni Vuk]

I am not trying to excuse it - AGAIN! It is WRONG there is no doubt about it. I am trying to explain that mediocre products are probably the real reason why a company/game might have died (most of the time, bad marketing sure played its role as well if people dont know about it how would they buy it ?). As said maybe I am wrong, but by a simple case I would think with 120 produced games and 100 sold games 10 loost games to piracy might not matter that much, but when you only sold 40 of those 120 the 10 stolen games might matter more question is though would it have changed in that case so much if you loost no game at all ?. But concentrating sloley on piracy here is the wrong move in my eyes as It might be better to think about why you only have sold so few games in the first place. In my eyes the hard reality is you will not reach pirates. The hard core of pirates dont buy the games they steel. Maybe dont even play it. They just want to "have" it. Like a collection. Or what ever. I knew people with THOUSAND of movies ... which I always thought was ludicrously. When ever I asked them, do you watch many movies ? Most of the time the answer was no ... but you cant reach those people. So it might be cheaper in the end to concentrate on the usual consumer. People like us. Who just want "good" games.

Doesnt mean a company has no right to find ways how to protect their product. But I have read somewhere they managed to crack Ubisofts luncher. So I question the effectivty of the system. Which as you agree just hurts the usual consumer.

With the tech being used these days, id wager it takes a more than one guy to create a realistic map compared to the old days of quake/half life/UT. Even back for those games, it took a ton of work to release a quality map.

I dont agree with this statemant. It was never easier or that much more difficult. Because it depends on the game. If it comes with a map-tool. A modable engine etc. But to say that in the past many MP games had no map tool. UT had one. Always. And it was quite usefull. Also UT has its own script language (UT script). The mod base around UT was always very strong. Half Life was it because it has quite a good part of its code based on the quacke engine AND because the game was one of the most popular games of its time. The more people, the more skilled players with knowledge. Hell take Age of Empires for example. That thing came with a very simple map programm which allowd you to make "good" and scenarios in minutes. Other RTS games have nothing.

The reason why they dont want with games like CoD to have a long lifetime is because they want people to jump from one CoD to the other. Always buy the new game. And they earn a lot with it. (Though I dont know if CoD has dedicated server support).

 

[Wintermind]

Just started Heavy Rain. I know I've heard some bad things here but I might as well play it before I sell it.

People that say that Heavy Rain is a bad game are people that have never played a graphic adventure game in their lives.

Heavy Rain was a terrible game because it presented itself as a dynamic murder mystery that adapts to how you play and your choices, except for the fact that the killer never changes, which is especially annoying since so almost every character in the game could've been the killer. And the killer himself is kinda boring, and his crazy serial killer logic was retarded.

The overall gameplay was okay, some parts were good, some were retarded, but it's ultimately quashed by a severe lack of replay value.

The murderer is always the sasme, but how the game ends is based around how you played, a lot of characters can die and their deaths or ausence will lead to different endings to different stages that in their turn will also affect other stages, so replay value is something that it doesn't lack. You could end the game with all the main characters death, with only two of them alive, or only one, even Ethan's son can die at the end, giving you a lot of endings to have.

Except the game is a murder mystery kind of thing; half the point of it is the mystery. Once it's solved, there's no point. Imagine if you played Clue and it was always Colonel Mustard in the library with the candlestick. Sure the game could go different ways each time, but it'd be lame as hell if that was how it worked.

 

[mobucks]

I was going to do an aside about construction kits/map tools releasing with games being a good thing, but you summed it up nicely. Thing to remember is those are usualy only PC games, whereas console game makers map tools probably arent as user friendly.

 

[Ilosar]

Playing the Dawn of War 2 Retribution balance beta right now where you can play Imperial Guard, and I gotta say Relic nailed it. IG is great and most new units are fun to use (even if some are blatantly overpowered, but that's what a balance beta is for). Relic had an history of shitty expansions lately (Opposing Fronts and Tales of Moneygrab, I am so looking at you two) but DOW2 is much better handled.

About Assassin's Creed 2, damn good game, but horrible PC port (but juicy Steam sale too ). What impressed me the most was the level design and architecture; most of the game is pretty, but the two cathedrals which you enter are downright stunning, and standing high above Venice is easily of of my favorite vistas in any game, ever. This is the reason we have graphical progress.

EDIT: Page 200

 

[Alphadrop]

Cool, I loves me the IG, despite them being lame ass Cadians again. Shame Relic can't use an interesting regiment.
Come to think of it that's everyone except the Cadians (including the old Cadians), jeez those guys have really become the Ultramarines of the Guard.

 

[Ulysses]

Replayed Alternativa...eh, so so game. Decent from a small studio, the setting is somewhat interesting though. Other than that, got nothing to play, maybe will pre-order DOW2 Retribution.

 

[Bad_Karma]

Lately i'm playing a bit of Mount & Blade Warbands with some mods. I really like that game. I'm still not sure if i should buy the next 'addon', though.

-

Strangely i started thinking of buying DoW 2 Retribution just because they add IG with it and as far as i read somewhere in between DoW 2 and this addon they added base building again - but well... maybe i'll wait for some crazy Steam sale or something like that.

 

[Alphadrop]

Not base buildings as such, it's just stuff like bunkers. Well unless you coun't the Baneblade as a base.

Also the Manticore can go suck on my Basilisk.

 

[Ilosar]

True Alpha, but the Manticore is a bitch, especially if the other player does the smart thing and tags it along with his army instead of leaving it in his base. It has 4 missiles that hit like the global nukes of yore and easily wipes entire squads. Basilisk is still there in the form of off map artillery, or it would have been over the top in DOW2's smaller scale.

The Baneblade is surprisingly balanced, since it's two main guns are abilities with a cooldown instead of always firing ones (it still almost one shots most tanks in the game thanks to it's main cannon ). The Space Marine Land Raider is far worse since anything that isin't a vehicle is toast against it in seconds.

And yeah, no base building for IG, they only get turrets and bunkers they can upgrade to healing/reinforcment stations, kinda like Company of Heroes. Hell, the whole IG is very COHesque, maybe that's why I like playing them so much. Screw power armors and psychic whatisits; I want tanks.