What are you playing? Thread 2.0

[BlueRose]

Okay, it's looking like I was mistaken

I know :) I'm quite excited! This could really put Piranha on the map.

[TheHalfman]

I find little time to play/finish games with school and work, so currently I'm juggling UFC Undisputed/Fallout 3/inFamous.

[HyperVolk]

Friday night is game night and we are going to play:

Zombie Mall

Battlestar Galactica the board game

and Apples to Apples (edit your own cards style)

:)

[Rhaco]

Battlefield 1943 came out yesterday. The closing comments from IGN's review sum things up well:

"I love that we can download great looking first-person shooters that support 24 players online these days. Battlefield 1943 is an impressive package that sets a new standard for digital titles. You won't find anything new in terms of gameplay, but the seven-year old Battlefield formula remains a lot of fun today. This is a streamlined game that does one thing and does it well: online multiplayer battles. If that's your thing this is one of the best times you'll have on Xbox Live this summer."

It's apparently the fastest selling XBLA game ever, which caught EA & DICE off-guard. It was pretty hard to get into a game at times yesterday, but since doubling the number of servers yesterday/last night things seem to be working fine today.

[TheBigTEA]

Republic Commando == Play it!

The game is fucking amazing (especially part 2 imo) but will sadly never see a sequel. I can only hope some game like it is made in the future.

I played this game through to it's conclusion and....it was ok. It did not blow me away or make me think it was something amazing but I hear a lot of people say this. Did I miss something?

I hated having to shoot Geonosians about 15 times with my blaster to kill them, it just seemed...weak.

[Revan]

This is another rookie post. :)

There are only 4 games that I can play at this moment, because of the state of my eyes. These are:

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Civilization IV

Galactic Civilizations II

Heroes of Might and Magic V

Oh and, I also used to play Knights of the Old Republic (both of them) they were among my all-time favorites, but I doubt I could play them anymore. And I'm waiting for the restoration mod to come out, then maybe I'll try again. :)

[TheBigTEA]

This is another rookie post. :)

There are only 4 games that I can play at this moment, because of the state of my eyes. These are:

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Civilization IV

Galactic Civilizations II

Heroes of Might and Magic V

Oh and, I also used to play Knights of the Old Republic (both of them) they were among my all-time favorites, but I doubt I could play them anymore. And I'm waiting for the restoration mod to come out, then maybe I'll try again. :)

What are the state of your eyes that only allow you to play those games if I may ask?

I know I get extremely sensitive to FPS on big screen TVs. I can only play games like Halflife on my Plasma for a few minutes at a time because I get motion sickness so bad. I have never gotten motion sickness on or in anything before, just with FPS games. I find it odd.

[Shryke]

I played this game through to it's conclusion and....it was ok. It did not blow me away or make me think it was something amazing but I hear a lot of people say this. Did I miss something?

I hated having to shoot Geonosians about 15 times with my blaster to kill them, it just seemed...weak.

It's probably the best, most streamlined and organic squad FPS ever. If you like that kind of thing, it's the top of the genre really.

[Shryke]

What are the state of your eyes that only allow you to play those games if I may ask?

I know I get extremely sensitive to FPS on big screen TVs. I can only play games like Halflife on my Plasma for a few minutes at a time because I get motion sickness so bad. I have never gotten motion sickness on or in anything before, just with FPS games. I find it odd.

FPS games are the worst for motion sickness. It's the way your perspective is set up and moves around I believe.

Especially HL2, which has a perspective issue that causes some people (including me) to get horribly, horribly motion sick within about 10 minutes of playing.

[TheBigTEA]

FPS games are the worst for motion sickness. It's the way your perspective is set up and moves around I believe.

Especially HL2, which has a perspective issue that causes some people (including me) to get horribly, horribly motion sick within about 10 minutes of playing.

:stunned:

I am glad I am not the only one that has that happen. The bigger the TV the worse it gets for me.

I think I will have to replay RC and see if I can get a little more out of it.

[Shryke]

There's a fix for the HL2 issue, at least on computer. I don't know if you can access the command prompt or whatever on the console version.

[Mackaxx]

Picking it up again, I did Bring Down the Sky, which was also boring. There was one of those 'difficult moral choices' which are often touted as awesome, but as this is DLC it's obviously not going to actually have an effect on anything later so I just picked one and moved on; it didn't really do anything for me.as new.

So far your posts are giving me the impression that you are kind of power gaming your way through the whole thing, trying to get through it as quickly as possibly, not worrying about chioice X or Y as it wont effect the main story speaks volumes. This may just be why its a moral choice and not a does my character get +10 stats or not. If all your thinking about is the cost/benefit to the characters progression in the story then your not playing a character at all.

It seems like the main cause of my problems was just that my equipment was horribly outdated because I hadn't been bothering to check shops beyond the Normandy one or do sidequests. Either that or somewhere along the line I simply gained enough levels that things don't kill me in one hit anymore, and if I'm not dead, I can heal/take cover and regenerate/whatever and be good as new.

Again, trying to race through it and, as stated earlier, not playing it right. Slow down and chill out a bit, you'll enjoy thigns more.

This is why I can never really get into the whole idea of the western RPG as actually implemented.

Nope, you're supposed to play a 'good guy' who may or may not do good deeds in nice way. Its strange that as you seem content to play so called eastern RPGs (with the so called emphasizing the word RPG). These are typically on rails and your character ends up being a totally swell guy. So, why not play mass effect as a totally swell dude. It certainly allows for it. You can even give shephard a kind of emo haircut but I don't think there are any options to let him wax poetic about his lost mother/father/girlfriend/dog for the whole game so it may not make up for it.

SPOILER: Mass Effect

But when the most major choice of the game reverts back not only to fuckwad territory but racist fuckwad territory, I cringe.

Its speciest not racist. I can kind of understand the lads being a bit pissed about the council after they were basically blocking the investigation, to the point of potentially arresting someone, depending on you choices earlier. Sapien Powah! I too thought it was a bit heavy handed though.

[emberling]

So far your posts are giving me the impression that you are kind of power gaming your way through the whole thing, trying to get through it as quickly as possibly, not worrying about chioice X or Y as it wont effect the main story speaks volumes. This may just be why its a moral choice and not a does my character get +10 stats or not. If all your thinking about is the cost/benefit to the characters progression in the story then your not playing a character at all.

Oh, I picked the one that matched the character I was playing, of course. Didn't think that needed to be said. And I have no idea nor do I care which gives me +10 stats. My complaint was that the draw of that kind of choice is that it affects the world later on (or in the sequel, as with the choices near the end of the actual game). This one doesn't. This one also didn't tell me anything new about anything. It was more of the same, just basically re-stating the difference between Paragon and Renegade. The choice at the end of the game is deep and even without how they're making it affect the sequel, you can see right away that it causes some serious repercussions, some unintended.

Again, trying to race through it and, as stated earlier, not playing it right. Slow down and chill out a bit, you'll enjoy thigns more.

Yeah, I'll just run around some unexplored planets on the Mako, clear out some identical space bases with paper-thin excuses for having things to shoot in them, and drill a hole in my dick while I'm at it. The sidequests that take place entirely on the Citadel are pretty good, and BDTS wasn't too bad, but the rest are some kind of insidious torture. Why would I subject myself to them again just to get +10 stats? For that matter, why would my character, a no-nonsense get-the-job-done-and-done-right type, go light years out of his way because some random computer had a hint that some smugglers might be hiding out in Bumfuck Beta? You're contradicting yourself here.

Nope, you're supposed to play a 'good guy' who may or may not do good deeds in nice way. Its strange that as you seem content to play so called eastern RPGs (with the so called emphasizing the word RPG). These are typically on rails and your character ends up being a totally swell guy. So, why not play mass effect as a totally swell dude. It certainly allows for it.

Rails have benefits. A (good) character in a game on rails is much more nuanced and finely crafted than you can get by just picking one side in Mass Effect, because the nuances are brought by the player in the choices you make. Mass Effect does amazingly well relative to other WRPGs at allowing you to nuance your character, in fact; it's just frustrating when it's missing something.

Also, your claim applies to what other WRPG, exactly? Mass Effect shifted to two sides of good rather than good versus evil and it was a brilliant decision. Other games typically give ridiculous choices. KOTOR's dark side is notorious for being brutally thuggish rather than manipulative as it should be. I'm playing NWN2 right now - I had to choose between joining the police, who are corrupt, and joining a group of thugs trying to control the city by beating everyone senseless. In D&D terms, it's a choice between Lawful and Evil (and I tend to the Chaotic Good with my characters). No other options, very limited capability to even pretend that you aren't fully on board with the plan.

Basically, if you're going to tell me to imagine my character myself, then don't tell me later that I was wrong and my character has no problem following someone else's orders about who to beat up, whether it's a guard captain or a thug. If you're not going to tell me to imagine my character myself, then there's no dissonance, plus they get to tie the character's details better in with the story (Luke of Tales of the Abyss comes to mind - his personality is inextricably tied in to the story; there is no way to tell this story without 'rails'. As for something you actually probably are familiar with, FF7 would be a shadow of itself, and many of the game's mysteries would have to be greatly lessened in impact, if it were a 'create your own background/personality' type of game.)

[Shryke]

Western RPGs have limitations on what choices they give you (something Yahtzee crows on endlessly about and he's right) but that doesn't mean the choice isn't there. It's just constrained by the medium.

The difference between JRPGs and RPGs, as genres, are pretty much defined by whether you are your character or whether your playing a specific character.

[Mackaxx]

Yeah, I'll just run around some unexplored planets on the Mako, clear out some identical space bases with paper-thin excuses for having things to shoot in them, and drill a hole in my dick while I'm at it. The sidequests that take place entirely on the Citadel are pretty good, and BDTS wasn't too bad, but the rest are some kind of insidious torture. Why would I subject myself to them again just to get +10 stats? For that matter, why would my character, a no-nonsense get-the-job-done-and-done-right type, go light years out of his way because some random computer had a hint that some smugglers might be hiding out in Bumfuck Beta? You're contradicting yourself here.

He wouldn't, but he might seek out what up with admiral kohoku and that weird cerebrus company (lots of mission attached there, quite varied), it links into the shadow broker eventually, or zip around the border worlds halting a geth incursion. Saying all the missions are carbon copies of one another is an exaggeration, you've got a cool ghost ship, major kyle and his biotic uprising, that intriguing charm you get off the asari consort, a treacherous diplomat setting up her sister, Corporal toombs the guy driven a bit mad by his past (which involves you), rachni loose on a frieghter, a monkey planet, strange unexplained stuff cropping up all the time, earths moon gone mad and so on. These are far from pirates in the arse end of the world.

If the character you made was an impatient dick who had so much tunnel vision he couldn't see the benefit in stopping for a minute to shop around for some decent weapons and armour, and earn the money to but it, then I think he actually got his just desserts by struggling at lower levels.

Its like some bitching about how hard balders gate was because they couldn't get far with their crippled gnome berserker whos only proficiency was daggers. Well duh, of course its going to be hard. Play mass effect with a piss weak biotic and tech character who cant use decent guns and expect to have to invest a bit of time in his or her development.

I'm also not convinced that your 'playing' a character as earlier in your post you mentioned that you didn't worry about the choices in the DLC because you knew it wouldn't effect the main story. But that's just me.

Also, your claim applies to what other WRPG, exactly? Mass Effect shifted to two sides of good rather than good versus evil and it was a brilliant decision. Other games typically give ridiculous choices.

Sure but they're going to piss you off because they're older ones, namely fallout, particularly fallout 2, planescape and Balders gate 2. I even found the flexibility in Gothic 2 (3 to an extent as well) to be pretty well done. I'm the first to admit that good vs evil choices are usually retarded as the writers in the game industry are usually ultra crappy. The newer fallout isn't too bad in terms of being a nasty pastie but its scope limited dialog a little.

Sounds like you're just playing crappy western RPGs, KOTOR and NWN2 arn't exactly stellar examples of the genre, particularly NWN2, how can you stand it?

Rails have benefits. A (good) character in a game on rails is much more nuanced and finely crafted than you can get by just picking one side in Mass Effect, because the nuances are brought by the player in the choices you make. Mass Effect does amazingly well relative to other WRPGs at allowing you to nuance your character, in fact; it's just frustrating when it's missing something.

I find the best on rail experiences are to be had from watching a film or reading a book. Having to intersperse the film/book with boring repetitive fight sequences with overblown attack animations grates on me after a while.

I agree that when an option you'd like your character to take isn't there its annoying, but I find it infinitely more annoying when my emo big sword wielding character wax's lyrical about his shady past, regrets, lady troubles and so on, especially when its out of the blue and doesn't fit. On rails characters make retarded decisions that are out of context to their character all the time as well, you just have to grin and bear it there too.

Basically, if you're going to tell me to imagine my character myself, then don't tell me later that I was wrong and my character has no problem following someone else's orders about who to beat up, whether it's a guard captain or a thug.

I'd tell you to just accept the consequences that if you make your character to be a bit of weakling you should probably accept his road might be a bit hard with good grace.

If you're not going to tell me to imagine my character myself, then there's no dissonance, plus they get to tie the character's details better in with the story (Luke of Tales of the Abyss comes to mind - his personality is inextricably tied in to the story; there is no way to tell this story without 'rails'. As for something you actually probably are familiar with, FF7 would be a shadow of itself, and many of the game's mysteries would have to be greatly lessened in impact, if it were a 'create your own background/personality' type of game.)

I'm sure tales of the abyss is wonderful and bow down humbly acknowledging my limited PS2 JRPG experience level. Several reviewers did find its storyline to be kinda dull though. Anyways, your repeating the point you made above. Again, the boringness of the rails outweighs the so called brilliant storyline benefits, of which I am yet to see. None of these games are that great story wise, I'm going to break out an old cliche and say if you want a story, play planescape torment.

[emberling]

Western RPGs have limitations on what choices they give you (something Yahtzee crows on endlessly about and he's right) but that doesn't mean the choice isn't there. It's just constrained by the medium.

Just to be clear, all I'm doing is defending my statement ("This is why I can never really get into the whole idea of the western RPG as actually implemented.") that I, personally, do not feel that the gameplay mechanic central to WRPGs - essentially, the ability to role-play a character rather than have its personality predetermined - has ever been done in a satisfactory way; furthermore, in my experience no game has even come remotely close except Mass Effect (though I suspect that the Witcher may be another). And even then, that just makes Mass Effect all the more infuriating when the choice I expect isn't there.

This does not mean that the games do nothing for me, but I see no attraction in the half-assed role-play aspect that basically defines the genre.

[Shryke]

I see no attraction in the half-assed role-play aspect that basically defines the genre.

So ... you hate role-playing games. :lol:

[Mackaxx]

The ability to role-play a character rather than have its personality predetermined - has ever been done in a satisfactory way; furthermore, in my experience no game has even come remotely close except Mass Effect

Given what you've been playing I'm really not surprised. You should seriously do some research instead of wasting your time on crappy games. But I guess alongside most JRPGs NWN2 is kinda tolerable (sorry, couldn't help it)

This does not mean that the games do nothing for me, but I see no attraction in the half-assed role-play aspect that basically defines the genre.

Nor does this mean that the JRPGS do nothing for me, but I see no attraction in the half-assed mini games, pseudo turn based combat, cosplayer wet dream outfits, CRAZY big busted female protagonists, emo male protagonists, ridiculous mini game grinds and on rails crappy stories that basically define the genre.

To each their own I guess.

And you wish western RPGs had less role play? huhwhat?

(edit, made colorful as I'm a bit bored today)