Whats games have you been playing of late? Exclusive Beta Edition.

[Humble Asskicker]

I'm playing through Final Fantasy 2. It's much better than it's predecessor.

I haven't progressed so far on the game, as my time has been occupied in other areas. I'm in the process of destroying the Dreadnought.

Some cool things have happened in the game (particularly what happened to the rebels), but the story is still somewhat sparse. There's not much humor in the game either. And at least the Cid in this sequence has something to say.

I'm really looking forward to Final Fantasy 4-12 though (a bit resigned, too, as I know I'll force myself somehow to play X-2, just for the sake of completion).

[Shryke]

Well, seeing as he's just about to start open alpha tests, I don't think it really is all that premature.

The thing is, if Obsidian or Bioware wanted to make a sci fi RPG, they were under no obligation to make it Star Wars, and as such it was their own choice to chain themselves to Lucasarts, a company that's proven itself in making bad decisions with regards to the SW license. Bioware has gone the right way with Mass Effect, developing their own product, with no external pressure from a license holder that wants to rush the game out.

/sigh

This is just dumb. What is so hard to understand about the situation Obsidian was in?

They get brought in to develop the sequel to KOTOR. They start working on it. They get told like half way through development "You need this out in ... 2 months". They stare at Lucasarts and go "We need like ... a year". Lucasarts says "It's getting released for Christmas no matter what!". Obsidian does it's best to make the thing playable.

Basically, Lucasarts are idiots and fucked the product over. The only mistake Obsidian made was in thinking Lucasarts weren't morons.

[Mackaxx]

I wonder how big a deal these Christmas releases are nowdays. Depending on the title some of these games are going to have primarily an adult audience anyway that presumably has enough to shell out on a title they are keen on any time.

That said I suppose Christmas is a good time to get people to buy games they normally wouldn't as it's a little gift bonus.

Perhaps given the time of it's release, when consoles were by and large still more for the kiddies, forcing a KOTOR2 release as Christmas was a good idea. Wonder if it would be so much the case today.

[Werthead]

Apparently BioWare had enough clout to resist some of LucasArts' demands during the development of KotOR. However, they had a lot longer to work on the game and could cite technical reasons why they couldn't rush the game (such as developing a new graphics engine from scratch) which LucasArts couldn't really argue with. However, the biggest benefit was that the Christmas 2003 date was the target they'd set at the start of the project and they managed to hit it.

However, the story I'd heard is that BioWare were offered KotOR 2 but they didn't believe they could get the game made in time. So they recommended Obsidian (their old pals from Black Isle) who really tried to get it done but in the end couldn't quite manage it. Was that Obsidian's fault for making the game too ambitious? Maybe. But LucasArts were the ones who wanted a bigger and more ambitious game than KotOR 1 which allowed you to hit much higher level limits, so that side of the problem is more likely to be LucasArts' problem.

In addition, LucasArts had some very odd money problems going on in 2004-06 or thereabouts. Why, I'm not sure, but apparently they had some funding issues which influenced both the rushing of KotOR 2 and the cancellation of KotOR 3.

[Young Wolf]

Played some Battlefield 1943 with Rhaco last night...motherfucker kept headshotting me when we were on opposite teams. :tantrum:

Its a fun game...more of you should download it and join us!

[Rhaco]

Played some Battlefield 1943 with Rhaco last night...motherfucker kept headshotting me when we were on opposite teams. :tantrum:

Its a fun game...more of you should download it and join us!

:lol: I seem to recall you bombing the shit out of me a few times.

I wish DICE would release some new maps, but I think they're concentrating on Battlefield Bad Company 2 for now.

[Paxter]

I'm really looking forward to Final Fantasy 4-12 though (a bit resigned, too, as I know I'll force myself somehow to play X-2, just for the sake of completion).

Ah X-2. It's battle system had some potential, but pretty much every other aspect of the game was laughable. In particular, the idea of a JRPG having a "percentage of completion" bar really annoyed me. Have fun with that one HA ;).

I picked up Vagrant Story on ebay a couple of days ago and just sat down to play it for the first time last night. Five hours into the game and I can already see why so many people consider it a PSX classic. Interesting and original combat and weapon creation systems plus great graphics and a pretty engaging story make for an enjoyable RPG. Surprised that Square didn't take this series further.

[Poobah]

One thing that struck me much more going through the game a second time is that the corridor shooting, the office, tenement and construction site environments, the bullet time and the crazy psycho vision stuff all makes FEAR incredibly reminsicent of Max Payne and Max Payne 2 (even some of the textures look the same). The difference is that Max Payne is gloriously OTT and rips the piss out of itself, whilst FEAR is just stodgy and a bit po-faced.

Mm I must play Max Payne again.

Edit : I gave up on final fantasy after finishing 9, and I can't believe people actually care about anything with George Lucas' name on it any more.

[DJDonegal]

Finally finished up Fabe II, though the completionist in me will want to get as many achievements as I can before I give the game back to its owner. Which, incidentally, is why I hate add ons. If it wasn't for Shivering Isles, I would be DONE with Oblivion. And it won't be long before I'm saying the same for Knothole Island and Fable II. Damn islands.

Still tearing away on ODST firefight. I've only done three stages of single player mode so far. Eventually I'll get round to some proper online multiplayer with all the maps I thankfully did not pay for and download when they became available on LIVE. I would not be a happy bunny if I was one of those people.

Also on the verge of picking up Gears of War 2 and/or Grand Theft Auto 4 which are both £15 each down at my CEX. Maybe in a couple of weeks otherwise they'll sit languishing while covetously watching my ODST disc get used again and again.

[Galactus]

The game is also pleasing, particularly today, because it is fricking hardcore. It makes few concessions to the novice gamer and basically states that if you are crap, you will die. You cannot save mid-mission, the enemy AI is fiendish even on the easier difficulty levels and some of the weapons in the game are insanely powerful, such as the mobile artillery platforms. Get caught in a heavy artillery bombardment and it is possible to lose your entire force in about half a minute (although generally you have enough warning to get out of the bombardment area). That said, the learning curve is pretty decent and gets you used to the game's ruthless streak ahead of it becoming frustrating. This interview is pretty funny because Massive admit that the game is so tough because they were making it for themselves instead of making commercial decisions, which is why GC2 and WiC are 'more approachable' (the interviewer avoids saying 'dumbed-down').

The complete and total absence of resource management is a breath of fresh air. You are given a combat taskforce and told to go do a mission with it. Later in the game, you can swap the units around and replace some of them prior to a mission beginning, but that is it. You can't reinforce mid-battle. There are no territory points or resource flags to hold down to generate money (there is no money or resource equivalent at all). You just have a job to do, and are given the tools to do it, and if you fuck it up and have to start again, that's your problem. Cutting all the crap away and focusing purely on the combat was an incredibly bold decision (one you'd be insane to even contemplate today) in 2000 and probably contributed to the game's poor sales. However, the enduring popularity of Total War - the 3D battle engine of which is awfully similar to Ground Control's (coincidentally; GC and Shogun came out just weeks apart)

Both of which I might mention, bear some rather strong similarities to Warhammer: Dark Omen. Which was just as brutally hard (most notably due to the fact that any unit lost was lost forever, and every soldier had to be replaced from a gruesomely limited treasury...)

[Galactus]

Ah X-2. It's battle system had some potential, but pretty much every other aspect of the game was laughable. In particular, the idea of a JRPG having a "percentage of completion" bar really annoyed me. Have fun with that one HA ;).

I picked up Vagrant Story on ebay a couple of days ago and just sat down to play it for the first time last night. Five hours into the game and I can already see why so many people consider it a PSX classic. Interesting and original combat and weapon creation systems plus great graphics and a pretty engaging story make for an enjoyable RPG. Surprised that Square didn't take this series further.

My udnerstanding was that it simply didn't sell that well.

[kungtotte]

The hardcore aspect of Ground Control coupled with the fact that you could name individual units made me love it. I had a pair of infantry units that survived the whole fricken' campaign. Starting out they just happened to survive the first couple of missions, but by that point I had become so attached to my lil' guys (The Hellhounds and The Roughnecks, it's been nearly ten years but I won't ever forget those names) that I would restart the mission if I got them killed.

[Werthead]

Both of which I might mention, bear some rather strong similarities to Warhammer: Dark Omen. Which was just as brutally hard (most notably due to the fact that any unit lost was lost forever, and every soldier had to be replaced from a gruesomely limited treasury...)

Ah yes, and there are some similarities to Myth II as well.

Neither of them had the giant mobile rotary artillery platforms though. A strong argument for best offensive RTS unit ever (although admittedly you needed a ring of AA and tanks to protect them).

[14th Dragon]

Finally finished up Fabe II, though the completionist in me will want to get as many achievements as I can before I give the game back to its owner. Which, incidentally, is why I hate add ons. If it wasn't for Shivering Isles, I would be DONE with Oblivion. And it won't be long before I'm saying the same for Knothole Island and Fable II. Damn islands.

I played Fable II once. I got through it and never really felt the need to go back to it. I thought it was a down step from Fable I. The combat was not great, I did not like the one button system.

[Slurktan]

Played some Battlefield 1943 with Rhaco last night...motherfucker kept headshotting me when we were on opposite teams. :tantrum:

Its a fun game...more of you should download it and join us!

Is this the old Battlefield 1943 from like 6 or 7 years ago? Not that I know if there is a new one or not just curious.

[kungtotte]

The old game was Battlefield 1942, there's a new one out called Battlefield 1943 which is basically a remake.

[Rhaco]

The old game was Battlefield 1942, there's a new one out called Battlefield 1943 which is basically a remake.

Yep. Four slightly downsized maps from BF1942 but now almost fully destructible, and apparently in an effort to make it more accessible, regenerating health and restocking ammo. Pretty simple for a BF game, but a lot of fun.

It's apparently the most downloaded game ever. Came out in July for $15 on 360 and PS3, with the PC version coming sometime early next year, I think.

Some footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTnhQ46jZt4

[Young Wolf]

:lol: I seem to recall you bombing the shit out of me a few times.

I wish DICE would release some new maps,

Yeah I tend camp out at the air raid shelter with a sniper and surrounded by charges. :P

A few new maps would be awesome, but Im still having fun in the game. Though I cant fly a plane to save my life.

YW

[Young Wolf]

Forgot to say, I played the Brutal Legend demo...and its pretty fun. Im picking that one up on release date in ROCKTOBER!

[Jacen]

I got a super computer now, so I finally was able to play Fallout 3 with all settings on ULTRA or whatever it is. What a joy to play it as it was meant to be. My old computer could barely run it.

Then I went crazy on the mods and I got like 40 of them going now. Does anyone give a shit about Fallout 3 anymore? Should we do a mod suggestion list?

Basically, its a whole new game to me, and boy am I loving it. The modded Fallout 3 has to be one of the best games I can recall in a very long time.

I also bought the three DLC's that seemed the best, based on what I read:

The Pitt, Point Lookout, and Broken Steel.

Beat the Pitt. It was very short, but I really enjoyed the locale. Very bleak, very depressing, very Blade Runner. I dunno if it was worth ten bucks because there isn't much reason to come back, aside from the ammo press, I suppose. Still, I liked it overall.

Broken Steel. Haven't played out the main quest yet so I don't know what this really adds, beyond the new weapons and enemies I've encountered. The Tri-Beam laser is pretty sweet, though I like the Metal Blaster from the Pitt better, because it's easier to find laser rifles to repair it.

Anyway, my character has gone beyond level 20 now, and I have to say, WOW Bethesda, the perks for level 20-30 are absolute SHIT. Not one of them is really worth picking. Oh well, I just went back and got the mediocre ones I couldn't afford to take earlier.

Point Lookout was definitely the best of the DLC. Wide open exploration, wandering around, was much more Fallout style. I loved Desmond the Ghoul, finally a great character with interesting dialog. Only thing that bothered me was these mutated hicks straight out of Deliverance are tougher than super mutants! What gives?

Finally, I'm drinking way too much Coca Cola lately in an attempt to stave off my cravings for the non-existant Nuka Cola. ;)