Videogames Megathread Infinity+1 Edition

[Stalker]

Just picked up Alpha Protocol. Not sure if I want to rummage through old threads, so can anyone give me a brief suggestion as to what skills make it the most fun? I understand stealth is a given, but what type of guns etc?

That would depend on what you consider fun, right? Personally, i don't enjoy rpgs, so my setup was designed to minimise the amount of time I had to spend playing the game, and quickly get me back to the story. Thus my setup might very well not be your cup of tea.

However, if you are interested:

1 point in the skill that allows you to bypass security with EMP grenades. Then fill your inventory with EMPs. Allows you to skip all those mini games.

Enough points in stealth to get permanent awareness. Makes the game much less of a chore to lay.

Maximise assault rifles. Head shot bursts are generally instant kills. Allows you to just walk straight through the game, killing things as you encounter them. Much faster than any other way. This assumes you have the rather unrpgish skill of getting consistent head shots.

There will be a pile of excess points, but I'm sure you can find something to do with them.

[Jon AS]

However, if you are interested:

1 point in the skill that allows you to bypass security with EMP grenades. Then fill your inventory with EMPs. Allows you to skip all those mini games.

That sounds like excellent advice. One mission in I already want to kill whoever came up with the hacking game...

So far sneaking around and taking people out in hand-to-hand combat was the most fun, but I had to resort to shooting from time to time. I put points into pistols, but maybe the long range of the assault rifle would complement my style better.

[Ratty]

I loved Alpha protocol, really dispointed to see it get such bad ratings.

If you play as a veteran (have to do rookie first) you get enough points to level up a decent amount of skills, Pistols and assault rifles are the only weapons worth using, stealth is always useful, the technical skills are useful and toughness or hand to hand as a bonus for a few levels.

[Derfel Cadarn]

I'm in the DC Universe Online open beta. Not played enough of it yet to form a definate opinion.

Character customisation is ok, though not as good as City of Heroes/Villains or Champions Online. You can choose to be a hero or a villain which is a big plus, especially over Champions online. You get mentored by Batman, Superman, Wonderwoman, The Joker, Lex Luthor and another other villain. The game is voice acted, Mark Hamill doing another great turn as the Joker. The intro's pretty good, with the Joker killing another villain who's about to kill Batman "No one kills the Bat but me!"

You get three 'travel' powers i.e fly, acrobatic cling to walls or superspeed run up walls. It's 'clicky' ie. left mouse button does one attack, right click does another which makes it quite actiony compared to traditional mmorpgs. It's due out around January for PC and PS3.

Not decided if I'll pre-order it, after all KOTOR is around the corner and I'm having fun with Star Trek Online.

Speaking of which, STar Trek Online's mission editor is in beta and due for release soon. The game's been short on content so its great players can make missions.

[Max the Mostly Mediocre]

So far sneaking around and taking people out in hand-to-hand combat was the most fun, but I had to resort to shooting from time to time. I put points into pistols, but maybe the long range of the assault rifle would complement my style better.

No. Pistols. Pistols is the only correct answer. Period.

Chain shot is the second most broken thing in the game, and trivializes boss encounters. When it's on cooldown, you get to line up and take critical shots from behind cover. When it's not on cooldown you get to run into the middle of a pack of enemies, pop chain shot, and kill them all instantly.

When you're not sneaking around shanking people in the throat, that is.

[The Anti-Targ]

Valkyria Chronicles is probably my favorite game on PS3. It was the most fun I've had with a strategy game in years.

Loved the characters, storyline, but most of all the gameplay was just superb. I really hope that they'll make a sequel for the PS3. Also, the difficulty level was just right. Jaeger's Blockade was probably hardest for me for some reason.

Heavy rain was loads of fun, but seriously:

FUCK driving 5 miles against highway traffic in 5 minutes! And what a shitty reward, look it's your child about to drown!

If you play that bit in Heavy Rain using the Move controller it's actually quite fun.

After having read a bit of an interview on Valkyria Chronicles it looks like it's moved to the PSP permanently, and Sega are only going to look at bringing it back to PS3 if they have a game in mind that demands the firepower of the PS3 over the PSP/PSP2. I don't hold out much hope. What I'm hoping for is that once PSP2 comes out there will be a firmware update for PS3 making PSP games playable. It shouldn't be too big a deal given Playstation minis are playable on both platforms.

That, or if the Playstation phone becomes a reality (with Android OS) and PSP games are playable on that then I'll get one of those, primarily as an Android phone, but with the added bonus of being able to play the few PSP games that really interest me (MSG:Peacewalker, GoW: Chains of Olympus, Valkyria Chronicles 2 and 3).

Boo, Inigima counter-advertising Flower. it was a joy to play.

Oh, Yeah. ME2 has won at least one GOTY award. Which makes me even more pleased that it's making its way to PS3. Can't wait to get to play 2 Mass Effect games in one year. Will I have time for anything else? I better finish some games I'm on before the January release.

[Darkostar]

That, or if the Playstation phone becomes a reality (with Android OS) and PSP games are playable on that then I'll get one of those, primarily as an Android phone, but with the added bonus of being able to play the few PSP games that really interest me (MSG:Peacewalker, GoW: Chains of Olympus, Valkyria Chronicles 2 and 3).

The Playstation Phone and the PSP2 will be separate entities. Good thing, too, because the phone looks absolutely grotesque.

[The Anti-Targ]

i assume all'y'all geeks are geared up for ES V on 11/11/11, then?

Not in the slightest. Mass effect 3 or Uncharted 3 for me.

The Playstation Phone and the PSP2 will be separate entities. Good thing, too, because the phone looks absolutely grotesque.

I know they will. But I really don't like handheld gaming, so the only way I'll ever get a handheld gaming device is if it's also a handheld device I actually want, i.e. a phone. I don't really care too much what it looks like as long as the ergonomics work for me. I don't see gaming devices as fashion accessories, though I'm glad the PS3 is the sexiest of the 3 current home consoles. The new 360s is a looker as well, much prettier than it's phat pastey white sister. But phat PS3 still looks best to me.

[Commodore]

for the new Mario game, looks sweet!

[Phantom]

If you play that bit in Heavy Rain using the Move controller it's actually quite fun.

After having read a bit of an interview on Valkyria Chronicles it looks like it's moved to the PSP permanently, and Sega are only going to look at bringing it back to PS3 if they have a game in mind that demands the firepower of the PS3 over the PSP/PSP2. I don't hold out much hope. What I'm hoping for is that once PSP2 comes out there will be a firmware update for PS3 making PSP games playable. It shouldn't be too big a deal given Playstation minis are playable on both platforms.

That, or if the Playstation phone becomes a reality (with Android OS) and PSP games are playable on that then I'll get one of those, primarily as an Android phone, but with the added bonus of being able to play the few PSP games that really interest me (MSG:Peacewalker, GoW: Chains of Olympus, Valkyria Chronicles 2 and 3).

Move controller? I'll see if I can borrow one off a friend.

I'm still miffed that sony hasn't made PSP games playable for the PS3. They far behind on that front. I own a PSP, but personally I had playing games on a handheld. I'd much rather wait till I got home, on my comfortable couch and play the game on my HD TV.

Btw, I haven't played Valkyria Chronicles 2. Worth getting?

[WrightOfWay]

^^^Absolutely. The story and characters are even bigger anime stereotypes than the first game but the gameplay is still great.

I'm playing a game called Nier at the moment. I picked it up on the cheap and its not terrible, though it doesn't blow me away either. One thing though... the costume on your female sidekick makes the good old chainmail bikini look like plate armour.

Check it out:

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y116/upup2211/nier-ps3-vs-x360-08.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QKtfeftZs4A/TPP5MCBDa1I/AAAAAAAAB-U/KHohvtcacXI/s1600/kaine.jpg

I've got nothing against a little T&A in my games but thats pushing it. :drool:

If you haven't played a New Game Plus I would really recommend you do that. Make sure to watch all the cutscenes and take your time when fighting bosses, there's a lot of added stuff focusing on Kaine and the Shades. As for Kaine's outfit, there is actually a perfectly good reason for it beyond T&A if you pay attention.

I think people up thread are being overly optimistic if they think that in Mass Effect 3 your earlier choices will have any significant impact beyond flavor emails and the occasional cameo.

[Werthead]

Currently playing Deathspank. It's a Diablo clone from the creator of Monkey Island and it's pretty cool, with a dash of the hearty adventurism of Freedom Force thrown in as well. Good fun so far, considering it was £5 in a Steam sale.

[burnt hound]

All this talk about Mass Effect 3 has made me start a re-play of Mass Effect 2. This time as a male adept. I too usually play as a female character. Hmmm. Wonder why?

Inbetween that, still playing Halo: Reach. Love Firefigth, really love it :thumbsup:

[kungtotte]

In Mass Effect it's not a big surprise why most people prefer Jane Shepard over John Shepard. Jennifer Hale does a much better job of the voice-acting than Mark Leer does. It was much more pronounced in Mass Effect, but you can still tell a difference in Mass Effect 2.

[Jon AS]

Restarted Alpha Protocol as a Recruit (after finishing the first post-Saudi Arabia mission with my first character), which had an immediate impact on the difficulty. Had to do a lot more shooting this time around, since my stealth sucked. Getting better now, but the save point system annoys the hell out of me (why do developers keep resurrecting this idiotic concept?) and the controls and camera behaviour could be better.

The thing that disappoints me the most in this game so far is the level design. Awfully linear and not a lot of freedom of movement. That's okay for a shooter, but I expected this game to be a bit more like Deus Ex to be honest.

ETA: Bah, the worst part is probably the closing off of level sections you've already been through. Not only can this mean that you'll overlook something and will never be able to get to it, it can leave you face to face with a heavily armed guard and no way to retreat and hide because the door you've just stepped though won't open any more.

In Mass Effect it's not a big surprise why most people prefer Jane Shepard over John Shepard.

Actually according to data collected by Bioware about ME2, the overwhelming majority of players (~80% IIRC) play male characters. We had a bit of a discussion, or more precisely people stating their preferences, given that there's a lot of subjectivity involved, about the voice acting in the ME2 thread.

[Poobah]

All this talk about Mass Effect 3 has made me start a re-play of Mass Effect 2. This time as a male adept. I too usually play as a female character. Hmmm. Wonder why?

Because maleshep is blandy mc bland genericsauce.

In Mass Effect it's not a big surprise why most people prefer Jane Shepard over John Shepard. Jennifer Hale does a much better job of the voice-acting than Mark Leer does. It was much more pronounced in Mass Effect, but you can still tell a difference in Mass Effect 2.

and yeah

Actually according to data collected by Bioware about ME2, the overwhelming majority of players (~80% IIRC) play male characters. We had a bit of a discussion, or more precisely people stating their preferences, given that there's a lot of subjectivity involved, about the voice acting in the ME2 thread.

This is true. And if you go to the bioware forums there are a lot of pubescent xbox kiddies who will rage about how a woman could never be a hero. :rolleyes:

[Stone-Made-Soft]

All this talk about Mass Effect 3 has made me start a re-play of Mass Effect 2. This time as a male adept. I too usually play as a female character. Hmmm. Wonder why?

Inbetween that, still playing Halo: Reach. Love Firefigth, really love it :thumbsup:

I'm not a fan of Firefight. I play mostly Big Team Battle, Invasion, and Noble Map Pack. I've started to despise the douchers I get teamed with though. I hate when people vote for objective games (CTF, KoTH, ect) then never work towards it.

[Inigima]

Started playing HoN. Would love any advice or, even better, if someone wants to take me into a (no stats) game or two and help me not be awful. I asked around a little elsewhere and the main advice I got was "try everyone" (presumably so I know how they work) and that Plague Rider and Witch Slayer were the standard newbie heroes. I thought this advice was only middlingly helpful but the only two proper 5v5 games I've ever won were the games where I played them so maybe it's better advice than I thought.

Since I didn't know anyone starting off I did a lot of random picks (in games specified as being for newbies, so I wouldn't be a complete moron and waste everyone's time and screw up a team comp). So far I've tried Nymphora, Ophelia, Pyromancer, Vindicator, Witch Slayer, Pandamonium, Plague Rider, Torturer and Accursed. My uninformed experiences:

Nymphora: Only tried 1v1, was decent enough (and won the match, vs. Moon Queen). Some of her abilities were of relatively little use in 1v1, like there is no point to building a Staff of the Masters when you have no teammates to bring with you. Seems like she'd be better with teammates.

Ophelia: Horrid, maybe she is okay with a coordinated team but with a bunch of strangers, none of whom know what they're doing, beyond worthless.

Pyromancer: Won a 1v1 vs. Corrupted Disciple, did well laning with Bubbles in my first ever 5v5 but then it became a "kill this lane over and over with the entire team" fest. Didn't know enough about how to counter this strategy and lost.

Vindicator: I was pretty bad at this, I can see how he'd be strong though. Half of being annoying as Vindicator is just being nearby anyway.

Witch Slayer: Won a 3v3 with this guy. Strong 1v1 thanks to Silver Bullet but in a teamfight situation I just knocked up as many as I could, Silver Bulleted the most dangerous target, used Miniaturize if possible. Once all my abilities were blown I mostly just prayed that the fight was over and that my teammates could clean up the mess.

Pandamonium: Neat but I sucked with him. Had a strong early game but after that I couldn't land shit. Also kind of hard to farm since he's melee.

Plague Rider: Only played one game with him, we did great but my team was good too so I don't know if I did a good job or was carried to a pubstomp of a victory.

Torturer: Tried this a few times. A lot of fun but landing the stun can be hard because of the delay. If you don't have a good early game it seems hard to recover, sometimes I couldn't quite finish people off and had to hope others could capitalize on my stuns and burst.

Accursed: I was absolutely godawful as Accursed I don't even know what to say.

In general starting out it's kind of hard to tell sometimes if you're doing well or it's just your team, or if you're doing badly or are just supported by inept teammates.

This isn't my first game in the genre, I also played quite a lot of League of Legends though I know HoN is much more SRS BSNSS. If you just want to yell at me because I should go back to LoL and uninstall HoN then you can fuck off and die because I don't want to hear it. Denial is an interesting difference and isn't in LoL unless you count Gangplank. I'm having a bit more trouble last-hitting in HoN, and it seems to matter more there (especially since you lose gold when you die, which you don't in LoL), and it can be similarly difficult to deny properly. (Of course, when you also have idiot teammates who insist on pushing the lane, that's hard too I'M LOOKING AT YOU PUBBIE SWIFTBLADE). I'm assuming I will get better at this with practice as I get more accustomed to the game.

[WhiteHaven]

Seems like I was sleeping: http://www.thief4.com/

I need a new Laptop. Damn it.

[Poobah]

Come back to LoL, ini.