Video Games, Son of Video Games

[Chise]

:wideeyed: Oh. My. God. *runs off to play it*

Oh thats not all!! There's a fully playable text adventure on one of the terminals in the ..um... Hubris [?] publishing offices!

The game overall had ridiculous amounts of AWESOME hidden in text entries of the bazillion terminals everywhere. The crazy stories in the hospital, the story in the factory [with perfectly timed sound-effects] in Broken Steel dlc. the wonderful lil "Fuck You"s screens when you hacked the Mercenaries terminals.... (well, at least thats when I got that, maybe its random?)

... New Vegas had gambling and random geek jokes, but just wasn't as amazing

Fallout 3 is so fucking good. More like that please, Bethesda.

yes plz!! Just, for the love of Vault-Tec, don't let Obsidian code it again, and get more [better?] Quality Assurance people! I miss being able to play game straight outta box w/out bazillion patches and glitch swapping parties

[Kennit]

I thought New Vegas is considered superior to Fallout 3 by majority of players?

[Weak With The Dawn]

I thought New Vegas is considered superior to Fallout 3 by majority of players?

That's the exact opposite of everything I've heard.

I only played a bit of New Vegas, but my roommate played both extensively and definitely likes Fallout 3 much better.

[Chise]

I thought New Vegas is considered superior to Fallout 3 by majority of players?

It may depend on who you ask?

While New Vegas did bring out some fun new ideas (Hardcore mode, companion wheel, the whole "screw Karma, your reputation with bazillion factions and groups may get you shot on sight") ... it kinda fell extremely flat in terms of exploring and overall plot

The Vault-Dweller was needed in the Wastelands and the plot centered on you and your actions most vitally. Courier is just ... there! The Desert doesn't need me and I'm not exactly vital in its life, just there to occasionally upset it

And metro stations and city ruins are far more fun to explore! The many terminals to hack that were full of stories! (Nuka Cola Quantum and the Hospital records are my personal fav, to name a few) The super mutant conversations to overhear!

What does Vegas have? Neverending desert with its geckos and Deathclaws... and a whole 2 terminals with emails opening up someone's paranoia

and the glitching! Dear lord, the glitching!! Fallout 3 had only couple minor bugs in my play, and even that was only in DLC content

New Vegas? The fucker has me saving every 10 minutes now, because the next thing I shoot or location find may explode into pixels and crash my entire game with it! The game developed its own sense of righteousness to keep me from finishing it or joining Caesar's Legion by crashing and eating save files each time I attempt to near Cottonwood Cove

[Verboten]

I thought New Vegas is considered superior to Fallout 3 by majority of players?

Generally speaking the people who like New Vegas better like it because it sacrifices the obsessive level of detail and awesome open world mechanics of Fallout 3 in order to be a little bit more like Fallout and Fallout 2, complete with references and call backs. This is my experience anyway.

[Kennit]

From what I understand New Vegas has smaller scope in favor of more attention to small details(better quests, dialog etc').

Thing is I tried F3 a while back and didn't really like it. I'm now downloading New Vegas(Steam) and hopefully will like it better.

[Chise]

From what I understand New Vegas has smaller scope in favor of more attention to small details(better quests, dialog etc').

.... I dunno about quests "better" in general. More effort, and definitely more unmarked ones perhaps.

The way quests unlock for companions was downright tedious! Its like, oh yeah, these people need a certain amount of "trust" points with you before this quest comes about, 'cept the only way you earn those is keeping those companions present for key moments [what they would consider key moments, good luck figuring those out) of your genocides and its just too much effort to keep track of

More so once you realize Felicia Day's chara is a pain in the ass to keep around (fails at fights AND won't STFU about wanting pretty dresses), or the caravan girl's constant attempts to kill me (something about my karma...possibly)... so Boone and Arcade turned out the only useful ones in a damn fight and my actions def. aren't earning their quests...

So then you're like, "ok.. I will keep my sniper pal w/ me 'till we reach the destination... then swap out for the chick once there. Wait, what do you mean the entry to this bunker was a key-moment I've already used up before switching out?!?!"

But then a lot of the other unmarked quests follow the logic of "you stumbled in here on a Tuesday, here's a quest. You're stuck runnin' this one even tho you wanna shoot the asshole who saddled you w/ it, but can't leave 'till its finished"

The only new detail in dialogue could see is that now you can flirt your pants off with both sexes, not just opposite of your character

sorry for long ranty replies... Bethesda... does things to me

[Kennit]

Wait, there are companions? :wacko: Are they necessary or optional?

Because I don't see how that could work well with the game's engine..

[Chise]

Wait, there are companions? :wacko: Are they necessary or optional?

just like in Fallout 3, you will run into characters that may join you, if you like. Those are NPC companions. You may only have one human atta time, but there's also a robot and dog so technically you got "two companions" follow you. They make useful packmules for hauling the bazillion things you find/steal everywhere, and always useful to have an extra gun cover your back.

In NewVegas they've also been upgraded with special skills. Some companions can craft items for you out in the field, some grant you higher perception (see enemies sooner) and whatnot

Of course, with the damn reputation stats, the companions aren't just dumb walking suitcases now and won't carry items that offend them, or will scold you if you're a total dick (low low karma and your actions are against companion's fraction loyalties), and piss 'em off enough (some kinda internal counter there) and the companion will permanently leave! (while trying to kill you, if you're really unlucky)

[Kennit]

I see. But I don't have to use them, right? They will most likely stand in the way and get themselves killed.

[Chise]

I see. But I don't have to use them, right? They will most likely stand in the way and get themselves killed.

If you don't want companions, then by all means, ignore 'em! I personally luuuuved that their armor/weapons never need repairs or ammo, pack-mule ability (one chara specifically says "but don't use me as a pack-brammen, alright?" each time his inventory is opened!) and just keeping me alive when I'm too damn occupied by collecting junk off the floor to notice the herd of mutated wolves sneaking up

Their AI does get them killed occasionally (on easy mode they just pass out for set time), but you do have some minor control on their actions (Passive/Aggressive, distance, who they shoot). Plus they can heal up same as your character

During a couple quests, a companion gives ya a lil XP boost... when certain characters are with you, certain comments by passerby NCPs are amusing.

Having the correct person with you at certain locations will also speed up entry/that faction's trust of you (have a certain girl with ya when first meeting Brotherhood of Steel and you avoid a damn explosive collar and need to do some random quest)

[Inigima]

I loved FO3 dearly. I haven't been able to get into New Vegas, and I've tried several times. I thought I was in the minority, though.

[Kosciuszko]

From what I understand New Vegas has smaller scope in favor of more attention to small details(better quests, dialog etc').

Thing is I tried F3 a while back and didn't really like it. I'm now downloading New Vegas(Steam) and hopefully will like it better.

It depends on what you didn't like about Fallout 3. From what I've seen most people prefer New Vegas but Fallout 3 definitely has its defenders.

FWIW, I didn't like Fallout 3 that much and tried New Vegas. It was better but it still wasn't that fun. If you like open-world games though, give it a shot. The major thing that New Vegas improved on involved the various factions and, as I understand it, they made skills a bit more balanced. Speech is supposed to actually be a lot more useful, for instance.

[ICE CROW]

Ive said it before, i think fallout is a good game and does some really great things. But im still sitting 2 missions from completing the main story, cus im just bored of it. 2 years later and every time i try to get back into i take like 5 steps from my house in Megaton and end up playing something else.

[Prince Alexander]

FO3 and FO3 NV are fine games for the right audience. But they did nothing for me as a hardcore FO1 and FO2 fan (300+ hours sunk into countless walkthroughs of those 2 games).

[Max the Mostly Mediocre]

People who don't like FO:NV are bad and should be purged. With fire. Nuclear fire.

Anyway, Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon was released on Steam a couple days ago and I picked up largely on the strength of this review (of a previous installment in the series, but still. That may be the best videogame review I've ever read). It's, uh, mental. Completely, gloriously mental. Every mission I fight swarms of giant ants and spiders and wasps and ticks. Every mission there's some sort of alien with legs the size of Manhattan. Every mission I level dozens of buildings. Every mission I try out new weapons, which are distinctive and hilarious (this rocket launcher fires it's missiles straight up before they acquire a target and alter trajectory. Why? Just because). Every mission makes me grin. It's $15, you can play with two of your friends. Go buy it

[TheEvilKing]

I liked both but preferred FO:NV, however I don't know how much that was down to the game itself or just how much I liked the character I made, a badass gunslinger type.

[Sad King Billy]

The thing about New vegas is that with the right build, energy weapons will turn into the "i win" button of the game.

However, in the beginning of the game, you don't have ready access to energy cells, and you probably don't know the do's and con's of the weapon types (DO snype unarmored enemies from a distance with laser. DON'T use lasers on Deathclaws. DO cripple deathclaws with plasma, and so on).

The thing about NV companions, they need to get the right equipment to work well. Veronica, for instance, will absolutely murder anything if you get her decent armor and a ballistic fist. Boone will murder absolutely everything with a powerful sniper rifle; and Raul is best with one-handed weapons.

The biggest thing about NV that I prefer is that it doesn't have the absolutely moronic things that Fallout 3 had (Megaton, really??)

[Tyrellius]

Managed to get my hands on a Tribes Ascend Beta key. Having never played a Tribes game, I wondering if it will live up to all the hype I've heard about it so far. Downloading!

[Sheep the Evicted]

Managed to get my hands on a Tribes Ascend Beta key. Having never played a Tribes game, I wondering if it will live up to all the hype I've heard about it so far. Downloading!

If anyone wants to get into the beta go here. You might need to have a facebook account not sure.

IMO Tribes ins't very good yet, fun for a little while but it won't keep you around for years like the other ones. Just don't like the mechanics though i think it will get much better in higher level play.