Video Games

Pseudo Stupidity · Post by **Pseudo Stupidity** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 2:19 pm

Maj wrote: TAO is back up again?

TAO went down? Its still up though. The stupid thing is free accounts get deleted every week or something if I remember correctly, but making an account is just "username + password" and it can be the same damn thing every time. I mean, you'll never get more than 1 scout (best cleric geeker) or dark witch (second best), but making due with the starting stuff is fun.

What was your usual strategy when you played? I've only known one other person who played that game.

Leress · Post by **Leress** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 6:26 pm

Koumei wrote:
Leress wrote: Those are just the ones developed by Nippon ichi. Don't get any developed by Idea Factory.
Which tacticals have they made? I'm only familiar with their RPGs and the RPG-with-some-tactical-elements-ish mash-up game that is CrossXEdge.

Spectral Force 3: Innocent Rage
Aedis Eclipse: Generation of Chaos
Generation of Chaos

They made others, but I haven't played them.

Tumbling Down · Post by **Tumbling Down** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 4:16 am

Some rumor-mongering:

http://www.baldursgate.com/

Guess these might be relevant too
http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/107098- ... -soon.html
http://www.gamespot.com/news/neverwinte ... te-6328979

Here's to hoping it won't just be an iPad port.

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 6:15 am

I just had a profound moment of sympathy on Red Dead Redemption's multiplayer. It takes a bit of explaining.

I use the fastest mount in the game (it's a black horse). There's stuff that's unlocked later and for considerably more effort, but they're not as fast--they just don't slow down going off-road or they have a lot more stamina, or whatever. A lot of players either don't have said black horse, or they use one of the special mounts. I use it because, well, riding around on a bull or a buffalo just attracts a lot of attention (and I'd honestly swap a bull and a buffalo mount to ride a bear. Why did we get two kinds of bulls and two kinds of buffalo, but no bears? I'm sad over this).

So I got tangled up in PVP with someone who wasn't bad at all. At one point, he got the drop on me, shot me off my horse, and then grabbed the horse before it could run away. So I respawn to seeing a colored dot zipping around the radar, riding rings around the town--and taking potshots at me as he went by. I knew the horse was fast, but never realized it's THAT fast to someone on foot.

And I had a realization that--this is what it feels like to fight ME. I don't exclusively do that, but it is a part of my bag of tricks. And it's sort of daunting, to have to figure out how to fight back against someone doing that.

Then I made him divert course with a stick of dynamite thrown where he'd run over it (but it honestly probably would have exploded AFTER he'd passed it, but he wasn't to know) and put four bullets in his back before he could could straighten back up.

And, after I'd signed off and called it a night on the Xbox, it occurred to me that I ran a successful Xanatos Gambit doing that.

I feel like a badass.

name_here · Post by **name_here** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 4:32 pm

I've picked up the latest version of Dwarf Fortress again. This one has necromancers and vampires.

The vampires are kind of a mixed bag. They're dwarves with extremely high skills but they occasionally murder other dwarves by blood drain. I am actually half-tempted to use one as a blood sacrifice to turn my entire fortress population into vamps.

The necromancers are huge assholes. Anytime they get near a vaguely-intact bit of corpse it rises from the dead to claim the living. Then when it goes down, they raise any partially intact bits as well. They'll bring zombie hordes with them to besiege the fortress.

Death counter: 1 killed by GCS, 2 murdered in the hospital by trogs, 6 drained of their blood, 1 vampire beaten halfway to death and claimed by gangrene, 27+ dragged down by zombie hordes.

Juton · Post by **Juton** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 5:52 pm

Tumbling Down wrote:Some rumor-mongering:

http://www.baldursgate.com/
...
Here's to hoping it won't just be an iPad port.

You know what could be worse? If they switch rule sets to 4e, as a going away gift to the fans or get on the 5e bandwagon early.

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 6:10 pm

Indeed, I wonder what edition rules it will use, since 4e is trash, 5e is incoming, and they've never even made a 3e game.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 7:04 pm

Uh, wasn't BG by Bioware, the same guys who did NWN? Now sure, you could argue it had so many differences from the rules as to truly be 3E, or you could argue it was shit, but it was vaguely 3E. The bit where Monks were useful confuses me, it must be the fact that half the magic items that dropped were monk-specific ones (that didn't exist in 3E itself).

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 8:16 pm

Koumei wrote:Uh, wasn't BG by Bioware, the same guys who did NWN?

...And KOTOR, which had a ton of d20-as-video-game-mechanics?

Kaelik · Post by **Kaelik** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:03 pm

Koumei wrote:Uh, wasn't BG by Bioware, the same guys who did NWN? Now sure, you could argue it had so many differences from the rules as to truly be 3E, or you could argue it was shit, but it was vaguely 3E. The bit where Monks were useful confuses me, it must be the fact that half the magic items that dropped were monk-specific ones (that didn't exist in 3E itself).

It was by a bunch of people, but I was under the impression it was Black Isle and/or Interplay that actually made it.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:09 pm

Ah, that's a good point.

Whipstitch · Post by **Whipstitch** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:36 pm

The lion's share of credit for BG should go to Bioware--The lead designers and lead writers were Bioware guys, the Bioware founders were exec producers and the Infinity Engine was Bioware's baby. Where the confusion comes in is the fact that Black Isle Studios was effectively both a developer and publishing arm under the larger Interplay publishing umbrella. I'm sure there was some cross pollination and cooperation involved but for the most part it was Bioware personnel who were credited.

DSMatticus · Post by **DSMatticus** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:54 pm

Majorly ninja'd by Whipstich. BioWare were the developers, Black Isle and Interplay (which were the same company, Black Isle was just a name for an RPG studio inside Interplay) were the publishers. But I'd add: the Baldur's Gate series is practically the only thing that came out of Black Isle that they didn't develop themself. Baldur's Gate is the exception to the rule that Black Isle is a development studio. So I suspect Interplay was handling the publishing side of things, and Black Isle's name is on it solely for brand-building purposes.

Whipstitch · Post by **Whipstitch** » Sat Mar 03, 2012 10:07 pm

I wouldn't be surprised if there's some licensing issues in there as well given that D&D can hardly be called in-house IP.

PhoneLobster · Post by **PhoneLobster** » Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:04 am

I optimistically hope it's a sign they are desperately seeking an IP they can resurrect for guaranteed sales of a second rate game to total chumps based on pure name recognition.

What with (apparently) everyone now deciding Dragon Age II was a piece of shit and being massively offended by Mass Effect 3 for it's, apparently, offensive DLC and, also, apparently, because ALL the available game endings are being strongly rumored to be deliberately written as crappy and depressing.

So... that's both their current in house IPs having a rather mixed bag in sequel potential... and a lot of suckers out there wank over Baldur's gate to a totally uncalled for degree...

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 5:10 pm

I have Mass Effect 3. Letting the downloads wrap up right now.

I looked through the art book. The reapers have walkers--160-meter high things, as well as the 2-kilometer-long reapers. The codex in the game says Reapers have mass effect fields strong enough to let them land. Ahh, phlebtonium, by you all things are possible. [/sarcasm]

Looks like a lot of major species can get husked. The Cannibals are batarians. There's Krogan, Turan, and Asari variations, too.

I'll let you know what the explanation is for the Prothean.

name_here · Post by **name_here** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 6:11 pm

Oh, it's established since ME1 that the Reapers can land because of their mass effect cores; it's just also established that they also need it to use their weaponry.

Maxus · Post by **Maxus** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 8:51 am

Well, okay. Got the Prothean.

Explanation and spoilers ensue:

Yes, it was a stasis pod like on Ilos. The difference being, the stasis center had a continuous power supply. That's what killed Ilos--it ran out of power and the VI had to start triage. It happened here, too, except this place was made as a stasis facility, meant to preserve the Protheans. So, whatever on that point.

Turns out the Protheans weren't exceptionally nice people. Prothean Bro is voice by the guy who did Kratos from God of War, and he isn't bothering to change the voice terribly much, which may be a warning. You also can't use your Prothean squaddie as soon as you get him--he's up and awake, but keeps saying he needs more time to wait out the effects of coming out of stasis. I haven't been able to him yet. But I did get the Slam power from him. And it is good, for the extremely short recharge/cooldown and the comboing with Liara's Warp.

Oh, you also get a prothean assault rifle that shoots out a continuous laser, like that Collector laser from ME2. Except, you know, assault rifle. I would almost call it game-breaking in the hands of party members, except the combat has become so much harder from the huge-ass waves and the just how many waves can come at you in a fight. Still, Garrus and Vega can do awe-inspiring amounts of damage when they both fire on the same enemy.

Also, what is up with Vega? Did his grandmother fuck a krogan or something? The guy's freakin' huge, and a beast in combat, too.

Shrapnel · Post by **Shrapnel** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 6:39 pm

(For those of you unfamiliar with Ecco the Dolphin, I direct you here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecco_the_Dolphin)

Okay. So I was playing Ecco the Dolphin this morning, and I was kicking ass and being totally ninja. Until, that is, I came to a certain level.

See, there's this series of levels in which you must navigate a giant tube of water that's floating in the sky (a long story). There are three such stages, and the third one is harder than a bitch. Here's why:

First, if you slip out of the tubes, you have to do a lot of wrangling to get back in the tube. If you don't, you fall back to the first tube stage.

Second, the controls are REALLY FINICKY in this stage, so it's super easy to fall out of the tubes.

And finally, there is a giant ass jellyfish that will follow you throughout the stage, and try to grab you, tentacle rape you, and then throw you off the stage.

Sexy lookin' fella, ain't he?

Anyway, I tried getting past this level for FOUR HOURS before giving up (i.e. throwing my Xbox controller at the TV in utter frustration. Yes, I know that was stupid, but I was angry.) This trying ordeal has made me realize that I now hate giant, floating jellyfish from the future more than anything else in the world. I blame them for the recession, for the assassination of J.F.K., and for my aunt's gout.

Fucking jellyfish.

Koumei · Post by **Koumei** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 7:59 pm

So, the Doom RL is kind of cool. As a roguelike, it's harder than the actual Doom games, and embarrassingly it makes my laptop fan churn loudly as the system gets rather warm. But it's still a fun game. Check it out, it's free.

Parthenon · Post by **Parthenon** » Wed Mar 07, 2012 9:34 pm

I'm pretty sure I beat Ecco the Dolphin when I was young. Maybe. Actually I think it was my mum that completed it. It was a very cool game though.

I really like DoomRL. Except that I'm not very good at it. I managed to win on the easiest mode with Marine, Ammochain, and ending the second last level with Invulnerability, but I can't get past level 4 on any higher difficulty- the Arena Master is way too tough.

And then I look at the wiki and see all these special mod packs and wish I knew how to play it properly.

Blicero · Post by **Blicero** » Mon Mar 12, 2012 1:04 am

The ending(s) for Mass Effect 3 were like legitimately some of the worst endings I've ever seen for a videogame. No joke. They're so bizarre, nondeterministic, and generally pointless it's not even funny.

I mean, the Terminator at the end of ME2 was embarrassing. But this seriously reaches a new low.

name_here · Post by **name_here** » Mon Mar 12, 2012 2:34 am

So, overall, is ME3 shit or not shit?

DSMatticus · Post by **DSMatticus** » Mon Mar 12, 2012 2:44 am

name_here wrote:So, overall, is ME3 shit or not shit?

Metacritic
PC: 92/100 critic, 3.5/10 user
360: 94/100 critic, 5.0/10 user
PS3: 91/100 critic, 3.5/10 user
Critic ratings are a joke, and user scores are only slightly better with such irritable fans, but I would say fuck it, it sucks. Does anyone play bioware games for anything other than the story? And ME3 is a butchered story, no doubt there.

Blicero · Post by **Blicero** » Mon Mar 12, 2012 4:57 am

DSMatticus wrote:
name_here wrote:So, overall, is ME3 shit or not shit?
Metacritic
PC: 92/100 critic, 3.5/10 user
360: 94/100 critic, 5.0/10 user
PS3: 91/100 critic, 3.5/10 user
Critic ratings are a joke, and user scores are only slightly better with such irritable fans, but I would say fuck it, it sucks. Does anyone play bioware games for anything other than the story? And ME3 is a butchered story, no doubt there.

I don't know if I would go that far.

(Disclaimer: Prior to ME3, I would totally call myself a Mass Effect fan. I found ME2 to be completely brilliant, albeit flawed in many ways.)

Up until the last 15 or so minutes, I probably enjoyed ME3 at least as much if not more so than ME1 (for drastically different reasons, though). The atmosphere and ambiance are really tight: the game really does communicate the feeling of being in a galaxy that is slowly being destroyed.

The combat is still coverbased shooting. It's not all that difference from ME2, except that it's harder, and there seems to be more of it. As far as I could tell, ME2's little pattern of "fire, snipers, shotguns beat armor, smgs, biotics, and electronics beat barriers and shields" seem to have been noticeably decreased in importance. And most difficulty just comes from bigger numbers, as the AI is still more or less nonexistent. However, many of the battlefields are larger and less linear than ME2, which makes flanking and such more viable.

The main plot is honestly pretty compelling. I found it fairly engaging to fly zip about the galaxy trying to recruit a hardcore army. It's a bit like Origins, which I also liked. And, as far as inspiring pathos and having to make difficult decisions, this might actually be Bioware's best game yet.

However, the game does suffer from some noticeable flaws, even before the headdesk ending. To wit:

Squadmates: ME2 had a large, complex, multispecial, and generally compelling cast of companions. ME3 does not. Ashley/Kaidan and Liara are just as boring and generic as they were in the first game. And new guy James is even worse. I'd almost suspect him to be a Gears of War parody, he's that onedimensional.

Sidequests: ME3 uses an incredibly pointless sidequest structure, where you just wander around the Citadel and overhear conversations. Then you go to a planet and scan it for the relevant item to return it. They're incredibly mindless.

Fetishization of Shepard: The game constantly goes on and on about how you, Cmdr Shepard, are the one and only hero who can save the galaxy from certain destruction. This was also noticeable in ME2, but it really comes to a forefront here. Presumably this ego gratification is intended to draw in the consolebox crowd, but I found it really grating. It legitimately detracts from the space opera Bioware has going on.

In general, the game often seemed somewhat tired to me. ME3 is much less of a reinvention than ME2 was, almost to the point that it seemed more like a really long expansion than a legitimate sequel.

tl;dr: If you care about the series, ME3 is probably worth picking up. I didn't even touch the multiplayer because I dislike Origin, so I can't tell you about that. But 95% of the game is at least mildly above average Bioware. (The remaining 5% is more or less fucking shite, of course.)