2013 Video Games Thread

[chinaski]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Disney Shuts Down LucasArts, Cancels Star Wars 1313 And Star Wars: First Assault

RIP, thanks for Maniac Mansion and Dark Forces.

[cschex]

TIE Fighter is still one of my favorite games of all time

[Abe Sargent]

Anyone else looking forward to hearing more about Age of Wushu?



Age of Wushu is probably the greatest sandbox you'll never play | Massively


There are several design decisions I like:

"At its core, though, AoW is about player interaction. So, no, you can't buy the bread you need to placate your ever-decaying hunger statistic from an NPC vendor. You'll have to get it from a player crafter (or a player who acquired it from a player crafter)."


Is just one example

[Passacaglia]

I'm not. Apparently, I'll never play it.

[oykib]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

Anyone else looking forward to hearing more about Age of Wushu?



Age of Wushu is probably the greatest sandbox you'll never play | Massively


There are several design decisions I like:

"At its core, though, AoW is about player interaction. So, no, you can't buy the bread you need to placate your ever-decaying hunger statistic from an NPC vendor. You'll have to get it from a player crafter (or a player who acquired it from a player crafter)."


Is just one example

I spent about three months playing the second beta. Unfortunately, life caught up and I had no time to continue. It's fun. But it can eat away at your life a bit. You really need to make reliable friends as soon as you can. The difference between having a crew or joining a guild and trying to make ad hoc teams is huge.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Started Mass Effect 3 recently, despite some major Origin headaches getting there. I've heard all the criticism about the crappy end (which is super disappointing), but thus far I'm very impressed. The controls feel much tighter, and the action sequences feel like a strength of the game now. The graphics are also quite good, and I'm really enjoying the game's story. The idea of girding the galaxy for war is cool, and I enjoy the way they track your progress. My chief complaint right now is that the beginning of the game illustrates that the Reapers are bad ass, kick everyone's ass and get to populated space really, really quick...then suddenly you have all this time to go on covert missions, gather supplies and prepare the galaxy for war (despite the fact that war is very clearly already here). It's a minor complaint, but it messes with my suspension of disbelief a little.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Started Mass Effect 3 recently, despite some major Origin headaches getting there. I've heard all the criticism about the crappy end (which is super disappointing), but thus far I'm very impressed. The controls feel much tighter, and the action sequences feel like a strength of the game now. The graphics are also quite good, and I'm really enjoying the game's story. The idea of girding the galaxy for war is cool, and I enjoy the way they track your progress. My chief complaint right now is that the beginning of the game illustrates that the Reapers are bad ass, kick everyone's ass and get to populated space really, really quick...then suddenly you have all this time to go on covert missions, gather supplies and prepare the galaxy for war (despite the fact that war is very clearly already here). It's a minor complaint, but it messes with my suspension of disbelief a little.

I loved Mass Effect 3. Great game.

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Started Mass Effect 3 recently, despite some major Origin headaches getting there. I've heard all the criticism about the crappy end (which is super disappointing), but thus far I'm very impressed. The controls feel much tighter, and the action sequences feel like a strength of the game now. The graphics are also quite good, and I'm really enjoying the game's story. The idea of girding the galaxy for war is cool, and I enjoy the way they track your progress. My chief complaint right now is that the beginning of the game illustrates that the Reapers are bad ass, kick everyone's ass and get to populated space really, really quick...then suddenly you have all this time to go on covert missions, gather supplies and prepare the galaxy for war (despite the fact that war is very clearly already here). It's a minor complaint, but it messes with my suspension of disbelief a little.

Dowload the free DLC for the extended cut of the ending.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Started Mass Effect 3 recently, despite some major Origin headaches getting there. I've heard all the criticism about the crappy end (which is super disappointing), but thus far I'm very impressed. The controls feel much tighter, and the action sequences feel like a strength of the game now. The graphics are also quite good, and I'm really enjoying the game's story. The idea of girding the galaxy for war is cool, and I enjoy the way they track your progress. My chief complaint right now is that the beginning of the game illustrates that the Reapers are bad ass, kick everyone's ass and get to populated space really, really quick...then suddenly you have all this time to go on covert missions, gather supplies and prepare the galaxy for war (despite the fact that war is very clearly already here). It's a minor complaint, but it messes with my suspension of disbelief a little.

IMO it's less about preparing for war and more about getting everybody pulling in the same direction. DO YOU ASSHOLES BELIEVE ME ABOUT THIS SHIT NOW? kind of thing.

The various races are already at war, and some are fucked, but the ones that are left are thinking 'I'm not sending Turians to die for Earth' etc, and Shepard has to convince them that if they don't hang together, they will definitely hang separately.

[DeToxRox]

The Next Xbox Will Require an Internet Connection To Start Games, Sources Say

Seems like everything that is rumored about the new Xbox makes the PS4 seem ever more appealing.

MS has a lot to overcome at their reveal PC.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

The Next Xbox Will Require an Internet Connection To Start Games, Sources Say

Seems like everything that is rumored about the new Xbox makes the PS4 seem ever more appealing.

MS has a lot to overcome at their reveal PC.

Microsoft is going to have to change a lot for the next generation it would seem. With things like Smart Glass it seems they want to be the single living room entertainment system beyond just games, I don't see how they pull that off if things like Netflix require an Live Gold subscription. If they really want to kill the next XBox though Microsoft could always do that and use their patent for charging more for movies based on how many people are watching.

I'll probably be picking up one of the consoles depending on what sort of console exclusive titles there are and it will probably be a PS4. If online systems are similar to the differences between Playstation Plus and XBox Live it's pretty much gonna be a no brainers.

[chadritt]

For Microsofts sake I hope this is fake.

Microsoft Creative Director 'Doesn't Get The Drama' Around Always-Online Consoles, Devices

[mckerney]

In further efforts to get through some of my gaming backlog I finished Alan Wake last night and found it kind of disappointing. I enjoyed the story for it's Stephen King thriller horror kind of style, though the gameplay didn't really fit it that well. Early on it seemed like it might have some interesting aspects with the light and dark difference in gameplay, but it never really lived up to them.

Ultimately the gameplay straddled the line between an action game and a horror game, but it doesn't really do either one of those very well. Plus the final act dragged on way to long without advancing the story, leaving it as mostly uninteresting combat. I'd probably have enjoyed it more were it cut and the game was an hour or two shorter.

[mckerney]

If feel like any game that wants to do horror needs to either do away with combat entirely or make it incredibly difficult and something that can only be used to give you a longer time to escape an encounter. Playing Alan Wake was reminded of the line from the Hey Ash video on F.E.A.R 3, "It's hard to be scared when you're a walking death machine." Ultimately even if you're fighting monsters if you have plenty of means to kill them then they're never going to be any more scary than an encounter with enemies in any other shooter.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by mckerney

Microsoft is going to have to change a lot for the next generation it would seem. With things like Smart Glass it seems they want to be the single living room entertainment system beyond just games, I don't see how they pull that off if things like Netflix require an Live Gold subscription. If they really want to kill the next XBox though Microsoft could always do that and use their patent for charging more for movies based on how many people are watching.

I'll probably be picking up one of the consoles depending on what sort of console exclusive titles there are and it will probably be a PS4. If online systems are similar to the differences between Playstation Plus and XBox Live it's pretty much gonna be a no brainers.

Microsoft has great ideas, but they have people at the top who are out of touch with what people want making decisions. They want to control your living room which is great, but they want to do it their way which is not a way that people want.

They don't build for their customers, they build for themselves.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by mckerney

If feel like any game that wants to do horror needs to either do away with combat entirely or make it incredibly difficult and something that can only be used to give you a longer time to escape an encounter. Playing Alan Wake was reminded of the line from the Hey Ash video on F.E.A.R 3, "It's hard to be scared when you're a walking death machine." Ultimately even if you're fighting monsters if you have plenty of means to kill them then they're never going to be any more scary than an encounter with enemies in any other shooter.

Combat in general is pretty hard to balance if you've got any sort of development time on not-combat. That being said, it CAN be done - Dead Space had pretty fantastic combat, despite the fact that it was trivial in terms of difficulty. Things like atmosphere and storyline can make the combat much more dramatic. I absolutely loved all the zero-g combat, and the combats in vacuum were equally intense, if only because you had to keep your head on a swivel because there were no audio cues.

[stevew]

I don't get the drama either. Always on, who the fuck cares. Now if it requires content to come from the server, then you can get more easily Sim City type fucked. I also hope they can used games so shitholes like Gamestop shut down. Fuck that place.

[stevew]

Dola-

People generally obsess about things that have a minute chance of happening. This will be up 99.8% of the time or more. If it's out, i will go walk the dogs or something

I'm glad they feel they need to go to such extremes to crush piracy.

[chadritt]

Originally Posted by stevew

Dola-

People generally obsess about things that have a minute chance of happening. This will be up 99.8% of the time or more. If it's out, i will go walk the dogs or something

That number varies wildly based on where you live. Especially if the system is actually transmitting a large amount of data.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by chadritt

That number varies wildly based on where you live. Especially if the system is actually transmitting a large amount of data.

I'd settle for an hour where the internet didn't hiccup & go out for 30-90 seconds at a stretch.

[spleen1015]

I get what they are trying to accomplish but it hurts some people. My brother lives between 2 bridges. He can't get cable or any kind of high speed internet because the companies don't want to build the infrastructure across the bridges to get to the 5 customers that are there.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Let's be realistic here. Steam is a perfect example of how a console should be structured. Tries to connect as soon as computer starts. If it connects, starts downloading any updates immediately. If not, it asks if you want to retry or just stay offline.

The PS3 has already moved in that direction at some level. I have the automatic updates scheduled to run at midnight every night and it does a really good job of patching and pushing saves to the cloud without me having to do a thing. I hardly ever have to wait for downloads upon startup, which is much different than what some people experience without automatic updates. I believe the PS4 is supposed to take that a step further and allow auto updates of firmware as well.

[cartman]

The levels of new Xbox rumors are approaching Apple levels of insanity.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by chadritt

That number varies wildly based on where you live. Especially if the system is actually transmitting a large amount of data.

If it's out on a local level, then people need to break out the pitchforks and demand better service for the money/tax breaks they are giving their telco's. These companies exist in a perpetual monopoly in most places, they should be forced to continuously update their services.

[Abe Sargent]

Alright I'm downloading Age of Wushu now to get it ready.

[Matthean]

Still enjoying the hell out of PoE. Taking a break from my main and leveling some others. I got a Templar to 6ish and decided I better make sure I have a plan for him. I got my Summoner Witch up to 14 with some item help from my main, and it feels slightly broken right now. I also got a Ranger up to 14. The only real issue is mana, but Rangers don't have that easy access to mana regen from the start. The biggest thing right now is trading for 7 or so gems so I can round out some builds.

[Abe Sargent]

Might & Magic X: Legacy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[JonInMiddleGA]

WTF is up with this 9 layers of security b.s. just to log into XBox Live?

This is getting ridiculous. WTF do they think, I'm worried about burglars breaking into my house & playing my XBox? If I'm stupid enough to leave a working c.c. on file with MSoft then I kinda deserve to get ripped off.

If I'm going to have to get in my email every time I try to play an Xbox game, I'll be done.

[RainMaker]

No shit, went through that yesterday and it still prompts me when I login.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

No shit, went through that yesterday and it still prompts me when I login.

I think they must be trying to convince me to let my XB Live subscription expire. Because there's zero chance in hell that I'll go through this on a regular basis.

Between the console and two different email accounts (I had to give them a 2nd email -- f'n harvesting for spam b.s. -- just to move forward) it's now been almost 20 minutes since I started trying to log in ... to play 2k8 college hoops OFFline.

[SirFozzie]

Classic Arcade Heaven on Earth. Funspot in Laconia, New Hampshire.

And I spent today there.

It was worth the 300 miles it took to get there and back. Check my blog for the story and some awesome pictures.

[Mota]

Yeah it's almost like Microsoft is begging for us to abandon them. I want playing games to be that ... fun. It doesn't need to be complicated, and yet they seem to be making it that way. The concept of an always-online Xbox seems to be taking this to the next level. Just let me put in the damn disc and play the game, otherwise I'll just play on my PC.

[Schmidty]

I recently looked at how many hours of CK2 I've played, and realized I need a new game. I'm trying to decided between the new XCOM game or Bioshock: Infinite.

I'm leaning toward XCOM, but I've never played any of the old ones, so I'm not sure what to expect.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

I recently looked at how many hours of CK2 I've played, and realized I need a new game. I'm trying to decided between the new XCOM game or Bioshock: Infinite.

I'm leaning toward XCOM, but I've never played any of the old ones, so I'm not sure what to expect.

That's kind of a massive difference there, Schmidty as one is a first-person shooter and the other a turn-based strategy game. I really enjoyed the new XCOM game, though it's a bit limited on replayability - due to the need for satellites and engineers, your strategic choices are confined. But since the two games you're looking at are so fundamentally different, it's all a matter of what you feel like playing.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

I recently looked at how many hours of CK2 I've played, and realized I need a new game. I'm trying to decided between the new XCOM game or Bioshock: Infinite.

I'm leaning toward XCOM, but I've never played any of the old ones, so I'm not sure what to expect.

I haven't played Bioshock, but I've had a blast with the XCOM game. The AI provides a great challenge even on the default level. As some have mentioned, the game is somewhat limited on replay, but you're still going to get 30 hours of gameplay in and it's a lot of fun.

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

That's kind of a massive difference there, Schmidty as one is a first-person shooter and the other a turn-based strategy game. I really enjoyed the new XCOM game, though it's a bit limited on replayability - due to the need for satellites and engineers, your strategic choices are confined. But since the two games you're looking at are so fundamentally different, it's all a matter of what you feel like playing.

Yeah, I know they're totally different. They just happened to be the only two games that piqued my interest this morning. I've also read that XCOM might not have much replay value, and that's probably the only reason I didn't simply buy it.

As far as Bioshock goes, I suck at FPSs, but I liked the original, and the story in this one seems interesting. I just don't want to pay $60 for a game I don't finish, or only get 20-25 hours out of.

If the new Civ expansion was out, I wouldn't have this problem.

[Jughead Spock]

Missed your shot, the pre-buy on Bioshock Infinite included BioShock I and XCOM. Haven't loaded up XCOM yet, but looking forward to it.

I'm liking BioShock Infinite more, but no way would I recommend it at $60.

[mckerney]

Why Game Developers Are Flocking to Sony and Fleeing From Microsoft | Game|Life | Wired.com

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Jughead Spock

Missed your shot, the pre-buy on Bioshock Infinite included BioShock I and XCOM. Haven't loaded up XCOM yet, but looking forward to it.

I'm liking BioShock Infinite more, but no way would I recommend it at $60.

I thought BioShock Infinite was good but didn't love it as much as most reviewers seem to.

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by mckerney

I thought BioShock Infinite was good but didn't love it as much as most reviewers seem to.

Thanks.

That made my mind up.

[chadritt]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

As far as Bioshock goes, I suck at FPSs, but I liked the original, and the story in this one seems interesting. I just don't want to pay $60 for a game I don't finish, or only get 20-25 hours out of.

My understanding is that you wont get close to 20 - 25 hours out of bioshock. Im hearing 12 or so.

[DaddyTorgo]

Company of Heroes 2?

Pre-order and get access to the Beta right now?

I always enjoyed CoH 1...played it a whole bunch.

I'm tempted...

[Edward64]

Please let this be a new XCOM DLC with less scripting. I've played it through once but have little desire to play through another same game.

Could This Be A New XCOM Game In The Works?

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by chadritt

My understanding is that you wont get close to 20 - 25 hours out of bioshock. Im hearing 12 or so.

I finished in 13 hours playing on hard mode, definitely not a 20 hour game.

[korme]

Even though I sold Skyrim around 8 months ago, I'm tempted to re-buy it. There just hasn't been a game nearly as good.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Classic Arcade Heaven on Earth. Funspot in Laconia, New Hampshire.

And I spent today there.

It was worth the 300 miles it took to get there and back. Check my blog for the story and some awesome pictures.

New item added to "bucket list"

SI

[mckerney]

A couple updates from Kickstarter games.



Project Eternity's first gameplay video showing off some environment and lighting, love how it looks right now.

Shadowrun Returns by Harebrained Schemes LLC » The Word of the Day is. . . Information! — Kickstarter

Shadowrun Returns is going to be released in June, will ship with Steam Workshop support, and there are plans for DLC after release that includes map packs, stories, and cosmetic items for characters. The stories part interests me, after games like The Walking Dead and Kentucky Route Zero I'd defintely be interested in 3-5 hour mini campaigns (especially if it were episodic) if it's well priced.

Also, Chris Kluwe is going to be a troll!

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Classic Arcade Heaven on Earth. Funspot in Laconia, New Hampshire.

And I spent today there.

It was worth the 300 miles it took to get there and back. Check my blog for the story and some awesome pictures.

I didn't put 2 and 2 together until after you texted me the other day with the picture...I went to their panel at PAX East last year. If I'm up that way and NOT at PAX (or have time around PAX), I'll have to make a side trip. Oddly, I didn't know about it when my family up there was alive (I had family in Peabody, MA and in Nashua, NH and took EMT school in Keene, NH)...if I had, I would have forced a side trip.

Different topic...anybody here can point me to a "for dummies" type guide on setting up a 360 controller (or a 360-type controller) to work with Steam on my PC?

/tk

[oykib]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

I didn't put 2 and 2 together until after you texted me the other day with the picture...I went to their panel at PAX East last year. If I'm up that way and NOT at PAX (or have time around PAX), I'll have to make a side trip. Oddly, I didn't know about it when my family up there was alive (I had family in Peabody, MA and in Nashua, NH and took EMT school in Keene, NH)...if I had, I would have forced a side trip.

Different topic...anybody here can point me to a "for dummies" type guide on setting up a 360 controller (or a 360-type controller) to work with Steam on my PC?

/tk

You just need a wireless receiver. If you're really worried about compatibility, get the official one from Microsoft. Otherwise, you can pick up a third-party one for $15 on Amazon.

hxxp://support.xbox.com/en-US/games/xbox-controller-for-windows-setup

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

Different topic...anybody here can point me to a "for dummies" type guide on setting up a 360 controller (or a 360-type controller) to work with Steam on my PC?

/tk

As was mentioned a reciever is all you need if it's wireless, if it's a wired controller you just need to plug it in and Windows may need to automatically load some drivers but that's it. Almost all recent games on PC that use a controller are configured for the 360 pad. In Steam just hit the middle button and it will go into big picture mode.

If it's anything older that doesn't support a 360 pad use a program like Xpadder. It will map keys to the buttons and you'll and you'll be able to load profiles for games so you don't have to change the settings for each game you play.

Any game that has also come out on 360 should have any problems though.