The General Gaming Thread!

[warty goblin]

Hmm, so I checked out some gameplay footage of the Syndicate FPS, which looks tempting. I've liked Starbreeze's games in the past, and one doesn't see a lot of actual Sci-Fi shooters these days. Tragically the bank will not stretch for both Syndicate and Kingdoms of Amalur. Decisions decisions...

[Bayar]

I am sure it is, but is it really worth paying another $50-60 for when you already have the previous game which is very similar?

$50 is a lot of money these days with the household medium income dropping so much.

Honestly, it all depends on what customers want. Maybe they wanted something other than Bad company.

Personally, I'd probably pay 50 $ for a new Battlefield 2142.

[Bouregard]

I am sure it is, but is it really worth paying another $50-60 for when you already have the previous game which is very similar?

$50 is a lot of money these days with the household medium income dropping so much.

It is, if you consider that they shut down the BF 2 servers. And without them owning BF 2 is pretty much pointless.

[Volatar]

It is, if you consider that they shut down the BF 2 servers. And without them owning BF 2 is pretty much pointless.

Now thats just a total jerk move on their part. Servers are not expensive enough to excuse that.

[Triscuitable]

Now thats just a total jerk move on their part. Servers are not expensive enough to excuse that.

Only for BF2: Modern Combat. The PC version has dedicated servers. I don't agree, but you should be more specific.

[Dublock]

Personal note: I hated BF3 Single campaign (love the multiplayer though, even though I have not touched it for a while, other games). Of course I have not loved a pure FPS single person campaign since the first Halo game came out (for PC, reasons I state below). Even that I grew to be a slight disappointment because the books show a deeper universe that the games fail to show off (The other Halo games I hate due to the disjointed story).

Dedicated servers is one reason why I always go with PC, I know if I want to I can load up my BF2 and get on a server, or COD4. I also have to be using a mouse. Whenever I play on the xbox for FPS games my thoughts are always something to the effect of "If I was using a mouse I would have made that shot!" along with a few 4 letter words....

[Zevox]

Well, I've decided that I'll be giving Kingdoms of Amalur a pass upon initial release. I can't convince myself to add another $60 game to my purchase list with that gauntlet of releases looming on the horizon, especially with it appearing to be more sandboxy than I'd prefer. I'm still interested, but it'll have to wait until I've finished all of the games I'm getting around March. So probably until late spring or the summer.

On the flip side, it looks like I'm going to need to get a new controller for my 360 soon. My current one (the only one I own, which came with the system) has developed a few problems, the most prominent being that the "A" button tends to stick down, and another big one being that the left control stick also sticks down a bit sometimes, and tends to rest at a position slightly above neutral, which is a problem for games with greater sensitivity to it. These don't make it impossible for me to play anything, but they are a problem for faster-paced games, such as the fighting games that are the only multiplayer I play (UMvC3, BlazBlue).

On that matter, I'm curious about something. Is there any version of the X-Box 360 controller, or a decently-priced 3rd-party one, that I could get that would also hook up to my computer without me needing to buy an extra adapter of some sort? I'll want to have a controller that can do that when My Little Pony: Fighting is Magic releases, and I don't at the moment, so since I have to get a new one anyway, now seems to be the right time to do so.

Zevox

[warty goblin]

On the flip side, it looks like I'm going to need to get a new controller for my 360 soon. My current one (the only one I own, which came with the system) has developed a few problems, the most prominent being that the "A" button tends to stick down, and another big one being that the left control stick also sticks down a bit sometimes, and tends to rest at a position slightly above neutral, which is a problem for games with greater sensitivity to it. These don't make it impossible for me to play anything, but they are a problem for faster-paced games, such as the fighting games that are the only multiplayer I play (UMvC3, BlazBlue).

Dude, that sucks. I hate it when a peripheral wears out, and live in fear of the day my wonderful hi-res laser mouse finally bites the dust. Sucker cost a lot and I probably won't be able to replace it with as good of one.

On that matter, I'm curious about something. Is there any version of the X-Box 360 controller, or a decently-priced 3rd-party one, that I could get that would also hook up to my computer without me needing to buy an extra adapter of some sort? I'll want to have a controller that can do that when My Little Pony: Fighting is Magic releases, and I don't at the moment, so since I have to get a new one anyway, now seems to be the right time to do so.

Zevox

Just get a wired 360 controller. They sell 360 controllers for Windows, but they just come with some software on DVD that three minutes of googling can find legally for free, so save yourself ten bucks. Download the software, plug it in and you're good to go. I've been using one since about August, and I reckon it was one of the best $40 I've spent on gaming in a long time.

Apparently there are ways to get the wireless 360 controller working for PC, but you need an adapter and some third party software or something. I didn't really do much research on that front. Note that hooking up the wireless controller to your computer with a USB charging do-dad won't work.

[Volatar]

Just get a wired 360 controller. They sell 360 controllers for Windows, but they just come with some software on DVD that three minutes of googling can find legally for free, so save yourself ten bucks. Download the software, plug it in and you're good to go. I've been using one since about August, and I reckon it was one of the best $40 I've spent on gaming in a long time.

Actually, you don't even need any software. Windows Vista and 7 come with the drivers preinstalled. Just plug and play.

[Zevox]

Just get a wired 360 controller. They sell 360 controllers for Windows, but they just come with some software on DVD that three minutes of googling can find legally for free, so save yourself ten bucks. Download the software, plug it in and you're good to go.

Actually, you don't even need any software. Windows Vista and 7 come with the drivers preinstalled. Just plug and play.

Really? Huh, awfully convenient that. And I upgraded to Windows 7 just half a year or so ago.

I do personally find that I prefer wireless controllers for comfort's sake, but I have no problem using wired ones as well, and if one will work on my computer with nothing extra required, so much the better. Judging by Amazon the wired version is cheaper than the wireless too, so I save a bit of money going that route. Sounds like that'll work for me all around.

Zevox

[Triscuitable]

Avoid judgement.

My good friend (as in, real life, and also internet), who introduced me to this forum (known here as Tokromar), put a new indie visual novel in my path.

I should note that when I first heard of this particular game, I had no idea what to think of it. Actually, BEFORE I thought of even that, I didn't know what a visual novel was.

Of course, the subject is very easy to relate to. The protagonist has a condition that forces him to go to a school where he's taught in a position where he can be sympathized with, alongside students who are there for the same reasons. Along the way, there's some girls, and the game becomes a seriously deep game, less dating-sim-y (in Tok's words), and more "this is a believable story" level.

In case you haven't guessed by now, the game is Katawa Shoujo. And I'm hooked.

[Pie Guy]

Thread for that's here.

It is quite good.

[warty goblin]

Really? Huh, awfully convenient that. And I upgraded to Windows 7 just half a year or so ago.

I do personally find that I prefer wireless controllers for comfort's sake, but I have no problem using wired ones as well, and if one will work on my computer with nothing extra required, so much the better. Judging by Amazon the wired version is cheaper than the wireless too, so I save a bit of money going that route. Sounds like that'll work for me all around.

Zevox

If I was playing on a couch, I'd definitely prefer a wireless controller. Since I do my gaming in my desk chair approximately two and a half feet from my monitor however, it's really not very inconvenient, except for its habit of getting snarled up with my headphone cord.

[Triscuitable]

Thread for that's here.

It is quite good.

Why thank you. The general gaming thread forks off into the unknown. Or at least, to me.

[Zevox]

If I was playing on a couch, I'd definitely prefer a wireless controller. Since I do my gaming in my desk chair approximately two and a half feet from my monitor however, it's really not very inconvenient, except for its habit of getting snarled up with my headphone cord.

I'm in the same situation. My TV is mounted on the wall in my room right near my computer, so I sit at my desk for either using my computer or my gaming systems. The comfort I was referring to was precisely the matter of the cord getting caught on things, which occasionally happens with my PS2's controller.

Zevox

[Volatar]

Really? Huh, awfully convenient that. And I upgraded to Windows 7 just half a year or so ago.

I do personally find that I prefer wireless controllers for comfort's sake, but I have no problem using wired ones as well, and if one will work on my computer with nothing extra required, so much the better. Judging by Amazon the wired version is cheaper than the wireless too, so I save a bit of money going that route. Sounds like that'll work for me all around.

Zevox

The best deal for wired 360 controllers seems to be, surprisingly, Gamestop. They sell them for $25. The quality seems fine as well. I suspect that they use them as a loss leader.

[warty goblin]

The best deal for wired 360 controllers seems to be, surprisingly, Gamestop. They sell them for $25. The quality seems fine as well. I suspect that they use them as a loss leader.

I've heard it can be worthwhile to look at used options as well. Apparently they come bundled with a lot of console packages, but people just buy a wireless and trade the wired controller back for credit, so you can find them virtually new.

[Gnoman]

The best deal for wired 360 controllers seems to be, surprisingly, Gamestop. They sell them for $25. The quality seems fine as well. I suspect that they use them as a loss leader.

For that matter, Gamestop offers a wired controller as one of the rewardzone options. It's what I used the points from buying my 360 for.

[Triscuitable]

For that matter, Gamestop offers a wired controller as one of the rewardzone options. It's what I used the points from buying my 360 for.

You are a genius, sir. A genius.

Oh, and I didn't like A.R.E.S. Even on hard, it was too casual. Sorry, Cogwheel. So sorry... (Jamestown is nice though!)

[Cogwheel]

You are a genius, sir. A genius.

Oh, and I didn't like A.R.E.S. Even on hard, it was too casual. Sorry, Cogwheel. So sorry... (Jamestown is nice though!)

Perfectly legitimate complaint. It is not a kind game.

[Zevox]

Well, I finished Blue Dragon today. Fun game, though it got way too easy after a while. Once you come up with a good multiclassing plan for the characters you become pretty godlike, and the late-game equipment is just nuts (just as a n example, during the endgame two of my spellcasters were actually gaining mp when they cast spells rather than losing it). The final boss literally didn't even get a chance to attack me. It's not gonna win any awards for its story either, but I wasn't expecting it to - it's a Dragon Quest style game, all I expected was basic fantasy story that's an excuse for a fun classic-style RPG romp, and it did go just a little beyond that.

I must say that I liked the field barrier and stealth field skills. Nice touch to have ways to make avoiding the game's non-random encounters easier. Field Barrier in particular was neat - it created a shield around you that would destroy weak enemy groups you ran into automatically without a fight. Cost the caster mp every time it killed a group, and you only got half sp (class experience) and no xp for the kill, but well worth using at times, particularly later in the game when the non-boss fights are largely a joke.

Anyway, now I'm not entirely sure what game to move on to. I've been planning on playing Devil May Cry 4 next, but I've been watching a lot of high-level UMvC3 videos on Youtube of late, which is making me want to get back to online games of that. Then again I may want to wait for my new controller for that. Hm. Oh well, I'll decide tomorrow.

Zevox

[Drascin]

Just get a wired 360 controller. They sell 360 controllers for Windows, but they just come with some software on DVD that three minutes of googling can find legally for free, so save yourself ten bucks. Download the software, plug it in and you're good to go. I've been using one since about August, and I reckon it was one of the best $40 I've spent on gaming in a long time.

Really? I was in a shop yesterday and looked at the used wired 360 controllers, and they used some weird port that couldn't be connected to PC at all. I was told you need some kind of adapter or something to turn that port into USB.

[Volatar]

Really? I was in a shop yesterday and looked at the used wired 360 controllers, and they used some weird port that couldn't be connected to PC at all. I was told you need some kind of adapter or something to turn that port into USB.

They were trying to extort more money out of you to buy the adapter that they took off the cord. Everyone else sells them normally.

[Gnoman]

It is a standard USB plug, exactly like any other device. To prove this, look at your 360. Are there any non-USb ports on the console?

[Triscuitable]

It is a standard USB plug, exactly like any other device. To prove this, look at your 360. Are there any non-USb ports on the console?

*Cough* Kinect Port, HDMI Out, AVI Out, AC Adapter */Cough*

[Zevox]

So, I started playing Super Mario 3D Land today - the only 3DS game I have that isn't a remake - and surprisingly, I find that I have more complaints than anything else.

The biggest one is simply this: why the hell is running a button now? They have no excuse for that one - running has been Mario's default movement speed since at least Mario 64, possibly back into the 2D games as well (it's been a long time since I played them). There is no reason for that to change. On a related note, why does the run button become the "use your special ability" button when you get a Fire Flower or Tanooki Suit? Why doesn't that have its own button? It's not like they didn't have enough, since they're only using half of the 3DS' buttons as-is! I'm sorry, but when you mess up the controls on something as simple as a Mario game, something has gone horribly wrong somewhere.

Next, the stages I've played so far seem... really bland. Normally the stages in a Mario game stand out in some way, they're creative and fun and memorable. But here? None of them stand out at all. The sole exceptions are ones that reference older games, such as when Bowser was shooting fireballs at you from a bridge at the end of world 1 - but that only stands out because it's copying the older game and I recognize it from that. The stages that don't make such references just don't have anything memorable to them. I don't know, maybe this changes in later levels - I've only finished two worlds - but it's off to a bad start there.

Finally, a relatively minor one: they made a big deal about the return of the Tanooki Suit in advertising this game, but it seems to lack the Tanooki Suit's signature ability: the ability to turn into a statue temporarily to become invincible but immobile. Without that it's just Raccoon Mario in an animal suit. And without the ability to fly that was Raccoon Mario's signature power too. So... yeah. Kind of lame.

Yeah, I'm still a bit shocked at how I'm finding this game. I've always liked Mario games in the past, but this one is just disappointing me all over the place. It feels like they didn't put half as much effort into it as they usually do.

Zevox

[Gnoman]

Those are the original Mario controls. 3D land is basically a throwback game in a lot of ways.

[Zevox]

Those are the original Mario controls. 3D land is basically a throwback game in a lot of ways.

Even if they are, that's no excuse. The original Mario had to deal with the two-button NES controller. The 3DS has six, so there's no reason whatsoever to use the same buttons for two different things. So is making running a button to begin with: even if that is how it was done in the old 2D games for whatever reason, it has never been done that way in the 3D ones, and for good reason. There's practically never an instance where you wouldn't want to use the run speed, so it just becomes a requirement that you keep a button held down at all times to move at a decent pace, which is pointless and annoying.

Zevox

[factotum]

It is a standard USB plug, exactly like any other device.

That may be true for the 360, but it wasn't for the original XBox--they used a non-standard round connector, even though electronically it was still USB. The wired XBox controller I have plugged in to my PC is basically an original XBox controller with an adapter on it to convert this round connector to a standard USB one.

[Morty]

Dammit... the download section of Spellhold Studios appears to be down. Now I can't download the Baldur's Gate Trilogy mod.