The General Gaming Thread 2: Bundle ALL the Games!

[memnarch]

Really, impulse buys are questionable anywhere, whether online for sales or in a grocery store checkout line. If you really needed it or wanted it, you'd have thought of it before seeing it.

[Knaight]

Really, impulse buys are questionable anywhere, whether online for sales or in a grocery store checkout line. If you really needed it or wanted it, you'd have thought of it before seeing it.

I'm not sure I'd go quite that far. Sometimes one wants to try an unfamiliar thing, and there's a particular opportunity for it. To use a food analogy, it's the difference between "this unfamiliar spice on a store-closing sale smells interesting, I'll try to cook with it tomorrow" and "this unfamiliar spice on a store-closing sale spells interesting, I might maybe have some use for it in the far future, once I learn to cook better". The occasional inexpensive impulse buy is a luxury, but it's not a luxury that I'd consider a bad idea.

[factotum]

There's also the issue of when things go on sale. For instance, I bought Saints Row 4 on sale earlier this week, simply because I want to play the game at some point and it was cheap. Yes, it might be cheaper at some unspecified future date, but then I wouldn't be in the position of being able to play it any time I feel like it!

(Not sure why this massive discussion about Steam buying habits is occurring in here rather than the Steam thread, by the way... ).

[marry]

Dj Grandpa's Crib: Only for the Young at heart

Show Description:
DJG discovers The Red Solstice with Hrvoje Horvatek, faces the Creative Clash with Ryan & Smoker, puts Nick Bratt under The MicrobeScope, and explores the Catacombs with Aron West of Elzra Games.
You can find more detail of this episode at DJ Grandpa’s Crib!
http://bedrockcommunications.blogspo...l#.U0yexThOWr0

[Hiro Protagonest]

Alpha Centauri is on sale on GoG for less than three bucks... I wasn't really interested in it before, but for that price, I might just have to get it.

Maybe I should get Jade Empire too. Sure, the combat is heavily unbalanced, the morals are whitewashed, the romance option I'd pursue is really hard to pull off, and researching the game has already spoiled the story, but it could still be good. Right?

[Morty]

Jade Empire is pretty fun. It's a standard BioWare game in wuxia decorations. The combat is entertaining, although it is quite unbalanced in places.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Well, I got SMAC, and it turns out it ships with SMAX, which explains why I couldn't find that. For now I'm just playing SMAC.

Does anyone know how to use those alien artifacts you find? The ones that you can move around after discovering them. Do you have to put them in a base? Because I did that...

[Gnoman]

http://alphacentauri2.info/wiki/Alien_Artifact

Essentially, you need certain base infrastructure to use them, or be working on a Wonder of The World Secret Project.

[Morty]

Damn, the fifth dot of Obfuscate in Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines is broken. It lets me do stealth kills without becoming visible.

[Mx.Silver]

Maybe I should get Jade Empire too. Sure, the combat is heavily unbalanced, the morals are whitewashed, the romance option I'd pursue is really hard to pull off, and researching the game has already spoiled the story, but it could still be good. Right?

Flawed though it is, I have quite a big soft spot for Jade Empire. I would actually say it has the most competently executed plot they've produced - although I'm aware this opinion may well be held exclusively by me and Shamus Young. Note: not that it's overall story is necessarily better than anything else they've done, just in terms of technical execution it's tighter than any of their other work I've encountered. The twist you've had spoiled is, for instance, effectively set-up and foreshadowed to the point where the plot up until the reveal works regardless of whether you know it's there or not. The story is also actually fairly well-paced: which may be almost unique for Bioware games, if not WRPGs in general.

Combat imbalance is mostly down to the presence of a few ridiculously strong options (e.g. Storm Dragon support style and Jade Golem transformation style) and a couple of 'stirctly inferior' options (Staffs versus any other weapon; most of the companions compared to Dawn Star's support mode). Despite this, it's still reasonably fun and holds up far better than KOTOR does in this regard. On the romance front, the only tricky option I've found is the polyamorous one.
The problem with the morality system is more one of wasted potential: it's basically the usual bioware fare, but initially presented in a way that makes it different from the usual simplistic black&white choices it end-up becoming.

The big downside with the PC version of Jade Empire are the bugs. While it's not as horrendous as KOTOR can be on modern systems, there are a couple of game-breakers in there - including one you can run into that while render it impossible to progress (although it can be avoided).

Damn, the fifth dot of Obfuscate in Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines is broken. It lets me do stealth kills without becoming visible.

Yep. It's sort of like Alpha Protocol in that regard, only slightly less ridiculous.

[Cespenar]

Damn, the fifth dot of Obfuscate in Vampire: the Masquerade - Bloodlines is broken. It lets me do stealth kills without becoming visible.

Eh. You kill mooks somehow anyway. :P

[Morty]

Flawed though it is, I have quite a big soft spot for Jade Empire. I would actually say it has the most competently executed plot they've produced - although I'm aware this opinion may well be held exclusively by me and Shamus Young. Note: not that it's overall story is necessarily better than anything else they've done, just in terms of technical execution it's tighter than any of their other work I've encountered. The twist you've had spoiled is, for instance, effectively set-up and foreshadowed to the point where the plot up until the reveal works regardless of whether you know it's there or not. The story is also actually fairly well-paced: which may be almost unique for Bioware games, if not WRPGs in general.

Indeed. I think the plot twist is so effective because of how it manipulates genre expectations in a wuxia-flavoured BioWare RPG.

Spoiler

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Master Li is a Benevolent Old Master in a wuxia story and the exposition-delivering mentor figure in a BioWare RPG - two character types you don't expect to (almost literally) stab you in the back.

The problem with the morality system is more one of wasted potential: it's basically the usual bioware fare, but initially presented in a way that makes it different from the usual simplistic black&white choices it end-up becoming.

Even more so because there are NPCs who actually do make better use of the system.

Spoiler

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Sun Li, for one, represents the dark side of the Open Palm path that is described at the beginning - he'll build a utopia in which everyone has their place, whether they want it or not - because he knows better what people need.

Eh. You kill mooks somehow anyway. :P

Yeah, those inquisitors aren't any threat anyway. Few things are at this point if you're a melee-specialized character, really. I couldn't stealth-kill my way through the Sabbat hideout, because the enemy vampires keep using Auspex, but I simply cleaved through everything and everyone with the bush hook.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Even more so because there are NPCs who actually do make better use of the system.

Spoiler

Show

Sun Li, for one, represents the dark side of the Open Palm path that is described at the beginning - he'll build a utopia in which everyone has their place, whether they want it or not - because he knows better what people need.

Spoiler

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Yeah when I read about that, I was like "that is so Open Palm, maybe the devs should've trolled you by forcing players who went Open Palm by forcing them to agree with him.

But really, it's not about the potential evils of Open Palm - overbearing Heaven is a far more common trope than misunderstood Hell. The closest we get to a "good" Closed Fist character is this really chaotic guy who just likes to kill stuff but does feel guilt if he doesn't think they deserve it (or something like that).

[Morty]

But really, it's not about the potential evils of Open Palm - overbearing Heaven is a far more common trope than misunderstood Hell. The closest we get to a "good" Closed Fist character is this really chaotic guy who just likes to kill stuff but does feel guilt if he doesn't think they deserve it (or something like that).

That's true. I suppose we have Sagacious Zu and Silk Fox as examples of reasonable Closed Fist characters - they keep telling you that you're not going to get anything done if you stop to help everyone you meet. But it doesn't really translate into anything the player character can do.

In other news, it appears that Styx from Of Orcs and Men will get his own stealth-based game that's a prequel to the existing one. It looks curious, but even though I'm a hopeless fan of all things gobliny, I'll take it all with a pinch of salt. Of Orcs and Men was fun and all, but rather rough around the edges. Still, exploring Styx's backstory could prove interesting.

[Wookieetank]

I've been considering getting Paper Sorcerer vs Etrian Odyssey 4. I'll probably end up getting both at some point, but does anyone have any strong arguements for/against which to get first?

[tonberrian]

I've been considering getting Paper Sorcerer vs Etrian Odyssey 4. I'll probably end up getting both at some point, but does anyone have any strong arguements for/against which to get first?

EO 4 is a ridiculously addictive game with polished mechanics and a so-so story, though I prefer Millenium Girl, which is worth picking up even if you've played EO 1, since it is a lot more polished. Can't say anything about Paper Sorcerer, other than if it's only $5, why not get both? EO 4 is on sale on the E-Shop often enough.

[Wookieetank]

EO 4 is a ridiculously addictive game with polished mechanics and a so-so story, though I prefer Millenium Girl, which is worth picking up even if you've played EO 1, since it is a lot more polished. Can't say anything about Paper Sorcerer, other than if it's only $5, why not get both? EO 4 is on sale on the E-Shop often enough.

The plan is eventually both. My brain likes to try and mix up map layouts in my head if I get to playing too many first person dungeon crawlers at the same time, so I tend to limit it to one at a time for my own sanity's sake (why is there a Doom dragon here, this is supposed to be a healing spring...oh wait >< ).

[Hiro Protagonest]

So Battle Nations has finally been released on Steam. I would really love to see it come up with something to get out of its pay2play/pay2win system. It's fun. I've never seen its style of turn-based combat before, the characters are good, and they've got a lot of unit variety. I haven't been able to try Boss Strikes, but they look cool. But I wish there was something where you could like, pay ten bucks to permanently change all units that require nanopods (the dollar exchange currency) to in-game resource cost (they could probably base it off the hospital prices of healing/repairing those units). And another one that halves the building and production times of all buildings. And then you could get both for fifteen bucks or something. I would pay fifteen bucks for that, and that's kind of on the expensive side.

[warty goblin]

On a whim and a perchant for some third person shooting, I fired up Resident Evil Revelations this evening. Pretty good really, although I'm kinda reminded of how much I don't miss hunting around maze-like maps for keycards.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

I've discovered that I have a THING, a knack if you will, for realistic WWII shooters, after getting my hands on the Rising Storm multiplayer. Hand me a bolt-action rifle and I will be continually getting 10 kills a game. It was the same with Forgotten Hope 2, the Battlefield 2 mod. I'm not good at shooters, I suck sniping long-range with a scope, and my twitch reflexes aren't great, but with decent positioning, iron-sights, and a half-way decent rate of fire, and all of a sudden I'm a decent player...

Makes me wanna rejoin the FH2 campaign...

[Cristo Meyers]

So it turns out that about 3 weeks ago Persona 4 went up on the PSN...I just found out about this tonight.

This makes me a very happy person.

I probably won't be able to get to it for another month, but after Persona 3 (and before, really) I've been dying to play this game.

[IthilanorStPete]

I tried out Thomas Was Alone for a little bit today. I wasn't impressed; the puzzles weren't terribly challenging, the graphics were overly minimalist, I didn't find the characters interesting, and there didn't seem to be much of a narrative.

[memnarch]

I tried out Thomas Was Alone for a little bit today. I wasn't impressed; the puzzles weren't terribly challenging, the graphics were overly minimalist, I didn't find the characters interesting, and there didn't seem to be much of a narrative.

Well, if you didn't like it, you didn't like it.

I agree that it's not particularly challenging, but I enjoyed the short story/narrative.

[Aotrs Commander]

I have completed Age of Empires in my Aotrs Finishes Stuff binge.

That was... a somewhat painful process. AoE was REALLY showing it's age. On top of fighting the interface (especially the pathfinding) being harder than fighting the enemy (in the end, I ended up putting in the bottom difficulty level), the single biggest issue was it corrupting about 30-50% (80% of one mission) of my save games, which was rather and excercise in frustration.

(Especially when I compare it to Empire Earth I, which I consider a gold standard. The expansion and sequels were never quite up to that level and the quality dropped sharply, especially in the dreadful EE3.)

I in the past have played Galactic Civilisations - which also stands on my "to be completed list", since I got bored of it being rather samey in terms of sides.

Now, Age of Mythology extended edition comes out in a week (and pre-orders get 20% off). I have naver played the original. From research, it appears to have rather different factions and a stonger single storyline.

So, sell me on it, denizens of the playground (non-spoilerarily, please). Should I get it now, wait until there are reviews or not bother?

[warty goblin]

I don't know exactly what's enhanced about the new version, but OG Age of Mythology is I think probably the best worker-intensive RTS ever made. I don't know if the campaign is any good - didn't really mess with it - but the skirmishes are top notch, with good AI and map variety. It's even got varied victory conditions, and the deity selection system is simply genius


You can also murder the face off of Achilles using a crocodile that shoots laser beams.

[Aotrs Commander]

I don't know exactly what's enhanced about the new version, but OG Age of Mythology is I think probably the best worker-intensive RTS ever made. I don't know if the campaign is any good - didn't really mess with it - but the skirmishes are top notch, with good AI and map variety. It's even got varied victory conditions, and the deity selection system is simply genius

That would at least seem to indicate that the pathfinding won't make me swear/cry by turns or simultaneously (seriously, AoE had turning the air blue - the only reason I persevered was to get to the end and scrath it of my list. It has not aged well. Mind you, that's probably why there's new versions of Aoe II and AoM and not AoE I...)

You can also murder the face off of Achilles using a crocodile that shoots laser beams.

So I have been told on ponythread. Laser crocodiles are figuring fairly heavily into my calculations...

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

The main campaign centres around the adventures of the Atlantean hero Arkantos, chasing after the pirate who stole the trident from the giant statue of Poseidon back home, fighting the Trojan War, and stumbling upon a much greater conflict, gathering a team of heroes, some you'll know and some original characters, from across the world.

The second campaign for the expansion, AFAIK, is his son fleeing Atlantis falling maybe and discovering the ancient Titan Gods? Maybe? I can't remember much.

[warty goblin]

That would at least seem to indicate that the pathfinding won't make me swear/cry by turns or simultaneously (seriously, AoE had turning the air blue - the only reason I persevered was to get to the end and scrath it of my list. It has not aged well. Mind you, that's probably why there's new versions of Aoe II and AoM and not AoE I...)

I can't recall having issues with the pathfinding. It is however a fairly hard game; IIRC it took me about five or six tries before I could win a skirmish, and I'm still fairly hopeless as the Norse. I'm much better with the Egyptians.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Norse you don't have to worry about favour, you just have to keep fighting. I hated the Egyptians because their infantry was just too squishy. I liked the tough Greek infantry personally!

[Cespenar]

I remember filling Rocs with elephants and just dropping them in the middle of the enemy city.