Whatcha playin? (Video games wise.)

Le Saboteur

Active member
Dr. Gonzo said:
I'm not much of a gamer... In fact the only games I own for my Play Station 3 are Mortal Kombat and Red Dead Redemption... but I'm gonna be headed out in about an hour to my local best buy to pick up this Grand Theft Auto V...

I can't say anything negative about Grand Theft Auto V. For all intents and purposes, it's Rockstar's coda to this generation. Everything they've developed and created has been shoved into it -- the map was swiped from L.A. Noire; the shooting from Max Payne 3; hunting and the wilderness exploration/activities from Red Dead Redemption; and, they've buffed it up to a fine sheen. The collateral loss following a heist gone wrong (or not perfectly) certainly looks intriguing.

I haven't played a GTA game since Vice City, but I might pick up this one eventually. There's a specific part I'm interested in.

The one bit of advice I will offer is this: If you just want a shooter pick up Max Payne 3. It's the best shooter* of the past couple of years. Pick up GTAV if you're into the whole package.

*- Finn will try to convince you that it's Far Cry 3, but he's fooling himself. It does a lot of fun things, but fails at so many others.

Anyway.

I still have one foot currently planted on this generation of consoles, but I am most looking forward to this little number on my PS4. It'll be sucking up a lot of my free time unless it really, really sucks.

Check out these swell looking weather effects!


Far Cry 3 doesn't have this groovy of a soundtrack either.
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Le Saboteur said:
The one bit of advice I will offer is this: If you just want a shooter pick up Max Payne 3. It's the best shooter* of the past couple of years. Pick up GTAV if you're into the whole package.

*- Finn will try to convince you that it's Far Cry 3, but he's fooling himself. It does a lot of fun things, but fails at so many others.
Far Cry 3 is probably the best shooter of the generation what comes to gameplay mechanics. Given how that's extended to actual storytelling on a meta level makes it such a delicious package.

But yeah, it does have its shortcomings, mostly related to world design and pacing. I'm wholly willing to admit that Max Payne 3 is a far more athmospheric game and offers better predetermined action setpieces - save for a few special occasions, FC3 is mostly all about setting up your own. Though I wouldn't compare them head-to-head anyway. After all, they follow two wholly different design mechanics. Max3 is a linear 3rd person action package, whereas FC3 is an open world FPS sandbox. They both offer a wildly differing experience - and there're plenty of ambient details, such as player preferences and the chosen platform, that would affect greatly whether I'd be recommending one or the other (or some completely other title).

Also, to truly appreciate FC3 one probably needs to have plenty of experience with shooters and their mechanics all the way from the days of Doom - and given it's an FPS, it really needs to be played on PC. Bottom line, the brilliance only comes out in the right context. I'd only be fooling myself if I claimed it's a predominant experience no matter what.

And in case somebody thinks this is another "PC is superior" drawl - I best say that there are probably plenty of games out there that may feel a bit underwhelming on PC but really shine in a more casual console environment. I'm just not the right man to point out what those might be.


So yeah, if one likes the GTA V mold of shooty shooty bang bang, Max Payne 3 is the way to go. Though given its rather short length, linear nature and therefore relatively low replay value - I'd say GTA probably does contain more bang for the buck if one is just willing to bear with all the other activities the sandbox is littered with.

---

I'll be checking out GTA V eventually, but as usual, I'll just wait for the eventual PC version. Luckily I'm in no rush, since Skyrim is keeping me well occupied - and given my playstyle, probably will for quite a while longer. I've traipsed around its Nordic fantasy land for roughly 150 hours now, and feel like I've seen only perhaps a third of what it has to offer.

Like Far Cry 3, it's another game that really needs to be experienced on PC. With all the mods and a robust in-game console available (for those moments when even the fan fixes won't cut it) the control is extended not only to your character, but partially to the surrounding world as well. Out of the box, the game has plenty of cracks and seams visible - and being able to apply the putty yourself instead of just doing your best to ignore them turns it into a worthwhile DIY experience. Rip this control away and I can see how it could get old sooner rather than later.

Okay, one might wonder how it really is a good thing to make the end-user patch all the holes - shouldn't that really be something the dev team should do? Well, yes and no. While all the time spent on tweaking is away from actually playing the game - there's also the aspect of personalization. To me, it's extremely intriguing to think that there is probably no other player on this Earth who is experiencing the exact same iteration of the game than I do.
 
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Le Saboteur

Active member
Finn said:
Far Cry 3 is probably the best shooter of the generation what comes to gameplay mechanics. Given how that's extended to actual storytelling on a meta level makes it such a delicious package.

See? I told you he couldn't help himself. Your mileage may vary, but I've played through Max Payne's third downward spiral twice so far. I can confidently say that I will never play Far Cry 3 again.

While I have largely been ignoring my backlog, I have been intermittently working through L.A. Noire again. I've enjoyed picking up new details and trying to decipher the psychological geography during the interrogations.

We're about 1.5 months out from the launch of the next generation of home consoles. So far, only ACIV: Black Flag is piquing my interest. The 4K capabilities are nice, of course, but the investment in movies and equipment is still a ways off. For example, I'll be interested to see if any upscaling on my Lawrence of Arabia Blu-ray is upscaled at all since it was remastered in both 4k & 8k.

Still, harpooning whales in my best Queequeg outfit could prove enjoyable. This despite the fact that hunting in Far Cry 3 was dreadful.


Fun read from Ubisoft's in-house blogger on his three hour demo.

Ubisoft Blog said:
Here’s why. For starters, the sea never lacks for excitement. Sure, there are serene moments of travel, as you glide toward the setting sun on a remarkably clear day. But even those rare moments of calm are magnificent, offering up a breathtaking vista that delivers on the promise of next-gen graphics. For the most part, however, the sea is teeming with activities, including the refined (and thrilling) naval combat. Sometimes it’s the Jackdaw against a flotilla of smaller foes, playing the bruising bully to the man-made minnows flittering about. Other times, Edward faces far bigger fish, and that requires every ounce of the player’s concentration and strategy, using the Jackdaw’s greater mobility to barely keep afloat in the face of overwhelming firepower. Even the waves can play a role in combat, with high crests providing visual cover during stormy weather.
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Le Saboteur said:
See? I told you he couldn't help himself. Your mileage may vary, but I've played through Max Payne's third downward spiral twice so far. I can confidently say that I will never play Far Cry 3 again.
Erm, Sab... I did NOT say in my last post that Far Cry 3 is the best shooter of the generation. I said it probably has the best gameplay mechanics, but that's about it. To call it the best overall definitely goes into the YMMV territory. And to truly enjoy those mechanics you need to play with Mouse+KB interface, which means it may not be enjoyable across the board. So yeah, I can truly understand why some folks might prefer Max Payne 3 over Jason Brody's adventures in the desolate paradise, and certainly won't hold that preference against them. Thank you for your revised comprehension. Words of one syllable next time?

Another thing I said is that I wouldn't even bother comparing Far Cry 3 and Max Payne 3 anyway. Yes, both have guns and you can use those guns to kill virtual foreigners, but that's where the similarities between 'em end. So by hinting that I might walk in and sing praises to FC3 when Gonzo asked for shooty action like GTAV, you were actually building a pretty candid straw man. Which you kept assaulting even after I put up my best effort to take it down. So thank you for that too. Me much sor-ree. Me use moar ezy words next time, ok?
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Finn said:
Erm, Sab... I...

hook-line-and-sinker-o.gif



Moving on.

I was doing some further reading on why 4K gaming is impossible with the forthcoming generation of consoles. While I am far more interested in the video playback capabilities from the inevitable quality upgrade, several gamers were disappointed that they wouldn't be able to shoot each other in the face in Ultra HD 4K resolution. Here's what I found out:

The current max output in the current HDMI spec is 3,840x2,160/30. It doesn't matter if you could crank up the pixels to 10,000x10,000, your teevee couldn't accept the signal; its receiving HDMI chip can obviously only accept the current maximum specifications. Since... oh, 99% of next generation console owners won't be able afford a 4K teevee any time soon, it makes perfect business sense to leave out a feature nobody would be able benefit from for at least, in my estimation, five more years.

What's particularly funny is that during Microsoft's X-Box One unboxing video, the 50-year old hypeman made a special point to note that Microsoft is including a 4K ready HDMI cable in the box.

Short reply: So, any off the shelf HDMI cable? Since, according to the current 1.4 HDMI specifications, a cable must be able to pass 3,840x2,160 pixels at up to 30 frames per second (and 4,096x2,160 at 24 frames per second) to be considered high-speed. HDMI 2.0 ups these standards, but current Category 2 cables are more than capable of handling the increased speeds.

Sony shot down the idea of gaming in native 4k resolution early in the PS4 announcement period, but Microsoft has left the thought dangling with Corporate Vice President Marketing, Strategy and Interactive Entertainment Business* Yusuf Mehdi’s comment "There's no hardware restriction there at all." Which seems rather odd given how decidedly underpowered the One is. Unless, of course, this is another instance where the Power of the Cloud!! is going to save Microsoft's bacon.

* -Bullsh!t job.

The fine folk over at AnandTech went into some depth regarding the power requirements to pump out 4k resolution at a steady 60 frames per second. Check out their analysis over here.

To paraphrase, the GTX TITAN GPU is the current bleeding edge of cool when it comes to graphics cards. It's such a beast that it'll set you back a cool ~$1000. It took four of these monsters to achieve a steady 60fps on Metro 2033 running on maximum settings at 3840x2160! Dirt 3 ran at a very impressive 200-plus frames per second, but Sleeping Dogs (with full SSAA) topped out at 57.78fps!

Think about that a moment. That's a ~$4,000 investment. I don't know about you, but I can think of a lot of things I would rather spend four grand on. Still, having recently had the opportunity to play with Sony's 4k teevee demo, it's going to be spectacular when it arrives. Watching a 4k feature in native 4k resolution is really, really impressive. I would say the difference is like jumping from VHS to DVD. It's that good.

4K-2.jpg


One caveat, though. Screen resolution isn't the most important part of image quality; no, that's probably the contrast ratio. Depth perception, punch, and 'that sense of being there' all come from moving from the lightest to the darkest part of the image. Blu-ray is an excellent format for this. Just check out the 50th Anniversary release of Lawrence of Arabia. It's been scaled down from 4k resolution, but the detail on display are astounding.

Blu-ray.com said:
Sony's meticulous 4K restoration is not just a treat, it's a revelation and perhaps the definitive Blu-ray catalogue release, if not the format's finest presentation. It's a beautiful picture, to say the least, every frame lovingly cared for and displayed on Blu-ray with the sort of attention to detail and, indeed, flawlessness that a film of this magnitude commands. Sony's picture dazzles from the opening shots of Lawrence speeding down very well-defined pavement and past sharp and accurate foliage. Detail remains exacting throughout the film; whether fine grains of sand, sweeping desert vistas, intricate clothing lines, or complex facial textures, there's never a frame in which the picture doesn't dazzle with its perfect film-like elements. Light grain remains over the image, and there's a natural sharpness, unsurpassed clarity, and startling accuracy that will impress even the most demanding viewer. The image is absolutely clean, showing no signs of wear and succumbing to no unwanted artifacts or digital tinkering. Colors are equally resplendent. There are many instances of the sandy earthen terrains contrasting with the bright blue sky overhead; both are picturesque in hue and the balance is beyond words. The image handles everything from white flowing robes to black costumes with equal precision. Gold trim, bright reds, lush natural greens, and all variety of colors simply dazzle in every scene. Black levels are perfect, as is shadow detail. Flesh tones never betray natural appearances. In short, this is everything the transfer needed to be. It's the sort of timeless image that transfixes and immerses, one that is so precise that viewers will become absolutely lost in the beauty of the film. Many will want to watch twice in succession, once for the transfer and once for the movie.

With Sony & Panasonic announcing the arrival of 300gb (current max: 50gb) Blu-ray discs by 2015, I have no doubt that we'll be seeing true 4k resolution in home video very soon. Hopefully they'll be compatible with current players. Of tertiary concern, are the video sizes. With Sony explicitly stating that their 4k streaming service will be coming to the PS4, it'll be interesting to see how many people take advantage of it. Why? With downloads possibly in excess of 100gbs per film, I don't see your friendly neighborhood service provider considering that fair usage. I can see prices for 'net access quickly becoming tiered. Especially in Europe where they seem to be routinely throttled.

Time will tell, though. 4k certainly isn't as intriguing as Blu-ray adoption, but the possibility is exciting.

And finally, the last game I'll probably ever buy for the PS3 finally has a release date. I don't know what it is, but I really, really like platformers.

 

Sea Monarch

New member
Lately been rocking slightly older school regular X-Box games on the 360. Namely, Sid Meier's "Pirates", and Soul Calibur II. I don't game often, but every now and then.... Disappointed to see that my regular X-box "From Russia With Love" will not play on the 360. Gonna, have to dig the old X-Box out. Not that I mind.
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
I finally got around to playing the new Tomb Raider game. It was fantastic and I managed to finish the single-player campaign with 100% completion, something I almost never do.:)
 
Angry Birds; Origins

The original 1988 free range fledgling adventure. Available for Droid devices on MAME.

newze-3.gif


It absolutely retro rocks - and not a Star Wars spin off in sight! Yay!
 

Goodsport

Member
Just pre-ordered both Battlefield 4 (for the PC) and its official strategy guide. (y)

I also just upgraded my video card. I was planning to for a while anyway, but checking this site to see if my system could handle BF4 was what finally prompted me to upgrade now: though the rest of my rig comfortably passed both the Minimum and Recommended tabs, my previous video card barely passed the Minimum tab but failed to pass the Recommended tab. My new video card passes both tabs and has also made a huge graphical improvement for my other PC games as well. ;)

I briefly considered getting this game for the upcoming PlayStation 4 instead, but I could never play first-person shooters well on a controller - I need a keyboard & mouse for those.

So I now better finish BF3's single-player campaign, as BF4's single-player campaign begins about six years later.


-G
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Some good news for Finn & I hit the 'net last week. Hopefully some of you will now take a spin 'round Hong Kong.

United Front Games said:
"We're super-excited that it's another game based in the Sleeping Dogs universe, it's something we've wanted to do for ages, and we're very happy to be working with Square Enix again... but that's all we can give you for the time being," said UFG.

Yes, it looks like Sleeping Dogs is getting a sequel... well, maybe. Addressing a trademark filing for something called Triad Wars, United Front Games confirmed that they were indeed working on a next generation sequel to their open-world sleeper hit. While the idea of a sequel is greatly appealing the title is currently uninspiring. Triad Wars sounds like a crappy iOS game and/or a generic MMO.

Fingers crossed that it's simply a bad sub-title and they're added an unneeded multi-player component.

Also of note: Dark Horse Comics has picked up the rights to The Witcher!

WITCHER-1.jpg


This might drum up more interest in having Geralt of Rivia's tale translated into a language that doesn't resemble gibberish on a good day. Stop in at Newsarama for the interview with the series' writer, Paul Toobin. There's a couple of art samples, too.

Paul Toobin said:
The story is almost entirely mine. Projekt RED and I decided on a direction during a meeting, but it was more of a feel... a story type... that they were asking for, rather than establishing any plot points. With that in mind, I came up with a couple possibilities, and then they stepped back and let me do my thing. They've been fabulous to work with, trusting us with Geralt and his world, letting Dark Horse and I do what we do best.

I don't do a lot of gaming. I used to. My gaming interests these days are generally predicated on long standing hobbies/interests/whatever. Towards that end is Ready at Dawn's The Order: 1886. Of everything announced since February, it looks the most intriguing.


Recently announced details flesh out the world and give it a slight Victorian-era Space Marine vibe.

  • The narritive is a mixture of history, fantasy, sci-fi and mythology and particular emphasis has been placed on creating a rich world
  • Hundreds of years ago humanity splits and a small group of people become "genetically different", taking on bestial traits and being dubbed "half-breeds"
  • The half-breeds are given names after mythological creatures and folk-tale characters, but are actually a new species of sentient Earth creatures
  • The differing breeds engage in conflicts which eventually spark a war changing the course of history

Check out the full article in your current issue of Game Informer or check out this article over at Computer & Video Games.

And in a final bit of news, a gameplay trailer for Thief has been released. I have my fingers crossed on this one, but will probably wait for the reviews.

 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Just because I can't stand the closed threads at the top of the page.

Mark Hamill owns the role of the Clown Prince of Crime in any medium. Give Troy Baker (The Last of Us, Bioshock Infinite) a few more years of hard living and he might prove to be a contender.

Give a listen. No real need to watch unless you want to.


With the release date for Arkham: Origins a mere ten days away now, Warner Bros. Montreal has announced a new assassin, the Electrocutioneeer! That brings the announced total to... six. So far,

  • Deathstroke
  • Bane
  • Copperhead
  • Firefly
  • The Electrocutioneer
  • Deadshot

The question remains will the final two remain shrouded in darkness until post-launch? Or, will they be announced in a launch trailer perhaps?

Montana should enjoy this addition, too.


For me though, the inclusion of Deathstroke made Arkham: Origins a Day One purchase. His story arc with the The New Teen Titans way back when in during Judas Contract was my introduction into DC Comics. While I'm generally not a fan of costume updates, I really like how they've brought Slade into the modern era. He, like The Bat, really benefit from the technological upgrade.

3247773-death.jpg



And finally, do give a glance to the Gamescom trailer. It gives you your first taste of Alfred.

 

Forbidden Eye

Well-known member
I'm not much of a gamer myself, but I have found myself playing more this year than in previous ones. The one game that kinda started that has an Indy connection:

DuckTales: Remastered: This is actually just the NES game updated with 2013 graphics. I grew up with Ducktales, but I was never familiar with the game, so it was all new for me. Its a really cool game with great attention to detail. They do a great job capturing the spirit of the show(and there's a couple other Disney references thrown in there). It also is pretty challenging when you set it to either "Medium" or "Hard", a big contrast from modern Disney games which tend to be easier than cake.

As fun as the game is, the "movie" parts are almost the best part, as its a fun trip down memory lane listening to these voices. Huge props to Disney for getting all the surviving voice actors back, including Alan Young and June Foray(both in their mid-90s).

I've also downloaded Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. This is the first GTA game I've owned, as I figured I might as well try it in midst of the GTA hype(I've played parts of the other games at other people's houses, just never owned it). Honestly, its what I expected in that playing it like the Sims and breaking the law and doing destructive things you'd never do in real life is more fun than playing the main story itself, which is honestly rather boring. Glad I didn't pay for a more expensive version, even if the graphics aren't as good.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Forbidden Eye said:
DuckTales: Remastered: This is actually just the NES game updated with 2013 graphics. I grew up with Ducktales, but I was never familiar with the game, so it was all new for me. Its a really cool game with great attention to detail. They do a great job capturing the spirit of the show(and there's a couple other Disney references thrown in there). It also is pretty challenging when you set it to either "Medium" or "Hard", a big contrast from modern Disney games which tend to be easier than cake.

I had planned on picking it up -- loved the cartoon; don't really remember the game -- but opted to wait once they announced a physical copy would be hitting retail shelves in November. The 12th, I believe. Still, I played the demo at WonderCon and was quite taken with it. Getting the original voice cast back was a coup, and the gameplay is spot on. Looking forward to playing it!

Le Saboteur said:
With the release date for Arkham: Origins...

...upon us, the reviews are pouring in now that the embargo has been lifted. While there's some divergence in the scoring systems, the consensus seems to be: It's akin to another Arkham City, but without the refinement and polish of the previous entries in the series. There seems to be some general hand wringing about it lacking 'innovation', too.

Which seems kind of odd. It makes sense to decry annual releases for not doing anything different, but with an already stellar combat do you really need anything more than a topflight story? You can make adjustments, of course, but the core is there and it's solid. Arkham City sits at a 96 on metacritic for a reason...

I really doubt that Rocksteady's next generation entry (face it, it's coming) will expand on the premise all that much more either. In fact, aside from enhanced visuals, I'd like to see a story that entwines The Bat, Nightwing, and Robin (Tim Drake). Batgirl would be a welcome addition too.

 

Forbidden Eye

Well-known member
Le Saboteur said:
I had planned on picking it up -- loved the cartoon; don't really remember the game -- but opted to wait once they announced a physical copy would be hitting retail shelves in November. The 12th, I believe. S

Huh, first time hearing of this. I actually picked up the PS3 case with the code in it. Kinda wish I was willing to wait, but...it did come with this cool Scrooge Pin!

pin.jpg
 

Goodsport

Member
Battlefield 4 in stores today. :cool:

Though I'll pick up both the game (PC version) and the official strategy guide this morning (both already fully paid for :)), I'll still need to finish the last four missions of BF3's single-player campaign before I can start playing BF4 (hopefully it won't take me more than a day or two).


-G
 

Goodsport

Member
The store where I picked up my copy of Battlefield 4 and its official strategy guide also passed out free 8.4 oz. cans of Red Bull as part of the game's promotion. :D


-G
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Wait... they're printing strategy guides for FPSes now? What for?

After all, I've never heard anyone getting stuck in any shooter's single player campaign, which are as linear and straightforward as a Midwest highway. And for multi guys, they're mostly guides for "DON'T play like this if you want to win".







<small>As for myself... still in Skyrim. There bloats my backlog again.</small>
 

The Drifter

New member
Finn said:
Wait... they're printing strategy guides for FPSes now? What for?

I can see it now,
"Go forward. Shoot baddies. Go forward. Shoot. Blow up red barrel. Go forward. Dunk. Go behind corner. Shoot. Shoot. Throw frag. Go forward. Shoot. Sprint. Shoot. Go forward. Shoot boss. You win!"
 
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