Whatcha playin? (Video games wise.)

Montana Smith

Active member
I've reached the end of the road with things to do in Arkham City.

Completed the story and all side missions, 440/440 Riddles/Physical Challenges, Harley’s Revenge with 30/30 balloons.

Played the Harley chapter three times to find all the balloons, and that final Robin tussle is a battle royale! Batman's final battle, in comparison, was effortless.

Before starting on Harley the stats showed 71%, and was still 71% after completing it. So the other 29% are the Riddler's Revenge maps, and getting three medals on each of those looks impossible.


Unlike Fallout 3/New Vegas there doesn't seem to be a mass of fan made mods to extend the game with new missions, new buildings or 'lands'. Maybe the mechanics just don't lend themselves to it.
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Montana Smith said:
Unlike Fallout 3/New Vegas there doesn't seem to be a mass of fan made mods to extend the game with new missions, new buildings or 'lands'. Maybe the mechanics just don't lend themselves to it.
Actually, game complexity has very little to do with it. Moddability is almost solely a developer choice. It's up to them how reverse-engineerable they want their code to be. They can either use file formats and scripting languages that are viewable using common tools or release their dedicated SDKs that allow fans to strip the skin away. Or, they can use their internal formats only the original game executable can read or apply varying levels of encryption.

Out of the big players, Valve and Bethesda are huge proponents for allowing it. Rockstar, to some degree. With mid-level Eastern European companies such as Bohemia, GSC, CD Projekt, it's pretty much the norm.

The Western big players are generally stingy about it. Having moddability in an EA or Ubi title is a rarity. For the former, The Sims pops to mind (though this is actually naturally, given how the games are nothing but big virtual dollhouses), and with the latter, the Far Cry franchise has some dev-released tools available.

Another thing affecting moddability is whether the game is designed with PC or the consoles in mind. The latter are a closed environment so the support for modding is nil to begin with, even if there is a PC port in the works or forthcoming.


Even before the release, it was pretty obvious that there was not going to be room for The Modder in Arkham. Too many strings attached with big licenses and generally, 3P action games with plenty of moving parts are not of the kind that are even doable with more commonly available formats. Plus, it was clearly created with consoles in mind, first and foremost.

Le Saboteur said:
Oh, and you're welcome.
Much obliged. Even if I was aware already (how could I not be?), and in fact hate early previews in cases like this. It just emphasizes how lengthy a wait there is left.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Finn said:
Actually, game complexity has very little to do with it. Moddability is almost solely a developer choice. It's up to them how reverse-engineerable they want their code to be. They can either use file formats and scripting languages that are viewable using common tools or release their dedicated SDKs that allow fans to strip the skin away. Or, they can use their internal formats only the original game executable can read or apply varying levels of encryption.

Out of the big players, Valve and Bethesda are huge proponents for allowing it. Rockstar, to some degree. With mid-level Eastern European companies such as Bohemia, GSC, CD Projekt, it's pretty much the norm.

The Western big players are generally stingy about it. Having moddability in an EA or Ubi title is a rarity. For the former, The Sims pops to mind (though this is actually naturally, given how the games are nothing but big virtual dollhouses), and with the latter, the Far Cry franchise has some dev-released tools available.

Another thing affecting moddability is whether the game is designed with PC or the consoles in mind. The latter are a closed environment so the support for modding is nil to begin with, even if there is a PC port in the works or forthcoming.


Even before the release, it was pretty obvious that there was not going to be room for The Modder in Arkham. Too many strings attached with big licenses and generally, 3P action games with plenty of moving parts are not of the kind that are even doable with more commonly available formats. Plus, it was clearly created with consoles in mind, first and foremost.

Then Rocksteady had just better get on and release #3!

I've been giving New Game Plus a go. More armoured opponents, and more with shields or cattle prods. Batman can get by, but I'm having trouble getting Catwoman past the third level of Ivy's plant men.

Maybe it's time to go back to Arkham Asylum.
 

The Drifter

New member
I've been working my way through Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. It's been a very long time since I've played a JRPG. I'm about 22 hours in so far and I'm enjoying it. Some things are irritating me (enemies re-spawning too soon, over explaining things), but nothing that I can't overlook.
 

Goodsport

Member


23b45GW2_Feb2013_Release_NewHeader.jpg




-G
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Now that the New Year has officially begun, I was looking back at that handful of games I was supposed to be looking forward to in 2012. Of those, only Ghost Recon: Future Soldier received any meaningful playtime. Sly Cooper didn't even come out, and despite having the greatest theme song in the history of the industry, Skyrim remained shelved due to probable coding issues. And SSX? Yeah, that was passed over in the rotation for Batman: Arkham City. Even Hitman: Absolution remains in the original box. Great packaging material, though. Highly recommend the special edition just for it.

And while I don't do lists I would have to say that Max Payne 3 was my 2012 Game of the Year. Nothing rivaled the experience it offered last year by far.

So, now that I have Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time in hand, are there any other games I'm looking forward to this year? A few. Though, most games are probably going to be overshadowed by the probable announcement of the next generation of consoles.

Last year's San Diego Comic Con featured a twenty-minute demo with Crystal Dynamics re-imaging of the Tomb Raider franchise. Yes, it felt a lot like Uncharted, but what was on display had a significant amount of potential. The only real complaint I had was that Lara felt divorced from Newton's Second Law. The nine-odd months they had for polish should have corrected that, though.


Surprisingly enough, there are a couple of PC games I am looking forward to this year. The next Broken Sword is right up there, but the newest SimCity is high on that list, as is the hotly anticipated Rome II: Total War. R2TW probably tops that list.


Getting back to the console market, The Last of Us from Naughty Dog is right at the top of my list tied with Tomb Raider. So far I have managed to avoid all advance press, and intend to keep it that way.

I was an avid fighting game enthusiast back in the heyday of the arcade. Samurai Showdown and Virtua Fighter were my favorites, but since the home market has taken over, I've largely avoided the genre. However, and there's always a however, NetherRealm's newest offering, Injustice: Gods Among Us looks intriguing.


I wasn't into DC so much in my youth, but Deathstroke & Green Arrow were two of my favorites.

Well, I think that's it. I'm sure that there's a couple of others out there I forget about, but these are the games that I am really looking forward to. Now I just need to make a la-arge dent in my backlog.

So what are you looking forward to in the Year of the Snake?

Still currently working through Sleeping Dogs. I've been, well, marked for promotion.
 
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Montana Smith

Active member
The Drifter said:
And for the record, Monty. I enjoyed Arkham Asylum a helluva a lot more than I did Arkham City.

I can see why that might be.

Asylum is visually very appealing, with more interiors to explore, and oodles of atmosphere with places like the cemetery, the water front, the botanical gardens, and so on.

Having played City first, I miss some of the combos and quick gadgets, and something as simple as the 'running slide attack'.

The games complement each other well, however. Seeing the city from Asylum and the asylum from City creates a sense of connectivity.

There are some frustating sequences in Asylum, such as the battle against Ivy, until I learnt to concentrate on evading the vines and pods, and really only attacking her when the plant opened its 'eye'.

The other big frustration for a while was the end of the Killer Croc episode. When the camera angle changed the keyboard directions didn't allow for diagonal running. The only way I mananged to get away from Croc was by jumping continually.

Just received the 'Party Pooper' achievement for beating Joker's welcoming committee. The walkthrough I've been reading said that it would be the "toughest fight yet", but I'd rather face a multitude of goons than something like Ivy, or a camera change such as Croc's!
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Le Saboteur said:
And while I don't do lists I would have to say that Max Payne 3 was my 2012 Game of the Year. Nothing rivaled the experience it offered last year by far.
I'd name mine as well, but I sort of have a defining problem here. Should it be something I actually played this year, or simply a title that came out during 2012? Or pick a third option?

If I use the latter definition, guess I'll have to hold my nomination back until I've cleared the late-2012 backlog. If the former, suppose I'll be picking between Max Payne 3 and Sleeping Dogs, as most of my 2012 was used revisiting old titles. If I were to predict writing this a year ago, I would probably also have added Mass Effect 3 to the mix. And while it was actually kinda okay, some of the magic I felt with the earlier two had faded.

Hmm... I guess The Witcher 2 could work as both my 2011 and 2012 GOTY, thanks to the Enhanced Edition overhaul. But now the gods of gaming say that it'd be cheating.

But ultimately, there is one more game I played new this year that left even more of an impression than either of those I already called. Technically, it already came out in 2010, but the PC version took its sweet time arriving and only hit the shelves exactly a year ago. So my "Most Memorable New Thing I Played in 2012" title goes to Alan Wake.


Le Saboteur said:
So what are you looking forward to in the Year of the Snake?
Short term... exactly that. As it's the name of the next story DLC of Sleeping Dogs supposedly out this month. Taking place after the main game ends, it promises to return Wei his badge and pit him against a new sinister case.

Couple of days back, I visited the Zodiac Tournament DLC Island within Sleeping Dogs. And after its conclusion, I decided to deviate a bit from my formula of playing only single game at a time. Sleeping Dogs should have some new story DLC coming out this month apparently taking place just after the conclusion of the game proper, but if it's going to be as brief as the Zodiac Tournament, going back to it after technically moving on already wouldn't feel like worth it.

So I cut the game short a few story missions from the end to add some extra length (okay, I haven't played Nightmare in North Point either) to give me at least a full night's worth of gameplay regardless of my decision to acquire the upcoming DLCs or not.



In the meanwhile, I decided to give Sherlock Holmes a go.

Well... really no need to wait for my impressions for too long, as I already finished it last night after a couple of lengthy sittings. Can't say if it simply was due to the brevity of the game or me being a very experienced adventure gamer.

Overall, I liked it. I suppose. But it didn't really leave a lasting impression.

I have to applaud Frogwares, they do know the basics of crafting a good, serious story-based adventure game. It was pleasantly almost completely devoid of my all-time number one pet peeve considering the genre, which means making the puzzles so artificial that they break the immersion. The most common manifestation of this is having to fetch some perfectly mundane item like a piece of string from the other side of the game world and then take it back to advance (some of you may recall me ragging about this when I gave my 2c on the Lost Horizon). If you were supposed to investigate a graveyard, everything you needed to complete the investigation were actually found within the said graveyard. The downside is that when items have uses that follow real-world logic and they're all located practically right next to each other, the inventory puzzles aren't all that challenging. Although that didn't stop the game from having a handful of those genre-typical moments where I still felt like I was taking far too convoluted steps in achieving a relatively simple goal.

(I feel I should say here that the things I just said become non-issues with so-called comedy adventures, as they have a better tendency to fit the internal logic of the reality the game takes place in.)

Also, the game is generally very good in telling you what's your aim in a given area. There were only a couple of minor occasions when I was picking up items and trying them with hotspots without really knowing what I was supposed to achieve.

Of course, the series mainstay, extremely convoluted dedicated puzzle screens that require you to beat an elaborate lock or solve a hidden code were naturally present as well. I have kind of a love-hate relationship with these. Generally I like figuring out what they're about, but I hate doing the actual crunching, because it can get tedious and occasionally even depend on pure luck and/or trial and error to get it done. Although the feature of being able to skip any of these if they provided overwhelming without punishment does make these gripes feel a bit nonsensical, as the only thing stopping me from giving up was my pride.


But that's enough about gameplay and design. On to my views about the story. (Minor spoilers may follow.)

Well, I really admired it for about two thirds through, and was ready to consider it the best in the series... then it sadly did lose some of its step. The bit brought up in earlier posts, where the biggest reveal of the story are given to you in a simple cutscene didn't really bother me in gameplay sense, but I did notice some leaps of logic and simply lazy writing in the details of said reveal.

Also, the ending was a major out of the blue moment for me. I guess the framing story was supposed to foreshadow it, but it still felt like a literal Deus Ex Machina since it was never hinted during the story proper that the Great Detective might be missing certain aspects in his life - and this late moment mystery person's relationship with the villain didn't get much of an explanation either. She just was there for our heroes to discover, and that was it.



To sum it up, it was a solid adventure and no time wasted by any means, but there were still several moments where the devs managed to drop the ball... or a handful of them.


---


Well, that was a mouthful. TL;DR, I know. Back to the question of games coming up this year... it's funny, really. I already got a decent vibe of what's my 2014 GOTY's going to be, but it's really hard to pinpoint any true standout titles from the platter of 2013. Note, it's still in the air whether GTA V will reach PCs or not.

Out of ones that will, Broken Sword deserves a mention, naturally. And if we're to look at other old familiars, I suppose I end up checking out Tomb Raider too, and knowing myself, I'll also give BioWare a chance to show if they've managed to go back to what was good with Dragon Age III. Same for Ubi with Splinter Cell: Blacklist.

Also, there are a couple of titles out already that are sort of on my peripheral radar. I'm currently wondering whether Dead Space 3 might be worth it. Haven't played the first, but ended up acquiring the second by chance and it was okay. And for the other... even if the genre of pure hack'n'slash is generally not my cup of tea, there's something about the visuals of this new Devil May Cry I find compelling.

sQFISod.jpg


Maybe from a Steam sale.



And to not simply throw true and tried IPs out there, I guess there's this:

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FMyQlnnxXuk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

So... apparently it's Deus Ex meets Assassin's Creed with a handful of tricks of its own. Sure, I'm game.

---

Now, to decide which bit of the backlog to delve into next. Far Cry 3 and the Rook Islands could be a logical candidate, but given how I still kinda have one sandbox title on hold, maybe I'll go someplace else.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Montana Smith said:
Then Rocksteady had just better get on and release #3!

Confirmed. Well, sort of. CFO John K. Martin confirmed the third outing in the Arkham series is set to debut in 2013.

John K. Martin said:
"We expect [digital home video revenue] to grow close to 20% in 2013. And we also have a strong games release this year, which will include the next release in the Batman Arkham franchise."

But, there's a rumor making the rounds that indicate Rocksteady won't be developing the third game. With a combined sales of ~10-million copies and near universal acclaim, why Warner Bros. hand off the license to anybody else is mystifying.

Paul Dini has already indicated that he's not involved in the next Batman game either.

Guess: Official announcement @ the GDC in San Francisco, with a full ad campaign debuting @ E3. The official release would happen somewhere in the 2013 holiday shopping season.

Finn said:
I'd name mine as well, but I sort of have a defining problem here. Should it be something I actually played this year, or simply a title that came out during 2012? Or pick a third option?

It seems that the gaming trades adopt the same practice endorsed by Hollywood: a deadline. If it doesn't get released by a certain date, then it doesn't count. I've essentially adopted it as well, since anything after, say, mid-November doesn't count.

And as for the other games I didn't play: I typically play every game for a few minutes when acquired just to ensure it nominally works. If it doesn't otherwise hold my attention, then it gets added to the stack. Thus, Max Payne 3.

Finn said:
And to not simply throw true and tried IPs out there, I guess there's this:

Potential. I need to see more, though. 2012 was certainly the year of the threequels, but 2013 seems quite skimpy so far in terms of new IPs. Beyond shows potential, but aside from The Last of Us very little jumps out as interesting. That could all change with more promo materials, like that live-action trailer did for Sleeping Dogs.
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Le Saboteur said:
Potential. I need to see more, though.
Yeah. It's not like I have a tendency to jump on board the hype train on the first sighting of it, save for special occasions. I usually wait what the reviewer hivemind has to say about it - and not just in the form of score. In fact, the consensus might as well be negative and I'm still able to pick up enough tones hinting that I'll enjoy it. Especially what comes to adventure games and RPGs.

And similarly, high scores with FPSes and other action games might incite a reaction that'll give me a vibe it's nothing I haven't seen before. Usually, I turn out to be right when I finally pick it up on sale.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Le Saboteur said:
Confirmed. Well, sort of. CFO John K. Martin confirmed the third outing in the Arkham series is set to debut in 2013.



But, there's a rumor making the rounds that indicate Rocksteady won't be developing the third game. With a combined sales of ~10-million copies and near universal acclaim, why Warner Bros. hand off the license to anybody else is mystifying.

Paul Dini has already indicated that he's not involved in the next Batman game either.

Guess: Official announcement @ the GDC in San Francisco, with a full ad campaign debuting @ E3. The official release would happen somewhere in the 2013 holiday shopping season.


A Silver Age Batman would be an interesting variation.

They have to do something different this time - a story set in other parts of Gotham City so we get to see more of his world. Maybe the ability to drive the Batmobile in some sections, out to the suburbs and the countryside in search of clues?

Though I don't want Batman to have too much fun!

detective267.jpg


I finished Asylum and found all the riddles. The final Joker battle was one of the easiest in the game, which came as a surprise after some of the tough ones with two titans and an increasing army of thugs.

This one really is a game that ends, as after Joker's gone Arkham is under control and nobody else left to fight (unlike City).

Had a go at the Challenge maps. The Combat ones are much harder than City, but I got three medals in each of the Predators. They take a lot of patience waiting to get the guards in the right places.
 

The Drifter

New member
Nurhachi1991 said:
I beat Aliens: Colonial Marnines last night.

I hope no one bought it and just rented it.


GAME OVER MAN

I was thinking about getting it. It's that short, huh?
Hell, I'm still working my way through Ni No Kuni. 33 hours in and still no end in sight!
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
The Drifter said:
I was thinking about getting it. It's that short, huh?
I haven't played it, but I was likewise curious about it, and... at least according to the reviewer hivemind, it's less about being short and more about being, well, s**t. They seem quite constant in this agreement.

Apparently it's buggy, badly paced and overall a game that shouldn't have seen the light of day during the 21st century.


 

Nurhachi1991

Well-known member
It was buggy, It did not really set the over all atmosphere I was hoping, The shooting was ehhh. The AI was horrible. Some of the set pieces did look nice but yeah I would just rent it. I beat it in like 5 hours on the normal difficulty and other than finding "legendary" weapons like Hudson's Pulse rifle or Ripley's Shotgun scattered throughout the stages there is not much replay value.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Nurhachi1991 said:
It was buggy, It did not really set the over all atmosphere I was hoping, The shooting was ehhh. The AI was horrible. Some of the set pieces did look nice but yeah I would just rent it. I beat it in like 5 hours on the normal difficulty and other than finding "legendary" weapons like Hudson's Pulse rifle or Ripley's Shotgun scattered throughout the stages there is not much replay value.

Doesn't sound too good.

I still have this one:

avp1-aliens-vs-predator-pc-boxart.jpg



It was a bit of head trip playing as an alien, and biting the heads off terrified humans.


When I had one of these,

sinclair_zx-spectrum_3-4_2_hr_s.jpg


I used to play this:

Alien(MGE).jpg


showscreen.cgi


showscreen.cgi


It used to terrify me, too. Never knew when the alien was going to suddenly appear.
 
Since Christmas, (slightly before):

720 Skate or Die

NHL 2012...my boy was REALLY into creating a team, learned him some strategy beyond Skate - Shoot. Had to fill out index cards to keep track of players/trades etc.

Skyrim

Streets of Rage (2P...fun) and Golden Axe I, II, III (2P goof)

The Dream Cast Died and so did both my Saturns. Was really looking forward to Typing of the Dead and dual gun Virtua Cop. Oh Well.
 

Nurhachi1991

Well-known member
Montana Smith said:
Doesn't sound too good.

I still have this one:

avp1-aliens-vs-predator-pc-boxart.jpg



It was a bit of head trip playing as an alien, and biting the heads off terrified humans.


When I had one of these,

sinclair_zx-spectrum_3-4_2_hr_s.jpg


I used to play this:

Alien(MGE).jpg


showscreen.cgi


showscreen.cgi


It used to terrify me, too. Never knew when the alien was going to suddenly appear.


Did you play it in Spanish too? ;)
 
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