Whatcha playin? (Video games wise.)

Le Saboteur

Active member
Finn said:
...it would hardly be Max Payne.

I did happen to see one Favela Max walking around the floors of Comic Con. Surprising, yes, but not nearly as surprising as the five or six Ezio Auditore di Firenze's stalking the floor. I didn't realize it was that popular.

Well, one of them might have been an Altair. I didn't look for the subtle differences in costuming. I'm sure one of the many articles on SDCC's cosplay will point them out for me.

Ubisoft's presence on the exhibit floor amounted to a large black theatre adorned with the Assassin's Creed emblem. Fronting the theatre were a couple of laptops where you could pre-order the game through Best Buy, and a Frag Doll Cadette doing her best sideshow barker impression.

You did get this rather awesome t-shirt for pre-ordering.

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Inside the theatre another Cadette(?) emceed a fifteen minute video featuring the Battle of Bunker Hill and Colonel William Prescott's famous "do not shoot before you see the white's of their eyes" speech. The demo culminated with Connor preparing to go all Last of the Mohicans on Major Pitcairn.

Alex Hutchinson, the game's director, narrated the video explaining the difficulty they had in a.) designing natural looking trees that could be traversed and b.) implementing an open-world where Connor could go where he pleased.

Weapons offer more realistic damage this time around as evidenced by Connor cleaving a Redcoat's head in twain with his tomahawk. There's also a stronger emphasis on contextual animation; i.e. enemies will jump away when cannonballs land near them, Connor will visibly seek out hand and foot holes while scaling vertical cliffs, and troops on both sides will act out their death throes.

The engine now handles some twenty-five hundred people on screen at once, and this allows the team to implement period accurate military tactics. Though, I would have liked to seen if the battle would continue to play out if Connor did nothing.

The last thing I specifically remember from the Bunker Hill sequence: the free-running has been adjusted to include over-under options. Where Ezio, Altair, & Desmond could only vault over objects, Connor can now slide under them. It remains to be seen if this actually affects gameplay, but it is a nifty piece of flair.


The video closed out with a new look at the addition of naval warfare. Most of the footage was recycled from the E3 demo, but they took pains to point out that Connor wasn't limited to the quarterdeck. You were free to explore the entire ship; if you abandoned the helm, your helmsman would take over; and you could take direct command over your cannon.

Though, I wish they would be clear about the fact that the Continental Navy was beyond hopeless. Aside from a successful campaign at Nassau and John Paul Jones, it wasn't a factor.

I'm looking forward to more. Which is surprising considering how nonplussed by the earlier outings I was.


 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Le Saboteur said:
Though, I wish they would be clear about the fact that the Continental Navy was beyond hopeless. Aside from a successful campaign at Nassau and John Paul Jones, it wasn't a factor.
I'm probably as much a history buff as you are, but when you think about it, pointing out artistic liberties taken with history as long as this particular series is concerned is kind of a futile effort. After all, the whole point is to give us a closer look at what is very much a shadow war, meaning any and every bit that doesn't go hand in hand with the books can be hand waved as a detail lost in history. Or as it is often implied, something that has been deliberately falsified for the records.


<small>Oh, and for the record, this comment was not really in defense of the series. Let's rather call it one of those neutral occasions of Fridge Brilliance.</small>
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Finn said:
I'm probably as much a history buff as you are, but when you think about it, pointing out artistic liberties taken with history as long as this particular series is concerned is kind of a futile effort. After all, the whole point is to give us a closer look at what is very much a shadow war, meaning any and every bit that doesn't go hand in hand with the books can be hand waved as a detail lost in history. Or as it is often implied, something that has been deliberately falsified for the records.


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There's a certain amount of mucking about in the historical record that's acceptable; other stuff, not so much. For example, it's acceptable to say that Major Pitcairn was scalped by Connor at Bunker Hill instead of being shot (allegedly by a former slave). The freed slave blowing away the literal and figurative oppressor is pregnant with symbolism, as opposed to being scalped by a half-breed. Turning... say, John Adams into a Continental Ninja would be a point too far.

The general ineffectiveness of the Continental Navy, however, isn't one of those points, though; that would be sort of like saying Washington won every battle he fought, but it sounded better in the historical record if he actually lost them all -- an indisputable fact corroborated by several independent sources.

That said, there are several ways to work naval warfare into the narrative while remaining nominally accurate. The easiest would be to make the vessel in question subject to a Letter of Marque & Reprisal, a.k.a. a privateer. There were plenty of them handed out during the war; or, a French vessel loaned to the American war effort. Since the sequence we saw took place in 1778 it could be one of the handful of Continental vessels that achieved some success at sea.

This gameplay trailer is a highly edited version of what was on display at Comic Con.


The naval sequence we saw is very similar to the E3 reveal.

 
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Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Le Saboteur said:
Turning... say, John Adams into a Continental Ninja would be a point too far.
Maybe. Though I'd probably only take offense if they used words "based on a true story" with their marketing.

Because everything is better with ninjas, you know.
 

The Drifter

New member
I've been playing through Darksiders again, the last time I played it was about two years ago, and the sequel hits the 14th of next month.
I love it's mix of great combat, platforming and puzzle-solving. The story is great also, and so is the voice acting and music. I recommend anyone try this game out. The gameplay is a lot like The Legend of Zelda series.
 

Indy's brother

New member
Fable 3, and it's boring me to death. For several reasons. It's really no different from the last one, so it just feels like an expansion pack of Fable 2. Also, after my zillions of hours roaming the wastes of the last 2 Fallout games, the linear maps of Fable seem more like a tour of the game than real adventuring.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Finn said:

...if it were Francis Marion.

A new trailer showing off Assassin's Creed III's AnvilNext engine has been unveiled in the run up to Games.com! This time around sniveling Britons get to rejoice as a couple of dirty Colonials get scalped! Just look for the guys in the snazzy blue coats.


And, no, Mr. Narrator Man, it's been America since 1507. Thanks Amerigo Vespucci! It just wasn't these United States of America.

For the record, I'm being cheeky.

From a story standpoint, however, I'm looking forward to ACIII's portable counterpart, Liberation.


The Creole heroine doesn't interest me that much considering that New Orleans has had gens de couleur libres for much of its 300-year history. No, I'm interested in how the "Louisiana Rebellion" as ubisoft is calling it fits into the larger narrative considering a.) that it was a failed revolt and b.) it only involved the city of New Orleans.

Brief history: France lost all of its North American holdings at the end of the French and Indian War and ceded the Louisiana Territory to Spain. Aghast that Louis XV would abandon them, the staunch Frenchmen revolted against the newly installed governor.

In other news, this was a very pleasant surprise.

 

Le Saboteur

Active member
Le Saboteur said:
.No, I'm interested in how the "Louisiana Rebellion" as ubisoft is calling it fits into the larger narrative considering a.) that it was a failed revolt and b.) it only involved the city of New Orleans.

Well.

You try to ensure that each post is properly edited only to be greeted with such an obvious error on a second look.

This has been on the periphery of my radar for a while now. I normally steer very far away from sandbox-style games a la Grand Theft Auto, but the location is one of my favourites and I have a fondness for Hong Kong's "go for broke" cinema of the 1990's.

PC players seem to have something to look forward to.


Though, I would rather they had taken this trailer and turned it into a full-length feature. Live-action trailers too often overshadow the associated game.


SquareEnix had a robust demo on the floor at Comic Con that people seemed to enjoy. I was more interested in the demos for Hitman: Absolution & Tomb Raider, but the few minutes I managed to spend with this were fairly impressive. I'll wait for the reviews to come in, but the differing styles blended well together. If there's one complaint, it's that on the build we were shown the combat AI wasn't the greatest. You may of had five guys trying to attack you, but they all waited their turn for a beat down.

Maybe I'll get to cruise Portland Street while listening to this now.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
They got the band back together!

Finn said:
Re: Adventure games. To be honest, I don't actually see a decline in the genre. On the opposite, I'd say it's about as healthy as it has ever been. Now, it's just dwarved by new players on the field, with bigger marketing and more mainstream attention. I won't deny that adventure gaming is definitely something of an underground movement these days, but when you think of it, in their heyday all gaming was somewhat underground. So it's not so much a decline in genre as it is a change in perspective.

You may be right. I rarely pay attention to PC gaming these days, but I do frequent Adventure Gamers dot com. They do have plenty of titles advertised, and I've thought about getting a couple. The lingering sense of being forced to keep up with bleeding edge technology thing continues to give me pause.

Finn said:
As I've said before, Broken Sword should be worth anyone's time...

My entry into the series was The Sleeping Dragon. And aside from the demo for the fourth game that I didn't really care for, each of the three outings of George Stobbart and Nico Collard were stellar.

Everything complemented each other to create a topflight adventure game that rivaled anything Dr. Jones was ever featured in. The fact that the heroes had to rely solely on their wits, as opposed to guns and brawn, also helped set it apart from everything else.

Now, if we're generous, Charles Cecil & Company will debut Broken Sword: The Serpent's Curse in early 2013!


Drop in on Gamespot.com here for a in depth interview with Mr. Cecil.

Go here for the game's Kickstarter page and pledge any monies you didn't already commit to Tim Schaefer and Double Fine!
 

Violet

Moderator Emeritus
Now that I finally got a DS of my own and a 3DS at that, I can finally catch up on games I've been missing out on. I finally got a copy of Pokemon Heartgold with the pokewalker (what a gimmick but great if you're a nostalgic tamagotchi fan like me) and the new Shinobi (3ds version).

So happy and obsessed right now. Want to buy Starfox 64, as the demo's pretty good for that one. Is Kid Icarus worth trying?
 

Nurhachi1991

Well-known member
Violet said:
Now that I finally got a DS of my own and a 3DS at that, I can finally catch up on games I've been missing out on. I finally got a copy of Pokemon Heartgold with the pokewalker (what a gimmick but great if you're a nostalgic tamagotchi fan like me) and the new Shinobi (3ds version).

So happy and obsessed right now. Want to buy Starfox 64, as the demo's pretty good for that one. Is Kid Icarus worth trying?


Kid Icarus is good if your right handed. The game does not cater to lefties like myself.

I would recommend Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, Mario Kart 7, Ocarina of time 3D, Super Mario Land 3D


It's a great system I just upgraded to the XL (y)
 

Violet

Moderator Emeritus
Kid Icarus is a no-go then. I happen to be a leftie too.

Yeah, Kingdom Hearts 3D is definitely on my list. I wasn't really impressed by MarioKart 7 when I went to a games expo last year. Ocarina and Mario Land I'll probably get eventually. Those were pretty good to play.
 

The Drifter

New member
I'm about seven hours into Darksiders 2. It's been a great game so far. It has a nice blend of puzzle-solving, combat and platforming. There different hubs (which are pretty damn big) that hold about 5-6 dungeons apiece. I enjoyed the dungeons in the first game, but these seem more natural and better designed. The combat is better also. It seems more fluid and faster paced. There is also a loot system where you can collect equipment (better weapons, boots, gauntlents, etc) and you gain skill points to spend on abilities, so it has more deapth than the original as well. Will post more after I beat the game.
 

Le Saboteur

Active member
I've had Assassin's Creed III on pre-order since it was practically announced. It was the setting that did it; you can never have too much fun scalping the British. And now with what appears to be a very robust naval component, it's shaping up to be my most anticipated game of the latter half of 2012.

All of which is very odd considering how non-plussed I was with the second outing.



That's a lot of time and resources spent on what is supposed to be a very minute portion of the game. Hopefully ubisoft has a hankering to re-dedicate all of those resources to a new IP since Disney apparently abandoned Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned. There would be a lot of demand for a AAA-title set in the Age of Fighting Sail.

While I'm waiting though, I'm still occupied with rising through the ranks of the Sun On Yee in Sleeping Dogs. Yes, it's Grand Theft Auto-esque, but the nearly complete absence of firearms thus far sets it apart. It's much akin to the classic beat 'em ups of yore than the more recent GTA clones.

Hong Kong looks great. They've captured the atmosphere quite well. Well, except for the missing cast of millions that throng the streets throughout the course of the day. Getting used to driving on the opposite side of the road has proven challenging, and the Chinglish dialogue (a blend of Cantonese & English) works surprisingly well. Combat remains something of a problem lacking the grace and intensity of Arkham City. Enemies definitely take their turns.

I've also taken a leap of faith with Risen 2: Dark Waters. The cinematic trailer was quite intriguing, but I know absolutely nothing about its predecessor; or, for that matter, the company behind it.

The early verdict: It's bizarre. The blend of traditional fantasy elements with pirates doesn't quite work. At least not yet. I just arrived in the pirate-y lands, so we'll see if it gets off the beach.

Three things immediately stand out: 1.) The voice acting leaves a lot to be desired. 2.) The dialogue 'trees' need a lot of refinement. Strikes me as an amateurish mistake. 3.) Combat has potential. Early experiments indicate that one may need some skill at fencing to succeed.

Time will tell as always.
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Le Saboteur said:
I rarely pay attention to PC gaming these days, but I do frequent Adventure Gamers dot com. They do have plenty of titles advertised, and I've thought about getting a couple. The lingering sense of being forced to keep up with bleeding edge technology thing continues to give me pause.
Luckily, apart from so-called casual games, adventure gaming is probably the least technologically demanding genre out there. Any PC acquired during the past five years or so should run even the newest titles in the genres with relative ease.

By the way, the fifth installment of Broken Sword series reached its required backing of $400,000 yesterday, so the game according to the vision the devs want it made is a go.

Browsing the Kickstarter site in general is making the old school gaming fanboy in me go all squee while my wallet shivers in fear. Too bad that the new maid they sent me has been far more thorough than the last one. Maybe I should start a Kickstarter for getting extra monies to pledge?


The little time I can spare for gaming between everything else is still mostly spent in traipsing around the Mojave. Curiously, it's one of those games where another playthrough compliments it far more than the first one.

Though I did manage to sneak a peek to Sleeping Dogs when visiting a friend. I have to say, it genuinely seemed like the first GTA-esque sandbox title that might just actually challenge Rockstar in their home turf. While Dishonored is still on top of my "to acquire" list for this year, I may just have to divert part of my budget to see what Hong Kong has to offer in all its glory.
 

Ska

New member
Love the art style of Broken Sword 5 so far. I had no idea this was in the works. Thanks (as always), Sab. Good to hear they raised the required money to make this possible.

I finally got around to playing The Shadow of the Templars and The Smoking Mirror (thanks to my iPhone). Such fun games. Are the other two as enjoyable? I'm under the impression that they are different in terms of gameplay.
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
Ska said:
Are the other two as enjoyable? I'm under the impression that they are different in terms of gameplay.
What comes to storytelling, art direction and voicework aspects, they're right there on par with the first two. In fact, the consistency of look & sound within this series so far is quite astonishing. There are no low points.

Gameplaywise, they're a little different, yeah. The third installment, the Sleeping Dragon, is probably the oddest of the bunch, being more of a hybrid between traditional puzzle-solving and action bits. In that department, it kinda reminds me of the early Resident Evil games. After that sidestep however, the fourth one, Angel of Death, goes back to the series' point&click roots, albeit with a 3D twist.

So yeah, they're a little different. But to give my 2c on the enjoyment angle... they're no time wasted by any means.
 
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