Forums > Game Talk > Game Journal: BLOITB the Sequel
The Fabulous King (1332) on 1/22/2009 6:08 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
You know the drill.
Anyway, I haven't played anything in a long time and it seems I'm not going to either. But I do plan on playing some games this year.
Because this is the year 2009, it means that I'm going to celebrate the 10th anniversary of both Discworld Noir and Planescape Torment somewhere this year.
I'm also going to celebrate my tenth year as a gamer with my first computer game ever - Gene Machine. It will be... an introspective experience. It was, after all, the game that forged my path to be the player I am today. Perhaps I even meet the me who was ten years younger.
And definitely Alpha Protocol. After all, it is the 3rd Chris Avellone game in 10 years after Torment (with Torment being the first). Though I hope that this change in leads and rewriting the whole game won't.... well I just hope that the game will be awesome enough in writing and gameplay, so some of our more reluctant players (Von Katze) would find the courage to try out Torment.
And this is it basically. The 4 games I plan on playing in this year.
chirinea (47495) on 1/22/2009 6:21 PM · Permalink · Report
I don't post too much in this kind of thread because, well, I'm not playing many games lately. World of Warcraft is what I've been playing the most of my time, but just because I'm lazy starting a new game. Haven't finished The Suffering yet, I guess it became boring as I just keep running and killing the same monsters over and over. Something that dragged my attention last week was Crayon Physics Deluxe: I played the demo and I really enjoyed it, I was thinking on buying it but every time I think I'll spend 20 bucks on a game which doesn't come in a box I end up quitting the idea. =)
St. Martyne (3648) on 1/22/2009 10:21 PM · Permalink · Report
I'm playing a lot. ;-)
I am playing Edna & Harvey on PC, which is currently on hold. Faboulous game, even though the art looks even worse in motion. Motion? What motion? Still, the game is fine, much better than A Vampyre Story.
Persona 4 still occupies a large portion of my gaming time. Just as any other jRPG it has become very difficult for no apparant reason. Nevertheless, I feel that I am going to finish it anytime now. It's a good game, really.
I have also played some Yakuza 2. And if the first four chapters are indicative of anything, then this is one of the best PS2 games ever and its story is the best gangster story ever told in a game second only to immortal Mafia.
Forget about Niko Bellic, Kazuma Kiryu the Dragon of The Dojima Family is the only criminal worthy of our hearts!
Seriously, the game is very good. The story, dialogues, characters, game play, side missions, voice acting, music, cut scenes... well everything is on the highest level of refinement, polish and taste.
It has loads of style, and not just superficial kind of exaggerated movements and slow motion like in Devil May Cry, but in small aspects and insignificant details of Japanese criminal life. It's so different and yet so at times so similar to what we see in the behaviour of western gangsters. It's very captivating.
And they've done away with Haruka! What more can you ask?
â- (1623) on 1/23/2009 4:02 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
[Q --start St_Martyne wrote--] I have also played some Yakuza 2. And if the first four chapters are indicative of anything, then this is one of the best PS2 games ever and its story is the best gangster story ever told in a game second only to immortal Mafia.
Forget about Niko Bellic, Kazuma Kiryu the Dragon of The Dojima Family is the only criminal worthy of our hearts!
Seriously, the game is very good. The story, dialogues, characters, game play, side missions, voice acting, music, cut scenes... well everything is on the highest level of refinement, polish and taste.
It has loads of style, and not just superficial kind of exaggerated movements and slow motion like in Devil May Cry, but in small aspects and insignificant details of Japanese criminal life. It's so different and yet so at times so similar to what we see in the behaviour of western gangsters. It's very captivating.
And they've done away with Haruka! What more can you ask? [/Q --end St_Martyne wrote--] Yeah, it's pretty cool indeed! Although I was quite disappointed that at least half of the game takes place in Kamuro again, thus feeling more like an add-on than an actual sequel. While I also found the story to be very well executed in the beginning, yet it all broke down into a big, foreseeable mess towards the end (pretty much like the first game actually) Still, the series is very refreshing and would really deserve some more attention in the west. Apparently the games didn't move enough units, so SEGA announced that there were no plans plans for both sequels (one set in feudal age Japan) to be released outside Japan... and I was already so much looking forward to those... Anyway, same thing happened with part 2, so there's still hope!
As for the games I'm currently playing,
Suikoden V - I had this on my list for years, and after one of the most captivating introductions I ever saw in a JRPG, the story just doesn't give enough incentive anymore... I was just yawning myself through the game at one point, so I'm taking a break from it. The graphics partially look like some freeware game and the music is a far cry from the awesome compositions of the other games.
Outlaws - I wanted to finally close the last gaps of my LucasArts education, and since I had this in my shelf for quite a long time I thought I might as well play it... which might have been a mistake. The animated cutscenes are awesome. Well, and that's it for me. Seriously, I don't get it. All I see is a bland FPS. I only played the first five missions or so. Is there any variety later on? I'm seriously considering to skip the gameplay and just watch the cutscenes. What a shame for the marvelous artwork!
Valkyria Chronicles - What. A. Game! This is by very far the best strategy game I played in years. Fantastic art direction, great level design, actual innovation! I'm enjoying every second of it. Okay, so the story is bit on light side of life, but that's what's to be expected by the guys at Overworks. Its beautiful presentation more than compensates for it. In terms of cell-shaded graphics, only Okami can even compete. I would've already entered it into the database, if I wasn't so busy playing and telling people about it. I'll try to see to it next week.
Oh, and I read it moved only 30k units in the US, despite very favourable reviews, while "Disposable FPS #3982" goes gold before release --- gamers suck!
The Fabulous King (1332) on 1/23/2009 8:56 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Ash Ligast II wrote--] Outlaws - I wanted to finally close the last gaps of my LucasArts education, and since I had this in my shelf for quite a long time I thought I might as well play it... which might have been a mistake. The animated cutscenes are awesome. Well, and that's it for me. Seriously, I don't get it. All I see is a bland FPS. I only played the first five missions or so. Is there any variety later on? I'm seriously considering to skip the gameplay and just watch the cutscenes. What a shame for the marvelous artwork! [/Q --end Ash Ligast II wrote--]
I don't think even the cutscenes are that amazing. It's just 10 seconds of some dead guy and then couple of seconds introducing your next location. Over and over again.
St. Martyne (3648) on 1/23/2009 10:29 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Ash Ligast II wrote--] Although I was quite disappointed that at least half of the game takes place in Kamuro again, thus feeling more like an add-on than an actual sequel. [/Q --end Ash Ligast II wrote--]
I really wasn't. Because of the huge of those pesky random thugs and insane loading times for each, I skipped the better portion of free exploration of original Yakuza. Now they pose absolutely no trouble and I looked forward to beat the crap of another thug or yakuza. So, thanks to all those side missions it does not feel the same Kamurocho from Yakuza 1.
But the problem of this feeling like an addon is there, I agree. And while I don't mind Kamurocho being reused, I didn't particularly find Kasai any good. Aesthetically and functionally it is identical to Kamurocho. Or maybe changes are too subtle for my western eye to spot.
[Q --start Ash Ligast II wrote--] While I also found the story to be very well executed in the beginning, yet it all broke down into a big, foreseeable mess towards the end (pretty much like the first game actually) [/Q --end Ash Ligast II wrote--]
Coming from MGS fan this statement is a bit strange. I thought you liked messy and complicated plots. ;-)
As for Yakuza 1, I didn't really thought that plot was a mess. Sure, some holes are there and it did make sense and wrapped up pretty nicely in the end. I didn't like the sudden introduction of Jingo character out of blue, but that's the only major complaint.
[Q --start Ash Ligast II wrote--] All I see is a bland FPS. I only played the first five missions or so. Is there any variety later on? [/Q --end Ash Ligast II wrote--]
What kind of variety are you expecting? Perhaps you don't the gameplay of FPS at all. For me Outlaws offered plenty of variety in the confines of its setting, some levels are particulary very well done. There are canyons, cacti, mines, farms, ghost towns, lumber mills and so on. It pretty much covers every location ever used for a western.
Come on. Did you really hate the second level? The one with the circular town? I really liked the non-linearity there, so you had to break into various building and the part with digging under the bank is hilarious.
â- (1623) on 1/24/2009 1:43 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
[Q --start St_Martyne wrote--] Coming from MGS fan this statement is a bit strange. I thought you liked messy and complicated plots. ;-) [/Q --end St_Martyne wrote--] I do like like complicated plots, but in both Yakuza games the complexity turned out to be rather artificial. When I was looking at those family trees in the options menu I kept thinking that they were really going somewhere with this, only to find out that the bulk of the characters there have next to no importance for the actual plot. Many of them are just there to provide filler material. (presented in a very entertaining way, though) All that aside, the central plot isn't complicated at all and that's the "mess" I was referring to. In MGS games (with the exception of MGS3, which doesn't speak for the series in many ways) all the complexity will ultimately lead somewhere.
[Q --start St_Martyne wrote--]What kind of variety are you expecting? Perhaps you don't the gameplay of FPS at all. For me Outlaws offered plenty of variety in the confines of its setting, some levels are particulary very well done. There are canyons, cacti, mines, farms, ghost towns, lumber mills and so on. It pretty much covers every location ever used for a western.
Come on. Did you really hate the second level? The one with the circular town? I really liked the non-linearity there, so you had to break into various building and the part with digging under the bank is hilarious.[/Q --end St_Martyne wrote--] Although I'm certainly not the biggest FPS fan out there, I still like to play a good one once in a while. I can still have some fun with pure shooters like Doom and co, but that might as well be my nostalgia glasses... I dunno, maybe I just grew out of the genre. The new locations entertain me for about five minutes. Level 2 was nice, so was the train, but in the end the settings alone just don't do it for me. A major part of my boredom is by the way the difficulty settings; I find the game mind-numbingly easy on "Normal" (can't even begin to imagine how easy it must be on "Easy") and a good deal to frustrating on "Hard". Maybe FPS just don't pass the test of time that well. I probably should have played it ten years ago. It's not a bad game in any way, but it just lacks...something.
Unicorn Lynx (181775) on 1/23/2009 3:15 PM · Permalink · Report
Suikoden V - I had this on my list for years, and after one of the most captivating introductions I ever saw in a JRPG, the story just doesn't give enough incentive anymore... I was just yawning myself through the game at one point, so I'm taking a break from it. The graphics partially look like some freeware game and the music is a far cry from the awesome compositions of the other games.
Yup, totally right about graphics and music, but the story does get better later on - before returning to the usual Suikodenian cliches near the finale. All in all, after Suikoden III there is no reason to stick to the series any more.
Outlaws - I wanted to finally close the last gaps of my LucasArts education, and since I had this in my shelf for quite a long time I thought I might as well play it... which might have been a mistake. The animated cutscenes are awesome. Well, and that's it for me. Seriously, I don't get it. All I see is a bland FPS. I only played the first five missions or so. Is there any variety later on? I'm seriously considering to skip the gameplay and just watch the cutscenes. What a shame for the marvelous artwork!
No, there is not enough variety. As a FPS, this is just average, I absolutely agree. Still I managed to play it through just for the cut scenes! It's worth it, really!
Unicorn Lynx (181775) on 1/23/2009 3:12 PM · Permalink · Report
I have also played some Yakuza 2.
How would you compare it to the first Yakuza? I liked it, but the bad dialogues, ultra-cheezy voice acting, and weird gameplay decisions prevented me from ranking it among my top favs.
St. Martyne (3648) on 1/23/2009 10:40 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start JazzOleg wrote--]I have also played some Yakuza 2.
How would you compare it to the first Yakuza? I liked it, but the bad dialogues, ultra-cheezy voice acting, and weird gameplay decisions prevented me from ranking it among my top favs. [/Q --end JazzOleg wrote--]
The dialogue is definitely not bad. With Haryka out of the picture, the melodrama was also toned down a lot. At some points the dialogue really soars - for example at the meeting at the Omi alliance, - suspense, tension, passive aggressiveness, probing and still in the guise of respect between the rivalling clans is flawlessly done.
Voice acting is original Japanese. Needless to say it miles better the the English dubs for the original Yakuza. But I can't really say because I don't understand a word, - they sound exotic and not over-exaggerated as in some amine. So, it's rather good.
Random battles at the street have also been toned down a lot. Now, not only they are easier to avoid, there are also fewer of those battles and they load up much faster. So I don't believe it's an issue any more.
Anyway, it's really better the Yakuza 1. The only drawback as it has been said is that it feels like a big addon with a patch on top. This is what Yakuza 1 should have been like, but for a number of reasons wasn't.
â- (1623) on 1/24/2009 2:12 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start St_Martyne wrote--]Random battles at the street have also been toned down a lot.[/Q --end St_Martyne wrote--] I guess I must be the only guy who appreciated the random battles. The thugs in the streets were probably meant to be avoided, but I actually kept enforcing them, because I liked the battle system so much. Reduced loading times are quite a blessing, though.
Slug Camargo (583) on 1/22/2009 11:31 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Still hung up on Fallout 3. This is coming dangerously close to become my favorite game of all times, and I'm not even that interested in the settings or the story for that matter. But it's still about the awesomest game I've ever played. It's the world, I guess, it feels as... "alive" as nothing I've ever seen, what with all those quests hidden all over the place, and a real, solid story behind each and every one of them. Also, I like hearing about my own adventures in the radio =D
And the soundtrack is fantastic.
Been playing that Cryostasis Frankenstein thing I made up, too. For one thing, it's the best first-person action I've seen since Condemned, so there's that. And I'm digging the setting and the story a lot, too. However, I'm trying to take it in small dosages as I'm waiting for that bleeding patch, in hopes that it'll give me nicer -and more consistent- framerates. I wouldn't wanna have to beat this game in 640x480 and still running below the 25's for the most part, like with my first Bioshock playthrough.
I finished Prince of Persia 2008 and wrote my first review in, I don't know, two years, maybe? =D
And that would be it, for now.
Ah, and I might be trying out Mirror's Edge soon.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 1/22/2009 11:50 PM · Permalink · Report
Hey ! What happened to that crazy cat with the glasses ? 8)
Slug Camargo (583) on 1/22/2009 11:54 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start DANIEL HAWKS ! wrote--]Hey ! What happened to that crazy cat with the glasses ? 8) [/Q --end DANIEL HAWKS ! wrote--] That girl is using it as a machinegun! =O Well, it's a dangerous world out there, I guess...
Foxhack (32100) on 1/23/2009 2:51 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Schadenfreude wrote--] [Q2 --start DANIEL HAWKS ! wrote--]Hey ! What happened to that crazy cat with the glasses ? 8) [/Q2 --end DANIEL HAWKS ! wrote--] That girl is using it as a machinegun! =O Well, it's a dangerous world out there, I guess... [/Q --end Schadenfreude wrote--]Except that's supposed to be an animated avatar. :p
Slug Camargo (583) on 1/23/2009 11:14 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Kit Silva wrote--] [Q2 --start Schadenfreude wrote--] [Q3 --start DANIEL HAWKS ! wrote--]Hey ! What happened to that crazy cat with the glasses ? 8) [/Q3 --end DANIEL HAWKS ! wrote--] That girl is using it as a machinegun! =O Well, it's a dangerous world out there, I guess... [/Q2 --end Schadenfreude wrote--]Except that's supposed to be an animated avatar. :p [/Q --end Kit Silva wrote--] Maybe she's just threatening to use it; you know, the tension moment when she yells: "Todo el mundo quieto o aprieto el gatillo!!" (ba-BING!)
Sorry, it wouldn't make any sense in english =P
Unicorn Lynx (181775) on 1/23/2009 3:18 PM · Permalink · Report
Hey ! What happened to that crazy cat with the glasses ? 8)
Don't you see the good doctor has finally followed the Call of Indra and begun to dig hentai games?
Unicorn Lynx (181775) on 1/23/2009 3:19 PM · Permalink · Report
Still hung up on Fallout 3. This is coming dangerously close to become my favorite game of all times, and I'm not even that interested in the settings or the story for that matter. But it's still about the awesomest game I've ever played. It's the world, I guess, it feels as... "alive" as nothing I've ever seen, what with all those quests hidden all over the place, and a real, solid story behind each and every one of them. Also, I like hearing about my own adventures in the radio =D
Have you played the two original Fallouts? Because frankly, the world of Fallout 3 is very cartoony and unrealistic compared to those two...
Slug Camargo (583) on 1/23/2009 11:16 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
[Q --start JazzOleg wrote--] Have you played the two original Fallouts? Because frankly, the world of Fallout 3 is very cartoony and unrealistic compared to those two... [/Q --end JazzOleg wrote--] Well, the problem there is that I seriously doubt I'd stand the gameplay of the first two. I didn't mention it, but the fact that F3 is so fun to play (it's a decent shooter and I can't get tired of those crazy VATS animations) is a huge factor in this romance we have. The older I get, the less I'm willing to put up with games that fail to entertain me. I just can't do it. It's stronger than me =/
Which brings back the question of Planescape: Torment to my mind, by the way: Unless someone takes the dialogue and makes a novel out of it, or someone remakes it with a nice combat interface, I'm definitely dying without knowing what was so great about it =(
EDIT: Also, it's not about the realism exactly either... In fact, one of my favorite moments so far was the "Stealing Independence" quest: The conversation with Cyber-Button Gwinnett made me laugh like no other game did since, I don't know, probably Discworld Noir; and that's as cartoony as it gets.
â- (1623) on 1/24/2009 1:57 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Schadenfreude wrote--]In fact, one of my favorite moments so far was the "Stealing Independence" quest: The conversation with Cyber-Button Gwinnett made me laugh like no other game did since, I don't know, probably Discworld Noir; and that's as cartoony as it gets.[/Q --end Schadenfreude wrote--]
Yeah, the Button Gwinnett one was one of my highlights, too. That and Tranquility Lane.
Unicorn Lynx (181775) on 1/24/2009 1:21 PM · Permalink · Report
someone remakes it with a nice combat interface
Dude, I would understand if you said Torment had too many dialogues for you or not large enough a world or whatever, but... combat interface?? It's Infinity Engine, for Chrissake! It just doesn't get any better than that! I actually played through Icewind Dale, a game that has virtually nothing else, just for the sake of this amazing combat system.
Tell me, what exactly didn't you like in that interface?
Slug Camargo (583) on 1/24/2009 6:46 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start JazzOleg wrote--] Tell me, what exactly didn't you like in that interface? [/Q --end JazzOleg wrote--] About the combat interface itself, well, the fact that's a simple clickety-click interface, if you get what I mean. Remember I like action games, so I need to feel, like, immersed in the fight. I need combos, and blocking moves, and all that crap.
Which makes me think I would also like a different perspective, since I'm not big on isometric graphics either... they sort of kill the immersion for me... make me feel like everything's happening to someone else, like I'm witnessing the action from far, faaaaaaar away =P
Unicorn Lynx (181775) on 1/25/2009 6:18 AM · Permalink · Report
Remember I like action games
Yeah, I know. I like RPGs, and for a long time I only accepted turn-based combat, but now I can even say I prefer real-time. I also play FPSs and such stuff. Gotta widen one's horizons, you know what I mean? Maybe you should try to force yourself in the beginning. Nobody says a favorite game is always love from first sight. Heck, I hated System Shock's guts. Now it's one of my favorites. I even hated Deus Ex on sight. Refused to play it for two or three years. Open your mind. Look into your heart :)
Unicorn Lynx (181775) on 1/23/2009 3:23 PM · Permalink · Report
I'm in a crisis and all. Fallout 3 failed to excite me. I found myself playing Final Fantasy X again, just like that. I liked the nostalgic feeling, but all those Japanese teenager crap annoyed the hell out of me. Man... I wonder why I haven't noticed it before?.. Still, I loved good ol' FFX. At least it got emotions, which I can't say about Fallout and Oblivion and all those games I've been playing lately.
I'm about to dismember my game collection severely. Keeping only the most beloved games.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 1/23/2009 8:43 PM · Permalink · Report
Get some fighting games Oleg ! I've gotten the itch lately. SF II, and Soul Caliber 3, and all my Tekkens. Plan on getting the first two MK games soon.
Unicorn Lynx (181775) on 1/24/2009 1:19 PM · Permalink · Report
Get some fighting games Oleg !
No, I don't need them, I have enough real-life fighting against my wife.
vedder (70787) on 1/24/2009 8:02 PM · Permalink · Report
After finishing Fallout 2 and installing my new graphics card, I decided to immediately give Fallout 3 a go.
I was pleasantly surprised when autodetect suggested to put all settings to super-duper-ultra-high or whatever. It runs like a charm too. Nonetheless I can't help but feel that Oblivion looked better. At least the environments did, the foliage *which was so very pretty in Oblivion) looks horrible in Fallout 3 and the terrain looks way to cluttered and wrapped together. Though the character models certain look better now and so far I feel there's more to do in the dungeons. It's painful to see that they didn't do anything to improve on Oblivion's most notable annoyances (poor pathfinding, player character that can't keep his feet on the floor, mediocre AI, same mediocre voice actors everywhere (alas it's better than text popups I guess)) All in all it's quite fun and lives up to the expectations I had for it (which weren't extremely high), worth the money but definitely no classic.
Talking about classics, when I have just a little bit of free time I still boot up either World of Goo or Left 4 Dead. They don't get old.
Unicorn Lynx (181775) on 1/25/2009 6:21 AM · Permalink · Report
I was pleasantly surprised when autodetect suggested to put all settings to super-duper-ultra-high or whatever. It runs like a charm too. Nonetheless I can't help but feel that Oblivion looked better. At least the environments did, the foliage *which was so very pretty in Oblivion) looks horrible in Fallout 3 and the terrain looks way to cluttered and wrapped together. Though the character models certain look better now and so far I feel there's more to do in the dungeons. It's painful to see that they didn't do anything to improve on Oblivion's most notable annoyances (poor pathfinding, player character that can't keep his feet on the floor, mediocre AI, same mediocre voice actors everywhere (alas it's better than text popups I guess)) All in all it's quite fun and lives up to the expectations I had for it (which weren't extremely high), worth the money but definitely no classic.
I think you nailed it, I have exactly the same feeling towards the game. And truth to be said, I like Oblivion more. Because frankly, both games are just two huge 3D worlds to guide a tourist through. Not much else of interest, nothing to glue you to the screen. So I much prefer playing a tourist in a beautiful medieval world than in some god-forsaken pile of junk.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 1/26/2009 1:26 PM · Permalink · Report
I'm going to try and finish DK64 before spring. So many bananas...
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 2/4/2009 4:14 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
None
vedder (70787) on 2/15/2009 10:16 PM · Permalink · Report
Blech. I feel rather smacked in the face. I have barely touched the main questline and only seen about 15-20% of the content of the game and I've already reached the level cap! What the hell!?! Gone is every sense of character progression... I thought this was an RPG, but apparently that's only the case for the first 15% of the game. The rest is just some free roaming FPS...
I'll probably rush through the main questline and never touch this game ever again. Everything I do in the game feels more or less futile now that I don't get any XP anymore. I hope they lynch the designer whose idea that was...
Funnily in Oblivion I played through virtually EVERY dungeon in the game, Shivering Isles and all the DLC. Did EVERY quest and NEVER reached the level cap. That's more than 10x as many hours as I've currently invested in Fallout 3. What the hell!? What were they expecting, that people would hate the game and not spend time with any of the dungeons?
If you'd asked me a day ago I would have said that Fallout 3 is slightly better than Oblivion. But my view on that has drastically changed... What a shame.
â- (1623) on 2/15/2009 11:10 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Yep, my thoughts exactly. The level cap seems like a bad joke. If the game at least had some original side quests or any other kind of diversity, it wouldn't even be such a big deal, but for a free roaming RPG, this is indeed fatal. It makes the Quick Learner skill completely useless and the Book Reading skill almost mandatory. Unfortunately, I chose the first and neglected the latter...
Mobygamesisreanimated (11069) on 2/16/2009 12:17 PM · Permalink · Report
Isn't there a mod to fix this? I just started playing Fallout 3 and I'm already at level 7, if things go on like this, I'll reach the level cap before finishing 25% of the game. It's a great game apart from this oversight though.
vedder (70787) on 2/16/2009 12:22 PM · Permalink · Report
Apparently there is a mod that lets you continue on forever, but after a while you will be locked up in the level up screen because all your skills are 100%. There's another mod that lets you upgrade skills to 100+ to resolve this issue. And then there is another mod that actually lets those 100+ scores mean something! I think I'll try this out, but I wonder if this won't completely break the game.
St. Martyne (3648) on 2/16/2009 12:26 PM · Permalink · Report
Strangely, I never ran into the issue. Sure, I've reached the level cap. But it was really late into the game, at about 55th hour with a total time played of 60.
I never invested in level and exp gaining attributes and perks, so that may very well be the reason.
vedder (70787) on 2/16/2009 12:45 PM · Permalink · Report
Well I reached the level cap at 35 hours of play. I did take 2 ranks in the XP bonus perk. But I did that as well in Fallout 2 and after 100+ hours of playing and finally finishing the game and 95% of all the content I was level 26 if I remember correctly.
Slug Camargo (583) on 2/16/2009 12:42 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
[Q --start stvedder wrote--]Apparently there is a mod that lets you continue on forever, but after a while you will be locked up in the level up screen because all your skills are 100%. There's another mod that lets you upgrade skills to 100+ to resolve this issue. And then there is another mod that actually lets those 100+ scores mean something! I think I'll try this out, but I wonder if this won't completely break the game. [/Q --end stvedder wrote--] Ey, ye like links? There's ...
âĸ ... this mod that basically raises the cap. It requires a bunch of side-mods installed depending on what is exactly what you want (it's all explained in that link) ...
âĸ ... and this one which sounds more interesting for hardcore RPGers, since what it does is lowering the XP gain in combat and other tasks, thus giving the quests more importance in order to reach higher levels.
Mobygamesisreanimated (11069) on 2/17/2009 9:42 AM · Permalink · Report
Looks like the first mod would make the game too easy and the second one would make it a little too hard. The game seems relatively easy at the moment, but the difficulty level is slightly uneven and unpredictable (in a good way). I also already had to abandon a side-quest because one of my skills wasn't high enough, so I guess I'll wait until I'm a bit further into the game before I screw with the balance.
St. Martyne (3648) on 2/18/2009 10:14 PM · Permalink · Report
On PS2:
Final Fantasy X. I am in that zone now. You know, when the "I wonder what happens next" mode hasn't yet kicked in, but the random battles are already starting to get annoying. No worries, a bit of effort is all it takes.
On Wii:
Deadly Creatures. A good game with a nicely presented storyline about two rednecks searching for gold at some mid-West gas station. Oh, and you play as a scorpion and a tarantula! Despite few technical quirks it's really good and the whole microworld thing is tastefully done.
Endless Ocean. Fabulous game. Not without flaws, granted, but still superb. The songs, animations, modelling, design - everything is quite impressive. Even though it's a bit too openended for its own good. Still, meeting a blue whale for the first time is a strong candidate for my gaming Top 20 Moments!
On PC:
Apart from occasionally watching my mother play Planescape: Torment, nothing really. The good thing is that she really digs it, which brings a kind of special joy to my heart. She's already leaving Sigil on her way to Ravel's maze. I can't wait to see what her answer will be.
Somebody bring me Sisko! (8) on 2/18/2009 10:53 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start St_Martyne wrote--]Apart from occasionally watching my mother play Planescape: Torment, nothing really. The good thing is that she really digs it, which brings a kind of special joy to my heart.[/Q --end St_Martyne wrote--] I envy you quite a tad and, not that it matters, think I understand "where you come from". Say, did she show you your first video game or was it the other way around? I remember you already wrote about it somewhere here but I'm too tired high to search the forum now.
St. Martyne (3648) on 2/19/2009 8:28 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start FrakesJoe (NSDSP) wrote--] Say, did she show you your first video game or was it the other way around? [/Q --end FrakesJoe (NSDSP) wrote--]
My gaming life started with ZX Spectrum arriving under a Christmas tree one winter. I don't really remember if my mother ever touched it. Once we had a PC I'm positive that her first real game was Dune 2. I'm not quite sure if it was my brother or I who showed it to her or if she stumbled on it on her own.
Pseudo_Intellectual (66360) on 2/19/2009 8:48 AM · Permalink · Report
My father got stuck on Dune 2 when it came out and never really progressed. My xmas present to him this year was introducing him to Westwood's tremendous (and now legally available for free) leap forward C&C: Red Alert. Baby steps.
â- (1623) on 2/19/2009 3:34 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
That's funny, my father had been playing Dune II like crazy. He played it for more than five years almost daily, I think. It takes quite some time for him to adept to new gameplay concepts, but once he masters it he's pretty much unstoppable. I just couldn't spend so much time with one and the same game.
Dune II - The Parents' Choice
Somebody bring me Sisko! (8) on 2/19/2009 11:05 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Ash Ligast II wrote--]He played it for more than five years almost daily, I think. [...] I just couldn't spend so much time with one and the same game.[/Q --end Ash Ligast II wrote--] That's an interesting notion. What are the games you played the longest, Ladies and Gentleman? Which titles do you still play regularly, and why?
vedder (70787) on 2/19/2009 11:49 PM · Permalink · Report
Games I played the most.
Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight: I got it when it came out in late 97 and played it on again off again till somewhere in 2000 when I picked up modding and spent 5 more years creating levels for the game and its expansion pack. Played virtually every community made singleplayer map out there. Great community it had as well.
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri: Wait just one more turn! I pick this game up once every 1 or 2 years and once I start playing I am sold for a couple weeks...
Deus Ex: Best game ever, and I played through it more often then any other single player game.
The Settlers II: It's just addicting. Played it whenever I wasn't playing Jedi Knight :)
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind I don't think there's corner on the map I haven't visited. Including both expansions.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 2/20/2009 12:15 AM · Permalink · Report
Games I played the most.
Tomb Raider: When I pick it up, I'm always tempted to finish it in one sitting. (Only happened once.) I plan on playing it again sometime in April so I can review it.
ICO: A game I have played in one sitting more than once ! Something about about it always makes me want to see it to it's end.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time: I played it all the way through twice in one week ! The atmosphere is just so entrancing, I never could stay away.
Tekken 3: I still play it on a regular basis ! Best fighting game ever.
The Fabulous King (1332) on 2/20/2009 12:53 AM · Permalink · Report
Games I've played the most. Hmm...
Well, it just has to be the classic adventure games, because I used to be an avid follower. So I played and replayed and replayed for comparison's sake and so on.
So - it is most likely the Monkey Island, Space Quest, King's Quest and Quest for Glory games I've played the most in my life.
But these days - I don't really play anything the most. I usually have a couple of Bethesda's travelling photographer games installed that I sometimes casually play and whatever game currently interests me.
Sicarius (61518) on 2/20/2009 11:16 AM · Permalink · Report
Games I played the most:
Quake III Arena: Since the day it was released I've had it installed and carried it from PC to PC. I've never done something like that for another game and it shows just how awesome it is. The only reason why I haven't started it up recently is the Quake Live Beta :).
Lands of Lore: The Throne of Chaos: By now I know every monster and item position in my sleep but since it's release I've played it through at least once a year because of the great locations, the great characters, the awesome music and the good story.
Mad TV: Defeating the AI and getting Betty is easy, boring and done in 15 ingame days max but before my last harddrive crash I had a savegame with over 1500 ingame days played. If that doesn't count as "played the most", nothing will :).
The Settlers II: Veni, Vidi, Vici: My addiction to this game was only recently replaced by the perfect remake The Settlers II: 10th Anniversary but still I've fond memory of hours and hours of perfectly optimizing even the most remote path over the years since it's release - on one big island without any AI I might add :). I never like doing missions or fighting AI in settler games (or any other game that focuses so heavily on building up a working economy).
vedder (70787) on 2/20/2009 12:56 PM · Permalink · Report
Yeah the 10th anniversary remake was great! All those fond memories came flooding back when playing that. I'm very glad they made that remake, because I never cared for any of the sequels after part 2. In 3 combat received much more focus and the road system that made the previous games so much fun was mysteriously removed in a lack of judgement by the designers... I skipped 4 and 5, but then gave the open beta of Rise of an Empire a try. I was surprised (and appaled) to find nothing remotely similar to the original game in there.
Sicarius (61518) on 2/20/2009 1:43 PM · Permalink · Report
"Full ack!" as the youth of today says :). I'm also glad that 10th anniversary was such a success (at least in Germany) that UbiSoft/BlueByte decided to split the series in two (tradional & evolutional) and that they didn't just "cash in" with Aufbruch der Kulturen but instead really tried to expand the Settlers 2-gameplay in a careful and thought-out way - and succeeded with it in most parts as far as I'm concerned.
vedder (70787) on 2/20/2009 2:21 PM · Permalink · Report
It's a shame that that isn't released in the rest of Europe/the world. The same goes for the Vikings add-on for 10th anniversary. I couldn't play it because the add-on only work with the German version of the game :(
I might buy Aufbruch der Kulturen on Amazon.de though. I'll do my German good :D
Sicarius (61518) on 2/20/2009 6:47 PM · Permalink · Report
So someone wants to seriously get his butt kicked? :) Well, the friends request has been send out!
Oh and btw. for everyone else: Beginning 24.02.2009 the game enters Open Beta phase so feel free to join in the fraggin then! Bagdadsoftware is waiting in Tier 4/Tier 5 for you :).
Corn Popper (69027) on 2/20/2009 7:34 PM · Permalink · Report
guys are lucky the ping would be bad from over here
Somebody bring me Sisko! (8) on 2/18/2009 11:35 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Kit Silva wrote--]The bad: I end up playing with incompetent morons all the time! [/Q --end Kit Silva wrote--] Oh you bad, bad boy! You should consider contributing something to the site other than your snide remarks and sense of superiority!
Somebody bring me Sisko! (8) on 2/18/2009 11:59 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start DJP Mom wrote--]He does. [/Q --end DJP Mom wrote--] I'm pleased to see that you haven't lost your sense of humor. Yet. No offence, Kit. :-P
Foxhack (32100) on 2/19/2009 12:10 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start FrakesJoe (NSDSP) wrote--] [Q2 --start DJP Mom wrote--]He does. [/Q2 --end DJP Mom wrote--] I'm pleased to see that you haven't lost your sense of humor. Yet. No offence, Kit. :-P [/Q --end FrakesJoe (NSDSP) wrote--]None taken.
I just wish the SDK would come out already. I want to see if I can recreate some in-town locales and make a campaign out of them.
Slug Camargo (583) on 2/19/2009 1:05 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Kit Silva wrote--]
The good: Good way to let out steam.
[/Q --end Kit Silva wrote--]
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 2/27/2009 1:16 PM · Permalink · Report
I've been sick the last week, so I'm going to try and catch up on stuff I've almost got beat. TR Anniversary is next.
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 2/27/2009 7:21 PM · Permalink · Report
And TR Anniversary is finished ! Up next, Stretch Panic.
vedder (70787) on 2/27/2009 8:11 PM · Permalink · Report
Currently playing Mirror's Edge. It has its faults, but all in all not bad.
I tried playing it with my x360 controller at first (which I bought specially for playing platform games like Prince of Persia and Assassin's Creed), but found the game to be much easier controlled with mouse and keyboard. The graphics are great and the story is alright (very cliche and one in a dozen, but hey what do you expect from an action game). The animations are great as well, I like how natural the cameramovements feel. much better than any first person game I ever played. But I often find myself thinking "wow this would look so cool in third person", which shouldn't happen since the main USP of the game is that it's a first person platform game... I hate the combat though. At parts where you are supposed to just run away it works fine. But at times the game forces you to kill everyone in a location and there the game is usually a million times harder than the rest of the levels. Whenever enemies are close together it is impossible to attack them so somehow you have to split them up, which is in my experience only possible by hiding behind something and hoping only one of the two will come after you which isn't always the case. Once you have a gun it's often easy to kill one other enemy (then get his gun and repeat). But getting the first gun is sometimes utterly impossible or relies on quick time events (not entertaining since 1983). But in spite of all its weaknesses, I'm still greatly enjoying the game, so that should speak about how good everything else is :)
St. Martyne (3648) on 2/27/2009 8:29 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
I found exactly two problems with Mirror's Edge:
Story. Was there one? Why is the government bad? Why Faith runs? What kind of world it is? Who are the principal characters and what their relation to each other? None of these question are sufficiently answered. No back story, no depth, no nothing. Just a struggling string of cliches and obvious plot twists.
Variety It's impossible to tell any two random levels of ME apart. White everything, primary color something. Every building looks the same inside. In a little while all locations blur into one sanitized white blob with random color sprinkled on top. The same goes for game mechanics and your objectives and your enemies.
This game never surprises, never amazes after your first rooftop run. It looks like a great indie prototype which failed to become a full fledged game.
Slug Camargo (583) on 2/28/2009 8:50 PM · Permalink · Report
Well I'm with stvedder. I enjoyed the game like a degenerated maniac, and I didn't ever felt it got any old. Actually, I wouldn't mind it taking a few more hours to complete. To me, this game came to prove that platforming in first-person can work, and when it does it can be more immersive than anything you've ever seen. I don't think I ever experienced anything nearly as intense as those chopper chases.
I even enjoyed the universally-panned fight parts, mind; sure it was a pain getting the timing properly and it could become pretty annoying at times, but once you had the trick nailed it was a great, pulse-pounding experience.
I guess it goes to prove my tastes are weirder than I ever thought =/
As for the story, yeah, it's generic as hell. It's like: "Here's your government, here are some people protesting. You know how the protesters are always right, so this government has to be evil for some reason. Also, there's your sister and she's in trouble, in case you needed some more motivation. Now go, run."
Foxhack (32100) on 2/28/2009 12:51 AM · Permalink · Report
Well I can't play online much because my ISP has capped my download speed to 2k per second. They did it to everyone in the city and won't fix things &)@$&@#
Guess I'll fire up one of those DOS shareware CDs I have and try my luck with them...