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So...What Are You Playing Now?
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Yeah, the first time that happened to me I had to sit an puzzle it out for a minute.
I like when they counter-hack you and put a big smiley face on your screen. -
We played a couple hours of TF2 last night and, shockingly, I actually had fun. Though that might've been because the game was mostly 3v3 payload (but with the train, so trainload, I guess) and boiled down to a comedy of errors where our old roommate was getting manhandled by a the other three of us while he had to contend with a guy who spelled "Maximus" as "Maximous" (we called him Maximoose) and Blaineblaine (who we decided was the villain from an 80s "save the rec center movie). Eventually I took pity on his suffering and switched sides when Blaineblaine vanished. It was just me, Ajay, and Maximoose against the world. I as the medic, Ajay as the pyro, we put up a noble effort, but Maximoose playing spy about 80% of the time on attack in a game where the other team ONLY HAD TWO PLAYERS (who were in vent with each other and sitting right next to each other in game the whole time, not that he could've known) pretty much ruined any hope of winning. Still, we had a nail biting affair where the stupid train had to move SIX MORE INCHES and we would've won the game, but those fuckers turtled way too good, and there was no hope.
CURSE YOU MAXIMOOSE. :( -
I've been playing Bastion lately. Needless to say, I can't get Zia's theme out of my head, and have been humming and singing it for days. I love the narrator (The Stranger), It makes playing the game feel less "lonely" than other games.
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Aw, I would have proudly died to you jerks alongside Ajay. That's fucked up feeding him to the wolves like that.
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Hey, blame the auto-balancer, not me. I just live on the team it puts me on.
My second drop in the whole game was that new laser gun for the soldier. That seems weird to me. -
I'm gonna keep blaming you. The "cool kids" bullying the new guy. I didn't even realize you guys were playing till someone else pointed it out waaaaay late. Hindsight, I should have jumped in, to tag team you meanies.
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Four more days until Bastion is finally released on Steam...
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The Last Otaku said:
MSG: Federation VS Zeon was the best Gundam game.
Whoah. I forgot that game existed. Now I want to go play it again. As far as Gundam games go that game was pretty solid.
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I started playing Half Minute Hero. It's pretty good. I'm also playing Spelunky, which is also good, but it's has issues. I've had hit detection problems with some of the enemies, and because the level design is randomized, I've ended up in a lot of situations that are nightmares to get through.
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The Last Otaku said:
Just got Catherine after waiting for it to ship from my sister back in the States. This is the note that was on it when I opened the box.
That side is not embarrassing, it is hilarious. At least she didn't read what it comes inside, now that would be embarrassing : P
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I'm sure she did, but she doesn't care. She just likes being a smartass.
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I played this game called Rusty Hearts which is some (probably Korean) free to play quasi-MMO game (it ain't no MMO, what with being instanced to all get-out, but whatevs, it has levels and gold and shit so it must be a MMORPG). Difference is, instead of standard WoW combat it plays more like a (really light) version of Devil May Cry. It actually was not the worst thing I've ever played. I was astonished. It probably doesn't have a lot of staying power, but it was kind of fun to play for an hour, and if someone made a really excellent version of that game (realistically: made a DMC/Ninja Gaiden I could play with three other people) I would be in heaven.
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I signed up for that beta but didn't install it yet. Maybe I'll take the plunge tonight.
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I've been playing more and more project reality. Finally getting the hang of it. I managed to come out fourth or fifth in a game of insurgency while playing as medic for the mortar team. It can be a bit slow at times, but i really do recommend it.
I also demand people play tf2 with me once it finishes re-downloading. -
I'm trying to get this working for my minecraft http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/199391-v173-portal-gun-v5-coop-guns-bacon-gun-and-smp/
but I haven't had the time to make it stop crashing -
I went back into playing Terraria over the weekend. I like the newest update for the most part and the past couple updates for that matter, (I guess it's been awhile since I played this). Regenarating health is pretty cool, useless in a boss battle but it let's me feel I can wander out away from my base more.
Tonight, Bastion on Steam... -
I'm holding out a couple more patches, just to give content time to pile up, but I have been feeling the desire to pop back into Terraria. Since any major changes would require a new map I figure it's not worth it to play until there's a bunch of new stuff to explore.
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I've hit a drought in Terraria and haven't played it in a while. Like you, I'm waiting for more content for a little more content to hold my interest.
The game can be rewarding at times, and very meticulous at others. -
Dave said:
I played this game called Rusty Hearts which is some (probably Korean) free to play quasi-MMO game (it ain't no MMO, what with being instanced to all get-out, but whatevs, it has levels and gold and shit so it must be a MMORPG). Difference is, instead of standard WoW combat it plays more like a (really light) version of Devil May Cry. It actually was not the worst thing I've ever played. I was astonished. It probably doesn't have a lot of staying power, but it was kind of fun to play for an hour, and if someone made a really excellent version of that game (realistically: made a DMC/Ninja Gaiden I could play with three other people) I would be in heaven.
Hmm, that upcoming Platinum title Anarchy Reigns might be a little like that. Basically it's gonna be a "character action game" like Bayonetta or DMC that's multiplayer. That done well would be mankind's ultimate achievement -
I didn't realize that was the idea behind Anarchy Reigns. Looking it up the director is relatively unknown, but it's being produced by Inaba, who's been producer on a shitload of great Capcom games, including the Clover stuff. It's difficult to know how much input a producer has. But still, more interested now.
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I'm optimistic certainly. Platinum are going from strength to strength I think and this is a pretty rad idea for a game, even though pulling it off to a satisfactory degree is a daunting prospect. Seeing how well they did with Bayonetta it would seem these are the guys for the job.
Also I'm glad to see yer man from Madworld is getting to be in something else. That game was fun for a bit even though I can't say I've played it since. Would be a fun character to wreck some dudes up with I'm sayin! -
Playing through Bayonetta again after months of absence, and it's just as good as before except this time I'm not missing the weapons. Also quite a bit of Heroes of Newerth, anyone else around here play that? Because random pubs are making me lose faith in humanity
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For whatever reason I decided to play the first Knights of the Old Republic again. I must have beaten this game at least 6 or 7 times since it came out.
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I decided to dust off the ol' PSP and I'm playing The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. I really enjoyed the other three prior to this, and it's pretty similar.
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Bastion... more like BESTion, amirite? It's the best... charged particle.
Felt a bit short, but it was great while it lasted. -
Roommate beat Catherine last night. I have never been more angry or insulted at the ending of a video game before. Let's just say those hoping for a mature examination of adult issues like commitment were disappointed for a very good reason.
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I'm trying to play Bastion but Terraria keeps sucking me back in. That and Minecraft. -
@Spankminister Which ending did you see?
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Spanks, I was kind of standing back waiting on Catherine for a bit. I see the box art, promo pack ins and think exactly the opposite of what you say some people expected. The game looks offensively juvenile. I was told differently and just bought it, but I still had/have my reservations about it. Maybe this weekend I'll tackle it. Paraphrasing from one of the guys from Weekend Confirmed, it's a game I don't necesarily want to play but want to have played.
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Digitalguardian said:
@Spankminister Which ending did you see?
The one where you pay attention to the girlfriend. But I'm referring both to the ending, and the post-game dialogue with the player, which sounds like it would have been present regardless of ending.
Squirrel said:Spanks, I was kind of standing back waiting on Catherine for a bit. I see the box art, promo pack ins and think exactly the opposite of what you say some people expected.
Yeah, all that crap looks fanservicey, but with the way Persona sometimes handled its exploration of the characters' dark sides, even if they're anime-friendly dark sides (specifically the closeted gay character) gave me a little hope. That if they just cut loose from the self-insertion fight demons with your high school friends formula, they could just go off the rails in making a rated M look at the crazy shit people don't want to admit to themselves. But no. That is NOT what happened. It has all the emotional complexity of a Three's Company episode. -
I'm surprised you had such a reaction to it. The climax was one of the funniest things I have ever seen, video game or not. It had me actually laughing out loud, which is pretty rare, and it showed how self-aware they were with just how fucking on the nose their who game was. It was kind of a "yeah, we know, this is retarded" moment. Admittedly I'd be happier if they made a game with a story for grown-ups instead of manbabies, but I don't think the dumbed down language is a huge issue, and I don't remember the epilogue being anywhere near rage-inducing.
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The fadeouts and explanations of preposterous things were somewhat self-aware, I'll admit. I'm not even talking about the total cliched anime hero speeches about choice and free will and the afterwards generic confessions of love and self-delusion. (My joke during the last fight after Vincent was talking about free will was, the only way the game could still impress me is if it gave you a golf club and has you beat the last boss to death). I'm talking about the post-game section in the bar where the afro lady hits you over the head with the allegory of the game (in case you're a complete moron), and then asks, "What do you, the viewer at home think? Oh, BTW, this game has multiple endings!" The story of Catherine isn't really deep or well-executed, but that's one thing. It's another thing to have the end of Citizen Kane be Orson Welles, now out of character, talking to the viewer about what Rosebud was, in case you weren't paying attention, and why Kane had the regrets he had, and detailing the choices in the movie you just saw that led him there.
Like you say, the story isn't at a high enough level for grown-ups... so who's it for? Anyone old enough to have been confronted with the issues Catherine is ostensibly trying to cover will be talked down to. Anyone young enough that they need to be asked the questions about the game's message point blank, by characters in the game itself will only be dealing in the sorts of cliched hypotheticals they see in movies anyway. -
It's in the language of the audience who plays those games. We stereotype the JRPG crowd as a bunch of panting slobs whose misogyny is dwarfed only by their hug pillow collection. So yeah, it's not Shakespeare, but shit, here's a game that whose conclusion says "your girlfriend is not the enemy, marriage is not an evil trap." And I came out of that feeling overwhelmingly positive about it because, dammit, it's about time SOMEONE that, even if it's pretty hackneyed, and pretty anime, and the exposition chick at the end exposits it. We're up to our eyeballs in love interests who sit in the back row, equip a staff, and cast Curaga. They probably have a lot of dialogue that goes "w-watashi... a-anata... k-kanjiteru." So, yeah, I'm happy there's something about relationships, especially something coming out of Japan, aimed at otaku, that has the balls to say life isn't a fantasy world, even if it is in the form of "now that you beat the game the moral is: life isn't a fantasy world. The End."
Admittedly some things ARE handled better in Persona. The gay subplot is especially good (though I'd argue that "oh thank god she's a girl! GUESS I'M NOT GAY!" or the "gay is really just a metaphor for liking sewing" ruins that more than the end of Catherine). What's that word in Japanese for "nostalgia for something you never actually experienced?" I want to say natsukashii, but I know that's not correct. Basically, like many high school stories in Japan, it's about how great our salad days were, and how we all ran around and had melodrama and were the best of friends. That can be compelling, but it's still this falsified fantasy land. Catherine is not real, but its thesis of "growing up is hard" is immediately more relatable than "junior mystery detective club! (also my parents are overbearing)." It's not Shakespeare, but it tries its best. Maybe the major issue is that it has the same flair and desire for depth as a Kojima game while being a couple inches short of the talent to completely pull it off. We talked about the epilogue of MGS4 last weekend. It's the exact same "THIS IS THE MORAL OF OUR GAME" speech as Catherine, but Koima cranks that shit, and makes it memorable, and maybe that's why Big Boss saying it is more palatable than Afro Lady saying it.
But whatever. I haven't seen the rest of the endings so maybe they're all "bitches be trippin'" as you run away to start a new life with Catherine, leaving your evil, overbearing girlfriend in the dust, but I came away from the end with a very positive feeling (and slightly high from playing it in one 12 hour sitting so I could write my review). It's a good start, a great start even. Warts and all, I loved the messages of Catherine, even if I didn't jibe with every single minute of the writing.
I hate to quote myself, so please understand I'm not trying to be a douche, but this is what I wrote towards the end of my review. It sums up my feelings pretty succinctly:
"The game inoculates itself against criticism by framing itself within a late night Elvira-esque variety show. “Of course it’s cheesy!” it admonishes, “It’s supposed to be!” Still, lame as it is wont to be, few games have made me laugh as hard as I did during Catherine’s climax. Few games end with anything but the triumphant hero standing over a pile of bodies. If the price for admission is a little schmaltz I pay it gladly. By the end, Catherine has doled out its cheese and its heart in equal measure." -
Erica is trans. They don't come out and say it but it's all there. I guess I'm alright with how they treat her?
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Well, they do everything BUT come out and say it. Also SPOILERS. Also, it wasn't handled like a bunch of complete retards wrote it, so that's a step up with regards to video games.
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I've been playing some New Vegas DLC and my god, Dead Money is awful. First and foremost getting stripped of your gear isn't that big of a deal as you're going to need that space for all the armor and guns you'll be taking out. Furthermore I'm not bothered by the combat of it even though its not its strong suit but I am bothered by the sheer amount of combat with no real relief between fights. The combat isn't hard because the ghost people are all melee so you just walk backwards and shoot them, and there's never more than 2 or 3 of them at a time and for a decent amount of the DLC you have companions so you let them handle it. The limited ammo and "supplies" isn't a big deal because even though the ghost people are tougher than most enemies in New Vegas they still go down easily and there's food everywhere so you don't really have to worry about health. Bethesda games have typically had horrible lighting and Dead Money takes it to a new degree of awful because its always dark and mauve and the pipboy light is so awful it doesn't help much. This makes its it so I have to have night vision chems on me at all times in case I need to shoot a speaker or navigate a maze because there are corners everywhere (which one might think they make the limited draw distance better but they don't). They speakers and poison gas are a bitch to deal with because first of all they deter exploration which is what Bethesda games are all about, although there's not much to be found out there. Second of all they are really more annoying than dangerous because you just in and out of them and because except in a few rare cases when fighting in the Cloud or near speakers the in-game popups are capable of telling you when you're in danger. The darkness can make hard to see the speakers when you need to shoot them so if I was out of night vision I'd just throw one of the five grenades I had into the room to break it and that is a waste of a grenade. More to the point if I can destroy with a single revolver round then what's the point of them being there? The security holograms on the other hand are dangerous and invincible although they exist more as a needless stealth mechanic/puzzle to be solved via terminals which isn't really much of a puzzle. Easily the most annoying part of the DLC involves getting to a terminal across a room of unbreakable speakers and holograms which mostly involves activating 2 or 3 terminals or running straight for terminal hoping not to get shot by holograms' Ultraman style lazers.
also, is Kanji gay or just really insecure about his sexuality because he's 15 and sewing makes you a pussy as I never got anywhere with his social link. -
It's the latter.
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Dave said:
It's in the language of the audience who plays those games. We stereotype the JRPG crowd as a bunch of panting slobs whose misogyny is dwarfed only by their hug pillow collection..
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So, yeah, I'm happy there's something about relationships, especially something coming out of Japan, aimed at otaku, that has the balls to say life isn't a fantasy world, even if it is in the form of "now that you beat the game the moral is: life isn't a fantasy world. The End."
That's certainly the most positive way to frame it, but even considering that, my feeling is why did I just bother playing it if it's a self-help afterschool special for shut ins?
Dave said:So yeah, it's not Shakespeare, but shit, here's a game that whose conclusion says "your girlfriend is not the enemy, marriage is not an evil trap." And I came out of that feeling overwhelmingly positive about it because, dammit, it's about time SOMEONE that, even if it's pretty hackneyed, and pretty anime, and the exposition chick at the end exposits it. We're up to our eyeballs in love interests who sit in the back row, equip a staff, and cast Curaga. They probably have a lot of dialogue that goes "w-watashi... a-anata... k-kanjiteru."
You're right, that is a positive message. But I think it's undercut somewhat by the fact that the girlfriend is a non-character. In the beginning, she's portrayed as the "enemy," forcing Vincent to be on the defensive, and at the end, when Vincent takes the reins of his life and makes his impassioned speech, she's just a blank canvas for his emotions, a foil to reflect his feelings back at him after the fade to black and happy ending. She doesn't have any more substance than the typical male character in a romcom movie. The entire story is about telling men they have agency, and maybe you're right, and the audience that plays these games needs to hear it, but it's not like that gives the lead female character any more depth of character. Even in the last scene in the bar, Katherine's most-repeated line is the sigh. You hear it at the beginning, at the end, and all through the middle with every text she sends you. Katherine is an empty slate, the blinking cursor at the end of the dialogue box, the beep at the answering machine, prompting you to talk more.
Dave said:It's not Shakespeare, but it tries its best.
(snip)
“Of course it’s cheesy!” it admonishes, “It’s supposed to be!” Still, lame as it is wont to be, few games have made me laugh as hard as I did during Catherine’s climax. Few games end with anything but the triumphant hero standing over a pile of bodies. If the price for admission is a little schmaltz I pay it gladly. By the end, Catherine has doled out its cheese and its heart in equal measure."
There were moments I felt the macabre comedy touch upon greatness, but the afro lady's comedy beats all sort of missed me, the end dialogue was a little too serious, and the supposed comedic tension in a lot of the Catherine scenes were sort of let down by the ONE facial animation Vincent had ._. -> O_O I don't expect everyone to share the vehemence of my reaction, but my pet peeve is heavy-handedness. If it had been a little more cheesy, or been a little funnier in its comedy, I may have been more forgiving, but I was left with the impression that Catherine tried to steal second, then dove back onto first. I really don't want to judge a game based on what I thought it would be instead of what it ended up delivering, but maybe I think the team could have achieved their vision better? Parts of the last boss section were indeed pretty funny, and I think more of the game should've been like that. -
I also played Catherine, but I'm one of those freaks who actually liked the puzzle game aspect to it. The luck involved in beating the last couple of stages was frustrating though. It toke me about 40 hours to finish the game... Dave's 12 either makes him a monster or means that I suck... Or both.
Also the ending I got revealed that Erica was there old buddy Eric, but it was easy to see before that. -
I'm in the closed beta for Path of Exile.
Playing a ranger, having some funtimes with the cave squids. -
I am playing Pokemon and I will try to catch them all with my DS Lite and my 3DS :O
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I've been playing the ultimate video game that doesn't involve video (except in alternative forms) but research and speaking. College Policy Debate. I feel as though I have done and learned more in the past 3 days than my entire senior year.
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El Shaddai. So far, it's a lot of fun. The platforming is floaty but I haven't found it unbearable.
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I liked the 2D platforming a lot. The 3D stuff drove me crazy right at the very end.
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Finished Catherine and got the space camp ending. So the message I got was, "screw women, gambling and space is where it's at." Though that's probably because I treated the game as a playable version of Being John Malkovich and made the most schizophrenic choices ever, but I'd like to think it's what the developers had in mind. Anyways the Steam sale on Dawn of War 2 got me, so I'll be starting my way through that
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Street Fighter 3 as soon as I get home.
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Started to actually play Xenoblade Chronicles today. Its really good so far, a fresh take on the stagnant JRPG genre. If you care at all about JRPGs then you should import a copy and then hack your Wii (that is if you still have one).
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I will quit my job if it gets my to my computer so I can play Doos Sex faster.
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That's awesome. Ars Technica misprinted the release date for SF3. The game isn't being released on xbla until tomorrow. I was really excited.
