magic > firaga > cast > the video game thread

[Empath of the White]

Confession : I haven't played any of the Half Life games. I know they're insanely popular though.

They're pretty good. The first one was actually inspired by The Mist. It has a more sci-fi/horror feel to it, whereas Half-Life 2 has a focus on action in larger, open areas.

[BigSchu22]

Confession : I haven't played any of the Half Life games. I know they're insanely popular though.

They're pretty good. The first one was actually inspired by The Mist. It has a more sci-fi/horror feel to it, whereas Half-Life 2 has a focus on action in larger, open areas.

Wow, the Mist, really? I can kind of see that now... Project Arrowhead and the Resonance Cascade, makes sense now!

[OchrisO]

Confession : I haven't played any of the Half Life games. I know they're insanely popular though.

What the...you make me sad, sir. We really have to get you PC gaming. :\

[Tatts4Life]

I've been hook with playing BF3 on the PS3. I love playing conquest with planes and helicopters with huge ticket games. Games with like 2000 tickets or more. You end up getting tons of xp at the end of the round.

[mystima]

Started playing Aion this week and it is pretty good. Who here has played it and how do you feel about the game?

[OchrisO]

I bought it when it first came out and it was ok, but nothing I wanted to pay for, so I stopped. I went back for a bit when it first went free to play, but I didn't play for long. I think it has more to do with all of the free to play options there are out there right now. In general, I'd rather play something else like Lord of the Rings Online, Everquest, DC Universe Online or several others. In the end, Aion loses out. It can be fun, though. it is heavily PVP focused.

[DoctorDodge]

Last night, played The Witcher again for the first time in months. Even more addictive than how I remembered it. About as involving as reading A Game of Thrones. Can't wait to find out what happens next in the plot as well as when I'm gonna kick more monster ass!

[Jean]

as involving as reading A Game of Thrones.

:noncommittal:

[fernandito]

Played and completed ep 2 of Telltale's The Walking Dead. It was ... okay.

I think the fact that I guessed the 'twist'

Spoiler:

i.e - that the family was a bunch of cannibals

pretty much killed the suspense for me right away. I was just going through the motions knowing what to expect.

Hopefully the delay for Ep. 3 won't be as long as the wait between 1 and 2.

[DoctorDodge]

as involving as reading A Game of Thrones.

:noncommittal:

Still not enjoying it then, bears?

[BigSchu22]

All I can say is, "where is the Steam summer sale?" Amazon has already started a "summer sale" in an effort to beat them to the punch.

I'm looking forward to picking up Alan Wake for $4.99 or so, hopefully. If not, Greenmangaming has it for $10.

ME3 Extended Cut is out now, I guess I can finally get around to playing ME3 and choosing red, green, or blue.

[fernandito]

A Walking Dead FPS shooter produced by Activision.

The Walking Dead of Duty ?

Modern Walking Warfare ?

[DoctorDodge]

A little skeptical about it. It's not like the comics or the tv series are hugely action packed. Personally, I think TellTale looks to be a good video game adaptation, from what little i've played so far. Still need to play ep 2, really.

[OchrisO]

I don't really like the idea of it, but knew it was inevitable.

If I want zombie fps I still have Left 4 Dead 2, which is still just as awesome as it needs to be when that sort of thing strikes me.

[stkmw02]

You guys are playing such hardcore games. I'm playing Lego: Indiana Jones.

[mystima]

Hey those Lego games can get really complicated if you don't know what you are looking for....lol especially the Harry Potter ones. Am looking forward to playing the new Batman when it comes out...or when it goes on sale for 20 bucks...hehehe.

[stkmw02]

I played the demo a few times on PS3 already. I don't like the screen cuts when the players are too far apart... bums me out. I'm one of those people who needs to finish everything... When I played the first Lego Batman, I collected every stinkin' coin. So, I'm doing the same with Indiana Jones. I dig these lego games. Just enough challenge for me without being too stressful. lol

[BigSchu22]

I have found a new target for my raeg, and his name is Gabe Newell. How do you keep sitting on Half-Life sequels? Much as that game has parodies etc. on Youtube, you'd think Half-Life 2 Episode 3 and Half-Life 3 would bring in the money.

Gaben is pissing me off for different reasons.

Bastard won't start the Steam summer sale >

That said, I'm thinking, like most Valve titles, Half Life 3 is taking so long because they actually give a damn about making it good.
It'll be using the source engine, which is so very much dated, and extremely limited. They'll need to innovate quite a bit to offer unique gameplay, especially in comparison some of these newer games that have been released since Episode 2. The same corridor-running gameplay probably won't cut it anymore.

Of course Gabe knows how much money is in a HL2 sequel. He'd be stupid not to make it. But unlike companies that dish out the same game year after year, Valve stands out because they care more about the game than they do the profit. I don't think Valve would have lasted this long if that weren't the case.

I love and praise Valve for their passion and the attention to detail they use in the development of their games. Playing through both Episode I and II with commentary enabled, you really get a sense of the passion the developers have for the franchise, and the pains they undertook to develop first rate episodes that continue the HL2 story. That being said, the episodic model is clearly not what they intended it to be. We've had nothing since Episode II in 2007. I understand that the engine is very old, probably in development since the very early 2000s, but it's been 5 years since the last 'episode.'

Every time I see new L4D or TF2 content, I get a little bit more frustrated. I agree, the Half-Life franchise is extremely popular and a huge money maker, especially since they brought it to the mainstream consoles with the Orange Box. Why are they delaying so long and being so secretive? HL2 came out in 2004 or 2005! It can't be technical difficulties with the aging engine alone, surely they could have overcome them in the last 5 years or so since Episode II. I have to believe that they're doing something big. Logically, they have to develop a new engine to build new titles and other franchises from, let alone more Half-Life titles. I know Valve will deliver something great, I just hope we get some word or some surprise at an E3 or PAX sometime soon. Come on, Gabe. Give us something other than your obscure trolling.

[Empath of the White]

We Don't Go to Ravenholm is my favorite part of HL2.

Given the time its taking for HL3, I expect it will be as vastly different from HL2 as HL2 was from HL in terms of environments and the overall tone. HL felt like horror-scifi whereas HL2 had a dystopic sci-fi feel imo.

Resident Evil 6 is confirmed to have 4 hours of cutscenes: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...cutscenes.aspx

[fernandito]

'Leviathan' DLC coming soon for Mass Effect 3.

[BigSchu22]

I've played all the RE games (with the exception of some of the Wii versions and Zero Hour), even the Game Cube remake of the first one, which was actually pretty good! Code Veronica and RE2 are my favorites though. I enjoyed 4, but by the time 5 came around, it was clearly a 28-Days-Later-action-type game rather than a survival horror. I guess we've already talked about this, but I'm not really interested in another fast running action game full of quick time button mashing events that anyone can get through on their first play through without any skill whatsoever. There's nothing to distinguish the new RE games from any other game other than the 3rd person view and the setting. Sorry to be preachy, but I really can't stand this shift in the last 5 years or more to the casual gamer. I enjoy games that I can spend more than 7 or 8 hours playing, where you really get immersed in the story, and actually have to work for a satisfying game experience. So many games are derivative, extremely short, and very easy (even on the hardest difficulty settings). Mass Effect for instance, you can totally tell how dumbed down it is by the third installment. So many of the little extras are just gone. I love the game, but I do miss just being able to walk around the Normandy and push buttons. It feels so much more sterile now. Where's my Tower of Hanoi mini game? I am glad they got rid of all the hacking though, talk about tedious (BioShock too).

Tangent there, but anyway in RE these days there's loads of upgrades, ammo, and weapons so there's not that same feeling of isolation and desolation that you got from the first few games where every bullet counted and you really needed to save those grenade launchers. I'm glad Bethesda is making a true survival horror game soon. No more generic action console fodder please, Capcom.

[fernandito]

Not going to lie, I love the current Resident Evil games as much as I love the originals.

Sure, the tension and scares that come from not knowing what's around the corner are gone, but I love the breakneck action and smooth controls. If we take off our nostalgia tinted glasses for a bit, those tank like controls from the originals were really frustrating sometimes and made combat feel really clunky.

[BigSchu22]

You might as well just play COD or something then... this just isn't a RE game anymore. Yes, the controls were clunky at first, but it was the first of its kind and they fixed that by RE4. They can fix the controls without completely changing the game into Gears of War.

[fernandito]

RE4 and 5 are TPS set in a fantasy/sci fi setting. COD is a FPS in a real world setting. I don't see the comparisons.

And the truth of the matter is that Capcom has already stated that the franchise will never go back to it's roots. At this point it's either accept the franchise for what it is, or jump ship lol.

[BigSchu22]

RE is like COD as in fast-paced action, plethora of weapons and ammo, etc. Part of playing games is the immersion. The new RE games don't really offer that immersion any longer, which is another way it's just like any other shooter out there.

And they did go back to their roots with the RE5 DLC, which was very well received. Not to mention the upcoming 3DS game... so it can be successful, they're just choosing not to.