The Bill's Now Playing Video Game Thread (Now with Bames)

[The Bill]

RPG nerds, how is Cyberpunk 2020? CDProjekt Red's new game is using that license.

SPOILERSPOILER_SHOW

The creator is a black dude?

This role-playing game is based on the works of William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, and other authors of the "Mirrorshades group". The game includes a number of elements now associated with the 1980s[citation needed], such as the idea of "style over substance" and glam rock.

The game tends to emphasize some aspects of the source material more than others. Much of the focus of the game is paid to combat, high tech weaponry and cybernetic modification; however, performance enhancing and recreational drug use is either played down or discouraged. Although artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, and cloning are barely mentioned in the core rulebook they are reintroduced in later add-ons such as the chromebook manuals.

The range of characters players can adopt is very diverse, ranging from hardwired mercenaries with psycholinked weapons and boosted reflexes, to Armani-wearing corporate mega-yuppies who make and break national economies with the stroke of a pen.

Def Leppard Soundtrack or go to hell.

[Wang Mandu]

One thing I loved about it before release were the series of videos they put out detailing the game with the narrator. That sold me on it better than every expensive, shitty CGI non-gameplay trailer out there.

[guardianoftheblind]

those got me CRAZY excited

shit ruled

[DR. THRAXX]

Yeah, Mexico kind of sucked, especially because there wasn't anything cool to hunt, and during that stretch you feel like Marston is an idiot for continuing to do stupid tasks for Mexicans who keep lying to him. Oh well, the overall storyline of the game ruled, and it picked up again when you went to Blackwater.

[kickpuncher]

Mario Kart 7 pwns. hangliding is surprisingly un-cheesy

[The Bill]

Half-Life 2 via the 360 on my HDTV actually looks pretty goddamn good considering it's age and that it's a port over from the original XBOX. I had only ever seen it on my older 780p HDTV, previously. I'm kind of in my annual spring into summer gaming funk, I don't have the patience for any sort of proper gaming, hence why I started WET. Last year around this time I was playing Crysis 2 on and off, then I replayed Bioshock. I think the Half-Life 2 series will be this years' Bioshock.

[ungodlywarlock]

Red Dead Redemption is a great game with slightly poor pacing once you get to Mexico. Never did finish it though and wish it got a PC port.

That's a shame...IMO, it's got a great ending. A lot of folks didn't like the pacing near the end, too (not just mexico specifically) because it kind of "starts over" a bit, but I thought it was an interesting and refreshing take on that kind of game. And it really made it epic when you got your "ride into the sunset" with the music.

Also...if you just have the craving to play again, I can't recommend "Undead Nightmare" enough. It's standalone so you don't need the original and it's actually one of the best zombie games ever made because they have such a huge world to use as the backdrop.

SPOILERSPOILER_SHOW

And..
...the sasquatch storyline will probably make ya feel bad.

[The Schwartz]

shit I guess I'll have to play through undead nightmare, I downloaded it and was excited to play but never did get around to it

how long is it?

[james]

I actually know nothing at all about Persona. Let me know how it comes out.

Cool so far for the most part. I'm feeling like something really great is expanding before me. Voice acting, story, tone and general aesthetics are all competent and nothing is annoying or alienating so far - which is saying something, because this is a product of Japanese pop culture that revolves entirely around the life of a high school student. Not generally a fertile ground for Jamespleasures.

That said - I'm about six hours in and I've only just begun to experience an actual participatory video game. The first three hours (I'm guessing) was just story and short animated cut-scenes. There were brief moments where I'd be given control of the protagonist, only to walk from one side of the room to another, save the game, or talk to an NPC (mandatory action which could not be skipped). Essentially I sat there and pressed the triangle button watching anime heads talk to each other. It's well-done and everything, and I'm maintaining faith that this won't be a wasted investment of time - but god damn does this test my patience. To offer a cliched criticism, this is not a Bethesda game.

[ungodlywarlock]

shit I guess I'll have to play through undead nightmare, I downloaded it and was excited to play but never did get around to it

how long is it?

Not sure...it's definitely nowhere near as long as the main game, but it's definitely hefty. I'm sure there's gotta be at least 12 hours there.

[Wehttam]

shit I guess I'll have to play through undead nightmare, I downloaded it and was excited to play but never did get around to it

how long is it?

Not sure...it's definitely nowhere near as long as the main game, but it's definitely hefty. I'm sure there's gotta be at least 12 hours there.

loved it, it was totally worth playing it. can't remember how long it was either.

[riley-o]

Kratos still sucks though.

Why do you insist on making me want to give you a wedgie for being a nerd ?

[james]

I still haven't played through much of GoW 1. I think sometime soon I should jump into the second one, just to get the experience under my belt...? I usually have very, very little tolerance for brawly-type games, the sort of things that feel like expansions of the Double Dragon type "punch everyone in the room until the arrow appears" arcade joints.

It seemed like they'd made the GoW gameplay a lot more dynamic than that, collecting little orbs and learning combos and stuff - but I never really gave it a chance to come together for me. I might just wiki the plot of the first one and jump to 2.

[The Schwartz]

Am i the only one who thoroughly enjoyed the first GOW

Scaling the mountain was fucking rad

[riley-o]

No, I completely loved GoW1 without a doubt. I'm certainly not suggesting anyone skip the first one or condoning those actions

It's just that GoW2 is superior and the boss battles are suuuuper

[Masochrism]

yeah i loe gears of war the combat is dope bro

[riley-o]

BRO, ATHENA !! WHY AM I STILL CURSED BRO !!

[Friendly Goatus]

[spacehamster]

BRO, ATHENA !! WHY AM I STILL CURSED BRO !!

Exactly!!!!

BRO, Why have you forsaken me Zeus, BRO???

I'm picturing a pink polo shirt with a popped collar to go along with this, and I'm seriously dyin' here.

[The Bill]

Okay, game developers, the whole falling from an airplane while dodging debris and shooting people was fun the first time I did it in No One Lives Forever, since then it's gotten clichéd and really fucking annoying. I swear that was the fourth time I've done such a thing in the last seven months.

[spacehamster]

Okay, game developers, the whole falling from an airplane while dodging debris and shooting people was fun the first time I did it in No One Lives Forever, since then it's gotten clichéd and really fucking annoying. I swear that was the fourth time I've done such a thing in the last seven months.

Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi. Sega, 1990.

[Spooky Apparition]

new dark souls content is coming to consoles (including, i'm assuming, the new PVP arena/matchmaking)

[The Schwartz]

excellent this will go well with my level 212 killing machine

[DR. THRAXX]

http://www.humblebundle.com/?hib5

Psychonauts for $1.....why yes I will.

[DR. THRAXX]

Yeah, it's in the bundle. I paid a buck for all the games in there.