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

[valgalder]

Thanks for the info, guys.

Anyone know if you can play japanese imports on an american Sega Saturn? Or if there's any way to chip it to do so? I really want to play the saturn version of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

Action replays will work for different region games.

Why do you want to play that though? It's kinda garbage.

I want to play the extra content that wasn't in the PS version.

it's not as bad as people make it out to be, but it definitely has it's flaws and also it's advantages. The original PS1 version is the definitive version for sure, but if you're a big fan of that game, the Saturn one is definitely worthwhile. The loading is worse, and is annoying how you have to go to the menu to pull up the map.. the graphical effects are worse.. but as far as content, it's awesome. The extra two levels are cool but not really that necessarily.. but you get a ton of new items to play around with.. it's cool to play as Maria (different maria from the PSP release that had her) The voiceovers are original japanese and sound way cooler (although the original has it's charm)

-also if you're getting a Action Replay to play imports, you may as well check out some of the japanese only releases for the system, like all the Shooters/Shmups that never made it this way.. there are definitely a TON of them that rule.. some are crazy expensive though, but some still are reasonable. this is a great reference:
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/sega/sat ... d-shooters

[abdominalpillaging]

Psychic killer taomaru is the shit, but it also costs a fortune.

[spacehamster]

What's worse than the Catwoman parts is the game isn't even as good as Arkham City.

Arkham City isn't as good as Arkham City?

I still haven't played it much because the PS store was down all last night, but the apparent open world structure... it offendth my thenthibilitieth. We'll see.

[Friendly Goatus]

Edit: Holy SHIT-- it's only about a month until Mass Effect 3 comes out??? FUCK. There goes my life.

Getting stoked for what is shaping up to be The Room: In Space. Don't let me down, Bioware.

I have absolutely no idea what you mean by this.

[Wang Mandu]

Arkham Asylum > AC.

I have absolutely no idea what you mean by this.

Frighteningly awful writing. Some of the leaked story bits are truly . Probably not the best description, perhaps Campy Game of the Year?

[spacehamster]

No Catwoman for Me, next episode: today the PS store appeared to be working, so I entered my code, only to get an error message in return. When I tried again it told me the code had already been used, and my download history won't show up, so I can't see if I can fix it from there either. Chances are I'll never get the stuff. Ell oh ell? I teenk so.

[Krieg]

No Catwoman for Me, next episode: today the PS store appeared to be working, so I entered my code, only to get an error message in return. When I tried again it told me the code had already been used, and my download history won't show up, so I can't see if I can fix it from there either. Chances are I'll never get the stuff. Ell oh ell? I teenk so.

More awesomeness for on-line passes, right?

If they fuck it up and you're locked out, it becomes your responsibility to spend 2 hours on the phone trying to explain it to people.

I WANT TO PUT MY GAME IN THE MACHINE AND PLAY. THAT'S IT.

Yes, fuck that shit. And talking to someone to fix the problem is more complicated than that, because I assumme spacehamster, like me, plays his games in English, so the game in an import, probably from UK.

[spacehamster]

Actually I bought this one at the store here in town where I know the manager, so at least there's that. But yeah, not that I've ever tried, but I'm guessing getting this fixed via whatever phone support Sony has here in Switzerland would be such a pain in the ass that it'd be easier just to pay for another code.

Anyway, what Geoff said is exactly it - I bought the game, now can I just fucking pop it in and play it, please?

[spacehamster]

The way the game industry uses anticipation as a marketing tool these days is to the point where it's just surreal. First there's the announcement that the game will be announced, followed by the actual announcement that the game will be made. Then there's the announcement of the release of the teaser trailer, the announcement that on this or that day the actual release date will be announced, followed by the announcement of the next trailer (and the voice cast reveal and the first gameplay videos and the reveal of the exact pixel count of the texture on the main character's ass), the announcement of the release date of the demo, the actual demo, and when the game comes out, I'm all, oh, I'd forgotten this is coming out.

[spacehamster]

I wonder how much the over-hype has started to just not be worth it, and in some cases, detrimental. For instace, if Rage hadn't been built up so much, it might actually have received better reviews, at least from consumers.

Well, it got people talking about the game, and at the end of the day I'm guessing what it comes down to is the question if as many people would have bought it if it hadn't been hyped as much. Sure, a lot of people were disappointed by it, but publishers don't need you to like their shit as long as you buy it. And word of mouth sleeper hits like Demon's Souls are a pretty rare exception.

[Cryptoplasty]

Onn the other hand, I guess something like Skyrim was advertised out the ass and still sold a lot. Still, that was a game that-- despite bugs-- had a TON of content to offer.

And it's only $60, and they fixed the vast majority of the bugs. I thought Skyrim would be the most overhyped game ever, but it turned out to be the complete opposite. You pay the same amount for a game that's so huge and so dynamic with so much room for expansion as you do for a game that takes 8 hours to beat. I can't imagine playing certain types of games anymore after playing Skyrim. Like I will probably never play a JRPG again as long as I live, and I used to love that genre.

That game has set a new standard in a way. I played that Kingdoms of Amular demo and the whole time I kept thinking about how it wasen't Skyrim.

[Cryptoplasty]

Onn the other hand, I guess something like Skyrim was advertised out the ass and still sold a lot. Still, that was a game that-- despite bugs-- had a TON of content to offer.

And it's only $60, and they fixed the vast majority of the bugs. I thought Skyrim would be the most overhyped game ever, but it turned out to be the complete opposite. You pay the same amount for a game that's so huge and so dynamic with so much room for expansion as you do for a game that takes 8 hours to beat. I can't imagine playing certain types of games anymore after playing Skyrim. Like I will probably never play a JRPG again as long as I live, and I used to love that genre.

That game has set a new standard in a way. I played that Kingdoms of Amular demo and the whole time I kept thinking about how it wasen't Skyrim.

And I think that's why most reasonible people I know mostly forgave the bugs, even the frame rate stuff. It's pretty amazing that with Skyrim you get an actual world that you could basically play almost forever for your money while with others you get a shitty, short campaign that might as well end with a cut scene of the publisher fucking your mom doggy style while he counts your money on her back, laughing and chewing a cigar the whole time.

Bethesda and Blizzard deserve all the priase they get. They spened years developing their games because they love doing it, and they want to create a product that's worth it to the consumer. Other developers create sequals on a yearly basis, which turn out to be basically the same game with minor tweaks at the same price. Of course, the average gamer isn't picky enough to know the difference, which is why the deveolopers who care less about the product they create make the most money.

[Wang Mandu]

Bethesda and Blizzard deserve all the priase they get. They spened years developing their games because they love doing it, and they want to create a product that's worth it to the consumer. Other developers create sequals on a yearly basis, which turn out to be basically the same game with minor tweaks at the same price. Of course, the average gamer isn't picky enough to know the difference, which is why the deveolopers who care less about the product they create make the most money.

Years developing Skyrim and they still couldn't implement a decent melee combat system. I love the game and it does some great things but I don't think I can play much more because of the dreadful melee. There's also no way they should have released the PS3 version in the state that it is/was in.

I really hope they get a new engine for the next Fallout game and hire some decent writers or have Obsidian write the plot and the dialogue.

That game has set a new standard in a way. I played that Kingdoms of Amular demo and the whole time I kept thinking about how it wasen't Skyrim.

Ha, I started to think the same thing about Skyrim, "Man this game looks and plays like shit compared to The Witcher 2 and Dark Souls."

So, unless I'm getting this wrong-- you pay sixty bucks for a brand new game that is largely made for on-line play, then you get to pay for that on-line play?

Microsoft already beat everyone to the punch.

[Wang Mandu]

http://www.callofduty.com/elite/whats-included

It's not a bad deal if that's all you play. No way Sony and MS are going to let a publisher horn in on their subscription money.

[Cryptoplasty]

Years developing Skyrim and they still couldn't implement a decent melee combat system.

I dunno, I don't really have any issues with the combat system.

There's also no way they should have released the PS3 version in the state that it is/was in.

They should have released it on PC first, and waited till next gen to release it on consoles. I know it's been beaten into the ground, but the PC version is infinitely better in every way (except the UI but that's why we get mods).

[Cryptoplasty]

That game has set a new standard in a way. I played that Kingdoms of Amular demo and the whole time I kept thinking about how it wasen't Skyrim.

Ha, I started to think the same thing about Skyrim, "Man this game looks and plays like shit compared to The Witcher 2 and Dark Souls."

I have yet to play Witcher 2. I probabaly should.

[Wang Mandu]

It still feels like you're swinging a paintbrush across the screen. There's very little feedback and enemies pretty much attack you the same way every time. After 80+ hours, it started to feel like a chore for me. I'll have to revisit it in a few months once that Creation Kit gets going or scour Skyrim Nexus for some mods. I also wish they would have taken a page from Dead Island and included limb specific damage.

Ha, only in a perfect world... They'd be insane to release the PC version first considering the majority of their sales are on the 360. Bless those wonderful modders for the UI overhauls. If you're going to get The Witcher 2, wait for April when the console version releases. I'm sure GOG.com or Steam will do a sale to help promote the release.





May needs to hurry up.

[ungodlywarlock]

Just finished Uncharted 3.

HOLY SHIT.
I thought the first game was action packed, but this game was nuts. Favorite part was probably the rusted out ship section of the game. Really got my nerves on edge for that entire chunk.

[Comrade Slinky]

I'm definitely in the minority but I found I hated the combat system in The Witcher 2 more than anything, to the point that I actually stopped playing it about halfway through. It felt awfully uncoordinated, the parrying system never worked and against multiple groups of enemies I found myself spending a lot of time running around, trying to drop aggro so I could heal and then head back in for another few swings before I had to run away again. It kinda felt like I was playing a wonky ps1 game. Combined with the strange choices like implementing an entirely useless potion system with no tutorial information whatsoever and considering how needlessly difficult it was to actually get the game installed and running (I couldn't even determine if the game was patching correctly, didn't get any of the pre order bonus stuff) and it was probably the worst experience I had with an rpg in a while. I'm going to give cd projekt a wide berth from now on.

SPOILERSPOILER_SHOW

Sorry Wang my man.

[The Schwartz]

Just finished Uncharted 3.

HOLY SHIT.
I thought the first game was action packed, but this game was nuts. Favorite part was probably the rusted out ship section of the game. Really got my nerves on edge for that entire chunk.

that was the worst part of the game in my opinion at least the whole parts where you are outside in the water jumping from different wreckage, and then all of the combat inside of the giant cruise boat was so fucking bad the only part I liked was getting out after it flipped sideways other than that the whole thing was total and didn't fit at all

[james]

http://projectzomboid.com/blog/

Just spent about two hours playing this. Very cool. Minimal, and the current demo is sparse/buggy. Much potential here, though, will be following. Tech demo is what I played, small download. Recommended!

[riley-o]

Just finished Uncharted 3.

HOLY SHIT.
I thought the first game was action packed, but this game was nuts. Favorite part was probably the rusted out ship section of the game. Really got my nerves on edge for that entire chunk.

that was the worst part of the game in my opinion at least the whole parts where you are outside in the water jumping from different wreckage, and then all of the combat inside of the giant cruise boat was so fucking bad the only part I liked was getting out after it flipped sideways other than that the whole thing was total and didn't fit at all

i didn't think it was as bad as all that; these games have always just been absurd environments used as an excuse to jump around in and honestly the burning building was way worse than the boat level. the boat level just struck me as an attempt to do the train level from 2 over again, but BIGGER AND MORE SICK

the train level in 2 btw is so fucking awesome and wonderful in case you missed it the first 400x i said it

[ungodlywarlock]

Just finished Uncharted 3.

HOLY SHIT.
I thought the first game was action packed, but this game was nuts. Favorite part was probably the rusted out ship section of the game. Really got my nerves on edge for that entire chunk.

that was the worst part of the game in my opinion at least the whole parts where you are outside in the water jumping from different wreckage, and then all of the combat inside of the giant cruise boat was so fucking bad the only part I liked was getting out after it flipped sideways other than that the whole thing was total and didn't fit at all

Do you mean you didn't like the combat scenarios or you just didn't like the setting?
To me it all 'fits' because it's just a giant action movie...so whatever crazy settings they decide on I'm pretty happy with.

The only thing that I thought was funny was that you are this crazy athletic guy (and hero of the game, obviously) jumping from rustbucket to rustbucket in ridiculous dangerous ways, but the guards all over the ship didn't seem like the type that could do that. And in some of the places they were stationed there was NO WAY they could get there unless they were equally as agile (and nuts).

But other than that, the whole game was awesome to me. Love the desert stuff too.

[The Schwartz]

the train level was by far the best sequence in any of the games, so I can't argue that.

But I loved the burning building part and hated the boat shit so much. I honestly had the most fun in 3 just chasing on the rooftops of the villas at the beginning.

I want to like the game more and more as time passes but I keep remembering what I hated as well, still can't go higher than a 7

[The Schwartz]

The part of the boat I hated the most was when you hit the ballroom right before it starts to sink and you just have swarms of people entering a small room that the basic cover and fire system UC has pretty much does no good. And I'm not just bitching because it was difficult or anything it's just so fucking unnecessary in all 3 of the games because the shootouts for the most part suck and not the reason why anyone plays the game. I also find that the difficulty aspects that they try to put in as to where you are getting rockets shot at your face while some other guy on a turret is shooting you while being surrounded by 30 pirates who keep respawning is a bunch of bullshit. It's just an annoyance and a lazy way to slow you down and make it more challenging