Video Games...Discuss Them

[Spun Lepton]

Scar, why haven't you finished FFX-2, yet? Jealous of their faaaAAAAAbulous costumes? Can't see the screen through all the jealousy, is that it? You want to wear girl's clothes, hahahahahaaa --- AAAAACK!!

</mysteriously shot>

[Dead & Messed Up]

I picked up Metroid and the original Zelda with that Wii virtual console thing. Shockingly fun, and, for five bucks a pop, they're easily worth it.

[Scar]

Scar, why haven't you finished FFX-2, yet? Jealous of their faaaAAAAAbulous costumes? Can't see the screen through all the jealousy, is that it? You want to wear girl's clothes, hahahahahaaa --- AAAAACK!!

</mysteriously shot>

200+ miles, gotta be a record.

[Acapelli]

portal is the shit

[transmogrifier]

I haven't played a video game in about two years.

[Sycophant]

I haven't played a video game in about two years.

About a year ago, the same was true of me.

[D_Davis]

I started playing HL2, again, this time on the PC.

This is my fourth time through the game, and yet I am still impressed at almost every turn.

The distance by which this game separates itself from all others is enormous.

City 17 may be my absolute favorite virtual environment. It feels so lived in, and tangible. The color pallet is evocative and has since become iconic. And the level design is superb. The way the player is constantly funneled through the alleyways, side streets, subways, and water ways is flawless. Through subtle visual and audio clues the player can tell where to go without being shown a map. Everything we need to know about how to play the game is shown in context. The game's pacing, too, is perfect: the first half of the game the player is being chased, and the second half of the game the player is doing the chasing.

It's simply an extraordinary experience.

[bac0n]

Man, I still need to get my hands on the orange box.

[megladon8]

One of my favorite parts of the "HL2" games is how the story is told seamlessly within the gameplay.

Rarely is there ever a cutscene to progress the plot.

[Saya]

I like HL2, but I wouldn't say the pacing is perfect though. I still think the vehicle sections are unnecessarily long and become too dull and repetitive after a while.

[Amnesiac]

I like HL2, but I wouldn't say the pacing is perfect though. I still think the vehicle sections are unnecessarily long and become too dull and repetitive after a while.

Those sections are pretty exciting, actually. And they don't take too long (well, maybe the first time through).

Plus, once you arrive at Eli's... it really feels like you've gone on this long, epic journey to get there.

[Saya]

Those sections are pretty exciting, actually. And they don't take too long (well, maybe the first time through).

Plus, once you arrive at Eli's... it really feels like you've gone on this long, epic journey to get there.

I didn't find those levels very exciting. Lowest point of the game for me. I always lose interest during those levels because they just drag on and on. Still, overall the whole experience of the game is pretty amazing.

I haven't played it in a while and probably won't until Episode 3 is released. I guess that would be sometime in 2010.

[D_Davis]

Plus, once you arrive at Eli's... it really feels like you've gone on this long, epic journey to get there.

Totally agree. It's the only game I've ever played that really makes you feel as if you have traveled a great distance. The scope of the vehicular levels is majestic, especially the buggy portions. Man, those vistas are just amazing.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I started playing HL2, again, this time on the PC.

This is my fourth time through the game, and yet I am still impressed at almost every turn.

The distance by which this game separates itself from all others is enormous.

City 17 may be my absolute favorite virtual environment. It feels so lived in, and tangible. The color pallet is evocative and has since become iconic. And the level design is superb. The way the player is constantly funneled through the alleyways, side streets, subways, and water ways is flawless. Through subtle visual and audio clues the player can tell where to go without being shown a map. Everything we need to know about how to play the game is shown in context. The game's pacing, too, is perfect: the first half of the game the player is being chased, and the second half of the game the player is doing the chasing.

It's simply an extraordinary experience.

Play System Shock 2, if you can find it. It's the best FPS ever.

[Morris Schæffer]

Totally agree. It's the only game I've ever played that really makes you feel as if you have traveled a great distance. The scope of the vehicular levels is majestic, especially the buggy portions. Man, those vistas are just amazing.

Yeah, one gets the feeling that he or she can look back and sort of pinpoint where it all began, the train station. And it helps to have the citadel in view or on the horizon for a huge chunk of the initial game to get one's bearings. And the boat section should have been even longer. That was utterly jaw-dropping!

[Morris Schæffer]

Play System Shock 2, if you can find it. It's the best FPS ever.

I have the game, but understand that it requires some hocus pocus to get the game to run on XP.

In any case, it was insanely atmospheric, but based on what would you call it better than Half-Life 2? Admittedly, I've no argumentation of my own.

[Saya]

Played two awesome L4D games on advanced last night and I saw a boomer jumping of a high building and exploding on impact. That was hilarious.

The Dead Air final is actually way easier if you use the closet strategy. Just keep everyone in the closet at the back of the level and have two guys crouched in front and the other two standing behind them. Just blast everything that comes your way and when you hear the tank music, run out to get ammo and kill the tank. After you kill it just run back to the closet and blast everything that comes again until you hear the tank music again. This is the part where you have to be a bit lucky with the spawns of the boss infected, because now you have to make your way to the plane and kill the tank on the way.

And someone is already busy with making a Dawn of the Dead '04 custom map.

Crossroads Mall - A Replica of the Mall in Dawn of the Dead

It's still in the early stages but it looks pretty sweet already. I just hope that Valve will release a DLC package for the 360 someday though.

[Skitch]

I'm enjoying Conan more and more...

[Ezee E]

Played two awesome L4D games on advanced last night and I saw a boomer jumping of a high building and exploding on impact. That was hilarious.

The Dead Air final is actually way easier if you use the closet strategy. Just keep everyone in the closet at the back of the level and have two guys crouched in front and the other two standing behind them. Just blast everything that comes your way and when you hear the tank music, run out to get ammo and kill the tank. After you kill it just run back to the closet and blast everything that comes again until you hear the tank music again. This is the part where you have to be a bit lucky with the spawns of the boss infected, because now you have to make your way to the plane and kill the tank on the way.

And someone is already busy with making a Dawn of the Dead '04 custom map.

Crossroads Mall - A Replica of the Mall in Dawn of the Dead

It's still in the early stages but it looks pretty sweet already. I just hope that Valve will release a DLC package for the 360 someday though.

That would be awesome.

Really, with the game designing, you could recreate entire blocks of cities.

[D_Davis]

Play System Shock 2, if you can find it. It's the best FPS ever.

What makes you think I haven't?

[D_Davis]

I'm enjoying Conan more and more...

It's cool when a little $10 game catches you by surprise. Discovering a game in a bargain bin that like is one of my favorite things. Low expectations couple with low price can make for a great experience.

[SirNewt]

oh shit!

*rubs eyes*

I'm coming off a three day Civ bender. Man I haven't played a game for more than 45 minutes at a time in six months. I can't believe that game can still hit me like that. So much for working over the break.

[megladon8]

For great, genre-bending FPS games, I still really love "Deus Ex", even despite my aversion to anything with EIDOS written on it.

[Ezee E]

When are you going to give L4D another try Meg?

[megladon8]

When are you going to give L4D another try Meg?

I'm not in any rush.

I'll pick up a copy when it goes down in price. Hopefully by that time there'll also be some DLC I can get to add on to the admittedly sparse content currently available.

There are other games I'm more interested in right now, like "MK vs. DC", and I also want to give "Gears of War 2" a go.

I'll be in NYC in a week, so maybe I'll come back with a game or two.

I'm still addicted to "Fallout 3". 45 hours in, and I've still only seen about half the map, and I gather I'm about halfway through the storyline (if that).

And after I'm done with it, I want to replay a few games. Everything in "The Orange Box", "BioShock", "Marvel Ultimate Alliance", and I'll still be playing "CoD4" online if I can find some decent matches without cheaters.

So yeah, my gaming plate's pretty full.