Video Games...Discuss Them

[Skitch]

Dear Gamestop,

Thanks for mismarking the Prince of Persia HD 3 game collection for PS3 $5.

Sincerely,

Erik

[amberlita]

Why console gaming is dying

Provocative thought that seems to get regurgitated every few years but I'm not sure he's really substantiated his claim that the industry is declining on anything other than general gestalt in this article. And he fails to pursue in depth the two biggest arguments I would personally have against the gaming industry today: cost and exclusionism. It's very difficult to participate in console game without commiting hours at a time and hundreds of dollars if not more. Angry Birds isn't popular because it's tapped into the social networking scheme. It's popular because it's cheap and casual.

[Ezee E]

Precisely. It's really the arcade coming back with simple, easy to learn games, but not a 800 pound station.

[Dukefrukem]

Why console gaming is dying

Provocative thought that seems to get regurgitated every few years but I'm not sure he's really substantiated his claim that the industry is declining on anything other than general gestalt in this article. And he fails to pursue in depth the two biggest arguments I would personally have against the gaming industry today: cost and exclusionism. It's very difficult to participate in console game without commiting hours at a time and hundreds of dollars if not more. Angry Birds isn't popular because it's tapped into the social networking scheme. It's popular because it's cheap and casual.

What an awful, awful, article.

Edit: Heh, and the first comment: "Dumb title for a pathetic article. "

[shaun]

Played about 3 hours worth of Halo 4. It's been about 4 years since I played a console FPS though and I'm looking forward to going back to the welcoming arms of my keyboard and mouse with Black Ops 2.

[Ezee E]

Anyone get the smart glass app? I'm controlling Xbox with my iPhone. Kinda cool as I am posting this on my tv

[Dukefrukem]

Black Ops 2 reviews

IGN (93/100): "Combined with the host of subtle and overt improvements to the array of other systems, the additions to make it more appealing to Esports, and the more fleshed out Zombies mode, this is not just a fantastic Call of Duty game, but one of the best shooters of the last decade."

G4 (90/100): "A ton of work has gone into this game from top to bottom, and it stands as a real testament to the developers who didn't want to just coattail this one into the books. Nearly every system and aspect of the game has been tweaked or overhauled, and it certainly shows in the final product."

EGM (90/100): "The first Black Ops put Treyarch on par with Infinity Ward; with Black Ops 2, they surpass them. This is the most impressed I've been with Call of Duty since the first Modern Warfare; aside from some problems with the Strike Force missions, this is a shining moment for the franchise."

Game Informer (85/100): "For shooter fans that don't require as deep of a dive, Black Ops 2's multiplayer may feel like more of the same. No significant new match types are present, and the Pick 10 system doesn't drastically change the gameplay experience. Most of the changes to the Call of Duty formula come in campaign mode, and they are executed with mixed results. Despite some frustrations, Black Ops 2 is yet another massive, polished, finely tuned entry in a series that shows no signs of slowing down."

GameSpot (80/100): "The campaign hits the same satisfying rhythms, the multiplayer captures the same frenetic intensity, and the cooperative zombies mode delivers the same stale undead-massacring action. Caught between striving for the future and remaining rooted in the past, Black Ops 2 finds solid footing, providing another great ride on the Call of Duty rollercoaster."

[D_Davis]

I can't stop thinking about Persona 3. I wish I had my Vita with me....

[Dukefrukem]

I can't stop thinking about Persona 3. I wish I had my Vita with me....

Why don't you? Isn't that kinda the point. ;-)

[D_Davis]

Why don't you? Isn't that kinda the point. ;-)

I like being away from games and technology for parts of the day. I view my bus ride and lunchtime as reading time.

What I'm liking about the Vita is just curling up on the couch and playing it while a TV show is on.

[Morris Schæffer]

Played about 3 hours worth of Halo 4. It's been about 4 years since I played a console FPS though and I'm looking forward to going back to the welcoming arms of my keyboard and mouse with Black Ops 2.

I'm the other other way around. I recall playing only PC shooters for a long while and then tried to play TimeSplitters 2. God that was weird. Now I'm only into console gaming and I love how elegant and comfortable a gamepad feels into my hands and how sitting on the couch beats sitting at as desk with my hands streched out in front of me and wondering what action to map to what button.

@Duke: I cannot freakin' wait to play Black Ops 2, but first I need to complete Assassin's Creed 2. I'm pretty disciplined that way. I wish I had more time.

[megladon8]

So I've actually been able to make my way into some "Halo 4" online matches which has been great. It's still as awesome as ever, and I can't wait to get into the Specializations - it's kind of a brilliant idea.

But yeah, I had an experience on my last match that I'd love to share.

I spawn on Red Team (actually the first time I've played as Red so I was like "woo-hoo! I can kill me some blue-ies now!"). I am immediately killed by a guy on a Ghost.

I spawn and am killed by the same guy.

I spawn and am killed by the same guy, still on the Ghost.

He is spawn-camping our team on the only vehicle on the map. Kinda douchey, but whatever, I'll figure out a way to dispatch him (not to brag, but I'm not too shabby with Halo games).

I changed my loadout and when I spawned immediately sprayed 8 shots right into his face and killed him.

No more than 10 seconds later I am booted from the game (he was apparently the host) and then another minute or so after that I receive a message from him that says (left his spelling in tact):

"go fcuk urself fuckin kliljoy muthrfucker dis is MY gaem bitch fuck you"


Man, I love gamers. Good peeps.

[KK2.0]

Anyone try Shank on the X-Box Live Arcade? Great animations for a side scroller, just seems a little easy and boring after the demo. Get any better?

the same developers made a Ninja game with stealth elements that looked way more interesting, for my tastes at least.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/09/...e-ninja-review

i hope it gets a PSN release some day

[Scar]

That's going to grace my signature for a wee bit.

I rarely play multiplayer. Last time I played Demons Soul's, I got invaded by the same guy three times, killed him three times, and then got hate mail from him.

[Skitch]

Exactly why I don't play online. I can deal with being the shittiest player in a match, but I can't deal with the jerks. What pleasure is there to be had in "spawn-camping"? Upping your stats? Incredibly lame.

[bac0n]

I've had mixed results playing online. A couple of times, playing Left 4 Dead, I got put up with 3 other guys who were so hilarious that I could hardly play I was laughing so hard. They were all screaming like women on the final assault in the NotLD style house, and once someone decided to throw a molotov cocktail when we were all holed up in a closet (burning us all to death), everybody started screaming, it was total chaos, god i'm cracking up now just thinking about it.

And then there was the time I was playing COD4 i think it was online, and there was a guy online with a spanish accent who couldn't seem to stop saying "your dick. in my mouth. your dick. in my mouth".

[Ezee E]

Love L4D for the fact that it's all teamwork.

The others, I don't use the mics for, so it doesn't bother me.

FIFA Online makes it into the best video game ever.

[Dukefrukem]

[youtube]Vzue74y7A84[/youtube]

[Morris Schæffer]

Incredible stuff Duke! The set pieces look great. I counted stuff from Under Siege 2 (freight train crash on bridge), Bad Boys 2 (Lorry dropping its cars).

If possible, I might play this without radar and just get to know the city.

edit: The mind boggles at what new hardware will do with GTA.
edit: Trucks with lorries this time!!!

[megladon8]

OK a complaint I have with "Halo 4"...

I think it was a poor choice to have key elements of the story only accessible through the secret terminals that unlock videos on Halo Waypoint.

This kind of stuff is really cool when the videos just add a little something to the story, little secret nooks and crannies that just add a little depth.

But in "Halo 4"'s case, they are key plot points and make the plot of the game completely incomprehensible without seeing them.

So that they need to be found and unlocked, and then can only be viewed by leaving the game to go to Waypoint, was a really odd choice that I hope they ixnay on the next entry.

[Dukefrukem]

Incredible stuff Duke! The set pieces look great. I counted stuff from Under Siege 2 (freight train crash on bridge), Bad Boys 2 (Lorry dropping its cars).

If possible, I might play this without radar and just get to know the city.

edit: The mind boggles at what new hardware will do with GTA.
edit: Trucks with lorries this time!!!

Hehe. Yeh, but like I said before, I'm afraid it will be 150 hours worth of content. GTAIV alone was around 60, not doing all the stupid extra shit they want you to do like finding all the pigeons.

[megladon8]

Man oh man, "Halo 4" on Legendary is an astounding challenge.

I do think this could be the most difficult game in the franchise.

[Morris Schæffer]

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood is pretty amazing in scope and detail. Walking along the highest ridges of the Colosseum while seeing shadows, caused by sun-clouds interplay, sweep over the ground, is pretty damn cool. Chasing, and then discovering, strange markings on buildings never fails to give me goosebumps even if the ensuing puzzles are incredibly obscure and thus tough to solve. Enemies have gotten a lot tougher, really chasing you down wherever you go. Which is exhilarating.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I'm playing video games for the first time in a good long while.

Playing through Illusion of Gaia for SNES. Pretty fun Zelda-style action-adventure, especially in how it draws on actual history in addition to its fantasy edge. So these kid heroes use magical powers and fight lizard men, but they also swing by the Nazca lines. It's a little superficial; it lacks the more open-ended qualities of Zelda, where outside of dungeons, you're free to do what you like. Instead, you zip from one small town to another with surprising linearity. Even so, these kinds of games are about as close as I can get to RPG's.

Also playing through Goldeneye Wii. I originally set the game aside after an hour or so because my nostalgia kept frustrating me to the new style. I'm past that now, and the game's a fantastic FPS. The best part is that its controller options are through the roof. Got a GCN controller? Go nuts. Got a classic? Go nuts. If you use the Wiimote, you can rework everything. Bounding box, turning speed, everything. And while the graphics are notably less than what you'd get on the 'box or 'station (hip abbreves, right?), they stretch the Wii to its limits and look real purdy.

[Morris Schæffer]

Man oh man, "Halo 4" on Legendary is an astounding challenge.

I do think this could be the most difficult game in the franchise.

But is that setting fun for you?