What are you playing? [SPOILER TAGS PLEASE]

Started by Sabby, May 31, 2009, 12:45:35 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Hemingway

#5425
Am I the only one who found Anor Londo to be eerie as all hell? It's a giant city with no people except giant Silver Knights.

In other news ... Shogun 2 is kicking my ass. I mean, I can win battles against equally matched and even somewhat stronger opponents ( though they do sometimes seem to win very easily in what should've been a relatively even battle ... ), but the campaign map and all that ... I mean, I have to conquer territory, right? But if I expand, others start to hate me ( hypocrites that they are, they've already grabbed lots of land! ), and usually they have allies which ... and no one wants to trade with me, what the hell? And on top of all that, you need to keep a pretty steady pace if you want to win. I mean, a short campaign is only something like 120 turns, and in those turns you have to capture 25 territories. It's not impossible, but it always seems to get progressively harder as your armies start to get stretched thin and ... the populations start rioting.

Edit: Wow. Zero G in Dead Space 2 kinda sucks compared to in Dead Space.

Brandon

Actually you had those guys guarding the painting, I figured they were the one who lived in and maintained the city
Brandon: What makes him tick? - My on's and off's - My open games thread - My Away Thread
Limits: I do not, under any circumstances play out scenes involving M/M, non-con, or toilet play

Sabby

#5427
...Welp. I did it. I finished Mass Effect 3. And yes, I called it. I found the ending fine. More then fine. A bit brief, yes, but I really don't see the hate.

Edit. I just saw Tali's face as well... so what if the last scene and her face were taken from other images. So. Fucking. What? x.x They look fine, who cares where it came from? I'm convinced everyone is just latching onto this thing because we haven't had a good lynch in a while. No recent Halo games, FF and COD are too fashionable, need some legitimate gripes to blow the fuck out of proportion.

And yet, even though I can see what people disliked, anyone whining about ME3 who doesn't have anything as harsh to say about Assassin's Creed series is a fucking idiot.

Hemingway

Someone call for someone to give the ol' dead horse a good beating? I'll be happy to oblige. I'll sum up some of the reasons why the ME3 ending sucks:

ME3 Ending Spoilers


  • Star Child's logic makes no sense
  • The choices themselves make no sense
  • Casey Hudson promised no ABC-type endings.
  • Joker's escape makes no sense ( and was also impossibly fast - literally )
  • Whichever choice you go with, the galaxy is screwed ( mass starvation, technological regression, war and chaos )
  • You have no clue what happens to most of the characters: presumably they all die
  • Thematically, the endings are completely out-of-place

... the list goes on.

Inkidu

Quote from: Hemingway on March 30, 2012, 03:50:53 PM
Someone call for someone to give the ol' dead horse a good beating? I'll be happy to oblige. I'll sum up some of the reasons why the ME3 ending sucks:

ME3 Ending Spoilers


  • Star Child's logic makes no sense
  • The choices themselves make no sense
  • Casey Hudson promised no ABC-type endings.
  • Joker's escape makes no sense ( and was also impossibly fast - literally )
  • Whichever choice you go with, the galaxy is screwed ( mass starvation, technological regression, war and chaos )
  • You have no clue what happens to most of the characters: presumably they all die
  • Thematically, the endings are completely out-of-place

... the list goes on.
Yeah, but you see, Sabby can still like it. In fact, I think it's a lot better than I first thought. It actually leaves me a lot of room to interpret the galaxy the way I want. I think it's kind of illogical that ME3 left this nice open ending, so people don't like it because they want to know what it is cut, print, and dry. I find it that gamers get upset when they have to take a hand-holding tutorial, but when a game asks you to think on its conclusion people want their hands held. 
If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

Geeklet

Quote from: Hemingway on March 30, 2012, 03:50:53 PM
Someone call for someone to give the ol' dead horse a good beating?

Nope. No one called for anyone like that.

Hemingway

Quote from: Inkidu on March 30, 2012, 04:23:16 PM
Yeah, but you see, Sabby can still like it. In fact, I think it's a lot better than I first thought. It actually leaves me a lot of room to interpret the galaxy the way I want. I think it's kind of illogical that ME3 left this nice open ending, so people don't like it because they want to know what it is cut, print, and dry. I find it that gamers get upset when they have to take a hand-holding tutorial, but when a game asks you to think on its conclusion people want their hands held.

I'm not saying you can't like it. I'm saying that whether or not someone likes it is irrelevant to the fact that it's badly written, it's inconsistent, and it goes against what we were promised.

Quote from: Geeklet on March 30, 2012, 04:25:38 PM
Nope. No one called for anyone like that.

I must be hearing things, then. I could've sworn...

Inkidu

Quote from: Hemingway on March 30, 2012, 04:37:13 PM
I'm not saying you can't like it. I'm saying that whether or not someone likes it is irrelevant to the fact that it's badly written, it's inconsistent, and it goes against what we were promised.

I must be hearing things, then. I could've sworn...
You know? I was never promised anything. I didn't read anything on ME3 up to the point where I played it. Also, bad is such a subjective term, because I wouldn't even put ME3 in the top 10 worst game endings that I've ever experienced.
If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

Sabby

Eh, like I said, it's sudden. That I won't defend. They could have used some more time in the end cutscene, but the only actual issue I have is the 'green' ending.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide
So, Red ending destroys the Reapers, but also the Geth, and I'd assume EDI (haven't gotten it myself) while the Blue ending makes Shep the new Catalyst and the Reapers withdraw... it's the Green ending that confuses me o.O Synthesis... what happened? If I wanna think on the same level as the Catalyst, Synthesis is the only option that won't end in war, but what did it do? Nothing... nothing that I can see, anyway. I assumed it would end all life in this cycle, and new matter would exist that combines both organic and inorganic material, so that when new society rises in billions of years, the synthetic/organic war scenario would never take place. But nothing like that happens. There's no change.

But if I have to complain (and if I don't, I feel this burning thrum at the back of my skull) it's that Sheperds character feels like a wasted opportunity to me. Yes, she's badass, yes she has some great lines, yes she's an allegory for Jesus, just like every other hero ends up being, but... she's a child. I don't mean that in an insulting way, she's short sighted, passionate, emotional... she's a soldier. She wins battles, but cannot conceive a war. It's just who she is. The problem is who she's paired with. Villains like Saren, The Illusive Man and Harbinger, who think long term, who understand sacrifice and atrocity and their necessity in war, who know the futility of universal struggle... I'm not saying these people are good guys, really. I'm saying Shep does not connect to this struggle at all.

Think about it, Batman is a plank of wood, and even he is given philosophical pause by the Joker's mad mutterings. Sheperd needed the same. She needed to pause and wonder what if the Illusive Man is right? What if I am just screaming at the problem and hoping to wish it away? There's nothing like this, she just responds to every hard moral dilemma with DAMN IT those are innocent civilians! Hope and trust and blah blah blah, stand tall and something.

I am NOT saying Shepard would be better off agreeing with the Illusive Man. That would kill her character, for me. I'm saying she's a brute, and her character growth never went past that.

Inkidu

We'll I'll give you that Shepard's a soldier, but I never got a shortsighted vibe. In fact, I would posit that Saren actually screwed things up for the Reapers. He was actually clumsy and shortsighted compared to his masters. He's the won who thought an all-out attack on a human colony wouldn't bring some retribution from his old foe Admiral Anderson (and by master-pupil dynamic Commander Shepard). All of ME1 after Saren gets his cover blown (really early) is a bunch of loud, look-at-me mistakes. He could have hid them a little better. Once it's out in the open all it does is make the galaxy (enough people, if not all) aware of the Reapers and gets one of them killed while forcing them to change the plan. Even if you're an Eldrich Robot, that's a defeat. However, I have a feeling that they made ME1 with shortsightedness in mind. They didn't know who at that point was going to bankroll the next game. So it leaves a hanger that could also be seen as Shepard stops the plan and wins (if it had to be seen that way).

The second game you actually do see Shepard thinking ahead (choice dependent, naturally) especially with the Quarians. S/he can say things like, "Save your troops for the war with the Reapers" (paraphrase) and all that good stuff. In fact, it's pretty obvious now that TiM wanted the Collectors out of the way so he could get his hands on Reaper tech. He's the real subtle guy (maybe because you worked for him, and were too close).

Yeah, I'll admit it's easy to get Shepard distracted by the threat to humanity of the week, and that Kohoku and Anderson along with any unnamed Alliance top brass probably made sure the War was won, but I wouldn't necessarily call Shepard shortsighted. I mean how well does anyone play Space Cthulhu in chess? 

Largely though I think that the message is that no one can rule organic life, not Reapers, not TiM.
If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

Sabby

She still doesn't form any connections to the villains. Even Saren. The only thing connecting the two was she was sent after him as a Spectre, and there's no development beyond that, no moments of doubt where she considers his stance, no change to her character at all, she just yells and stomps around until the day is saved. She stands out like a sore thumb to me when surrounded by such deep and flawed characters, on both sides.

But, this is the stupid age of gaming, apparently, where every hero has to be bland so they can be a self insert for the gamer. Ignoring the fact that's not exactly a new trend, I gotta sympathize... self inserts can be very boring.

Inkidu

Quote from: Sabby on March 31, 2012, 07:04:26 AM
She still doesn't form any connections to the villains. Even Saren. The only thing connecting the two was she was sent after him as a Spectre, and there's no development beyond that, no moments of doubt where she considers his stance, no change to her character at all, she just yells and stomps around until the day is saved. She stands out like a sore thumb to me when surrounded by such deep and flawed characters, on both sides.

But, this is the stupid age of gaming, apparently, where every hero has to be bland so they can be a self insert for the gamer. Ignoring the fact that's not exactly a new trend, I gotta sympathize... self inserts can be very boring.
Eh... I think Shepard is only as bland as the person playing him or her. However, what you're describing is the typical  WRPG deal. WRPGs focus more on delivering the fantasy than any kind of set-in-stone narrative. JRPGs do the narrative (but have been struggling in the other aspects lately, like combat).

It kind of comes with the nature of the beastie.
If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

LunarSage

Just got Skyrim for the PC... It's fun so far. 

However...

I'm walking down the road and I see what appears to be some injustice happening.  Three Justicars are taking a shackled prisoner against his will just for worshipping a certain god.  I'm like "no way is that gonna fly", so I kill all three Justicars and free the prisoner.  Great, right?  I thought so... but as soon as I get to Whiterun, the guards start attacking me.  I can't even go into the city without guards trying to kill me left and right.  What the Hell?  Was I not supposed to kill those Justicars?  Why do the Whiterun guards care that I killed them?

  ▫  A.A  ▫  O.O  ▫  Find & Seek   ▫ 

Sabby

Well, that depends... how did you do it? I'm not sure if it matters in Stormcloak controlled areas, but Justicars are in tight with the Imperials, so attacking them is a crime. BUT Skyrim has witnesses now, a first for Elder Scrolls. As long as all witnesses are killed, your bounty gets wiped. So you can walk into a house, slaughter the three people inside, leave and no one is the wiser. But if one person runs, well... you'll pretty much have to torch the whole farm to cover your tracks.

I love :)

LunarSage

There was a guy on the road, as a matter of fact.

I suspect I wasn't supposed to kill those guys since I doubt I could have without godmode on anyway.  They appeared to be quite the badasses.  (I'm only level 3)

  ▫  A.A  ▫  O.O  ▫  Find & Seek   ▫ 

Sabby

Yeah, they're a bit beyond the newbie... but if your the kind of player who isn't above putting an arrow in a witnesses back on the road... >:3

Hemingway

Oh, man. Total War. I feel like a shrewd statesman and cunning diplomat right now, breaking up an alliance between two of my neighbors while forming an alliance with one of them, because I want to invade the other, who is simultaneously being invaded by his neighbor on the opposite side. DUN DUN DUN.

Semantics

Quote from: Hemingway on March 29, 2012, 12:07:30 PM
But if I expand, others start to hate me ( hypocrites that they are, they've already grabbed lots of land! ), and usually they have allies which ... and no one wants to trade with me, what the hell?

Yeah.  Alliances and some trade stuff are always best done earlier in a game, so that rather than getting irked at your land-grabbing, they instead get more friendly over time since you haven't betrayed them.  (Obviously, Does Not Work if you do betray them.)  Also, if you haven't already discovered, trade agreements are easier to get if you export resources they don't get or import from someone else, while do not have the resources they export.  Sounds obvious for cash reasons, but also greatly increases their willingness to trade with you.  Also, one-off payments to them for accepting the deal are very much worth it in the long run.

Playing it again myself, and eying the content that was added since I last played.  Love the Total War types of strategy games.

Hemingway

Quote from: Semantics on March 31, 2012, 05:50:52 PM
Yeah.  Alliances and some trade stuff are always best done earlier in a game, so that rather than getting irked at your land-grabbing, they instead get more friendly over time since you haven't betrayed them.  (Obviously, Does Not Work if you do betray them.)  Also, if you haven't already discovered, trade agreements are easier to get if you export resources they don't get or import from someone else, while do not have the resources they export.  Sounds obvious for cash reasons, but also greatly increases their willingness to trade with you.  Also, one-off payments to them for accepting the deal are very much worth it in the long run.

Playing it again myself, and eying the content that was added since I last played.  Love the Total War types of strategy games.

I had just started a new game when I broke up the alliance between my two neighbors. I'm playing Shogun 2, just in case anyone's wondering, and ... well, my plan worked. With the Takeda clan on my side, I invaded their former ally and took their only remaining province, the rest of it taken by the Oda clan. I was wary of Oda, because they obliterated me in my last game, so I kept an eye on them. Meanwhile, with the help of my new Takeda allies, I expanded east, taking two provinces from my neighbors there ( Takeda also took two, making them quite a bit larger than me ... ). I then started to consolidate my territories, building up the infrastructure. Soon, though, I noitced that Oda was fighting against another clan, and losing territory fast.

So, I waited until the following spring, and built up my armies. I then formed an alliance with the Oda clan ( by then pushed far west from me ) and went to war against this clan that had been fighting them. With their forces concentrating on Oda in the west, I could take several of their territories without much resistance, so much so that I'm only a few provinces away from Kyoto, which is my ultimate goal. And that's as far as I got, for now.

Now my alliance, with the Takeda and Oda, controls something like half of Japan, and we're all close to Kyoto. I have a feeling that if I want to take Kyoto and become Shogun, I'll have to betray one of them - perhaps both. Perhaps I should start looking for new allies...

Of course, diplomacy isn't the only cool thing. I don't consider myself very good at Total War battles, but I did lead a very successful defense of one of my castles. The son of my Daimyo was there, with only a token force of some 600 men ( with only one unit of archers, far less than I would've liked ) and was attacked by a force of some 900. They had lots of archers ( archers outside the walls can be even more dangerous than archers inside, when you don't have archers yourself to take them out ... ), and generally better soldiers than me. But my heroic band of defenders held them back, then drove them back. It was pretty hectic, with my guys fighting off enemies climbing one wall, only to rush to another to reinforce my men there, with the Daimyo's son rallying and inspiring the troops, and fighting right beside them. It would've been a good, honorable death, but the man didn't even die. Good times.

Inkidu

I actually wanted Shogun 2 (wanted it so bad I figured out how to play it on consoles, but no one listens to me). I just don't think my computer can run it.
If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

Hemingway

Yeah, the system requirements are ... steep. Which could be part of the reason it's not a console game. Because, really, as RTSs go, it's not the least console-friendly. You need more precise controls than in Halo Wars, but it's quite slow-paced, so.

Sabby

Hmmm... ya know, there's always Kinect >.> Hell, I'd play an RTS if you got to command armies like it's a big holographic war room. Makes me wants a game where ya play as Skynet, or maybe trade in the sci-fi holo-display for a Fantasy setting, metally controlling things from an impossibly tall tower.

Gotta admit, it's worth a look at, at the very least. But no, we'll probably see Kinect Water Rapids and Star Wars Kinect: Episode 7 before that.

Wolfy

Quote from: Sabby on April 01, 2012, 07:18:10 AM
Hmmm... ya know, there's always Kinect >.> Hell, I'd play an RTS if you got to command armies like it's a big holographic war room. Makes me wants a game where ya play as Skynet, or maybe trade in the sci-fi holo-display for a Fantasy setting, metally controlling things from an impossibly tall tower.

Gotta admit, it's worth a look at, at the very least. But no, we'll probably see Kinect Water Rapids and Star Wars Kinect: Episode 7 before that.

Oh Sabby........

Please say more. *swoons*

Inkidu

Quote from: Hemingway on April 01, 2012, 07:13:30 AM
Yeah, the system requirements are ... steep. Which could be part of the reason it's not a console game. Because, really, as RTSs go, it's not the least console-friendly. You need more precise controls than in Halo Wars, but it's quite slow-paced, so.
I know, right, but my computer is like six years old with minimal updates. So unless I know one of the Powerball people I've got to wait until I can get a new computer.

Consoles have their monetary advantages. :(

The Fall of the Samurai looks good, too.
If you're searching the lines for a point, well you've probably missed it; there was never anything there in the first place.

Sabby

Yeah, I'm living on borrowed time as well xD I got my computer with a loan, I didn't save for it, and new computer parts are a bit beyond my price range... so once games start surpassing my admittedly awesome rig, I'm fucked.

Wolfy, the amount of time you invest in chasing my tail is just inspiring, really. It's like Wile E. Coyote, and the Road Runner is my ass.