What are you playing? [SPOILER TAGS PLEASE]

[Hemingway]

I bought myself E.Y.E Divine Cybermancy or some such nonsense. It might be a good game, with a good setting, but ... well, the graphics aren't just "dated", they're ... grating. And the writing/translation is ... awful. I mean, one of the main reasons I stay away from jRPGs is the, in my eyes, poor quality of the dialogue. But this is even worse. It's just agonizing.

To make up for it I bought Stalker: Clear Sky. I have Shadow of Chernobyl and Call of Pripyat already, so ... yeah!

[Inkidu]

I tried to get my Terminus Armor because they were still honoring pre-order bonuses, but it has yet to show up on my Xbox so I'm pretty much wishing that I never signed on to fucking XBL. It took away all my completed games on my card because they update the fucking Achievements regardless of whether or not you can actually unlock them.

So I'm having very serious thoughts about deleting my gamer profile and starting over. I've just been fucked by XBL and I'm tired today, just really tired of people forcing the internet down my gut, and it not even working.

[Bayushi]

just really tired of people forcing the internet down my gut, and it not even working.

Tell me about it.

I'm going to pass on Diablo 3 (whenever it does ship) not because of the Real Money auction house, but because the game requires persistent internet access.

I like to play solo games when I DO NOT have internet access (for example, Comcast farted this morning and our cable was out for three hours >.<). When I do have internet access, I'm likely going to be playing an MMORPG (WoW, and The Old Republic when it finally releases).

So, yeah, not going to play Diablo 3. Period.

I'll wait for Torchlight 2, thanks. When The Old Republic ships (whenever that is), I'll be giving Activision-Blizzard the finger and never playing their online required games again.

[Inkidu]

I want Diablo 3 to flop badly, or at least too poorly for a Blizzard game. I'd take anything that would knock them down a peg or four. They've got too many fans for that though.

[Bayushi]

I want Diablo 3 to flop badly, or at least too poorly for a Blizzard game. I'd take anything that would knock them down a peg or four. They've got too many fans for that though.

Blizzard has already dropped the ball.

They've lost nearly a million subscribers in the past six months, and with The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2 on the horizon, I'm going to assume that WoW is going to take a nasty hit to the subscription base.

I know that I'll likely leave WoW when TOR ships. I'm pretty much done with WoW. I barely log in right now as it is.

[Inkidu]

Blizzard has already dropped the ball.

They've lost nearly a million subscribers in the past six months, and with The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2 on the horizon, I'm going to assume that WoW is going to take a nasty hit to the subscription base.

I know that I'll likely leave WoW when TOR ships. I'm pretty much done with WoW. I barely log in right now as it is.

Oh, Blizzard is supposed to working on an new MMO, but my gut feeling is that it will be WoW 2.0. They're not exactly original...

I'm just still steamed about the Terminus Armor. Seriously, I followed the directions on the card. I went to the website, redeemed the code, and it said for Xbox users restart your console and it will appear. Does Xbox have some weird way of browsing the web because I sure didn't find it. I'm going to see if I can keep my internet low though because some of that DLC is big (for me). So I'd have to download it all the day before my internet is set to reset. Four hundred plus megs... for one thing. Urg. The email for my XBL account and the EA account are the same. I figured they'd put it in my active downloads. Sigh, crap that doesn't work.

[Bayushi]

Oh, Blizzard is supposed to working on an new MMO, but my gut feeling is that it will be WoW 2.0. They're not exactly original...

Actually, "Project Titan" has already been confirmed to be an entirely new intellectual property. So it won't be Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, Lost Vikings, Rock'n'Roll Racing, or any other property that Blizzard has produced before.

They're being incredibly tight lipped about it. They won't even confirm if it will be an MMORPG, MMOFPS, or MMORTS. No one really knows anything, except that it's expected in 2013.

[Sabby]

They're being incredibly tight lipped about it. They won't even confirm if it will be an MMORPG, MMOFPS, or MMORTS. No one really knows anything, except that it's expected in 2013.

This is something people need to do more often. I hate how much info they give out for new games right out the gates. When was the last time you got a 'surprise announcement' two months before a games release?

[Inkidu]

Actually, "Project Titan" has already been confirmed to be an entirely new intellectual property. So it won't be Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, Lost Vikings, Rock'n'Roll Racing, or any other property that Blizzard has produced before.

They're being incredibly tight lipped about it. They won't even confirm if it will be an MMORPG, MMOFPS, or MMORTS. No one really knows anything, except that it's expected in 2013.

Oh, I know it's supposed to be a new I.P. That's what nearly 10 plus years (I don't think W.O.W. counts). What I'm saying is it'll probably look a lot like previous stuff mechanical and gameplay wise.

Yeah, I agree about the tight-lippedness, but the best way to actually do it is start releasing small details early, go black, and then a few weeks before release get the ads and trailers out there. That gets fan excited without much time left for hype building. The trailers you give out in the last few weeks won't be beta-stuff. So there won't be so much speculation. You haven't been feeding them stuff so there's no need for bigger and bigger reveals. It works. Movies do it with the trailer system. Go to a movie, get a trailer for a movie months from now. Then in the weeks before its release the promos start flying.

Deus Ex: H.R. is going about it right.

Skyrim is doing it wrong. The game has five months and they forked out a fourteen minute live demo. I'm way too excited to sit still when I think about it. They should have done the teaser and left it at that until late October.

[Wolfy]

Wait, how do we know if Project Titan is even an MMO? @_@

For all we know it could be something else, like a puzzle game. @_@

[Wyrd]

Because puzzles would be Waaay to complex for Blizzard. That's why the make kiddie games with pretty, flashy colours and cartoony styling.

[Sabby]

Blizzard have a comfy gig going >.> they have about as much incentive to try new things and expand their horizons as Nintendo though. But here's the thing... they also have the ability to do just that. They could try something big and ambitious and new, and it could flop like a dying fish, and would it make a dent in the mountain of money they sleep in at night? Nope.

They're in a unique position, one most small time developers would fucking MURDER for! I have a million ideas for video games, but do I think for a second half of them will succeed, even with massive amounts of playtesting, polishing, and a huge budget? No. Because it's not Call of Duty, and my ideas can't immediately be summed as 'Call of Duty with swords" or "Left 4 Dead with The Slenderman" I'm not stupid. If I had a full development team working on one of my ideas, theres every chance it will fail regardless of its quality and drag the new company down right out the gates.

Blizzard and Nintendo have to worry about that as much as I worry about not winning the lottery.

[Inkidu]

Y

Blizzard have a comfy gig going >.> they have about as much incentive to try new things and expand their horizons as Nintendo though. But here's the thing... they also have the ability to do just that. They could try something big and ambitious and new, and it could flop like a dying fish, and would it make a dent in the mountain of money they sleep in at night? Nope.

They're in a unique position, one most small time developers would fucking MURDER for! I have a million ideas for video games, but do I think for a second half of them will succeed, even with massive amounts of playtesting, polishing, and a huge budget? No. Because it's not Call of Duty, and my ideas can't immediately be summed as 'Call of Duty with swords" or "Left 4 Dead with The Slenderman" I'm not stupid. If I had a full development team working on one of my ideas, theres every chance it will fail regardless of its quality and drag the new company down right out the gates.

Blizzard and Nintendo have to worry about that as much as I worry about not winning the lottery.

Yeah, at least Nintendo tried once or twice. Though it was mostly during the 64 and Gamecube days

Majora's Mask, Metroid Prime, and Luigi's Mansion all come to mind and really unique pieces. I can't remember the last time Blizzard actually tried.
Though I don't think Nintendo is as comfortable as you might think. I think they're really close to bombing it all on the hardware aspect.

[Hemingway]

Majora's Mask, Metroid Prime, and Luigi's Mansion all come to mind and really unique pieces. I can't remember the last time Blizzard actually tried.

Warcraft 2 and Diablo were pretty groundbreaking.

In other news, I got myself The Temple of Elemental Evil for cheap from GOG. I ... I haven't gotten past character creation. I mean, I'm the kind of guy who will spend several hours perfecting my character in Baldur's Gate. How the hell am I supposed to make a party of five characters from scratch? It's an exercise in futility! I finish one character, then immediately get a better idea for a rogue, or I decide I don't want a male human fighter but a female half-elf. Or I decide I don't want a halfling rogue but an elf rogue. Or I decide I don't want a cleric, but a paladin. Or ... gah! My head! The indecision! I'm about to explode!

[Inkidu]

Warcraft 2 and Diablo were pretty groundbreaking.

In other news, I got myself The Temple of Elemental Evil for cheap from GOG. I ... I haven't gotten past character creation. I mean, I'm the kind of guy who will spend several hours perfecting my character in Baldur's Gate. How the hell am I supposed to make a party of five characters from scratch? It's an exercise in futility! I finish one character, then immediately get a better idea for a rogue, or I decide I don't want a male human fighter but a female half-elf. Or I decide I don't want a halfling rogue but an elf rogue. Or I decide I don't want a cleric, but a paladin. Or ... gah! My head! The indecision! I'm about to explode!

So were Zelda, Metroid, and Mario for their time. I'm talking about what have they done to try since releasing the fan-building games. Still, okay Warcraft 2. I'll give it to you. Still, I think I'd rather play Command & Conquer any day of the week over any of the [blank]craft games. Diablo was newish but Diablo III is just Diablo II with updates... oh, and always online. And a real-money auction house that they claim they're trying to balance but they're introducing an inferno mode that offers unique items that anyone can auction in said house. How is that keeping it balanced? Soon people will either have to play inferno mode (which might be legitimately beyond their prowess or have deep pockets. Otherwise when they get to where inferno players can beat up on them (I'm hoping that's how they do it) they're going to get plastered and hopefully quit.

[Geeklet]

Warcraft 2 and Diablo were pretty groundbreaking.

In other news, I got myself The Temple of Elemental Evil for cheap from GOG. I ... I haven't gotten past character creation. I mean, I'm the kind of guy who will spend several hours perfecting my character in Baldur's Gate. How the hell am I supposed to make a party of five characters from scratch? It's an exercise in futility! I finish one character, then immediately get a better idea for a rogue, or I decide I don't want a male human fighter but a female half-elf. Or I decide I don't want a halfling rogue but an elf rogue. Or I decide I don't want a cleric, but a paladin. Or ... gah! My head! The indecision! I'm about to explode!

I'm curious, how did Planescape:Torment, go?

Only asking, since you talking about playing it for the first time to see what the hype was about got me interested in playing it again. xD

[Hemingway]

So were Zelda, Metroid, and Mario for their time. I'm talking about what have they done to try since releasing the fan-building games. Still, okay Warcraft 2. I'll give it to you. Still, I think I'd rather play Command & Conquer any day of the week over any of the [blank]craft games.

That's because the original C&C may be the best RTS of all time. Hardly a fair comparison.

I'm curious, how did Planescape:Torment, go?

Only asking, since you talking about playing it for the first time to see what the hype was about got me interested in playing it again. xD

I got to Curst, and haven't played after that. I might still finish it, but I don't know. Maybe it hasn't aged that well, but I still expected more from the holy grail of cRPGs.

[Inkidu]

That's because the original C&C may be the best RTS of all time. Hardly a fair comparison.

I got to Curst, and haven't played after that. I might still finish it, but I don't know. Maybe it hasn't aged that well, but I still expected more from the holy grail of cRPGs.

Don't let the [blank]craft fans here you. They'll kill us all!

[Hemingway]

Don't let the [blank]craft fans here you. They'll kill us all!

When Blizzard enlists Frank Klepacki to make their music and Joseph D. Kucan to play their villain, maybe they'll get close to the same level. They should also consider getting a proper writer, because as it stands right now, I feel pretty confident in saying I could come up with my predictions for what the plot of Heart of the Swarm will be, and stand a pretty good chance of nailing it. I mean, they have given up trying.

[Inkidu]

When Blizzard enlists Frank Klepacki to make their music and Joseph D. Kucan to play their villain, maybe they'll get close to the same level. They should also consider getting a proper writer, because as it stands right now, I feel pretty confident in saying I could come up with my predictions for what the plot of Heart of the Swarm will be, and stand a pretty good chance of nailing it. I mean, they have given up trying.

I know, I remember playing all the Command & Conquers (Which came with two separate campaigns on two diss for the price of one. Cough, cough.) and kind wishing as horrible as it was that this conflict was actually real. I was not disappointed by any of them until Tiberium Twilight and that's because I can't be always online for single-player. Though, I heard it was handled pretty badly.

Which is also a shame because 3 was fantastic, and the Red Alert series remains one of my guilty pleasures to this day. 

[Sabby]

I just got my hands on Black Ops again. As if my way, I cruise through games in one or two playthroughs, then forget about them for half a year and end up only remembering key points, so replaying ends up being almost as fulfilling as the first playthrough.

And yeah, say what you will about Call of Duty as a whole... I personally think the hatred for CoD is overblown, I mean, peoples issues with it has nothing to do with the game, but the circumstances of it's release. Its becoming an unwitting poster child for the decline of ingenuity in games. That at least I get, but the Call of Duty games, if ya wanna play them in a cultural deprivation  tank, are damned good. They don't do anything new, sure, but they do it well. I mean, you like the Grand Angus line at McDonalds, right? Thats just your tired old McDonalds burgers, buddy, but they made it tastier and bigger. Call of Duty is the Grand Angus of Shooters, and if your a gormand, of course your guna hate it, it's fast food >.>

They're solid shooters, with a decent story, and plenty of level variety. Honestly, almost every level of those games has a neat twist to it. Anyone complaining that the games are dull are fucking blind and lose any right they had to keep on praising Half Life 2, which has about the same level of variety (even if the games playtime beats it like a rented mule)

And Black Ops has gotta be one of the best CoD games so far o.O I mean, MW2 was kind of getting to the point where semi-realism was getting dropped, but Black Ops has gone right off the deep end and proceeded to stop giving fucks. And I love it. This is James Bond remake with Jason Stathom, thats how tits up insane its gotten, and perhaps by some devine joke, it has the best plot of the CoD games! Yes, the one CoD game that gives up any semblance of seriousness is the one with the most coherent and well told plot, and thats with FLASHBACKS WITHIN FLASHBACKS!

Though I will not defend the games way of getting you shot :/ it's excessive and annoying... every time a bullet hits you a big red mark obscures your screen and you lurch backwards. Do you know how annoying that is in the middle of a fight that has automatic weapons? It's like being beaten with 9 pound raw steaks.

[Wolfy]

! Private video

What is this I don't even..xD

[Inkidu]

We kill Osama, they take our Battlefield 3 youtube vids. Well, I think America won.

Seriously, screw Battlefield 3. I want Battlefield Bad Company 3. I'm having Haggard withdrawal. D:

"What? I can know stuff."

[Wyrd]

So..... anyone looking forward to the new Dragon Ball Z game??

[Sabby]

Uhg, this game needed playtesting, badly. Doing the quest in Vampire: Bloodlines where ya need to defend two gates from zombies. It is IMPOSSIBLE. Too many zombies that spawn too close to the gates, even if you run back and forth between the gates non stop and manage to kill every zombie you see without stopping, you still will not make it.

I hate having to resort to 'hax' :/ the only way I'm getting anywhere is to jump across some tombstones to sit on a spot on a wall where I can see both gates at once, and this isn't a spot your supposed to be able to get to, so I'm stuck here standing on an inch worth of concrete shooting zombies in one direction, and then jumping to take pot shots over a fence in the other.

I have it quicksaved right now, half way through with minimal damage to the gates. I think I can make it now, but still, this quest is unbalanced.