Today, I have been mostly been playing..

[Dasquian Belargic]

I had no idea you could play as Alton Towers in Rollercoaster Tycoon, amazing!

[Peter McCoy]

There's a few: Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Yeah! I'm just starting on the basic levels for now, getting back to grips with how everything works and how much people are likely to pay for each of the different rides.

[Peter McCoy]

I find people are willing to pay quite a bit to get into the park.

Just finished Portal 2 and I absolutely loved it. Wheatley and Glados are simply brilliant characters. The voice acting and script for both are incredible. And I thought that whole ending sequence from the start of the boss fight to the end of the credits was awesome.

As soon as the ceiling was ripped open and I saw the moon and the portal gun in my hand I though "Valve - you guys are fucking geniuses!"

[Dasquian Belargic]

Completed the first 3 RollerCoaster Tycoon scenarios today. On my last playthrough, I loaded the park up on coasters - and then had people vomitting left right and centre. Had to hire a load of groundskeepers to be on constant vomit vigil with their sweeping brushes.

[Sanis Prent]

Started my first Mass Effect romp as FemShep. Playing her ruthless

[Crusader]

Then you will have a shit load of fun. Femshep ruthless is a special joyride.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Mass Effect is another game that you'll find yourself a replaying plenty, Charley. Especially if you are planning on picking up the rest of the series.

[Sanis Prent]

Yeah I got this as a cheap trial run of the series. I like what I see so I'm all in. This is more sci than fi, and the feel of it is kinda like the epcot spaceship earth and I love it

[Dasquian Belargic]

Currently scaring the crap out of myself with Singulariy :uhoh one of the games I picked up during the Steam sale.

[Sanis Prent]

Popping New Vegas in right now to play Old World Blues :D

[Dasquian Belargic]

Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror. So awesome that these games were remastered.

[Peter McCoy]

...Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.

Only been playing for a few hours and I love it. Graphics are getting on in it but the gameplay is great. I've always heard that this one is better than Oblivion and I can see why. The location of Morrowind is better than Cyrodil's typical high-fantasy Tolkien-esque forests. This place is where the Dark Elves come form, and it creepy and forboding!

The option of levitation so you can fly around is also awesome. Or a quicker method is to cast a spell that boosts your agility to 1000 (normal max is 100) and then jumping insanely high, allowing you to cover vast distances much faster than slowly levitting around. The landing is a problem thouh, so to avoid death, a brief slow fall spell before impact is needed.

Awesome game!

[Morgan Evanar]

There are a lot of modifications to make the graphics better for Morrowind!

[Dasquian Belargic]

I played a lot of BioShock 2 yesterday. After watching some being played out in California, I remembered I hadn't finished that game yet ^_^;

[Peter McCoy]

I played a lot of BioShock 2 ..... I remembered I hadn't finished that game yet ^_^;

Shame on you! :twak

[Dasquian Belargic]

Don't worry, I've finished it now! :D

Playing through the Dragons Age II DLC 'Legacy' at the minute

[Morgan Evanar]

I played a lot of BioShock 2 ..... I remembered I hadn't finished that game yet ^_^;

Shame on you! :twakIrrational didn't do it. I haven't played it at all.

[Sanis Prent]

Bioshock doesn't do it for me, but if they make a SS3 please lemme know!

[Dasquian Belargic]

There's an achievement in BioShock 2 called "Look At You, Hacker" - I grinned when I saw it

[Sanis Prent]

playing Mass Effect, beebopping over impossible mountains in the vomit cart

[Dasquian Belargic]

you'll be glad to know that gameplay section is phased out in the 2nd game

[Sanis Prent]

Good, it's pretty repetitive. I'd like it a lot more if it was occasional

[Droo]

Fallout 3. Mothership Zeta done, and now I have just Operation: Anchorage and Broken Steel to go. Level 28. 94 hours clocked. :ohno

[Dasquian Belargic]

Just been stabbin some jawas in The Force Unleashed

[Sanis Prent]

Gah, mothership zeta. I went from very good to neutral karma in that because I murdered every single alien. Fuck aliens.

[Sanis Prent]

Just been stabbin some jawas in The Force Unleashed

The best is when you punt them

[Tom Harriman]

Good, it's pretty repetitive. I'd like it a lot more if it was occasional

I like the Mako, and the Hammerhead (the DLC version in ME2). I like the missions in ME1 where you're part of the story; and there are some of the exploration type missions where it's fairly fun cruising around in it, shooting out turrets and what not. It's a shame they put so much "filler" in there, with the searching planets for resources / debris / mysterious sensor anomalies.

While the resource gathering / planet exploration in ME2 is better, I'm still not a fan: it seems a bit too much like an MMO to me. Probably the only thing I don't like about the games.

[Sanis Prent]

I kinda wish some of the planets were less holy shit mountains. I got stuck in an impossible crater for 15 minutes on one damn planet trying to climb out.

Also every colonial bunker is the same design, with a wonderful lighted vista of a hollowed rock tunnel and fucking potted plants by the door. Yes, that will stop me from blowing my brains out 30,000 light years from earth, gimme a room with a view of rocks and an Ikea ficas!

On the flip, I fucking love the Citadel and it's crazy fun running around there.

[Dasquian Belargic]

From what I can remember, they improve on the scenery in Mass Effect 2. Recycling level/dungeon designs is one of my biggest pet peeves, and one of the reasons I was so disappointed with Dragon Age 2 >_<

[Tom Harriman]

I don't think there's a single recycled dungeon in ME2. Instead of the random bunkers, every mission you stumble across while exploring planets seems pretty much unique, as far as I remember.

And yeah, it's the holy shit mountains that ruin the Mako stages. They need/ed more mazes, and stuff where there was an actual decent objective. ME2 is certainly an improvement - fingers crossed they'll find some new awesome for ME3. :ohno

[Sanis Prent]

I can't be mad at Mass Effect, and those little random fetch missions are kind of a nitpick. I mean, they voice cast Counselor Troi to play Matriarch Benezia so you know I'm gonna like it no matter what.

Plus the whole vibe of the game is straight out of Epcot / Spaceship Earth / all those educational sci-fi things I used to read as a kid while watching space shuttle launches. It feels so sciency.

[Tom Harriman]

That's what I love about it. It has such an epic vibe to it. The mythos is so well thought out and intertwined too, as you'll find out. I can't think of many games that match it for quality of story, either.

[Zem Vymes]

It's very well written that's for sure. I'd say that New Vegas is probably a bigger true RPG in terms of the minutiae of choices you can make, but Mass Effect is like playing a choose your own adventure book. Yes, large chunks of it are scripted, but you're still behind the wheel and a slave to consequence.

[Dasquian Belargic]

probe launched... launching probe... probe launched... probe away... launching probe

[The Citadel]

probe launched... launching probe... probe launched... probe away... launching probe

Have you been to Sol and tried to probe Uranus?

EDI doesn't think it's very funny...

[Dasquian Belargic]

"Really, Captain?"

(I probed that whole system earlier this evening ;))

[Crusader]

FABLE3 on the Xbox 360 if someone wants to quest with me on Xbox live be my guest.

[Droo]

After 110 hours, Fallout 3 is done. :)

[Tear]

After 110 hours, Fallout 3 is done. :)

Well done ole bean!

[Crusader]

After 110 hours, Fallout 3 is done. :)

lol you know that this is worth 3 weeks of working. So in other words Fallout 3 has become your job ;)

[Droo]

If only that were true!

And since I posted this in the wrong thread before, I'll reitterate it here: I've tried playing Dragon Age: Origins twice now. What a dull, unengaging, and clunky experience! I was bored to the point of annoyance and have already uninstalled the bloody thing!

[Sanis Prent]

Now install new Vegas and kiss 250 hours of your life goodbye

[Droo]

I want a break from the Fallout world so I can truly appreciate New Vegas when I get to it. Mass Effect is next on the cards, it was going to be Dragon Age but I didn't take to it at all. The whole sword-and-sorcery fantasy-style dialogue was a real chore to endure.

[The Citadel]

Mass Effect is next on the cards

:thumbup Jace likes this.

I was tempted to give DAO a go, but based on that review, I think I'll give it a miss for now!

I'm still waiting on a few more components to spice up my PC into games mode, but my next major game purchase is likely to be from the Fallout series. How far back is it worth going? I've heard good things about Fallout 3 and New Vegas... is it worth going back earlier?

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

I've only ever played New Vegas, but from what Charley has told me, you can pick up with any one and be utterly fine. There are of course nods to previous events and folks from the earlier games in each successive game, but thankfully my vidja-game addled husband has played them all and is always more than happy to explain these references and in-jokes to me :)

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Get the first two, they're cheap and they run on almost any computer, and they're damn fine roleplaying games even by modern criteria.

Fallout 1 is a relatively short game and it has a ticking clock gameplay element that you may like or hate. It's good for giving you a quick complete story session, and sets in motion a lot of the things you'll see in future games, but is like Christin said, by all means not necessary to play to enjoy future games.

Fallout 2 is an enormous game, and as far as land area goes is the largest of the fallout universe, taking place throughout California, Nevada, Oregon, and beyond. It's also a bit silly in some ways, but a good dark humor sort of silly. Uses the same engine that Fallout 1 uses, and takes the stuff in Fallout 1 and fleshes it out a lot more. You'll probably put in a good 100 hours of gameplay into it.

I haven't played Fallout Tactics or Brotherhood of Steel, but I hear mixed reviews on them. They're not roleplaying games at their heart, and most people say they kinda lose the big picture. This especially so with Brotherhood of Steel, which looks like trash.

But yeah the first two fallouts are going for what, five bucks? It's very well spent five dollars.

[Droo]

Mass Effect is next on the cards
I'm still waiting on a few more components to spice up my PC into games mode, but my next major game purchase is likely to be from the Fallout series. How far back is it worth going? I've heard good things about Fallout 3 and New Vegas... is it worth going back earlier?

I don't know anything about New Vegas, except from what I've seen in Peter's videos, but I can tell you that Fallout 3 provides an excellent introduction to the world as you share your first steps into the vast Capital Wasteland with your character, so by following his/her story alone, you are discovering the world and its history.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

New Vegas has probably the least exposition at the beginning of the story as any of the other games. It's pretty much a Man With No Name kind of opener. You're a Mojave Express courier delivering a package. You cross the wrong people and end up with a bullet in your head, but somehow survive. You wake up, and from there it's up to you. Do you track down your would-be killer and exact revenge? Do you seek them out for answers? Do you forget it all and get lured in by the siren's call of Vegas's neon glow? Do you murder and eat everybody in the first town you wake up in? Who knows?! You do!

[Dasquian Belargic]

I'm playing some ME2 and just finished a side-assignment that conclude with Shepard kicking some indigenous animal in the face

:smug:

[Peter McCoy]

I'm taking my first confused steps into Dwarf Fortress...

[Peter McCoy]

I may not play more of this until tomorrow now but my first hour or so of Dwarf Fortress was... interesting.

If you don't know, Dwarf Fortress is a kinda sandbox fantasy-building simulation in which you can either explore a world you generate and kill monsters and do quests, or take control of a dwarven expedition and build a fortress from the ground up (or down).

The graphics are ASCII based, though 3rd party mods do include graphics packs that replace the text symbols and letters with graphical icons that are more friendly to look at. It's all 2D but the scope is incredible. There are, like Minecraft, multiple layers up and down that you can dig through but since its 2D top-down you have to change your view up and down to see what's what.

I started with my caravan of seven dwarves (lol!) and some supplies near a large-ish pit. Well, I never knew it was a pit, I thought it was a small mountain. So I decided that rather than dig into a small mountain, I'll just dig a pit down 2 levels and then tunnel into the earth from there. But the interface and controls can be very intimidating. You don't directly control your dwarves. Like Dungeon Keeper or Settlers, you designate what jobs need doing by marking areas to be dug out or things to build, and the dwarves then make use of the available supplies to get the job done. In a way it's a real-time strategy version of Minecraft.

I managed to get an 5x5 entrance room and a 10x10 supply room. Once I'd designated the big room for supplies, my dwarves automatically started shifting everything off the wagon and into the safety of what is essentially a dark cave. It even says that if you highlight the room: Interior - dark, subterranean. I'm guessing I can light it up somehow but I'm still learning everything for now.

Just this confused, apprehensive, cautious hour was a lot of fun and I can see myself sinking many many many many hours into this indie game that is still in Alpha development.

Check it out: http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/

I can understand how the graphics and controls/interface can be a real barriier to get past, but if you read up on the game and see just what is possible, and get a glimpse into the depth and complexity involved, it may give you the push you need to jump right in.

[Katrin Laran]

Huh, running through ME1 and 2 again as femshep this time and was going to go the renegade route.......somehow managed to nearly max out both renegade and paragon.

[Judas Voss]

Finally got back to playing some Fallout 3. I've hit level.... 14, I think, and the game has kind of slowed to a slog for me. Looting and scavenging really aren't an issue. Repair is one of my high stats so I really only pick up like weapons to repair the ones I'm using (Sniper Rifle, Combat Shotgun, Russian Assault Rifle) and it's just go from point A to point B and utterly DESTROY everything in between. It's really not much of a challenge at this point.

[Sanis Prent]

Crank up your difficulty. It's still a pretty easy game, but it'll help.

If you play Broken Steel, you'll go against some hideously broken bullet sponges though, so be warned. Ghoul Reavers are horrible in F3

[Peter McCoy]

Ghoul Reavers are horrible in F3

God I hate those bastards!

[Peter McCoy]

Playing a lot of Terraria at the moment.

I've decided to not do anymore Fallout: New Vegas videos. I'm enjoying playing it, and I really enjoy commentating, but for a game like Fallout I'm not enjoying commentating while playing. I would like to do some Fallout Let's Play's but not until I've finished it at least once.

Hence, I may possibly do some Fallout 3 video's since I'm in a constant state of playing that game. I might make a new character for it and concentrate on something I don't usually go for such as melee and stealth or something like that.

[Dasquian Belargic]

ME2 - finished my FemShep playthrough with everyone alive and flicked the V's at the Illusive Man. No Collector base for you, space-racists.

:smug:

[Droo]

I've ventured into the world of Fallout: New Vegas and am really enjoying it. This means that, yes, I've put my Mass Effect playthrough on hold - that first stint in the Citadel sucked all the enthusiasm out of me. I enjoy a good story as much as the next person but there was far too much dialogue to endure before I was able to go exploring in the Normandy. The shift in gears from the opening mission to the Citadel was too dramatic and prolonged for my liking, but I'm sure I'll return to it later.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Bastion!

Addictive stuff.

[Sanis Prent]

That's okay both fallout and mass effect will keep you plenty occupied

[Dasquian Belargic]

Playing more Bastion this evening.. the soundtrack and the narrator are fantastic.

[Taataani Meorrrei]

Got every crew member on board the Normandy except Legion so far. Everyone's loyal except Miranda, and I'm about to do her mission.

[Daria Nytherciria]

^ Good man. Definitely best off making sure everyone is loyal before you pick up Legion

[Sanis Prent]

Yeah I happened to read ahead to see what happens after you get him, soooo yeah wanted my loose ends tied, man.

I did end up replacing the Shadow Broker with Liara so that's all well and set, and I'm gonna dip into the whole Arrival plot next. After that, maybe I'll go to the derelict reaper

[Peter McCoy]

More Terraria.

With the help of some dynamite, I managed to gain access to some Shadow Orbs. Basically, Shadow Orbs are found in underground caverns, completely encased in Ebonstone. And to mine ebonstone without dynamite, you need a Nightmare Pick-axe. But to make one you need Shadow Scales, which drop off a boss creature called the Eater of Worlds. And the perfect "easily obtained" weapon to kill him with is the Vilethorn. And the Vilethorn is found inside Shadow Orbs.

Hence my dilemma.

So armed with dynamite, I descend into the Corruptions chasms and find three orbs close to one another. But then I remember that for every three shadow orbs you break, you span an Eater of Worlds. Gulp!

First orb - a musket. Mneh!

Second orb - a band that regenerates mana. Eh, not bad, but one more orb and it's time for a Showdown, and I'm stuck at the bottom of a pit with little room to maneuvre/dodge and about to face a giant worm that can completely surround you with its body, equipped with nay but a broadsword to defend myself and that musket with no ammo. Here goes nothing...

Third orb - Vilethorn!

And just as I manage to locate it in my cluttered inventory and equip it, the Eater of Worlds shows up.

After a few minutes of panicky jumping and skillful use of a grappling hook to get out of the chasm, I manage to beat my first boss, and netted enough demonite and shadow scales to make my Nightmare Pick-axe.

The next step is to construct an arena in which to fight more of those bosses before I sumonj anymore for farming purposes.

God, I love this game!

[Travis North]

Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
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[Peter McCoy]

Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
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Does anybody know why games are still released at different times globally? I remember back in the 90's games would arrive in Blighty weeks or even months after hitting the stores in the States. But with online distribution methods so common today, why the hell am I having to wait three days to play Deus Ex: Human Revolution when the USA get it now?

[Dasquian Belargic]

Who knows. I pity Australia - they still usually wait months longer

[Peter McCoy]

I'd hazard a guess and say the delay in Australia is down to the Australian Classicifcation Board being much harsher in what they do and don't allow for release. There's most likely a lot more deliberation before a decision is made about a given title.

I just read somewhere that the differences on either side of the Atlantic are down to the generally accepted shipping days being Tuesday in the US and Friday in the UK. But again - with digital distribution online there is no physical product to ship.

Basically it's all down to The Man shitting on Europe. Stick it to The Man!

[John Glayde]

It's the same with television, though. Even with digital distribution through media like iTunes or Amazon, we still get TV shows days, weeks, or even months after the US.

I'm sure there are good reasons for it, and I'm not trying to have an "it's not fair" rant... but have they not thought that distributing internationally at the same time might cut down a little on illegal downloads? Seems an obvious course of action to me. :huh

[Crusader]

Tell me about it. I pirate TV shows for years now although I have tried multiple times to use services like Xbox Live Zune Marketplace and Hulu Plus to get the stuff legal. In Germany the stuff needs to get dubbed first so it takes 6 month till it is in TV. Only distribution in Germany is basicly not possible.

So the big reason for why this does not work is the fact that publishers and network distributers don't live in the year 2011 but still in the 1970s.

Back in the days American networks would sell their TV shows to European TV stations and give them the full distribution rights for their country. These deals still have not changed. So if I bought a TV show on hulu plus on an US website I would violate my German TV station's monopoly on distributing this show in my country.
Now comes the worst part: The IP ranges of the US and the UK are strictly separated and known. This is not the case for Europe. Some IP-addresses might be found in 2 countries at the same time since the internet service provider is working in both countries. This is why internet distribution has become such a pain in the ass overhere.

In the end everyone is just waiting for the other one to have a flaw in the system that allows them to sue the other distributor over this issue.

The best example how it should be done is South Park. They seperated their distribution rights for the internet pretty early. Leading to the fact that you can watch south park for free online everywhere. This happens when a studio is run by nerds with a sense for the future.

With games it is all the same: If the company that ships the boxes does not get the boxes sold on the same day as the internet platform does it will sue the company for violating their local distribution monopoly.

To be honest if I was a big company like Microsoft. I would walk into the office of Fox & Co and I would tell them:

"You want to distribute your stuff through us? Then give us worldwide distribution rights. We have a reach of 10 million customers worldwide that pay $50 for a service that they can get at other companies for free...Trust me we will make even more money with this."

[Sanis Prent]

This weekend, I endeavor to go ahead and finish all the side missions in Mass Effect 2 that I left by the wayside, and also to pop in Fallout New Vegas and finish Old World Blues.

Lonesome Road and two more DLC item packs are coming out in less than a month!

[Crusader]

Played some L4D2 on the Xbox this week and continued playing Fable 3. It is kind of funny that my real estate business is bringing more money in than the entire kingdom. Well it sucks to be king!

[Dasquian Belargic]

I have just been playing more Bastion in the last few days, trying to get all of the achievements. The "New Game Plus" mode is excellent.

[Peter McCoy]

Bought the Augmented Edition of Deus Ex: Human Revolution for £45 from HMV before starting work today. As a bonus, I got to choose either a £5 gift card or Blade Runner on Blu Ray - retail price £14. So I got the movie :)

Can't wait to play this tonight, and I may even watch Blade Runner in bed afterwards.

The Augmented Edition is generally £10 more and comes with a 44-page art booklet, the game soundtrack, and extra starting equipment. I only really went for it since I had the £45 on a gift card.

[Sanis Prent]

Let me know how you feel about it, Peter. I have a few games ahead in my queue to play before I consider DE:HR, but it seems like the kind of game I'd want to play. Never played the original Deus Ex though.

As for me, my FemShep has explored the whole galaxy and left broken hearts in her wake. I think I'm gonna take a break from ME2 and pop in LA Noire which I just bought.

After that, I should be ready to buy Fallout New Vegas; Lonesome Road as well as the other two equipment packs they're putting out, plus Alpha Protocol on the cheap.

[Peter McCoy]

Played Deus Ex for 2 hours last night. I really like the choices you're able to make, from dialogue/character to mission/combat choices. The opening mission once you're augmented is a lot of fun, with plenty of opportunities to be loud or quiet in your approach.

The cover system seems pretty fluid to me - it's harder to stay in cover than it is to get out of it so movement is unrestricted in that sense - just hold the right mouse button to crouch behind or hug a wall etc. pressing space lets you switch or jump to another item of cover depending on the distance. As soon as you let go of the right mouse button, you're out of cover and either free-standing or crouching.

Hacking is similar to System Shock 2 in the sense that you have to click and capture various nodes on a panel, but there's more to it than random clicking and hoping. You can acquire various disks that have viruses on them to use when hacking. I've got 2 Nuke viruses and a Worm virus I'm yet to try. When hacking you have to acquire certain nodes to get through the security system and open a door/safe or computer file, but once detected the system starts searching for your entry point to boot you out. It's then a race against the clock to complete the hack. You can see the systems progress in detecting you, and your progress in the hack. You can attack nodes the system has, fortify your captured nodes that the system is attacking etc. It looks very unrealistic but it's what you'd expect from science fiction and it is very simple to understand.

While there's enough scope for taking enemies out loud and proud, I'm opting for the stealth approach and I can say it's extremely gratifying clearing a room full of half a dozen or so badguys from the shadows.

Aesthetically, I'm in love with the game. The architecture and decor are gorgeous, and the music is very similar to the original in terms of ambience.

I'll see how it goes as I continue playing but so far I'm very much enjoying the game.

[Sanis Prent]

Got Real Damned Tired of the firewalker missions in Mass Effect 2, so I'm putting that aside for a while to play LA Noire.

Good decision!

Holy crap this game. If you told me that I'd like the parts in a game where I walk around slowly, pick things up, and talk to people a lot more than where I get into car chases, shoot people, or beat people up, I'd laugh you down. Not that those parts aren't fun, but there's something incredibly satisfying about knocking the smug expression off some asshole's face when you throw their bullshit right back at them.

[Inyos Aamoran]

Made the mistake of installing the Pinnacle Station mod for Mass Effect during my "I'm so awesome at this, I'm going to up the difficulty" playthrough. Now I'm stubbornly refusing to leave until I've won all of the simulator doodads, and have wasted hours without getting any closer to completing the game. >_<

[Dasquian Belargic]

This evening I have been mostly hiding the bodies of dead cops in airvents.

(Deus Ex Human Revolution)

[Karl Valten]

Made the mistake of installing the Pinnacle Station mod for Mass Effect during my "I'm so awesome at this, I'm going to up the difficulty" playthrough. Now I'm stubbornly refusing to leave until I've won all of the simulator doodads, and have wasted hours without getting any closer to completing the game. >_<

Fusking annoying isn't it?! I kinda just said "screw it" and left two missions + the 'secret' mission left undone. I couldn't take it anymore. XD

[Inyos Aamoran]

The thing that frustrates me is that it's considerably harder if you try and beat the scenarios "properly". It's easier to just saccrifice your squad and run around for a minute and a half than it is to actually fight during survival... and it's easier to solo the time trial missions than have your squad get in the way and trip you over.

It'd probably be better with the squad mate controls from ME2... or something like this for the rumoured multiplayer what-not might be cool. But in ME, it's bloody annoying. >_<

[Peter McCoy]

This evening I have been mostly hiding the bodies of dead cops in airvents.

(Deus Ex Human Revolution)

Killing those who have sworn to protect and serve?

You're more machine now than man - twisted and evil.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Well, I haven't been killing them actually. I'm just knocking them out. But no one at Sarif needs to know that. To them, I'm a stone cold machine.

[Peter McCoy]

I'm getting frustrated now. I walk into the police department in Detroid and as soon as the camera spots me it goes on high alert and everyone attacks me - I'm in the lobby for gods sake where other people are also hanging round. My weapon is holstered, I have no clue whats going on.

[Sanis Prent]

I've worked up to the homicide desk in LA Noire, and solved my first murder case. I don't like the pressure I'm getting from the chief right now, and there's a lot of loose ends still left untied for me to be really comfortable with the conviction. Still, it's a leg up from working the beat and from the traffic desk.

Also I can't decide if I like playing this game with its gorgeous color or with it in all black and white. It's so much fun either way.

[Peter McCoy]

I'm waiting for the PC version of L.A Noire to be released before I delve into it.

My alarm issue in Deus Ex is sorted - I entered from the alleyway and the alarm went off straight away, then after a few minutes it went away. Since then I haven't had a problem. Must've been a bug.

It's frustrating to go on aware of my mistakes. I want to start again again but I won't. There's always the next playthrough for other choices.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I was a little disappointed that I couldn't talk my way into the morgue, but sneaking around the police station was fun. I am picking up a lot of the 'Ghost' / 'Smooth Operator' extra XP since I am stealthing my way through everything.

[Peter McCoy]

Same here. I wanna go for augs that help me sneak and hack rather than kill.

[Peter McCoy]

I may be jumping to conclusions, but I'm almost certain I've sussed out two major plot points regarding Deus Ex, and I'm still no further than Detroid PD after going back on what I said and restarting for the second time.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Which augs have you been buying? I love the double takedown :D

EDIT: I notice that you already have 3 achievements that I must have missed in Detriot. That's okay - I was going to replay it anyway ^_^

[Peter McCoy]

So far I've gone for the expanded inventory, wall-punch and a few hacking augs, as well as the social enhancement that lets you read people and influence them with pheremones.

Not sure how I'll proceed, I guess I'll see what comes up. I tend to leave spending praxis until I need it the most.

[Sanis Prent]

I had a complete 'through the looking glass' moment in LA Noire. In one of my homicide cases, I was interviewing a person of interest who was the spouse of a murder victim. I recognized the voice actor - the guy who played Matt Parkman from Heroes. But before I recognized the voice, I recognized his face. The shape of it, the landmarks, the expressions that I remember he makes. It was amazing and a little creepy, because I could in passing visually match the actor to the digital construct designed to move and express the way he did.

Ironically, he was a pretty tough guy to read. Had a rough couple of interviews with him.

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[Dasquian Belargic]

^ I wish that game would come out on PC already.

[Crusader]

I played WET with Eliza Dushku as Rubi. This game is a guilty pleasure. So much stupidity and awesome stunts. It is basicly the foster child of Max Payne and Cate Archer from No One lives Forever.

[John Glayde]

I just bought two more games that I've never played before - Portal, and Batman: Arkham Asylum.

I'll probably be buying one of the Fallouts, but that won't be until next weekend when my boss insisted I take some time off. ^_^;

[Dasquian Belargic]

^ You're in for a damn good time with both of those :D

[Droo]

I just bought two more games that I've never played before - Portal, and Batman: Arkham Asylum.

I'll probably be buying one of the Fallouts, but that won't be until next weekend when my boss insisted I take some time off. ^_^;

I strongly recommend Fallout 3 as it serves as a much stronger introduction to the Fallout world than New Vegas. I haven't been able to get into New Vegas yet, I found the beginning extremely lackluster.

[Dasquian Belargic]

^ I'm of the opposite school of thought. I find New Vegas a much more interesting landscape than Fallout 3, though I think Fallout 3 is definitely worth playing. It's a great introduction to the 'world' of Fallout.

[Sanis Prent]

Fallout 3 gives you a better intro to the storylines you missed in F1 and F2, but as far as a gameplay experience, New Vegas is leaps and bounds better.

[Dasquian Belargic]

takedown takedown takedown takedown takedown~

[Crusader]

I finished playing Wet yesterday and I still think that Eliza Dushku is one of the most badass actresses in the world. Loved her voice work on this one although it could have been more.

Today I started playing Alpha Protocol. So far it has been pretty slow and just a bunch of tutorials.

[Sanis Prent]

Peter let me know how you like Alpha Protocol it's on my "want to buy it next" list

[Vansen Tyree]

Portal.

OH. MY. GOD.

HOWHAVEINEVERPLAYEDTHISGAMEBEFORE?! :eee

[Sanis Prent]

I'm liking Vice desk every bit as much as Homicide, if not moreso. Really good place to observe the moral vacuum in the LAPD. Also, thanks to gangsters like Micky Cohen, it's a bit more violent during cases. But in the end, the cops and the gangsters still cool their heels at the same nightclub. It's a weird kind of chivalry, in a world without it.

[Vansen Tyree]

Seems Arkham Asylum was a good call, too. Managed to loose track of time and spend about six hours playing it. ^_^;

Haven't quite got the hang of combos yet though, which is proving problematic in the Bane fight. Spent too much time owning everyone with grapples and batarangs that I didn't practice my fisticuffs enough. >_<

[Dasquian Belargic]

The worst/best part of Arkham Asylum is detective mode. Are you spending a lot of time with that turned on?

[Vansen Tyree]

Most of the time, yeah. I've just done the alcohol and tobacco tracking bits, so I had it on a fair bit for those. I'm turning it off to punch people (because the x-ray vision makes it harder to see where the walls are), but it's on pretty much the rest of the time.

Do I get a gizmo later in the game that will let me get past those electric barriers? I've seen a couple of Riddler statues behind them, but there's no other discernable way into the room.

[Dasquian Belargic]

You get a hacking tool at some point, I forget when!

[Vansen Tyree]

Good.

I'm already looking forward to Arkham City, so I can punch the Riddler in his smug face. :mad

[Morgan Evanar]

Good.

I'm already looking forward to Arkham City, so I can punch the Riddler in his smug face. :madHaha, yes, this.

[General Dan]

Got busted down to Arson squad due to a set-up job. Business between a man and his wife ain't no business for the papers or for LAPD :shakefist

[Morgan Evanar]

Way too much C&C Red Alert 3. LOL Tim Curry.

[Peter McCoy]

While I enjoyed RA3, it was disappointing in the wake of the fantastic Tiberium Wars, and I still think RA2 is my favourite. Udo Kier is creepy-awesome! My command is your wish.

Been playing some Borderlands to begin with this evening, then I started a new world in Minecraft and made an awesome stone/wood cabin with a small tower at one end and a cosy bed in the loft.

Tomorrow night I think I'll carry on with Dwarf Fortress.

[Crusader]

Okay Alpha Protocol is fun but this is not Mass Effect with spies. The controls might feel like the one of a third person shooter but aiming skill will not help you much.

The story really starts to kick off after being like 4 till 5 missions into the game. This is where you get set up by your own people. After that you get the choice to let Alpha Protocol's very own Placebo Bin Laden live or die.

You might get to this scene in like 1-3 hours but then you run in there guns blazing. Nothing is going to actually stop you from doing that since with the right skill set and armor nothing is really a challenge to you. On the other hand doing this like a real silent assassin will take some time since you unlock the auto awareness skill at sneak level 5. Otherwise you will have to find your enemies either through the base level skill or trying. Taking enemies down that are unaware of your presence is very rewarding since you will see a nice animation.

Unfortunately the game forces you into open combat nearly once per mission so getting a 0 alerts rating at the end of the mission is impossible.

The dialog system is very well done and the voice actors are good. Flirting with a reporter on your way out of Saudi Arabia might work fine or it ends in an epic fail if you are trying too hard.

You will always have 3 dialog choices: One is the professional way, one is for the more charasmatic (Bond like) spy and one is for the more aggressive players. Chosing an agressive stance while getting interrogated by your enemy leads to badass answers like: "You know that you sound stupid when you ask the mirror the same questions over and over again."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Thought y'all might get a kick out of this:

G4 video (http://www.g4tv.com/videos/53057/a-real-detective-plays-la-noire/?quality=hd)

Retired LAPD detective plays a case out of LA Noire and gives a pretty good appraisal of it's flavor and policework.

[Tear]

Thought y'all might get a kick out of this:

G4 video (http://www.g4tv.com/videos/53057/a-real-detective-plays-la-noire/?quality=hd)

Retired LAPD detective plays a case out of LA Noire and gives a pretty good appraisal of it's flavor and policework.

I've never played the game BUT I really enjoyed watching that. I hope they do more.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Skip Bauchman.. he's even got a badass name.

[Crusader]

You mean a lastname that translates belly man or fat man into your language sounds badass...intresting.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

well the cognomen Caesar works out into "Hairy" in old Latin, so there's merit in it I guess.

[Dasquian Belargic]

You've fucked with me for the last time, Montezuma. Now I am going to bomb you into oblivion!

[Sanis Prent]

Peter talked to me for a few hours on my xbox, and he made me download games. Mainly demos for various stuff including Wet and Fable 3, but he also pointed out that Portal was on sale for 600 points and...yoink.

[Crusader]

Yeah I actually even forced Sanis to watch me lieing on my couch as well via kinect.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Making my first trip to Sierra Madre in New Vegas today. Not at all what I was expecting o_O

[Sanis Prent]

Hahaha (you're gonna die)

It's very bleak

[Dasquian Belargic]

It's odd. It feels like such a change of tone to all the other environments in the game. Much more survival horror-ish.

[Sanis Prent]

very much so. It's got great character stuff in it, which is nice. The only bummers on that DLC is that it's fairly linear, and the loot isn't that great unless you find a way to bullshit exploit the system so you can steal ALL the gold like I did

[Dasquian Belargic]

I don't know whether to play New Vegas or Dead Island this afternoon..

[Peter McCoy]

Play New Vegas! Then play Dead Island with me this evening :)

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Providing I can get the thing to install my updates correctly, is anyone interested in playing City of Heroes? Not nec. right now, but 'ever'?

I'd start a new character on a server of our choosing if that's the case. :)

[Dasquian Belargic]

Is City of Heroes free to play now?

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Yep!

I keep getting an error on my update though. :cry

edit: blew up my existing install and am trying again. I think all my established characters are on... nope, I can't remember which server.

[Peter McCoy]

I might check it out. I'm wondering if the game plays better than Champions Online since I have more fun making characters than actually playing the game.

Almost time to go home. Rage! :crack Rage! :crack Rage! :crack Rage! :crack

[Crusader]

I guess Peter will be doing a Rage Quit once work is over.

[Captain Untouchable]

Is City of Heroes free to play now?

Don't you go setting up a free account without me, Jones. :shakefist

Techninja is nothing without Captain Untouchable to back her up. :colbert

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I don't know if we can play on the same servers or not, but I hope so!

[Peter McCoy]

Played about an hour of Rage tonight. While gorgeous, it suffers from awful texture popping! I'm expecting some patches ASAP! My first video should be on Youtube by tomorrow night.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Is City of Heroes free to play now?

Don't you go setting up a free account without me, Jones. :shakefist

Techninja is nothing without Captain Untouchable to back her up. :colbert



I'm downloading/installing now. Once I'm in, I'll post up the server I'm on etc.

[Peter McCoy]

Played about an hour of Rage tonight. While gorgeous, it suffers from awful texture popping! I'm expecting some patches ASAP! My first video should be on Youtube by tomorrow night.

Having said that, I don't feel comfortable uploading such a shoddy video. I may wait until it's been patched and redo the video. But I wanna upload something! I just don't know what!

What do you guys think? Something I enjoy playing won't necessarily be enjoyable to watch.

http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197995697734/games?tab=all

Thats my games list on Steam. Gimme a suggestion of something I could play for my Youtube channel.

There's also Minecraft not on Steam, but if I do that I'd rather start a new world what with the Adventure Update adding new content. The benefit of Minecraft is the random worlds so its always new and fresh and unknown so there's infinite scope to explore and build.

[Peter McCoy]

Yay! I downloaded a config file that one of the users had linked to in the Steam Rage forum and the game is running a whole lot better. There's still a bit of texture pop-in but its nowhere near as bad as it was. It's unfortunate that it had to be a user-made fix for something that just suggest very poor optimisation on id Software's part. I guess I'll be able to re-do that initial playthrough now :)

[Crusader]

Played some Dead Island this night.

[Morgan Evanar]

Yay! I downloaded a config file that one of the users had linked to in the Steam Rage forum and the game is running a whole lot better. There's still a bit of texture pop-in but its nowhere near as bad as it was. It's unfortunate that it had to be a user-made fix for something that just suggest very poor optimisation on id Software's part. I guess I'll be able to re-do that initial playthrough now :)What's even more horrible is that it isn't that the game is so unoptimized, it's that they were too lazy to do some basic settings tweaks that took 2 days for some gamers to figure out. It's incredibly pathetic.

[Peter McCoy]

These should be settings within the video options but all I have is resolution, fullscreen/windowed, and two other things. Nothing about texture or shadow quality, render options, or all manner of other standard options that should be configurable in a PC game.

I'm not naive enough to think that all developers should be building a specific game version for PC and another for console, not all developers can afford to do that today. But you'd think id Software would make the effort to cater for the PC gamers who basically made them the company they are today.

It's gaming experiences like this that make me load up Alpha Centauri or Grim Fandango or even WoW. They have old visuals but that doesn't take away from the fact that they look great and are awesome games.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Costume Quest

The only game in which I have battled as the Statue of Liberty, alongside a giant mecha/Gundam and a medieval Knight

[Dasquian Belargic]

I finally got Jade Empire (Bioware) to work again through Steam. YES.

[Peter McCoy]

I installed the Technic Pack for Minecraft. Now I have a whole host of new content to play with.

Aside from hunger, sprinting, experience, endermen, storngholds and other new geographical features form the official 1.8 update, I now get to hunt for oil deposits, build pumps, pipes and tanks to obtain and store the stuff, use it to power big things like quarries (automated area miners) and machines. Speaking of machines, the mod pack includes various ways of generating power such as solar, wind and water power, or generators that can run on various fuel such as coal and oil, and all manner of cables to connect the generators to the machines that need power like macerators, compactors, grinders, electric furnaces etc. You can even build a nuclear reactor chamber that needs uranium (a new ore that spawns naturally as part of the mod content) as well as coolant. And if it blows, the explosion is BIG! So you have to make sure its adequately shielded by strong material - a video showed it encased in iron blocks that still didn't protect the house above.

There's also Mo' Creatures, which adds rabbits, foxes, birds, big cats, dogs, horses (and a rare pegasus if you can find one!), dolphins, sharks, fish (including piranhas), ogres, rats, ghouls and different skeletons. There's also sky pirates along with the ability to construct your own coal-powered airship complete with an arrow launcher. And one of the mods in the pck is RedPower - instead of the extremely-limited redstone dust, you can now create redstone wiring that can not only be placed on the ground like the normal stuff, but up walls and along ceilings. You can even make a freestanding wire that just goes up or along without the aid of blocks. And a handsaw that lets you cut other blocks into panels and covers and sticks, allowing you to have wires running inside a single-block-wide wall rather than a three-block-wide one with a block-wide gap in the middle for the redstone dust. The handsaw allows you to create more detailed constructions such as desks and chairs. It also adds copper and tin, you can make bronze tools, power crystals, dark matter, quantum armour, a mining laser, mining drills and chainsaws, jetpacks, automated defense turrets, remote controls, and lamps.

The sheer amount of content in this Technic pack is just brilliant, and it only adds to the experience rather than replacing whats great about minecraft. You still have to start with the basics of survival and work your way up to producing the complex machines. And while it can speed-up and automate the process of resource gathering once you're capable of making the higher-tier items, it still doesn't replace the constant desire to delve deep underground with some food, torches and a small armoury in your bckpack to brave the horrors below. And since the pack adds better weapons and armour, so too does it provide a greater challenge in the form of the new enemies like cave ogres and hellrats.

Oh, and the millenaire mod is included which spawn NPC villages that develop their community by adding and upgrading buildings as a result of the trade you bring by selling and buying items form their warehouse. Their population can increase and you can even buy plots of land and get them to build you a house or manor.

It also adds new trees such as apple, lemon, orange and aubergine trees, and a helluva lot of new food items such as curry to name just one.

Check out the VERY easy-to-install mod with instructions here: http://yogiverse.com/showthread.php?31790-Guide-Technic-Pack-Guides-links-and-more!

If your Minecraft is fully up-yto-date and un-modded, just download and install the V4 pack.

Note that two mods in particular that are included with the pack can be considered a cheat mode and ruin the experience if used - Too Many Items and Equivalent Exchange. TMI adds a new inventory section where you can browse pretty much all items in the game and add them to your inventory at will, while EE allows you to craft the Philosophers stone. This powerful item allows you to alchemically change one item into another, such as turning 64 dirt into several blocks of iron, which could in turn be turned into a single block of gold. If you have enough gold you could transmute it into a diamond and so on. While fun, these two mods do take away the feeling of accomplishment. They are optional of course once installed but you can de-select them during the packs installation to avoid temptation.

[Dasquian Belargic]

This thread has gotten kind of huge now, so it's time to start another!