This is where Kotaku readers go to talk about the stuff we’re not already posting about. Think of it as the official unofficial Kotaku community forum.
In Real Life
This is where Kotaku readers go to talk about the stuff we’re not already posting about. Think of it as the official unofficial Kotaku community forum.
Hi everyone,
Lots going on here - mostly baby stuff, which might not be of interest to everyone. We spent the weekend in emergency because baby Liam did some twitching in his sleep and wouldn't rouse when we tried to wake him. I called 000 for the first time. Looking back, I think of it as a big moment for me. After spending Saturday night in emergency, we were finally told that it was probably nothing, all the tests were normal and it was probably just a normal sleep.
So we fell for the whole 'paranoid parents' freaking-out-over-the-sniffles thing. Just goes to show that no matter how well you think you know your way around the parenting beat, kids find new and better ways to terrify you and show you just how little control you actually have :P
Dayum, well good to know the mini-shane is all well and okay at least :)
That sounds scary. Good to hear he's fine.
Oh wow I wouldn't know how to react in that situation and it's scary to even imagine it. Good to hear everything was fine though.
WE MISS YOU
Don't worry about it, man.
It was a good thing to call an ambulance but usually you freak out with your first ;) Glad to hear he's okay though!
Shameless Gaming Month, eh? People are talking about it, seems like it might be a bit of fun.
no thanks
Haha, that sounds ruder than was intended.
Ah, text.
Silly Bish.
Could you explain the relevance of pineapples to Shameless Gaming Month? I remember this time last year when I was a non-regular, people kept talking about pineapples and I had no idea what was going on. I still kinda don't!
IT IS YOUR PINEAPPLE OF SHAME!
Hey look at this guy!
He wasn't around last year when it was referred to as a pineapple of shame!
Let's shun the handsome, handsome man!
Shhuuuuunnnn.
Ssshhhuuuuuunnnnn.
Ssssssshhhhhhhhuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-N.
Hey, Bish!
Oh, you're shunning me. Never mind.
D:
CrabJiffy was in the car with Dawble, said something about Pineapple of Shame instead of Pile of Shame. Dawdle passed this story on to us, it stuck.
It's just the right level of silliness.
Makes sense. Thanks man!
Man.... dat weekend. Pretty much zero pineapple eaten (a *little* bit of Batman Lego 2 eaten yesterday....).
Still feeling the drinks from Saturday night this morning. Hope everyone else is well, and had a good weekend... *drumroll* on to the TABTOL copy/paste:
TAY last posted: Monday, July 2, 2012 at 7:14 AM: 1940 comments
1: Trjn 145 posts, (7.47%, 4894 words, avg 33.75 words/post)
2: scree 98 posts, (5.05%, 1597 words, avg 16.30 words/post)
3: Tech Knight 95 posts, (4.90%, 2451 words, avg 25.80 words/post)
4: NegativeZero 94 posts, (4.85%, 3220 words, avg 34.26 words/post)
5: Aleph-Null 90 posts, (4.64%, 1914 words, avg 21.27 words/post)
6: Green Eggs and Spam 89 posts, (4.59%, 3427 words, avg 38.51 words/post)
7: Rize 72 posts, (3.71%, 1722 words, avg 23.92 words/post)
8: Greenius 70 posts, (3.61%, 2088 words, avg 29.83 words/post)
9: Crazyguy1990 69 posts, (3.56%, 1064 words, avg 15.42 words/post)
10: Bish 65 posts, (3.35%, 1576 words, avg 24.25 words/post)
11: Powalen 62 posts, (3.20%, 2216 words, avg 35.74 words/post)
12: masha2932 61 posts, (3.14%, 2440 words, avg 40.00 words/post)
13: Freeze S. Preston Icequire 60 posts, (3.09%, 1688 words, avg 28.13 words/post)
14: PuppyLicks 55 posts, (2.84%, 1096 words, avg 19.93 words/post)
15: NoobHeadshot 49 posts, (2.53%, 1299 words, avg 26.51 words/post)
16: Strange 48 posts, (2.47%, 1197 words, avg 24.94 words/post)
17: Hugo the Hungarian Barbarian 47 posts, (2.42%, 1303 words, avg 27.72 words/post)
18: Tigerion 45 posts, (2.32%, 1080 words, avg 24.00 words/post)
19: Blaghman 42 posts, (2.16%, 2668 words, avg 63.52 words/post)
20: Effluvium Boy 37 posts, (1.91%, 442 words, avg 11.95 words/post)
21: Pixel The Ferret Viking 36 posts, (1.86%, 1061 words, avg 29.47 words/post)
22: Doc What? 33 posts, (1.70%, 1615 words, avg 48.94 words/post)
23: Klutar 31 posts, (1.60%, 502 words, avg 16.19 words/post)
23: Dire Wolf 31 posts, (1.60%, 1094 words, avg 35.29 words/post)
25: Freyr 29 posts, (1.49%, 338 words, avg 11.66 words/post)
26: Beavwa 26 posts, (1.34%, 500 words, avg 19.23 words/post)
27: Sir Greenius 25 posts, (1.29%, 1144 words, avg 45.76 words/post)
27: AlexPants 25 posts, (1.29%, 833 words, avg 33.32 words/post)
29: Mawt 24 posts, (1.24%, 2180 words, avg 90.83 words/post)
30: redartifice 17 posts, (0.88%, 327 words, avg 19.24 words/post)
30: The Cracks 17 posts, (0.88%, 271 words, avg 15.94 words/post)
32: lambomann007 16 posts, (0.82%, 600 words, avg 37.50 words/post)
33: Gorzilla 15 posts, (0.77%, 564 words, avg 37.60 words/post)
34: #35 14 posts, (0.72%, 239 words, avg 17.07 words/post)
35: SmurfyDog 13 posts, (0.67%, 234 words, avg 18.00 words/post)
36: Rocketman 12 posts, (0.62%, 413 words, avg 34.42 words/post)
36: Shane 12 posts, (0.62%, 807 words, avg 67.25 words/post)
38: Grandmaster B-Funk 11 posts, (0.57%, 661 words, avg 60.09 words/post)
39: KiwiMrT 10 posts, (0.52%, 344 words, avg 34.40 words/post)
40: Cthulhu 9 posts, (0.46%, 156 words, avg 17.33 words/post)
40: Steve-O The Deve-O 9 posts, (0.46%, 148 words, avg 16.44 words/post)
42: Ben White 8 posts, (0.41%, 141 words, avg 17.62 words/post)
43: f4ction 7 posts, (0.36%, 116 words, avg 16.57 words/post)
43: NotoriousR 7 posts, (0.36%, 661 words, avg 94.43 words/post)
43: BDKIAF 7 posts, (0.36%, 176 words, avg 25.14 words/post)
43: Zap 7 posts, (0.36%, 69 words, avg 9.86 words/post)
47: N3RD1001101 6 posts, (0.31%, 162 words, avg 27.00 words/post)
47: Batgirl 6 posts, (0.31%, 116 words, avg 19.33 words/post)
47: Mr Explody 6 posts, (0.31%, 127 words, avg 21.17 words/post)
50: ShiggyNinty 5 posts, (0.26%, 117 words, avg 23.40 words/post)
50: Ruffleberg 5 posts, (0.26%, 149 words, avg 29.80 words/post)
50: 0.5x70 5 posts, (0.26%, 190 words, avg 38.00 words/post)
53: fled 4 posts, (0.21%, 1061 words, avg 265.25 words/post)
53: Inquisitorsz 4 posts, (0.21%, 35 words, avg 8.75 words/post)
53: Noobheadshot 4 posts, (0.21%, 49 words, avg 12.25 words/post)
56: Cakesmith 3 posts, (0.15%, 94 words, avg 31.33 words/post)
56: welbot 3 posts, (0.15%, 64 words, avg 21.33 words/post)
56: lambogirl99 3 posts, (0.15%, 133 words, avg 44.33 words/post)
56: the cake 3 posts, (0.15%, 95 words, avg 31.67 words/post)
56: HotDamn! 3 posts, (0.15%, 96 words, avg 32.00 words/post)
56: FatShady 3 posts, (0.15%, 223 words, avg 74.33 words/post)
56: Blackhawks 3 posts, (0.15%, 73 words, avg 24.33 words/post)
56: Aidan 3 posts, (0.15%, 8 words, avg 2.67 words/post)
64: gingerchris86 2 posts, (0.10%, 18 words, avg 9.00 words/post)
64: Whiskeyjack 2 posts, (0.10%, 191 words, avg 95.50 words/post)
64: Chuloopa 2 posts, (0.10%, 227 words, avg 113.50 words/post)
64: Akuma 2 posts, (0.10%, 51 words, avg 25.50 words/post)
64: Hugs the Huggable Barbarian 2 posts, (0.10%, 50 words, avg 25.00 words/post)
64: DAN! 2 posts, (0.10%, 26 words, avg 13.00 words/post)
70: Jeeves 1 posts, (0.05%, 16 words, avg 16.00 words/post)
70: LilShiro 1 posts, (0.05%, 2 words, avg 2.00 words/post)
70: CJ 1 posts, (0.05%, 10 words, avg 10.00 words/post)
70: TheLastQuestion 1 posts, (0.05%, 23 words, avg 23.00 words/post)
70: Hermes and Thoth 1 posts, (0.05%, 8 words, avg 8.00 words/post)
70: weresmurf 1 posts, (0.05%, 12 words, avg 12.00 words/post)
70: Phikl 1 posts, (0.05%, 22 words, avg 22.00 words/post)
70: Virus__ 1 posts, (0.05%, 57 words, avg 57.00 words/post)
70: jamiedeecee 1 posts, (0.05%, 15 words, avg 15.00 words/post)
70: Prophet Masha 1 posts, (0.05%, 13 words, avg 13.00 words/post)
70: TrollFarmer 1 posts, (0.05%, 62 words, avg 62.00 words/post)
70: @hyp3rstrike 1 posts, (0.05%, 30 words, avg 30.00 words/post)
70: Luke 1 posts, (0.05%, 42 words, avg 42.00 words/post)
70: Azza 1 posts, (0.05%, 19 words, avg 19.00 words/post)
70: 100011 1 posts, (0.05%, 11 words, avg 11.00 words/post)
Post #1: scree on Monday, June 25, 2012 at 8:54 AM
Post #1000: Aleph-Null on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at 4:41 PM
23? Must have been a slow week
TOP 20! GRAAAARRRRRGGGHHH!
HIGHEST WORD PER POST COUNT IN THE TOP 20! GRRRRRRAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!
MERITLESS ACHIEVEMENTS! GGGGGRRRRRRRRRAAAAAARRRRGGGGGGGHHH!!!!!!
Winner /o\
Winner with all posts added up /o\
Loser /o\
A new record, go me!
See you all next week then!
HAI GUYSE, I'M STILL ALIVE! DIDJA MISS ME?
I made it through the camp serious-injury free, although I did take a knee to the back in one of the games, and it's still slightly sore...
One of the guys found a snake in the shower. He didn't freak out, but the guy in the shower beside him screamed and ran out (not naked, mind you). By the end of the camp, the story had changed to the guy finding the snake, wrestling and killing it, eating it and turning its skin into a belt. Of course everyone knew that wasn't true :P
Also, ping pong is rather addictive...
Here's a question. When setting the brightness of a game at the start, why do you usually do? Go with the instructions of what should be visible? Darker? Brighter?
I myself tend to go 3 or 4 notches above recommended otherwise I still sometimes struggle with things being too dark and hard to see. But then my eyes aren't the best around.
I tend to make it brighter than they tell me too unless it's a game that is meant to be dark. Mainly because there was a section in GTA4 where I had to walk through a very short tunnel to get into an abandoned building. It was so dark on the correct setting that I couldn't see a thing. Had to really crank things to get through there.
Yeah, GTA4 was one of the few games where I had to change the brightness settings midway through, was really bizarre.
I always go higher than recommended in 'realistic' games because they always make them so dark :P I usually crank up the colour, too.
I try to set it to the recommended. The problem being that there's variance in the amount of background light at any one point in the day.
I normally go a notch or two higher than what's recommended.
A few notches brighter than what the game suggests.
I don't really care much for the atmosphere in a dark dank dungeon in an action-RPG (let's say), I like being able to see where I'm going.
The only thing I'd really consider keeping the brightness as recommended would be those games reliant on the dark for atmosphere. So you know, Amnesia, or even STALKER to an extent.
If a game is meant to be atmospherically dark I try to keep the brightness down, but if it's not I want to be able to see everything easily so I crank it up a bit.
I usually sit on the floor when playing and I don't know if it's the angle or just my crappy eyesight, but I tend to crank it a notch or two above where I can see things ok on the calibration screen, which is way brighter than my wife would have it - and she sits on the couch to play AND has better eyes.
So. Yeah. I always go bove. What gave designers think is appropriate darkness for the mood just tends to be too dark for me to see what the hell I'm doing.
Lately I have noticed that I cannot get my settings to match their recommended level.
As in, raise brightness untill you can barely see logo, well no matter how much of the level I play with I can never see the logo. Well, I thinks to meself, I must need to raise it to the highest level, which then makes it look like crap. Put it down to about half-way, looks fine. Which is what it was originally at.
Crazy ramble aside, initial settings seem fine, but I can never seem to match their instructions.
Re-reading this mess of a comment, I think I need more sleep.
You should probably make sure your TV/Monitor is on the right settings. Most people just default it out of the box. Get one of those DVDs with a screen tester thing where you change the brightness, contrast etc. Worth the effort.
Some Pixar movies have it (Ratatouille definitely does, that's the disk that I use to set up my monitors).
Thanks for the info, may seriously have to look at doing this as my TV has about 7 pre-set settings, with two slots to save custom ones, yet I can never seem to get it perfect.
However I also have room lighting issues due to a large window, so different settings for different times of the day I guess.
I was about to do a vidya game question! I'll save it for later :D, I've found these always spark discussion and shows what others are doing :)
I used to leave it on the default until around GTAIV, Fallout 3, Fable 2 when I set it above the standard because it was too dark. My TV really shows some dark blacks (if you get what I mean?) so the dark areas are REALLY dark and hard to see. So now I generally set it a few notches above the default :). Sometimes I'll just get lazy and set it really high so it's easier to see in dark areas that require light (Fallout, Minecraft) :P
What? You have an issue with your TV showing dark blacks?
RACIST!!!
:P
I usually leave it on the recommended level but sometimes a notch or two higher for particularly dark games
For Shameless Gaming Month, I realised that the games I was going to play came out to about 100 hours of gaming. Double checked my maths just now (using how long to beat):
Half Life 2 - 13h 9m
Half Life 2: Episode 1 - 4h 3m
Half Life 2: Episode 2 - 5h 32m
Starcraft - 19h 57m
Starcraft: Brood War - 25h 11m
Shadow of the Colossus - 10h 4m
Dead Space - 11h 17m
Total - 89h 13m
Should I add another 10 hour game to the mix to make things add up? Maybe some AssRev?
Lollipop Chainsaw. Play it twice. :P
Games I might add to the list: Skate 3, Crysis 2, Assassin's Creed: Revelations or maybe Psychonauts.
Any of those gets me rather close to the 100 hour mark.
Couldn't you just play through this list and see how far you get at a certain point in the month then re-evaluate?
Of course setting X amount of hours of shameless gaming is your preference on how to do things, but you can never guarantee you'll get all of that 100 hours. Maybe your computer will spazz out again and be all "You like play games? NOPE".
Perhaps go through the list and if you achieve all of it, any other game you finish can be considered a bonus!
I'm expecting things to go poorly. It's just that 100 hours sounds so much neater than "almost 90 hours". You know, seeing as I am doing weekly write-ups about progress, having some over-arcing goal helps tie things together better.
Might keep my current list and then add another title later on it I'm doing well, remove a title if I'm doing poorly.
S'fair enough.
It's just that using hours to give a measure of progress seems a bit... I don't know, arbitrary? In the sense that game length varies from person to person. I'm guessing How Long To Beat uses the averages of user-submitted gameplay times or something of the sort. It might be about right, but it also seems a tad unreliable as a unit of measure.
But maybe that's just me.
It's definitely ball-parking things. The site uses averages based on user submissions (people say what they're playing what they're counting as complete and how long it takes them to do it). Not the most accurate tool but the best available tool that I can find.
This is arbitrary. It's mainly just a coincidence that the games that I decided to play come close to 100 hours of gameplay. I figured that I would just run with it and make it a part of this whole madness, which probably means trying to play one more game and going absolutely insane this month.
Again.
I looked at the site and stopped counting at 500hrs. :S
Maybe I should give up on both the White Knight games, Lost Odyssey and FFXIII's until later. But then its not a Shameless go. WAT DO?!
There are only 744 hours in July. See if you can have a list of games you plan on beating that requires a Time Turner :p
If I use the completionist times on all my unfinished games it comes to nearing 3000 hours. (White Knight 2 on its own is almost 1000)
One of many reasons I'm so glad that I'm not a completionist.
Shameless Gaming Status:
Still hammering away at the first Ratchet & Clank game.
DVD search status:
Found, in the DVD drive of my old tower... which had been unplugged.
Thank you, inventor of paperclips!
Ratchet and Clank was a fine, fine game. Trying to scrape together enough bolts for the RYNO was a tough one :p
Great way to start the month!
Technically I started on Friday night...
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-06-29-ni-no-kuni-wrath-of-the-white-witch-wizards-edition-announced
MY WALLET WEEPS
OH I AM SOOOO BUYING THIS!
I don't really keep up to date with these things so please let me know when it's priced and available to pre-order and were you're getting it from :P
I don't really pay a lot of attention to when stuff goes up for order so I wouldn't rely on me. Generally for this sort of CE I just go to EB Games since they're easiest to deal with.
But also the most expensive :P
The site was for the UK so I wasn't sure if we'll get it locally but let me know if we do.
On one hand I'd love to import it for like half the price from a site like Zavvi but then I fear that the contents will be completely destroyed in the shipping process, and on the other is locally which guarantees I get what I want but for more expensive and potentially a longer wait.
Hmm...
GOD MAN, I've been sitting on TS alone for aaaages. Unemployment club of 1 :(
DUDE I WENT ON EARLIER BUT NO ONE WAS THERE
OzGameShop are usually pretty good with CEs, but I don't know if this will be a retailer-exclusive version or not.
I think I found about OzGameShop is that whenever they sell the highest CEs/LEs/Whatever editions it's always a sort of limited sale (like they did for Gears and FFXIII-2, from recent memory). Zavvi being a bigger retailer will pretty much guarantee you a copy and they're generally cheaper too. They do like to mess around with prices though so you have to pre-order it at the right time.
Like when it was first announced, the bundle with RE:Revelations and the Circle Pad Pro was $45 (same price as the game itself) but soon after they bumped it up to ~$70 or so (still cheaper than EB). The Last Story limited edition when first announced was $120 or so on Zavvi but soon dropped to a standard $60 or so. It's really weird. Same thing happened for MGS:HD. They'll honour a cheaper launch price if it drops since you've pre-ordered but sometimes they'll price it lower than usual and still have to honour it :D
Zavvi are a terrible company and I never order from them.
They've been good to me :P. Slow shipping times is their only offence.
Man I love that game logo. Looks awesome. Bundle looks cool too, but it'll depend on how expensive it is.
Maybe they'll bring out a smaller bundle with just the game and the book? (The book is supposed to be used with the game, right? Or maybe that was just the DS version)
The book was required for the DS version, it's just fluff for the PS3 one. Awesome fluff.
Ah I see! Thanks. Well now it'll all come down to that magic price. I'm OK with just the game, but if it's not too expensive I'll get the CE.
youknowwhatsucks? 5amstarts
Youknowwhatsgreat? COFFEECOFFEECOFFEE!
IVEONLYHAD5TODAY!
NEEDMOAR!
*runs off jumping through the window*
Drink more coffee!!
I'm up to 3 with a 7am start, though I don't believe I share the same enthusiasm as yourself :p
You know what really sucks? Coming down from caffeine -_-
...
/o\
Mitigate the comedown with cocaine!
I am hungry.
That is all.
Things I love about DAWNGUARD!
Will be ROT13ing it to avoid, well not spoilers, but some people don't want to know anything about new additions before they play, so out of respect for them, I present to you this Cthulhu like text.
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!
and now for the ROT13
Nf fbzr bs lbh znl unir pbzr gb ernyvfr, V frrz gb rawbl FXLEVZ! whfg n yvggyr.
Jryy fbzr bs gur arj vgrz/fxvyy/crex nqqvgvbaf gung ner abj ninvynoyr qhr gb QNJATHNEQ! unir znqr guvf OYBBQL NJRFBZR tnzr gung zhpu zber, hz NJRFBZR.
Pebffobjf.
V sevttva ybir gurfr guvatf, fubgthaf sbe fxlevz. Gurer ner gjb ninvynoyr jvgu hctenqrf sbe obgu, fb gurer ner npghnyyl sbhe... zr zngu tbbq.
Rnfl gb hfr, dhvpx gb sver ohg gur zbfg njrfbzrarff, fuhg hc vg'f n jbeq,guvat nobhg gurz ner gur qvssrerag obygf, puvrs nzbat gurz, Gur Rkcybqvat Obyg. V YBIR gurfr obygf, gurl gehyl znxr gur pebffobj vagb gung jubyr fubgtha guvatl V jebgr rneyvre. Erybnq pna gnxr n juvyr, ohg jvgu n srj cbvag, jryy npghnyyl n ybg bs cbvagf, va nepurel fxvyy (naq gubfr rkpryyrag rkcybqvat obygf) lbh jba'g arrq gb erybnq bsgra. Nabgure pbby guvat nobhg gur pebffobj vf lbh qba'g fybj qbja jvgu gur jrncba qenja, bayl jura lbh cerff qbja gb sver.
Sbetvat arj vgrzf.
LRF, ybir guvf! V pna abj svanyyl znxr neebjf naq obygf zlfrys, gunax shpxvat Gnybf! Guvf jnf bar guvat V ungrq va gur inavyyn irefvba, lbh pbhyq sbetr qnza arne nalguvat rkprcg gur oybbql neebjf gurzfryirf. Jryy thrff jung xvqqvrf, lbh pna abj, cyhf (vs Qnjathneq abg inzcver) lbh pna sbetr gur bgure irefvba bs gur obygf gbb, yvxr zl snibhevgr Rkcybqvat Obygf :)
Gur bgure arj sbetrq vgrzf, Qentbaobar Jrncbaf. Ntnva, fbzrguvat gung ernyyl naablrq zr va gur bevtvany irefvba, V svanyyl trg zl fzvguvat hc gb 100 naq V pna'g znxr nal arj jrncbaf entr! Cyhf V unir nobhg 50 Qentba obar naq fpnyr cvrprf whfg fvggvat va zl purfg ENTR! Jryy, abj V unir zlfrys n arj Qentbaobar fjbeq, fuvryq, obj, naq terngfjbeq. V nz bar unccl Uhatnevna oneonevna.
Crexf
Abj V unira'g unq zhpu gvzr gb purpx gurfr bhg, uhzna Qnjathneq cynlre ng gur zbzrag, ohg gung gurl unir nqqrq n crex gerr sbe obgu inzcver Ybeq naq Jrerjbys vf uryyn pbby.
Abj n ybg bs crbcyr unir pbzcynvarq nobhg gurfr, ohg frevbhfyl, jr hfrq gb unir n jrerjbys jvgu ab cebterffvba ng nyy naq n inzcver gung whfg tbg htyvre vs gurl qvqa'g srrq. Jryy, abj jr trg erjneqrq sbe xvyyvat crbcyr, gung'f tbbq evtug?...
Guvf yrnqf zr gb Inzcver Ybeq
Bayl unq n oevrs cynl jvgu guvf zbafgre, ohg V ernyyl rawblrq vg. Lbh unir gjb znva zbqrf gb guvf pevggre, fcryy pnfgvat naq zryrr. Lbh fgneg bss jvgu qenva sbepr naq envfr qrnq fcryyf, znxrf frafr gb zr, naq gur zryrr vf jryy, zryrr, ubjrire vg frrzf gung jvgu zber crbcyr lbh xvyy, gur zber lbh pna qb va gurfr gjb zbqrf. Bu lbh nyfb unir sybngvat naq jnyxvat zbqrf. Ntnva, unira'g unq zhpu gvzr jvgu guvf, ohg fb sne ybir vg.
So anyway, those are my thoughts on the subject.
Feel free to disagree, I don't mind, however Clubby tends to hold grudges.
I disagree with everything you say!
Not really though, kind of looking forward to Dawnguard though.
Shameless Gaming Month is off to a great start for me. My game collection grew by 1 today, and a particularly shameful purchase too.
However I decided to dig out Darksiders and play it. I got the X360 version years ago and played maybe an hour before being distracted from it, despite that I quite liked it. Grabbed the PC version a little while back on the cheap when I preordered Darksiders II, and given that that's not very far off now, I decided it was time.
I don't know how far in I am, I suspect not very (6 hours) but I'm really liking it. It also made me stop and think though: are there any other games besides Darksiders and Okami which execute the 3D Legend of Zelda gameplay well? Why does it seem like hardly anyone has bothered despite that the style clearly works and works really well. Also why the hell was the game so heavily criticized for being a Zelda clone in the first place? I happen to like the way those games play. Except Skyward Sword, fuck that game.
Hey! SS wasn't that bad!
There's Dark Chronicle (Dark Cloud 2) but I'm sure you already know about it. I'm also a fan of the 3D action/adventure Zelda-esque gameplay. I really enjoyed Darksiders too despite the reviews complaining about it being too much like Zelda and God of War (this is a bad thing?). If I recall it's about 10-12 hours long so you're actually not that far from the end.
I can't play SS. We spent all that time waiting for Nintendo to finally give us a game that lived up to the promise that the Wii controls seemed to suggest, and then when we got it, it turned out that we didn't want those controls in the first place.
SS is an average Zelda game with absolutely terrible controls and annoying area layouts. I just want a 3D Zelda game I can play with a controller, where I fight stuff and solve puzzles in elaborate rooms in heaps of interesting dungeons, discovering items that unlock new abilities which then allow me to explore and find hidden things in all the areas. Basically exactly what made Metroid Prime so fun too. I love that style of game. Skyward Sword made it as irritating as it possibly could to get to that fun, constantly breaking whatever flow I managed to pull out of it, and I'm too busy to screw around with it. If those motion controls are the future for the franchise then I'm done with it, Twilight Princess will be my last one. :( Which is why I'm interested to see if any other developers have pulled off the gameplay.
I don't think I'm far into Darksiders. The last thing I did involved helping a certain large scottsman stop the pigeons from crapping in his yard, if you follow. I've only beaten one of the four bosses that have the Mcguffins I need to collect to
assemble the triforcedo whatever it is I'm doing for the creepy dude that lives in the fountain of blood. Should be closing in on the second one but there might be another exploration area first?There are a lot of games on the Wii I was interested in but I never ended up picking one up because it was never the price or the lack of power, it has always been those shit motion controls.
I played on my cousins one for about 20 minutes and thought this would be a lot better if instead of waggling the stick around I just pressed a button like in the good old days, when I had to walk uphill in the snow to play vidya games.
I also just picked up Darksiders on the steam sale and I was thinking of getting stuck into it this weekend using my 360 controller.
I just hope they give us the option on which control scheme to use in future Zelda games. Aiming and looking around with motion/gryo controls is awesome and it's hard to go back to standard controls but all the waggling with the sword and stuff is a hit and miss. I can live with or without it.
You know what actually annoyed me more than the crappy sword commands that don't actually pick up what you're doing correctly? The shield. It only blocks 4 hits before it breaks then you have to go back to town buy another. Why even bother having one at all? I want to sword & board but the game won't let me, it's depressing :(
Ah yes the shield mechanics were annoying but if you shield bash at the right time it deflects their attack, doesn't damage the shield and leaves them open for a counter attack.
I rarely used shields anyway so this wasn't that big of a deal but the later shields sort of fixed this issue (I assume you know about them but just never got them)
The deflection hits still seemed to deplete the 4 uses when I played it, maybe I wasn't hitting just the right timing or angle or something. Or more likely the goddamn controls weren't working correctly.
We can be angry old folks together. Those kids with their new-fangled motion control waggle nonsense can get the hell off my lawn and give me my buttons back.
I'm playing with a 360 controller, it plays pretty well. The
boomerangCrossblade controls are a little awkward and the lock-on tends to be too easy to change targets but otherwise it's pretty good. War doesn't have the finesse of Link and the combat movement isn't as tight as a result, but what he lacks in grace he makes up for in brute strength and there's definitely a bit of God of War in there too, with the ability to one-button execute enemies that are damaged enough (which is worth abusing because nothing will attack you while the animation plays). The overall structure of the game is straight-up Zelda and the dungeon design is especially awesome like that.One thing, save often. The game is a little glitchy. Not unplayable but I had it crash once. Make sure you have your 360 controller connected and turned on BEFORE you start the game up, or it won't see it. It maxes out at 1920x1200 so if you've got a monitor that pushes a higher res (mine's 2560x1440) you're SOL for no reason, but it might be possible to override this by some ini file fiddling? I don't mind either way personally, the game looks pretty reasonable and the higher res wouldn't add that much. The other reason to save regularly is that some of the achievements don't unlock for some reason I think related to their implementation of the steam cloud stuff. I have the crossblade but don't have the achievement for getting it. Don't really care but if it makes a difference to you it's worth keeping in mind.
Luckily my monitor is exactly 1920x1200!
I once left my 360 controller plugged in after playing a game with it then I went to play battlefield 3 and I kept running in circles, It took me ages to realize my controller was still plugged in on the floor upside down with the thumb stick held down.
As for Zelda there's the Wii U and 3DS for potential non-waggle controls. I found the controls of SS not that bad when they worked for me. But I can agree on the areas.
While it never occurred to me while playing (only really thought about it when I read an article Mark wrote) the whole layout of it kind of felt... "wrong". I was totally fine about having the outside areas as sort of "mini-dungeons" with puzzles to solve and things to do but lost was that sense of exploration. I also miss all the collectables and whatnot. Really SS? Only 18 hearts? :'(
Still it wasn't THAT bad IMO :P
Forgot to reply about Darksiders:
You were pretty vague and it's been ages since I've last played it so I don't really know where you or how much more you've got to go based on your description. Hourwise you're about half way and that's all I can really say :P
I finished the tussle with Ulthane and Uriel and was about to start into the Griever's area.
Looking at the achievements I think that's about 1/3 of the game, but maybe less depending on how much time it takes to get to the subsequent bosses. The dungeon leading up to Tiamat was pretty big.
Dude, if they make a Wii U Zelda it'll swap out the horrible motion controls for horrible touch screen / gyro controls instead. Nintendo refuse to believe that their games might be fun to play with a button controller.
Besides that they're so busy making the games accessible to your Granny they end up compromising the game for people who do know how to play. I got so annoyed with it constantly telling me what to do. I KNOW ALREADY. I'VE PLAYED A GAME BEFORE.
Nintendo really need to start using difficulty settings more often.
It's not even a difficulty problem. The difficulty was fine - actually a bit hard due to the stupid controls at times. I'm pretty cool with it. What it needs is a 'I have played Legend of Zelda before and I am not a moron' setting so that it doesn't constantly bombard you with hand-holding and tell you exactly what to do and where to go at all times, often pulling you out of the game to do so.
SS was hard. A friggen Skulltula took me ages to beat because I had no idea how to attack it. That's the thing with motion controls. It gives an added level of difficulty because you need to attack in this way at this time, rather than just mashing a button when there's a brief opening.
And I doubt they'll swap the whole control system for gyro/touch screen for Wii U. The "tech-demo" just showed it for inventory use, similar to what OoT3D did. They can keep the gyro/touch things for 3DS where it's more suited. It'll be harder to do on the two Wii U screens since the controller is 'disconnected' from the main game (ie. they're not next to each other or exactly as close as they are in a 3DS)
Oh yeah I knew what you meant. I more meant that they should give you the option to turn off the help features (more of a beginner/advanced option).
Fi was way too talkative in SS. I would have liked the option to turn off non-essential hints.
It should just give you a quiz at the start of the game to see if you need hints.
1. What is the main characters name?
That is all, if you get that right it should take its hints and shove them. If you say Zelda it should set your Wii on fire.
Maybe I'll go back to that for shameless gaming this month. Now that I have been using a controller a bit more regularly maybe I can get past the boss fight I was stuck on due to stupid need to aim quickly.
So I just finished Space Marine and like everyone else I have a huge list of games I haven't even played or 'finished', and then out of that I've still got a huge "pile of shame" which is what I'd actually like to get through. From that I've short listed just a handful of titles and I wouldn't mind some input from the gang on what to play next.
PC:
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Psychonauts
Xbox:
Fez
Rage (unplayed)
PS3:
infamous 2 (unplayed)
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (unplayed)
Stranger’s Wrath
Wii:
Pandora’s Tower (unplayed)
Resident Evil (unplayed)
Resident Evil 4 (unplayed)
The Last Story
Gamecube:
Eternal Darkness (unplayed)
Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes (unplayed)
3DS:
Resident Evil: Revelations
This is just a very short list and there's tons of other titles I wouldn't mind playing through. So if there's something not on that list you think is worth playing, I might already have it :). There's also a bunch of PC games I'm hoping to acquire during Steam sales :P.
I was thinking MGS something since I've had the sexy edition of it unplayed since it came out. I've played 1 (original on PS1), 2, 3, 4 but I never beat 3. I also purchased Twin Snakes earlier this year to get through but I'm still not sure on which order to play them. Problem is if I start with 3 it might be harder to get back into the older games because of dated mechanics. How is Peace Walker anyway? Does it still hold up in the HD collection on PS3/Xbox?
Thanks in advance!
I loved DX HR personally, so out of that list it would be my pick. However if you loved it as much as I did it wouldn't be in your pile so I guess you might have had a different perception of it.
Is your goal to finish as many games as possible this month? Because if so, stick to the ones that aren't 50+ hours i.e. no JRPGs.
Yeah I took Graces f off the short list even though I wanted to play it when it came out :P
My goal isn't necessarily to beat as many games as possible but to just beat some. I wouldn't mind playing a few JRPGs but as long as I actually beat them.
As for DX:HR, I liked it I just never got around to playing it more than a couple of hours. So many cheap Steam games...
Graces F sucked up about 50 hours for me, maybe 55, but I didn't do everything. If you were a completionist it could suck up 120+.
Luckily I'm not :P
I usually just go with the standard "main quest" in all Tales games. Out of all the ones I've played I've only beaten Eternia and Abyss. Probably got close in Vesperia and Symphonia with about 40-60 hours in each of them but stopped for some reason.
Doc What linked it last time but damnit I should've waited for that European edition :P. It's cheaper and there's more in it...
There's not much extra except the soundtrack and the ability to dress up Asbel as Leon from Tales of Destiny.
Still, soundtrack, artbook and DLC for a lower cost :P
Granted the release date was later but considering I haven't even played the game yet and was happy to wait, I regret buying it :(. Stupid play-asia and their vouchers... tempting me to buy things I didn't need! I nearly pre-ordered Ni No Kuni a while ago since the US did have an earlier release date. Good thing it got delayed and a better edition :D
Oddly, there's no actual artbook that I know of for Graces. Just the strategy guides.
Man, Eternal Darkness is one of my most favourite NGC games!
Still haven't played it despite obtaining it somewhat recently!
I hear good things about it but don't really feel like Cubing and I'm not sure how well it'll hold up today :(
Xenoblade again.
Damnit I don't have 112 hours! (I do)
Serious suggestion: Definitely play MGS in order of release. And don't play them back-to-back or you might get sick of them like I did :P
Also play Psychonauts. Only because I'm also playing it (well, I was before I went on my JB Hifi spending bender...)
Yeah too much MGS can be a bad thing :P
I played a decent amount of Psychonauts on PS2 and another decent amount on PC but some sections are hard/annoying because of the Keyboard and Mouse combo :(
Nananananananananananana Naaaachooooos!
I had nachos for dinner last night! Proper ones from a restaurant and everything!
...They were disappointing.
I had some from Zambrero for lunch, and they were tasty!
Screw you mang, screw you! Only thing I really miss about Canberra... Zambreros.... *drooooools*
Zambreros has invaded Nth QLD now, too! I had tasty burritos while I was in Townsville last ^.^
Only difference is that they're not open at ridiculous hours to facilitate feeding the intoxicated, which is a shame :(
Wait, you mean it's possible to eat Zambreros when you're not intoxicated? Wow. Blind Mown.
And it's still amazeballs good!
I guess it's decided. Nachos for lunch!
Oooohhhhh. My favourite Oshry article so far!
My mum likes Criminal Minds!
They should make a SVU game!
2x Pics of Mariska Hagerty!
Seriously? Where did this guy come from. Usually I'm fairly tolerant of the "nothing" posts but these are pretty ridiculous.
My favourite Oshry article:
Here's some Mass Effect stuff! Also, Prometheus spoilers.
To be fair though, they totally should make an SVU game.
It seriously irks me that jokers like this get paid to pump out shit while any number of Taybies and people on this site can, will and do produce content that can't even be compared for nothing and that gets hidden away in the comment section.
Just imagine having articles written by the likes of Zap, Aidan, Blaghs, Trjn or any number of Taybies on the site. Reasoned and thoughtful opinions even on the most mundane subjects.
AAARRRRGGGHHH!
I fully support this idea.
A community blog section every week or so sounds like a great idea.
Looks like Shameless Gaming Month is picking up plenty of followers in the Kotaku article.
Should we attempt to get it trending on Twitter?
How does that happen? I assume we just spam about #ShamelessGamingMonth for a while?
Preeeetty much.
To justify the spam, I wanna give it more exposure...see how big we can make it!
"see how big we can make it" THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID, whooooooooooooooOOOOOOOooooo
ಠ_ಠ
Awesome! So we're agreeing on #ShamelessGamingMonth, or some derivative thereof?
I think we've been using #ShamelessGaming. No idea if that is official, but at least that's what a couple of us were using last night. :P
DONE! #ShamelessGaming it is, and spam it I shall!
#ShamelessGaming is probably best, just to help with the character limit. Anything less would be uninformative.
Easy way to use it, I guess, would be to share accomplishments, great and small, i.e. "Just finished Chapter 1 of *some game*". Get plenty of tweets out while still having something useful to say.
I'll just be sure to share interesting snippets whilst gaming, and not-so-interesting pinings and whinings whilst not gaming :D
#ShamelessGaming is what I've been using. Wanted to use #SGM but that seems to be getting used for a few other things. I'll be retweeting anything interesting I see tagged with it.
Yay, I said an interesting thing \o/
Yes!
Let's see how many followers it gets!
Woohoo, I made a print!
http://fav.me/d55rakr
Source Filmmaker looks awesome, can't wait to see what people do with it :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAZpc7koRbQ
I can't wait until more people get used to it! There's already some great stuff and it hasn't been out for long! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW7D6r1S6W8
With the release of Dawnguard, I don't think I will be making much off an impact on my Pineapple of Shame.
However I really want to try and finish Lost Odyssey, after a long abscence, I am really starting to enjoy this game again.
Crap, that reminds me I haven't finished Nier either... will attempt to at least get some more done in this uber cool game.
So much pineapple, so little time.
Nier can be done in under 15 hours, LO on the other hand took me 40 hours :P
But with Nier I'd recommend the second playthrough which starts you at the midpoint so I'd say 5 hours more for that. The first NG+ is where the game truly shines :D. Gotta watch all the cutscenes though!
Problem with games like Nier is that I have to complete every single quest, even the little fetch side quests.
This tends to drag out the game a little more.
Ah yes, I skipped most of them :P. Did maybe 30% or so as I was going for the "complete game in under 15 hours" trophy :D
Potaku 5 Talks
Listening to Shiggy talking 'bout Rockstar games. I remember at the release of GTA IV I heard a rumour that at the game's climax Nico had the choice to basically become a cop. I really loved that idea; it felt like such a good character development. That Nico had been a bad guy - he was dabbling in some small time crime when he arrives in Liberty City, but it's suggested a couple of times that he was into some heavy stuff back in his home country - and he arrives in America, the Land of Freedom, fulling believing in the promise of a Better Life. He wants to be a good guy, he wants to change, but he slips back into old habits and he starts to realise that Liberty City is not so dissimilar from what he's trying to get away from. For most of the game it still felt like he was struggling against his environment. I feel that if the last half/third of the game was him metaphorically cleansing himself of his past - becoming a cop and cleaning up the city - it could have really been so much more than another GTA game.
Also, RE: Deus Ex: Human Revolution
There was a lot of character development that wasn't obvious, that required you to "stop and smell the roses". I remember exploring Adam's apartment and finding some get well cards, and the note from the building manager in regard to another replacement mirror, then walking into the bathroom and realising that Adam cannot stand to look at his own reflection.
And some ROT13 info in regard to Jensen's augments:
Wrafra bayl arrqrq n srj fznyy nhtzragf/gerngzragf va beqre gb erpbire sebz uvf vawhevrf - Fnevs beqrerq gur qbpgbef gb erzbir Wrafra'f yvzof naq ercynpr gurz jvgu Nhtf.
I believe there was also an email on the lobby computer making reference to Jensen's mirror. HR is such an awesome game.
Spoilers! Re: mirror, maybe I guess. The mirror is an important character afterall.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whtNHRYJnrU
Piggyback!
Re: Great characters
Mordin Solus.
Whilst I think Garrus-bro and Wrex have their place as pretty top-tier guys, I think Mordin's character is great, and has one of the greatest lines in the game. And no, I'm not talking about the singing, although that was pretty awesome too.
Re: Deus Ex
Jensen was great in that, it was never supposed to be a game which had binary good or bad options, so
1. The neutrality of the voice actor's voice (gravelly) really helped in that regard, and
b) He was a blank canvas at the start for you to fill out as the game progressed.
Re: Resonance of Fate
The story in that game confused me /o\
It detracted a bit from understanding the characters, though I think the most (obvious) progression I could see was in the flashbacks of what the three did before they all crossed paths.
I guess I'm a bad person for rushing ME2 and not caring about Mordin at all. Like I even went out of my way to send him into the heat pipe things in a certain section :P
Umm... yeah... :/
I always found Thane a fascinating character as well.
Wise choice for a ME2 cover character, too bad it was ugly.
Miranda... not so much.
I really enjoyed how Jensen's endings actually fit so well with how the story played out that any of them could've been the true ending.
I'm sneaking back very quietly....don't wake the missus....shhhhhh
HELLLOOOOO TAYBIES! I'M BAAAAAAACCCKKKK!
It's been a hellishly busy couple months...what'd i miss?
Umm, fourteen of us got married, in one large ceremony. We briefly worshipped Serrels as our god, before remembering that most of us are either agnostic or atheistic. And as a group we learned to stop worrying, and love the bomb. So, not much, really. How are you, Splicer?
You mean there was a time we didn't worship the Almighty Serrels? Blasphemy! Burn the Heretic!
Ah, Dr Blaghman Strangelove, i am well. I see many new names and faces here now...is that the sound of someone quietly stroking an oar?
I'm afraid not, there was... a tragedy surrounding the oar. Harli left it in the hands of a lesser being, and it has since been lost for the ages. Now all we can do is sit here, and pray that the chosen one appears, oar in hand, to lead us to victory.
We could always forge a new oar.
Dude i have it right here. Also lesser being. I am a bigger man than you blaghs. Like about a foot taller :P
Being too tall...that's a paddlin'....
Fools! The oar is to powerful for mere mortals!
Is there anyone else thought to be vanished into the wild reaches of the interwebs, never to return?
I have heard tell of The Oar though I fear it may be nought but a myth. A virgin face am I, unfettered and uninitiated, free from the scourge of those surrounding me.
Oh, who am I kidding?
HAPPY BORTHDAY SPLICER! I haven't seen you 'round these parts, you must've been gone for a good while? Welcome back, in any case!
Borthday? Hmmm the day of my Borthing...or Borting...I like it!
But alas, 'tis not my birthday until Decembre(as the French say it)...But 'allo and bonjour for ze warm welcome!
WE NEED MORE BORT LICENCE PLATES.
See, this guy, he gets it ^
Hello! I finally understand your name/avatar. Hooray for me?
Hooray mang! I'm glad one of us does!
Hello!
Welcome back
Ah El Greenius, we meet again my old nemesis, or friend....i forget which...
Hugs?
More of an acquaintance :P
You left when I started to post more, I guess I'm a regular now :). There's still a few TAYbies I haven't got to know all that well yet, so hopefully you'll stick around.
Free hugs? Why not.
Ah yes, inappropriate touching in public places...always fun...careful, we may get banned from giving hugs and high fives and stuff....i think i've had too much caffiene...
Hello Splicer,
Welcome back. I hope we get to see more of you in the coming weeks.
Hello Ye Who Mashes, thanking you for your fine welcome good sir
Hey Splicer long time no see human!
Question, did you want to come pick up SWTFU and Batman AA at some point? :)
Indeed I shall, at some point in the near future. How are your circuit boards these days?
Oh hey, I met Jason Momoa yesterday...anyone jelly? Khal Drogo/ Ronan Dex/ Conan...he's now the biggest celebrity i've met. Can anyone top that?
Biggest as in tallest or biggest as in famous?
I've met David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson (they both signed my X-Files Diary squee!) and the man himself Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Also, Welcome back Splice O' Life!
Most famous...thats a pretty impressive Most Famous Meat Mr Hugo sir!
Also, good to see you're still lurking here! Thanks for the warm welcome and for leaving my ribs intact!
Yes I am so jelly.
My circuit boards these days have been at a higher average temperature... blame stress from humans for that.
After a few hours on TS with the nasty cheap headset yesterday, my ears still hurt today.
Then I noticed a big special on Amazon for G930s... I couldn't resist.
Buying new hardware in shameless gaming month doesn't count, right?
Bunny was probably nattering about something boring, my ears hurt after a while of his speaking as well.
I think I spent most of that time in a channel by myself once I got to the parts of Bastion I hadn't played before.
Hahaha :P
On a related note Greenius, want a free headset in 8 - 16 working days? Then you can be less Creepius.
Haha sure why not :D.Thanks!
Depends on what type/model, f4ction said he was happy to offer me one too but I'm not sure which one would be better or which I could acquire first.
I was just about to say above that if the G930 was cheap enough and if you haven't purchased it yet we could work out something and save on shipping. I just had a look and I'm not sure whether it was a huge saving or not but $100 was a bit out of my current budget considering how often I use my current mics (never) :P. Looks fancy though!
Thanks again and incase you weren't aware there may be a few more Melbourne meats organised before Batmang something along the lines of karaoke (:/) and Game Masters.
Cheap n nasty H230. Potentially only painful for me since i have large funny shaped ears.
That one looks like it'll get the job done. If it was the one you were using the sound quality sounds fine :)
From the product page on the Logitech website "with four interchangeable color plates to suit your mood." :P
I think I've still got most of the packaging including the colour plates. I'll check when I get home.
Oh I don't care about them I just thought it was a silly thing to advertise. Who could be bothered changing the colour plates to suit their specific moods :P
There's no green anyway :(
Ooh, I'll finally be able to hear the mysterious Greenius' voice.
I don't think it's possible to take the Creepy out of Greenius.
; )
Are Subway cookies the best cookies?
Because the double choc chip one I'm eating right now would say so....
Go to a New Zealand Natural ice cream shop and get yourself a cookie time cookie.
This.
Mrs. Fields!
Saw the Avengers today. It was alright, I enjoyed it. Almost fell asleep 3 times though cause I've been up since Sunday morning.
What? Splicers Back? Why didn't anyone tell me? I missed the Welcome Back Wagon (Now with 50% more Paddlin')!
In other news, I somehow without meaning to made my Dragons Dogma guy look exactly like my Kingdoms of Bananarama guy. I must have a secret thing for big, red bearded and mohawked men.
Faction fits that description :O
I am back. And front, we're both here :)
"I must have a secret thing for big, red bearded and mohawked men"
Don't we all.