All Things Video Games Thread: II

[Omegablue]

Well, lucky me. I'd just decided to go buy Uncharted 3 this weekend, when I stumbled on this post. As a strictly solo offline player, if the replay value sucks, I'm not buying it.

Bud, rather rent it or borrow someone else's copy.

yup, completely agree. Uncharted 3 was a letdown compared to uncharted 2 and so much of it felt recycled or a collection of deleted scenes... you know, stuff that is neat but just doesn't quite work.

Naughty Dog probably decided to quickly release this game to pay the salaries while developing their new flagship "The Last of us".

[Major Focker]

Oh, it's been awhile since I played TFU2, but IIRC it's a throw. An enemy attack will interrupt it, but it can be used against enemies who are blocking. If the enemy is close to a ledge, you'll throw him off, but enemies with enough health (like a Sith Acolyte) will survive the attack. I want to say it's triangle + circle at the same time, but my memory is a little hazy.

ah, yes that's it! actually it's square+X, but triangle+circle is also a cool variation. thanks.

now i can't believe how ridiculously overpowered these 2 moves are, specially considering how easy they are to pull off.

[mikeszekely]

ah, yes that's it! actually it's square+X, but triangle+circle is also a cool variation. thanks.

now i can't believe how ridiculously overpowered these 2 moves are, specially considering how easy they are to pull off.

Glad I could help.

[David Hingtgen]

[Keith]

LOL

[Warmaker]

LOL, maybe they'll sell Classic Mega Man as a DLC character for $15 USD!

[JB0]

LOL, maybe they'll sell Classic Mega Man as a DLC character for $15 USD!

No, he's reserved for Street Fighter VS Tekken Turbo, which comes out 6 months after the original version.

[renegadeleader1]

No, he's reserved for Street Fighter VS Tekken Turbo, which comes out 6 months after the original version.

Hence why I have no intention of buying this game.

[TheLoneWolf]

No, he's reserved for Street Fighter VS Tekken Turbo, which comes out 6 months after the original version.

LOL!

That, or he'll be released as a Best Buy pre-order exclusive for Super Street Fighter vs Tekken Turbo, which will come out 12 months after the original.

[JB0]

LOL!

That, or he'll be released as a Best Buy pre-order exclusive for Super Street Fighter vs Tekken Turbo, which will come out 12 months after the original.

Possibly even pushed back to the 18-month release of Super Street Fighter VS Tekken Turbo Arcade Edition!

[Shadow]

Finished Uncharted 3. Very disappointed. For me the second game is still the ultimate in action platform.

Here's a brief summary of my view.

A lot of running stages. Yip, just running.

More than usual areas where you get in, and then just make your way out.

Around 10 hours it took to me to finish the game.

The finale is pretty much the same as the previous game, underground city that then collapses but minus a final boss.

Quite a few glitches.

The puzzles were way too easy, and the scale of their areas were pointlessly unused.

The stranded desert chapter dragged a bit too long. Walk a little bit here, cut scene of the sky, walk some more, another cutscene, and etc...

Not much reply value in single player mode as the game is pretty flat linear.

The horses running as fast as the trucks was a bit too much.

A lot of the story wasn't explained. Like the instant aging in the mansion. How the one villian was shot, but then surprised everyone as he shortly returned.

Backgrounds to Alena and Drake's seperation wasn't explained. Nor anything regarding the new member in the team, Carter.

Sullivan through out the game acts like he can't jump and run fast, but at the end out sprints and out jumps Drake.

Exploration of the levels is very limited unlike the previous two games where the treasures were truly well hidden. Everything in this third game lies on your linear path.

No real big fighting level unlike the previous game where you go against a helicopter and a tank.

The big shooting areas could be finished from a few spots. Didn't really require you to move about to finish the stage.

The flat textures of the town's people stood out, as the playable characters were hyper realistic.

The shop is gone.

The sneaking stages really have one path to follow unlike the previous game.

Good things.

Some of the cinematics were again beyond Hollywood's capabilities.

The backgrounds were just brilliant, especially in the amount of detail.

Light reflects off the individual stubble of Drake.

The treasures are no longer tiny glowing lights, but actual in game objects.

Not much else. The game feels rushed to probably supply the demand of on-line play.

Oh yeah, I don't play multi player, so I can judge that feature.

I'll still play the next one, though I'm glad I first read reviews and then borrowed a friend's copy to test it, but then ended up quickly finishing it.

This game just doesn't have that wow and mind blowing craftness of Uncharted 1 and 2.

Considering how high the bar was set in Uncharted 2, I'm not expecting much of an improvement out of Uncharted 3. I'm still debating about buying it. I just want a game with a compelling storyline, something I'll enjoy. Much of which I have read you get in UC3.

Also, I beat Xenogears for the first time yesterday. I have to say, I wish I had played this game back when it first came out. It's definitely

worth all the praise it received. I'm glad I had read about the development issues with Disc 2 cause much of what happened at that point in the game left me for a loop. It's a shame this game wasn't delivered in its entirety. Also, that we'll never see anything like it again out of Square Enix.

Edited February 22, 2012 by Shadow

[Archer]

Just bought my PSV (wi-fi) with 4 GB memory card and Wipout 2048 and Uncharted. Looking good, although I haven't actually opened any of the boxes yet. On a physical note though, botht he memory cards and the Game Cases are SMALL!

I wanted to get a large memory card, but all cept for the 4 GB were sold out (I got the last 4 GB at that). On the contrary to what others have said, the PSV stuff is actually moving in terms of market. Thought the shelves would be full, but they weren't at all.

(On a good note though, I got the system for only $200 [$50 back on store gift card] and uncharted for $40 [$10 back on store gift card])

[TehPW]

This question is directed to the PC FPS-smart folks: It is possible to have your strafe sensivity to insanely good at side-to-side movement with the A & D keys to avoid getting hit (or to make yourself very hard to hit) without the possiblity of haks? im often seeing rather amazing and suspious moves that some of my common foes make on Counter Strike: Source, usually on Deathmatch servers like XXL or Hellgamers.

just like to know that its my age and aim that sucks, compared to the possiblity of either good fingers, controllers that simply are game breakers, or even haks?

[GU-11]

Also, I beat Xenogears for the first time yesterday. I have to say, I wish I had played this game back when it first came out. It's definitely

worth all the praise it received. I'm glad I had read about the development issues with Disc 2 cause much of what happened at that point in the game left me for a loop. It's a shame this game wasn't delivered in its entirety. Also, that we'll never see anything like it again out of Square Enix.

Yeah, Xenogears is one of my favorite games for the PSX. The thing about sprites is that they age far more gracefully than early 3D renders. IMO, the plot is one of Square's even come up with, possibly even beating out FF7 [yes, I know there's FF Tactics and many others, but I only started playing Final Fantasy games from FF7 onwards.] Other than that, the gameplay was pretty fun, with just the right amount of complexity.

If there's one thing to complain about, it's that the giant robots felt like they were tacked onto the game for "coolness" sake, and little else. They added next to nothing as far as the plot was concerned.

[Omegablue]

Finally got the Metal Gear solid HD Collection on the PS3.

Playing Peace Walker now. Yes, the graphics are very much PSP, but it's simple RPG gameplay is so addictive, and massive in options. Love it.

Metal Gear Solid 2 is still a great looking game for it's age, and with the HD polish is almost next gen. Though it's also my least favorite of the saga. Good thing with this version is the replay value, especially as replaying parts of the plant as Snake.

And there's Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Still my favorite of the franchise, and still looks a more like PS3 game than it's original PS2 release. However MGS3 was actually intended as a PS3 release game. Matters little as now this great in HD.

[GU-11]

BTW, 50+ hours into FF XIII-2, and loving every second of it. The plot obviously plays second fiddle to the gameplay, but the sidequests were nice, with the sole exception of the stupid clock puzzles. Randomly resetting every single time, it's a chore to solve if you're not prepared to pause the game, copy the damn numbers on paper and spend an hour figuring it out.

At the same time, Just finished DW7, not that many here even care about this game.

As far as story is concerned, this proves by far to the the most historically accurate and flows well from one kingdom to the next. The ending was also very satisfying, with a decidedly epic feel in the FMV.

The ability to switch weapons really does wonders in breaking the monotony of the fighting. While the moves are basically standard copies for each weapon, mixing between the main and secondary weapons makes it more fun than previous DW games.

Nice to see that they actually made an effort to properly pronounce the names of the characters, though I'll miss the times I chuckled like a idiot to the mention of Lord Cow Cow and Cow Pee.

Cons:

You can't ride special horses in Story Mode. Not even when you're supposed to own them, ie. Red Hare for Lu Bu [sadly, not playable in Story Mode], Shadow Runner for Cao Cao, Hex Mark for Liu Bei. The standard Chestnuts are pretty darn slow; unless you're using Dong Zhuo or some other super slow player, you're better off hoofing it.

The Qiao sisters still look like children. And they're supposed to be married to Zhou Yu and Sun Ce?! They look more like fathers and daughters, for Pete's sakes.

One thing that would have made this game much better is subtle aging for certain characters. Sima Yi looks young enough to be brothers with his sons in the Jin campaign.

Edited February 24, 2012 by GU-11

[Omegablue]

Does FF XIII-2 have total free roam exploration like in FF XII? Or is it still very linear? And can you abondon battles?

[GU-11]

Does FF XIII-2 have total free roam exploration like in FF XII? Or is it still very linear? And can you abondon battles?

More free roaming than you can shake a stick at. Each location has at least two timelines, and you can freely jump between timelines as many times as you like, whenever you like. In fact, most side quests actually require you to do so in order to fight monsters or pick up objects.

You can also reset the progress in a certain timeline by acquiring a so-called gate seal. Although doing so might cancel the availability of a quest. I don't know if this is a glitch or not, but I reset the timeline on Academia 4XX AF, and the bestiary collection quest I had opened but still haven;t completed was gone. The guy I was supposed to talk to to activate the quest suddenly got "locked"--by that I mean, the "talk" option was gone, and I couldn't interact with him in any way.

Either way, it's as non-linear as it gets, so much so that you tend to forget what the story's about sometimes. Fortunately, they have a "story so far" feature every time you load a save, recapping the events in a video montage.

Ans yes, you can retry battles if things don't go your way. There's a catch, though. See, there's something called a "Mog Clock", which is basically a timer counting down from the moment a monster appears on screen. Slash it with your weapon in time, and you get bonus in the form of a full ATB bar and auto-haste at the start of the battle. If the monster hits you first, you start the battle without said bonuses, and it's impossible to get a five-star rank, which in turn gives you more CP and better chances of getting rare items. The worst thing that can happen is if you fail to slash the monster in time, because failing to do so results in the retry option being locked--getting killed brings you back to your latest save.

The good news is that you can always retry boss fights, because they're plot activated instead of random encounters.

Edited February 24, 2012 by GU-11

[frothymug]

This question is directed to the PC FPS-smart folks: It is possible to have your strafe sensivity to insanely good at side-to-side movement with the A & D keys to avoid getting hit (or to make yourself very hard to hit) without the possiblity of haks? im often seeing rather amazing and suspious moves that some of my common foes make on Counter Strike: Source, usually on Deathmatch servers like XXL or Hellgamers.

just like to know that its my age and aim that sucks, compared to the possiblity of either good fingers, controllers that simply are game breakers, or even haks?

I've always played games where you can't adjust strafe speed. To me, the very name "Counter Strike" is synonymous with hacking. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the case.

[Beltane70]

I got my Vita yesterday. My only disappointment with it is that the one game that I really want, Gravity Rush doesn't come out until the end of May. I'm still on the fence on if I want to get one of the other games that came out with the system. Until then, there's still a few PSP games that I can play to keep me occupied.

[Shadow]

Finally got the Metal Gear solid HD Collection on the PS3.

Playing Peace Walker now. Yes, the graphics are very much PSP, but it's simple RPG gameplay is so addictive, and massive in options. Love it.

I'm still abit baffled as to why they never included the original MGS in the HD Collection, unless it was a space issue but I can't see that being the case with it being blu-ray. It would have just been nice to have seen a more complete collection.

[TheLoneWolf]

I'm pretty sure that the original MGS wasn't included because it's primitive textures would've looked crap if they were scaled up. And redoing the textures from scratch would've cost too much money and time. While MGS2 and MGS3 also feature old textures, theirs are of a good enough quality to benefit from being upscaled. A little tweaking might've been needed, but nothing too serious. And Twin Snakes wasn't included because Nintendo probably still has the rights to that one. If the Wii U ever gets a MGS Collection, you can bet that it'll be included on that one.

[Keith]

I got my Vita yesterday. My only disappointment with it is that the one game that I really want, Gravity Rush doesn't come out until the end of May. I'm still on the fence on if I want to get one of the other games that came out with the system. Until then, there's still a few PSP games that I can play to keep me occupied.

Don't feel bad, I also got a Vita while completely ignoring the launch line-up. I just hope Gundam SEED Battle Destiny comes out by summer.

[Warmaker]

This question is directed to the PC FPS-smart folks: It is possible to have your strafe sensivity to insanely good at side-to-side movement with the A & D keys to avoid getting hit (or to make yourself very hard to hit) without the possiblity of haks? im often seeing rather amazing and suspious moves that some of my common foes make on Counter Strike: Source, usually on Deathmatch servers like XXL or Hellgamers.

just like to know that its my age and aim that sucks, compared to the possiblity of either good fingers, controllers that simply are game breakers, or even haks?

Haven't played anything Counterstrike in more than 10 years, but I'm wary about what you've described for CS:S. Sounds like some hacking going. In a decent FPS game, firing while doing any movement should cause inaccurate fire unless you're very close, and even then, it can be very dicey for alot of weapons. Even if I use something like an SMG or PDW for close ranged, mobile work, a decent FPS won't allow me to be firing accurately on the move. Some weapons could allow you to shoot decently "from the hip" but it's not that accurate. You still need to quickly come to a halt, get stabilized before even shooting with such weapons.

As far as your reactions, just play more. Anytime I take a break from, let's say, Battlefield, I always suck. But get back into it and play a bunch, your reactions and awareness will go up eventually.

[GU-11]

Just entered the final "episode" of FF XIII-2. Damn, the difficulty of monsters in this game are WAY unbalanced. Was killing bosses left and right in the past few boss fights, and suddenly got my ass handed to me by a random encounter enemy called proto-behemoth. This is downright ridiculous! And don't get me started with that damn quest boss, Gorgyra.

Well, time to do what all RPG's are made for: level grinding.

[BeyondTheGrave]

So far within the past month or two I've played :

MGS Twin Snakes through MGS4. That Includes Peacewalker. That is one confusing timeline.And why did they castrate the codec?

I mean seriously. There is a robotic wing wing flapping around on a table. You call Otacon to see what he says. All you get is: go to the objective.

No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise

This caused me to run out and buy a wii.

Heavy Rain.

Good story . And wish there were more sequences using the ari.

And Asura's Wrath

8hrs. of over the top fun. The gameplay could have been better but they were going for a more cinematic approach. Especially with gunbuster references.

http://youtu.be/zil8Ozu3OTU?t=15m25s

Edited February 26, 2012 by BeyondTheGrave

[Archer]

Anyone know what the second slot on the top section of the PSV is for (it's right next to the slot that says "PS Vita" on it. Can you put a second game chip in there or something?

Also, anyone playing wipeout 2048? I hated the first wipout on PSP, but wipeout 2048 seems to have been done with all the right changes in mind, and the graphics and control set - up help it play real smoothly. Really enjoying my PSV. Any hardcore gamers looking for PS3 action on the go should definitely consider picking on up (and it's a lot more convenient than making the effort to go down to wherever your PS3/360 is, and booting it up, etc.

[Keith]

Anyone know what the second slot on the top section of the PSV is for (it's right next to the slot that says "PS Vita" on it. Can you put a second game chip in there or something?

Also, anyone playing wipeout 2048? I hated the first wipout on PSP, but wipeout 2048 seems to have been done with all the right changes in mind, and the graphics and control set - up help it play real smoothly. Really enjoying my PSV. Any hardcore gamers looking for PS3 action on the go should definitely consider picking on up (and it's a lot more convenient than making the effort to go down to wherever your PS3/360 is, and booting it up, etc.

It's a mystery expansion slot, no clue what it does, but the possibilities are endless. Personally, I'm hoping for an external UMD drive connector.

[mikeszekely]

I was al Walmart last night looking for Transformers... didn't find any I wanted, but I saw they had Vitas in stock. Took all my willpower not to buy one. Mass Effect 3 is next week, so I won't have any time or inclination to play with the Vita. And right now, the cost of a Vita plus a memory card plus a game seems an awful lot for something that's going to collect dust until while I play PC games.

That said, I do really want to play Wipeout. I loved... well, pretty much every game in the series. Even Fusion.

Archer, is 2048 as insanely tough as Wipeout HD? I tried getting back into HD the other day, and was pretty dismayed when I found myself coming in 8th place with the AI set to Novice.

[Archer]

I was al Walmart last night looking for Transformers... didn't find any I wanted, but I saw they had Vitas in stock. Took all my willpower not to buy one. Mass Effect 3 is next week, so I won't have any time or inclination to play with the Vita. And right now, the cost of a Vita plus a memory card plus a game seems an awful lot for something that's going to collect dust until while I play PC games.

That said, I do really want to play Wipeout. I loved... well, pretty much every game in the series. Even Fusion.

Archer, is 2048 as insanely tough as Wipeout HD? I tried getting back into HD the other day, and was pretty dismayed when I found myself coming in 8th place with the AI set to Novice.

I wouldn't pin 2048 as increduously tough, although I am only through the first few races and what-not. On the flipside though, I wouldn't expect to come in first all the time or something. On average, I found myself at around 3rd or 4th place most of the time, and had to put in a bit more effort to stay in the lead. The game has a layout, at least for me, that gives people in the back a huge advantage against those in front in terms of weaponry.

Weapons like the "Quake" and "Plasma" and even "Cannon" are a lot more powerful than some of the lame defensive weapons like mines or shields. Ultimately, I feel as though this helps balance everything out just right. Don't hesitate to get 2048, as it seems much better and smoother than previous wipeout games, with just the right balance of everything to help careen things along.

Even the music is appropriately techno as well

Edit: I forgot to mention (I don't know if this was available on other wipeout games as it's my first encounter with this maneuver), but by flipping the right analog stick, you can force your craft to do a 180 swirl, which makes you feel pretty pro when you pick up cannons, spin around, and blaze the guy behind you, and spin right back and boost ahead. Especially when that guy behind you is a friend of yours online

Edited February 27, 2012 by Archer

[Shadow]

Doing a playthrough of Chrono Cross but have to ask. Would it be better to play through Chrono Trigger first? I've not played Trigger yet and I'm concerned I might miss certain plot elements, if there linked.

I'm looking forward to Mass Effect 3 but still have reservations about picking it up right off the bat. May just wait it out hear the verdict or when some kind of sale comes up on Amazon.

[JB0]

Yeah, Xenogears is one of my favorite games for the PSX. The thing about sprites is that they age far more gracefully than early 3D renders.

Definitely. Xenogears is actually my favorite graphical mode for the era: sprites for characters on top of polygon backgrounds. It really leveraged the strengths of both styles. Very few games did it, though(Star Ocean 2 is the only other one I can think of offhand).

But polys for special effects wasn't uncommon in sprite/tile games, and often provided a rather striking effect(see: Symphony of the Night save points).

If there's one thing to complain about, it's that the giant robots felt like they were tacked onto the game for "coolness" sake, and little else. They added next to nothing as far as the plot was concerned.

On the other hand... giant robots.

And the one thing I'd complain about is that the Super Dimension Gear Yggdrassil IV only shows up for about thirty seconds in the entire game.

Doing a playthrough of Chrono Cross but have to ask. Would it be better to play through Chrono Trigger first? I've not played Trigger yet and I'm concerned I might miss certain plot elements, if there linked.

Chrono Cross is largely unrelated to Chrono Trigger... until you get to the end-game and suddenly it's highly relevant.

On the other hand, Cross name-drops several CT characters in an unrelated context for reasons I'm still unclear on, so playing CT can actually ADD as much confusion as it removes(Glenn and Magus are not Glenn and Magus, and probably not even related). Hilariously, the game blocks you from naming Serge after Crono or any convenient variant. It does NOT, however, block you from naming him after people who are actually RELEVANT to the plot.

On the THIRD hand... why the crap have you NOT played Trigger yet? It's one of the best JRPGs around, and an audivisual masterpiece on top of it(one of the few games I've just stopped playing to listen to the music for a while).

Though on the fourth hand, Chrono Cross is no slouch either, though I'm admittedly one of the few that feels that way. It even knows how to be (relatively) subtle at times, which was never really Square's forte.

My single favorite sequence in the game is when the party catches up with Lynx. Without making any overt spoilers here, several visual cues through the map ratchet the tension up progressively higher, and it all culminates with a single line of dialogue that manages to take all that tension and congeal it into a huge ball of certain dread the instant before the crap hits the fan in a highly unexpected way.

When the game gets things right, it gets them VERY right.

But on the fifth ha- you know what, this analogy stopped working about two paragraphs ago.

Both games are great, whether played as standalone or in sequence. Chrono Trigger is BETTER, but I think Cross takes a lot more flak than it should just because it couldn't live up to five years of ever-more-impossible expectations for the sequel to a game as highly-regarded as Chrono Trigger.

...

And when you're through with both of them, go play Xenogears, if only so you can say hi to Lucca in the tutorial area in the first town. Lucca is the best, and her absence in the REST of Xenogears is even worse than the travesty of a slideshow known as disk 2.

[D.D. Ivanov]

I'm still abit baffled as to why they never included the original MGS in the HD Collection, unless it was a space issue but I can't see that being the case with it being blu-ray. It would have just been nice to have seen a more complete collection.

MGS1 is already on the Playstation Store, so they probably didn't feel the need to put a non-upscaled game in an HD collection.

[Shadow]

On the THIRD hand... why the crap have you NOT played Trigger yet? It's one of the best JRPGs around, and an audivisual masterpiece on top of it(one of the few games I've just stopped playing to listen to the music for a while).

Wasn't an SNES kid back in the day. Also, I've wanted to play it but always got caught up with some other title.

And when you're through with both of them, go play Xenogears, if only so you can say hi to Lucca in the tutorial area in the first town. Lucca is the best, and her absence in the REST of Xenogears is even worse than the travesty of a slideshow known as disk 2.

Actually, I just beat that finally. Been on abit of a JRPG binge as of late.

[David Hingtgen]

Go play Chrono Trigger. Period. Abandon all else.