What have you been playing... IN DECEMBER?
Spalls Hurgenson
request to the newgroup asking everybody what games have occupied them
in the past thirty days.
The idea of these posts is to have people tell us what games they've
been playing and maybe share a few thoughts on the program. Let people
know what you think is worth playing, what isn't, and generally rap
about games instead of the usual tirades about content distribution or
copy protection or platform-wars.
Normally, I start off the thread with an embarassingly long list of
games, but not this month. No, this month my playlist is this:
Gothic 3
Yeah. That's it. One game, the entire month. With the exception of the
occasional round of Freecell, Gothic 3 has comprised the entirity of
my game-playing for December. For those of you familar with my usual
gaming habits -ten to twenty games a month- it is quite extra-ordinary
for one game to hold my attention that way, and I think that speaks
quite favorably of Gothic 3. I'll be the first to admit that Gothic 3
has more than its fair share of problems: it's a resource hog, it has
an unbalanced combat system, many of it's NPCs are flat and robotic,
it suffers from technical bugs (e.g., crashes) and scripting bugs
(quests don't work correctly), etc. But for all that, Gothic 3 sucked
me into its world in a way few other games managed.
To be fair, I am a big fan of the series; I've played and replayed the
previous two games numerous times. There's a certain European
quirkiness to the series that appeals to me, but I understand quite
well that it may not to others. Gothic 3 isn't different; if you
didn't care for the first two games, this newest iteration isn't going
to convince you otherwise (quite the opposite, I think, given its
problems). But its huge -and often beautiful world- and the sheer
range of things to do kept me coming back to the game day after day
when interest might otherwise have waned. Its nearest competitor is
Oblivion, but its characters always seemed more mechanical than those
in the Gothic series; for all the freedom of choice, the PC in the
Elder Scroll series always felt more like a collection of stats than
the person you play in Gothic.
Anyway, I don't regret the time I frittered away on Gothic 3, although
now I have a huge backlog of other games to play through; I might have
stopped *playing* other games this past month, but foolishly I kept
*buying* new ones. Oh well, it will make my playlist next month all
the longer.
Alright, enough from me; what have you been playing in December
Highlandish
<8lc6p2tsnlsnesi5l...@4ax.com>
> Alright, enough from me; what have you been playing in December
shamed to say, but all i play still is just GuildWars: Nightfall
--
Reply no longer functions. attention me in this group instead
Why should I grow up ? This is more fun !
rms
1st was Tactical Delta3 mod for HL2, which inserts 'realistic' CS-type
weapons and iron-sights into the singleplayer HL2, with new skins for the
enemies as well. It was enjoyable until the scripting broke somehow at the
first appearance of the ant-lions. And now the website for it has
mysteriously gone off-line just since Xmas. Ah well. It's certainly worth
installing, at all major download sites.
But mostly I'm playing the FS1Port for OpenFreespace2, which is
basically Freespace1 with greatly enhanced graphics. I haven't played a
space shooter since Descent1-3, and this introduces an additional tactical
element that is also new to me. The flying around against lovely starscapes
and nebulas is much less stressful than gritty ground-pounders, and I feel
much more relaxed after a Freespace gaming session than from say HL2.
Highly recommended.
rms
FoolsGold
> Alright, enough from me; what have you been playing in December
DEFCON - I like nukes
Neverwinter Nights (original) - For nostalgia reasons
Chess Titans (Vista) - One of the few Windows games I actually like
Derek Baker
Oblivion.
GRAW.
--
Derek
Anestis
> shamed to say, but all i play still is just GuildWars: Nightfall
Glad to see other Guildwarians in this Gothic world. GW here all
month, too. But looking forward to play G3 the next time I get hold
of better ram.
Spalls, why do you not crosspost this to c.s.i.p.g.rpg as well? If
there is any posting in the wild that should be crossposted then it's
yours.
--
Anestis
Death is Eternal
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> Another month has just whizzed by, and it's time for my monthly
> request to the newgroup asking everybody what games have occupied them
> in the past thirty days.
I've tried playing through Tomb Raider: Legend but have found it
horrible so have decided to go back and play through TR 1 and 2 again.
Also playing through HL2 for the 12th time, never gets old!!
Andrew
wrote:
>Another month has just whizzed by, and it's time for my monthly
>request to the newgroup asking everybody what games have occupied them
>in the past thirty days.
Very little gaming time for me, and my 360 got the lurve:
Gears Of War: Just stuck on the final boss level. I still suck with a
controller so am awaiting delivery of gizmo to let me use a keyboard
and mouse to control my 360 to finish the game - then will replay it.
Great game.
Viva Pinata: Yeah it's a kids game, was fun for a couple of evenings,
but the scope wasn't enough for me to keep playing it so am selling
it.
--
Andrew, contact via http://interpleb.googlepages.com
Help make Usenet a better place: English is read downwards,
please don't top post. Trim replies to quote only relevant text.
Check groups.google.com before asking an obvious question.
pc games
> Alright, enough from me; what have you been playing in December
First let me say:
Consoles are CRAP
Valve is a TYRANT
Microsoft is a DICTATOR
Windows is the worse thing in PC Games
and STEAM is the door to SLAVERY
Now for what I've played in December...
Unreal Anthology (all games included)
Call of Juarez
Edward Cowling London UK
Hurgenson <yoi...@ebalu.com> writes
>Another month has just whizzed by, and it's time for my monthly
>request to the newgroup asking everybody what games have occupied them
>in the past thirty days.
>
I'm on my 6th go through Morrowind.
--
Edward Cowling London UK
Shawk
>
> Alright, enough from me; what have you been playing in December
Call of Juarez. Great graphics, half decent storyline - enjoying it so
far. Half the story is about an American Indian brave wrongly accused
and running from the law - he doesn't have many weapons and has to sneak
every where. It's game over if he's seen. The other half is about the
guy chasing him - gunslinger/preacher. Lot's of shooter action wih what
seem to be fairly realistic old weapons. Though I like both stealth and
run-and-gun I'm not sure I enjoy being forced to switch every chapter or
so. I might sit down in the mood to shoot things and suddenly be forced
to sneak around for half-hour which is frustrating. Perhaps they should
have done the game like AVP and AVP2. Choose which one you want to play
depending on your mood rather than forcing the switch. Other than that
one gripe I like the game
FEAR Extraction Point. I'm one of the few that really enjoyed the
storyline of FEAR (so much so that I didn't mind the similar
environments - I felt they fit the story). I'm really disappointed that
there is sod-all storyline in FEAR:XP. That said the graphics, physics
and AI make this a great FPS. I'm finding it more challenging than the
first one and I think that is because there 'seems' to be more enemies
on-screen at once. I'm stuck in one place where there seems to be at
least eight or nine at a time. It's a game I'll probably play through
again as soon as I finish it.
Prey. Couple of hours into this and while the graphics are great
(though with that horrible ID plastic sheen) it's probably my least
favourite of the three. The damn guy I play is just annoying and I
don't seem to care if he lives or not. The spirit walking and portals
are a great idea and I do enjoy new things but I hate (really hate) the
fact that I can't die. I just go to some spirit place, fire a few
arrows and I'm back in the game - it doesn't feel right. I'd rather be
killed (in a gaming sense obviously) and thrown back to a previous save
if I feck up. Biggest fault with this game so far is that I'm not
feeling any real excitement. There's no adrenalin rush or
jump-in-your-seat moments. Maybe they're ahead?
Finally... played Goldeneye: Source - multiplayer game and while the
modders have done a fantastic job with it I really didn't think much of
it. It's only a beta so maybe when they've ironed all the bugs out I'll
come back to that one.
Mickmils
Why ?
-Moa Dragon
Jeremy Banks, Esq
Just re-installing Mafia and all its patches for a trip down memory lane.
Hopefully it works with my X1600 Pro. When it came out in 2003 I had to
turn all the settings down to be able to play it - should run pretty well
now =)
Jeremy Banks, Esq
>> Alright, enough from me; what have you been playing in December
>
> 1st was Tactical Delta3 mod for HL2, which inserts 'realistic' CS-type
> weapons and iron-sights into the singleplayer HL2, with new skins for the
> enemies as well. It was enjoyable until the scripting broke somehow at the
> first appearance of the ant-lions. And now the website for it has
> mysteriously gone off-line just since Xmas. Ah well. It's certainly worth
> installing, at all major download sites.
Sounds good - the ironsight is something criminally missing from HL2. I
might give it a try.
FoolsGold
> Windows is the worse thing in PC Games
Dude, Windows IS PC gaming. Linux? Hah! Not yet.
Windows = PC gaming, so how can it be the worst thing?
Benjamin Gawert
> Alright, enough from me; what have you been playing in December
For me it's "Splinter Cell - Double Agent". IMHO a interesting
storyline, the gfx are good (but not really outstanding) but from a
technical point of view it's crap (non-skippable video sequences;
occasional stuttering even on highend hardware; crashes to desktop quite
often, especially when loading a savegame or making changes on the gfx
settings; nervebreaking loading times; very limited key remapping
feature; in Game volume not adjustable during a mission). And it's
already patched to 1.02 (two patches!). One thing that's interesting is
that the game crashes less often when running on Vista Business x64 than
on Windowsxp x64...
Benjamin
Rob
wrote:
>Another month has just whizzed by, and it's time for my monthly
>request to the newgroup asking everybody what games have occupied them
>in the past thirty days.
1.) Operation Matriarchy.
Posting about it reminded me that I never finished it. I played it
right through but quickly remembered why I never finished it last
time. Pretty graphics, crap AI, crap weapons and crap sounds.
2.) The Stalin Subway.
I played the demo some months ago, it was crap. I bought the game
shortly after, as you do. The demo had really poor AI that just stood
there and let you shoot them, or their friends, without reacting.
Obviously proximity triggered.
The AI in the full game seems to be better, but it's still atrocious
in places. The engine is quite nice, the weapons fairly satisfying and
the level design is passable for a FPS. Worth a buy from the bargain
bin if you like brainless on-rails shooters (which I do).
3.) F.E.A.R. Extraction Point.
An improvement on the original in my opinion. Thankfully it's not all
set in cookie-cutter office complex environments. It still has its
dreary moments (why is it *always* night time still?) but I did enjoy
it a fair bit.
4.) Coastline to Atmosphere (HL2 Mod)
Not impressed to be honest. I'm sure a lot of work went into it, but
too many times one can stumble across statuesque Combine soldiers
facing away from you that don't react to anything around them.
5.) Half-Life 2
This must be my eighth or ninth play through. JLC is right about
playing older games on newer systems. Cranking everything up to the
max and using high resolutions as possible really improves a game.
Half-Life 2 is still the best FPS ever made in my opinion. Lots of
variety in the gameplay and environment department. The Source Engine
might be getting old, but it's still very easy on the eye and kind on
the rig. YMMV.
6.) Planetside.
The best Action MMO game ever made. I wish somebody else would make a
MMOFPS (Lost Colony doesn't count yet). I can't think of a more
exciting or enthralling way of playing games online.
--
Rob
weretable and the undead chairs
Icewind Dale 2
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Final Fantasy V Advance
pc games
> Chess Titans (Vista) - One of the few Windows games I actually like
Wait a minute Fool!
Vista is not yet released! so how can you be using Vista?
Ok Benjy is loaded with cash and he's a Rich SOB, so he
probably either subscribes to those technets or msdn or
whatever they call it or probably he has his own business
with a VL agreement... but you Fool? Oh no you couldn't
possibly have Vista legally so that leaves the obvious...
Piracy right? and surprised a STEAM LOVER being a PIRATE?
Not at all! its STEAM LOVERs showing their true colors.
I've been saying this since the beginning... the majority
of STEAM LOVERs are also PIRATES, why? cause STEAM was
made thinking about PIRATES and that is why honest and
paying customers like me HATE it, cause it was made in
mind for PIRATES like you Fool!
pc games
> already patched to 1.02 (two patches!). One thing that's
> interesting is that the game crashes less often when running
> on Vista Business x64 than on Windowsxp x64...
You had to do it Benjy...
Every opportunity to spread a good word about your "love".
Obviously you only do it cause nobody else is using Vista for
now, except the STEAM LOVER PIRATES like "Fool", so for now
nobody will be able to contradict you or tell the real truth
about Vista.
Don't dare going away in the first weeks of February! I want
you here! when the first PC Gamers start using Vista and will
see the NIGHTMARE it will be and you better be here and try
your best to defend your "love".
Shawk
He's using the beta you idiot. Thousands of people are.
Benjamin Gawert
>> already patched to 1.02 (two patches!). One thing that's
>> interesting is that the game crashes less often when running
>> on Vista Business x64 than on Windowsxp x64...
>
> You had to do it Benjy...
> Every opportunity to spread a good word about your "love".
Right, I had to tell the truth. Of course you have no f**king clue about
such things so all you can use is your poor rants.
> Obviously you only do it cause nobody else is using Vista for
> now, except the STEAM LOVER PIRATES like "Fool", so for now
> nobody will be able to contradict you or tell the real truth
> about Vista.
Again you proved what a moron you are. FYI: not only pirates can use
Vista (which of course do it illegally), but also academic members
(Vista is already available for MSDN members) and also business users
(like me). For us the RTM Vista Business and Enterprise are already
available for several weeks now. So no, there already are dozens of
people to be able to contradict me if necessary.
But of course you don't know sh*t, so what?
> Don't dare going away in the first weeks of February! I want
> you here! when the first PC Gamers start using Vista and will
> see the NIGHTMARE it will be and you better be here and try
> your best to defend your "love".
Don't worry, I'll be here. In the mean time, please tell me more about
the Windows-free gaming PC you use for playing all the dozens of PC
Games you buy to support PC gaming...
Benjamin
FoolsGold
> He's using the beta you idiot. Thousands of people are.
>
Release Candidate actually, but close enough. I just wanted to get to
know the system before I have to deal with it. Of course, not that the
idea ever occurred in "pc gamers" little brain.
FoolsGold
> * pc games:
>
>>> already patched to 1.02 (two patches!). One thing that's
>>> interesting is that the game crashes less often when running
>>> on Vista Business x64 than on Windowsxp x64...
>>
>> You had to do it Benjy...
>> Every opportunity to spread a good word about your "love".
>
> Right, I had to tell the truth. Of course you have no f**king clue about
> such things so all you can use is your poor rants.
Heya Ben. Looks like "pc gamer" hates me now as much as you. Nice to
meet ya!
/shakes hands
Benjamin Gawert
> Heya Ben. Looks like "pc gamer" hates me now as much as you.
Yes, seems to be the case. Of course this makes us feel sooooo sad,
doesn't it ;-)
> Nice to
> meet ya!
You're welcome!
> /shakes hands
/opening two cans of beer and passing one over
Cheers!
Benjamin
Benjamin Gawert
>> He's using the beta you idiot. Thousands of people are.
>>
>
> Release Candidate actually, but close enough.
RC1 or RC2?
> I just wanted to get to
> know the system before I have to deal with it.
If you already like the RC then you probably will love the RTM. They
made another bunch of improvements, especially regarding performance.
Out of curiosity I installed Vista on an old HP Netserver E800 (P3
1.1Ghz, 768MB RAM, ancient ATI Rage XL 4MB on board gfx), and it
performed quite well (of course no Aero desktop because of the lousy gfx
but otherwise it was quite useable and not really slower than Windowsxp
Pro or Windows Server 2003).
> Of course, not that the
> idea ever occurred in "pc gamers" little brain.
Definitely not. The wheel is turning but the hamster is dead.
Benjamin
Benjamin Gawert
> First let me say:
> Consoles are CRAP
> Valve is a TYRANT
> Microsoft is a DICTATOR
> Windows is the worse thing in PC Games
> and STEAM is the door to SLAVERY
>
> Now for what I've played in December...
>
> Unreal Anthology (all games included)
> Call of Juarez
So how did you get them running in Linux?
Benjamin
FoolsGold
> * FoolsGold:
>
>>> He's using the beta you idiot. Thousands of people are.
>>>
>>
>> Release Candidate actually, but close enough.
>
> RC1 or RC2?
RC2. Apparently it was pulled due to some issue or somesuch, but I got
it before that happened and haven't had any problems. I should be able
to try the RTM version soon; have a friend working at Uni who's got his
MSDN copy and I'll be able to borrow that soon. He won't allow me to
activate it, but that's ok; 30 days is good enough for now.
Spalls Hurgenson
wrote:
>Highlandish wrote [28.12.06]:
>
>> shamed to say, but all i play still is just GuildWars: Nightfall
>
>Glad to see other Guildwarians in this Gothic world. GW here all
>month, too. But looking forward to play G3 the next time I get hold
>of better ram.
I tried the first Guildwars game. I'm not really the target market for
MMORPGs; I have neither the time nor the inclination to get into those
games. I much prefer a game with a strong single-player component,
with a stronger emphasis on story and atmosphere. MMORPGs primary
focus is the gameplay; balanced weapons and skills, keeping the
economy viable so veterans don't overpower the newbies. I want to be
the central hero; when I play a CRPG, the world should revolve around
my actions, and my sword should be the sharpest. I don't want to be
another nameless sod.
Having said all that, I have been casting eyes at Nightfall. Partly
this is because reviews indicate that NF has strenghthened the
solo-player component somewhat, but also because I prefer Guildwar's
business model. I'm not supportive of subscription-based services; I'd
much prefer the industry move in the direction Guildwar's publisher
has taken, with one flat cost of entry. So I vote with my wallet in
support of Guildwar; it may only be a very small drop in a very big
bucket, but every vote counts. So for that reason I may give Nightfall
a try.
>Spalls, why do you not crosspost this to c.s.i.p.g.rpg as well? If
>there is any posting in the wild that should be crossposted then it's
>yours.
Largely because I don't frequent that group, and I consider blind
crossposting rude. Furthermore, I like to read people's responses, and
I'm not guaranteed that if I crosspost.
Plus, I voted long ago against the splitting of the c.s.i.p.games
hierarchry; I barely even acknowledge the existance of those other
newsgroups. Crossposting to them would cross a line I'm just not ready
to cross yet. Maybe in another decade ;-)
Spalls Hurgenson
>Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>> Alright, enough from me; what have you been playing in December
>DEFCON - I like nukes
Who doesn't like nukes? Everybody likes an earth-shattering kaboom!
I have to admit, it looks to be an intriguing game. Introversion
always manages to create some very artistic looking games using only
utilitarian graphics; they did it with Uplink, slightly less
successfully with Darwinia, and now with DEFCON.
I'm still not entirely clear, though, on whether or not DEFCON is
primarily a multiplayer game or if it has a viable single-player
component; everybody raves about how much fun it is to make deals with
your allies and then stab your friends in the back with a well-timed
nuclear strike, but I can't imagine there's the same thrill betraying
the AI.
Still, if I saw it on the shelf on the store, I might pick it up
solely for the Wargames-esque graphics alone. ;-)
Spalls Hurgenson
wrote:
>Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>>
>> Alright, enough from me; what have you been playing in December
>
>Call of Juarez. Great graphics, half decent storyline - enjoying it so
>far. Half the story is about an American Indian brave wrongly accused
>and running from the law - he doesn't have many weapons and has to sneak
>every where. It's game over if he's seen. The other half is about the
>guy chasing him - gunslinger/preacher. Lot's of shooter action wih what
>seem to be fairly realistic old weapons. Though I like both stealth and
>run-and-gun I'm not sure I enjoy being forced to switch every chapter or
>so. I might sit down in the mood to shoot things and suddenly be forced
>to sneak around for half-hour which is frustrating. Perhaps they should
>have done the game like AVP and AVP2. Choose which one you want to play
>depending on your mood rather than forcing the switch. Other than that
>one gripe I like the game
Is it just me, or did Call of Juarez last, like, twenty minutes on the
shelves? Or is it only around here? It's just not available around
here. Reviews have been middling, but on the other hand, at least
three of the stores I visited had copies of Desperados 2 still
available
Shame, since ever since "Outlaws" came out back in '97, I've been
looking for another good cowboy shooter. "Dead Man's Hand"
disappointed and "Gun" came close. Reviews indicate Juarez won't match
Outlaws either, but I'm willing to give it a chance - if I can find
it!
Shawk
Not a problem in the UK. My daughter found it on a shelf in early
December and it's freely available online... and at a decent price
http://www.play.com/Games/PC/4-/1012012/-/Product.html?searchstring=juarez&searchsource=0
...is one example.
It's my first ever Wild West game so I'm enjoying it - I've no idea how
it stacks against Outlaws. Hopefully others can comment. Remember what
I said above though - only over half of it is a shooter.
Walter Mitty
Highlandish
<9qcap2dq41q9ftfo8...@4ax.com>
i have been solo'ing for the longest time, only ever using real players
when i needed help figuring out how to solve a quest that was dificult,
but that has been only once so far in nightfall.
i have been playing guildwars from the start for the same reasons you
have thought about GW. you are the hero, the story does revolve around
you. but when you look back and travel to somewhere you've been the
immersion is broken. otherwise i whole heartly endorse this game for
you. i hate WoW'ers btw, yet i love this game.
--
Reply no longer functions. attention me in this group instead
Knowledge can cure ignorance, but intelligence cannot cure stupidity.
Benjamin Gawert
>>> Unreal Anthology (all games included)
>>> Call of Juarez
>> So how did you get them running in Linux?
>
> Unreal has Linux backends in OpenGL.
So you can play all the Unreal games on Linux then? Not bad.
But what about Call of Juarez or the remaining 99% or so of all PC games?
Benjamin
Anssi Saari
> Another month has just whizzed by, and it's time for my monthly
> request to the newgroup asking everybody what games have occupied them
> in the past thirty days.
Oh well, let's see:
- Portal, more of an interactive novel than a game. On a real
Commodore 128, too. Had to switch to an emulator since I can't seem to
find a version that works with real hardware...
- Beneath a steel sky, old DOS adventure, playing with ScummVM on my
Powerbook.
- GTA:SA on the PC, started another game and thinking of going to 100%
again.
- GTA:LCS on the PS2, finished plot missions. I intend to go for 100%
here too, eventually.
- Splinter cell double agent, didn't get too far yet, just the intro
level. I liked the demo so I got the game too.
- HL2, I really should finally finish it.
Anestis
> I tried the first Guildwars game. I'm not really the target market
> for MMORPGs; I have neither the time nor the inclination to get
> into those games. I much prefer a game with a strong single-player
> component, with a stronger emphasis on story and atmosphere.
> MMORPGs primary focus is the gameplay; balanced weapons and skills,
> keeping the economy viable so veterans don't overpower the newbies.
> I want to be the central hero; when I play a CRPG, the world should
> revolve around my actions, and my sword should be the sharpest. I
> don't want to be another nameless sod.
That's quite a nice definition of MMO-RPGs and SP-RPGs (if that
abbreviation exists at all for singleplayer-rpgs). I agree with you.
Both have their charm, to me. GW is my first (and up to now only)
encounter with a MMO-game at all, so I'm simply impressed by the
game, not to forget the technology. People are used to it, but I'm
still very fascinated by the fact that I play and fight and rummage
around with peoples from all over the world in realtime. And you CAN
nurse your ego with nice thingies. Just watch ppl proudly display
their armor and what not. 50% of the chats in my guild are sth. like
'wow, where did you get THAT weapon?' :)
> Having said all that, I have been casting eyes at Nightfall. Partly
> this is because reviews indicate that NF has strenghthened the
> solo-player component somewhat, but also because I prefer
> Guildwar's business model. I'm not supportive of subscription-based
> services; I'd much prefer the industry move in the direction
> Guildwar's publisher has taken, with one flat cost of entry. So I
> vote with my wallet in support of Guildwar; it may only be a very
> small drop in a very big bucket, but every vote counts. So for that
> reason I may give Nightfall a try.
If you are a fan of the game, then your costs will not be that flat, I
fear. Supposed you get 2 new campaigns a year, it will be roughly 70
EUR. Still worth it, I do not complain. And you can get them cheaper,
if you wait a while. NF Collector's edition (!) about 25 EUR/18 GBP at
Amazon.co.uk these days.
>> Spalls, why do you not crosspost this to c.s.i.p.g.rpg as well? If
>> there is any posting in the wild that should be crossposted then
>> it's yours.
>
> Largely because I don't frequent that group, and I consider blind
> crossposting rude. Furthermore, I like to read people's responses,
> and I'm not guaranteed that if I crosspost.
>
> Plus, I voted long ago against the splitting of the c.s.i.p.games
> hierarchry; I barely even acknowledge the existance of those other
> newsgroups. Crossposting to them would cross a line I'm just not
> ready to cross yet. Maybe in another decade ;-)
Ah, didn't know about that history of the groups!
--
Anestis
Fishriver.Net
especially i've been waiting metal gear guns of patriots.
http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/adventure/metalgearsolid4/index.html
so these are cool games.
Xocyll
of the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good, the signs say:
>On Thu, 28 Dec 2006 06:14:13 +0100, Anestis <anestis....@gmx.com>
>wrote:
>
>>Highlandish wrote [28.12.06]:
>>
>>> shamed to say, but all i play still is just GuildWars: Nightfall
>>
>>Glad to see other Guildwarians in this Gothic world. GW here all
>>month, too. But looking forward to play G3 the next time I get hold
>>of better ram.
>
>I tried the first Guildwars game. I'm not really the target market for
>MMORPGs; I have neither the time nor the inclination to get into those
>games. I much prefer a game with a strong single-player component,
>with a stronger emphasis on story and atmosphere. MMORPGs primary
>focus is the gameplay; balanced weapons and skills, keeping the
>economy viable so veterans don't overpower the newbies. I want to be
>the central hero; when I play a CRPG, the world should revolve around
>my actions, and my sword should be the sharpest. I don't want to be
>another nameless sod.
You know, it never really occurred to me before, but this may be exactly
why I solo mostly in MMOs.
When you're solo (or solo with henchmen in Guildwars) the story IS all
about you - you're the hero saving the day etc.
That breaks badly when you group up and then do the exact same mission
back to back because 2 or more people in the group all have it.
Then again i've not played the MMOs where most of the balancing
(economy, vet vs newbie, etc) stuff comes in. It just doesn't work that
way in Guildwars or City of Heroes/Villains, and only somewhat in EVE.
Xocyll
--
I don't particularly want you to FOAD, myself. You'll be more of
a cautionary example if you'll FO And Get Chronically, Incurably,
Painfully, Progressively, Expensively, Debilitatingly Ill. So
FOAGCIPPEDI. -- Mike Andrews responding to an idiot in asr
mattchu
> Another month has just whizzed by, and it's time for my monthly
> request to the newgroup asking everybody what games have occupied them
> in the past thirty days.
Hexen II
I recently upgraded to a widescreen LCD and have been playing various
games at its default 1650x1080 resolution. Even almost a decade later
and the Egyptian portion of the game looks gorgeous. It's really worth
the $5-$10 the game would cost today just to run through this section.
The other hubs are gorgeous but I felt Raven didn't utilize the Quake 1
engine to its maximum potential. Turning the environments into bright,
colorful settings robbed the game of the same intrigue and danger that
Quake held with its gloomy, angular locations. In Hexen II the outside
environments are boxy and hardly begin to approach the beauty of the
outdoor environments in the Scourge of Armagon mission pack. Despite
not taking greater advantage of the angular nature a low-poly count
necessitates, I did and still do appreciate the increased diversity of
colors available in Hexen II. As one of the first 3D
hardware-accelerated games I ever experienced first hand, Hexen II
still has a favorable impression on me.
I just wish the gameplay itself were more entertaining. The combat is
nowhere near as satisfying as in other action games such as Max Payne,
Half-Life, or even Quake. It's a problem I've noticed with most of
Raven Software's games. They're beautiful and have excellent
production, but the actual core gameplay always falls short of
everything else slightly. It's hard to pin down precisely but I
generally feel most of the combat in their games is more tedious than
rewarding. This is especially true with the boss fights with Eidolon's
four horsemen of the apocalypse in Hexen II. I end up dreading these
confrontations and never enjoying the challenge. Instead I fumbling
through the inventory continuously replenishing health, mana, and
powering up my weapons with the Tomes of Power. It definitely requires
some grinding to pass through these parts of the game which brings the
overall experience down considerably.
--
Best Regards, mat
np:
Walter Mitty
> I just wish the gameplay itself were more entertaining. The combat is
> nowhere near as satisfying as in other action games such as Max Payne,
> Half-Life, or even Quake. It's a problem I've noticed with most of
> Raven Software's games. They're beautiful and have excellent
> production, but the actual core gameplay always falls short of
> everything else slightly. It's hard to pin down precisely but I
Very well said. Hexen II was just "so what" in terms of gameplay
IMO. Incredibly frustrating too. It, Wheel of Time and Clive Barkers
Undying all left me incredibly bored in the same era of gaming.
Highlandish
<1167511413.4...@v33g2000cwv.googlegroups.com>
I loved Hexen 2, no matter how dated it looked, because I used the staff
exclusively in battle and travelling, you pole vault over obstacles and
into enemies. yet no game ever followed up on the use of a staff like
this. I wish they had.
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The giraffe has the highest blood pressure of any animal.
Schrodinger
"Spalls Hurgenson" <yoi...@ebalu.com> wrote in message
news:8lc6p2tsnlsnesi5l...@4ax.com...
> Another month has just whizzed by, and it's time for my monthly
> request to the newgroup asking everybody what games have occupied them
> in the past thirty days.
>
> been playing and maybe share a few thoughts on the program. Let people
> know what you think is worth playing, what isn't, and generally rap
> about games instead of the usual tirades about content distribution or
> copy protection or platform-wars.
>
> Normally, I start off the thread with an embarassingly long list of
> games, but not this month. No, this month my playlist is this:
>
>
>
> Gothic 3
>
>
> Yeah. That's it. One game, the entire month. With the exception of the
> occasional round of Freecell, Gothic 3 has comprised the entirity of
> my game-playing for December. For those of you familar with my usual
> gaming habits -ten to twenty games a month- it is quite extra-ordinary
> for one game to hold my attention that way, and I think that speaks
> quite favorably of Gothic 3. I'll be the first to admit that Gothic 3
> has more than its fair share of problems: it's a resource hog, it has
> an unbalanced combat system, many of it's NPCs are flat and robotic,
> it suffers from technical bugs (e.g., crashes) and scripting bugs
> (quests don't work correctly), etc. But for all that, Gothic 3 sucked
> me into its world in a way few other games managed.
>
> To be fair, I am a big fan of the series; I've played and replayed the
> previous two games numerous times. There's a certain European
> quirkiness to the series that appeals to me, but I understand quite
> well that it may not to others. Gothic 3 isn't different; if you
> didn't care for the first two games, this newest iteration isn't going
> to convince you otherwise (quite the opposite, I think, given its
> problems). But its huge -and often beautiful world- and the sheer
> range of things to do kept me coming back to the game day after day
> when interest might otherwise have waned. Its nearest competitor is
> Oblivion, but its characters always seemed more mechanical than those
> in the Gothic series; for all the freedom of choice, the PC in the
> Elder Scroll series always felt more like a collection of stats than
> the person you play in Gothic.
>
>
> Anyway, I don't regret the time I frittered away on Gothic 3, although
> now I have a huge backlog of other games to play through; I might have
> stopped *playing* other games this past month, but foolishly I kept
> *buying* new ones. Oh well, it will make my playlist next month all
> the longer.
>
>
> Alright, enough from me; what have you been playing in December
>
Pariah - an ok FPS. A few weeks without broadband and this is what I sank
to!
BF2 singleplayer. Didn't really try this as I just used the MP component.
Good stuff with user maps.
Half Life 2 SMOD - a gory mod for HL2 singleplayer with "realistic" guns.
Still didn't manage to get all of the way through, but it's a great mod and
reminded me of how much better HL2 is than most FPSs.
I was intending to play the version of Garry's mod that I bought and didn't
play with the intention of getting into it when I had no net connection. No
luck, however, as it will not work in offline mode. Thanks Valve.
DoomEd - a short HL2 mod. Not much cop to be honest, but an interesting use
of the engine.
Rock24 - a HL2 mod. Excellent and well worth downloading.
Scarface - tried getting back into this but there are just too many signs of
a bad conversion to make it worthwhile.
Splinter Cell - Chaos Theory - delivered 2 days ago and what a fantastic
game! Really enjoying it.
Highlandish
<qrClh.157699$jO5.1...@fe06.news.easynews.com>
what level education does the beta level teach?
--
Reply no longer functions. attention me in this group instead
TV Truth: It is possible to zoom in indefinitely on computer images
without reducing the quality of the picture.
Spalls Hurgenson
wrote:
>Quoth The Raven; mattchu <mattchu...@gmail.com> in
><1167511413.4...@v33g2000cwv.googlegroups.com>
>> On Dec 27, 7:15 pm, Spalls Hurgenson <yoi...@ebalu.com> wrote:
>>> Another month has just whizzed by, and it's time for my monthly
>>> request to the newgroup asking everybody what games have occupied
>>> them in the past thirty days.
>>
>> Hexen II
>I loved Hexen 2, no matter how dated it looked, because I used the staff
>exclusively in battle and travelling, you pole vault over obstacles and
>into enemies. yet no game ever followed up on the use of a staff like
>this. I wish they had.
I think you're thinking of Heretic 2.
Hexen 2 was a first-person shooter, in the vein of the original Hexen
and Heretic. It used the Quake engine (I think; it may have been
Quake2), featured three character classes and hub-levels.
Heretic 2 was a third-person shooter, in the vein of Tomb Raider or
Soul Reaper. The protaganist was a staff-wielding elf and used the
Quake 2 engine (with awesome colored lighting effects ;-)
I much prefered Heretic 2. As you said, the acrobatics were awesome,
not topped until Prince of Persia SOT (and the combat was more
intuitive). The levels were colorful and interesting, it featured a
strong story and interesting monsters.
Hexen 2 was a rather humdrum romp through dreary brown levels and
annoying "you pull a lever and something happens somewhere but we're
not telling you what so go check every nook and cranny of the level
again and see what has changed" puzzles.
The original Hexen, -played through a modern Doom port- still manages
to pull me into its world every now and again.
Spalls Hurgenson
>
>"Spalls Hurgenson" <yoi...@ebalu.com> wrote in message
>news:8lc6p2tsnlsnesi5l...@4ax.com...
>BF2 singleplayer. Didn't really try this as I just used the MP component.
>Good stuff with user maps.
I had some fun a while back with BF2 single-player as well. I didn't
try user-maps, but I did add in some hacks to enable 64-players (bots)
so the levels didn't look so empty. It wasn't the best gaming I've
ever had, but it wasn't as bad as I'd expected, given its emphasis on
multiplayer (Star Wars Battlgrounds is still superior in that area,
however). I'm not quite sure why the developers chose to limit the
single-player options, though (e,g., limited # of bots, maps).
It's a shame DICE insisted on online activation for BF2142. I'd have
bought it otherwise, simply on the strength of the BF2 single-player.
Hopefully that new game from the guys who made Operation Flashpoint
will fill my need for wide-open FPS combat. I just hope they don't
make it so brutally hard; I play games for fun, not frustration.
>Scarface - tried getting back into this but there are just too many signs of
>a bad conversion to make it worthwhile.
I considered getting both Scarface and Reservoir Dogs, but everytime I
pick up the boxes in the store, I remember the "Godfather" game and
put them back on the shelf. I've since heard that Reservoir Dogs is
actually halfway decent, but I'm still disinclined to pick up a game
based on a gangster flick; thanks alot, Godfather!
>Splinter Cell - Chaos Theory - delivered 2 days ago and what a fantastic
>game! Really enjoying it.
SC:CT is a fun game; I replayed it a few months back. In some ways I
still prefer the origjnal -if only because it was original back then-
but aside from the fact that it's derivative, it's still one of the
better game of the series. I especially loved the bank heist level. I
started the sequel -Double Agent- last month but I have little
inclination to finish it; it doesn't compare as favorably.
Schrodinger
>>Splinter Cell - Chaos Theory - delivered 2 days ago and what a fantastic
>>game! Really enjoying it.
>
> SC:CT is a fun game; I replayed it a few months back. In some ways I
> still prefer the origjnal -if only because it was original back then-
> but aside from the fact that it's derivative, it's still one of the
> better game of the series. I especially loved the bank heist level. I
> started the sequel -Double Agent- last month but I have little
> inclination to finish it; it doesn't compare as favorably.
>
>
I was about to buy Double Agent, but then read the Gamespy review where the
guy had to build a PC to get it to run!
Schrodinger
>> fantastic game! Really enjoying it.
>
> what level education does the beta level teach?
>
> --
Sorry, Highlandish - I'm not sure what you're asking?
Benjamin Gawert
> The original Hexen, -played through a modern Doom port- still manages
> to pull me into its world every now and again.
Yes, the original Hexen was great as was Heretic.
Sadly there seems to be no Windows port for the "Redneck Rampage" series
which I found a great fun to play...
Benjamin
Contumeliorus Florius
> Yes, the original Hexen was great as was Heretic.
>
> Sadly there seems to be no Windows port for the "Redneck Rampage" series
> which I found a great fun to play...
>
> Benjamin
I tried Heretic MP a few times using modem to modem connection. It was
great fun turning my friend into a chicken with a spell and watching him
run around squawking and then blasting him away. I think I liked Heretic
better than Doom because of the magic aspect and the environment.
Highlandish
oops my bad, yeah heretic1+2 were awesome, hexen1 was awesome but hexen2
was boring, killing spiders and statues all day. sure some of the
playable classes were ok, like the invisible assasin. i never finished
this one
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All Rights Reserved. All Wrongs Avenged.
Highlandish
as i understood, DoomEd is an educational game, teaching you how to
multiply by your zombie kills, how to nutralise acids with reagents. has
there been a graded result/level of attainment?
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Some people are only alive because it is illegal to kill
Benjamin Gawert
> I tried Heretic MP a few times using modem to modem connection. It was
> great fun turning my friend into a chicken with a spell and watching him
> run around squawking and then blasting him away. I think I liked Heretic
> better than Doom because of the magic aspect and the environment.
Agreed. While I found Doom and Doom2 were fun to play Heretic was a game
that I played again and again just because of the great environment.
Sadly Heretic2 never reached that level of immersion IMHO...
Benjamin
Raymond Martineau
wrote:
>Heretic 2 was a third-person shooter, in the vein of Tomb Raider or
>Soul Reaper. The protaganist was a staff-wielding elf and used the
>Quake 2 engine (with awesome colored lighting effects ;-)
>
>I much prefered Heretic 2. As you said, the acrobatics were awesome,
>not topped until Prince of Persia SOT (and the combat was more
>intuitive). The levels were colorful and interesting, it featured a
>strong story and interesting monsters.
The thing that bugged me about Heretic 2 was a noticable latency when
moving the character. Is there a way to fix this, or does it only
appear on some configurations?
pc games
> Is it just me, or did Call of Juarez last, like, twenty
> minutes on the shelves? Or is it only around here? It's just
> not available around
Spalls its strange you didn't read about it, are you testing
us again?
Call of Juarez will be released in the US only in 2007, I think
this month or next I'm not sure...
Now why only now and after Europe already got it for some
months?
Well different publishers which means different agendas and
besides Ubisoft the US publisher is now clearly a console
publisher.
At the time I remember the "official" reason for this was
to make the US PC edition coincide with a console edition
but its hard to believe cause Techland never did anything
for consoles so will Call of Juarez be the first?
Btw I do feel you will enjoy Call of Juarez more than I.
Too many things and too little shooting...
The shooting only starts in the 3rd chapter and even then
its not the "shooting" I like.
Spalls Hurgenson
wrote:
>Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>
>> Is it just me, or did Call of Juarez last, like, twenty
>> minutes on the shelves? Or is it only around here? It's just
>> not available around
>
>Spalls its strange you didn't read about it, are you testing
>us again?
>
>Call of Juarez will be released in the US only in 2007, I think
>this month or next I'm not sure...
>
Truly? That explains why I can't find it, I guess. But I could have
sworn I saw it on the shelves. Maybe it was one of those empty box
copies the publishers distributed to taunt the customers; you think
it's the real game, but then you pick it up and realize it's empty. I
hate those.
Oh well, I stand corrected.
Meanwhile, I wonder if I wasted my money on my new 5.1 speakers when I
can't turn the dial up past "2" before the neighbors start banging on
the walls...