What have you been playing... IN NOVEMBER 2009?
Spalls Hurgenson
end of 2009. I'm strolling into December well relaxed thanks to an
over-abundance of turkey meat, a few days vacation and a heck of a lot
of game-playing.
But before we close out November, there's still this thread to do. You
guys know the drill; you play the games, you list the games, maybe you
even share your opinions on the games. It's easy, it's fun, and the
women dig it (no guarantees on the last).
So, let's do it. Hey, here's a change; how about I go first?
---
* Bionic Commando (new)
I never played the original side-scrolling platformer from the late
'80 but I'm betting that its fans probably love the modernized sequel.
As for myself, I'm less sanguine; the game looks nice but it pulls too
many of its tricks from the original.
I love the looks of the levels (never has a devastated cityscape looks
so pretty) and it is a lot of fun to swing like Spiderman from
building to building. But it's all the other little things that annoy
me. The awful control scheme, for one and the terrible bosses, for
another. Despite the apparent scope of the levels, the game is very
linear; stray from the expected path and you die suddenly and without
warning. Actually, there are a lot of cheap deaths like that in the
game; that plays true to the style of the original console game, but
these days games tend to be a bit more forgiving.
After only a few hours, I came to that terrifying conclusion: I wasn't
having much fun. I considered plodding on, battling
invulnerable-except-for-that-one-weak-spot enemies and jumping over
bottomless instant-death-if-you-fall pits, but I didn't see the point,
especially since the story was so weak that I didn't expect much
payoff for my effort. Thus, without much regret I uninstalled the
game. Oh well; I got some nice desktop wallpapers out of it, anyway.
* Risen (new)
I'm an unabashed fan of the Gothic series. The first two games were
masterpieces; the third game was still an awesome experience despite
its numerous flaws. Risen, developed by the same team that produced
the Gothic series (and quite obviously so; it is impossible to review
Risen without comparing it to Gothic), is exactly the sort of game I
love to play.
Or is it? On the surface, there is no doubt about it; it has the same
open game-world, multiple character classes, and gorgeous graphics of
the Gothic series. Despite its developers insistence that Risen is an
entirely new property, the gameplay is the same as in their previous
games. And I don't mean "the same" as in "an evolution of work they
did before"; I mean, it's exactly the same. The combat uses the same
mechanics, as does the magic, the questing, the dialogue and the
inventory.
Now, as I said, I loved the Gothic games so this poses no problem for
me. But it does start to feel very "samey" only a few hours in;
there's nothing new in this game that we haven't seen in Gothic 3
(perhaps the "god ray" lighting effects). There's an incredible re-use
of materiel from the original series; sounds, textures, models. The
story plugs in fairly well with the direction the Gothic series was
headed and even the nameless protagonist is a clone of Gothic's hero.
But what is truly disappointing is how short Risen is; the original
Gothic 3 occupied me for an entire month as I explored every corner of
Myrtana; I completed Risen in a handful of days. Some replayability is
ensured by the different career paths but since those quests only
occupy the first third of the game that won't add more than a few
additional days of entertainment. The main game-world is smaller than
introduced to us in the original Gothic (and less than a third of
Gothic 3's massive continent) and much of that area is "dead space"
broken into narrow canyons. And just as the story starts to pick up,
it suddenly ends with the most embarrassingly poor boss-fight I've
seen in years.
This tighter focus is not without its advantages, however; for all its
breadth, Gothic 3 felt bare-boned, populated by space-filling NPCs
that had nothing to say and quests that had felt artificially
lengthened by having you cross vast distances. Risen offers tighter
gameplay; most NPCs have at least one -usually two or three- quests to
offer you and the mid-game addition of teleport spells mitigates the
travails of back-n-forth questing. Furthermore, the smaller gameworld
allowed the developers to put more effort into quality assurance;
Risen's has fewer bugs and performance issues that plagued their
previous series.
Risen feels entirely like an expansion pack, which it was probably was
intended to be before Jowood and Piranah Bytes had their falling out.
As an expansion, Risen would have been a tremendous value for its
money; Gothic fans would have been ecstatic. As a stand-alone game,
however, Risen doesn't give its fans enough of, well, anything. It's
too short and doesn't offer anything innovative; it's hard to justify
paying full price. Fans of the previous series should definitely pick
it up (after it drops in price a bit, of course); for all its lack of
length, it is, ultimately more of a good thing. Just don't expect
anything new.
* Majesty 2 (new)
Want to experience all the fun and excitement of Majesty 2 but not
have to pay full price for it? It's easy! Go down to your local
software store, rummage through the bargain bin and buy the original
Majesty. It's exactly the same game!
Well, not *exactly* the same game; Majesty 2 is -drum-roll please- now
in stunning 3D! Or perhaps not so stunning; all the charm of the
original's bitmapped sprites have been lost in the transition to
blocky polygons without any new benefits. But aside from this one
change, it is difficult to determine any difference between this game
and its sequel. This is unfortunate, because while the first Majesty
had its own charm -both in its style and gameplay- it also was fairly
shallow and desperately needed additional features. Sadly, Majesty 2
brings nothing new to the table; the various buildings, upgrades,
units, monsters and gameplay are virtually identical.
The original Majesty was not a game that needed a sequel; Majesty 2
just proves the point. Six levels in, I uninstalled; I'd seen
everything this game had to offer ten years ago back when it was
marginally innovative but now stripped of its charisma by a cheap
graphical makeover.
* Call of Duty / Call of Duty United Offensive (replay)
Last month I was very critical of Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare. It
compared very poorly, I complained, to its predecessors, especially
the first of the series. But I wondered, was this really true or was I
just looking back on the original games through rose-tinted glasses?
There was only one way to find out: I had to go back and re-fight
World War 2.
After several days filled with intense virtual combat, the short
answer to my question "Was Call of Duty as good as I remembered" was
"yes". The long answer was "Hell yes"! Although the games are starting
to show their age on the technical front, they are still as much fun
to play as when they were first released. True, the games' almost
cinematic combat is overly-scripted and fairly linear, but the
set-pieces are a spectacle to behold and the mood and pacing are
nearly perfect.
The most memorable thing about the original Call of Duty titles -aided
greatly by some tremendous AI and scripting- is that it captures the
feeling of being a nameless grunt who is but one tiny part of the
overall war; you are not the essential superhero upon whom the entire
effort of the war depends, but just a poor schlub trying to do his
part without getting his head blown off. The later games,
unfortunately, lost this unique aspect and -by Modern Warfare- you are
a warrior just one step below Master Chief. The more recent titles are
almost comic-book in comparison and lack that unique flavor that made
the first game so enjoyable. It is a shame -albeit understandable-
that the developers chose to go towards the more lucrative but generic
style of shooter, but at least we'll always have the first games to
remember how talented they really are.
* Damnation (new)
Of all the issues I could mention with Damnation, the one that rushes
to the forefront is the dialogue; Damnation offers some of the worst
writing and voice-acting I've heard in years. Seriously, it makes
Resident Evil look good in comparison, and at least that game had good
gameplay to back it up. Damnation doesn't even achieve that.
But I'll give the developers this much; it is an imaginative game. It
has a unique setting and obviously aspires towards the epic. Its
gameplay is an interesting mix of acrobatic platforming and run-n-gun
shooting. Its levels are on a massive scale that truly astound with
their size. But the developers obviously reached far beyond their
ability to deliver; beyond the technical, nothing in this game works
well. The story is a convoluted mess with all the predictable twists
of the genre, muddled with the aforementioned atrocious writing. The
controls and animations are stilted and unresponsive, so much so that
the platforming never feels smooth and natural. Thanks to underpowered
weapons and anemic AI, the combat is a chore; I preferred to just run
past enemies rather than engage them in dull combat. The levels are
big but lack detail and life, which makes the journey to the end a
tedious journey. Oh, and it uses savepoints; I hate savepoints.
I'll give credit to Damnation for being innovative when some many
other developers follow the safe path and just put out a big-budget
clone of last year's hit. But it takes more than just having a good
idea to make a game worth playing and Damnation failed to impress me
in every aspect other than its original IP.
* War Front Turning Point (new)
I have very little to say about this game. Although its gameplay is
derivative of every other real-time strategy game, it features an
interesting (although not at all unique) setting, well-balanced units
and decent gameplay. While it doesn't in any way evolve the genre, if
you like RTS games, then you'll probably view War Front quite
favorably. Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of RTS games; it has to be
exceptional to stay a long term on my hard-drive. Not surprisingly,
very shortly after I started playing it, War Front was uninstalled
again.
* Crysis (replay)
I don't like to think of myself as a "graphics whore" (somebody who
appreciates games only for their visual effects) but when it comes to
Crysis, its graphics are the main reason I return to the game again
and again. But while it is the visual splendor that brings me back,
its the gameplay that makes me stay.
Say what you want about how open Crysis *really* is, the first few
levels are a testament to awesome level design. Although I *could*
whip through the initial level in just a few minutes, it usually takes
me an hour or more because I want to immerse myself in deadly combat
beneath the tropical skies. The AI is competent and the Nanosuit
battle-armor allows me to utilize a variety of tactics depending on
the circumstance and my mood.
Later levels don't quite measure up to the first handful of maps
(although I seem to be the only person who does *not* detest the
corridor-shooter alien spaceship levels; I like the change of pace)
but the epic thrill of the first half of the game is enough to push me
past the rough spots near the end of the game. It has its flaws, but
Crysis remains an epic experience and I know I'll be returning to it
again.
* Left 4 Dead 2 (new)
When I heard that a sequel was in the works for the original Left 4
Dead, I was upset. I was upset not only because I felt Valve had
broken their promise to provide more content for the original game,
which was widely criticized for being too short, but because I knew
the classic simplicity of the original game was going to be burdened
with new features.
Ah, new features. They're both the benefit and the bane of sequels. On
the one hand, developers have to put them in otherwise jaded cynics
(like myself!) accuse them of simply repackaging the same product
without any real changes. On the other hand, those same features could
very easily change what made the original game so much fun in the
first place. Worse, L4D2's rapid release schedule (it's only been a
year since the first game came out) meant that the developers were not
taking full advantage of Valve's famous albeit time-consuming
iterative level design.
Were my worries for naught? I don't think so. Although many players
have from the beginning clamored for more weapons and more zombies, I
was not one of them. Although the limited options meant repetitive
gameplay, it also made the game more accessible. Left 4 Dead was never
intended as a hard-core shooter; it was meant to be easy to pick up
for the everyday player. The handful of weapons meant it was very easy
to determine what role you were to play in your group, and the limited
threats minimalized confusion on what actions to take when attacked.
Groups of complete strangers automatically fell together into elite
teams of zombie-killers without much planning beforehand. This was
L4D's great strength.
Unfortunately, this delicate balance is now ruined by the addition of
the numerous additions. I suspected this while playing the
single-player; my forays into the online world confirmed it. The
instinctual team-building has been lost; the game now plays much more
like any other online FPS. There is a lot of running and gunning, but
players don't fall into the easy-to-master roles that the first game
fostered. This does not make L4D2 a bad game, but I regret losing the
original's unique gameplay.
Had L4D2 had another six months or a year of design and testing, I am
sure these issues could have been hammered out. As it is, the sequel
is going to be a big hit with the more intense fans of the first game,
but for the more casual shooter fan -the very people that the original
game was aimed towards- it isn't going to be quite as appealing. Short
as it was, the original game held my attention for several weeks; four
days into the sequel and I was tired of it already.
* Prince of Persia - Sands of Time (replay)
The Sands of Time is a perennial favorite of mine. It is a very
story-focused game, with appealing characters and gorgeous graphics.
The gameplay is no slouch either; the platforming is fantastic and
-although it isn't quite as appealing to me- the acrobatic combat is
wonderful to watch. It's one of those rare games that is so good that
I actually have little to say; it's already been praised by pretty
much every reviewer out there and I have little additional to add. So
I'll just stick with saying I love this game, I had a blast playing it
and I expect to return to it again and again in years to come.
* Prince of Persia - Warrior Within (replay)
If "Sands of Time" is too good for words to describe, then its sequel
probably deserves several paragraphs written about it. "Warrior
Within" isn't a bad game; it just doesn't measure up to its
predecessor. Then again, few games can.
Oddly enough, if you compare the various parts of the gameplay of the
two titles, Warrior Within should be the superior title. Numerous new
features were added to the combat system; there's a much greater
variety of maneuvers you can perform now. The platforming also
received some polish, with some fiendishly clever maps on which to
prove your prowess. Unfortunately, these improvements came at the cost
of some of the fundamentals. The camera -which was absolutely sublime
in the original- was now often as much a hindrance as a help, and
there hubbed levels mean you often are forced to repeat the same
challenges over and over again. And while the story was competent, it
did not compare to the "Sands of Time".
When all the pieces came together just right, "Warrior Within" was
almost as much fun to play as "Sands of Time", but just as frequently
the game's faults made it more of an exercise in frustration. I think
the most telling indicator about this sequel is that, whereas after
playing "Sands of Time" it was inevitable I'd continue on to the
second game, after finishing up "Warrior Within" I had no desire to
play the third chapter of the series.
* Dragon Age Origins (new)
That Dragon Age is another quality fantasy CRPG from Bioware is no
surprise. But then, "no surprises" describes this game in almost every
way. As a fan of the genre, I wasn't disappointed with Dragon Age, but
neither did it blow me away.
That's not to dismiss its production values; there are games with
nicer graphics than DA:O, but I can't think of any isometric RPG that
tops it (personally, I think Bioware's previous effort, Mass Effect,
looks better overall, but that's probably because it has much smaller
levels. The scope of Dragon Age is much greater, so obvious not as
much detail could be put into every single scene in DAO as they could
with Mass Effect). More to the point, the story is also very well
done; if you're a fan of George Martin or Raymond Feist, you're going
to love Bioware's latest opus.
Where Dragon Age falls short, however, is in its gameplay. The game
style hasn't evolved at all since Baldur's Gate was released ten years
ago. I was still running through a limited, fairly linear levels; I
was still talking to NPCs with the usual nice/neutral/nasty
conversation options and I was still whacking monsters with a +1 sword
that I was sure I'd soon upgrade to a +2 and then +3 sword as the game
progressed. I knew at some point my closest ally would come to a
crisis point and possibly betray me, and that ultimately I'd have a
choice between leading the world towards a light or dark ending. It
was all enjoyably epic, but it was also terribly, terribly
predictable.
I enjoyed Dragon Age enough to play it through to completion, but not
enough to even go and play through its much-vaunted "Origin" stories
again. The tales may be different every time, but I still know how
they are going to end.
----
So, that's my list for this month. December's coming up, and with it
more days off and more new games. I can't wait. Until then, I'll just
leave you with my usual question:
What have you been playing... IN NOVEMBER 2009?
Tim O
<spalls_h...@verizon.net> wrote:
>So, we're closing up the month of November and coming up to the very
>end of 2009. I'm strolling into December well relaxed thanks to an
>over-abundance of turkey meat, a few days vacation and a heck of a lot
>of game-playing.
>
>But before we close out November, there's still this thread to do. You
>guys know the drill; you play the games, you list the games, maybe you
>even share your opinions on the games. It's easy, it's fun, and the
>women dig it (no guarantees on the last).
Red Faction: Guerrilla. This one isn't getting a lot of love it'd
seem, but I'm having a good time with it. Maybe I should say *had* a
good time with it, because I'm stuck on a mission, got sick of playing
it over and over and haven't touched it in nearly two weeks.
Love the destruction, the game has tons of flaws though. Framerates
seem to go to crap during extreme destruction regardless of what
hardware your running. The promised patch has been stalled and will
probably come out just as the game hits 15 bucks.
ARMA II. I play this one on and off. Incredible potential, but the
controls actually get in the way of the fun at least once per mission.
I spent 15 minutes trying figure out how to go over an obstacle one
minute into the very first mission. You needed to use the "V" key,
which I had not remapped to get over a box.
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter. The HD release got me in the mood
for more Serious Sam. Amazingly, I seem to have lost my CD but found
the second one. Fun game, plays fine on 64 bit OS, don't really see
high res versions of this adding much.
I'm admittedly a constant console basher, but I've also been playing
the God Of War "remix" on the PS3. In a similar situation to Serious
Sam, these two old PS2 titles have been remade with better textures
and runs at higher res. Never having owned a PS2, I'm having fun with
it in short bursts.
Tim
rms
Thief 3: finally finished this, yay! and had great fun. Reached the
Cradle level right on Halloween, and played it through that evening, very
appropriate. I had done this level already in a previous playthrough, and
it was just as good now. There's an excellent full-length article on just
this one level here: http://gillen.cream.org/wordpress_html/?p=619 The
ending was satisfying, and I'm looking forward to Thief 4, who's development
is apparently proceeding on schedule, good news!
Stalker: Finished this game before, when it first came out, now doing it
on Master difficulty with the Complete 2009 mod (now at 1.4.1), and it is
just magnificent. Once you find a good suit with nightvision, using stealth
in the 'infiltrate the base' missions is very doable without killing anyone.
This was probably my biggest complaint in the first playthrough, but I don't
think I was even aware of the nightvision option back then, and the
Complete mod includes a sleeping bag to adjust time of day. Choosing
load-out, managing my carrying weight, playing with artifacts, searching out
all the hidden stashes, all great fun. I'm about to head over to the
Freedom base, and take out all the snipers with just my knife :)
L4D2: As Spalls says, this new game does require more teamplay and
cooperation than L4D1. This makes casual pickup games with random people
less likely to be fun. The question is, is this a bad thing. Having had my
share of ragequitting teammates and unfinished campaigns -- I still haven't
completed a L4D2 campaign on Expert -- I'll take a positive outlook and say
that the complaints about difficulty amount to a longer and taller learning
curve, that will give this game a longer lifespan than the first.
In the Queue: I have so far resisted buying any new games (except L4D2)
for some time, sticking to bargain pickups:
Rainbow 6: Vegas
Stalker: CS
Beyond Good & Evil
Call of Cthulhu
rms
Schrodinger
"Spalls Hurgenson" <spalls_h...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:4rc2h55v8ri9acfs6...@4ax.com...
> So, we're closing up the month of November and coming up to the very
> end of 2009. I'm strolling into December well relaxed thanks to an
> over-abundance of turkey meat, a few days vacation and a heck of a lot
> of game-playing.
>
> But before we close out November, there's still this thread to do. You
> guys know the drill; you play the games, you list the games, maybe you
> even share your opinions on the games. It's easy, it's fun, and the
> women dig it (no guarantees on the last).
>
> So, let's do it. Hey, here's a change; how about I go first?
>
> ---
>
> * Bionic Commando (new)
> * Risen (new)
> * Majesty 2 (new)
> * Call of Duty / Call of Duty United Offensive (replay)
> * Damnation (new)
> * War Front Turning Point (new)
> * Crysis (replay)
> * Left 4 Dead 2 (new)
> Had L4D2 had another six months or a year of design and testing, I am
> sure these issues could have been hammered out. As it is, the sequel
> is going to be a big hit with the more intense fans of the first game,
> but for the more casual shooter fan -the very people that the original
> game was aimed towards- it isn't going to be quite as appealing. Short
> as it was, the original game held my attention for several weeks; four
> days into the sequel and I was tired of it already.
>
>
I agree, it's good but not great. Why they got rid of the original 4
characters I do not know and the gameplay needed more innovation.
> * Prince of Persia - Sands of Time (replay)
> * Dragon Age Origins (new)
> So, that's my list for this month. December's coming up, and with it
> more days off and more new games. I can't wait. Until then, I'll just
> leave you with my usual question:
>
> What have you been playing... IN NOVEMBER 2009?
>
Left4Dead 2. Still having great fun playing it and I agree it doesn't need
as much team work as the original.
Call of Duty: MW2. An afternoon's playing does not make a good value for
money experience, no matter how high quality it is. The MP is broken too.
Frontlines: Fuel of War.
A very very good game, if a little short. The MP reminds me too much of
BF2142, but it is kind of good fun. For �3.74 it was bargain of the year.
Mass Effect.
Another budget purchase via Steam, it is great fun although not in the same
league as KOTR, still not finished it and I'm looking forward to returning
to it once I'm bored of L4D2.
Tim O
<rsqui...@MOOflashMOO.net> wrote:
> Stalker: Finished this game before, when it first came out, now doing it
>on Master difficulty with the Complete 2009 mod (now at 1.4.1), and it is
>just magnificent. Once you find a good suit with nightvision, using stealth
>in the 'infiltrate the base' missions is very doable without killing anyone.
>This was probably my biggest complaint in the first playthrough, but I don't
>think I was even aware of the nightvision option back then, and the
>Complete mod includes a sleeping bag to adjust time of day. Choosing
>load-out, managing my carrying weight, playing with artifacts, searching out
>all the hidden stashes, all great fun. I'm about to head over to the
>Freedom base, and take out all the snipers with just my knife :)
This rules. Maybe my favorite game of all time with this mod.
It addresses the one thing I hated about Clear Sky -bumbling around in
the dark with a flashlight.
Day to night cycles can work with missions designed to use them, but
to throw them in just to impede progress (and possibly miss cool or
important things in the game) is stupid.
Nostromo
new house recently & work being a killer. Anyway, here goes, in no
particular order:
1. Evony - has probably occupied more of my time than any other game this
month *blush*. It's pure, unadulterated e-crack, it's not even that
interesting or 'fun', but hey, it's a piddly browser game I can play on my
laptop, at lunchtime at work, or almost anywhere. What more can I say? OCD
strategy fans be warned...mind you, it supposedly has a large PvP component,
but apart from being plundered a few times (& making the mistake of joining
an alliance full of kiddies early on *sigh*), I've pretty much just soloed &
concentrated on city-building. I can now with my 2 cities just queue a
high-level building & it take half a day to a day & a half to complete, so
it has a kinda offline play-by-email style feel.
2. Torchlight - tried a couple classes for a few hours, like the gameplay,
not sure about the look & feel. May come back to play some more. It just
seems like an indy title screaming to break out as a commercial one, so I'm
on the fence about it.
3. Crysis - early in the month. Just about completed the carrier ship end
game. Must motivate myself to finish at least *one* game in 2009, so I will
come back to this soon.
4. Anno1404:Dawn of Discovery - started it, played it for a couple hours,
will definitely come back. Could be the 1st RTS that grabs me since Rise of
Nations.
5. Borderlands - this could be the game to tide my over until D3! Pure,
visceral fps gibfest, with action/rpg goodness! :)
6. LOTRO - still messing around with my Burglar hobbit on & off & trying to
get the missy motivated to return to our warden/hunter duo. But, she's more
interested in the new garden & house sprucing than anything else these days
*sigh*
7. Age of Conan - I don't think I've actually played it this month, but I
MUST give it another fair crack before the next payment cycle on the 11th &
decide if I'll sub another month or not. I still think it's the best mmorpg
out there if you're looking for a gritty, adult experience with arguably the
best DX10 graphics of any mmo.
8. Dragon Age:Origins - fully agree with your assessment in this one Spalls.
Playing a mage, still haven't got out of the mage tower yet. The best thing
about the dumbed-down consolitis game system I can say is that it may be the
game to drive me back to play some more NWN2 lol!
9. CC:Red Alert 3 - picked this up bargain basement as I've wanted to have a
rts-lite title to play on the laptop. Requires that farking Shader 3
wankware which adds nothing to almost any game it infests, but stops so many
from running on my C2D laptop. Devs *really* aught to make that POS optional
at install time *sigh*. So, I've just played some tutorial on my main rig &
so far so cutesy with funny intro videos, eh.
10. Risen demo - very nice, but not sure it grabbed me enough to do the
whole Gothic 3 - 'lite' style (think this was last mth anyway).
11. Wolfenstein - not a bad shooter, just nothing that stands out & makes me
want to play more. If I get bored with other shooters perhaps I'll crawl
back to this one.
12. X3: Terran Conflict - tried to get this bastard working for a year now
on & off with an 'eval' copy. Even with the new 2.5 patch that removes the
copy protection, it's still a pita & keeps CTDing on startup. Oh well, it's
challenges like this that make us pc gamers rather than dvd/cartridge
inserting console monkeys :) Either that or I'll pick it up cheap if I ever
see it on shelves down under. Still a bit rich for this tight-arse at
20Euro=AU$33 on Steam at the mo <G>, when I don't even know if I'll like it.
13. Planetside - I knew it was just not going to be my cuppa after a half
hour. No tutorial/online docs, no hints as to what it was all about & then I
find out it's 100% PvP. Bleh.
14. Avatar demo - just installed, yet to give it a go - anyone else tried?
15. Nethergate: Resurrection & Generforge 5 - good ol Spidersoftware just
keeps on keeping on :) just a little bash here & there on these ones.
Phew! Maybe I've had more gaming time than I thought I did. Perhaps I just
need to focus more on one game than being such an ADD casual game :).
Games I have installed & I definitely want to get back to soon (apart from
most of the abovementioned): Bioshock, Dead Space, Far Cry 2, HGL, The
Witcher (if they ever produce a patch to make it work with Win7x64 *sigh*),
Fallen Earth (when the next trial I don't miss gets floated!), Timeshift,
VTMB, Titan Quest (maybe some more LAN play with the missy), Guild Wars (yet
to complete Nightfall campaign & even try EotN)) - hugely looking forward to
GW2! :)
Ok, I'm off to give the missy some tlc as I think she's feeling like a bit
of a pc gaming widow ;).
--
Nostromo
Kyla Wical
As noticed all the above games are old. Range from 1 year ago to decades old.
I think this trend will continue.
rms
> *sigh*),
Is this confirmed?
rms
Andrew
<spalls_h...@verizon.net> wrote:
>What have you been playing... IN NOVEMBER 2009?
PC:
COD:MW2, finished the SP campaign.
Overlord, got through about a 1/3 of it and had to resort to a walk
through for some bits.
Overlord 2, still in early stages, but will have to resort to a walk
though as I have no idea how to get past one bit already.
Grid, don't get the enthusiasm for this game, the car handling seems
to go back to the days of 16 bit gaming.
Mass Effect, was playing this until MW2 hit and got distracted by
other things.
Torchlight, played about 7 levels in, getting bored.
Braid, bought this a while back, but trying to get into it. Have got
further than before, but it is a very frustrating game.
Flatout:UC , following new PC setup, I am starting the whole game
again. Fun :-)
360:
Forza 3, I am not generally into sims, but I really like this, it is
the first game I have ever played where I feel like the car drives
like a real car, the physics and handling is just incredible.
--
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.
Tim O
I have a few old games, a MAME cab and some newer stuff like a Golden
Tee Fore! machine. Nobody, and I mean *nobody* that comes over wants
to play games on the PC or even the Wii.
They want to play Donkey Kong, Galaga and Golden Tee. When friends
bring their kids who have never even seen a proper arcade (Chuckie
Cheese at best), they go nuts when they see the games. There is
definitely something to them that you don't get in other forms of
gaming. The stand up cabinet is some of the appeal, but not the whole
thing.
Jonah Falcon
Creed II on the 360, tried out some other games on rental (Forza 3,
Borderlands, etc.)
BrunoN Bluthgeld
> So, that's my list for this month. December's coming up, and with it
> more days off and more new games. I can't wait. Until then, I'll just
> leave you with my usual question:
>
> What have you been playing... IN NOVEMBER 2009?
Wow, that's awfully lot of games. I share your sentiment to Crysis. Call
of Duty was great initially but the scriptey, linear stuff gets old
pretty quick. Anyway,
Mirror's Edge - great stuff, superb style and something original for
once. Really frustrating in places (I'm glad there's youtube for
walkthroughs, I had no idea how to do some tricky leaps), but still
great. I'd like to see more FPS games with such perfectly done sensation
of movement.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas - ok tactical shooter, shooting feels
very good (especially demolishing all of these glamorous interiors), but
to be frank gets old pretty fast. Tactical bit is pretty simple and
isn't much over setting your men next to some door then making them
blast everything behind them (door, not men). I was forcing myself to
play a bit in later stages due to that repetitiveness. Bought it in
bundle with second part - will wait a bit with playing I think (reviews
say it's basically more of the same).
Stalker: Call of Prypiat - just started the game, it's cool so far. More
optimized than Clear Sky (I can play it with good settings in 1680x1050,
rather impossible with previous episode), plenty of "new" things added
(new for GSC, old for modders), starting area where I am feels pretty
big and open (and traditionally oozing with atmosphere). Didn't crash
yet, that's new too :>
TES IV: Oblivion - ok, not played, TRIED to play. Couldn't find anything
likable in it and uninstalled after couple of hours. Either I'm
prejudiced to high fantasy stuff or it's big, empty and cheesy piece of
nothingparticularlygood.
Less "action" but still nice:
Machinarium - fantastic art style and sense of humour, puzzles often
less than great (I was dead stuck on connect five). But reaaaaly
beautiful little game.
Crayon Physics (off D2D bundle) - don't know what to say about it. Maybe
"It's relaxing".
Anssi Saari
> What have you been playing... IN NOVEMBER 2009?
Borderlands. I started last week I think. I got into it quite heavily
and am probably close to the end. Good thing too, I'm getting a little
bored with it. Sort of Fallout Light, but at least you can hit the
side of a barn, both with and without a sniper rifle.
Other than Borderlands, I played the new GTA4 add-on on the Xbox 360,
The Ballad of Gay Tony. It was actually quite fun, if short.
After finishing TBoGT, I started a new game of the previous add on,
The Lost and Damned.
Nostromo
-0700, Anno Domini:
>> Witcher (if they ever produce a patch to make it work with Win7x64
>> *sigh*),
>
> Is this confirmed?
NFI. If anyone knows anything I'd be much obliged!
--
Nostromo
Nostromo
2009 22:16:38 +0100, Anno Domini:
>Stalker: Call of Prypiat - just started the game, it's cool so far. More
>optimized than Clear Sky (I can play it with good settings in 1680x1050,
>rather impossible with previous episode), plenty of "new" things added
>(new for GSC, old for modders), starting area where I am feels pretty
>big and open (and traditionally oozing with atmosphere). Didn't crash
>yet, that's new too :>
Forgot to mention I played a bit of Stalker Complete 2009 Mod. Brutal on std
diff level, but transforms the game in oh so many ways visually. Totally
recommended.
--
Nostromo
Sleepy
"Spalls Hurgenson" <spalls_h...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:4rc2h55v8ri9acfs6...@4ax.com...
> So, we're closing up the month of November and coming up to the very
> end of 2009. I'm strolling into December well relaxed thanks to an
> over-abundance of turkey meat, a few days vacation and a heck of a lot
> of game-playing.
*SNIP*
> So, that's my list for this month. December's coming up, and with it
> more days off and more new games. I can't wait. Until then, I'll just
> leave you with my usual question:
>
> What have you been playing... IN NOVEMBER 2009?
Well this month I've bought a lot more than I've played but I'm sure I'll
catch up
and I've done my bit for the economy :)
Borderlands - managed to complete a playthrough of the Singleplayer
campaign and got to level 35 with a Soldier. It gets a little repetative and
the story isn't very strong or isnt told very well. Diablo has those nice
cutscenes that help tell the story - Borderlands has messages from a
Guardian Angel that dont work so well. Also I cannot play multi because I
cannot set up a GamespyID - the confirmation emails never get to me for some
reason!
Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2 - for �35 ouch! Not really interested in the
multiplayer though I may have to force myself to get my monies worth. I've
played through some of the early singleplayer and its okay - its more of the
same.
Dragon Age : Origins - installed it and set up a character but thats about
it. Had to finish Borderlands first.
STALKER : Call of Prypiat - downloaded a Russian torrent to try it out as
there won't be demo and Clear Sky was such a mess on release - also the
English version won't be out until Feb 2010 for some reason.
Its very good - much more stable on release than the earlier two games and
plays more like SoC with some of the tweaks added by CS - weapon upgrades
(but no flashdrives to hunt down) and artifacts (that have to be hunted down
with a detector) with real use and not just for selling. I will definitely
be buying the English version when it comes out.
L4D - still playing it since Feb. I started out playing the Coop campaigns
on Normal - then Advanced and then Expert picking up achievements along the
way. Had a lot of fun and made a few friends. In the last couple of months I
got into Versus and enjoyed that too despite the fact there are a boatload
of issues with this game. - The survivors team gets bots to fill up the
numbers but the infected do not!
I was against buying L4D2 on principle - Valve promised a level of support
for the first game they simply haven't delivered and they've obviously been
hard at work on the sequel since January to the detriment of fixing and
polishing the first game - but I'm a realist and with a lot of the people on
my 'friends' list buying the sequel I figured I had to move on.
I'm still getting to grips with it but the increased difficulty level means
I'm firmly stuck on 'Normal' for the moment. I had the unpleasant experience
of losing a 'friend' last night playing Versus on Dark Carnival. (This is a
guy I've played many games of L4D1 with and had no problems and we're pretty
evenly matched) It was us and 2 Americans and we were doing okay - when
without warning a votekick is called against me with 3 'YES' votes - I ask
why but get no reply. Out of the game I PM him asking why and get no
response so I remove him from my friends list.
On balance I've had fewer positive experiences with this game (not just the
one above) and as I said in an earlier post I consider it a waste of money.
If I could uninstall it and sell it on 2nd hand I would but with Steam I
don't have that option so I will continue to try and get to grips with it.
EMan
> Guardian Angel that dont work so well. Also I cannot play multi because I
> cannot set up a GamespyID - the confirmation emails never get to me for some
> reason!
Check your spam box. I had the same problem trying to change my
password for Windows LIVE. Funny that Gmail considered everything from
Microsoft as being SPAM.
CJM
> ....The combat uses the same
> mechanics, as does the magic, the questing, the dialogue and the
> inventory.
I hated Gothic3 (the only version I've played) precisely because of the game
mechanics, particularly the combat - it essentially seemed to be whoever
struck first won the fight.
It doesn't matter how powerful the opponent, back them up against a
wall/rock/etc and hack away with a flurry of quick slashes. Rinse & repeat.
Likewise various weaker opponents regularly beat me for the same reason.
>
> * Crysis (replay)
Bought Warhead for �5 direct from EA. Bargain.
I have better kit that when I first played Crysis, so particularly enjoying
the visuals, but the early gameplay is great.
> * Left 4 Dead 2 (new)
> When I heard that a sequel was in the works for the original Left 4
> Dead, I was upset. I was upset not only because I felt Valve had
> broken their promise to provide more content for the original game,
> which was widely criticized for being too short, but because I knew
> the classic simplicity of the original game was going to be burdened
> with new features.
>
I joined the boycott group early on because I felt that Valve were selling
us down the river - which was very out of character for them. In actual
fact, I got bored of L4D1 around 6 months ago so regardless of boycotts, I'd
have been less inclined to buy anyway. I hated the fact that the 'random'
games were anything but random - everyone knew the best camping places, the
best routes, the best tactics... every game was virtually the same. I also
hated cupboard camping, but although it was initially frowned upon,
virtually everyone relented in time - so unless you were going to employ the
same tricks (I wasn't) you were at a disadvantage.
I reckon L4D2 would actually partially solve some of my gripes, but it still
sounds too samey to me. And I'm still not buying it on principle - it won't
make the slightest difference to Valve of course, but it's all I can do.
Other games:
Mass Effect - Another cheap steam buy. It's still a bit too linear in parts
but the production quality is great otherwise. It's undemanding but very
enjoyable. Again.
Frontlines: Fuel of War - Another cheap steam buy. A bit too generic for me
to buy on release, but actually quite enjoyable playing the SP game. Again,
undemanding but quite enjoyable. Certainly worth �3.74.
Football Manager 2010: If you like management games, this is the best.
Unfortunately, too realistic - my Liverpool team have a crocked Torres,
Lucas is shit and we haven't two pennies to rub together. :(
Insurgency (HL2 Mod): Re-installed - how brilliant is this game. Could do
with a few extra maps (by adopting better community maps perhaps) but it is
better than most other FPS.
Eternal Silence (HL 2 Mod): Interesting mod combining basic spacecraft
combat with standard FPS combat (on-board capital ships). Limited long-term
appeal but an interesting occasional diversion
Borderlands: What a bag of poop! I kinda knew what it was like but hoped it
wouldn't be too bad. I don't mind the gfx or the basic mechanics, but
absolutely hate the repetitive draw-out tedium. I HATE conspicuous
respawning enemies whether they be checkpoints in FC2 or Skag and Bandits in
Borderlands. Sure, have random or roaming enemies, but there are Skag dens
every 5 yards with Skag that respawn within minutes. A surprise random
encounter keeps you in your toes, but in Borderlands, the ammo-sapping Skag
are a tedious inevitability.
Bejewelled (on Facebook): I'm a decent gamer and a decent bejewelled 2
player- but I get creamed by my wife, my mum and various geriatrics...
Why-oh-freaking-why do I keep playing?
rms
> means I'm firmly stuck on 'Normal' for the moment. I had the unpleasant
> experience of losing a 'friend' last night playing Versus on Dark
> Carnival.
I hear ya, and sorry about the 'friend' drama. I've had this happen
also, probably because I don't use a mic and that hurts with the closer
cooperation required in 2. I tried versus once, but doubt I will again.
rms
noman
>
> * Crysis (replay)
>[snip]
> Later levels don't quite measure up to the first handful of maps
> (although I seem to be the only person who does not detest the
> corridor-shooter alien spaceship levels; I like the change of pace)
> but the epic thrill of the first half of the game is enough to push me
> past the rough spots near the end of the game. It has its flaws, but
> Crysis remains an epic experience and I know I'll be returning to it
> again.
I actually *liked* the alien space ship level and then the portion of
the game that followed. Going through the ship and then coming down the
mountain, retreating under enemy onslaught all made perfect sense. An
urgent, panic-stricken run was exactly what the game-world needed at
the time. It also helped that the snow-covered parts of island were
rendered beautifully - easily the most impressive graphical effects I
have ever seen on any platform.
The first two-thirds (or three-fourths ?) of the game with its open
areas were amazing, but then the change of pace was fine too. I can
always load the early levels and try alternate ways to go through them.
Can't wait for Crysis 2.
>
> What have you been playing... IN NOVEMBER 2009?
Didn't get much time this month.
Assassin's Creed - The game is incredibly repetitive. The engine is
quite amazing but the gameplay doesn't make sense. I started this last
month and am still at it. I do like the second (parallel) story thread.
That, and sheer will power is perhaps what's driving me to finish the
game.
Final Fantasy X (PS2 on 80GB PS3) - Idiotic dialogues, character and
game elements notwithstanding, I am progressing in this game and intend
to finish it after having started it three and half years ago.
Currently I am at 35-36 hour mark.
GRID (PC) , NFS:Shift Demo (PC/PS3), Dirt 2 Demo (PS3) - My two year
old son loves these games. Normally he watches me try a few laps, but
he can also hold dualshock and finish a lap in NFS:Shift on London
circuit. The "accelerate" trigger and the "reset car" button work for
him. I'll get NFS:Shift for PC once I see a good deal. It looks and
plays much better there.
--
Noman
BrunoN Bluthgeld
> Forgot to mention I played a bit of Stalker Complete 2009 Mod. Brutal on std
> diff level, but transforms the game in oh so many ways visually. Totally
> recommended.
It's pretty easy compared to AMK mod, I'd say C2009 difficulty is just
right :>. Agreed tho, it's an essential download.
Tiny update on Call of Prypiat - I'm in second area and still not a CTD
or a gamebreaking bug. It also plays great, if much easier than previous
parts.
Funny thing, it has lots of buildings which actually have something
inside (not being just boxes with a loader as a door). It's great to
have a big map with lots of places to explore made seamlessly. Last few
games played got me used to world chopped to hundreds of loadable parts
and now WHOA, look, it's a building with people in it!
Tim O
Always one of STALKERS strong points. Coincendence they're not trying
to cram it onto a shitty XBox? I think not.
John Lewis
FYI:
the Witcher V1.5 works perfectly in Win7-64 without any DRM or any
need for the game-disc to be present.
However:-
a. You need to install a legitimate registered copy of either the
Witcher EE (V1.4) OR any previous version+the TWEE upgrade to V1.4.
OR
If you need to update a pristine unregistered copy of the game, then
startup the Witcher desktop menu after installation and immediately
click on "Register Game" and follow the instructions. In Win7-64, do
NOT attempt to launch the game itself from this menu (or otherwise) at
this stage. It will probably crash......
b. You must download the V1.5 patch from your favorite source
(If you have a pre V1.4 version of the Witcher, also download the
complete TWEE upgrade from the Witcher Community website)
c. You MUST install the latest x64 Tages driver (must be v5.5.7.2 or
later) available on the Tages website BEFORE attempting ANY of the
Witcher upgrades in Win7-64.
d. Do not launch the game itself at all until after completing all
installs/updates including the final upgrade to V1.5.
FYI: the Tages driver Setup is a TOGGLE. A second Setup completely
removes the driver. The Tages driver can be manually completely
removed in this way, but only AFTER the V1.5 upgrade, which removes
the Tages DRM from the game.... assuming of course that no other game
in your computer installation requires a Tages-DRM driver...
John Lewis
John Lewis
>
>
>I'm still getting to grips with it but the increased difficulty level means
>I'm firmly stuck on 'Normal' for the moment. I had the unpleasant experience
>of losing a 'friend' last night playing Versus on Dark Carnival. (This is a
>guy I've played many games of L4D1 with and had no problems and we're pretty
>evenly matched) It was us and 2 Americans and we were doing okay - when
>without warning a votekick is called against me with 3 'YES' votes - I ask
>why but get no reply. Out of the game I PM him asking why and get no
>response so I remove him from my friends list.
>
>On balance I've had fewer positive experiences with this game (not just the
>one above) and as I said in an earlier post I consider it a waste of money.
>If I could uninstall it and sell it on 2nd hand I would but with Steam I
>don't have that option so I will continue to try and get to grips with it.
>
>
You could have had that option, if you set up a throwaway email
address and user-name/password <<when you Steam-registered the game>>.
Highly recommended for "full-price" Steam games, or for each group of
games with a common theme (HL2 plus expansions, L4D1 and L4D2, etc.)
if purchased as a collection.
You would need to keep track of this "metadata" as your Steam-game
collection expands but that is a trivial exercise.
Disclaimer:
3rd-party transactions of "used' Steam games are prohibited by the
Steam EULA (.. need to keep Doug, Gabe and Co. well supplied with
Ferraris and Big Macs.)
John Lewis
Nostromo
-0500, Anno Domini:
Almost reason enough on its own to support the game & get the Prypiat
expansion I say! ;)
--
Nostromo
Sleepy
"John Lewis" <john...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:4b14b561...@news.giganews.com...
yeah - good advice but having gotten so much out of the first game I'm
surprised
at how negatively I feel towards the sequel.
I wish Steam offered a 7-day cooling off period on games (talking only about
downloaded games here - not retail boxed ones that install to Steam) - even
if it included a 10% non-refundable handling charge it would be worth it.
and before you say it - demos don't really give you the full experience of
games - certainly the one for L4D2 didnt even include Versus which is the
game mode that has the biggest problems.
Nostromo
Anno Domini:
No matter what you say about Tages, I'm not installing the shitware on my
PC, not for TW & not for any other game. It's an intrusive DRM driver that
fucks other things up while its loaded. And I say that as an owner of TWEE -
the first thing I always look for with any games I buy (or not) is the no-cd
crack; I've even d/led 2 or 3 torrented ISOs/install packs that were
pre-cracked where there was no other way to remove intrusive copyright/DRM
filthware, call me crazy...;) Guess I'll wait for a more 'elegant' solution
than this, but tx anyway.
--
Nostromo
Nostromo
Domini:
>L4D - still playing it since Feb. I started out playing the Coop campaigns
>on Normal - then Advanced and then Expert picking up achievements along the
>way. Had a lot of fun and made a few friends. In the last couple of months I
>got into Versus and enjoyed that too despite the fact there are a boatload
>of issues with this game. - The survivors team gets bots to fill up the
>numbers but the infected do not!
>
>I was against buying L4D2 on principle - Valve promised a level of support
>for the first game they simply haven't delivered and they've obviously been
>hard at work on the sequel since January to the detriment of fixing and
>polishing the first game - but I'm a realist and with a lot of the people on
>my 'friends' list buying the sequel I figured I had to move on.
So we should start calling you Sheepy now...? ;-p <G>
--
Nostromo
John Lewis
The other things being....... ????. And you only need to load the
Tages driver just while you are manipulating the update(s), assuming
that you have a legitimate original copy of the game, of course.....
What else would you have to access while this operation is being
performed, other than the game, its updates, the latest Tages driver
setup, and the on-line game registration with CDProjekt if
necessary.....?
> And I say that as an owner of TWEE -
>the first thing I always look for with any games I buy (or not) is the no-cd
>crack;
Seems as if the Witcher V1.5 update is not compatible with your
"crack". What a pity, since V1.5 also fixes a bunch of other bugs,
including the EAX problems in WinXP. Simple fix, of course. Just
re-install your original copy of the game and go up from there. Your
game-saves are automatically retained in your "My Documents"after a
Witcher uninstall.
Anyway, just to reassure all legitimate owners of "the Witcher", the
game does indeed work perfectly on Win7-64 after the full update to
V1.5.
John Lewis
noman
> Anyway, just to reassure all legitimate owners of "the Witcher", the
> game does indeed work perfectly on Win7-64 after the full update to
> V1.5.
>
Thanks for the update. I plan to get Witcher soon and it's good to know
that the Win7 x64 issue can be avoided.
--
Noman
Nostromo
Anno Domini:
>>No matter what you say about Tages, I'm not installing the shitware on my
>>PC, not for TW & not for any other game. It's an intrusive DRM driver that
>>fucks other things up while its loaded.
>
>The other things being....... ????. And you only need to load the
Try Googling "tages drm issues" or similar lol! Just because you got lucky,
doesn't mean that thousands upon thousands of pc users are suffering from
mass hysteria/delusions. ;-p
If I get desperate to play it I might consider taking the chance. But seeing
the patch has only recently come out, it's only a matter of time b4 someone
cracks it without needing to use Tages. Tx again anyway.
--
Nostromo
Mark Morrison
<no_...@zzzyahoo.yycom> wrote:
>Final Fantasy X (PS2 on 80GB PS3) - Idiotic dialogues, character and
>game elements notwithstanding, I am progressing in this game and intend
>to finish it after having started it three and half years ago.
>Currently I am at 35-36 hour mark.
FFX is one of the few games I've ever finished - I'm really looking
forward to FFXIII early next year.
John Lewis
>Thus spake john...@verizon.net (John Lewis), Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:05:22 GMT,
>Anno Domini:
>
>>>No matter what you say about Tages, I'm not installing the shitware on my
>>>PC, not for TW & not for any other game. It's an intrusive DRM driver that
>>>fucks other things up while its loaded.
>>
>>The other things being....... ????. And you only need to load the
>
>Try Googling "tages drm issues" or similar lol! Just because you got lucky,
Not lucky, old son... I just do not run any "DRM-avoiding" tools on
any of my computers. The trolls complaining about Tages are
specialists in half-truths and have a vested (er, piracy) interest in
pushing the removal of such DRM. I guarantee that disc-based DRM, with
(or without) on-line authentication and with unlimited re-installs...
a la 'theWitcher" is a lot preferable to either Steam or EA/Atari's
crap limited-authentication trash.
John Lewis
Nostromo
Anno Domini:
>On Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:24:30 +1100, Nostromo <nos...@forme.org> wrote:
>
>>Thus spake john...@verizon.net (John Lewis), Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:05:22 GMT,
>>Anno Domini:
>>
>>>>No matter what you say about Tages, I'm not installing the shitware on my
>>>>PC, not for TW & not for any other game. It's an intrusive DRM driver that
>>>>fucks other things up while its loaded.
>>>
>>>The other things being....... ????. And you only need to load the
>>
>>Try Googling "tages drm issues" or similar lol! Just because you got lucky,
>
>Not lucky, old son... I just do not run any "DRM-avoiding" tools on
>any of my computers. The trolls complaining about Tages are
>specialists in half-truths and have a vested (er, piracy) interest in
>pushing the removal of such DRM. I guarantee that disc-based DRM, with
>(or without) on-line authentication and with unlimited re-installs...
>a la 'theWitcher" is a lot preferable to either Steam or EA/Atari's
>crap limited-authentication trash.
As always, you are entitled to your opinion John. I say they're all as bad &
ineffective as each other. Assuming that makes me a 'pirate' of any
particular game is, well, a gross assumption in each & every particular
case...unless I've already admitted to not having a valid license of course
<EG>.
--
Nostromo
Scatter
USA/Russians against China over resource rich islands.
Its gameplay falls somewhere between the original OFP and ArmA series
and COD4. It's not a sim but it's more than an action shooter. I've
been playing through the campaign with friends - it's a lobby based
P2P system with only 4 players. The networking system is quite
sensitive to lag which in my experience will make it totally
unplayable by affecting a client's ability to reload/crouch/etc. With
good connections it's a great co-op experience which often makes it
feel as if your part of a team in a much larger battle.
The campaign is not particulary long but there are plenty of third
party missions popping up (the editor was released with the game).
CJM
"Scatter" <us...@eeepc-r.domain_not_set.invalid> wrote in message
news:NMqRm.59477$ze1....@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
Before we heard about the lack of dedi servers in MW2, I'd read reviews of
OF:DR which complained of the problems of the P2P MP system. And remembering
the unplayable locally hosted games in L4D, I just groaned when IW announced
IWNET...
You can have a decent game on a P2P system, it's just is rarer and more
volatile. Dedicated Servers FTW!
Etal
>
> What have you been playing... IN NOVEMBER 2009?
>
Saw a couple of movies, so to compare, then played their games.
(2003-03-24) *Delta Force V (EP0), Black Hawk Down*
Developed by /NovaLogic/
Action, 1st Person view.
Re-watched the movie for i think the 3rd time a couple of months
ago. The last third of the tie-in game captures the event
depicted in the very good movie in an okay way. Because of the
subject-matter the environment and weather is non-varied, but
they've managed to make the campaign varied by different types of
missions, to a good effect.
Like the game, the movie *Catwoman* has a bad reputation.
It recently was showing on a TV-channel here so i took the
opportunity to re-watch it. It may be that both the hero and the
super-villain are female with underlings on both sides are male,
that is the problem for viewers of both sexes, i don't know? But
for a comic-book-inspired adventure-movie i like it just fine.
So i replayed this game after about only half a year. It
naturally has much more fighting then the movie does, but
captures some of the scenes and the mode of the movie quite well
i think. Fighting and using cat-like acrobatics to explore the
environment, the game could have been very good if not ruined by
the camera-movement working against you, to the point of making
beating the camera-movement the game itself.
--
Nah-ah. I'm staying out of this. ... Now, here's my opinion.
Please followup in the newsgroup.
E-mail address is invalid due to spam-control.
John Lewis
Nowhere in our little dialog in this thread have I insinuated that
YOU are a pirate. So, I have no idea where the above "Assumption"
comes from in the context of our present Witcher conversation.
However, "if the cap fits then wear it". Your well-hidden conscience
and memories of past dialogs on piracy may be betraying you.
John Lewis
>
>--
>Nostromo
Nostromo
Anno Domini:
>Nowhere in our little dialog in this thread have I insinuated that
>YOU are a pirate. So, I have no idea where the above "Assumption"
>comes from in the context of our present Witcher conversation.
>However, "if the cap fits then wear it". Your well-hidden conscience
>and memories of past dialogs on piracy may be betraying you.
He, he, so long as we're all sane, rational human beings here & agree that
*file sharing* per se, is nothing to do with these guys:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate
<G>
As I've said before, last I checked, I'd never sailed the high seas,
plundered, pillaged or raped anyone, much less shot cannonballs or other
heavy artillery at other ships! ;-p
Viva La Revolucion! >8^D
--
Nostromo
Unknown
wrote:
>On Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:31:27 +1100, Nostromo <nos...@forme.org> wrote:
>
......
>>As always, you are entitled to your opinion John. I say they're all as bad &
>>ineffective as each other. Assuming that makes me a 'pirate' of any
>>particular game is, well, a gross assumption in each & every particular
>>case...unless I've already admitted to not having a valid license of course
>><EG>.
>
>Nowhere in our little dialog in this thread have I insinuated that
>YOU are a pirate. So, I have no idea where the above "Assumption"
>comes from in the context of our present Witcher conversation.
>However, "if the cap fits then wear it". Your well-hidden conscience
>and memories of past dialogs on piracy may be betraying you.
>
The word isn't "insinuated" it's "innuendo". A snaky word, I agree.
I know a lot of gamers and some always buy, some always pirate by
downloading/sharing/whatever, and most do both. None I know except at
a remove on usenet or forums claim any particular moral choice is
involved, that there's some divide between the righteous/unrighteous.
It's a matter of convenience. Depends on disposable time and/or
income.
*Everyone* I know uses no-cd cracks. Everyone I know beams with
delight after learning how quick and easy it is to find and apply
the cracks, and how enjoyable it is to just fire up a game and play it
with no nagging bullshit.
Back to the word "innuendo". I've always associated buying an account
at giganews or easynews etc. wth thinking thru' factors like download
speed, retention, limitations on data access -- with deciding which
provider gives the best deal. I mean, of course, best bang for the
buck in terms of access to the binaries newsgroups. There're a number
of good free txt only providers out there. But that leaves a big
field available for slinging various innuendos about "piracy", doesn't
it?
CJM
<gnomon> wrote in message news:tfvgh55ehffeshj0h...@4ax.com...
> I know a lot of gamers and some always buy, some always pirate by
> downloading/sharing/whatever, and most do both. None I know except at
> a remove on usenet or forums claim any particular moral choice is
> involved, that there's some divide between the righteous/unrighteous.
> It's a matter of convenience. Depends on disposable time and/or
> income.
>
Ah you see... we obviously mix in different circles.
Because no-one in my circle of family friends and colleagues pirates games.
And mainly because they know it is wrong. And perhaps they fear the
consequences also.
Paradoxically, I do know some people who have downloaded some music; not
student-level quantities, but a few albums nevertheless.
> *Everyone* I know uses no-cd cracks. Everyone I know beams with
> delight after learning how quick and easy it is to find and apply
> the cracks, and how enjoyable it is to just fire up a game and play it
> with no nagging bullshit.
No-cd cracks are different. Although they are perhaps illegal (not sure if
they actually are), there is no moral impropriety if you are simply using
them to avoid having to repeatedly dig out your legally-owned game DVD.
Unknown
<cjmu...@gmail.removethis.com> wrote:
>
><gnomon> wrote in message news:tfvgh55ehffeshj0h...@4ax.com...
>
>> I know a lot of gamers and some always buy, some always pirate by
>> downloading/sharing/whatever, and most do both. None I know except at
>> a remove on usenet or forums claim any particular moral choice is
>> involved, that there's some divide between the righteous/unrighteous.
>> It's a matter of convenience. Depends on disposable time and/or
>> income.
>>
>
>Ah you see... we obviously mix in different circles.
>
>Because no-one in my circle of family friends and colleagues pirates games.
We sure do!
Nostromo
Domini:
>On Fri, 4 Dec 2009 15:09:48 -0000, "CJM"
><cjmu...@gmail.removethis.com> wrote:
>
>>
>><gnomon> wrote in message news:tfvgh55ehffeshj0h...@4ax.com...
>>
>>> I know a lot of gamers and some always buy, some always pirate by
>>> downloading/sharing/whatever, and most do both. None I know except at
>>> a remove on usenet or forums claim any particular moral choice is
>>> involved, that there's some divide between the righteous/unrighteous.
>>> It's a matter of convenience. Depends on disposable time and/or
>>> income.
>>>
>>
>>Ah you see... we obviously mix in different circles.
>>
>>Because no-one in my circle of family friends and colleagues pirates games.
>
>We sure do!
LOL! This reminds me of that old saying: "99% of men masturbate, 1% lie!"
<G>.
--
Nostromo
Tim O
>On Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:56:11 GMT, john...@verizon.net (John Lewis)
>wrote:
>
>>On Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:31:27 +1100, Nostromo <nos...@forme.org> wrote:
>>
>......
>
>>>As always, you are entitled to your opinion John. I say they're all as bad &
>>>ineffective as each other. Assuming that makes me a 'pirate' of any
>>>particular game is, well, a gross assumption in each & every particular
>>>case...unless I've already admitted to not having a valid license of course
>>><EG>.
>>
>>Nowhere in our little dialog in this thread have I insinuated that
>>YOU are a pirate. So, I have no idea where the above "Assumption"
>>comes from in the context of our present Witcher conversation.
>>However, "if the cap fits then wear it". Your well-hidden conscience
>>and memories of past dialogs on piracy may be betraying you.
>>
>
>The word isn't "insinuated" it's "innuendo". A snaky word, I agree.
You need to pirate a thesaurus.
Unknown
wrote:
Couldn't I buy one instead? Or are you insinuating something?
Tim O
Innuendoing something according to you.
Unknown
Tim O
Precisely. I used the word you suggested John Lewis use. It wouldn't
work in his sentence either. I'm far from a grammar cop, but what
you're doing is way worse. You're telling him to replace correct usage
with incorrect.
Unknown
wrote:
.....
>>>>>>
>>>>>>The word isn't "insinuated" it's "innuendo". A snaky word, I agree.
>>>>>
>>>>>You need to pirate a thesaurus.
>>>>
>>>>Couldn't I buy one instead? Or are you insinuating something?
>>>
>>>Innuendoing something according to you.
>>
>>that's poor usage ;)
>
>Precisely. I used the word you suggested John Lewis use. It wouldn't
>work in his sentence either. I'm far from a grammar cop, but what
>you're doing is way worse. You're telling him to replace correct usage
>with incorrect.
zzzzzzzzzz,,
and bullshit. Since this tedious bullshit has put me into a pleasant,
sleepy condition, and you seem amenable to continue it, what the hey,
let's continue it.
If there wasn't, as John says, any particular insinuation re. N in J's
short explication, J's wording sure the fuck was replete with a
general innuendo (implication). And that's *all* N shot down.
N: "Assuming that makes me a 'pirate' of any particular game is,
well, a gross assumption in each & every particular case.."
J's response was lame
J: "Nowhere in our little dialog in this thread have I insinuated
that YOU are a pirate. So, I have no idea where the above "Assumption"
comes from in the context of our present Witcher conversation.
I was merely pointing out the dead obvious, namely where "the above
"Assumption"" originated. 'tis there, just look it up a few steps
back in this thread -- an argument by innuendo -- however you or J
choose to parse the snaky term.
Like N, I think the argument is absurd.
CJM
<gnomon> wrote in message news:pf8uh5tqa2pn3d0ce...@4ax.com...
>
> If there wasn't, as John says, any particular insinuation re. N in J's
> short explication, J's wording sure the fuck was replete with a
> general innuendo (implication).
And here is the crux of the matter; although insinuation and innuendo are
effectively synonymic nouns, there is also the verb (that's a 'doing' word
to you) insinuate - which is the verb John appropriately chose in his post.
>
> N: "Assuming that makes me a 'pirate' of any particular game is,
> well, a gross assumption in each & every particular case.."
>
> J's response was lame
>
Johns response was appropriate. Accused of insinuating that Nos pirated the
game, he could defend himself in a number of ways.
Perhaps he was 'clarifying' - the previous points may not be valid if they
are actually talking about a hacked game. Or perhaps he was 'inferring'
(from many previous posts, where Nos has admitted to pirating games) that
the game was probably pirated, or simply 'assuming' that it was.
> J: "Nowhere in our little dialog in this thread have I insinuated
> that YOU are a pirate. So, I have no idea where the above "Assumption"
> comes from in the context of our present Witcher conversation.
>
John's statement here is syntactically and semantically correct, albeit
short of one or two commas, IMHO.
> I was merely pointing out the dead obvious, namely where "the above
> "Assumption"" originated. 'tis there, just look it up a few steps
> back in this thread -- an argument by innuendo -- however you or J
> choose to parse the snaky term.
As I said earlier, innuendo and insinuations are synonyms. But they are also
nouns. John required a verb, a 'doing' work, and since there is no verb
related to innuendo.
"Nowhere in our little dialog in this thread have I argued by innuendo that
YOU are a pirate" is a very clumsy alternative.
> Like N, I think the argument is absurd.
So why partake in it?
Tim O
<cjmu...@gmail.removethis.com> wrote:
>So why partake in it?
Because he already whacked off to Lara Croft pictures and has nothing
else going on?
Unknown
<cjmu...@gmail.removethis.com> wrote:
...
>
>
>> Like N, I think the argument is absurd.
>
>So why partake in it?
I'm not partaking in J's argument. You and Tim are.
I see Tim found his level...
CJM
<gnomon> wrote in message news:1s40i59g8mq4qq3mg...@4ax.com...
>>
>>> Like N, I think the argument is absurd.
>>
>>So why partake in it?
>
> I'm not partaking in J's argument. You and Tim are.
>
Sure... if that makes you feel better...
Nostromo
-0500, Anno Domini:
ROFLMFAO! Errr...got a URL? :-/
--
Nostromo