The Video Game Thread - what are you playing?

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 22 Apr 2008, 16:08

Played Oblivion a bit lately, looks good so far but I do have some pop-up problems.
It supposedly can be fixed with some download, but the mod-manager thingy seems to conflict with Vista's bullshitty restrictions, thus saying I have to be a administrator etc..

Anyway, cool game so far.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 22 Apr 2008, 16:14

Hey Yi, try this.
Back up your save games, make note of the version that you've patched the game to.

Reinstall the game to directory that ain't Program Files, eg d:\games\Elder Scrolls 4. Vista has pretty much "write-protected" the Program Files directory, ie it doesn't let the user mess with said files.

Bloody stupid IMO. Ignore Brad's ramblings. It's always better for games to be run one centralised location, a well coded game should be able to work even if you haven't actually installed it the traditional way.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 25 Apr 2008, 17:57

EvaUnit02 wrote:Hey Yi, try this.
Back up your save games, make note of the version that you've patched the game to.

Reinstall the game to directory that ain't Program Files, eg d:\games\Elder Scrolls 4. Vista has pretty much "write-protected" the Program Files directory, ie it doesn't let the user mess with said files.

Bloody stupid IMO. Ignore Brad's ramblings. It's always better for games to be run one centralised location, a well coded game should be able to work even if you haven't actually installed it the traditional way.

Hey Eva,

Thanks man. Does sound like a lot of hassle. Isnt there an easier way to bypass that annoying Vista security bullshit!?

I'm getting really sick and tired of that crap, all those security pop-ups, etc etc.

When I uninstall and re-install my Oblivion, my savegames just stay where they are, right!? That's what happened last time I reinstalled it.
Just annoyed I'll have to do it all again, like installing the update patch etc again, and hoping it all works etc...

Anyway, started playing motoGP07 today on PC. Very nice game, especially the 'extreme' tracks are nice... although a bit too short.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 25 Apr 2008, 18:20

Yi-Long wrote:When I uninstall and re-install my Oblivion, my savegames just stay where they are, right!? That's what happened last time I reinstalled it.

I don't know, as I've never played Oblivion. Still, I highly recommend that you should back up your saves before uninstalling.

Anyway, started playing motoGP07 today on PC. Very nice game, especially the 'extreme' tracks are nice... although a bit too short.

I installed and played a bit of the PC Director's Cut of Assassin's Creed. (Came it a lovely LE tin box, numbered and everything.) From what I've seen it's a very high quality game, with excellent production values. I love the how fluidic and intuitive the controls and gameplay are. The Prince of Persia-esque building traversing and acrobatics are wonderful.

Support for the Wireless Xbox 360 controller is partially broken though, that pissed me off. No rumble and the triggers register as analogue stick axes, not buttons. Fucking hardware specifications say that it specifically has support for the X360 gamepad.

Apparently it has serious issues on 8 series Nvidia Geforces too, which Ubisoft promises will be corrected in a patch. I've experienced only one minor rendering issue and that was easily corrected that by following a helpful forum post.

Also it takes fucking forever to quit out of the game, because of the shitty console-esque menus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwOvuY0UbFM

gasteropod · Post by **gasteropod** » 29 Sep 2008, 23:32

I've been playing WipEout HD the last couple of days, and it's awesome, well worth the wait. If anyone here has it, add me (gasteropod is my ID) and tell me your B'n'B name in a message so I know who's adding me.

I've just completed Broken Sword 2.5. Any Broken Sword fans here? If you haven't heard of this one, it's a fanmade game by a bunch of Germans, they've been working on it for years, and it finally came out today. It's really good!

Download it for free: http://www.brokensword25.com/news/news.htm

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 30 Sep 2008, 00:08

gasteropod wrote:I've been playing WipEout HD the last couple of days, and it's awesome, well worth the wait. If anyone here has it, add me (gasteropod is my ID) and tell me your B'n'B name in a message so I know who's adding me.

I've just completed Broken Sword 2.5. Any Broken Sword fans here? If you haven't heard of this one, it's a fanmade game by a bunch of Germans, they've been working on it for years, and it finally came out today. It's really good!

Download it for free: http://www.brokensword25.com/news/news.htm

I've heard about Broken Sword 2 years ago. In what ways is BS2.5 different!?

I've only played Wipeout on the PSP, but didnt really like it. I love F-Zero on the cube though.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 30 Sep 2008, 10:19

Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

gasteropod · Post by **gasteropod** » 30 Sep 2008, 12:22

Yi-Long wrote:I've heard about Broken Sword 2 years ago. In what ways is BS2.5 different!?

I've only played Wipeout on the PSP, but didnt really like it. I love F-Zero on the cube though.

Broken Sword 1 & 2 were 2D point and click games, but then sequels 3 & 4 were 3D, which of course was unpopular with a lot of fans (including myself). Broken Sword 2.5 is a fanmade game which takes it back to the 2D style of the first two, and takes place between official games 2 & 3

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 30 Sep 2008, 13:02

gasteropod wrote:
Yi-Long wrote:I've heard about Broken Sword 2 years ago. In what ways is BS2.5 different!?

I've only played Wipeout on the PSP, but didnt really like it. I love F-Zero on the cube though.
Broken Sword 1 & 2 were 2D point and click games, but then sequels 3 & 4 were 3D, which of course was unpopular with a lot of fans (including myself). Broken Sword 2.5 is a fanmade game which takes it back to the 2D style of the first two, and takes place between official games 2 & 3

Aw ic. So how is it? Both gameplay and graphicswise?

gasteropod · Post by **gasteropod** » 30 Sep 2008, 13:07

It's insanely good for a fanmade game, it's almost on a par with the first 2 games quality-wise. They've been making it for years, bless them. It even has CGI cutscenes.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 30 Sep 2008, 13:09

Cool. I might check it out. Right now though, I finally managed to install Sim City 4 again on my PC, so I'll probably play that for a while

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 01 Oct 2008, 15:15

I'm currently through Crysis Warhead for the 2nd time. It is utterly fantastic. Superior pacing, better level design, smarter AI, a much more likeable protagonist... non-stop excitement from beginning to end.

Worthy of note is current build of the engine. It's beautifully optimised and thus runs like a dream on Intel + Nvidia hardware. I've tried loading the original game's SP campaign as a mod for Warhead. The massive increase in smoothness and performance is immediately noticeable, it's like night and day.

IronMonkey · Post by **IronMonkey** » 01 Oct 2008, 22:59

I barely have time for PC gaming these days, but I've been playing Crysis Warhead on Delta difficulty, and so far have got to the second level. You're right about the optimisations - the game runs far better than Crysis did on my system (AMD & nVidia hardware).

Out of curiosity, how do you load the original campaign in Crysis Warhead? I'd love to play through that again on Delta with a fully optimised engine...

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 04 Oct 2008, 15:56

IronMonkey wrote:Out of curiosity, how do you load the original campaign in Crysis Warhead? I'd love to play through that again on Delta with a fully optimised engine...

http://www.mycrysis.com/thread.php?post ... post353494

IronMonkey · Post by **IronMonkey** » 04 Oct 2008, 18:20

Cheers, I'll give it a go...

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 05 Oct 2008, 06:56

Please report back your findings. It'd be interesting to know if there's a noticeable performance difference with AMD CPUs.

Thanks.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 18 Nov 2008, 12:49

Been playing alot lately. Bought a PS3 and been playing LittleBigPlanet.
On the PC I've been playing Pro Evo 2009, and on the PSP I've mainly been playing Jeanne D'Arc.

Still no HDTV yet though. Some new Panasonics are coming out next month I believe, and it's going to be one of those, or the Samsung plasma 756.

gasteropod · Post by **gasteropod** » 18 Nov 2008, 19:10

On LittleBigPlanet, I can't get past the 'wheel of death' on the military bunker type level

Yi, add me if you want, it's 'gasteropod'.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 18 Nov 2008, 21:18

gasteropod wrote:On LittleBigPlanet, I can't get past the 'wheel of death' on the military bunker type level

Yi, add me if you want, it's 'gasteropod'.

I was stuck there too, but what you have to do is 'hang' tll you're on the upside of the wheel, then let go and quickly run along the 'ceiling'. Kinda hard to explain but just look it up on Youtube.

That level, especially that part, is extremely frustrating and pretty much impossible, to do it the 'fair' way, due to the shifting camera and floating Sackboy.

I'd add you, but I think I need to change some shit in my modem/router first, cause the few times I tried to play the game online, it was laggy as hell, and I couldnt even PLAY...
It's probably a setting I have to alter in my Livebox, but havent really bothered to find out yet. Apart from Battlefield on the original Xbox, I havent really bothered with online play much.

I might install my Xbox Elite tonight or tomorrow, cause that new dashboard/software update is coming tomorrow.

Have you built any levels yet? I'm thinking about what I want to make. I just played around a bit in the level-editor, making crap like a rocket-elevator and ducks with brains that follow you around. Nothing serious yet.

gasteropod · Post by **gasteropod** » 18 Nov 2008, 23:00

I'd already tried doing that ceiling trick actually but still not managed to clear it, whenever I've got right to the end of the wheel (even the proper way, not using the trick), I miss the correct bit of the funnel that you're meant to go down, and just get stuck or electrocuted.

I wanted to make a LOST level but I was really struggling with the level editor to be honest, I wanted to make a really good smoke monster but I don't really know how to make it move across the level and stuff. The monsters on the fanmade level 'The Azure Palace' blow my mind, I can't understand how the guy made them.

And the fanmade level 'LittleBigCalculator' just beggars belief, I honestly don't get how a human could have made that lol.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 19 Nov 2008, 00:33

The ceiling trick is worth trying until you get it right. Once you have it, it's do-able. Trying it the hard way will only result in you throwing your controller across the room and killing anyone in sight...

The calculator is just mindbogling. I have absolutely no idea how anyone did that

When I first saw it, I didnt even 'get' it. I just thought :' ow cool... MM has even included the option to use a calculator in the game, or to easily make one...'. When you look at it more closely, it's just sick.

Just like all those 'music' levels. You know? The ones where you just drive on a cart and it controls the music? That's just insane. Maybe it's 'easy' when you're good with 'notes' and stuff.... but I really suck at anything musical (expect to see me on Idols next year!).

I havent played The Azure Level or any other home-made levels yet. I'm kinda waiting for everything to calk down a bit so we can have a clear vision of what all the good levels are to play

Right now, it just seems like everyone throws their level online just for the sake of it. I expect the REAL quality stuff to come out when many have mastered the editor, and when the average people have found something else to do.

gasteropod · Post by **gasteropod** » 19 Nov 2008, 01:52

Oh believe me, 'The Azure Palace' is very high quality, it's stunning and a must-play. Yeah there are loads of lame fanmade levels, but that's to be expected really I guess. I think that when you go on 'Cool Levels' or whatever it's called, the first page contains the most popular ones, so you shouldn't have to look too far really to find something decent.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 27 Nov 2008, 15:35

I'm currently playing through GTA4 for 360 and have to say that most of the magic that this series once had for me is gone. All of the PS2 era GTA's had this "pick-up and immediately start having fun" arcade-ish quality, but the attempted realism has all but killed it for me.

Start a melee brawl with a cop, kill him, take his baton and handgun and away you go on an instant gratification crime spree. Oh no, not in GTA4 - kill a cop and you immediately get a 2-star wanted rating; the "wanted circle" on the map makes it hard to escape the police; you can only use the Pay 'n' Spray if no one sees you enter. The over-the-top car physics are gone.

The moment that it looks like I'm going to escape the "wanted circle", two or three more squad cars come up on my arse and reset the recentre it. With a 3-star rating or more it's murderous, not fun at all.

Fuck the realism honestly. Bring back the old behaviour of pay 'n' sprays and the bribery pick-ups.

The tone of the game is pretty schizophrenic. On one hand you've got the gameplay that attempts realism, the serious storyline and other hand you've got GTA's trademark tongue-in-cheek crude humour with the radio stations, billboards, fictional companies, etc.

The more footage that I see of Saint's Row 2, the more that it looks like the GTA sequel that I expected from no. 4. Sounds like it'll have a decent PC port; I might blind buy that, especially after seeing Yahtzee's positive review.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 27 Nov 2008, 16:26

I havent really played GTA4 yet, so cant really judge about the 'fun-factor'. I do expect it to be lower, and the game to be less 'free' than the last few GTA's, so perhaps knowing that will make me accept that more easily. The trade-off is a more mature story.

When I played GTA for 15 minutes orso in HK, I still had fun, especially just crashing and seeing Nico fly all over the place.

I think Saints Row 2 is probably the best 'fun' sandbox-game where you can just go nuts and play and create havoc, and GTA4 is a high-quality crime-story in a sandbox-setting, but with stricter boundaries.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 27 Nov 2008, 19:41

I'm playing Fallout 3 on PC right now btw. Just came out of the vault and am just strolling around a bit. Been to Megaton and some small 'villages' around there...

The game is pretty good so far. I'm still very much at the beginning of it all, but has a nice vibe, plenty to explore and discover, lots of people and quests, etc etc.

One small complaint: you dont really have as much freedom as some would want you to believe. There's a guy with info on my dad, and basically he wants me to be his bitch and kill someone for him. He's a bad guy, so I WANT to just put a gun to his head and force the info out of him, but apparently that's not an option, which seems weird cause that seems like it would be a pretty logical option in real life.

Also, there was this guy who wanted to blow up the town. I shot him through his head, and honestly, no-one cared, even though no-one knew what he was up to. I think that's weird.
So in some ways people claim every action is possible and will have a result, but stuff like that just doesnt affect things the way you'd think would affect things. You'd expect at least a few questions from the Sheriff about WHY I shot some guy through the head...