Gaming Confessions & Blasphemy

Rykin wrote:

You know the inventory system was terrible but also the guns in ME just weren't that varied. In a weapon class all the different weapons pretty much felt the same and there were never any really interesting choices to make. There was almost always a single gun that was the best choice in every stat (especially with some of the stuff added by the Pinnacle Station DLC). I missed having an inventory a bit in ME2 but I have to say the weapon variety was much more interesting.

Just going to skip the whole special level of hell that is the Inventory Management of ME1...

I felt this way about the guns in ME3 as well. My Shepard always ran with a pistol augmented for damage, and then with Liara and Tali as backup running the same machine pistols. I never changed out upgrades, switched weapons, or even switched crew (unless dictated by the story).

McIrishJihad wrote:

Just going to skip the whole special level of hell that is the Inventory Management of ME1...

And that's the problem with crap design, it drives people away from parts of your game and makes them only touch it the bare minimum they need to to get through the rest of the game. If you're really unlucky those crap bits turn them off the entire game.

In the case of ME1 the 135 item carry limit is a real pain in the ass as it interrupts your play of the fun bits and makes you do that crap bit.

I found myself just not caring. It's only been 2 years since I played it, but the inventory management is what prevents me from going back. I love that they abstracted the ammo types out to abilities in ME2, and limited the armor options.

I always felt myself going "well, I'll sell all th Cryo2s that I've got because I'm starting to pick up Cryo3", but I still wouldn't dive in mid-fight to change ammo types.

I didn't swap out ammo that much (stuck with Incendiary/Inferno or Polonium or sometimes High Explosive with two high level cooling mods) but I played around with the mods a lot. With Pinnacle Station they added some high level cooling mods that could give you nearly unlimited firing capacity without over heating (or two to three shots with High Explosive ammo).

mrtomaytohead wrote:
Dakuna wrote:

Prince of Persia the original is the only good game in that series.

That was the one released in 2008, right?

Definitely refering to the 1989 release!

I didn't like Uncharted 2 at all. I don't understand the praise it receives as a huge improvement over the original. I found the controls maddeningly loose and imprecise. I will probably never finish it or play the third one as I've heard it's not as good.

Also, if The Last of Us feels exactly like the Uncharted games, then I will be taking a pass on it also.

The reason I liked Uncharted 2 can be summed up in 2 words: Claudia Black.

PaladinTom wrote:

I didn't like Uncharted 2 at all. I don't understand the praise it receives as a huge improvement over the original. I found the controls maddeningly loose and imprecise. I will probably never finish it or play the third one as I've heard it's not as good.

Also, if The Last of Us feels exactly like the Uncharted games, then I will be taking a pass on it also.

I'm with you. I picked up Uncharted 2 with high hopes and found it totally bland. It felt like I was thoroughly on rails, ambling from cutscene to cutscene; it didn't help that the b-list actors slogging through the c-grade Indiana Jones ripoff plot was an incredibly weak payoff for the boring gameplay.

This game was one of the reasons I finally broke down and got a PS3, and I was incredibly disappointed with it.

I´m not sure how far I´ve played so far, I think it´s been 5hrs, feels like 500, and I´m still waiting for the story to even START!

The game? Bioshock. I´ve heard SO many great things about it, and I´m just not feeling it. I keep hoping the story will jump start but so far, nothing. Interesting world? Looks nice, sure, although I have no idea what it is, or why, or how it came to be, or what ADAM is, or where it came from, or how plasmids came to exist, or what the New Year´s Eve attack was. Yeah, I´m listening to all recordings, and I did find interesting just what a twisted f*ck the surgeon doctor was, but that´s it. A side character gave somewhat of an atmosphere to the game, but nothing else has!! They keep throwing these bits and pieces of history of the place at me over and over, yet nothing sticks. Who are the splicers? Why are they deformed yet still live? Why are there ghosts? I don´t know. I´m really hoping it´s just a slow start, but if it is, it´s such a SLOW start. I think i´m really advanced in the story to have all of this be just a sort of "chapter 1", of sorts.

I already have the Chemical Thrower thingy, the Submarine exploded, and I´m in Arcadia I believe. Nothing. Couldn´t care less about Andrew Ryan, Atlas, or even the stupid avatar I´m moving around. I know nothing about him. I´m powering through, but I´m just not feeling the game. How far along am I?

Also, I´m harvesting all the Little Sisters, and judging by my reception so far, it´s likely I won´t play it again, so I´m curious, what happens if you SAVE all Little Sisters? Is it worth it in the end, as they claim?

Don't know what to tell you. I remember being terrified to even get out of the capsule at the beginning of the game and then being immersed every second of the experience until the end. I still don't understand why people were disappointed with the ending. It grabbed me by the throat and never let go.

I saved all the little sisters because if you don't you're a monster.

lostlobster wrote:

Don't know what to tell you. I remember being terrified to even get out of the capsule at the beginning of the game and then being immersed every second of the experience until the end. I still don't understand why people were disappointed with the ending. It grabbed me by the throat and never let go.

I saved all the little sisters because if you don't you're a monster.

Also, it's more profitable in ADAM to do so... which I still think was a very bad moral system in terms of making it a hard choice. Once you get past those first 4 or 5 sisters, and you get your first present, you find out being a jerk makes it harder rather than easier to do the wrong thing (which you would think would be at a profit to yourself). Once I figured that out, I was very confused as to why they did that. :X

kexx wrote:

I already have the Chemical Thrower thingy, the Submarine exploded, and I´m in Arcadia I believe. Nothing. Couldn´t care less about Andrew Ryan, Atlas, or even the stupid avatar I´m moving around. I know nothing about him. I´m powering through, but I´m just not feeling the game. How far along am I?

You're maybe a quarter to third of the way through. If you're in Arcadia and don't know where Adam comes from, you've missed a few audio logs. The various reveals about parts of the world are steady as you go through the game, it's not all at the beginning.

kexx wrote:

I´m not sure how far I´ve played so far, I think it´s been 5hrs, feels like 500, and I´m still waiting for the story to even START!

The game? Bioshock. I´ve heard SO many great things about it, and I´m just not feeling it. I keep hoping the story will jump start but so far, nothing. Interesting world? Looks nice, sure, although I have no idea what it is, or why, or how it came to be, or what ADAM is, or where it came from, or how plasmids came to exist, or what the New Year´s Eve attack was. Yeah, I´m listening to all recordings, and I did find interesting just what a twisted f*ck the surgeon doctor was, but that´s it. A side character gave somewhat of an atmosphere to the game, but nothing else has!! They keep throwing these bits and pieces of history of the place at me over and over, yet nothing sticks. Who are the splicers? Why are they deformed yet still live? Why are there ghosts? I don´t know. I´m really hoping it´s just a slow start, but if it is, it´s such a SLOW start. I think i´m really advanced in the story to have all of this be just a sort of "chapter 1", of sorts.

I already have the Chemical Thrower thingy, the Submarine exploded, and I´m in Arcadia I believe. Nothing. Couldn´t care less about Andrew Ryan, Atlas, or even the stupid avatar I´m moving around. I know nothing about him. I´m powering through, but I´m just not feeling the game. How far along am I?

Also, I´m harvesting all the Little Sisters, and judging by my reception so far, it´s likely I won´t play it again, so I´m curious, what happens if you SAVE all Little Sisters? Is it worth it in the end, as they claim?

You get more Adam by saving them in the long run. The story is really told through the world in Bioshock. Listening in on splicers and finding the audio logs and just paying attention to the little details is how most of the story is told really. It is subtle at times.

I loved waking up at the bottom of the ocean, under the plane crash. I remember walking into the lighthouse, and I was really into it when I heard over the radio two people freaking the hell out that "someone" had found them, and was getting in, using the bathysphere. I loved it! Then I arrive, and witness how a spider splicer viciously murders someone! I too was terrified to leave the sphere. I thought I was in for such a ride.

Then I got my first plasmid just like that. No story or explanation or blurb, or burp about it. Just...here, go zap stuff, we altered your genetic code, hit them when they´re in the water. I mean...really? That´s all I´m getting?

I thought, OK, cool. Fine. I´ll be patient. I don´t need every little bit of info right away, I´m sure the reveal will be awesome. Up to where I´m at, not only has it not been revealed, it´s been dismissed completely. Just...take it as part of our universe, that´s it. You have cool powers. This is our "gamey" gimmick. Explanation? Justification of its existence? Umm....look behind you! 60´s decor!

Extremely disappointing...so far. I´m determined to play it through. I feel my judgement wouldn´t be fair otherwise. I owe the game that.

Also, playing this on m+k is SO wonky. I don´t know how it is with a controller, but switching between guns and powers, and previous guns and previous powers, and next guns and next powers, and all of that again, but for ammo? Damn...too much of a mess. I´m getting a rhythm to it. Big Daddies, at least Rosies, are no longer an issue, but still, I´ve died in this game more times than in Super Meat Boy.

Damnit there is a MacHall or Three Panel Soul comic I so want to post here in regards to BioShock but I can't find it. It details how one guys sets these intricate traps to kill the big daddies and the other guy just uses electric shotgun ammo. Armor piercing ammo works well too.

lostlobster wrote:

I saved all the little sisters because if you don't you're a monster.

A HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE MONSTER.

The first time I ran into a Little Sister I harvested, and I was so shaken by it I felt physically ill. I turn off the 360, went upstairs for a while, reloaded an earlier save, and rescued without fail from that point. To be fair, I have a little girl, so the cheap psychological ploy of "protect the little one" worked better on me.

Also, in Bioshock 2, you're a Big Daddy, and they're YOUR Little Sisters. PROTECT THE LITTLE ONES.

kexx wrote:

They keep throwing these bits and pieces of history of the place at me over and over, yet nothing sticks. Who are the splicers? Why are they deformed yet still live? Why are there ghosts? I don´t know. I´m really hoping it´s just a slow start, but if it is, it´s such a SLOW start. I think i´m really advanced in the story to have all of this be just a sort of "chapter 1", of sorts.

I already have the Chemical Thrower thingy, the Submarine exploded, and I´m in Arcadia I believe. Nothing. Couldn´t care less about Andrew Ryan, Atlas, or even the stupid avatar I´m moving around. I know nothing about him. I´m powering through, but I´m just not feeling the game. How far along am I?

The pacing in Bioshock is very different from most games. As somebody else said, it's all told through the environment, and that means it can be really uneven. The "audiolog" thing has become incredibly cliche'd since its use in Bioshock, too (it wasn't exactly novel at the time, but it seems even sillier in retrosepect).

What's supposed to happen is that you're impressed by the world around you and engaged by the combat system while you pick up pieces of the puzzle.

I liked Bioshock at the time, but I'm not sure how well it's aged, graphically, thematically, or in gameplay. I'm awfully tired of linear me-too shooters, even pretty ones set in interesting locations, and the 'ol Bioshock "twist" is a trick that only really works once every now and then. I suspect/worry that Infinite is going to follow an incredibly similar trajectory and I'll be a lot less forgiving of it this time.

I enjoyed the story in BioShock 1 and 2 but found the gunplay and plasmids pretty unsatisfying to use. It's a fairly subjective thing, but I never had much fun with the actual gameplay, so while I found lots to like in the narrative, 20 hours of unsatisfying shooting really made it a slog to get through.

Rykin wrote:

Damnit there is a MacHall or Three Panel Soul comic I so want to post here in regards to BioShock but I can't find it. It details how one guys sets these intricate traps to kill the big daddies and the other guy just uses electric shotgun ammo. Armor piercing ammo works well too.

But I like my shotgun, it has lightning bullets.

http://threepanelsoul.com/2007/09/08...

Sorry, URL links don't work for me at work.

System Shock 2 was the first game where the audiolog style of storytelling was really impactful (that I played, anyhow) - Bioshock was really a refinement of SS2's storytelling with a much more cinematic flair.

beanman101283 wrote:

I enjoyed the story in BioShock 1 and 2 but found the gunplay and plasmids pretty unsatisfying to use.

Hear, hear!

Singularity fixes that problem.

I'm guessing shock1 was where all that audio diary nonsense began as that was where they were beginning to put games onto CD and could afford the space for voice acting. (there's a floppy version without the audio)

What really killed Bioshock for me were the resurrection chambers and the Big Daddy fights. The resurrection chambers didn't make things particularly easy, more like they made them...complicated. The Big Daddy fights were just unwieldy. I guess there's a point where Adam makes them more reasonable, but early on you're basically kiting them around while emptying all of your ammo into them. Again, not difficult, just not much fun, either.

I also found my asking why I was mowing my way through these corridors long before I met Ryan. In fact, having no good answer to that question, I quit playing and moved on to something else.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:
lostlobster wrote:

I saved all the little sisters because if you don't you're a monster.

A HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE MONSTER.

The first time I ran into a Little Sister I harvested, and I was so shaken by it I felt physically ill. I turn off the 360, went upstairs for a while, reloaded an earlier save, and rescued without fail from that point. To be fair, I have a little girl, so the cheap psychological ploy of "protect the little one" worked better on me.

Also, in Bioshock 2, you're a Big Daddy, and they're YOUR Little Sisters. PROTECT THE LITTLE ONES.

I like earning and seeing all the endings a game has. I played BioShock 3 times total. I had to go to youtube to see anything but the good ending.

I dunno man, I was pretty into the world when I saw the shadow of the woman talking to the baby carriage, shot her in the back of the head, and then saw she had a gun in that carriage.

ccesarano wrote:

I dunno man, I was pretty into the world when I saw the shadow of the woman talking to the baby carriage, shot her in the back of the head, and then saw she had a gun in that carriage.

How did you shoot her? THAT'S THE FIRST GUN IN THE GAME! You must have used magic!

I hereby declare ccesarano a witch, and motion for an imminent burning. Bring yer kids and marshmallows!

beanman101283 wrote:

I enjoyed the story in BioShock 1 and 2 but found the gunplay and plasmids pretty unsatisfying to use. It's a fairly subjective thing, but I never had much fun with the actual gameplay, so while I found lots to like in the narrative, 20 hours of unsatisfying shooting really made it a slog to get through.

I thought the first Bioshock had some real issues with becoming a slog (particularly after the big reveal, at which point the game started feeling somewhat redundant), but I thought Bioshock 2 was pretty fantastic throughout. The voice acting and story were better in general, and the whole mechanic of protecting the Little Sister while they harvested really added a fun twist for me. I'd set up all my traps and stuff, hypnotize people, get some security bots, and make a party of it. Also:

Spoiler:

Lamb was a much better antagonist than Ryan, and I though that, as you got nearer the end and closer to Eleanor, she was phenomenal. Eleanor announces she'd rather be with you (her Big Daddy) rather than Lamb (her real mother), and from that point on there's this amazingly genuine bitterness and spite in Lamb's voice, like you can hear the regrets.

I thought Bioshock made a great world, but I think Bioshock 2 was one of the singly best games of this generation.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

I thought the first Bioshock had some real issues with becoming a slog (particularly after the big reveal, at which point the game started feeling somewhat redundant), but I thought Bioshock 2 was pretty fantastic throughout. The voice acting and story were better in general, and the whole mechanic of protecting the Little Sister while they harvested really added a fun twist for me. I'd set up all my traps and stuff, hypnotize people, get some security bots, and make a party of it.

I did appreciate the ability to equip both plasmids and firearms in 2, and I also liked that the segments of protecting the Little Sisters did a much a better job of encouraging experimentation and improvisation with the plasmids and weapons. They still felt the same though, so it remained as unsatisfying as the first game. And as I said, I enjoyed the story in 2.

I thought Bioshock 1 was terribly, terribly boring. It felt like System Shock for the modern gamer crowd, and it lacked the creepiness, pacing, and writing. I never finished it.

TheHipGamer wrote:

I thought Bioshock 1 was terribly, terribly boring. It felt like System Shock for the modern gamer crowd, and it lacked the creepiness, pacing, and writing. I never finished it.

Same here. I followed the development with all of the references to System Shock and got way too over-hyped for it. I was sorely disappointed that it turned out to be a shooter (and not a very good one in my opinion) with rpg elements instead of the opposite. Also, for some reason I just couldn't suspend my disbelief enough with all of the technology in the game. Audio logs, vending machines and turrets felt so out of place for the setting - which was brilliant.

That said, I'm also not looking forward to Bioshock: Infinite all that much. It looks like more of the same in many ways. It may not be a 'pass' but I'm pretty sure it will be a 'wait' for me. (Probably a long wait for a great Steam holiday sale. Jeebus knows my pile is big enough!)