GWJ Chromehounds

Today was supposedly the day of release, but so far the three places I've checked are telling me a different date. Gamestop says tommorow, BB says Thursday, Target says Friday. *shrug*

LupusUmbrus wrote:

Today was supposedly the day of release, but so far the three places I've checked are telling me a different date. Gamestop says tommorow, BB says Thursday, Target says Friday. *shrug*

Yeah, what even many of us serious hard core gaming nerds don't realize is that there are two kinds of dates that publishers will announce, "ship dates" and "release dates." I have no idea why they don't just use one or the other, but my guess is that which they go with has to do with what how great the demand for a game is and how much money they are willing to devote to ensuring product deliveries happen on time. In any case, a when a publisher announces a "release date" it generally seems to mean that that is the day that you will be able to find the game in stores. Halo 2, for example, had a release date announced for it. "Ship dates" however, seem to be the day that the publisher is comitted to delivering product to the central distribution centers for their retail partners. Now, depending on your retailer, you may be lucky enough to get a game on a "ship date" but generally you will find games at your specialty retailers (Gamestop, EB) the day after a ship date, and at big box stores (Best Buys, Targets, etc) two or three days later.

Falls in line more or less. Game shops tomorrow or Thursday, box stores Friday (and sometimes $5-10 cheaper than specialty shops.)

Also, Gamestop and EBGames will only overnight smaller games if they've got a preorder. Otherwise they use ground shipping, which takes longer.

How about we start a new thread for reviews and impressions, and a 3rd thread for strategy and "the war".

I find the futureshop in town tends to have games on the same day or the day before the EB here.

souldaddy wrote:

How about we start a new thread for reviews and impressions, and a 3rd thread for strategy and "the war".

I don't mean to sound negative, but perhaps we should wait to make sure the game doesn't suck before we start throwing up more threads for it than any other game save WoW and BF2.

LobsterMobster wrote:
souldaddy wrote:

How about we start a new thread for reviews and impressions, and a 3rd thread for strategy and "the war".

I don't mean to sound negative, but perhaps we should wait to make sure the game doesn't suck before we start throwing up more threads for it than any other game save WoW and BF2. ;)

Oblivion.

In all seriousness, though, I would think that we could do impressions in this thread and just start a new thread to manage game organization and strategy discussions.

zeroKFE wrote:

In all seriousness, though, I would think that we could do impressions in this thread and just start a new thread to manage game organization and strategy discussions.

OK.

Hopefully the 22-page count (and growing) doesn't scare away the uninitiated.

Aqua Guy wrote:

When I say 'severe server problems' I mean I've been trying all weekend and I've not got on at all yet!

Word on the xbox.com forums is that the maintenance done today seems to have gone a long way toward addressing these problems. Of course, most of the US isn't on the game yet, so we'll see how things go tomorrow. In any case, they've scheduled another round of maintenance for next Tuesday as well, so my guess would be that if there are any remaining problems they ought to be cleared up then.

I would assume we'll be making an official game event on the calendar for this, so we can stick the strat discussions in there.

My EBGames preorder with the combat guide has shipped. I will likely get it Moday I would guess.

Sinatar wrote:

I would assume we'll be making an official game event on the calendar for this, so we can stick the strat discussions in there.

Well, a certain somebody needs to add Chromehounds to the list of games for this to happen. =)

souldaddy wrote:
Sinatar wrote:

I would assume we'll be making an official game event on the calendar for this, so we can stick the strat discussions in there.

Well, a certain somebody needs to add Chromehounds to the list of games for this to happen. =)

Might have to PM him. I doubt he's still following this crazy thread.

I'm starting to hear from stores that it might not even be in this week. Can anybody else confirm this in their area?

Desram wrote:

I'm starting to hear from stores that it might not even be in this week. Can anybody else confirm this in their area?

Definitely ought to be here in Davis tomorrow. I got my automated call from Gamestop this afternoon saying as much.

Team Xbox says 8.7/10. Additionally, while it is not particularly well written, they seem to have one of the most realistic and honest appraisals of the game I have read so far (basically lining up with what I have been saying about the game throughout the thread ever since the demo was released). From their summary:

Team Xbox wrote:

The Bottom Line

It's inevitable that a number of gamers will find Chromehounds completely despicable; such is the nature of games that modify a genre that is known and loved. Sure, there are times where Chromehounds is boring, but the boring parts are a part of the framework of the team concept that ultimately leads to a successful attack.

Did FROM take this sense of battle realism too far? This is hard to say. The fun quotient in Chromehounds is more case-by-case than most Xbox 360 games. But as I sat through the sparser and droll parts of a Chromehounds mission, I always knew that it would lead to a greater good. I always felt like I was helping the team, even as a Heavygunner in a 5mph route to higher ground. If you tend to be the "it's all worth it in the end" personality type, then Chromehounds is a must-have for your Xbox 360.

This has to be the widest range of scores for a game ever.

I got a call from Software Etc. telling me tomorrow (or today, rather). I have no idea why the place locally is still Software Etc. when all the deals it has says "at Gamestop/ebGames." Confusing, but anyway, yeah, Wednesday I go get my copy.

I managed to get online last night but had no time to play, I chose Sal Kar then thought about changing but got the "cannot change for 2 weeks" message though it wasn't entirley clear what would happen if I proceeded.
Didn't get to play multiplayer online as I had stuff to do but I did one of the single player missions.

I knew TeamXBox would like it.

So, looks like Aqua Guy has confirmed that there's no "grace change."

What do you guys want to do? Split up and then join up again after 2 weeks, or should we all start in Tarakia? I've heard some rumors that might indicate it's easier to do the lottery if you're the only person in your squad (something about squads having lottery entries that aren't on a 1:1 ratio with members).

Lets just all go tarakia. We will be lauded for our prowess and our sauce.

Woohoo... my copy is going to be here in an hour!

Desram wrote:

Lets just all go tarakia. We will be lauded for our prowess and our sauce.

I agree. After two weeks we may loose the "underdog" spirit and want to change sides, but let's start with the losers (at the very least it will give us a chance to fight in urban environments, since Tarakia is basically pushed back to their capital.

OK. So who makes the squad?

LobsterMobster wrote:

OK. So who makes the squad?

I'll do it tonight, unless you have a hankering to be the squad leader (apparently, though, it doesn't matter too much; the only real thing the leader can do that others can't is boot members at his or her discretion). Also, a member of the squad you want to join has to be logged in to let you join, so I'll be sure to post when I'm playing online over the next few days so that people know when to jump on to join the squad. (The only caveat here is that it sounds like a country needs to be in control of its capital in order to join it. If this is the case and Tarakia doesn't reclaim their capital by this evening, I'll hold off and we can figure out our country situation tomorrow.)

Tonight, I should be on from about 8 PM (or whenever Zombie Skate ends) to about 10 PM PST (or maybe a bit later).

As for the name, I want to be sure I have the spelling and capitalization that everyone wants. "3rd Goodjer Cav" is what I will use, unless I hear otherwise.

Finally, I posted a link to this earlier in the thread, but since today is the release date I'll post it again. Here is a fairly decent beginner's guide put together by a guy on the official forums. You may need to have your Xbox Live account linked to a MS Passport in order to see that page, though, so if you have trouble accessing that let me know and I'll copy it and post it up on my personal webspace.

I think you've got the squad name spelling correct.

zeroKFE wrote:

As for the name, I want to be sure I have the spelling and capitalization that everyone wants. "3rd Goodjer Cav" is what I will use, unless I hear otherwise.

Name is perfect...

-edit-

Holy... Go Tarakia!

Map

Good post on Quarter to Three with great n00b information.

He says Tarakia is done and there are some seriously disadvantages to joining a defeated faction (in the short run).