God, pretty tough competition that decade. We have been in the 10's for sooooooooooooooooooooo long.
Video Game Thread
- Thread starter Beantown
- Start date
God, pretty tough competition that decade. We have been in the 10's for sooooooooooooooooooooo long.
AtheistPreacher
Well-Known Member
Now, I honestly don't know this, because I really haven't been following Rage, but does it have a Diablo-like loot system such as Borderlands had? My impression was that it didn't. And honestly, that sort of system was a big part of the appeal for me, because there was always the prospect of finding a better gun. I'm a sucker for those kinds of mechanics, and Borderlands did it better than probably any other game I can think of, including Diablo 2.
I'll have to check out the Giantbomb video... they have good folks there, a lot of ex-Gamespot folks that left after Kasavin moved on and Gerstmann was let go under suspicious circs. I did watch about 18 hours of IGN's 24-hour live stream, which should give you some idea of my level of excitement for this game. Demon's Souls was a system-seller for me back in 2009... I already owned a 360 and was loathe to waste money on an entirely new system when my 360 was working just fine, but I couldn't resist the siren call of that game, and I don't regret my purchase for an instant. I had been a From Software addict since the King's Field games in the mid-90s, and I just knew it would blow my socks off. It did. I haven't anticipated any game this much since RE4 way back in 2005.Reviews are very good to great for Dark Souls, not that someone intent on playing the game would need a review to convince them. It's nice, however, that it's getting the recognition I feel it deserves.
https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/dark-souls
This review was my favorite:
https://www.next-gen.biz/reviews/dark-souls-review
The only exception was a 70 given by a swedish review site citing "endless frustration"
I also suggest watching this hour and a half "quick look" by Giantbomb which was very entertaining, even moreso than the IGN 24 livestream.
https://www.giantbomb.com/quick-look-dark-souls/17-4966/
This game looks insanely fantastic.
As far as the written reviews go, I agree that the Edge review was the most entertaining... some of it was almost poetic.
As far as video reviews, I like Gamespot's by Kevin VanOrd, who is quite obviously in love with the game in a bad way (just listen to his tone of voice at the beginning). I don't think it's coincidence that Demon's Souls was Gamespot's Game of the Year in 2009, and VanOrd the site's Executive Editor.
(Watch in 720p if you can, some of the graphics are really gorgeous)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ach_m3-cKVg
I think it's interesting that Dark Souls has gotten such ridiculously high levels of press at gaming sites considering that it doesn't have nearly the mass appeal of more accessible titles like Skyrim, or FPSes and the like. It really does feel like it's a favorite of the critics. All to the good, I say.
Less than 24 hours now until I get my hands on it. It's gonna be awesome.
So I picked up Assassin's Creed 2 (never played any of them) for cheap a few days ago. Pretty good game, but holy hell I suck at the free running so far. To the point where I'm having to do any sort of race like 15-20 times before I win. That being said, the story/atmosphere are done very well, at least so far.
I'm hoping it'll get me by till Skyrim comes out, which at that point I will cease to exist from my xbox.
I'm hoping it'll get me by till Skyrim comes out, which at that point I will cease to exist from my xbox.
I agree, that'll be the game that replaces WOW in my online gaming life, though I haven't played WOW in six months or so.
Duck Rodgers
Well-Known Member
Have you played it yet? If so, do you agree with Mr. Gamespot above? I'm going to pick it up once I can clear out some major free time, but I'm interested in what you have to say because you seemed like you had some lofty expectations for it.
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AtheistPreacher
Well-Known Member
I certainly did have lofty expectations, and I haven't been disappointed. From Software has taken Demon's Souls and made it bigger and better in almost every way: a large open world, more enemy variety, more items, more spells, and a lot more interesting decisions to make that genuinely change how the games plays. I think it's pretty easily into my top 10 favorite games ever.
The biggest new feature is definitely the bonfires... there are basically checkpoints in the world that replenish your magic spell stocks and healing items. When you die, you respawn at the last bonfire you rested at. Interestingly, resting at bonfires will not only heal you, but also respawn all enemies in the area, so sometimes you'll actually want to make a tactical decision not to rest.
The combat remains as precise and satisfying as it was Demon's Souls, with a few new wrinkles. Pyromancy has been created as an alternative to sorcery, and in lieu of an MP bar, all spells now have stocks that you can use until they're gone (and restock for free at any bonfire). They've added a kick for staggering enemies and/or knocking them off cliffs, as well as a surprisingly useful leap attack.
Once again the game contains a huge variety of weapons, most of which behave very differently, and can all be upgraded along different paths depending on your style. You may find yourself staying with a weapon of lower power simply because you like how it behaves versus a stronger weapon.
Again there's only one save file per character, and it's auto-saving all the time, so there's no going back on any decision. Some may find this annoying, but it really adds to the weight of all your actions. You'll find yourself carefully weighing the possible benefits for doing something like joining an in-game covenant (basically competing factions within the game world, a new feature)... some of which may pit your against otherwise friendly NPCs, or allow you to skip certain bosses, or teach you special spells. Replayablility is high simply because there's no way you're going to discoverer everything on just one playthrough.
Speaking of, I've basically finished a first playthrough of the game; I can now fight the final boss, but I'm holding off to round up some gear and do some weapon upgrades before I beat the final dude and start on New Game+, which lets you carry over all your levels and spells and equipment, but makes all the enemies harder.
In any case, I could go on, but that's the quick-and-dirty version. If you've played Demon's Souls, you know what you're getting here. It's an awesome game that bucks the trend of coddling gamers and is justifiably garnering high praise from critics. If you like a challenge and enjoy action RPGs, you should definitely give Dark Souls a shot. End of story.
//r00t 4 Jazz
Well-Known Member
Was meaning to ask what you thought of it was just really busy last week and I bought both Rage and Dark Souls last Tue when they came out. Sadly haven't been able to play as my week has been hectic, here's to hoping I get some time in tonight.
I did turn it on and try to create a character just to get that out of the way as I'm always slow to make those decisions and now knowing what I know and how the game plays the starting class isn't really that important since you can modify/retune as you level to suite how you play (Demon Souls made Hunters since they started with a bow). With that said it appears that the Pyro or Wanderer are the best two classes from what I see based on stats and starting level, oh and no I haven't actually created the character yet.
I did turn it on and try to create a character just to get that out of the way as I'm always slow to make those decisions and now knowing what I know and how the game plays the starting class isn't really that important since you can modify/retune as you level to suite how you play (Demon Souls made Hunters since they started with a bow). With that said it appears that the Pyro or Wanderer are the best two classes from what I see based on stats and starting level, oh and no I haven't actually created the character yet.
AtheistPreacher
Well-Known Member
You're right about the starting class not really mattering that much. After gaining about 20 levels it's hard to tell which class you started with.
IMHO, Pyromancer is the best starting class. He's one of only two classes that begins with offensive magic, but unlike the Sorcerer, he also has some melee capabilities to back up the magic. That fireball will really make a few of the early bosses much easier than they might have been otherwise. I'd recommend the class to pretty much anyone playing the game for the first time. Only bummer is that his starting shield is god-awful, and needs to be replaced as soon as possible.
Pyromancy has actually been designed as a supplement to melee-type characters, because none of the spells have any Intelligence requirements. You can pump all your levels into strength or endurance or whatever and still make use of Pyromancy... the ONLY thing that determines it's power is your "Pyromancy Flame" (the weapon needed to cast Pyromancy spells), which can be upgraded about 20 times.
But... just FYI, I picked Pyromancer but ended up basically doing a pure Sorcerer build. In the end, Pyromancy is sort of like the retarded cousin of Sorcery - its spells have fewer uses, come out more slowly, don't home in on enemies, and (the big one) have much less range. Sorcery can usually be cast from a pretty safe distance, but Pyromancy requires that you be up close and personal, and since it tends to come out slowly the timing can be difficult.
Just depends on your playstyle. I've been kind of enjoying blasting people to smithereens from afar.
AtheistPreacher
Well-Known Member
Well, I've now played through Dark Souls twice, and am probably done with it for a while.
Battlefield 3 comes out tomorrow, and I still haven't played any Batman: Arkham City. Those two should keep me occupied for a while. Then there's Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 coming out in three weeks.
What are y'all playing nowadays?
Battlefield 3 comes out tomorrow, and I still haven't played any Batman: Arkham City. Those two should keep me occupied for a while. Then there's Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 coming out in three weeks.
What are y'all playing nowadays?
Darkwing Duck
Well-Known Member
I play Zelda. A LOT.
Duck Rodgers
Well-Known Member
I beat Uncharted finally. It's only been out for like 5 years so I figured I would finally plow through the rest that had been unfinished. I don't like that game as much as the reviewers did.