Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to The Secret Project. All your IP are belong to us.

Click this to register, but you're probably an user anyway because we do have any friends.


If you're already an member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
What are you playing?
Topic Started: Feb 20 2011, 11:04 PM (24,741 Views)
Snowman
Member Avatar
Berserker
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Just played Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. AGAIN, they added a buncha new gameplay things that make it better. For example, the AI is a lot smarter in this game -- they actually call for help if they're attacked, and then people come in and search the area you were last seen in, and they'll find you if you're not hidden under a table or in a locker. They also added a bunch of new ways to distract enemies, so now you can throw things or knock on walls and the noise will draw them away from their usual spot. Also, YOU CAN AIM IN FIRST-PERSON which is not as exciting as I thought it'd be because I haven't used a controller to shoot stuff in a while and I'm really not used to that anymore. So the gameplay was better, but the story... I dunno. I'm glad the random villains actually had a reason to be there in this game (Dead Cell), as opposed to older games where you'd run into some random guy with cool skills who would threaten to kill you for no apparent reason. Sometimes the game felt like it was trying to be super smart and deep, but it doesn't feel right when you're sneaking around for a while just calmly trying to prevent a nuclear holocauust and then SUDDENLY 30 MINUTE MONOLOGUE ABOUT CENSORSHIP. But when it's not trying to be smart, the game is constantly reminding you that it's a game. I think it would've been better if they didn't start conversations with something like "hello yes I know the location of the nuclear weapon" and end with "YOU SHOULD SAVE YOUR GAME you've been playing for a long time PUSH THE ACTION BUTTON TO CLIMB DOWN THE LADDER". Anyway, I also didn't like Raiden for the first half of the game, but he improved later. I'd say he's better than Jar Jar and Kennedy, but worse than Dawn and Connor. I feel like there's a chance he'll be likable in MGS4 and Revengeance, but I dunno yet.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
MrMarill
Member Avatar
DAT STORY TIEM

Got Mario Kart 8 and, while I'll do a bigger writeup later, I've done 13 grand prix with friends and other modes with friends and I've never felt bored a single time. This game is so well polished and so fun. Only thing that got me is that bikes take a few races to get used to for sure. The customisation is fantastic.

Biggest issue is that characters are, as far as I can tell, unlocked randomly when to beat a Grand Prix. This is any Grand Prix, so I've already unlocked every character in the game besides two... one of these locked characters being Rosalina. Fuck you RNGesus.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Romanticide
Member Avatar
Cult Leader
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Tales of Graces f. If you've played this version of the game, you know what I mean when I say FUCK KURT.

Throwing down an All-Divide to halve damage is almost essential. If you don't, his combos will two-shot your healers and 2-3HKO Asbel/whoever else you bring. Course, you might forgo this if you're godly at dodging, but if you're godly at dodging you're laughing at Kurt. His moves aren't super hard to dodge, but you have to be on top of your dodging game to avoid most/all the damage.

Speaking of combos, he only really has four major moves. One is a swipe that goes 360 degrees around him, which is total bullshit. This move ensures that comboing is fucking useless. Another is a downward swipe, which is fairly easy to dodge. The third is an explosion move, which my baby nephew can dodge because he telegraphs it for like a second. The last is, of course, his Mystic Arte, which is a OHKO without an All-Divide and ~66% damage to one character with. The problem is if you fuck up the dodge, you'll prolly take 1K damage from his combos. The AI will fuck up the dodges because it's horrendous at dodging.

I set my healers to "heal often", meaning they would heal anyone under 75% HP. This is a stupidly defensive setup that I've never had to resort to in a Tales game. Basically Sophie/Cheria just sat around spamming their healing spells, because it was rare SOMEONE wasn't under 75%. (This probably would have helped versus Cedric but way too late now.)

This asshole brings along his Dragoon friends. Going for these guys with your character is SUICIDE. That's time you aren't trying to draw Kurt's aggro, meaning it's time he's running around pwning your other dudes. I just put Malik on "Reduce Numbers". It's slow but the Dragoons will eventually fall. They eventually stop respawning too, which was a nice touch. It allowed me to focus on Kurt to end this fucking bullshit.

About the only move I used during this stupid ass fight was Asbel's Infernal Torrent. It hits two of the asshole's weaknesses and you don't have to try and execute some combo that will inevitably be interrupted because the guy is never fucking stunned. If you could stun him and if his evasion weren't apparently through the roof, this fight would be hard but a bit fairer than it is.

I get that Fendel is a step up in difficulty in general, but the jump from the last couple of bosses to Kurt is just ludicrous. Those fights were challenging but fair and doable once you figured out what was going on. This was just stupid as fuck and not fun. Haven't dropped from hard yet but fuck it was tempting.


EDIT: I'd like to point out that I'm enjoying the game; it's just I needed to rant because this fight is fucking stupid. It's not the best Tales I've ever played, but it plays like a Tales game and is the most challenging one I've played, has the character interactions I've come to expect, and Pascal is one of my favorite characters in the series.
Edited by Romanticide, Jun 11 2014, 10:42 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Granskjegg
Member Avatar
Eg e husfar.
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
As many of you may know by now, I bought a Wii U this week, so I figured I'd write some of my first impressions on the system and some impressions of Mario Kart 8 as well.

The thing I was most curious about when it came to the Wii U was the Gamepad,it looks weird, but interesting, and that's pretty much it. However when I got it in my own hands my first thought was HOLY SHIT THIS IS HUGE!
The controller is large as fuck, but surprisingly light weight, while also feeling nice and solid.
The position of the analog sticks will take some getting used to (I'm most used to the PS3 controller, which has the opposite positioning).

So Mario Kart 8...wow. The graphics in this game! You can't compare this to stuff like Tomb Raider, Battlefield 4, Mass Effect etc. because the artstyle is so vastly different, but everything looks gorgeous. The 3D models, the shadow effect, it's all fantastic.
The framerate is also incredibly smooth, and doesn't drop a beat for even a split second. I've played MK8 for about 6 hours or so, and the experience has been flawless.

The Youtube and Netflix apps for the console are both good (although the youtube app is a bit weird, but is comfortable to navigate with the dpad + buttons), Netflix looks pretty similar to both PC and tablet versions, i.e. nice.

You navigate all the menus with the touch screen or buttons on the controller, and for menus the TV is pretty much useless, although it sometimes displays some useful information/a larger version of what the controller is showing.

The biggest downside to this awesome controller however is the battery time. Even with the power savings turned on, the vibration turned off and the brightness set all the way down it only seemed to last for about 4 hours, which is pretty shit. Luckily the charger cable is long (I want to say 2,5-3 meters?), so if you have some wall sockets somewhat close to where you sit the battery time shouldn't be a problem if you forgot to charge it/want to sit down for a long session. Another minus is the fact that the console can't play blu-ray discs if you have any HD movies laying around that you'd like to watch, but that's what the PS3 is for, right? :P

After a hands on experience with the system I would definitely recommend you all to buy one, it's simply fantastic. And the nice MK8 offer that gives you a free game is also a pretty nice incentive. With all the new games that are coming out this year, this seems like a pretty good time to buy a Wii U.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Antunee
Member Avatar
#1 Girl
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
The gamepad's battery life is kind of annoying. Nintendo sells an extended battery that gets 8 hours. There's a also a third party option with the Nyko UBoost, but it's more of an energy reservoir than an actual battery. It charges the actual battery when you turn it on.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Snowman
Member Avatar
Berserker
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
A friend wanted me to try out DC Universe Online again, so the two of us and one other friend made new characters. Got to level 12 together (cap is 30) fairly quickly, but then I read that the endgame stuff is super restrictive for free players. So the second friend and I decided to hop into Guild Was 2 again and we convinced the other friend to buy GW2 in the near future. I'm only level 13 (out of 80) in that, but I've read that it only takes a month of casual play to get to 80. At the rate I'm going now, that doesn't sound accurate at all, but apparently a lot of stuff opens up at level 30 so I guess I'll find out.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Pwner
Member Avatar
Jack of Some Trades
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
In preparation for the Hoenn remakes (and a little bit of refreshment as well), I recently played through 4th gen of pokemon again and am currently halfway through 5th Gen for a 2nd time. I must say that pokemon never ceases to be one of the most engrossing game experiences out there. I can't bring myself to take myself away from the games at times. It's truly a testament to the pure entertainment and overall quality of the series as a whole. I'm getting really excited for the remake of the generation that first engaged me throughout my childhood.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Outlaw454
Member Avatar
Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
I've been sucked back into MechWarrior Online. Anyone familiar with Battletech knows at least a bit about the Clan 'Mechs, and those are finally making their way into the game this Tuesday. They did a public test on Thursday, and another one tomorrow, and HOLY CRAP THESE MECHS ARE SO MUCH FUN. SOUNDS, ANIMATIONS, BALANCE. THEY NAILED IT.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Romanticide
Member Avatar
Cult Leader
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Beat Tales of Graces f, so I guess some thoughts?

Gameplay-wise, it's not typical Tales, where pressing X is about all it takes to win. You might have to hit circle or whatever too, but it's easy to play and do well as the main character, who is generally vanilla melee. Knowing how to guard is important too, as it is on Tales above Normal, but in this game guarding adds bonuses to your next attack(s?), which comes in EXTREMELY handy. Being able to stun/inflict ailments on bosses is as useful as you'd think it is.

Most of the bosses are challenging but fair, as I said in the last post. To me, there are a couple REALLY tough bosses (that asshole Kurt and the last boss of the future arc) and the rest are mostly tough but won't take more than a few tries. You'll figure out what they're about and formulate a decent strategy to dispose of them. Even regular encounters once you get past Fendel (about halfway in the main game) are capable of ending in a party wipe if you aren't paying attention/aren't keeping up in levels.

As for the last boss of the future arc, I think it's kind of shitty to include a trick to win the fight in spite of eating like 6 Mystic Artes but not allude to it in the game. If there's a hint in-game for that shit, I don't know where it is. Unless there is one that I missed, it just seems like a cheap ploy to sell strategy guides/add difficulty. Obviously I just looked it up on the internet mostly so I could move on, but still.

I think a big part of the challenge is that you don't get OP items that exist in other games. You don't get items that affect the whole party, basically. Gels/Elixirs that work on everyone are powerful, as they're a one-button recovery from a Mystic Arte or something equally devastating.

Story-wise, it's one of the weaker Tales games I've played. I'd put it below Dawn of the New World, which catches a lot of hate (but is hella fun to play) but above Legendia (which was just meh in everything that wasn't music). The childhood arc was a glorified tutorial, the war to begin the adult arc was hilariously rushed so we could move on and see the rest of the game's world before the 50 hour mark, and the "saev teh wurldz" stuff was fairly typical Tales. The future arc stuff had potential; I just wish it had begun sooner so we could see a certain spoiler-ish dynamic play out better.

Almost nobody plays Tales for the story, though. If they play for anything unrelated to gameplay, it's the characters and their interactions. As usual, the characters are basically walking collections of tropes but who cares when the interactions are this fun? Pascal is easily one of my favorite characters in the series. I'm a sucker for her type of character, but she's probably the funniest character I've seen in the series and her voice acting is on point, which is much appreciated when Asbel/Richard are AWFUL in the main game. As for the rest of the cast, I also liked Cheria, Malik, and Sophia, never mind Sophia's archetype has been done better by at least two other characters in the series. Asbel is a typical meh protagonist, and I want to like Hubert because I can relate but his personality is pretty insufferable.

Graphics are whatever and there are a few standouts in the music department, but I couldn't be assed to find them.

Considering gameplay and characters are what I play for, this game was worth my $17.49.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
DucksFAN93
Member Avatar
The Sports Nut Member
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
Would be playing Mario Kart!!




But.... My wii u died the day Mario Kart launched. So I'm waiting for NINTENDO to send me back my Wii U.... It's been almost a month already, stupid nintentards...
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Granskjegg
Member Avatar
Eg e husfar.
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Andami
Jun 14 2014, 09:52 PM
The gamepad's battery life is kind of annoying. Nintendo sells an extended battery that gets 8 hours. There's a also a third party option with the Nyko UBoost, but it's more of an energy reservoir than an actual battery. It charges the actual battery when you turn it on.
Yeah, that's my biggest gripe with it, but I've got plenty of sockets in my apartment so there's no worry for me on that front.

@Ducks...dude, that's some shit =[
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Romanticide
Member Avatar
Cult Leader
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Started up Tales of Symphonia again. Playing through it on hard this time and I intend to main Sheena. I'll probably mess around with not-Lloyd characters like Kratos/Zelos, Regal, and maybe even a bit of Presea, but for the most part I'll be using Sheena once she joins. Never really figured her out, whereas everyone else's role is pretty obvious. (and if I don't win the duel Sheena has in this file I should kill myself)

I'll main Marta in the sequel, though that's an easy decision considering there are only two main characters and I've played the other one extensively. Idk what monsters I'll use, but that largely depends on which ones I tame.

And then I'll do Milla's route in Xillia. I figure she'll be extremely fun, since her skillset seems based on aerial attacks. At least the Ivar fight won't throw me for a loop since I have played Jude.

Idk what to play after that. Thinking The Witcher, but who knows. /shrug


EDIT: Already as far as I remember making it when I first tried Symphonia on hard. I remember the boss fight in the Triet Ruins being pretty damn hard but this time I beat it on my first try. Guessing playing Xillia/Graces on hard has made me a lot better or something. There are worse bosses in the game than this (Celsius, Sylph, the three dragons, etc), however, so I guess I'll see.

Also holy shit I miss so many conveniences/improvements of modern Tales: free run, the ability to check weaknesses in battle, voiced skits, etc. The better strategy options than Graces are much welcomed, though.
Edited by Romanticide, Jun 17 2014, 09:43 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Snowman
Member Avatar
Berserker
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Finished Bit.Trip Presents... Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien. It was really fun. It adds new types of obstacles that weren't in the first game, alternate characters with alternate costumes to be unlocked, five worlds with unique themes, and more retro style levels. The game now has modern-style graphics (except the retro levels), which was kinda distracting at first because of the 3D backgrounds, but you get used to it. At first I didn't like that the game had checkpoints, especially because I felt that it was a lot easier than Runner 1. However, worlds 4 and 5 got more challenging, and I was glad the checkpoints were available there. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Runner 1 (so Milk, LAD, idk who else). I played the first one with my keyboard, but a controller is better for Runner 2 because of some of the new obstacles they add. One is a loop, like in Sonic, but you get points from it by pointing the right stick at your character as they run around the loop. With the keyboard, I think you spam spacebar or something. That's silly. And then there's another thing too that's better with a controller. If you want to use a PS3 controller, there's a program called Better DS3 that makes the PS3 controller work perfectly with controller-supporting games. You probably know that the 360 controller works without any other stuff though so if you have one, that's probably easier.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Olinea
Member Avatar
No finesse
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Picked up Octodad: Dadliest Catch in the sale for $5.00 so played through a bit of that. I think it's possible to be good at the control scheme but the way he moves makes it seem so uncoordinated - and it is, there's a level of chaos that's intrinsic to how it performs, but I think you have more control than the game suggests - which is good, it's the comical difficulty and not frustrating difficulty.

Laddie wanted to play it so we did the Steam Family Sharing so they have access now. Which means I can now play To The Moon. Finally.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Granskjegg
Member Avatar
Eg e husfar.
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
I just finished Mass Effect 2...

The Mass Effect games are some of the best I've ever played. The lack of customisation in the control area as well as the shittiest mouse sensitivity selection ever made it a little maddening at first, but it was well worth it.

I picked up ME3 during an Origin sale a week or two back, so I'm downloading that now. I don't think I'll be playing it right away though, gotta save some of that shit for later.

I think the next game I'll play is Fallout 2.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
DealsFor.me - The best sales, coupons, and discounts for you
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Entertainment · Next Topic »
Add Reply