2014 Video Games Thread

[BigDPW]

Time to start the new years video game thread!

Here is last years thread... (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?p=2888564#post2888564)

[WilleB]

NBA 2k14

5000 free VC for down servers, posted Jan. 1st 2014

NBA 2K14 Free VC Codes: Grab 5,000 Virtual Points For PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 & Xbox One | sidhtech (http://www.sidhtech.com/news/nba-2k14-free-vc-codes-ps3-ps4-xbox-360-xbox-one/10029199/)

Enter the dashes.

[NobodyHere]

What's everyone looking forward to?

The game I want to get most is Smash Bros.

[Blackadar]

What's everyone looking forward to?

The game I want to get most is Smash Bros.

More later this year, but these should be released in the first quarter of this year:

Perfect Parallel - hopefully the first good golf game since Links
Banished - A great looking city-building sim

[mckerney]

What's everyone looking forward to?

The game I want to get most is Smash Bros.

A rough top 10 most anticipated, as I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting here.

1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
2. Bayonetta 2
3. Broken Age
4. Transistor
5. Wasteland 2
6. Pillars of Eternity
7. Bravely Default
8. The Division
9. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
10. South Park: The Stick of Truth

A few other games I'm looking forward to that don't quite count and new releases.

Kentucky Route Zero, The Walking Dead: Season 2 and The Wolf Among Us - Three episodic games that still have most of their episodes to go in 2014.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and GTAV - Have been waiting for the PC port to play these two.

[Vince, Pt. II]

So it's not new, but new to me. Been playing a bunch of Radiant Historia on my 3DS (it's a regular DS game). Thoughts so far:

Solid RPG with a time travel mechanic. Has a lot of similarities to Chrono Trigger - enemies are visible on the map, and as long as they don't touch you, they don't fight you. When in battle, enemies are on a 3x3 grid, and you have techniques that can knock them around the battlefield. Consecutive attacks on an enemy that has been knocked into another enemy hit both enemies. You can also swap your turn in battle for someone further down the list for turn order (including enemies), so you can plan ahead to get large combos.

The time travel mechanic (super slight spoiler alert - this is all stuff you figure out in the first thirty minutes of game play) comes in the form of a book called the White Chronicle - decisions that you have to make as a character (so far all binary decisions) create "nodes," and as the game progresses, you can go back in time to these nodes and explore what the other possibility would have yielded. While this sounds awesome, in practice the game swings around the first major decision you make, creating two separate timelines that form the entirety of the game. So while this COULD be a super robust, interesting mechanic with a huge sprawling story, in reality it's rather limited. That being said, it makes for a fun romp so far. There are 230-something nodes (not all are decision-making nodes, some are simple plot points and others are side quests), and after 10 hours of gameplay I've completed 55 of them.

The story so far is an interesting one of political intrigue...but it's hamstrung a bit by being completely and totally devoid of subtlety. As an example, you'll get a great line that hints subtelely at some devious scheme...and in the next line the character actually says "well, let me spell it out for you" and then explains exactly what they mean. And in case you miss that heavy handed approach, the NPC'a around the event will hammer the idea home with more heavy handed exposition. It definitely doesn't ruin the story, but it does detract from it in my mind.

Biggest con so far for me is that when you travel back in time, you have to sit through all the dialogue again. They have a nice "fast forward" button that speeds it up considerably, but I'm not sure why they didn't add a "skip this conversation?" type of script. The major nodes are very dialogue heavy, so you will be sitting there for a minute or two holding the fast forward button to get through it.

Overall, very glad I purchased, enjoying it a lot, though I feel like with a few tweaks this could have been a truly great game.

[mckerney]

Concern Now Heightened Over Universal Currency System in MLB 14: The Show | pastapadre.com (http://www.pastapadre.com/2014/01/08/concern-now-heightened-over-universal-currency-system-in-mlb-14-the-show)

Ugh, I really hate this trend in sports games. I wish it would die quickly, but it seems to be a cash cow for publishers so that doesn't look likely.

[gstelmack]

Depends on how it's done. If you pay money to accelerate development / buy boosts, I'm fine with that. If you pay money to simply advance (or basically play the game at all), I'm against it.

For example, if I can pay money to become a superstar in a single season in NBA 2k14, or I can play for free and go through a more typical 2-4 season development period, that's cool. But if I stay a bench / role-player unless I pay money, I'm not buying that game.

Or if it's a football sim and I can pay money to get more scouting time in the draft, that's fine. But if I have to pay money to start a season or get ANY draft picks, that's not cool.

[sterlingice]

I would like to propose this thread get the same title as the previous one:
Gen 4 Console (PS4/X1) Discussion - Minus sales data and grand standing - Front Office Football Central (http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=88040)

It's no big deal if someone wants to say "Hey! Game X broke 1M" or "Wow! That's the biggest day of any game ever". Those are facts and they're somewhat important to the discussion. But the dickish XBone/PS4 back and forth and concern trolling just makes these threads unreadable.

SI

[sterlingice]

So it's not new, but new to me. Been playing a bunch of Radiant Historia on my 3DS (it's a regular DS game). Thoughts so far:

Solid RPG with a time travel mechanic. Has a lot of similarities to Chrono Trigger - enemies are visible on the map, and as long as they don't touch you, they don't fight you. When in battle, enemies are on a 3x3 grid, and you have techniques that can knock them around the battlefield. Consecutive attacks on an enemy that has been knocked into another enemy hit both enemies. You can also swap your turn in battle for someone further down the list for turn order (including enemies), so you can plan ahead to get large combos.

The time travel mechanic (super slight spoiler alert - this is all stuff you figure out in the first thirty minutes of game play) comes in the form of a book called the White Chronicle - decisions that you have to make as a character (so far all binary decisions) create "nodes," and as the game progresses, you can go back in time to these nodes and explore what the other possibility would have yielded. While this sounds awesome, in practice the game swings around the first major decision you make, creating two separate timelines that form the entirety of the game. So while this COULD be a super robust, interesting mechanic with a huge sprawling story, in reality it's rather limited. That being said, it makes for a fun romp so far. There are 230-something nodes (not all are decision-making nodes, some are simple plot points and others are side quests), and after 10 hours of gameplay I've completed 55 of them.

The story so far is an interesting one of political intrigue...but it's hamstrung a bit by being completely and totally devoid of subtlety. As an example, you'll get a great line that hints subtelely at some devious scheme...and in the next line the character actually says "well, let me spell it out for you" and then explains exactly what they mean. And in case you miss that heavy handed approach, the NPC'a around the event will hammer the idea home with more heavy handed exposition. It definitely doesn't ruin the story, but it does detract from it in my mind.

Biggest con so far for me is that when you travel back in time, you have to sit through all the dialogue again. They have a nice "fast forward" button that speeds it up considerably, but I'm not sure why they didn't add a "skip this conversation?" type of script. The major nodes are very dialogue heavy, so you will be sitting there for a minute or two holding the fast forward button to get through it.

Overall, very glad I purchased, enjoying it a lot, though I feel like with a few tweaks this could have been a truly great game.

Sounds like I'll need to take that off my shelf and play it at some point. It was rare right off the bat and the price on the secondary market jumped as high as $100 at one point. I happily found a copy at the $35 retail price at a little media shop that didn't know what they had and I kept it wrapped up because of the premium it was going for.

Fortunately, Atlus reprinted it maybe a year or so ago so it's fairly readily available.

SI

[mckerney]

Depends on how it's done. If you pay money to accelerate development / buy boosts, I'm fine with that. If you pay money to simply advance (or basically play the game at all), I'm against it.

For example, if I can pay money to become a superstar in a single season in NBA 2k14, or I can play for free and go through a more typical 2-4 season development period, that's cool. But if I stay a bench / role-player unless I pay money, I'm not buying that game.

Or if it's a football sim and I can pay money to get more scouting time in the draft, that's fine. But if I have to pay money to start a season or get ANY draft picks, that's not cool.

I still dislike this sort of system where spending this sort of currency earned in game replaces just having a normal player progression simulation. Plus there's the issues with NBA2K14 where players who simmed were left without enough magic development points for their players to get better n

[korme]

Looking forward to a game out of nowhere like The Last of Us this year... that game was not on my radar, and became suddenly my favorite game of all-time.

[Kodos]

Still need to play that one.

[dacman]

Do it -- I just finished it a few days ago while snowed in -- it's a gem.

[mckerney]

Elder Scrolls Online invites sent for beta game - Technology & Science - CBC News (http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/elder-scrolls-online-invites-sent-for-beta-game-1.2489996)

So Elder Scrolls Online is going for $59.99 cost out of the box and $14.99 monthly subscription. Then add on the cash shop on top of that. It's certainly a brave move. That's certainly a brave move from Zenimax.

Free to play after 9 months?

[Blackadar]

Elder Scrolls Online invites sent for beta game - Technology & Science - CBC News (http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/elder-scrolls-online-invites-sent-for-beta-game-1.2489996)

So Elder Scrolls Online is going for $59.99 cost out of the box and $14.99 monthly subscription. Then add on the cash shop on top of that. It's certainly a brave move. That's certainly a brave move from Zenimax.

Free to play after 9 months?

Due to the NDA, I can't tell you if I played in the beta.

I can tell you I uninstalled it and refused any further participation in the beta.

[Thomkal]

Elder Scrolls Online invites sent for beta game - Technology & Science - CBC News (http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/elder-scrolls-online-invites-sent-for-beta-game-1.2489996)

So Elder Scrolls Online is going for $59.99 cost out of the box and $14.99 monthly subscription. Then add on the cash shop on top of that. It's certainly a brave move. That's certainly a brave move from Zenimax.

Free to play after 9 months?

I won't be playing it with those kind of prices, but enough will to get all the money they can from us, then they will go free to play. 9 months is probably too short, but would not surprise 1-2 years from now

[Vince, Pt. II]

Sounds like I'll need to take that off my shelf and play it at some point. It was rare right off the bat and the price on the secondary market jumped as high as $100 at one point. I happily found a copy at the $35 retail price at a little media shop that didn't know what they had and I kept it wrapped up because of the premium it was going for.

Fortunately, Atlus reprinted it maybe a year or so ago so it's fairly readily available.

SI

Up to 18 or so hours and 99/236 nodes complete. The game has gone from laughably easy to :banghead: difficult on a dime. Not really sure what happened, or if I'm just missing something...but where I'm at in the story, random enemies can one-shot my party members, and the boss of the area just completely wrecks my face. The boss of the previous area was literally the first time I had to do anything resembling strategizing in combat, but it still wasn't difficult. This area is just ridiculously hard. I took a break and ground out some levels for a bit to see if that will help, but...yeah, sort of frustrating. We'll see what happens when I get a chance to go back to the story, but I seem to be up to date on equipment and such, so I don't know what else I can do.

Super frustrating, because I was really enjoying the story.

Edit: Going back, the boss was a very nice challenge with some strategic changes on my part. The random enemies before him were still brutal, even after grinding a handful of levels. I'm not a very big fan of the huge, arbitrary swings in difficulty that the game seems to be displaying, but they're not game breaking.

[SackAttack]

Finally started playing Persona 4: Golden last week during the deep freeze out here when it was -50 wind chills outside.

36 hours in. Help.

[Edward64]

I'm looking forward to this one. Has anyone played the demo?

Impressions: Neo Scavenger | Rock, Paper, Shotgun (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/01/17/impressions-neo-scavenger/#more-185139)
Wandering around on the world map, you’ll come across settlements but it looks like civilisation went on a massive drinking binge and fell over while you were sleeping. Everything’s in bits. The map is semi-randomised, with certain story-specific locations always located in certain regions and (I think) a degree of balance in the layout. I’ve never floundered about for too long before finding water, woods and a few buildings.

Scavenging takes time and carries a degree of risk. It’s noisy and might attract hunters, and buildings are hazardous. I’ve had characters cut themselves on a shard of glass while looting an abandoned house and never recover. Like gazelles in a herd, people in the world of Neo Scavenger must avoid any display of weakness because predators will identify the weak, pounce and feed on their remains.

Even though combat is turn- and text-based, the approach of an angry bare-foot bandit wielding a broken whiskey bottle is quite terrifying. Even more terrifying is the realisation that you are quite excited about the prospect of beating his brains out with a rock because he is wearing a hoodie and you would very much like to be the one wearing the hoodie. I killed a blind man because I wanted one of his shoes. He tried to run away when he heard me approaching but I dived at his legs and we rolled around on the floor, punching and kicking, until he choked on his own blood.

[Groundhog]

I got a PS Vita for a (very) surprising birthday present. I'm looking forward to the PS4/Vita interactivity, but outside of that, anyone got suggestions for "must have" titles?

[Neon_Chaos]

Can't wait for Watch Dogs.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I'm looking forward to this one. Has anyone played the demo?

Impressions: Neo Scavenger | Rock, Paper, Shotgun (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/01/17/impressions-neo-scavenger/#more-185139)

I played the demo a couple of years ago now. It must have been an early demo. It was interesting. I never lasted long.

[cartman]

Got an invite to be on the alpha team for Titanfall. Can't say much due to the NDA, but it looks like it is gonna be a good one.

[Eaglesfan27]

Got an invite to be on the alpha team for Titanfall. Can't say much due to the NDA, but it looks like it is gonna be a good one.

:D

[Berger]

I've always wanted to put together a personal list of my most anticipated 2014 games, this seems like a good place. I'm a little partial to indie games, but let me know what you think. This includes games in early access.

1. Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
2. Star Citizen
3. DayZ (Though full release probably in 2015)
4. Banished
5. MewGenics (Seems super weird. Right up my alley.)
6. Watch Dogs
7. Rimworld
8. Nuclear Throne
9. Rust
10. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number

I'm probably omitting a game or two, but that's what I've got.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I got a PS Vita for a (very) surprising birthday present. I'm looking forward to the PS4/Vita interactivity, but outside of that, anyone got suggestions for "must have" titles?

Depends on what genres you like. The Show is fantastic for sports. Long list of RPG's in the Vita thread if that's more of your style. Be sure to pick up all the free PS+ games as well because there's some great stuff available at no cost as well.

[mckerney]

I got a PS Vita for a (very) surprising birthday present. I'm looking forward to the PS4/Vita interactivity, but outside of that, anyone got suggestions for "must have" titles?

I think the only games that would qualify as must haves on the Vita are Persona 4 Golden and Tearaway. Gravity Rush and the Vita Uncharted game are two that might come close to that list and those 2 have been in the PS+ "Free Games" section for quite some time now.

[Groundhog]

Thanks guys. Tearaway is one I was reading about that sounds interesting. I guess I'm most interested in how the PS4 stuff works in practice.

[MizzouRah]

Got an invite to be on the alpha team for Titanfall. Can't say much due to the NDA, but it looks like it is gonna be a good one.

Oh yeah!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I'm a bit surprised that they didn't mix up Titanfall a bit more. It'll make the CoD fans happy no doubt, but it's not breaking any new ground by any means judging from all the Alpha videos. Here's a couple of them.......

<iframe frameborder="0" width="480" height="270" src="http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x19x14l" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x19x14l_titanfall-alpha-gameplay_videogames" target="_blank">Titanfall Alpha Gameplay</a> <i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/Fran78888" target="_blank">Fran78888</a></i>

<iframe frameborder="0" width="480" height="270" src="http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x19x14l" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x19x14l_titanfall-alpha-gameplay_videogames" target="_blank">Titanfall Alpha Gameplay</a> <i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/Fran78888" target="_blank">Fran78888</a></i>

[cartman]

I can't say much due to the NDA, but I can assure you that Titanfall will revolutionize the way in which MBBF doesn't like the Microsoft platforms.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I can't say much due to the NDA, but I can assure you that Titanfall will revolutionize the way in which MBBF doesn't like the Microsoft platforms.

It's easier to flame I guess than enter a meaningful conversation on the merits of what we see in the video.

[cartman]

It's easier to flame I guess than enter a meaningful conversation on the merits of what we see in the video.

Looks like someone is back into 'sanctimonious' mode.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I think we all knew this was happening at some level, but someone has leaked the EA program that pays consumers to create positive propaganda in the social media arena. I'm guessing the 'create a BF4 video that doesn't focus on glitches' must have been a Herculean task.....

http://i.imgur.com/3xBYPm9.png

http://i.imgur.com/K524Kmz.png

http://i.imgur.com/r8tXTYd.png

[stevew]

Titanfall looks amazing. No quick-scoping will be awesome.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Bad day for people who pay for positive publicity. ArsTechnica reporting on similar pay for positive press by MS during Xbox One launch window.

Stealth marketing: Microsoft paying YouTubers for Xbox One mentions [updated] | Ars Technica (http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/01/stealth-marketing-microsoft-paying-youtubers-for-xbox-one-mentions/)

This weekend, word started leaking of a new promotion offering Machinima video partners an additional $3 CPM (i.e., $3 per thousand video views) for posting videos featuring Xbox One content. The promotion was advertised by Machinima's UK community manager in a since-deleted tweet, and it also appears on Machinima's activity feed on Poptent, a clearinghouse for these kind of video marketing campaigns. The Poptent page also mentions an earlier campaign surrounding the Xbox One's launch in November, which offered an additional $1 CPM for videos "promoting the Xbox One and its release games."

According to a leaked copy of the full legal agreement behind the promotion, video creators "may not say anything negative or disparaging about Machinima, Xbox One, or any of its Games" and must keep the details of the promotional agreement confidential in order to qualify for payment. In other words, to get the money, video makers have to speak positively (or at least neutrally) about the Xbox One, and they can't say they're being paid to do so.

The arrangement as described might go against the FTC's guidelines for the use of endorsements in advertising, which demand full disclosure when there is "a connection between the endorser and the seller of the advertised product that might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement."

Blog from the person who leaked the agreements. Pushing for an open disclosure on videos that are part of a paid ad campaign.

ReconXBL: Why I Leaked the XB1M13 Agreement (http://reconxbl.blogspot.de/2014/01/why-i-leaked-xb1m13-agreement.html)

[sterlingice]

I wonder if Sony just gets people to relentlessly hype up their products on blogs and message boards, with particular emphasis on posting content slamming one of the competitors.

Though I suspect they use YouTube, too.

SI

[mckerney]

I wonder if Sony just gets people to relentlessly hype up their products on blogs and message boards, with particular emphasis on posting content slamming one of the competitors.

Though I suspect they use YouTube, too.

SI

I'm just surprised that MBBF managed to miss this story on his tireless searching of the internet for news of the new consoles.

UPDATE: PS4 error ‘ce-34878-0′ sees saves corrupted as more gamers lodge complaints | VG247 (http://www.vg247.com/2014/01/21/ps4-error-ce-34878-0-see-saves-corrupted-as-more-gamers-lodge-complaints/)

Of course, I'm sure I'm missing some angle about how this is obviously good news for the PS4 or ignoring the fact that gamers who lost saved games are probably just feeling relief that Sony isn't advertising on YouTube.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I wonder if Sony just gets people to relentlessly hype up their products on blogs and message boards, with particular emphasis on posting content slamming one of the competitors.

Though I suspect they use YouTube, too.

SI

There's nothing inherently wrong with doing any of that.......as long as it's disclosed. Per the FTC, since the payment wasn't disclosed, Microsoft, EA, and anyone else involved in the pay for feedback scheme has violated the law. The FTC even has a clear example in the law that covers this situation. This same law dictates that anyone who is paid in any way to post on the internet must disclose that in all posts, blogs, or videos.

http://i.imgur.com/QAfFOlh.png
http://i.imgur.com/hzhAs3y.png

Edit: Just to clearly illustrate the difference between Machinima and MS fine print, see below. Machinima clearly stated in their deal that the participants were required to disclose their participation, while the MS contract clearly states that the user cannot disclose in any way that they were involved.

http://abload.de/img/bonemachinimasbk9m.png

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I'm just surprised that MBBF managed to miss this story on his tireless searching of the internet for news of the new consoles.

UPDATE: PS4 error ‘ce-34878-0′ sees saves corrupted as more gamers lodge complaints | VG247 (http://www.vg247.com/2014/01/21/ps4-error-ce-34878-0-see-saves-corrupted-as-more-gamers-lodge-complaints/)

Of course, I'm sure I'm missing some angle about how this is obviously good news for the PS4 or ignoring the fact that gamers who lost saved games are probably just feeling relief that Sony isn't advertising on YouTube.

I'm amused that you think I have time to look all of that stuff.

Sony clearly states in the article that they're looking into it. Sounds like a good idea to me. I've personally not experienced it, though you have to think there's a big software update coming soon to clear up the occasional other errors I've seen in some situations while goofing around in some of the media.

[Shkspr]

Thank god you guys kept this shit out of the "non-grandstanding" thread. Also, my 94 year old grandmother appreciates the inclusion of some content she can read. It's been tough since the cataracts.

[bhlloy]

Sweet, another useful thread ruined

[Groundhog]

Please start a "my console is better than your console" thread and leave these debates in there.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Thank god you guys kept this shit out of the "non-grandstanding" thread. Also, my 94 year old grandmother appreciates the inclusion of some content she can read. It's been tough since the cataracts.

:)

[JonInMiddleGA]

fwiw, the Machinima et al controversy was pretty huge stuff best I can tell, dominating the conversation for the past day or two with at least one of the very very few gaming oriented commentators I follow.

That's about as legit a bit of "video game" news as I can think of, at least as long as the topic covers stuff from the industry rather than just "OMGZ game X just came out"

Not sure how much of the subsequent bitching was aimed at that versus the introduction of the PS4 error stuff but both seem like legit topics to me.

{shrug}

[cartman]

I'm amused that you think I have time to look all of that stuff.

Well, you did seem to have time to call stores about how many consoles they had in stock that you had zero intention of buying.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Candy Crush Saga maker King trademarks word 'candy' - chicagotribune.com (http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-sweden-king-20140121,0,5201532.story)

The company now says it wants to protect its game title from imitators who also use the word "candy". It has obtained a trademark from the European Union, which will apply not only to computer games, but also to areas such as clothes and footwear

Say whaaaaaa ?

Hello?
http://www.skooldays.com/images/fa1168.jpg

[mckerney]

Candy Crush Saga maker King trademarks word 'candy' - chicagotribune.com (http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-sweden-king-20140121,0,5201532.story)



Say whaaaaaa ?

Hello?
http://www.skooldays.com/images/fa1168.jpg

They're also going after anyone using the word Saga in titles, starting with Stoic's recently released The Banner Saga.

King.com also going after The Banner Saga - NeoGAF (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=755651)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

fwiw, the Machinima et al controversy was pretty huge stuff best I can tell, dominating the conversation for the past day or two with at least one of the very very few gaming oriented commentators I follow.

That's about as legit a bit of "video game" news as I can think of, at least as long as the topic covers stuff from the industry rather than just "OMGZ game X just came out"

Not sure how much of the subsequent bitching was aimed at that versus the introduction of the PS4 error stuff but both seem like legit topics to me.

{shrug}

Agreed. It's a huge topic within the industry and it won't be going away any time soon.

The fascinating part about all of this is whether we see anything from Sony or other major publishers. If they've been involved as well, they might as well come out sooner rather than later because it's likely to get leaked in the coming days. I think the real shock is going to come if/when we find out that some major companies AREN'T involved.

Either way, we're likely to see a major shake-up in the video game industry.

[Shkspr]

I think it would be a nice gesture for the gaming community to raise money and send King CEO Riccardo Zacconi a gift, like tickets to Sochi for the Winter Olympics.

[SirFozzie]

Oh, it gets better. They're going after the Banner Saga because the King folks have used SAGA in a bunch of their apps. They filed because of "Risk of confusion"

Because god knows when you see this..

http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2012/03/The-Banner-Saga-conversation.jpg

you're going to get it confused with this.

http://images.eurogamer.net/2014/usgamer/Candy-Crush-Saga-Screenshot-01.jpg

edit: Removed img tags as they were mucking with the forum

[mckerney]

Oh, it gets better. They're going after the Banner Saga because the King folks have used SAGA in a bunch of their apps. They filed because of "Risk of confusion"

Because god knows when you see this..

http://media.pcgamer.com/files/2012/03/The-Banner-Saga-conversation.jpg

you're going to get it confused with this.

http://images.eurogamer.net/2014/usgamer/Candy-Crush-Saga-Screenshot-01.jpg

edit: Removed img tags as they were mucking with the forum

Until today I had no idea Candy Crush had Saga in its name or that it was just a Bejeweled ripoff.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Either way, we're likely to see a major shake-up in the video game industry.

Now that part we disagree on.

I'm expecting it to be a minor, moderate at most, tempest for a bit and then people will largely forget because ... well, we expect them to do shit like this.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Now that part we disagree on.

I'm expecting it to be a minor, moderate at most, tempest for a bit and then people will largely forget because ... well, we expect them to do shit like this.

Concur.

[sterlingice]

Now that part we disagree on.

I'm expecting it to be a minor, moderate at most, tempest for a bit and then people will largely forget because ... well, we expect them to do shit like this.

But in the meantime, we will see a significant uptick in concern trolling!

SI

[mckerney]

http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/01/23/paradox-announcement-round-up-hearts-of-iron-4-runemaster-and-expansions-for-ck2-and-eu4/

Big day of announces from Paradox.

Hearts of Iron IV, a new RPG series Runemaster, Rajas of India expansion for CK2 and Wealth of Nations for EU4.

[Radii]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/b03K5SgYI2M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I guess this is the first game of 2014 that I'm officially excited for.

[Blackadar]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/b03K5SgYI2M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I guess this is the first game of 2014 that I'm officially excited for.

Banished will come out before South Park, but I am so in for both of these.

[mckerney]

Banished will come out before South Park, but I am so in for both of these.

Banished had caught my interest, looking forward to it a bit more after seeing video of a developer playing through a year in the game.

[Blackadar]

Banished had caught my interest, looking forward to it a bit more after seeing video of a developer playing through a year in the game.

It's being released February 18th.

[BYU 14]

Playing the early access of Divinity: Original Sin. Still a lot of polish needed, but it is a very enjoyable game.

Reminds me a lot of the BG series, with combat similar to the new XCOM, with the ability to interact with terrain during combat, which is very cool. The camera angles are a bit bonky sometimes, but once you are used to it is not bad. Seems to have a good story as well.

[mckerney]

Playing the early access of Divinity: Original Sin. Still a lot of polish needed, but it is a very enjoyable game.

Reminds me a lot of the BG series, with combat similar to the new XCOM, with the ability to interact with terrain during combat, which is very cool. The camera angles are a bit bonky sometimes, but once you are used to it is not bad. Seems to have a good story as well.

Are you playing solo or co-op?

[BYU 14]

Are you playing solo or co-op?

Just solo ATM, I have heard the co-op isn't as smooth as it should be right now, but definitely interested in that down the road.

[bhlloy]

Damn, 40 bucks for an early access (especially one you say is "not polished") is pretty damn steep.

That being said, I love these threads. I'm now stoked to follow that one and Banished, neither of which I'd heard of a couple of days ago.

[mckerney]

Just solo ATM, I have heard the co-op isn't as smooth as it should be right now, but definitely interested in that down the road.

I backed the Kickstarter at the 2 copies level, so I'm looking forward to hearing how the co-op plays. I have alpha access too, but I haven't touched it yet.

[Radii]

Banished will come out before South Park, but I am so in for both of these.

Oh damn I had seen a video for Banished awhile ago (probably the same one mckerney mentioned) and thought that it had a lot of potential. I probably won't buy it right away, it looks like the type of game that could very easily fail to live up to the hype due to any number of issues, but I really hope its good and could see spending tons of time with it if it is.

[Blackadar]

Damn, 40 bucks for an early access (especially one you say is "not polished") is pretty damn steep.

That being said, I love these threads. I'm now stoked to follow that one and Banished, neither of which I'd heard of a couple of days ago.

I didn't back Divinity (money was tight at the time), but otherwise I would have. But there's no reason to go early access for a RPG. None whatsoever. With some other genres, you can get a lot of fun playing the EA version. But with a quest-driven RPG, the whole point is to play through the game and that's not possible when the game isn't done.

So Underrail, Age of Decadence and Divinity are all in "wait until it's done" mode.

[Abe Sargent]

I'm downloading Might and Magic X: Legacy right now off Steam. Jut was released last week. Anyone tried it yet? I have enough faith in the games and Ubisoft that I'm going to play it blind, without the usual research into reviews and such - one of my favorites series has been the Might and Magic ones, both HOMM strategy, and M&M RPG. Here we go!


I'm checking out a few reviews that are out there, and the criticisms are things I love - grid-based movement or turn based combat.

One review is making me salivate... "this is very much a traditional, grid-based, party-based, turn-based RPG – but with a few twists to surprise old hands at the genre.

It’s certainly old-school in its brutality. Might & Magic X doesn’t really do much to hold your hand past the first couple of areas, instead opening up its world and its quests to you in whatever order you want to deal with them. What this means is that, if you go exploring, the early game’s wolves and giant spiders will very quickly give way to massive black knights and roving orc warbands. If you can deal with them, then hey, you can doubtless find stuff to do in whatever area you’ve blundered into – and considering you’ll get a fair few quests early on that require trawling the entire map, there’s always reason to do so.

It’s also old-school in its penchant for the odd puzzle. "

Courtesy of: January 2014 Archives - IncGamers.com (http://www.incgamers.com/2014/01/mig...-legacy-review)

[Abe Sargent]

Are you kidding me? The game has a "Random Party Feature" that randomly determines who your four characters will be from the four races and 12 classes. That is awesome - I don't ever remember encountering that in a party-based RPG before. Can anyone verify that was in something they've seen? Makes a great dynasty idea!

[Abe Sargent]

Enjoying the game already,we'll see how it continues later on

[frnk55]

I'm going to pick up M&M next week. I love old school rpgs.
Give us a review Abe when ya get time. :)

[Edward64]

Looking forward to

GalCiv3
Star Citizen
Elite Dangerous

A List of Space/Sci-Fi/Fantasy Games You Can’t Miss in 2014 - SpaceSector.com (http://www.spacesector.com/blog/2014/01/a-list-of-spacesci-fifantasy-games-you-cant-miss-in-2014/)

[DaddyTorgo]

Looking forward to

GalCiv3
Star Citizen
Elite Dangerous

A List of Space/Sci-Fi/Fantasy Games You Can’t Miss in 2014 - SpaceSector.com (http://www.spacesector.com/blog/2014/01/a-list-of-spacesci-fifantasy-games-you-cant-miss-in-2014/)

Hate you! ;)

[Abe Sargent]

I'm going to pick up M&M next week. I love old school rpgs.
Give us a review Abe when ya get time. :)

Yup yup, will

[EagleFan]

Has there been an update for Watch Dogs?

[Abe Sargent]

Looking forward to

GalCiv3
Star Citizen
Elite Dangerous

A List of Space/Sci-Fi/Fantasy Games You Can’t Miss in 2014 - SpaceSector.com (http://www.spacesector.com/blog/2014/01/a-list-of-spacesci-fifantasy-games-you-cant-miss-in-2014/)

How is Wasteland 2 missing from that list?

[Edward64]

How is Wasteland 2 missing from that list?

Beats me. I noticed Dragon's Age 3 was also missing.

[MizzouRah]

I'm going to pick up M&M next week. I love old school rpgs.
Give us a review Abe when ya get time. :)

Yes, please do. I haven't played M&M in a long time.. but this sounds like something right up my alley.

[Blackadar]

How is Wasteland 2 missing from that list?

It didn't make my list because I don't know when it will be out. There are easily 15-20 games on my radar for this year and I only listed 3. Wasteland is on it. Dragon Age 4 is on it. So are Divinity, Folk Tales, South Park, Perfect Parallel Golf, Banished, Rimworld, the Shadowrun expansion and a bunch of others.

Of course, if I looked at last years' list I never even purchases games like SimCity - which would have been unimaginable when making my list for 2013. I was massively excited about Dragon Age 2 until I read more and more about it. Heck, I haven't even purchased FOF 7 because it doesn't look like it adds enough to justify the purchase price.

It's weird. I buy more games than I ever have, but at the same time I'm a more discriminating buyer. EU IV is a buy for me, but only once most of the DLC gets released and significantly reduced. Gal Civ 3 at one point would have been a day one buy, but not anymore (part of that is because Brad Wardell is a douchebag of the first degree). For me, Wasteland is one of those games that I'm in "wait and see" mode on. It should be a day one purchase, but there's no incentive to pre-order and I'm better off waiting.

[frnk55]

Oh my, Perfect Parallel Golf looks yummy! Never heard of it before. I miss the days of playing Links LS. Damn I had thousands of holes played and 2 hole in ones.

[Abe Sargent]

Instead of giving you like 15 posts about M7M X, I will just take this post, and edit it as I find more interesting things to add:


Formal Evaluation -

I am not finding the space based movement to be an issue. Im alright with it. Some felt it wsa an auto-issue, but it feels old school, like its supposed to.

I think the graphics, thus far, are better than advertised. We'll see if that holds up as I progress.

I love little small things you would not catch if you were not a fan of the series. For example, one of the three shield crests on the wall of teh armorer's store is the shield from the Heroes of Might and Magic II game. The first towns name is Sorpigal-by-he-Sea, (the name of the opening town in Might and Magic VI is New Sorpigal). If you didnt play them then these inclusion won;t bother you, but if you did, they are nice. Another is the noise as you leave a shop - exactly same one from the Xeen stories.

Hirelings are as they are in M%M. Hire a scout for 100 gold and 2 percent of the gold found, for example.

Everything is very intuitive to old RPG conventions. Wanna pull up the inventory? Hit I. Hit J for journal and M for maps. (Small icons in teh bottom of the screen are there too if that's your preference)

Whoops? I said yes to this quest and the quest chick joined my party as a hireling for free. Ummm. Okay. Let me finish exploring the town.

In my first dungeon and combat is more challenging that normal RPGs of this sort. Very tactical. Warriors have "spells" like shatter armor attacks and such that use mana. I can cast buffs or attacks, which is best? Monsters can flank you or rear attack, so that's not good. You get the point. This was a common theme in the reviews, and I can corroborate it. I'm using potions frequently for mana and stuff.

I like the tactical nature of the game. Gust of Wind might be a joke in some games. here you push someone back a space to give them another round of missile fire. Its pretty good spell actually. You get the idea.

I died fighting the boss of the first area. Total party kill.

[path12]

My hesitation on M&MX is that you have to use Uplay. I could never get Settlers 7 to work well with that on my system.

[MizzouRah]

Instead of giving you like 15 posts about M7M X, I will just take this post, and edit it as I find more interesting things to add:


Formal Evaluation -

I am not finding the space based movement to be an issue. Im alright with it. Some felt it wsa an auto-issue, but it feels old school, like its supposed to.

I think the graphics, thus far, are better than advertised. We'll see if that holds up as I progress.

I love little small things you would not catch if you were not a fan of the series. For example, one of the three shield crests on the wall of teh armorer's store is the shield from the Heroes of Might and Magic II game. The first towns name is Sorpigal-by-he-Sea, (the name of the opening town in Might and Magic VI is New Sorpigal). If you didnt play them then these inclusion won;t bother you, but if you did, they are nice. Another is the noise as you leave a shop - exactly same one from the Xeen stories.

Hirelings are as they are in M%M. Hire a scout for 100 gold and 2 percent of the gold found, for example.

Everything is very intuitive to old RPG conventions. Wanna pull up the inventory? Hit I. Hit J for journal and M for maps. (Small icons in teh bottom of the screen are there too if that's your preference)

I bought it today since I was home sick. Liking it a bunch so far and does remind me of the old school M&M days.

I'm fine with the movement as well and once you learn how to battle with your party, it's really fun tactically. The cool thing is, go somewhere you shouldn't be poking your head and you're dead pretty quick. ;)

Very easy to navigate and learn for newbies, I think. It's been a long time since I've played this style and it was a snap to pick up and play.

[Eaglesfan27]

Does u play require internet connection all of the time? I am heading out of the country for work soon and would like a good new rpg for the airplane ride and downtime.

[mckerney]

Does u play require internet connection all of the time? I am heading out of the country for work soon and would like a good new rpg for the airplane ride and downtime.

You can play games without a connection on UPlay, though for some games there are additional features or content that require a connection. Don't have M&MX so I can't say if there's anything you won't be able to do while offline.

[MizzouRah]

Does u play require internet connection all of the time? I am heading out of the country for work soon and would like a good new rpg for the airplane ride and downtime.

I've read uplay supports offline play, but I haven't tested it. Pretty much what mckerney said. :)

[Abe Sargent]

According to Steamboat I've now put around 7 hours into the game. It's solid. Hard. Solid. Recommend it to anybody who wants an old school RPG with modern graphics and such.

[MizzouRah]

According to Steamboat I've now put around 7 hours into the game. It's solid. Hard. Solid. Recommend it to anybody who wants an old school RPG with modern graphics and such.

Tough game thus far.. you can't retreat once you are face to face with an enemy. I've had to reload a previous save a few times, not really because I'm outmatched, but because the tactical approach I took failed miserably.

It has a great flow and for me, has a great balance of difficulty in both game play and the interface/interaction.

[JAG]

M&M 1-6 are available for $2.50 on GOG for the next hour or so for fans of the series that don't have them already. I plunked it down, never played 4-6, hopefully I'll get a chance to do so at some point.

[RainMaker]

This would probably have been more suited for a thread a couple years ago, but is Dark Souls worth playing? I liked Skyrim if that helps but I don't play a ton of games like that. Looking for something cheap to pass the time.

[Blackadar]

This would probably have been more suited for a thread a couple years ago, but is Dark Souls worth playing? I liked Skyrim if that helps but I don't play a ton of games like that. Looking for something cheap to pass the time.

It's nothing like Skyrim. Will you like Dark Souls? It depends on a couple of things:

1. Do you have a controller? 'Cause you'll need one.
2. How much do you like to be frustrated and what's your tolerance for it?

Dark Souls is a brutal slog through a dungeon and it focuses almost solely on the combat mechanics (which are pretty good and generally fair, but incredibly diffiult). I should have loved Dark souls because I don't mind hard RPGs. I gave DS 10 hours and gave up on it. It was certainly a challenge and probably somewhat realistic in the nature of the combat mechanics, but it was never fun. I can appreciate what it was trying to do with the mood, difficulty and combat, but when it came down to it I really don't want any part of what it's doing. I don't have the patience for it. DS is NOT for the casual gamer or someone looking for a relaxing experience.

What's the best way to describe DS? To me, it combines the difficulty (and sometimes absurdity) of MMO boss fights coupled with the execution of combat requiring console-combat twitch skills. Because that's what DS really comes down to - learning the steps of each boss fight (much like you would in an MMO) and needing the twitch skills to execute those steps.

As such, I think DS is one of those games you'll either love and spend 100 hours with, or you'll hate and want to throw the controller across the room in frustration. If you have specific questions, I'll be more than happy to answer them. Even though it wasn't for me, I would recommend it to someone if I thought it filled a niche they're looking for. And no, videos don't do it justice because it's the actual mechanics of the game that will dictate if you love it or hate it, not some video of someone playing it.

[Radii]

This would probably have been more suited for a thread a couple years ago, but is Dark Souls worth playing? I liked Skyrim if that helps but I don't play a ton of games like that. Looking for something cheap to pass the time.


I am playing through Dark Souls now, and I'm enjoying it. I also thoroughly enjoyed Demon's Souls, their first game awhile back. I think I may have been the only one here who enjoyed it though, most of FOFC that tried it didn't like it. Dark Souls is easier, but not by a huge margin.

I'm not sure Skyrim is a good comparison really. Dark Souls is much, much more about being good at fighting strategically, and about being above average at button mashing. While there is a main story you can easily play for 20 hours without a single bit of story coming into play.

The game can be extremely hard at times, and can be very unforgiving. I have a walkthrough up nearly 100% of the time when I'm playing. I may explore an area on my own, but I always read the walkthroughs before I leave an area to see how much I missed and to decide what I want to do (I try to do everything but I'm playing a melee character so if something is super annoying and the only reward is some caster armor, I might skip it).

Because its legitimately very hard, it feels very rewarding to beat some things. Bosses generally feel truly epic, which is one of the best parts about the game.

Rhiow2 - Dark Souls Ornstein/Smough - Twitch (http://www.twitch.tv/rhiow2/c/3551991)

I was streaming my gameplay for a couple friends at the time. That video is me beating the most difficult boss I've encountered so far. That was after ~4 hours of attempts, and 1 hour of farming to upgrade my weapon. Nothing else has taken me close to that long to pass, but multiple times I have gotten stuck on a boss for an hour-hour and a half.


I dunno if that answers your question or not as to whether its worth it! I'm not sure playing it jsut to pass some time would feel very gratifying to me. Sinking some time into it has made beating the harder parts of the game feel quite rewarding.

[Radii]

1. Do you have a controller? 'Cause you'll need one.

...

As such, I think DS is one of those games you'll either love and spend 100 hours with, or you'll hate and want to throw the controller across the room in frustration.


100% agree on both counts. I'm about 50 hours in and expect I have another 20-30 to go. If I had read more on character building/stat allocation before I started I probably could have gotten to this point about 30% faster, I think I chose a build that's a little less than optimal. I'll beat it, but some stuff has probably been harder than it needs to be b/c of my choices.

[thesloppy]

Do you like reloading and replaying a sequence of a game over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over until you've beaten it?

If you miss that kind of NES-era gaming/design philosophy you'll love Dark Souls. If not, don't bother.

[RainMaker]

It seems like something I'd be into if I had a lot of time off and could put a lot of focus in. Maybe now isn't the best time. Is there anything kind of like Skyrim and Fable out there? I don't mind long games but playing the same boss for 5 hours doesn't seem like something I'd like to get into right now.

[NobodyHere]

Maybe something like Dragon's Dogma?

[RainMaker]

Is Dead Island any good?

[Kodos]

Do you like reloading and replaying a sequence of a game over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over until you've beaten it?

If you miss that kind of NES-era gaming/design philosophy you'll love Dark Souls. If not, don't bother.

Sounds like hell on Earth.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Do you like reloading and replaying a sequence of a game over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over until you've beaten it?

If you miss that kind of NES-era gaming/design philosophy you'll love Dark Souls. If not, don't bother.

Sounds like hell on Earth.

For me, it is. I can't stand the Dark Souls/Demon Souls games. I find them boring, obtuse and insanely frustrating. I know there is a story in there, but I have no idea what it is. Just walking around, dying, and killing monsters is just not enough for me to get into a game.

That said, it is beautiful and the monsters are frightening and amazingly well done. I have two very good friends of mine who love these games more than anything. One guy, who runs a video game review website, has written thousands and thousands of words on these games. Another guy, has played through Dark Souls three separate times.

[thesloppy]

Sounds like hell on Earth.

I sold Dark Souls literally the day after I bought it. As much as it tickles some folks particular gaming itch, it immediately turned me into a ball of rage.

....now, on the other hand I've probably put over 100 hours into the aforementioned Dragon's Dogma, with a character over level 150, and played through the game half-a-dozen times. I love the hell out of that game, even though there's plenty of easy & valid criticism that could be lobbed its way. Like Dark Souls, it's much more combat focused than more 'traditional' RPGs like Skyrim, but the difficulty isn't anywhere near as punishing. If anybody's interested, and they're around the same price-point, make sure to get the 'Dark Arisen' version which adds a bunch of content.

[Kodos]

I just hate playing games where you have to try the same thing again and again with no save points. Maybe some people like the challenge of it, but to me it is pointless frustration.

[Blackadar]

It seems like something I'd be into if I had a lot of time off and could put a lot of focus in. Maybe now isn't the best time. Is there anything kind of like Skyrim and Fable out there? I don't mind long games but playing the same boss for 5 hours doesn't seem like something I'd like to get into right now.

Did you play Fallout 3? And what system(s) do you have?

[RainMaker]

I have a PS3 and Xbox 360. I did play Fallout 3 and New Vegas. Love them both.

[Blackadar]

I have a PS3 and Xbox 360. I did play Fallout 3 and New Vegas. Love them both.

Since I don't have a console, I can't comment on Dragon's Dogma. But I've heard good things so that's probably a great option.

Have you played Divinity 2? Pretty decent RPG that's available for cheap.

Other than that, I'm in wait-and-see mode on most RPGs. Underrail, Age of Decadence, Wasteland 2 and Divinity Original Sin (probably the closest match to your request) are all in Steam Early Access. Unlike some other genres, I don't see any reason to buy a RPG in EA. Torment and Project Eternity are a long way off.

[Ironhead]

I am playing through Dark Souls at the moment. It is easily the most unforgiving game I have played in a long time. I can't remember the last time I was this paranoid exploring a game. That said there is a certain thrill to exploring the world because I literally have no idea what to expect next.

Let's just say I have died. A lot. Repeatedly. I have never felt any of it was unfair - it is just the game doesn't give you the simple luxuries you have come to expect of most games. This becomes very apparent in the first few minutes of the game when you realize there are no magic guard rails on any cliff/bridge/ledge in the game. If the environment looks like you could fall and die then that is what can happen. The game also doesn't hold your hand in leading you to your next destination. Wander off in the wrong direction and your Level 5 character could come face to face with a giant skeleton or dragon that can kill you in one hit.

A criticism I would lob at the game is that it does a poor job of giving the player even the slightest hint as to how character building actually works. Once you finally understand how it works then it makes sense but for someone new to system it took me a while to understand it. Given the heavy emphasis on combat having an under powered character in an already difficult game would be very frustrating.

Something that is also important to note is that there is no way to truly pause the game. The closest thing you can do is quit and save and the game will always start you exactly at where you last saved. There is no reloading saves though. If you die you start at the last waypoint you reached.

So far I am really glad I have picked this up but as others have said it is not a casual game. I would recommend the game for someone looking for a challenge.

[Blackadar]

Banished Let's Play:

Let's Play: Banished (Pre-Release) - #1 - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9gAXcREfjbQ)

I'm drooling. 3 weeks to go!

[INDalltheway]

Banished Let's Play:

Let's Play: Banished (Pre-Release) - #1 - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9gAXcREfjbQ)

I'm drooling. 3 weeks to go!

I'm such a quill18 fanboy.. With that said I have been quite excited for this game, but I'm not sure of the replayability of Banished. I will almost certainly purchase it (have to support the sole developer), but I am afraid I will only play through a few times.

[MizzouRah]

I sold Dark Souls literally the day after I bought it. As much as it tickles some folks particular gaming itch, it immediately turned me into a ball of rage.

....now, on the other hand I've probably put over 100 hours into the aforementioned Dragon's Dogma, with a character over level 150, and played through the game half-a-dozen times. I love the hell out of that game, even though there's plenty of easy & valid criticism that could be lobbed its way. Like Dark Souls, it's much more combat focused than more 'traditional' RPGs like Skyrim, but the difficulty isn't anywhere near as punishing. If anybody's interested, and they're around the same price-point, make sure to get the 'Dark Arisen' version which adds a bunch of content.

Dragon's Dogma is one of the best games I've ever played.. played it for a few days straight until I finished it, a feat that rarely happens for me.

[Abe Sargent]

Who's found a relic (In M&M X)? THis guy!!!

Looks like its an item that gains XP with you and will level up abilities as it does (quick guess).

EDIT - Great item, keeps on leveling as I play - its the best item I have by FAR in teh game. Anybody else past the (light spoiler)freeing the Duke quest from teh castle?

EDIT2 - Took me 13 hours to get to the next town. That's not too bad

[Edward64]

More on GalCiv3

Galactic Civilizations 3 Community Interview – Part 1 - SpaceSector.com (http://www.spacesector.com/blog/2014/01/galactic-civilizations-3-community-interview-part-1/)
Kordanor, adarax: Regarding multiplayer, will there be simultaneous turns or IGOUGO turns? If there are simultaneous turns, will the orders be executed right within the turn or will they be executed “between” turns? Will there be a special lobby for multiplayer? Meaning, will Steam be required or another platform for that purpose? And, will there be LAN multiplayer?

Ray: Galactic Civilizations III has simultaneous planning (ship design, planetary projects, ship path planning, research and tech tree choices, etc.) and sequential execution (battle, discovering anomalies, colonizing planets, etc.). Currently right now there are no plans for a separate LAN multiplayer; all multiplayer will go through Steam.

[Blackadar]

I'm such a quill18 fanboy.. With that said I have been quite excited for this game, but I'm not sure of the replayability of Banished. I will almost certainly purchase it (have to support the sole developer), but I am afraid I will only play through a few times.

Given that the developer said it would take days to fill up a larger map, a few times would be more than sufficient to get your money's worth.

[Blackadar]

More on GalCiv3

Galactic Civilizations 3 Community Interview – Part 1 - SpaceSector.com (http://www.spacesector.com/blog/2014/01/galactic-civilizations-3-community-interview-part-1/)

GalCiv 3 isn't on my wish list yet for a couple of reasons.

1. Gal Civ 2 was a technical achievement, but lacked any personality whatsoever. The tech tree in particular was duller than dishwater - laser 1, laser 2, laser 3, etc. It felt like I was playing a spreadsheet. Never mind the random map generator never worked worth a shit in terms of providing even a remotely balanced start. One map wouldn't offer any usable worlds, meaning it was game over from the start. Another would give you 5 or 6, including some awesome worlds, meaning you had the game won after 30 turns. Simply put, the game wasn't much fun or balanced. The ship-builder was interesting, but that was the only real fun thing about the game. Distant Worlds blows Gal Civ 2 out of the water.


2. Stardock's record with releases lately has been DISMAL. Remember the Elemental fiasco (and Wardell's refusal to honor his own refund policy)? Demigod's servers were unusable on release and the game never worked right for a number of people. There was another disastrous release as well, but the name escapes me. Even Legendary Heroes was bumpy as hell and that was the 3rd release for essentially the same game. Anyone who pre-orders this is just asking for trouble because the recent track record is awful.

[mckerney]

Sounds like hell on Earth.

As someone who likes Dark Souls, this is actually a pretty good description of it.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

PS+ games for February revealed. Still can't believe they give away all these games. I haven't played any of them, so a big coup for me.......

PS Plus in February: Outlast, Metro: Last Light, Payday 2 | Joystiq (http://www.joystiq.com/2014/01/30/ps-plus-in-february-outlast-metro-last-light-payday-2/)

[Groundhog]

Played NBA 2K14 last night on the PS4. After having played it on PS3 already a ton, the gameplay improvements/tweaks were more noticable than I expected. Playing against the Pacers, they were absolutely hounding my wings on defense, and interrupting my set plays. Dodgy passes into the key are much harder too.

The game is absolutely gorgeous, but there's one thing that bugs me, and that's the fact that there's no 'normal' multi-season mode, and no non-scripted MyCareer mode. I can't see myself ever starting a new player in MyCareer because I don't want to sit through all the cutscenes (with no ability to skip them) again.

Although it doesn't take long to earn enough VC to adjust your rotations in MyGM mode, why can't I play the normal MyAssociation mode that has been in the game since the beginning? It takes a long time to sim a season due to the numerous times you interact with players/owners/etc., and if I'm just looking to blow up and rebuild a team, I just want to sim without interruption.

The AI draft logic is still attrocious. I had the #4 and #7 picks, and there was a 7'3 C who looked like the player of the draft (no workouts pre-draft sucks, too - that was where I generally got a feel of whether a guy will work with my style of play). I considered trading #4 and #7 to move up to #1 but decided to wait and see... He fell to me at #4, with 3 PFs/Cs going ahead of him, all projected as mid-1st rounders or lottery (rather than top 3), and all rated 68 or 69 overall. My guy? 80.

Then I grab a PF at #7 who was a 72 overall - higher than the 2 guys that went off the board after my first pick - but there is still a PG on the board who was rated top 3. I didn't scout him once though so I held off... Come pick #13 he's still there and the team picking there offers me the #13 for my 72 ovr #7 selection and my #24 pick - I take the deal, draft the PG - 81 overall, the top rated player in the draft.

The 3rd best player in the draft went #16, a 74 overall rated PG. The lottery only had 1 player selected who wasn't a PF or C. Obviously one draft isn't a great sample size, but this aligns with what I saw in the last gen.

Generated players look great however - I especially like the variation of arm lengths, torso lengths etc. and my rookie PG looks like he could fly with the wingspan he's got.

[Eaglesfan27]

I don't have as big of an issue with the draft logic. Teams whiff on guys who their scouts see as better. They may see a better potential in some of those guys. I got a guard at 3rd spot in the draft who had an overall 8 points lower than everyone else but his potential was a 97 which I think was highest in the draft.

[Groundhog]

In this case none of the top 3 guys were high potential players - I don't recall specifics, but they were all around 2-star prospects post-draft. I'm hoping it's a one off and it does happen in real life (like the 2013 draft, for example).

[Groundhog]

I like the fact that we only have one scout now though. On PS3 I hired 3 scouts with all high-potential ratings and set it to auto-scout. Come draft time, I had a very good read on the first rounders. I did the same thing this time around and I was just lucky that my scout targetted the guys I was interested in, and I didn't have any 'potential' ratings revealed. I still scored big time in the draft, but there was some luck involved.

[Eaglesfan27]

In this case none of the top 3 guys were high potential players - I don't recall specifics, but they were all around 2-star prospects post-draft. I'm hoping it's a one off and it does happen in real life (like the 2013 draft, for example).

FWIW, I'm in my 3rd season and the CPU took the clear best player in 1 year and arguably the best player in the other year. However, I did get Jabari Parker to fall to me 5th overall and I'm having a blast building my 76ers around him :)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Idle thought: playing COD:Ghosts at 7pm (eastern) is a totally different experience than playing at my usual hours of like 11p-3a.

Earlier in the evening I'm actually competitive to downright decent. Late night/overnight I'm fodder for other people's K/D.

I don't think I'm playing differently, it's just an entirely different class of opponents.

[nol]

The AI draft logic is still attrocious. I had the #4 and #7 picks, and there was a 7'3 C who looked like the player of the draft (no workouts pre-draft sucks, too - that was where I generally got a feel of whether a guy will work with my style of play). I considered trading #4 and #7 to move up to #1 but decided to wait and see... He fell to me at #4, with 3 PFs/Cs going ahead of him, all projected as mid-1st rounders or lottery (rather than top 3), and all rated 68 or 69 overall. My guy? 80.

Then I grab a PF at #7 who was a 72 overall - higher than the 2 guys that went off the board after my first pick - but there is still a PG on the board who was rated top 3. I didn't scout him once though so I held off... Come pick #13 he's still there and the team picking there offers me the #13 for my 72 ovr #7 selection and my #24 pick - I take the deal, draft the PG - 81 overall, the top rated player in the draft.

The 3rd best player in the draft went #16, a 74 overall rated PG. The lottery only had 1 player selected who wasn't a PF or C. Obviously one draft isn't a great sample size, but this aligns with what I saw in the last gen.


If you don't want to break immersion, you can just pretend that these guys are gay or admitted to smoking pot in college or something like that ;)

[Neon_Chaos]

Idle thought: playing COD:Ghosts at 7pm (eastern) is a totally different experience than playing at my usual hours of like 11p-3a.

Earlier in the evening I'm actually competitive to downright decent. Late night/overnight I'm fodder for other people's K/D.

I don't think I'm playing differently, it's just an entirely different class of opponents.

That makes perfect sense. The casuals are on earlier, while the hardcore clan wars players stay up later.

[JonInMiddleGA]

That makes perfect sense. The casuals are on earlier, while the hardcore clan wars players stay up later.

Yep. It's not really a new revelation for me or anything, I've known late play was a handicap for me but I think the difference is the most pronounced with Ghosts compared to all the previous installments in the franchise.

[Groundhog]

If you don't want to break immersion, you can just pretend that these guys are gay or admitted to smoking pot in college or something like that ;)

...or that the Cavs have picks #1-#3. ;)

[JonInMiddleGA]

FWIW, the map pack that just dropped for COD:Ghosts might be one of the best they've ever done IMO.

"Fog" (aka Friday the 13th themed, complete with Jason as a field orders reward) is one of the cooler ideas they've had ... the one that's kinda like a mini-boardwalk/seaside resort area plays much better than most maps ... the old map they re-skinned is comfortably familiar & fun to (re)play. The 4th one I've only played -- poorly -- once so I'll reserve judgement.

Not an experience changer or anything, you either enjoy the game or you don't & this won't change that, and the map packs are still too expensive really ... but as map packs go I have to admit that I liked this one.

[stevew]

Oh man, they re-made Scrapyard. Loved that fuckin map. Makes me reconsider playing the game again. I was on the edge of selling it back.

[Abe Sargent]

Getting close to the end of the game in M&M X. I think I have entered one of the game-ending dungeons. It's a labyrinth of 5 levels that you can't leave once you enter until you are finished with it. We'll see if that's actually the case or not, but you know, yay. Here we go.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Oh man, they re-made Scrapyard. Loved that fuckin map. Makes me reconsider playing the game again. I was on the edge of selling it back.

Yeah, I think it's actually about the right amount of nostalgia without being entirely reliant upon that to simply be a good playable map.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I bought season one of the Pinball Arcade tables on the PS4 since I've hit a slow patch while waiting for Infamous and The Show. I've had some of the tables on the other consoles, but you can tell a big difference in the redesigned versions of the tables on the new console. So well-defined and easy to see the targets, ramps, etc. It's also nice in that it's easy for my young kids to play. Really enjoying it.

Just saw that the developers re-upped the agreement with Bally and Williams. Excited to see what other tables they bring to the game in the future.

[nilodor]

We picked up a Wii U before christmas so the wife and I could have some games to play together and we've been having lots of fun. Last night, after the superbowl, we broke out 5 player super mario and I don't think I've laughed as much in a year as I did in the about 3 hours we (wii?) played. It was incredibly fun, even playing as the fifth player where all you get to do is add block for people to jump on and activate 3up moons (which always caused a mad scramble and made complete bastards of my friends). It's a shame that the system is doing so poorly and that third party providers have basically abandoned it because nintendo makes some well designed games that are fun solo or with lots of people.

[Abe Sargent]

Jut beat the game. Had about five hours left in it from where I thought it was - no bad. About 50 hours all told.


I enjoyed the game, and it was worth the $25 it costs, but there were a few issues with it that a polish would have helped. Felt like a good quality beta to me in many ways. A few examples:


In the end scenes, you are presented with the results of your choices in various quests. But for a few quests, you get both results.

Another example is that when you don't have certain classes in your class (Crusader is a good example), you don't get quests to finish things even when you could. So, for example, if you head to one dungeon, you clean it out, and are told by the person at the end what to do in order to fix things, but you don't get the promotion quest, so you can't actually hand the person the items needed.

There are a few odd things like that here and there.


A few decisions I disagree with - the inventory management system is worse than the innovative one in Might and Might 6-8. You need to have some races in order to trigger certain quests or some areas. The game is badly missing Town Portal, a spell in virtually every edition. The final level is needlessly long (it took me like 45 minutes for that one stupid floor). Some puzzles were obscenely hard.

One issue - you barely get any more XP for fighting tough, hard monsters than you do for the lower level ones. That's an odd feeling.


However, the game gets a lot easier as things progress. I think it might have been because I was touring the world when I was supposed to be finding this dungeon. I grabbed relics from a few dungeons and leveled up fighting monsters a few times. Then I moved back and finally found the dungeon I was supposed to be looking for, but by that time, I had fully explored regions of the map. By that time I was a bit overleveled I guess, and I was easily able to wade through folks. And because lower lvel foes give you virtually the same XP, I kept it almost the whole game. It wasn't until Chapter IV that I was really stopped by folks, and not until the final dungeon that I was killed again for the first time since my first 5-10 hours of play.


It's a fun game. However, it has literlally no redeeming plot - it's all 2 dimensional characters cut in sterotypical fantasy light. Nothing is new, different or exciting. And that's part of its charm. This is an old school RPG with an old school plot. It's an old school game with grid based movement and turn based combat.


So enjoy it!



EDIT - i just spent about another hour post-game finishing up a couple of quests and such. But I'm basically done now. So, yay!


Yay!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

EA announced today that the World Cup version of FIFA will only be available on last-gen consoles (PS3, 360). No current gen versions will be available on PS4 or XB1.

[DaddyTorgo]

This

Save 10% on Masters of the World - Geopolitical Simulator 3 on Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/268890/)

http://www.masters-of-the-world.com/news.php

looks cool, but I have no idea who the developer is, so I'm going to wait. Quite likely it's a pile of turd unfortunately (although I really really hope I'm wrong).

[Eaglesfan27]

Anyone play Horizon? I'm going out of the country for a week for a business trip and there is going to be a lot of downtime, so I'm looking to pick up 1 or 2 more games for my laptop before I go. Trying to decide if this 4x game is worth giving a shot.

[Blackadar]

This

Save 10% on Masters of the World - Geopolitical Simulator 3 on Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/268890/)

Masters Of The World (http://www.masters-of-the-world.com/news.php)

looks cool, but I have no idea who the developer is, so I'm going to wait. Quite likely it's a pile of turd unfortunately (although I really really hope I'm wrong).

By all accounts, the game is buggy. That's forgivable...

...the DRM, however, is not. It was 2 (now 3) lifetime activations. Change your BIOS and there goes one. Swap out your video card and there's 2. There's no reason whatsoever for this kind of DRM and its going to cost these guys big time.

[MizzouRah]

Anyone play Horizon? I'm going out of the country for a week for a business trip and there is going to be a lot of downtime, so I'm looking to pick up 1 or 2 more games for my laptop before I go. Trying to decide if this 4x game is worth giving a shot.

I haven't played much since the last beta release.. it isn't doing much for me yet. :)

Do you have Pandora? Probably the most 4x played game for me right now.

Slitherine Ltd (http://www.slitherine.com/games/PandoraPC)

[Groundhog]

After a solid week+ of NBA 2K14, I definitely retract my draft class statement. I finished my season 3 of rebuilding/fast sim, and my most recent draft (completely random generated) was 'real life 2014 draft' strong. There were 5 guys rated 80 or better, and a few quality picks outside of that. One 82 OVR was a steal at #16, but the others fell in the top 10 picks. I randomly generated some draft classes just to test the type of talent levels that are typical, and I never saw one this strong.

At first I hated the fact that the individual defensive settings have been dumbed down but, surprisingly, the points of emphasis feature works pretty darn well. The AI even seems to be fairly smart with their use of it.

MyCareer sucks at this point if you don't play PG as the AI does not run plays... Even if you are a PG, I find 40-50% of the time I can't call a play. Seriously, this same bug been in this title far, far too often. Not everyone wants to play as a shot hungry, ball hogging PG who does nothing but call for screens.

[Blackadar]

Anyone play Horizon? I'm going out of the country for a week for a business trip and there is going to be a lot of downtime, so I'm looking to pick up 1 or 2 more games for my laptop before I go. Trying to decide if this 4x game is worth giving a shot.

I'm not hearing great things. It seems to be just "ok".

Again, for space 4x games, you can't beat Distant Worlds.

[MizzouRah]

I'm not hearing great things. It seems to be just "ok".

Again, for space 4x games, you can't beat Distant Worlds.

How do you like Pandora after the latest patch?

I like making the alien life aggressive as it makes it harder to get your city going.

Distant Worlds is great too.. the AI is quite good.

[markprior22]

MyCareer sucks at this point if you don't play PG as the AI does not run plays... Even if you are a PG, I find 40-50% of the time I can't call a play. Seriously, this same bug been in this title far, far too often. Not everyone wants to play as a shot hungry, ball hogging PG who does nothing but call for screens.

Yeah, this sure is disappointing. I usually play as a SF and find myself running around trying to set picks, come off screens, etc. The 360 version had the same issue and it was fixed in a patch. Hope they'll do one more patch that includes a fix for this. Really ruins the experience and it's my favorite mode to play.

[mckerney]

Bravely Default launches in the US today, but it looks like Amazon didn't do release day shipping for it and I won't get my copy until Monday.

Played through episode 2 of The Wolf Among Us the other night. The only complaint I had was that it felt a bit short coming in at about 80 minutes of playtime for me, other than that it was a great second episode. Still enjoying it more than I did the first season of The Walking Dead through the first two episodes.

[Blackadar]

How do you like Pandora after the latest patch?

I like making the alien life aggressive as it makes it harder to get your city going.

Distant Worlds is great too.. the AI is quite good.

To tell you the truth, I haven't played it much lately. My game time has been taken up by XCOM, Civ V, Distant Worlds and Starbound.

And Banished is coming out in a week and a half.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

This

Save 10% on Masters of the World - Geopolitical Simulator 3 on Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/268890/)

Masters Of The World (http://www.masters-of-the-world.com/news.php)

looks cool, but I have no idea who the developer is, so I'm going to wait. Quite likely it's a pile of turd unfortunately (although I really really hope I'm wrong).

This will probably hold you over until the other one comes down in price. It's 50% off this weekend......

Save 50% on Democracy 3 on Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/245470/)

[DaddyTorgo]

This will probably hold you over until the other one comes down in price. It's 50% off this weekend......

Save 50% on Democracy 3 on Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/245470/)

Yeah - I saw that, thanks. Anyone played Democracy 3?

[NobodyHere]

I've only played 2.

Democracy 2 is great fun for several hours. However once you figure out which policies work/don't work then the game loses it's luster.

I am curious for opinions on 3 though.

[Blackadar]

Yeah - I saw that, thanks. Anyone played Democracy 3?

Yeah, but I didn't much care for it. The assassination mechanic is absurd (the first half dozen of my games ended with me getting assassinated) for supposedly modern countries, the cause-and-effect engine isn't all that good, the economics portion of it is too limited and just overall the game is pretty "meh". Once you find a winning strategy, then all you need to do is repeat it for any other country you play. It's actually a pretty poor game overall.

[General Mike]

Lego The Lego Movie video game

[Blackadar]

First one who wants a copy of Sid Meier's Railroads gets it. Decent game. Just PM me your Steam Account name.

The only condition is you have to trade something back - a game, a steam card, something.

[Berger]

Has anybody here played Project Zomboid? I've had it for quite a while, but haven't played it a ton as I'm waiting for the npc's and metagame to be finished up for singleplayer. I'm also waiting for MP, which they've just announced should be up pretty soon.

I guess the servers are up and running and you can see some gameplay here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXfFJmwjRkg#t=101). You can check out the blog update here (http://projectzomboid.com/blog/2014/02/tales-from-mp/).

I'm super excited about this one as I'm a sucker for survival games, with or without zombies, for that matter. This game is very well designed and with multiplayer coming soon, I think it could go to the next level. Highly recommended.

[DaddyTorgo]

I played the demo. Thought it had potential.

[Blackadar]

Has anybody here played Project Zomboid? I've had it for quite a while, but haven't played it a ton as I'm waiting for the npc's and metagame to be finished up for singleplayer. I'm also waiting for MP, which they've just announced should be up pretty soon.

I guess the servers are up and running and you can see some gameplay here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXfFJmwjRkg#t=101). You can check out the blog update here (http://projectzomboid.com/blog/2014/02/tales-from-mp/).

I'm super excited about this one as I'm a sucker for survival games, with or without zombies, for that matter. This game is very well designed and with multiplayer coming soon, I think it could go to the next level. Highly recommended.

I own it. Got about 6 hours invested in the game. It's well designed, but very difficult to find what you need to survive. Overly so, especially for stuff that should be common. For example, I've survived over a week in my current game. I'm in a remote house, no zoms around and I've already started boarding up the windows. I have a good supply of food and water.

The problem? I can't find a trowel anywhere. So I can't start to plant. If I can't start to plant, I'll die eventually of starvation. Every single house in suburbia has a trowel. But not here and therefore I'm screwed long term and forced to take greater and greater risks to find a stinkin' trowel.

It's a decent game overall though. I'm waiting until it's done. I have no interest in multiplayer at this stage.

---

SirFozzie got Railroads. Hope he enjoys it!

[Matthean]

If you don't want success, don't post publish anything.

Flappy Bird Developer Says He’s Taking The Hit Game Down Tomorrow | TechCrunch (http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/08/flappy-bird-going-down/?utm_campaign=fb&ncid=fb)

[Vince, Pt. II]

My roommate picked up Bravely Default for the 3DS, and he's loving it. His thoughts:

"I'm really not sure why they didn't call it 'Final Fantasy.' There are four crystals (Earth, Air, Fire and Water), there are four heroes out to save the world, and it uses a job system extremely similar to FF2, FF5 and FF: Tactics. It's awesome though. Beautiful game, the Brave/Default battle system is a nice twist, and the ability to tune the frequency of the random encounters is fantastic." (Edit: apparently there's a slider that changes the frequency of random battles that you can change at any time)

Looking forward to giving it a shot when my queue clears a bit.

[Berger]

I own it. Got about 6 hours invested in the game. It's well designed, but very difficult to find what you need to survive. Overly so, especially for stuff that should be common. For example, I've survived over a week in my current game. I'm in a remote house, no zoms around and I've already started boarding up the windows. I have a good supply of food and water.

The problem? I can't find a trowel anywhere. So I can't start to plant. If I can't start to plant, I'll die eventually of starvation. Every single house in suburbia has a trowel. But not here and therefore I'm screwed long term and forced to take greater and greater risks to find a stinkin' trowel.

It's a decent game overall though. I'm waiting until it's done. I have no interest in multiplayer at this stage.

---

SirFozzie got Railroads. Hope he enjoys it!

Yeah it is a very difficult game, but I don't think it's too hard. I'm not jumping with joy about multiplayer, but I'm definitely going to try it out, if not now, in a couple months. But they're also getting close with the npc's, which is what I'm really waiting for.

Oh, and I'm not really sure why MP is being put into the game before the SP is done, like they said they weren't going to do, but oh well.

[sterlingice]

My roommate picked up Bravely Default for the 3DS, and he's loving it. His thoughts:

"I'm really not sure why they didn't call it 'Final Fantasy.' There are four crystals (Earth, Air, Fire and Water), there are four heroes out to save the world, and it uses a job system extremely similar to FF2, FF5 and FF: Tactics. It's awesome though. Beautiful game, the Brave/Default battle system is a nice twist, and the ability to tune the frequency of the random encounters is fantastic." (Edit: apparently there's a slider that changes the frequency of random battles that you can change at any time)

Looking forward to giving it a shot when my queue clears a bit.

I keep seeing a quote throw around about "spiritual successor to Final Fantasy Four Heroes of Light". However, I think they wanted to do a new IP since there is no real value to adding the Final Fantasy name to it.

I picked up the CE after playing the demo. The demo was fun by grindy. We'll see if this is better

SI

[terpkristin]

The part about BD that scares me is the end. I read the Kotaku review which basically said that the end is miserable, that you have to fight 4 dungeons 5 times.

Ugh. I'm going to wait for a sale on this one.

/tk

[Groundhog]

I'm late to the party, but Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is freakin' awesome. I haven't played any of the other AC games, is the sci-fi/virtual reality aspect of it a theme in all the games, or just this one? I didn't expect it at all, and it's kinda neat.

I have to keep forcing myself to play the main plot because it's just a ton of fun capturing boats and being all piratey.

[stevew]

So is it like Grand Theft Auto on the Seas? I might check it out. I really liked that Pirates! game that came out awhile back

[DaddyTorgo]

So is it like Grand Theft Auto on the Seas? I might check it out. I really liked that Pirates! game that came out awhile back

It's awesome!

[Groundhog]

So is it like Grand Theft Auto on the Seas? I might check it out. I really liked that Pirates! game that came out awhile back

It's really 5 different games.

1) Adventure game - think like Tomb Raider/Uncharted, but with much more of an emphasis on stealth. The sword fighting is not overly complex, with an attack/parry/break defense system, but keeps it easy/fun. Most of the missions you are "train tracked" through an island/location, and there are (so far) some minor puzzles.

2) Pirate game - sail the seas, loot ships, destroy forts, find treasure, upgrade your ship, etc. This part of the game alone is worth the price of admission. The emphasis is on fun over reality, but it "feels" authentic. You could easily forget the main quest and get lost in this aspect of the game.

3) Trading game - I've only scratched the surface of this. An overhead map view of the region where you can send the ships you capture on trading/combat missions. Surprisingly fun.

4) Exploration/"GTA" with swords game - explore islands/shipwrecks/etc. Outside of the missions, the world is completely open. Most of it is collecting treasure chests/other trinkets to get a full set, but it's a picturesque world with a great deal of care taken to make it look pretty.

5) The "real world". Too early to say exactly, but it ties into the pirate world in someway.

[General Mike]

I'm late to the party, but Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is freakin' awesome. I haven't played any of the other AC games, is the sci-fi/virtual reality aspect of it a theme in all the games, or just this one? I didn't expect it at all, and it's kinda neat.

I have to keep forcing myself to play the main plot because it's just a ton of fun capturing boats and being all piratey.

Yes, they are all in the Animus. AC1, AC2, Brotherhood, Revelations and AC3 all use the same main "real world" protagonist.

[Berger]

Please tell me the naval warfare is improved in this one. I'm holding off until I get my new gaming pc, but I've played every AC prior to this one. The part that really scared me off in this one was all the naval stuff. I've always hated that part of the game, but loved the franchise in general.

[stevew]

It's really 5 different games.

1) Adventure game - think like Tomb Raider/Uncharted, but with much more of an emphasis on stealth. The sword fighting is not overly complex, with an attack/parry/break defense system, but keeps it easy/fun. Most of the missions you are "train tracked" through an island/location, and there are (so far) some minor puzzles.

2) Pirate game - sail the seas, loot ships, destroy forts, find treasure, upgrade your ship, etc. This part of the game alone is worth the price of admission. The emphasis is on fun over reality, but it "feels" authentic. You could easily forget the main quest and get lost in this aspect of the game.

3) Trading game - I've only scratched the surface of this. An overhead map view of the region where you can send the ships you capture on trading/combat missions. Surprisingly fun.

4) Exploration/"GTA" with swords game - explore islands/shipwrecks/etc. Outside of the missions, the world is completely open. Most of it is collecting treasure chests/other trinkets to get a full set, but it's a picturesque world with a great deal of care taken to make it look pretty.

5) The "real world". Too early to say exactly, but it ties into the pirate world in someway.

Ok, I'm down when/if I get a XB1. That sounds like a shitload of fun. I trust the taste here for the most part on games and while I only played one other AC game and didn't like it, I'll give it a chance. The endorsement of a Buccaneer is good enough for me.

[Neon_Chaos]

Please tell me the naval warfare is improved in this one. I'm holding off until I get my new gaming pc, but I've played every AC prior to this one. The part that really scared me off in this one was all the naval stuff. I've always hated that part of the game, but loved the franchise in general.

It is easily the best part of the game. Hands down.

I am even purposely delaying the game just to live out my Pirates of the Carribean fantasies. :)

[Neon_Chaos]

Dola, a battle I had the other day while attacking a Treasure Fleet... Basically 2 spanish galleons and several frigates in the middle of a storm with rogue waves!

[Groundhog]

BTW... On that note, can you play on after you finish the main storyline? Or else I'm going to hold off too.

[Neon_Chaos]

BTW... On that note, can you play on after you finish the main storyline? Or else I'm going to hold off too.

Yes you can.

[DaddyTorgo]

I am even purposely delaying the game just to live out my Pirates of the Carribean fantasies. :)

This is like the only reason why I'm not upset about the thought of upgrading and having to start over.

I could do without the follow-missions and all that stuff (to this point I think I've only done 1 or 2 assassination missions) - I just want to sail around and pirate.

[Buccaneer]

I'm glad to hear that more of you are getting into the awesome AC4.

I did watch the whole walkthrough on AC3 and I was struck at how vastly superior the naval game is in AC4 compared to AC3. So yes, much improved.

Like others that had not played AC before, I was jolted by the modern day missions. Completely a waste of time and distracting, imo, adding nothing to the game. However, they did shorten them so you end up doing about 5 minutes of that every two hours of gameplay on average. Can't avoid it but you can get through them rather quickly.

I played the game for nearly 100 hours and half of the time was spent on the seas and in ports getting every chest, treasures and keys as well as sync points. Both a lot of fun.

For example, you shouldn't leave the first island with less than 5300 gold. And when you get to Hsvana, there are 20-24 chests - some easy, some challenging. Take your time and really get to know every place you go to.

The one thing I am not sure about is replay value since I did nearly everything the first time through. I will, however, get the two dlcs that open up new places and quests.

[Neon_Chaos]

This romp on the PS4 is actually my second playthrough.

I have it on the PS3 as well.

It's that good, I had to buy the next gen version.

[DaddyTorgo]

This romp on the PS4 is actually my second playthrough.

I have it on the PS3 as well.

It's that good, I had to buy the next gen version.

Do you agree with MBBF that it's worth it on the PS4, even for someone who's ya know...halfway done with it on PS3, considering all the stuff I'll have to repeat?

[Buccaneer]

That's one thing I've been thinking about - how to replay without having all of the same gameplay experience. This is not like Skyrim where you can replay for another 100 hours and mostly differently experiences. You are pretty much locked into the main storyline if you want to unlock areas. But as DT said, the Assassin's missions are typically skipped, so that can be a focus. I am not sure about upgrading the Jackdaw differently (i.e., not hulls and mortars). I suppose one could come up with house rules - like you have to only hunt for your gold or no buying hunting supplies.

[Neon_Chaos]

Do you agree with MBBF that it's worth it on the PS4, even for someone who's ya know...halfway done with it on PS3, considering all the stuff I'll have to repeat?

I think it's worth it on nextgen, just for the enhanced particle physics and graphics.

Maybe you should check out the graphics comparison videos on youtube.

Of course when you get down to it, it's really the same game, only prettier. So it depends on your budget, really, if you can afford to buy it on nextgen, why not?

[DaddyTorgo]

I think it's worth it on nextgen, just for the enhanced particle physics and graphics.

Maybe you should check out the graphics comparison videos on youtube.

Of course when you get down to it, it's really the same game, only prettier. So it depends on your budget, really, if you can afford to buy it on nextgen, why not?

With the $10 trade-in, why not indeed?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

With the $10 trade-in, why not indeed?

For $10, you can't go wrong.

[Vince, Pt. II]

So I cleared Radiant Historia yesterday. Very, very good game. Not quite excellent, but I really enjoyed it.

Pros:
-Great implementation of time travel, and the ability to explore both sides of the decision making process throughout the game is awesome.
-Battle system is interesting, and linking both special moves and magic to MP consumption leads to some interesting decisions and lends a bunch more weight to the usage of buffs and debuffs in this game. The auto-battle feature is brilliant for when you're cruising through zones you completely out-level.
-The story is good, isn't bogged down by sappy romances and has some very good dialogue. It also stays strong throughout. I was particularly fond of the endgame, but I can't discuss without major spoilers so I'll leave it at that.
-The graphics are pretty incredible for a DS game, and the music is very well done.

Cons
-Difficulty swings wildly from one zone to the next. The first 40% of the game is cakewalk easy, so the difficult sections can be really off-putting. Once you get used to the fact that some areas are actually difficult, none of them are unfairly difficult, and several pose a nice challenge.
-for a game that features time travel and has lots of dialogue, it's almost inexcusable that you aren't able to skip cutscenes you've already seen before. There IS a fast forward feature, but there are still certain sections of the game (that you will see 5+ times) where you're holding the fast forward button for a minute or two just waiting for the scene to end.
-Akin to the difficulty compliant, the game holds your hand pretty tightly for most of the time, explaining in fairly clear detail where you need to go next. On the rare occasion where it doesn't do this, it's easy to get frustrated...especially when you're sitting through minutes of dialogue on fast forward only to find out this ISN'T the node you were supposed to go to.
-No inner-zone mini-maps is a slight frustration on some of the larger levels, though I enjoyed the challenge of having to actually learn the locations and figure things out.

Overall, the game was awesome and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys classic RPGs. A few tweaks here and there and this could have been an all-time great game.

[DaddyTorgo]

For $10, you can't go wrong.

Well except for having to replay 50% of the main storyline to get back to where I (nominally) am.

[sterlingice]

I think I'll move Radiant Historia up a spot or two on the backlog based on that. I'm plowing my way through Fire Emblem for the 3DS right now, tho, and I suspect that will keep me busy for another month.

SI

[Vince, Pt. II]

Let me know what you think of Fire Emblem. My roommate has it, but he stalled after a while and now he's moved on to Bravely Default.

I'm going to clean up a few loose ends in RH and beat it again, then I'll move on to TWEWY.

[sterlingice]

I'm enjoying FE, however, I'm playing Casual-Hard. I think I lose something by not playing Classic where if someone dies they're gone for good. However, I've had more than enough OHKOs in my game to know I'd be rage resetting like mad if I were playing Classic and that defeats the purpose, too. Instead, I end up with Hard where I have to do a bit of grinding to keep a lot of my team up to speed. However, I think it could easily be mitigated if I just choose a good team and stuck with those characters rather than spreading it around.

So far, I'm quite enjoying it and have poured about 10 hours into it (tho I think another 5 have been wiped out by early battles where a main character died and you can't complete a mission if one of the 2 main characters die). I think I'm between about 1/3 and 1/2 of the game. I'm not planning on slowing down but I may make the change I mention above where I narrow the focus rather than trying to level everyone.

SI

[Coffee Warlord]

http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/02/11/congratulations-internet-goat-simulator-is-now-a-real-game/

What we've all been waiting for.

Goat Simulator.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Some funny stuff here out of the EA COO........

EA Defends BF 4, SimCity Launch Efforts, Discusses Future | Rock, Paper, Shotgun (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/02/11/ea-defends-bf-4-simcity-launch-efforts-discusses-future/)

RPS: SimCity and BF4 both had terrible launches. SimCity didn’t work for more than a month, and BF4 still has issues. Surely you’re overhauling how you approach launches internally from now on?

Hilleman: I’m not sure I accept your premise. Battlefield 4 has been an exceedingly successful product on both consoles and PC. From a sales perspective, from a gameplay perspective.

RPS: Sure, BF4 is fundamentally a good game, but you can’t just write off months of glitches and server issues. Some people straight up could not play for the first couple weeks.

Hilleman: I think there was a lot of noise about the game, but some of that is a function of your surface area. The more customers you have, the more noise becomes available. We did things wrong. We know that. We’re gonna fix those things. We’re gonna try to be smart about what customers want in the future.

But I’m not willing to accept – and I don’t think most of my customers are willing to say – “it’s a bad product, I wish I didn’t buy it.” That’s not the conversation we’re having now. I think what we’re hearing is, “You made a game we really liked. We would’ve liked it a little better if it didn’t have these problems.” Many of those problems we can fix, and we have and will.

[Blackadar]

Some funny stuff here out of the EA COO........

EA Defends BF 4, SimCity Launch Efforts, Discusses Future | Rock, Paper, Shotgun (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/02/11/ea-defends-bf-4-simcity-launch-efforts-discusses-future/)

In other words: "it sold well so fuck you and fuck the customers"

[SirFozzie]

Ok, this game is a must buy.

From the makers of Left 4 Dead, a 4 v 1 hunting game: The hunters try to kill the beast, the beast tries to get strong enough (by chowing on wildlife and or rogue hunters they ambush) to kill the hunters.

What would be more fun, the 4 hunters working together, with many varied abilities and classes to bring down a rampaging 15 foot tall beast that can breath fire?

Or being the beast, and doing to the Hunters what the Hunters want to do to the Beast, except with more sharp pointy teeth and breathing fire.

(or in other words, imagine L4D against a Super-Tank that can get even more powerful if the Hunters don't find it and kill it)

Evolve -- Happy Hunting -- Official Trailer - YouTube (http://youtu.be/zlaPT08Tmxc)

[DaddyTorgo]

How has Pirates held up? Embarrassed I've never played it.

[sterlingice]

I enjoyed the crap out of the PSP version a couple of years ago. It did have a glitch, tho, where I could never beat part of the main story because I spent way too much time just sailing around, trading, dancing, fighting, whatever and one of the other pirates killed him first (or maybe he died of old age waiting for me to come find him).

SI

[cartman]

How has Pirates held up? Embarrassed I've never played it.

Considering it has been over 9 years since it was released, it has held up pretty well. For those that played the original version way back in the late 80s, it probably didn't live up to the expectations. But if you have not played either version, and you can pick it up for cheap, you should get a decent amount of enjoyment from it.

[DaddyTorgo]

I'll do that then!

[Eaglesfan27]

I really enjoyed the Banner Saga. It ended abruptly and left me wanting more. The choices throughout were very difficult and the story kept me wanting to play just one more battle. The battle system became a bit repetitive which is my only complaint about the game. I'm looking forward to whenever the next chapter/sequel comes out.

[Buccaneer]

Sid Meier's Pirates (not to be confused with the Microprose versions) was good for one playthrough, imo. Unlike the Pirates!Gold version (which was what I played for years), it offered almost no replay value.

Incidentally, I did buy the iOS version but then discovered that it was unplayable on newer iPads like Air. The reason is that the newer processors accelerates the ships to where you can't control them even with sails down. You can visualize the map? Imagine sailing from one end to the other in 6 seconds. It was released in 2011 and 2k has not released any updates since then, from what I can tell. It is unfortunate since it would be a decent iPad game, one that would take longer than 5 minutes to play.

[DaddyTorgo]

Sid Meier's Pirates (not to be confused with the Microprose versions) was good for one playthrough, imo. Unlike the Pirates!Gold version (which was what I played for years), it offered almost no replay value.

Incidentally, I did buy the iOS version but then discovered that it was unplayable on newer iPads like Air. The reason is that the newer processors accelerates the ships to where you can't control them even with sails down. You can visualize the map? Imagine sailing from one end to the other in 6 seconds. It was released in 2011 and 2k has not released any updates since then, from what I can tell. It is unfortunate since it would be a decent iPad game, one that would take longer than 5 minutes to play.

Thanks!

[cartman]

The problem I have with playing Pirates!Gold now is that it is a 640x480 DosBox game. I just don't get the same feel playing it as I did back in the day.

[Buccaneer]

The problem I have with playing Pirates!Gold now is that it is a 640x480 DosBox game. I just don't get the same feel playing it as I did back in the day.

I feel that way about all of my favorite games from back then. These not only include Pirates!Gold but Civ2, Imperialism II, CNW, Pharaoh/Zeus, RR Tycoon 2, etc. All of those games can still be played but it's not the same thing anymore and that's ok. It's not that there are better games that replaced them (except for Civ5, of course), it's just nostalgia can only take so far.

[stevew]

Just get Sid Pirates for the iPad. It's still a good game.

[stevew]

I have a gen 1 iPad though.

[CleBrownsfan]

Hell yeah - Goat Simulator!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/JN2QUhaKN2Q" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/WgTQglGvNUs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[stevew]

With the $10 trade-in, why not indeed?

where is this program you speak of?

[mckerney]

where is this program you speak of?

I believe this is what he's talking about.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/09/19/how-to-upgrade-select-ps3-games-to-their-ps4-versions/

[DaddyTorgo]

South Park has gone gold apparently!

[chadritt]

South Park has gone gold apparently!

Yup, its official. Goes on sale March 4th for PC, PS3, and 360.

[Vince, Pt. II]

So I just played the first "day" of The World Ends With You (like a twenty minute intro/tutorial). I don't think any game ever has made me feel so uncoordinated and bad at playing video games. Holy crap. The control system is so very different than anything I'm used to, but I already really enjoy the stylized graphics and the music is pretty fantastic. Once I learn to be adequate at the controls, I think I could really like this game. It has already made better use of the dual screen feature on the DS than anything I've ever seen.

Edit:
235/236 nodes in Radiant Historia. The last node is an optional side boss that is one-shotting my party. Feels like I would need to put in several hours of grinding levels to have even a shot at him. Probably wont ever do that, but I'm not disappointed in that. Leave a really difficult boss in the game that hardcore players will want to work hard to defeat, fine by me.

[sterlingice]

For TWEWY, it's all about finding the pins that work best for you. For me, I liked having one or two good single shots, a good multi hit or two, a healer, a shield, or maybe another couple of good effect pins. That said, there are like 300 pins so you should be able to find something that works for you. I'm a mad completist so unless I was facing a boss, I was always trying out new pins that I found or bought to see what I liked. Also, if you like a particular pin, the next one in the series is probably a more souped up version of the last one (if you like one that shoots one lightning bolt, the next one up will do multiple bolts and two up does chain lightning- that sort of thing; for example- I don't remember it exactly).

BTW, your partner (Shiki, right?)- that never really gets better to control. Honest, IIRC, it actually gets progressively worse (it's been a year or two since my second completist playthrough).

I would try very hard to avoid spoilers for the game. I only recall getting stuck, thinking "where should i go to finish the day" once or twice. And I think it would be almost impossible to be completist on the first run through, much as I tried. Just sit back, try to find pins you want, and play through a second time on New Game+ if you want to try and get all the pins and pigs (don't ask).

I think along with the style (music and look with this odd urban meets Shibuya thing going), I love the plot. It's a bit cheesy so if you require more than Neku's generic angsting to go for serious drama, you're going to be disappointed. But I love the idea, especially as you get further into the game. It's hard to say more without giving much away and actually I've had to rewrite sections of this post because I'm thinking "whoops, he hasn't seen that yet"

SI

[stevew]

AC4 is only $30 for the 360 version. Seems like a good idea.

[cartman]

14 minute intro with gamplay for Stick of Truth. I can't wait!

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[NobodyHere]

lol @ Jew class

[cartman]

Could South Park: The Stick of Truth be the Best Licensed Game Ever? - IGN (http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/02/14/could-south-park-the-stick-of-truth-be-the-best-licensed-game-ever)

[chinaski]

Been playing Titanfall for the last 4 hours, seems to live up to the hype. Its pretty amazing. My PC couldnt handle it at max settings tho, had to go minimums, but it still looks great.

[Blackadar]

Banished is out tomorrow. $20 seems more than reasonable for this.

[Scoobz0202]

I'm pretty sure I will purchase Banished within the next couple days, but I'm not as enthusiastic as I was a few weeks back. I was really excited for it and watched a few Let's Plays and now I feel like that was a mistake. I worry about the depth of the game and that now after watching a few Let's Plays I feel that there is already in my mind a linear build that you should start out with. A few Lets Plays is probably a bad criterion to judge, though.

I'll probably purchase, though, just because it looks fun. Maybe the dev will be super active in balance, add-ons, etc. to make it tougher if it needs to be.

[Abe Sargent]

Don't know which thread to put it under (This Steam, or discounts) but I picked up Card City Nights for $2 off Steam this weekend, put about 12 hours into it before finishing it, and loved it. Totoally worth hte investment.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Early leaks of The Order: 1886. Full HD video of the GIFs in this article will be available tomorrow when the embargo is officially off.

The Order: 1886 leaked gifs and screenshots - VGLeaks (http://www.vgleaks.com/the-order-1886-leaked-gifs-and-screenshots/)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Lots of video for The Order: 1886. Love the story and setting. Will have to wait and see more of the gameplay to see how the game plays. From the articles, most of the media was impressed with how seamless the cinematics and gameplay merged together.

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The Order 1886 - New PS4 Gameplay & Info - YouTube (http://youtu.be/GfHUvthiwBI)

The Order 1886 gameplay & details - ambitious PS4 shooter's an Uncharted-beater - YouTube (http://youtu.be/2lIG-BI2Vno)

The Order: 1886 - Debut Gameplay Reveal - Third Person Action - YouTube (http://youtu.be/xaSxSBXdnek)

The Order: 1886 - All New Gameplay - Quicktime Events!? - YouTube (http://youtu.be/UOJ6rD-1DMc)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

dola

Interesting article over at Kotaku about a modder of Total War games who became frustrated with their support and decided to make his own game. Really neat looking game. Hope everything comes together.

When A Modder Tries To Make His Own Game (http://kotaku.com/when-a-modder-tries-to-make-his-own-game-1524668565)

[BillJasper]

Have to say I having a ton of fun with Madden for the PS4. Seems like ratings and turnovers actually matter in the actual "All-Pro" franchise games.

Played three preseason games so far with Jacksonville:

Lost to Miami 48-16, had seven turnovers (-7).
Beat the Jets 31-29, had two turnovers (-1).
Lost to Philadelphia, 52-17, had seven turnovers (-5).

About my only complaint right now is that stretch plays are a little too easy to get to the outside on.

[Kodos]

Don't weaken my resolve to hold off on buying next gen!

[Matthean]

Irrational Games (http://www.irrationalgames.com/)

When Jon Chey, Rob Fermier and I founded Irrational Games seventeen years ago, our mission was to make visually unique worlds and populate them with singular characters.
We built Rapture and Columbia, the Von Braun and The Rickenbacker, the Freedom Fortress and some of the nastiest basements a SWAT team ever set foot into. We created Booker and Elizabeth, the Big Daddy and the Little Sister, MidWives and ManBot. In that time, Irrational has grown larger and more successful than we could have conceived when we began our three-person studio in a living room in Cambridge, MA. It’s been the defining project of my professional life.

Now Irrational Games is about to roll out the last DLC for BioShock Infinite and people are understandably asking: What’s next?

Seventeen years is a long time to do any job, even the best one. And working with the incredible team at Irrational Games is indeed the best job I’ve ever had. While I’m deeply proud of what we’ve accomplished together, my passion has turned to making a different kind of game than we’ve done before. To meet the challenge ahead, I need to refocus my energy on a smaller team with a flatter structure and a more direct relationship with gamers. In many ways, it will be a return to how we started: a small team making games for the core gaming audience.

I am winding down Irrational Games as you know it. I’ll be starting a smaller, more entrepreneurial endeavor at Take-Two. That is going to mean parting ways with all but about fifteen members of the Irrational team. There’s no great way to lay people off, and our first concern is to make sure that the people who are leaving have as much support as we can give them during this transition.

Besides financial support, the staff will have access to the studio for a period of time to say their goodbyes and put together their portfolios. Other Take-Two studios will be on hand to discuss opportunities within the company, and we’ll be hosting a recruiting day where we’ll be giving 3rd party studios and publishers a chance to hold interviews with departing Irrational staff.*

What’s next?

In time we will announce a new endeavor with a new goal: To make narrative-driven games for the core gamer that are highly replayable. To foster the most direct relationship with our fans possible, we will focus exclusively on content delivered digitally.

When I first contemplated what I wanted to do, it became very clear to me that we were going to need a long period of design. Initially, I thought the only way to build this venture was with a classical startup model, a risk I was prepared to take. But when I talked to Take-Two about the idea, they convinced me that there was no better place to pursue this new chapter than within their walls. After all, they’re the ones who believed in and supported BioShock in the first place.

Thanks to Irrational and 2K’s passion in developing the games, and the fans who believe in it, BioShock has generated retail revenues of over a half billion dollars and secured an iconic place in gaming. I’m handing the reins of our creation, the BioShock universe, to 2K so our new venture can focus entirely on replayable narrative. If we’re lucky, we’ll build something half as memorable as BioShock.

We will do our best to update an FAQ in this space as questions come in.

[chadritt]

AKA: Im bored and don't want anyone else taking over so you're all fired...

[Blackadar]

AKA: Im bored and don't want anyone else taking over so you're all fired...

Yep, which I find extremely distasteful. But since I don't play first person games, I'll never buy one of his products anyway.

[chadritt]

I think I might be bothered more by it because I know its in Boston which is a harder place for all the employees to find new work. If it was based in LA I might feel better since those people would have more options.

[BillJasper]

Don't weaken my resolve to hold off on buying next gen!

All I know is that in the current gen version, I could throw seven interceptions in a game and still beat the CPU 50-0. DB's are much quicker coming off of one receiver to pick up another. It's quite a learning curve.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Wow! Fun surprise today. FF XIV PS4 Beta is live for all PS4 owners. Already logged into my PS4 and started the download so it will be ready to go when I get home!

Edit: Beta starts on the 22nd, so a couple days to wait.

[Abe Sargent]

Banished came out today. Anyone know much about it?

Banished (video game) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banished_%28video_game%29)


http://www.shiningrocksoftware.com/game/

[DaddyTorgo]

Banished came out today. Anyone know much about it?

Banished (video game) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banished_%28video_game%29)


http://www.shiningrocksoftware.com/game/

Some people were talking about it upthread. Wasn't on my radar, but looks interesting.

[Blackadar]

Banished came out today. Anyone know much about it?

Banished (video game) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banished_%28video_game%29)


http://www.shiningrocksoftware.com/game/

Yep. I won't get a chance to try it out until this weekend, but by all accounts it's pretty damn good. Just note it's also supposed to be pretty damn hard.

[Buccaneer]

Thanks, this looks pretty good.

[bhlloy]

And I get home to buy/install banished and Steam is down. #firstworldproblems

[Blackadar]

And I get home to buy/install banished and Steam is down. #firstworldproblems

Think it's back up again.

[Scoobz0202]

Kind of annoyed as I purchased through the developers site to get the DRM free version and a steam key. Went to purchase using Amazon Payments and Amazon put my purchase on hold for a "Manual investigation" and I should have a solution "within 24 hours." Conveniently I can't cancel my order in the meantime so it would be stupid to purchase through Steam and then get the purchase through tomorrow.

#firstworldproblems

[BillJasper]

I'm finding Assassin's Creed IV (PS4) really glitchy. The chase missions are almost impossible because when you use the R2 to run, if you get close to anything you can climb, you're character will start climbing.

It's frustrating...

[Buccaneer]

Just move mouse slightly to move away from the climbing point. Oh...wait. :)

From what I saw from watching AC3 and reading about the previous version, this is a common AC issue or for most auto-climb games. I found that you never lose enough time from hopping down to make any difference since you're running most places anyways. Having to trail is a slow methodical process anyway and it's best to anticipate so you won't get too far behind.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Battlefield 4 got new DLC today. With it, came a bunch of new game-crashing bugs. Ouch.

I tried the game and already sold it back because it was so bad, both from the game and server sides. This whole roller coaster has likely ensured the death of this franchise. I can't imagine a situation where gamers would come back for a Battlefield 5 in any great quantity. It's a shame because I'm sure there were a lot of new people to the franchise like me who were hoping to get into the game, only to receive a steaming pile of s%@# with poor customer service.

[JonInMiddleGA]

only to receive a steaming pile of s%@# with poor customer service.

Which I'd say (IMO) is only marginally worse than what the customers of BF2 and BF3 got in the first place.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Which I'd say (IMO) is only marginally worse than what the customers of BF2 and BF3 got in the first place.

Lesson learned for sure.

[nilodor]

Lesson learned for sure.

Have sales actually gone down between versions? I thought they had increased. Isn't the lesson that people will still buy it as long as it's a known brand. They may complain bitterly, but they'll probably still buy it when the next one comes out.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Have sales actually gone down between versions? I thought they had increased. Isn't the lesson that people will still buy it as long as it's a known brand. They may complain bitterly, but they'll probably still buy it when the next one comes out.

This one may have done OK, but that's mostly because it was one of the few options available for the new consoles on release. After what most experiences have been, I doubt they will do nearly as well next time.

[cartman]

This one may have done OK, but that's mostly because it was one of the few options available for the new consoles on release. After what most experiences have been, I doubt they will do nearly as well next time.

Look for BF5 to set sales records, since MBBF has called for their demise.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Look for BF5 to set sales records.

You're on record. We'll see.

[cartman]

You're on record. We'll see.

As are you.

This whole roller coaster has likely ensured the death of this franchise.

[sterlingice]

And what happens when it invariably sells around what BF4 sold, maybe slightly less, but still more than most things released that week? Then is it still going to be "death to the franchise" because the series had already peaked at BF3 (sales-wise; honestly, I couldn't tell you where it "peaked" gameplay-wise)?

SI

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

And what happens when it invariably sells around what BF4 sold, maybe slightly less, but still more than most things released that week? Then is it still going to be "death to the franchise" because the series had already peaked at BF3 (sales-wise; honestly, I couldn't tell you where it "peaked" gameplay-wise)?

SI

Here's the numbers on the franchise thus far....

2002 PC Battlefield 1942 2.47M
2004 PC Battlefield Vietnam 1.36M
2005 PC Battlefield 2 2.25M
2005 PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360 Battlefield 2: Modern Combat 1.64M
2008 PS3, Xbox 360 Battlefield: Bad Company 2.59M
2010 PC, PS3, Xbox 360 Battlefield: Bad Company 2 6.54M
2011 PC, PS3, Xbox 360 Battlefield 3 15.00M

Battlefield 4 on all consoles has sold around 8.5M thus far, so they're already down roughly 40% from their peak on BF3. They might get some more sales out of it, but probably no more than 10M judging from previous trends on how it sells more than 6 months from release.

[stevew]

I never realized that many people play Battlefield. It's just something that has never registered to me as something I'd even wanna try.

[chinaski]

Banished came out today. Anyone know much about it?

Banished (video game) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banished_%28video_game%29)


http://www.shiningrocksoftware.com/game/

Got about 12 hours on it so far. Its the standard town builder/resource management type game. Im loving it. Amazing quality for just one programmer. Havent seen any game stopping or minor bugs yet either.

In its current state, I see this as great building block to a game that is going to have tremendous scope. Its going to get really good once the mod tools are out (scenario, terrain, AI). I could see myself playing this frequently for years, ala Civ series.

[sterlingice]

Here's the numbers on the franchise thus far....



Battlefield 4 on all consoles has sold around 8.5M thus far, so they're already down roughly 40% from their peak on BF3. They might get some more sales out of it, but probably no more than 10M judging from previous trends on how it sells more than 6 months from release.

Which is kindof my point. BF4 was not the cause of its death any more than BF5. It was that the franchise peaked at BF3 in sales.

SI

[cartman]

You clearly underestimate the damage caused by some bugs in downloadable content that less than 2% of the install base has purchased. THE FRANCHISE IS DOOMED....................

In any event, I'm having a hard time finding any info on these supposed game crashing bugs. If they were severe and widespread enough to be the end of a long running franchise, you'd think there would be some coverage of it.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Which is kindof my point. BF4 was not the cause of its death any more than BF5. It was that the franchise peaked at BF3 in sales.

SI

Agree at some level. BF4 was their chance to take the franchise to the next level building off BF3 sales. Instead, they've taken a gigantic step back.

[sterlingice]

Considering the only franchises that sold better than BF3 on either the PS3 (http://www.vgchartz.com/platform/3/playstation-3/) and 360 (http://www.vgchartz.com/platform/7/xbox-360/) were GTA, Call of Duty, Halo, Gran Turismo, FIFA, Elder Scrolls, and Kinect Adventures- I'm not sure what "the next level" would be.

SI

[Eaglesfan27]

Considering the only franchises that sold better than BF3 on either the PS3 (http://www.vgchartz.com/platform/3/playstation-3/) and 360 (http://www.vgchartz.com/platform/7/xbox-360/) were GTA, Call of Duty, Halo, Gran Turismo, FIFA, Elder Scrolls, and Kinect Adventures- I'm not sure what "the next level" would be.

SI

Exactly.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Considering the only franchises that sold better than BF3 on either the PS3 (http://www.vgchartz.com/platform/3/playstation-3/) and 360 (http://www.vgchartz.com/platform/7/xbox-360/) were GTA, Call of Duty, Halo, Gran Turismo, FIFA, Elder Scrolls, and Kinect Adventures- I'm not sure what "the next level" would be.

SI

I don't think there's any question they expected to see bigger growth in the franchise after posting 15M units on BF3. COD games were averaging between 23-27M per iteration. Analysts predicted right around that.

Analysts predicts Battlefield 4 sales to hit 14 million - GameSpot (http://www.gamespot.com/articles/analysts-predicts-battlefield-4-sales-to-hit-14-million/1100-6410746/)

Before the game was release, the CFO predicted that BF4 would 'exceed expectations' and was matching BF3 in preorders.

Battlefield 4 will "exceed expectations"; pre-orders "stacking up well" against Battlefield 3 | PCGamesN (http://www.pcgamesn.com/battlefield/battlefield-4-will-exceed-expectations-pre-orders-stacking-well-against-battlefield-3)

As recent as this month, EA was claiming that the quality issues that have plagued the game for months didn't cut into sales. However, they refused to give actual sales numbers to substantiate their claim.

EA: Battlefield 4 sales were unaffected by quality issues (http://bf4central.com/2014/02/battlefield-4-sales-quality-issues/)

[JonInMiddleGA]

I never realized that many people play Battlefield. It's just something that has never registered to me as something I'd even wanna try.

I believe that's part of the problem with the franchise (as a consumer, the company could hardly care less I suppose):

Copies sold <> number of people playing.

One of my strongest recollections about BF3 -- in the short time it actually managed to work before we gave up & traded it in, and even after we re-bought the blasted thing months later -- is games that consisted of 2,3,4 people instead of an actual reasonable number of players.