2011 Video Games Thread

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by tyketime

Just saw this:

I don't think I like the direction these companies are taking now. I own the game, there should be relatively few restrictions...

I'm pretty much a Steam or console purchaser. If it's not a PC game on Steam or on the PS3, I'm not buying it.

[cartman]

Ummm...

W.
T.
F.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by mckerney

I'd be surprised if there was another Left 4 Dead game coming out soon. I'd expect something closer to Valve's normal development cycle after only a year between 1 and 2. Plus the Left 4 Dead team seems to be spending their time on porting the Left 4 Dead campaigns into Left 4 Dead 2. At least with they longer wait for sequels of Valve games they also release free content updates.

Cool. Thanks for the info.

[jeff061]

Originally Posted by mckerney

Just preordered and have been reading up on it. Glad they offered the option to turn off the orange glow on items and have a different HUD on PC after seeing a wheel on preview videos. Should be a no brainer for games, but sadly isn't always the case.

As I learned from DNF, if negative impressions start leaking a day or two prior to release you'll be able to return for a 100% refund. Just need to contact support. So keep an eye out, just a tip .

That said, if the game is any good I'll have died and gone to heaven. I refuse to believe that will be the case. Fucking Invisible War.

[Julio Riddols]

Originally Posted by cartman

Ummm...

W.
T.
F.

Holy shit, awesome.

[thesloppy]

Anybody playing Dragon Nest? I'm not much of an MMO guy at all (and not for a lack of trying), but I've been having great fun with Dragon Nest over the last week:

Dragon Nest | The Fastest Online Action RPG!

It's in open beta right now, but appears to be getting close to the final stages, and you can get up and playing instantly, without any approval or anything. Though it doesn't do anything new, it does everything it does very well. The key things that have kept me interested, where most MMOs fail, are thus:

• Good combat. The combat is 3rd person, almost console style, and reminds me of something closer to Final Fantasy XI, than just the click-on-enemy mechanics from WoW and it's clones. You need to have good reflexes, while also actively managing your skills and health.
  
• Good controls. It uses an Xbox 360 controller flawlessly (which I recommend), even mimicking mouse movement, but controls just as tight with the keyboard and mouse, within combat, and without.
  
• Good flow. I hate the grinding pace in most games. This game moves a little quicker than most MMOs, and keeps the loot, rewards, and achievements coming at a furious pace, so you always feel that you're progressing. It might even be considered too easy for old MMO pros, but I think it's paced well.
  
• FREE. Like most other new MMOs, it's on a free-to-play model, but I literally have no idea what the 'cash' elements even are, so they can't be that important/overbalanced. I've been able to ignore the cash stuff without any problem, and I don't feel handicapped in the slightest.
  
• Soloing. For better or worse, I haven't played a single second with another player, even though I've put in well over 10 hours, and somehow joined a guild. Right now the mechanics of the game and questing almost seem to discourage playing with other players....which I don't mind, since I primarily solo, but I'd like to see what it plays like with friends.

I think I'm on the Elena? server as 'thesloppy'. Hit me up here or there, if anybody checks it out and is/gets hooked.

[SegRat]

I am thinking of picking up tiger woods for the 360. Is 12 that big of a step up from 11? OS reviews were not good on 12, but seemed pretty good on 11. Any opions?

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by SegRat

I am thinking of picking up tiger woods for the 360. Is 12 that big of a step up from 11? OS reviews were not good on 12, but seemed pretty good on 11. Any opions?

I don't have any experience with 11, but I had fun with 12 to a point. It's a pretty good golf game until you hit the greens on harder difficulties, at which point your ball starts sliding around like it's on glass, and it subsequently inspired some of the most frustrated ragequits I've laid down in quite some time. I don't know if that was the common complaint, but it's what made me put the game down rather quickly, after having a pretty good time with it, up until that point.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

I don't have any experience with 11, but I had fun with 12 to a point. It's a pretty good golf game until you hit the greens on harder difficulties, at which point your ball starts sliding around like it's on glass, and it subsequently inspired some of the most frustrated ragequits I've laid down in quite some time. I don't know if that was the common complaint, but it's what made me put the game down rather quickly, after having a pretty good time with it, up until that point.

I will agree with this and say I have seen too many shots that I have no clue how I missed them. You can't learn from the game screen blinking for a split second and your ball magically going from right in front of the hole to just right on the other side of the hole.

That said when the game is good it is good. When it is frustrating it is rage inducing.

[DataKing]

Anybody play Terraria at all? Started messing around with it over the weekend and it seems like fun...kind of a poor-man's Minecraft.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by cartman

These threads where parents ask why their kid's accounts got suspended sometimes are awesome.

http://forums.xbox.com/xbox_forums/x...10/299871.aspx

That's hilarious, I need to read through some of them. It seems to take an awful lot to get your account suspended, so I'm sure they are deserved.

[JediKooter]

I think some of those people should be banned based on their gamer tag alone. God, some of them just hurt my eyes trying to read them.

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by DataKing

Anybody play Terraria at all? Started messing around with it over the weekend and it seems like fun...kind of a poor-man's Minecraft.

I got it a couple of weeks after release. It is pretty cool.

[tyketime]

Originally Posted by DataKing

Anybody play Terraria at all? Started messing around with it over the weekend and it seems like fun...kind of a poor-man's Minecraft.

There was some discussion of it on the Minecraft thread - here. (Post 22)

[samifan24]

I'm interested in trading or selling a couple of new 360 games I received as a gift from a relative. I have a PS3 and not a 360 so they're useless to me and I can't return them w/o a gift receipt. I'd rather sell them to a FOFCer than on eBay. All are sealed and shrinkwrapped. DM me if interested. Thanks.

NCAA Football '12
Tiger Woods '12
Fight Night Champion
NBA Jam

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

PS3 had an immediate price cut to $249. Not sure it will boost sales that much right now. Wouldn't be surprised though to see some $199 deals at some retailers by the Xmas season.

[Matthean]

15 minutes of Bioshock: Infinite

[MizzouRah]

That bioshock footage was sweet!

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by samifan24

I'm interested in trading or selling a couple of new 360 games I received as a gift from a relative. I have a PS3 and not a 360 so they're useless to me and I can't return them w/o a gift receipt. I'd rather sell them to a FOFCer than on eBay. All are sealed and shrinkwrapped. DM me if interested. Thanks.

NCAA Football '12
Tiger Woods '12
Fight Night Champion
NBA Jam

NCAA Football and Fight Night have both been sold to FOFCers. Tiger Woods and NBA Jam are both still available. Both are new and still shrinkwrapped. DM me if interested. I just want to make something more than what Gamestop or Best Buy would give me for a trade in. You'd still get them for less than retail. Thanks.

[tyketime]

I hope this doesn't come true (found this on Massively), but I certainly see the industry heading in that direction:

Single-player games will be dead in three years, says industry analyst

So, game development studios desperately want to move the entirety of the hobby online in order to mimic the recurring revenue model of MMORPGs. Not exactly news, but it is news when an industry analyst makes an eyebrow-raising claim regarding the immediate future of the genre. To that effect, Eurogamer recently attended a "closed-door, Sony-organized panel discussion on the future of video games" that featured an analyst predicting the end of single-player titles by 2014.

Mark Cerny, a "veteran video game consultant," used the 2009 single-player RPG Demon's Souls as an example, saying that its mixture of traditional offline gameplay and social connectivity to other gamers experiencing the same title is the wave of the future.

"The funny thing here is, we don't even know what to call this. Is it single-player or is it multiplayer? We don't even have the words. It's kind of Orwellian. If you don't have any word for freedom you can't have a revolution," Cerny said. What exactly is that revolution, and will it be good for gamers? Check back in 2014 to find out.

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by tyketime

I hope this doesn't come true (found this on Massively), but I certainly see the industry heading in that direction:

If you like FPS we're already pretty much there aren't we? It's not even worth me adding the MW games to my gamefly list any more when I can complete the campaign in half the time it takes them to get to my house.

[JonInMiddleGA]

To this point I'd say at least Bethesda would beg to differ

bhlloy's observation about FPS's, however, is a fair one.

[Pumpy Tudors]

just set an alarm for 2014 so i can find out

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by samifan24

NCAA Football and Fight Night have both been sold to FOFCers. Tiger Woods and NBA Jam are both still available. Both are new and still shrinkwrapped. DM me if interested. I just want to make something more than what Gamestop or Best Buy would give me for a trade in. You'd still get them for less than retail. Thanks.

How is Jam? Been debating it for a while but have yet to bite.

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

How is Jam? Been debating it for a while but have yet to bite.

It's a lot of fun, especially if you remember the original game. The game plays just like the original but with much better graphics. All the fun unlockable characters are still there as well. I'd recommend at least renting it from Redbox to see if you like it.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by samifan24

It's a lot of fun, especially if you remember the original game. The game plays just like the original but with much better graphics. All the fun unlockable characters are still there as well. I'd recommend at least renting it from Redbox to see if you like it.

I'd heard you can't switch players in-game. True?

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

I'd heard you can't switch players in-game. True?

You can switch players at the half (which guy you're controlling or adding in a different CPU player) but you can't switch players during the game itself.

[stevew]

Im fairly certain you could never switch players during the game.(90s version)

[k0ruptr]

Originally Posted by stevew

Im fairly certain you could never switch players during the game.(90s version)

I'm pretty certain this is true also. or at least the default option was this.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by stevew

Im fairly certain you could never switch players during the game.(90s version)

I can't speak to the arcade version but in the SNES version, there was fatigue and you switched could switch players every 3 minute quarter.

SI

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by samifan24

You can switch players at the half (which guy you're controlling or adding in a different CPU player) but you can't switch players during the game itself.

I was referring to control of the player on the court.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

I was referring to control of the player on the court.

That's correct. You can only switch your teammate.

I have the iPhone version. Hard to pass for 99 cents. Not sure I'd spend more than 10 on a console version as it doesn't have the longest of game life.

[samifan24]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

I was referring to control of the player on the court.

Right. You can't switch players during the game.

[Shkspr]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

That's hilarious, I need to read through some of them. It seems to take an awful lot to get your account suspended, so I'm sure they are deserved.

Originally Posted by Kid

Hey my account, [edited by moderator] , was banned 12-31-9999 and the email said it was because of gamertag/avatar tampering..

It was a new account that i bought 1600 Microsoft points and 1 year of live and i only had it for less than a month, so im pretty mad right now

I never modded my gamertag/avatar all i did was change the hat and the next day i was banned...

Originally Posted by XBOX Team

Your avatar was a dark shade of lavendar with complimentary minty green hair. Suspension stands.

"Sir, your online physical representation is so ugly we are asking you never to return. Please go play PS3."

Best. Permaban. Ever.

[RainMaker]

It's for hacking the Xbox to get that.

[Julio Riddols]

The ones answered by XBL PET Golf seem to offer far more explanation than his counterparts.

[mckerney]

First review of Deus Ex: Human Revolution from a source I typically trust is out and it's very positive.

The future begins with you: Ars reviews Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Despite the sense of alienation and calculated determination in everything these characters do, the game isn't all dystopian chill. A series of optional sidequests provide a great deal of context for who Jensen is and where he comes from, and the story ends with a conversation that I found hard to follow due to the dampness in my eyes (I'm going to blame a dust mote). If you rush through the game, or even mess up one of the interrogation-style conversations, you could miss this entire aspect of the character. In fact, after playing through these sections and sharing the information with another reviewer who didn't take that path, I began to wonder what I had missed. This game doesn't just reward multiple playthroughs, it all but demands them.

In fact, that's one of the strongest aspects of this game. When I had finished the game I sat down to compare story notes with another reviewer, and we were both pleasantly surprised by how differently the game reacted to our decisions. Neither one of us felt slighted, as both versions of the game seemed like the "right" one, but different approaches to the game's many set pieces shone light on different facets of the densely packed story.

The game's uncanny ability to give you multiple ways out of situations is carried right through to the final encounter, and the game even ends with an important decision. Every option you're given before the credits roll is attractive in its own way, though at the same time, none of the choices truly provide comfort. Human Revolution can be oppressively bleak at times, but it earns its tone.

Although the game world has plenty of room for more stories told by future titles, this story comes to a very definitive end. That's something rare in big-budget games today, especially when they take place in an established franchise. But a real conclusion just confirms why this game deserves so much praise: by the end of the game's impressively long run time, you're left satisfied by the story and the characters within it.

This is the Deus Ex game we've been waiting for.

Verdict: Buy

[mckerney]

And Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Wot I Think: Deus Ex Human Revolution | Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Come close to real greatness and your defects are illuminated by the heavenly glow.

What you have here is a compellingly entertaining game, with some of the most rewarding stealth I’ve encountered. And most of all, you have choice. Choice about whether you mow down enemies with a machine gun, or tap them on the shoulders and punch them in the face. Choice about whether you sneak in via the roof, through the sewers, or march boldly in through the front door. Choice about whether you hack, smash or learn passwords through information retrieval. Choice about whether people live or die. So in those tiny moments when the game robs you of choice, it rather offends. But mostly it does not, and it’s a fantastic, elaborate, and so rarely today, long game.

The most interesting parts can’t be discussed here, because they’re yours to discover. And really, discover them you should. Despite its obvious visual console shackles, this is a game that remembers what PC games were once all about, and honours them. It’s a refreshing reminder of what games can be in the current swamp of six-hour follow-em-up shooters, and stands shoulders, chest and waist above. When games get close to the glory of Looking Glass, our expectations can rise extremely high. That Deus Ex: Human Revolution meets so many of them is a remarkable feat.

[JediKooter]

Just downloaded Toy Soldiers for the 360, this weekend. Fun game for 1200 XBOX points. Set before the fall of the Soviet Empire in the late 80s/early 90s. Campaign was a bit short in my opinion, but, very fun.

[CleBrownsfan]

So what was the final verdict for Starcraft 2? I have a rig that is now able to play it now and wondering if worth the purchase...

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by CleBrownsfan

So what was the final verdict for Starcraft 2? I have a rig now to be able to play it now and wondering if worth the purchase...

I think it is more than worth it.

[DeToxRox]

Destructoid gave Deus Ex is a 9.5. So excited to get this after work tomorrow.

[Neon_Chaos]

[CleBrownsfan]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

I think it is more than worth it.

Can't agree more. Just played a solid 3 hours and forcing myself to go to bed.

Seems like this will get a lot of play - haven't even considered doing mulit-player but the depth of the it looks like it will be fun to dig into.

[Radii]

love the NBA 2k12 trailer. So there's a big focus on historical players/teams this year? That would be really awesome.

[thesloppy]

MMMMMmmmm. I think I saw video game Kevin Duckworth.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Radii

love the NBA 2k12 trailer. So there's a big focus on historical players/teams this year? That would be really awesome.

Considering the game is set up to simulate something that won't happen, this is indeed a welcome thing.

[dubb93]

FWIW IGN refused to review the PC version of Deus Ex due to not being given the final retail release and the version they were given having a list a mile long of known bugs and crashes. I hope everyone that is reviewing it isn't doing so and assuming all of those will be fixed D1.

[Big Fo]

While walking around downtown Savannah today, I came across a store that sells old video games and consoles, among other things. Seeing some of those brought back some memories but I saw one interesting looking game I'd never heard of and was wondering if anyone had played it.

Liberty or Death came out in the early 90s on SNES, Genesis, and PC. It was made by Koei, famous for their Romance of the Three Kingdoms series among others. This one is a historical strategy game in a Revolutionary War setting where you either control the Americans or the British. It might be a long shot but can any of you guys tell me if you think its a good one? If it's of a similar quality to the RotTK and Aerobiz (obviously, a different kind of strategy game but still one that I enjoyed) I might have to go back there.

[sterlingice]

Not familiar with it, myself, but I wasn't big into strategy games back then (SimCity was about as far as it got)

SI