2013 Video Games Thread

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Trying not to spoil things for anyone who wasn't there.

Yes, please no spoilers.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by mckerney

I probably will at some point but I'm not going to replay it right away. I'm gonna finish a few other games right now, starting with the last couple chapters of Hotline Miami and getting back into The Valkyria Chronicles after I stopped that to play The Last of Us.

There were several places I had to try a bunch of times, but it was always the, "holy fucking shit," moments in the story that lead to me needing to take a break.

On Friday night and Saturday morning, I played several hours of "The Last of Us" and "Hotline Miami" (thanks to the gog.com sale). Over those several hours I brutally beat and killed many electronic men. As bad as I am at The Last of Us, I am worse at "Hotline Miami."

I just got to "Winter" in the Last of Us.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Played several hours of "State of Decay" last night.

Interesting, not sure I'd call it compelling or even engrossing in it's current form. As a supposed precursor to an eventual full-fledged title, it ain't bad however. The combat is a little too Fable II for my taste but the margin for error is fairly thin and the dead=dead mechanic is something I haven't actually seen in a while. And you do feel bad if you screw up & get a character killed.

Be forewarned: these are probably the worst graphic issues I've seen on the 360, at least certainly the worst I've seen in several years. NPC's spawning/ending up halfway through walls is extremely commonplace.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

On Friday night and Saturday morning, I played several hours of "The Last of Us" and "Hotline Miami" (thanks to the gog.com sale). Over those several hours I brutally beat and killed many electronic men. As bad as I am at The Last of Us, I am worse at "Hotline Miami."

I just got to "Winter" in the Last of Us.

I just got around to finishing Hotline Miami myself the other, at least you're supposed to be bad and die a lot in that.

I think Winter might be my favorite section of The Last of Us, though it's hard to say as it is consistently great throughout.

[SirFozzie]

Speaking of zombie games, am I the only one who would love to see a mujltiplayer version of State of Decay (the post-apocalyptic survivor versus zombie game for 360?)

State of Decay - Xbox 360 - IGN

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Speaking of zombie games, am I the only one who would love to see a mujltiplayer version of State of Decay (the post-apocalyptic survivor versus zombie game for 360?)

State of Decay - Xbox 360 - IGN

Eh, I'd be less interested in that than I would in a ridiculously large open-world single player.

Speaking of the game though, I didn't realize they'd announced that a full sandbox mode (no storylines) would be coming down the road a bit. I wonder how that'll work though, since resources are currently finite. I mean, I'm not sure that respawning resources won't take away one of the things the game has going for it at the moment but I don't know how else you could make it open-ended.

[Izulde]

I've been tempted to get The Last of Us just because of the hype it's gotten in this thread, but I did the same with Rockstar's Western game, which I played a couple times and got bored with it.

OTOH The Walking Dead game I got on Steam, even though I haven't finished it, has been excellent. A gamepad would sure help though for some of the timed events, which makes me wonder if I should get the console version, too. Might look nicer on the bigger screen as well.

[Groundhog]

Yeah I nearly picked up The Last of Us today but I need to keep reminding myself that it's pretty much just sport and strategy games that hold my interest these days.

[INDalltheway]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Yeah I nearly picked up The Last of Us today but I need to keep reminding myself that it's pretty much just sport and strategy games that hold my interest these days.

THIS! I picked it up and it just reminded me that I don't like this style of game. I wish I did, but I just can't get into it.

[bhlloy]

I wasn't a huge fan of Red Dead but Last of us really is an incredible game. I wouldn't put them in the same class at all. YMMV but is recommend anyone picking this one up, easily one of the best games of its generation.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

I wasn't a huge fan of Red Dead but Last of us really is an incredible game. I wouldn't put them in the same class at all. YMMV but is recommend anyone picking this one up, easily one of the best games of its generation.

I agree. I tried both. Only got through a few hours of Red Dead before giving up on it. I have already played more of The Last of Us and will finish it. This is the first sibgle player console game I've played in a year and a half, the last being Heavy Rain.

[Kodos]

Heh. I played through both RDR and the zombie version.

[bhlloy]

I completed the main RDR storyline but it was a drag by the end for me. Cool concept that had some really dumb design decisions and surprisingly little variation IMO

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

I wasn't a huge fan of Red Dead but Last of us really is an incredible game. I wouldn't put them in the same class at all. YMMV but is recommend anyone picking this one up, easily one of the best games of its generation.

Yeah - I too picked up Red Dead and couldn't make it through and really didn't get my money's worth out of it (fortunately I got it used and cheap). Normally I don't like this genre of game at all - I'm pretty much 100% sports games on my PS3.

Hell - I've never even finished one of the Assassin's Creed games, even though I buy them too.

But Last of Us - I'll be damned if it hasn't just grabbed me. Even when I know an area is clear of bad guys I'll still be creeping around crouched-down and jump at every sound...it really immerses you. This will be the first non-sports game that I actually...FINISH.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Even when I know an area is clear of bad guys I'll still be creeping around crouched-down and jump at every sound...

Heh, the first time Ellie attempted to whistle I completely freaked out.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Radii

Heh, the first time Ellie attempted to whistle I completely freaked out.

Yeah! I was like "OMG...SHUT UP...THE CLICKERS WILL HEAR US GIRL!!!"

Not to mention all the times I get pissed at Joel for being cold to Ellie. Finally saw a bit of that cracking after the dam + house when she finds out about his daughter, but he's still an ass.

[mckerney]

Lorne Lanning ‏@lorne_lanning 4h
Rumour: Microsoft to announce Xbox One self-publishing at Build | VG247 Rumour: Microsoft to announce Xbox One self-publishing at Build | VG247 …

This would be a great move by Microsoft.

This on the other hand sounds like a horrible use of smart glass

Dead Rising 3 Has A Story And Missions Exclusive To SmartGlass

Is it its own stand-alone app?

No, it’s part of an upcoming version of the Xbox SmartGlass app and will function much like the current version. After you launch the app, it notices that Dead Rising is currently being played, press a button, and in kicks our phone. It actually skins your phone to be like the phone from the game’s universe.

You’ll get calls from a character that are only on the SmartGlass device. So if you don’t have SmartGlass, you won’t get those calls from that guy. Which also means you won’t get those missions.

Will you be able to finish the game without it?

You can finish the game without it. There’s plenty content as is without it. But we put some exclusives in the game for those who have a SmartGlass compatible device.

[cartman]

Got an Amazon update that South Park: Stick of Truth is going to ship right before Thanksgiving.

[PadresFan104]

Originally Posted by PadresFan104

This is why sucking at video games can be a blessing as far as longevity of games go. I have put in 9 hours spread over the past 3 nights, and am still in "Summer"... With three seasons to go I am assuming the game is going to take me nearly 40 hours to finish...

Just to follow-up, it eventually took me 19 hours to beat the game on Normal difficulty. Summer was much longer than the other seasons...

Loved every minute of it. I tried multi-player but it's not my thing (multi-player shooters in general aren't my thing anyway). Looking forward to downloadable content in the future.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by PadresFan104

Just to follow-up, it eventually took me 19 hours to beat the game on Normal difficulty. Summer was much longer than the other seasons...

Loved every minute of it. I tried multi-player but it's not my thing (multi-player shooters in general aren't my thing anyway). Looking forward to downloadable content in the future.

I'm still in fall - just about to head out of the university. I take it winter is the last season? I forget what season it started in...

[Eaglesfan27]

I finally had some time to play Last of Us today... wow. Great start to the game. I'm about 3 hours in and I had to tear myself away from the game when it was time to pick up my step-daughter. Can't wait to see what happens next.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I finally had some time to play Last of Us today... wow. Great start to the game. I'm about 3 hours in and I had to tear myself away from the game when it was time to pick up my step-daughter. Can't wait to see what happens next.

It just gets better n better.

I literally just freaked out at a room full of monkeys - expecting an attack.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

I'm still in fall - just about to head out of the university. I take it winter is the last season? I forget what season it started in...

started in summer, dunno when it ends, I'm in winter now but am not sure how much more I have left (or how many hours I've actually played as I've left it on for awhile a couple times while I did other things)

[Groundhog]

I never finished RDR - one of those games where I played it pretty consistently, a few things came up, and I never ended up firing it up again... I was fairly close to the end. In hindsight, it was the flavour of the world that I enjoyed far more than the gameplay, which was actually pretty damn easy.

I actually think the only one of those type of games I've ever finished was Sleeping Dogs, which was fantastic. Haven't touched it since finishing it though.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

I actually think the only one of those type of games I've ever finished was Sleeping Dogs, which was fantastic. Haven't touched it since finishing it though.

I loved sleeping dogs, but I bought the chinese new year expansion after I finished (the only expansion with anywhere close to a decent review), and tried it once and was pretty much done. Something about the fact that I was done with the main story just made it complete and I lost the desire to do anything else with it.

Right now I have an idea about replaying Last of Us once i'm finished, but I won't be surprised if I change my mind once I actually get to the end and feel satisfied that I've completed it and decide I'm done.

[Radii]

People come up with some amazing stuff in Kerbal Space Program.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Radii

I loved sleeping dogs, but I bought the chinese new year expansion after I finished (the only expansion with anywhere close to a decent review), and tried it once and was pretty much done. Something about the fact that I was done with the main story just made it complete and I lost the desire to do anything else with it.

Right now I have an idea about replaying Last of Us once i'm finished, but I won't be surprised if I change my mind once I actually get to the end and feel satisfied that I've completed it and decide I'm done.

Maybe the DLC will be expansion that makes sense - say filling in some of Joel's missing years, or dealing with the aftermath of the game (whatever that might be - I'm not there yet).

[Neon_Chaos]

Red Dead Redemption remains a nice spot in my heart. It still holds one of the best endings I have ever played through in a video game.

[PadresFan104]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

I'm still in fall - just about to head out of the university. I take it winter is the last season? I forget what season it started in...

Spring is the last season....

[SirFozzie]

8 bit mind in a 64 Bit World: Why Sports Games always fall short of the real thing...

Why sports video games will ALWAYS fall short of the real thing.

(Warning Boston Sports fans:, there's some reopening of barely healed wounds inside this article)

[Radii]

I finished The Last of Us on hard, loved every second of it. There were multiple spots where I had to reload a lot, but only twice did I feel frustrated with the difficulty of an area (spots where I simply felt overwhelmed or felt like the situation left me little room to outsmart my way out of it).

The story is one of the best in any game I've ever played. I feel like its basically as good as the Walking Dead story (from the game series, w/ Clementine, etc), except that it also comes with exceptional mechanics and gameplay on top of the story.


The hype leading up to the game was immense, but I have to say it 100% lived up to it.

[mckerney]

Ride to Hell: Retribution - Game of the Year All Years.

SHOUTcraft - Ride to Hell Retribution riffing session.

Though snobbish reviewers like Jim Sterling deny it's greatness and would want you to believe things like this, "Joylessness, in fact, is a word that lends itself so well to describing the Retribution experience. It is joyless in its dour story, joyless in its overwhelmingly brown color scheme, joyless in its drab, flat, downright depressing presentation," and give it a 1/10.

[SackAttack]

If'n you dun got brick'd, there's a fix:

PS3 System Software v.4.45 Issue

[korme]

Just finished The Last of Us. Every bit as good as advertised. That final battle was epic, took me at least an hour.

It took me 19 hours and 5 minutes to complete. I died 170 times.

[MizzouRah]

This has my interest...

Race To Mars by INTERMARUM — Kickstarter

[cartman]

The Xbox 360 will pass the Wii in US console sales by the end of the year. That's pretty amazing, considering that the Wii was lapping the 360 and PS3 for the first few years of this generation.

Analysis: Xbox 360 poised to pass Wii in US sales by year’s end | Ars Technica

[DaddyTorgo]

I got really frustrated last night and had to stop Last of Us in winter, in the dining hall/restaurant/whatever you call it.

Spoiler

I can't seem to fucking kill David. First stab was easy...fine. 2nd time...it's like he AI is cheating and knows where I'm hiding...he's impossible to sneak up on. Even when I creep up behind him, he wheels and stabs me with that fucking machete. And then poor Ellie dies.

Need to try again tonight with more patience.

[korme]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

I got really frustrated last night and had to stop Last of Us in winter, in the dining hall/restaurant/whatever you call it.

Spoiler

I can't seem to fucking kill David. First stab was easy...fine. 2nd time...it's like he AI is cheating and knows where I'm hiding...he's impossible to sneak up on. Even when I creep up behind him, he wheels and stabs me with that fucking machete. And then poor Ellie dies.

Need to try again tonight with more patience.

Spoiler

It took me forever. You just have to time his moves, and get lucky. Patience young grasshopper

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by korme

Spoiler

It took me forever. You just have to time his moves, and get lucky. Patience young grasshopper

Spoiler

I guess I have a hard time breaking contact and hiding. First time in the game where it just feels like...the die is loaded against you. Every other time I've hit a wall like this (maybe twice?) it's been because I'm lazy, or careless. This time it just feels like I'm playing it perfectly and still getting killed.

Will keep trying tonight.

[korme]

Spoiler that ^

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by korme

Spoiler that ^

Can't hurt - done, although I'm not sure anything in there was a spoiler. At worst it might help someone else avoid a little initial frustration, as the game doesn't really tell you what to do there at all.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by cartman

The Xbox 360 will pass the Wii in US console sales by the end of the year. That's pretty amazing, considering that the Wii was lapping the 360 and PS3 for the first few years of this generation.

Analysis: Xbox 360 poised to pass Wii in US sales by year’s end | Ars Technica

Pretty incredible. I'm trying to come up with a comp for other systems behaving this way (crazy popular in one territory, all but ignored in another) and the best I can do is the Sega Master System. Europe lapped it up, America said 'meh' because the NES had it by the balls.

And even that isn't really a fair comp because even 30 years later the European market isn't anywhere near as important to the console gaming market as either North America or Japan. The Sega Master System was a niche product popular in a then-niche market.

The Xbox 360 is closing in on the US market lead despite receiving a lukewarm-to-hostile reception in the rest of the world. That's unprecedented.

[cartman]

ARMA 3 moved from Alpha to Beta. Steam is in the process of updating the install. Can't wait to see the changes.

[nilodor]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

The Xbox 360 is closing in on the US market lead despite receiving a lukewarm-to-hostile reception in the rest of the world. That's unprecedented.

Does that account for all the repeat buyers after their first (or more) systems RROD'd? I can't think of anyone I know with one who isn't on their at least second, sometimes third or more system.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by nilodor

Does that account for all the repeat buyers after their first (or more) systems RROD'd? I can't think of anyone I know with one who isn't on their at least second, sometimes third or more system.

I'm on #4 myself, although I sold #2 before it RROD'd to buy the shiny slim when it first came out.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by dubb93

I'm on #4 myself, although I sold #2 before it RROD'd to buy the shiny slim when it first came out.

I just sold my 360. No one played it anymore. We're console-free!

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by nilodor

Does that account for all the repeat buyers after their first (or more) systems RROD'd? I can't think of anyone I know with one who isn't on their at least second, sometimes third or more system.

Units sold != number of users, I dig. OTOH, something to consider is that not everybody who has owned multiple systems has necessarily owned multiple *new* systems. My second 360 (the first took 5+ years to RROD) I bought used, because it was a Jasper unit and significantly cheaper than buying new.

My current is a slim, which I bought mostly because Newegg had the bundle I bought for $240 and Best Buy was willing to match.

It's hard to say how many 'repeat' 360 owners bought entirely new consoles and how many went the retread route to save money (either because they expected whatever replacement they bought to die eventually anyway or what).

It's not a question that we'll ever get a clear answer for, and it's probable that those figures have at least some fudging going on.

On the other hand, the best sales figures I can find for individual software titles has the various CoD games selling ~9 million each in North America.

38.8 million consoles sold, either to first-time or repeat buyers. 9.27 million copies of Modern Warfare 3, for an attach rate of about 24%.

By comparison, 22.9 million PS3s, top-selling game on that platform is also MW3, with ~5.5 million units sold, rounding up. That's an attach rate of 24%.

Going back a generation, top-selling PS2 game was San Andreas, at 9.43 million units. PS2 sold 53.7 million units, rounding up, in North America. Attach rate: 17.5%.

Top-selling Xbox game, Halo 2, 6.8 million units. Xbox consoles sold in North America: 15.8 million, rounding up. Attach rate: 43%.

So...sales of the top software titles are certainly in line with what you'd historically expect from a userbase of the alleged size. There's an argument to be made that Xbox 360 owners skew more heavily towards first-person shooters. Perhaps that means that Microsoft's true install base is, say, 29 million (a 25% discount off the cited figure), leaving the MW3 attach rate at closer to 32%.

Now, I'm not mathematically savvy enough to try to calculate the non-RROD user base with the sliding failure rate charts I've seen, but I have come across various articles pegging the Xbox 360 at a 16% lifetime failure rate to PS3's 10% (note that the 'lifetime rate' includes all models, so that 6% gap should account for the early models as well). at 16%, what you'd be looking at is a 28% attach rate on Modern Warfare 3.

Here's the thing: none of those three rates - 24%, 32% or 28% - would be particularly unusual for the best-selling title on a platform (and some platforms have seen their top-selling software do even better than that). All three of those points are plausible enough for any of those userbases to be the 'true' number.

But the bottom line is it's still stupidly unusual to see Xbox 360 be this competitive in the US while being third in Europe and a distant third in Japan. That just doesn't happen.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Units sold != number of users, I dig. OTOH, something to consider is that not everybody who has owned multiple systems has necessarily owned multiple *new* systems. My second 360 (the first took 5+ years to RROD) I bought used, because it was a Jasper unit and significantly cheaper than buying new.

This. And I'm commenting mostly because I've just switched consoles in the last 24 hours.

By that I mean the laser on the 3+ year old Jasper (which we bought used) finally gave up the ghost yesterday. No red ring, it's just finally so out of alignment that it won't read anything.

That's the exact same problem that led to it being bought in the first place, when the Falcon chipped unit went to have it's laser realigned. It came back & has been sitting quietly in the corner waiting its turn for the since sometime back in 2010 after being bought around the end of 2007 IIRC.

Took advantage of the opportunity and finally forced ourselves to transfer everything from the 60GB hard drive to a new (well, refurbed) 120GB that was bought shortly after Christmas.

So, two consoles in almost 6 years, only one bought new, both going out of service due to the same problem.

[korme]

So why would people keep buying the X-Box when it would keep giving out? You're on your 4th X-Box? Time to say fuck you. I'm on my 2nd PS3, and only because I wanted the new-slim version! Sold my other one.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by korme

So why would people keep buying the X-Box when it would keep giving out? You're on your 4th X-Box? Time to say fuck you. I'm on my 2nd PS3, and only because I wanted the new-slim version! Sold my other one.

All their friends they play with online have 360s, they still have a bunch of games they haven't finished, really like Halo, MineCraft on console or getting CoD DLC right away.