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inhumanist
Metal freak

Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2011 5:09 pm
Posts: 5634
PostPosted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 3:54 pm 
 

There is a Warner Brothers Humble Bundle including Scribblenauts Unlimited and both Arkham GOTYs. Unfortunately I already own all of those.
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iamntbatman
Chaos Breed

Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:55 am
Posts: 11421
Location: Tyrn Gorthad
PostPosted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 4:08 pm 
 

Just picked that up. Do I need to play F.E.A.R. to understand F.E.A.R. 2?
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Foda500
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Apr 29, 2006 10:44 am
Posts: 33
PostPosted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 4:15 pm 
 

No, but you should play FEAR because it's a great shooter.

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Dandelo
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2008 5:08 am
Posts: 1096
Location: Ireland
PostPosted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 4:15 pm 
 

HellBlazer wrote:
Dandelo wrote:
I finished Dual Destinies. Probably my third favourite Phoenix Wright game after 3 and 1. The last case was certainly up to series standards. Absolutely batshit insane.


I finished it yesterday too. Very good game, did not disappoint! Oh man, the twist in the last case, so good... I did not suspect a thing. :eek:

Can't wait for the DLC case!


Last case spoilers.

Spoiler: show
Regarding the killer, I called who it was, but the whole reveal about the phantom taking the identity? No way! I found it creepy whenever he said he couldn't remember his own face. The last case was fantastic with all the fan service.

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iamntbatman
Chaos Breed

Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:55 am
Posts: 11421
Location: Tyrn Gorthad
PostPosted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 4:16 pm 
 

So I've heard, but it's not on sale right now. Oh well, my list of games to play is so damn long that I can just shuffle the whole series down it until I can pick up the first F.E.A.R. for cheap.
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sourlows
Metal newbie

Joined: Sun May 02, 2010 6:12 am
Posts: 213
PostPosted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 4:47 pm 
 

I've been playing the Hearthstone closed beta the last week and a bit. Solves one of the sketchier mechanics of Magic (mana) but unfortunately it has enough RNG in the card mechanics to more than make up for that. One thing I do like is that it's not completely pay-to-win; I'm in the highest ranked league possible (Masters 3) and I haven't bought anything, though I think the matchmaking system could be improved. Not sure it'll really hold my interest, but it's not really the kind of game you play for hours on end, in stark contrast to Blizzard's other games...

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SadisticGratification
Metalhead

Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2012 3:00 pm
Posts: 406
Location: Ireland
PostPosted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 6:11 pm 
 

Holy shit that humble bundle is a really good deal, snapped that up straight away. I paid double the average because even still it's an absolute steal.

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darkeningday
xXdArKenIngDayXx

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 1:20 pm
Posts: 6032
Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue Nov 05, 2013 6:16 pm 
 

Sweet! I can finally play Fear 3's co-op with my roommates! Marvelous.
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Nochielo
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:20 am
Posts: 2388
Location: Puerto Rico
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 12:25 am 
 

I was very impressed by F.E.A.R. 2 (it was the first one I played), the shooter elements were very good and the creepy parts were very, very creepy. Somewhat similar to the (slightly) superior Metro 2033.
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Xeogred
Thunderbolt from Hell

Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2006 11:28 pm
Posts: 7154
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 1:13 am 
 

Yeah I replayed 2 earlier this year, aged really well. The combat is just so damn rewarding and responsive.

I hated the third one though, even had a different engine I'm pretty sure.

Go with Singularity instead of FEAR 3.

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Nochielo
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:20 am
Posts: 2388
Location: Puerto Rico
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 2:20 am 
 

Third one is quite underwhelming to say the least. The atmosphere is gone and level design took a hit. I enjoy the coop playthrough I did with my sister (of all people) and using Fettel was a blast.
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darkeningday
xXdArKenIngDayXx

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 1:20 pm
Posts: 6032
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 3:10 am 
 

I disagree with the above posts; I thought FEAR 2 was quite poor. I hated: the new super cartoony art design (the Penetrator switched from rugged and sleek future-tech to looking like it was designed by Mattel, firing off glow-in-the-dark bolts, no less), the fact the plot was just a re-hash (yet almost paradoxically a dumbed-down re-hash of the) plot from the first one, the new method of exposition (from running across lone, well voice acted phone messages in the first one, to now finding blandly written post-it notes fucking EVERYWHERE) and the ridiculously silly ending. I will admit the elementary school bit was sheer genius, though; silver lining to that dark, dark cloud.

FEAR 3 couldn't approach the brilliance of the first FEAR (or its two equally brilliant expansion packs), but at least they ditched most of what made FEAR 2 such a mess.
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BloodSacrificeShaman
Leopold Herman Stotch

Joined: Wed May 11, 2011 3:20 am
Posts: 2109
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 6:37 am 
 

I put off playing the sequels when I learned the expansions for the first weren't considered canon. Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate were both excellent installments that were as good as anything in the original and to just disregard them as non-canon is a disservice. They're probably better than the full-length sequels anyway, from what I've read.
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wrathchild_88
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Mar 14, 2006 4:16 pm
Posts: 495
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 10:10 am 
 

Doesn't seem like there are many racing game enthusiasts around here, but is anyone else excited for Gran Turismo 6 in one months time?
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BastardHead
Worse than Stalin

Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2005 7:53 pm
Posts: 10857
Location: Oswego, Illinois
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 2:05 pm 
 

My brother plays the Gran Turismo games religiously, I haven't really gotten into one since 2. I don't know if you could call me a racing game enthusiast, but there are a few titles from over the years I really, really liked (Burnout 2 and 3, Rollcage, Kinetica, Jet Moto (though the benefit of hindsight has shown me how goddamn unplayable that game is now by today's standards), Hydro Thunder, Sled Storm, Road Rash, et cetera). Every one of those games (apart from Kinetica, which I never owned but played a lot at my buddy's house) has seen me put in several dozen hours of my youth mastering the mechanics of. So I guess you could say I love racing games that aren't about normal boring real life cars doing normal boring real life races.
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darkeningday
xXdArKenIngDayXx

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 1:20 pm
Posts: 6032
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 2:30 pm 
 

BloodSacrificeShaman wrote:
I put off playing the sequels when I learned the expansions for the first weren't considered canon. Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate were both excellent installments that were as good as anything in the original and to just disregard them as non-canon is a disservice. They're probably better than the full-length sequels anyway, from what I've read.

I personally find Extraction Point to be the high point of the entire series. It basically took everything the first game had on offer, then added a slew of new (extremely useful) weapons and threw in several enormous, towering arenas that really ramped up the challenge. Just a spectacular game through-and-through. Perseus Mandate had a bit of a weak start but the second half was at least as good as the first FEAR, and almost as good as EP. It's really a shame Timegate weren't given FEAR 3 to helm.
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Dandelo
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2008 5:08 am
Posts: 1096
Location: Ireland
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 3:01 pm 
 

I'm a bit iffy on racing games, especially simulation ones. The last 'serious' racing game I loved was PGR4, but that's kind of arcadey. Still a great game, I didn't like Blur from them, but it's sad that the studio is now gone.

If we're counting kart racers, Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed was surprisingly great. Absolutely hard as nails, reminded me of F-Zero GX a lot.

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BastardHead
Worse than Stalin

Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2005 7:53 pm
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Location: Oswego, Illinois
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 3:14 pm 
 

I guess that's a better way to describe it, I like arcade type racers more than simulation ones. And on the topic of kart racers, anybody else think Crash Team Racing was surprisingly great too? Maybe it's because I grew up as a Playstation kid instead of a Nintendo one, but the Crash Bandicoot series of knockoffs (CTR to Mario Kart and Crash Bash to Mario Party) were surprisingly very well done and entertaining.
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inhumanist
Metal freak

Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2011 5:09 pm
Posts: 5634
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 3:29 pm 
 

The only two racing games I care about are Mario Kart and Blur, and their concept is basically the same. It's a shame that Blur's PC port is so shitty.
Actually, there is also Super Tux Kart, an open source Mario Kart clone. It's still pretty unpolished, but since it's open source there's endless potential for improvement.
I just wish one of my friends was as good at these games as I am.
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lord_ghengis
Still Standing After 38 Beers... hic

Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2006 8:31 pm
Posts: 5953
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 3:49 pm 
 

Gran Turismo 5 seemed pretty underwhelming for me,well as underwhelming as effectively the same game as the old ones can be, they seemed to wreck the b-spec entirely (come on, why the fuck can't I speed it up any more), the load times are utterly ridiculous even if you do the half hour install, the menu layout is less fluid than last time, the text is by default too small to read and needs to use and.awkward zooming.system, and the spectators STILL look like cardboard cutouts. I admit I'm being nitpicky, but you kinda need to be with GT games, since each one is largely the same game, with the same tracks and the same cars. The games DEMAND to be nitpicked, and I.can't think of anything beyond "has Ferraris and real F1 cars now" where 5 actually felt better.

I actually just run out of new games to play, so I'll be going back to this to.finish.at least the main portion of the game. Sadly I'm.a.grown man with a job and bills and a kid these days so I really don't have the 8 hours.a.day to invest in getting super good at the game like I did in my youth, so I doubt I'll be tackling the insanely hard challenges/trying to.get every car this time.
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Smoking_Gnu
Chicago Favorite

Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2008 11:22 pm
Posts: 4797
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 4:15 pm 
 

So I just finished A Machine for Pigs and

Spoiler: show
I was a little disappointed. The whole game seemed like it was teetering on the brink of becoming some mindfuckingly intense gothic/industrial horror show but always pulls back right after it's been building things up to a crescendo. I think there were maybe 3 or 4 times where something actually startled me enough to elicit a jump; I eventually got so used to the lack of threats and enemies (you encounter the pigmen face-to-face what, 5 times maybe? And even then there's none of the "frantic hiding in a closet" that the first game apparently had; you just play ring-around-the-rosie with them on a dark walkway until they can't see you) that toward the end of the game I just started running and jumping around with my lantern out because I was fairly confident nothing would happen outside of atmosphere spookiness.

For example, take that point where you're walking in the rafters over the pigmen's "living space" where you see a few of them eating on a table full of guts while opera music plays. The dissonance of the mournful music with the mass gore was very unsettling, and I was sure I'd have to tensely navigate through their squalid quarters while avoiding them. Instead...you just walk over them and pass onto another series of pipes and hallways. Complete letdown of the tension that was building up to that point.

It's a shame, because the game had a well-crafted setting with a plot interesting enough to compel me to beat the game in two 3-hour sittings, though the whole "passing out/getting knocked out and waking up somewhere else" got to be too convenient of a plot card. There was clearly a lot of work that went into designing the machine and its surrounding components, and the surreal aspects (how much of the machine exists and how much are you still in fever-induced delirium) provided a point of consideration without becoming a cop-out. There's something to be said for building tension to a fever pitch, sure, but I can count on one hand the number of times the game provided a startling release to that build-up. It almost felt like more of mystery-thriller than a horror game, except the story would occasionally say "Wait, we still have that Amnesia creepiness! See? See?"

Apparently, other reviewers thought similarly (I didn't read anything before buying it) and said The Dark Descent was far better in terms of pacing and scariness; I didn't buy it because I already watched a whole bunch of "see how scared this guy gets!" youtube playthroughs and already knew the plot. Still may pick it up in the future, though. I know the devs apparently wanted to provide a different gameplay style and atmosphere so as to not seem derivative of the first game, but that's a moot point if that new style isn't any good.
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Obfuscation
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2012 12:52 am
Posts: 83
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 4:34 pm 
 

sourlows wrote:
One thing I do like is that it's not completely pay-to-win.


Yeah, I've been pretty much been playing with the rogue deck that I let the computer choose for me and I'm currently at a two star silver medal and close to 100 wins in the matchmaking mode. I did actually buy one pack though so I could pick up the gift for testing out the store :lol:

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darkeningday
xXdArKenIngDayXx

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 1:20 pm
Posts: 6032
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 5:28 pm 
 

Xeogred wrote:
Go with Singularity instead of FEAR 3.

Whoops, missed this too. I disagree with this as well. Singularity was really dull and boring; easily Raven Soft's most phoned-in game ever. Play Timeshift instead of Singularity (though play FEAR 3 instead of Timeshift).
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colin040
Metal freak

Joined: Sat Dec 08, 2007 6:00 pm
Posts: 7610
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 6:36 pm 
 

Just played Rayman 2 a bit for today. Fun game, if mostly because of the nostalgic feeling.

I'm planning on playing Pitfall The Mayan Adventure after this. Might as well visit my uncle soon and ask him if I could borrow some playstation games such as Heart of Darkness and Final Fantasy 7. The former is one I liked but didn't play too much and the latter I remember being hard as shit though I didn't come far in that one either.

I regret giving my NES away years ago though. Might as well get an emulator and play the games on pc. It won't be the same but whatever. :P

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HellBlazer
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Aug 10, 2002 6:48 am
Posts: 2119
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 7:05 pm 
 

Final Fantasy 7, hard as shit? Clearly a very faulty memory there. :scratch:

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BastardHead
Worse than Stalin

Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2005 7:53 pm
Posts: 10857
Location: Oswego, Illinois
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 7:54 pm 
 

I'm one of the first people to jump to the defense of Final Fantasy VII, but.... hard? That's one of the easiest RPGs in existence. Even playing through the first time, as an 11 year old, as the very first JRPG I ever played, the only segment I ever remember struggling with was Gi Nattak, and that's purely because I was so young and so new to that style of game that I didn't put together that a healing item would hurt an undead guy. And if you spent the time to do even a handful of the endgame sidequests, the last dungeon/boss rush is a total pushover.
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Evil_Johnny_666
Reigning king of the night

Joined: Wed Jun 06, 2007 8:54 pm
Posts: 4008
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 8:12 pm 
 

But what really makes a JRPG hard? The ''hardest'' one I played was Legend of Legaia, but that was because I needed to constantly grind my characters. Well, with enough strategy I could barely beat the bosses, but as I continued it was near impossible up to a certain point that I needed to grind until death in order to continue. JRPGs are really part strategy part pure grinding, and you can always grind your way to victory easily if you have the patience... But yeah, the thing with FFVII is that not only you don't need to grind all that much, but the materia system can be ultra powerful as you play the game with all these combinations. You can grow your characters to be ridiculously strong, but I thought it was part of the fun.

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sourlows
Metal newbie

Joined: Sun May 02, 2010 6:12 am
Posts: 213
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 8:50 pm 
 

Obfuscation wrote:
sourlows wrote:
One thing I do like is that it's not completely pay-to-win.


Yeah, I've been pretty much been playing with the rogue deck that I let the computer choose for me and I'm currently at a two star silver medal and close to 100 wins in the matchmaking mode. I did actually buy one pack though so I could pick up the gift for testing out the store :lol:

I would like to play rogue but it's pretty tough with basic cards. Priests and mages can get to masters with decks made out of basic cards, but the only rogues I see at the top are usually playing some kind of combo strategy, where they use Questing Adventurer/Van Cleef and play a ton of cards (to get them up to like 15/15) + conceal and then try to kill you in 1-2 turns. It can work consistently against glacier decks that can't really put up early pressure, but vs aggro decks (murlocs in particular) the rogue has a real tough time staying alive long enough to win.

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Nochielo
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:20 am
Posts: 2388
Location: Puerto Rico
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 10:28 pm 
 

darkeningday wrote:
I disagree with the above posts; I thought FEAR 2 was quite poor. I hated: the new super cartoony art design (the Penetrator switched from rugged and sleek future-tech to looking like it was designed by Mattel, firing off glow-in-the-dark bolts, no less), the fact the plot was just a re-hash (yet almost paradoxically a dumbed-down re-hash of the) plot from the first one, the new method of exposition (from running across lone, well voice acted phone messages in the first one, to now finding blandly written post-it notes fucking EVERYWHERE) and the ridiculously silly ending. I will admit the elementary school bit was sheer genius, though; silver lining to that dark, dark cloud.

FEAR 3 couldn't approach the brilliance of the first FEAR (or its two equally brilliant expansion packs), but at least they ditched most of what made FEAR 2 such a mess.

1. You don't like how the guns look.
2. The plot is the same as the first game, just someone else in the general area, that's hardly a secret.
3. The phone messages suck hard, it seemed they tried to talk while chewing a thick ball of molasses. Normally I'd prefer using both at different times, but seeing how the first ones were so horrible, I see why they were removed.

I don't know about you, but to me these seem like very weak reasons to dislike a game. How about combat, atmosphere, game mechanics, etc.?

On racing games, I stopped playing them the day I got my driver's license. It stopped being fun. I play Mario Kart with friends and that as far as I go.
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iamntbatman
Chaos Breed

Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:55 am
Posts: 11421
Location: Tyrn Gorthad
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 11:06 pm 
 

Yeah, I only like really arcade-y racing games and then only rarely. If I wanted an authentic "real cars handle very shittily!" experience I'd go drive my Saab instead of driving an '82 Corolla in Forza until I could afford the '83 model.

Timeshift was a cool concept but after watching a friend play it for a couple hours once I've gotta say it doesn't look very good. The combat looks entirely clunky and slow-paced. I played the demo for Singularity once and had pretty much the same impression.
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Wilytank
Not a Flying Toy

Joined: Thu Jul 30, 2009 7:21 am
Posts: 5861
Location: 717
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 11:25 pm 
 

I have never played a racing game that was as immerseive to me as ATV Offroad Fury 2 on the PS2.
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darkeningday
xXdArKenIngDayXx

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 1:20 pm
Posts: 6032
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 11:42 pm 
 

Nochielo wrote:
1. You don't like how the guns look.

You're strawmanning me; I said I didn't like the new mega-cartoony art design of the whole game. The new Penetrator was just an example. I felt the cartoon appearance greatly hindered the terrifying atmosphere the game was trying to elicit.
Nochielo wrote:
2. The plot is the same as the first game, just someone else in the general area, that's hardly a secret.

So because it's not a secret... that somehow makes it okay? I don't know about you, but I like either progress or expansion in a videogame sequel; FEAR 2 provided neither.
Nochielo wrote:
3. The phone messages suck hard, it seemed they tried to talk while chewing a thick ball of molasses. Normally I'd prefer using both at different times, but seeing how the first ones were so horrible, I see why they were removed.

And then replaced with fucking text boxes? This is an improvement... how, exactly? At least the messages had some character, even if it wasn't as much as one would hope.
Nochielo wrote:
I don't know about you, but to me these seem like very weak reasons to dislike a game. How about combat, atmosphere, game mechanics, etc.?

These problems were just sorest points to me; there were tons of other issues with the game too: 1) The combat was virtually unchanged from the original, except the enemy AI was much less aggressive (i.e., worse for no real reason), even on the highest difficulty setting 2) Bullet time recharged faster but didn't slow down time nearly as much as the in the first FEAR, making it much less useful and fun 3) The dynamic lighting that was so unique to the first FEAR was gimped to allow the game to run at the same graphical fidelity on consoles 4) The environments were much less dynamic than the first; whereas FEAR allowed you to approach most major arenas from two or even three different directions, FEAR 2 was just a linear corridor from beginning to end (presumably this was yet another causality of console compromise) 5) Fucking Quicktime Events (or FQEs, for short) 6) The silly new "knockdown tables for cover" gimmick that was almost never useful, and last, but certainly not least, 7) THE ENEMIES GLOWED. What the actual fuck, Monolith.

It was bad. Not a disaster. But bad.

iamntbatman wrote:
Timeshift was a cool concept but after watching a friend play it for a couple hours once I've gotta say it doesn't look very good. The combat looks entirely clunky and slow-paced. I played the demo for Singularity once and had pretty much the same impression.

Yep, I mostly agree with this; Timeshift's combat was indeed quite weak, but the gimmick was pretty cool and allowed for some fun flexibility from arena to arena. Singularity, on the other hand, had just as weak combat but its gimmick was just a chore and no fun at all to use.
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Nochielo
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:20 am
Posts: 2388
Location: Puerto Rico
PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 12:23 am 
 

darkeningday wrote:
Nochielo wrote:
1. You don't like how the guns look.

You're strawmanning me; I said I didn't like the new mega-cartoony art design of the whole game. The new Penetrator was just an example. I felt the cartoon appearance greatly hindered the terrifying atmosphere the game was trying to elicit.

Not "strawmanning", I was pointing out that not liking how something looks hardly has an impact on a game. If you don't think it fits or even hinders what the game is trying to do, then that is a valid point.
darkeningday wrote:
So because it's not a secret... that somehow makes it okay? I don't know about you, but I like either progress or expansion in a videogame sequel; FEAR 2 provided neither.

But it does provide expansion, you get information that you didn't have in the first game and it sets up the third game's plot. Also, it's hard to be disappointed when you know what you are getting, we knew before release that the second game's story starts before the ending of the first game in the same city, and would be closely related events.
darkeningday wrote:
And then replaced with fucking text boxes? This is an improvement... how, exactly? At least the messages had some character, even if it wasn't as much as one would hope.

"Character"? They were incomprehensible and sounded terrible. I can do without that, I'd rather understand the story with text boxes than getting some weird, distracting gibberish while I'm trying to shoot straight. Again, I'd much rather have both, sometimes you find papers (which you have to read and stuff...) and sometimes you find some recorded messages. But one of them sucked and had to go.
darkeningday wrote:
These problems were just sorest points to me; there were tons of other issues with the game too: 1) The combat was virtually unchanged from the original, except the enemy AI was much less aggressive (i.e., worse for no real reason), even on the highest difficulty setting 2) Bullet time recharged faster but didn't slow down time nearly as much as the in the first FEAR, making it much less useful and unique 3) The dynamic lighting that was so unique to the first FEAR was gimped to allow the game to run at the same graphical fidelity on consoles 4) The environments were much less dynamic than the first; whereas FEAR allowed you to approach most major arenas from two or even three different directions, FEAR 2 was just a linear corridor from beginning to end (presumably this was yet another causality of console compromise) 5) Fucking Quicktime Events (or FQEs, for short) 6) The silly new "knockdown tables for cover" gimmick that was almost never useful, and last, but certainly not least, 7) THE ENEMIES GLOWED. What the actual fuck, Monolith.

Points 1, 5 and 7 I agree with. As for bullet time, I didn't notice any particular difference in the mechanic between the games but you have sparked my curiosity there, I'll check it out. The rest of your points I understand but don't really care much for several reasons, for example I don't care much for graphics, the using tables for cover I avoided entirely and I accepted that F.E.A.R. games have been shooting galleries since the start. Different strokes, I guess.
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MacMoney
Man of the Cloth

Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2002 10:17 pm
Posts: 2331
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 4:33 am 
 

darkeningday wrote:
the brilliance of the first FEAR (or its two equally brilliant expansion packs)


While I liked the original FEAR and played through it very happily and agree that the atmosphere and mechanics were pretty cool (it was one of the last FPSs I played, I think) and that the expansion packs weren't much worse off in terms of combat, they got nowhere near the original in terms of atmosphere or plot. I suppose it's the fact that they were done by different people than the original, were pretty much declared non-canon as soon as they came out and the original did finish things off fairly neatly, even if the very end is a bit cheap perhaps, though fitting for the horror film-trope that the game goes for, even though it is a bit of a *wink* *wink* comical end for a game that takes itself and the horror very seriously. But yeah, the expansions were just held up by the fact that the guns are cool, the challenge is there, the bullet time is cool and the mechanics of the game generally work, rather than any plot or anything. In fact, I can't remember a single plot point from the expansions even though I can remember most of the original and I did play that one a few years before the expansions.

Haven't played the sequels so I'll refrain from commenting on those.

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Xeogred
Thunderbolt from Hell

Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2006 11:28 pm
Posts: 7154
PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 9:22 am 
 

darkeningday wrote:
Xeogred wrote:
Go with Singularity instead of FEAR 3.

Whoops, missed this too. I disagree with this as well. Singularity was really dull and boring; easily Raven Soft's most phoned-in game ever. Play Timeshift instead of Singularity (though play FEAR 3 instead of Timeshift).

Holy shit lol. Timeshift was one of the worst and most broken FPS's I played this gen. Can't remember a thing other than it sucked. This and FEAR 3 were doodoo level for me, but better than King Kong at least.

I generally dislike 90% of Raven Soft's stuff anyways, so take that however you want.

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Obfuscation
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2012 12:52 am
Posts: 83
PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 1:33 pm 
 

sourlows wrote:
I would like to play rogue but it's pretty tough with basic cards. Priests and mages can get to masters with decks made out of basic cards, but the only rogues I see at the top are usually playing some kind of combo strategy, where they use Questing Adventurer/Van Cleef and play a ton of cards (to get them up to like 15/15) + conceal and then try to kill you in 1-2 turns. It can work consistently against glacier decks that can't really put up early pressure, but vs aggro decks (murlocs in particular) the rogue has a real tough time staying alive long enough to win.



Yeah, I'll definitely be on the lookout for that. I've had a few people buff their minions like crazy even when I've only had like 5 health left or something and completely destroy me. I don't have conceal in my deck, but luckily I do have the Patient Assassin which is a nice cheap card good for stopping some bad situations before they start.

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darkeningday
xXdArKenIngDayXx

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 1:20 pm
Posts: 6032
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 3:34 pm 
 

Xeogred wrote:
Holy shit lol. Timeshift was one of the worst and most broken FPS's I played this gen. Can't remember a thing other than it sucked. This and FEAR 3 were doodoo level for me, but better than King Kong at least.

Odd that you'd say 'broken', as I'm about to beat it on its highest difficulty setting. Do note that I'm playing it on PC and it's fully patched, though. Outside of some sketchy hit detection, weak animations and some forgettable writing, it's pretty entertaining. The 'timeshifting' element is implemented really well.
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failsafeman
Digital Dictator

Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2004 8:45 am
Posts: 11852
Location: In the Arena
PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 9:10 pm 
 

I dunno, I think everyone pretty much agrees that Fear 2 was a step down from the original, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit, just because I liked the original Fear so much. There were some really cool set pieces too, like the scenario where waves of clone soldiers come up out of the floor in those pods in the training ground area, or that massive underground train thing near the end. Just super intense. As for the art direction, I was fine with it in both games. I really liked the look of the clone soldiers especially in their big body armor, looked like something out of Cyberpunk 2020. You're right that the change in art design doesn't really make sense though, given the games are supposed to be happening at basically the same time. Fear 2 looks more like it's happening in Fear 1's future. The story in 2 was meh up until the ending, which I thought was cool and unexpected, but then story was never the franchise's strong point anyway.

The third game on the other hand I liked a lot - it was a departure in a lot of ways, but again it had some awesome levels, like the mall, and a LOT of fun set pieces like assault in the garden department of the mall, or the outdoor courtyard area in the suburb level with the gazebo where mechs and soldiers come storming down at you from all directions. Paxton Fettel is awesome and it's great to see him come back, ESPECIALLY if you play co-op. I beat the game solo as Point Man, then played it together with a buddy as Paxton Fettel, and I can't stress how fucking fun it is to play as Fettel, even the second time through. You can possess BOSSES. Yes, those giant guys who go through walls, you can become them. You lose their wall-walking power, but are still huge, have a shitload of life, and have their giant guns. Just fun as fuck. Really the main downside to Fear 3 is it's a tad easy even on the hardest difficulties, especially if you play co-op, but then again you don't really want to have to reload the same level 20 times in co-op anyway.

Also, the story to Fear 3 perfectly ties together 1 and 2 in my opinion. It makes 2 much more interesting in retrospect.
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Xeogred
Thunderbolt from Hell

Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2006 11:28 pm
Posts: 7154
PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 10:45 pm 
 

My gripe with 3 is that the pacing sucked. It was just pure nonstop combat left and right, definitely not the case in the others. I don't have much to say about the plot in these games at all, but the atmosphere was dark and lonely enough it was nice to take in from time to time with some gaps in between encounters.

I wish there was more out there still like the FEAR games in terms of environments and levels. Corridor shooters! Everything has to be big and open now or non-stop thrill rides like Call of Duty. That looks so fun.
:puke:

Also pretty sure this engine got abused and used more than Gamebryo did.

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darkeningday
xXdArKenIngDayXx

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 1:20 pm
Posts: 6032
Location: United States
PostPosted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 11:32 pm 
 

Xeogred wrote:
My gripe with 3 is that the pacing sucked. It was just pure nonstop combat left and right, definitely not the case in the others. I don't have much to say about the plot in these games at all, but the atmosphere was dark and lonely enough it was nice to take in from time to time with some gaps in between encounters.

Sounds like you didn't get very far through the game, then, because there were several instances of the sort of 'quiet ambiance' that previous FEAR games were known for in FEAR 3, the most memorable being a late night stroll through a haunted electronics shop. I was super skeptical of the game at first but I ended up liking it quite a bit more than the second game in the end. Fun times.
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