Posts by Thrik

  • Playstation 4

    I think he means the PS3 controller. You do require software to make it work properly, although I don't think it quite emulates the 360 controller; the software I used simply made the pad behave like a normal PC game pad. I also needed software when I tried to use my (wireless) 360 controller with my PC (from Microsoft) in addition to the drivers, which at least auto-install.

  • Deus Ex: Human Defiance

    That's a point, I never played Conviction. Was that actually good in the end? Might be another to pick up.

    Funnily enough I found Uncharted 2 to be one of this generation's more enjoyable stealth experiences. Obviously it's impossible to play completely stealthily, but you could actually get through a majority of the game completely undetected, using take-downs when necessary. It was really good and satisfying thanks to the game's excellent cover/climbing mechanics, I was a bit disappointed that they scaled it back a bit in Uncharted 3.

    The only PITA was that once detected you were screwed — you could evade the enemies and they'd continue to fire upon/explore where they last saw you, but you can never go back to a relaxed state of alert like in MGS/Deus Ex. Though I guess that's actually pretty realistic, I'm not sure you'd be totally calm two minutes after finding a buddy's corpse or seeing some murderous fuck.

  • Deus Ex: Human Defiance

    Quote from Skacky

    DX:HR had stealth? Okay, I'm trolling a tad, but like the original DX I found stealth in HR really lacking because of the AI, mainly. While not particulalry stupid it wasn't particularly smart either, and the third person combined with the easy way to move around made these stealth phases a cakewalk even on the hardest difficulty setting.

    I don't know if you've played Dishonored yet, but you should try it if you're looking for a good stealth game.

    Oh I loved it, although it's worth noting that I have to take out every enemy and explore/hack every computer to be happy so it becomes significantly more challenging that way — hiding bodies, etc. It's probably even harder on the higher difficulty. I'd say the balance was about perfect for my play style, very MGS-like.

    Dishonored is definitely on my list, I think I'll probably enjoy Hitman too. Don't think I'll bother with Arkham for now.

  • Deus Ex: Human Defiance

    It will literally be the most disappointing thing I've ever heard if it turns out to just be a movie.

    I guess a sequel is inevitable and it'll surely take years to match the insane amount of gameplay and detail in Human Revolution, especially if it's next-gen. But oh my god, just imagining how even more amazing DX:HR's aesthetic could look with fresh hardware...

    I really need a new stealth game to play though, DX:HR has left me desperate. Hitman? Arkham Asylum/City???

  • What are you playing now?

    Quote from SamCom

    Heh, I did think about it before I chose the first time, and I decided I hated the other three choices. All three groups were full of shit. I'd been lied to by all of them, and all their choices seemed equally Pyrrhic. I didn't want to choose any of the others. And the other ending videos imply that basically the same thing happened anyway.

    I think showing the aftermath would have been less of a cop out. But what I really would have liked is if your individual actions earlier in the game had made any sort of difference, so they could use a Fallout/F:NV style ending showing the repercussions of your actions earlier in the game. In DX:HR, it didn't matter how I'd played the game, it was just some arbitrary choice tacked onto the end.

    Ah yes, this is something that occurred to me after I finished the game. It was repeatedly implied through computer emails, etc that without the Hyron Project AI the pressure valves and shit keeping the facility stable would fail and bring the whole thing down. So really no matter what you do everyone is fucked, except you get to optionally send a message out first which may or may not be referenced by what happens in the likely Human Revolution 2.

    I guess one thing to bear in mind is that being a canonical prequel to Deus Ex, there are limits on how wild the ending can be. Really the only way to keep things consistent is to wipe out most of Human Revolution's cast, hence the forced destruction. At least you still get to make a personal moral choice though. I actually sided with Sarif because I really liked him — actually felt a sense of loyalty.

  • What are you playing now?

    I quite enjoyed the last boss because you could a actually use your abilities and think, whereas the others were like 'OH SHIT YOU GONNA DIE' then you watch a loading screen 20 times. I suspect the last one was the only one actually made by the main HR team, whereas we know the rest were done externally.

    I've already made this argument but again, for me the ending was appropriate. Would it really have been better if we saw some clips of the world in the aftermath of your decision? Would it have made the game's message any more meaningful?

    BTW I think the 'blow everything up' ending is a cop-out, avoiding making a proper decision concerning how you feel about illuminati influence, augmentation, your loyalty to Sarif, etc. I really enjoyed thinking hard about how I felt on these issues. Grow some balls and make a proper choice.

  • What are you playing now?

    So I decided to give Mass Effect a go after years of putting it off. I don't think I'm going to last much longer.

    My first impression was great, I thought the graphics were spectacular considering the game's age and I was enjoying the Deus Ex-like dialogue stuff going on. However after landing for the first mission and experiencing the actual gameplay I'm really, really not feeling it. I guess the game's age is a contributing factor, but also this just generally leans a bit too far towards the 'RPG' side of things for me. Too much worrying about points, party members, stats, pick-ups, and generally everything I don't really like.

    It also likely doesn't help that I just finished 30+ hours of incredible Deus Ex: HR, with its ultra-refined gameplay that is more or less the best I've experienced this generation. In comparison Mass Effect actually feels quite primitive and even the environment detail is leaving me wanting after HR's ultra-detailed areas. Maybe it'll improve, but usually if I'm not feeling receptive towards a game at this point it doesn't get much better with time. It'll be a shame if I can't enjoy this as I pre-emptively bought the sequel too. Maybe Dishonored will have to be my next buy.

    Fucking Deus Ex, man. That game was so good almost everything seems kind of crappy now.

  • The worst game mechanics?

    I think bodies disappearing can be a mechanic. A perfect example is Deus Ex: Human Revolution. In that game, bodies will literally persist in the world indefinitely — you can return to somewhere 10+ hours later and that body is still there, and at any time it could be discovered and an alarm raised. So in that respect, the body remaining in place instead of vanishing is definitely a gameplay mechanic.

    IMO it would be better if more games left bodies in the world, and had enemies and NPCs alike react to them. Why do enemies not react in any way to seeing legions of their comrades lying in a bloody heap in the floor in something like Call of Duty? Why don't they run away in fear when they see that you're laying waste to them like ants? I know games like Far Cry tackle this issue, but many games don't bother or if they do it's a token "Oh a dead body! Now I'll go back to walking backwards and forwards forever."

    I know it's been said before, but better AI is what I want to see during the next generation. With more computing power than ever available, that means there's a lot more possibility to have enemies react in very clever and surprising ways. It's very rarely a game's AI genuinely surprises me, like when I first played FEAR and they were crawling along the floor and shit. If most games shun such innovations for the sake of even prettier graphics I will be so disappointed.

  • What are you playing now?

    BTW is it me or was the detail in the game absolutely incredible? Not in terms of polies or teraflops, but just the amount of attention clearly lavished upon every single room in the game. I don't think I've ever seen so much loving care applied to how an office is laid out.

    And those cityscapes, man... shieeeeet.

  • What are you playing now?

    I really enjoyed the ending.

    Quote

    It might not have shown anything epic or whatever, but I think a philosophical ending was the perfect way to finish off such a game. The game spent 30+ hours drilling into your head the ethics and potential of human augmentation — something we're already seeing the beginning of IRL — and basically let you take your own stand on the issue, free of incentives or the game punishing you for taking the wrong choice.

    I dunno, for me it was the best kind of ending. It doesn't show you where your opinion on the matter might lead (yet), and also the way they did it discourages (at least for me) 'I must reload and see every single ending' syndrome. I don't actually want to see the others because I feel like this completed MY story. Kind of like how I didn't reload the convos during the game, because I'd have felt like I was shallowing the experience.

  • What are you playing now?

    Ah man, just finished Deus Ex: HR. I think that was literally the best sci-fi game I've played since Half-Life. Absolutely amazing, and unlike a lot of games nowadays it just gets better and more epic right up to the very end. I am a total asshole for not playing it until now, talk about missing out. Possibly a contender for best of the whole generation right there.

    Everyone involved with that game deserves a million pats on the back, including Klein who I noticed a huge picture of in the credits.

  • Crysis 3

    Yes a vast jungle full of enemy encampments and endless gameplay possibilities is so much better than the usual corridors and warehouses.

    You should have kept playing D3, later on it turns into a linear underground corridor shooter with monsters.