Posts by Thrik

  • Playstation 4

    I've seen quite a few people criticising Sony for not moving the thumb stick to where the d-pad is. Why do people want this again, apart from the fact that it's the way the 360 does it? I don't know about you guys but I don't like the 360's left stick placement. I have to contort my hand in such a way where using the left triggers (especially LB) is a little bit uncomfortable if I'm pushing the stick in a direction at the same time. No such problem with the PS3.

    If I just let my hands fall into their natural positions while wrapped around the pad, my thumbs align pretty much perfectly with the PS3's sticks. I've been using the PS3 and 360 pads a lot during the past six years and there's no doubt in my mind that Sony offers the better ergonomic experience.

    They've not changed it much since the original dual analogue pad came out 16 years ago for good reason: it's great as it is. Sometimes people just want change for the sake of change. On the contrary, I love the fact that the PlayStation controllers have kept their original identity while being given iterative ergonomic improvements, it's a nice piece of heritage connecting the generations (both consoles and people). Although I am glad to see that they're returning to the concave sticks last seen in 1997:

    [Blocked Image: http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a342/Grizzmeister/DualAnalogControllerSCPH-1180.jpg]

  • Flash videos above 360p keep stuttering

    Try Internet Explorer, AFAIK it uses a different way of installing Flash than virtually everything else. If it's OK then it might be your updated Flash plug-in has issues with your computer configuration (wouldn't be the first time they've released something which knackers weaker hardware).

  • Playstation 4

    The most compelling thing I see on that controller is the blue light on the top, which I suspect is a condensed version of this:

    [Blocked Image: http://stupidgamer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/sony-playstation-move.jpg]

    I don't know if anyone but me actually bothered to get a Move, but it was actually an excellent piece of hardware. Obviously a complete rip-off the Wii, but it did the pointing/motion thing a lot better than the Wii — it felt pretty much perfectly smooth and accurate, whereas the Wii just didn't feel reliable enough to use in shooters, etc.

    During this generation two things have been experimented with: motion controls and pointers. I personally think the motion stuff is garbage and can't really think of a single experience I've had with it that I'd genuinely say was worth it. However, the ability to point (like with a mouse) when playing console games is awesome.

    That opens the door to RTS and shooters that feel so much better to play, and could seriously unsettle the PC's dominance of those genres. If this were built into the standard controllers during the next generation, it'd no longer be the case that games like Battlefield and C&C feel like crap unless played on a PC. In some ways it'd turn the gamepad into a two-handed mouse, freeing up the sticks for other tasks.

  • What are you playing now?

    So, I'm still playing Deus Ex: HR. Jesus Christ, I've not been as addicted to a game as this for years. I feel like I've put a huge amount of time into it, yet I'm still loving it.

    Quote

    I've currently just finished all the side-missions in Hangsha and am about to enter the Tai Yong Medical place after the assholes messed up the pod hotel (poor civilians). How far through the game am I at this point? Near the end, halfway? It's hard to tell.

  • Aliens: Colonial Marines - WTF Happened!?!

    You do have to wonder if Randy is actually completely detached from what goes on at Gearbox, because what he's said about Duke Nukem Forever and Colonial Marines has been so consistently out of whack with the reality that I can't fathom how someone could say the kind of things he's said with a straight face.

    They're seriously tarnishing their reputation with these bad games. What's interesting is that both bad games were high-profile releases using IPs that people would probably buy into regardless of game quality, which also raises some questions of ethics in Gearbox concerning how much they're willing to sell themselves out when they know the game will probably sell well anyway.

    Unfortunately it's a double-edged sword because while they may enjoy good sales now, the likelihood of another IP owner trusting Gearbox with their franchise decreases monumentally with every bad game they release.

  • What are you playing now?

    I've only just escaped the Sarif building for the first time and done some side-quest to get some footage off some dude, and I'm just loving all the layers of depth to the world. Before the guy even approached me about getting some footage he was being blackmailed with, I'd found a crate of drugs he'd stolen hidden in a vent and been looking into the situation via office computers' emails and stuff. I love the whole computer/PDA/e-book thing in general, it adds so much to the richness of the world.

    Also loving the dynamic nature of the gameplay. For ages I was totally stuck in some really hard stealth situation, and I kept getting assholed if I tried to shoot my way through. So I picked up a trash can and threw it across to the other side of the room, and everyone went to check it out while I snuck past.

    Anyway, the atmosphere of this game is just incredible. It's been some time since I've felt so immersed and been looking forward to getting back into its world. I also really like my character, he cool man.

    As for the hostage thing, I liked how that was done. There's a lot of interesting incidental dialogue in the Sarif building that you'd never hear if you rushed straight to the first mission, yet if you take the time to explore it the game punishes you by having Sarif going crazy at you down the phone about the situation getting worse and then when you turn up everyone's already dead. Then you get the police, Sarif people, etc criticising you and saying you let them all die, and some woman going on about her beloved husband being killed.

    My rating of this game:

    [Blocked Image: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37346336/we_can_rebuild_him_smile.jpg]

  • What are you playing now?

    lol, finally got past the first mission in Deus Ex: HR where you have to retrieve the Typhoon. God damn I am bad at this game, but it was great fun. Love how dynamic the gameplay can be, suits a stealth addict like me perfectly.

    Quote

    I took so long exploring the Sarif building before getting into the helicopter that by the time I even landed all the hostages were dead.

  • [Feature] Technical breakdown: Assassin's Creed II

    Assassin's Creed set a new standard for open-world games, providing the foundation for one of this generation's most technically accomplished releases: its sequel, Assassin's Creed II. Guest writer Fabrice 'Froyok' Piquet examines and breaks down how parts of the game were put together, shedding some light on the problems its developers overcame while producing a living, breathing Renaissance Italy.

    Read feature »

  • What are you playing now?

    The soundtrack to Deus Ex 3 is spectacular too. Shieeeeet, what a game. I knew it'd be good, been saving it for a special moment since I bought it at the end of 2011. The whole feel of the world, the setting, and the main character is someone I genuinely like (sadly rare nowadays). All so good, and the detail to the world is unbelievable.

  • Playstation 4

    Quote from Sentura

    clearly you are right, they were revolutionary and games that redefined the experience of their genre

    lol. Facetiousness aside, I don't know why Killzone 2 gets a bad rap. Maybe it wasn't quite deserving of its almost universal excellent reviews, but it was a pretty enjoyable shooter that particularly deserves credit for its soundtrack, graphics, and overall atmosphere which remain some of the finest this generation.

    As for Resistance 2, never played it but I did think the original was very inventive with its weaponry/gameplay, almost like older games such as Perfect Dark — something that can't be said about many shooters.

    Hardly generation-defining games, but they were early successes in a generation that's been packed with more fantastic games than any other I can think of.