What are you playing?

[chronovore]

Ricochet
[/img]http://cdn.steampowered.com/v/gfx/apps/60/0000000160.1920x1080.jpg?t=1270240484[/img]

Really wish Valve would come back to this concept.

wtf is that? Discs of Tron without the license?

[Raban]

Ricochet
[/img]http://cdn.steampowered.com/v/gfx/apps/60/0000000160.1920x1080.jpg?t=1270240484[/img]

Really wish Valve would come back to this concept.

wtf is that? Discs of Tron without the license?

kinda. It's an FPS where you can't jump, so you use these jump pads to fling yourself across the map. You have a stock of three discs which bump the opponent when it hits (it's really easy to fall off the map and die, so this is a pretty good method of killing) or you can send all three discs out at once to score a decapitation. The discs then recharge on a cooldown, there are power-ups too, but since there are only two [similar] maps, it gets boring quick.

Valve considers it their biggest mistake, but a next-gen one of these would have a market all to itself!

first they need to finish hl2 ep3

stop lying to yourself man

[iconoclast]

alright guys suggest me something as long as it doesn't involve shooting people and driving cars,because otherwise i might as well try star ocean 4

if i do pick star ocean 4 how's the item creation system? the reason i jumped on infinite undiscovery (which i should continue one of these days i guess) is because i like item creation stuff a lot but in infinite undiscovery it was so half-assed it really didn't matter at all in the end

BlazBlue story mode

[magus]

played that on psp already

[fistfulofmetal]

tried to play Amnesia again.

can't do it

too scary



i actually just got to the point where i found the first enemy. it was funny because not only was my character collapsing under fear.... so was i.

[chronovore]

tried to play Amnesia again.

can't do it

too scary



i actually just got to the point where i found the first enemy. it was funny because not only was my character collapsing under fear.... so was i.

I hear you. I have tried to start Condemned three times, only to be freaked out by the overly competent sound design.

[Bebpo]

Finally past the opening chapter in TiTS.  Can't wait for the story to pick up now!  I love how detailed every NPC dialogue is, I don't like how long battles take in an area when you are overpowered and just want to run past everything but you still run into stuff because the camera is zoomed in too close and sucky.  Can't wait to get to the next game with a better camera.

[Powerslave]

Final Fantasy IX

I'm loving it as ever. It's such a tightly designed game in all aspects, I especially like how well everything is connected with each other and that you're continuously progressing into the story with every location. You may call it lack of freedom or on rails but I never looked at it that way. It's basically the formula of classic Final Fantasy perfected. This game is a great 3D evolution of the NES and SNES Final Fantasy's. Even the dungeon sections are so well made that they never feel tedious. The incredible art direction is a contributing fact to this, that and the fairytale style music make it a fun experience. And it has been a few years since I last played this game but I only realize now how small the dungeons mostly are. They're usually no more than 5 screens save a few major dungeons. I'm on disc 3 and I've decided to not put effort into overleveling my characters. All of them are around 28 now and it's showing that even those numbers are enough to make the game easy. I have no trouble with any boss. From here on I'm gonna learn the skills equipped inside weapons and armors and not train for exp at all after learning them. I'm gonna get AP from low level enemies so I'll get little exp from them. You don't even need to grind in this game until like the last disc if you wanna do some sidequests.
I think it's just comes down to how you can make a game fun for you. You can uphold yourself some rules like not breaking the game by getting too strong and customize each character differently instead of giving them all the same abilities. This applies mostly to myself, I tend to make all characters as equal as possible in terms of skill. Yeah gonna change that.

We all know the negative points of FFIX; the slow battle system and the long loading times to cast spells and use items. It's the long animations that bother me. Takes so long to cast a spell or use a potion with the long drawn out animations. And it takes forever for a battle to start. What the fuck are they loading? It's not a very complex battle system. Is it bad programming?
But I can easily overlook that cause the game offers so much. It also needs to be noted how awesome the comedic undertone is. The humor is great and can be very mature. There's so much spoof comedy in it.
Second best after FFVII. It's very close to it.

[Bebpo]

tried to play Amnesia again.

can't do it

too scary



i actually just got to the point where i found the first enemy. it was funny because not only was my character collapsing under fear.... so was i.

I hear you. I have tried to start Condemned three times, only to be freaked out by the overly competent sound design.

Speaking of which, since it's Halloween month, what are the scariest games you guys have played?  Like not just RE4 or Dead Space OH SHIT A JUMP SCARE, but actually really freaking games that made you feel uncomfortable playing in the dark?

For me:

Fatal Frame 1 & 2 (never played 3+)
Parts of Remake (the new sections with the creepy monster beyond the gate)
Amnesia
Penumbra (aka, Amnesia even scarier)
Condemned 1
Silent Hill 1-3
Alone in the Dark (the first one, at the time)
This one Alone in the Dark like game that used Voxels?  Around the same time.  Forgot it's name.  Might be on GOG.
Siren 1

[iconoclast]

Resident Evil (PS1). In my defense, I was like 7-8 years old when I played that game. The hunters in the forest, dogs, bosses, etc. What made that game scary was that you had a character with limited ammo and poor maneuverability, so most of the enemies were a legitimate threat, especially if they caught you off guard. I don't find games like RE4 or Dead Space the least bit scary because you're armed to the teeth with powerful weapons, and even if you die, you'll just go back 2 minutes to the last checkpoint. Survival horror is dead*

*I haven't played Amnesia or Penumbra... been meaning to try them out some day though.

[cool breeze]

only game that ever scared me was Black Hawk Down because a centipede crawled on my screen while I had night vision goggles on

it's hard for a game to be truly scary without ripping you off.  because you know the game has to continue, anything that's scary is little more than a speed bump.  in a way that's why minecraft was creepy at first; a randomly generated world with no finite goals.

I mean, a lot of games have a creepy atmosphere and can be unnerving (I mentioned echo night beyond like a page ago) but it's always just another form of challenge.

Oh, actually, STALKER, specially CoP.  I remember watching two mutants murder a group of neutral npcs through my sniper rifle's scope and knowing that if I tried to help, I'd just get murdered too.  I ended up walking the long way around them just to avoid that scene.

[demi]

I just started Nanashi No Game - a patch was released a couple days ago.

It's a pretty good horror game, but it controls like, absolute shit.

[magus]

there was a part of resident evil 2 where you open a door and zombie start pouring down and i was like "OMGOMGOMGTHEZOMBIEARENTSTOPPING"

*final fantasy 9*

final fantasy bro's!

[tiesto]

alright guys suggest me something as long as it doesn't involve shooting people and driving cars,because otherwise i might as well try star ocean 4

if i do pick star ocean 4 how's the item creation system? the reason i jumped on infinite undiscovery (which i should continue one of these days i guess) is because i like item creation stuff a lot but in infinite undiscovery it was so half-assed it really didn't matter at all in the end

I like the system in SO4, what you do is pick 3 characters together and have them "brainstorm" new recipes... and then the recipes will tell you exactly what items you need to make the item/weapon/etc. Unfortunately, a lot of the best stuff are rare drops.

I played some games at Comic Con:

Zelda - I could just not grasp the waggle and the control scheme. Especially pulling out the bow to shoot down Skulltulas. Flying around on the bird was an exercise in frustration as well. I really hate waggle and it looks like it will destroy what would otherwise be a decent game. Just when I was starting to get really hyped for this one, too

Super Mario 3D Land - I was pretty surprised how much I enjoyed it. The game feels a bit like a retread of Galaxy, but even more linear. The 3D actually works well in the game, especially for those who have shitty depth perception like myself.

Mario Kart 7 - It's Mario Kart, what can I say? Graphics look decent and framerate is very smooth, even in 3D mode. I couldn't really figure out how to drift/snake, but it seems more balanced than the Wii game in terms of items fucking you over. I think Mario Kart on DS was one of my favorite entries in the series, so it looks like this'll continue that.

FFXIII-2 - Looks to be a lot better than XIII. You can actually run around and talk to people! The dungeons, although not these sprawling, intricate affairs, are a bit better designed and the world feels a bit more open than XIII. In the demo, you run around to battle Atlas, a giant... but there is a machine deeper into the dungeon that slows down Atlas... you are asked whether you want to take on Atlas or try and use the machine to stop him... If you take down Atlas without using the machine, he'll crush you... but if you try to use the machine, you have to solve a few puzzles to be successful. Looks to have a lot more minigames and puzzles, though the graphics also looked like they took a hit. Very excited for this.

Deus Ex - Only got to play a few minutes of it, not normally the type of game I go for, but I met the art director of the game and he was a cool dude, so now I think I gotta buy this! He said he was very heavily influenced by MGS, and cyberpunk anime, and it shows.

Rayman Origins - Graphics look great, the gameplay isn't as "tight" as your average Japanese platformer; it feels more like a Flash game with its physics. I played with 3 other people and it was absolute bedlam, since one guy was a dick and he just sped ahead of everybody I'm on the fence with this one.

[fistfulofmetal]

Oh, actually, STALKER, specially CoP.  I remember watching two mutants murder a group of neutral npcs through my sniper rifle's scope and knowing that if I tried to help, I'd just get murdered too.  I ended up walking the long way around them just to avoid that scene.

in the original STALKER, the first time you go into an underground lab. the first area is madly terrifying. pounding footsteps above you (where you just came from), a huge door that's constantly slamming against it's hinges... only reason i was ok was because i had a gun and could easily defend myself.

[Herr Mafflard]

Zelda - I could just not grasp the waggle and the control scheme. Especially pulling out the bow to shoot down Skulltulas. Flying around on the bird was an exercise in frustration as well. I really hate waggle and it looks like it will destroy what would otherwise be a decent game. Just when I was starting to get really hyped for this one, too

Pretty much my experience as well. Especially the bird flying section.

I did get slightly more used to the controls with more time, but I can't honestly see how any of it enhances the experience.

[Positive Touch]

tried to play Amnesia again.

can't do it

too scary



i actually just got to the point where i found the first enemy. it was funny because not only was my character collapsing under fear.... so was i.

keep at it, the game is great except for some cornball shit near the end.  best "defenseless" game i've ever played.  they really do a great job of putting you in awful scenarios where you're biting your tongue off, hoping that that creepy bastard walks past you and doesnt turn his head.  and the chase scenes are some of the most pants-pissingly intense moments in gaming.

still need to play the bonus scenario - and penumbra, apperently!

[The Sceneman]

I can't play Amnesia, I tried to play it when I was drunk once too see if that made it less scary, nope  :'(

[fomalhaut]

I was playing super modded New Vegas and was having a blast, but idk if I wanna play games anymore for a little while.  It's time for srs business and stuff.

if anything i'm going to DOS some Wasteland since i've yet to beat it, then slowly make my way chronologically through Fallout series

[tiesto]

I was playing super modded New Vegas and was having a blast, but idk if I wanna play games anymore for a little while.  It's time for srs business and stuff.

if anything i'm going to DOS some Wasteland since i've yet to beat it, then slowly make my way chronologically through Fallout series

Oh shit, just saw that Wasteland was out on GOG... nice! Tried playing a  version a while back and unfortunately did not make it very far. Oldskool wrpgs are PUNISHING.

[Great Rumbler]

I was playing super modded New Vegas and was having a blast, but idk if I wanna play games anymore for a little while.  It's time for srs business and stuff.

if anything i'm going to DOS some Wasteland since i've yet to beat it, then slowly make my way chronologically through Fallout series

Oh shit, just saw that Wasteland was out on GOG... nice! Tried playing a  version a while back and unfortunately did not make it very far. Oldskool wrpgs are PUNISHING.

No, what's on GoG is DARKLANDS:

http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/darklands

Totally different game.

[fomalhaut]

tiesto that literally made my heart skip a beat (  ) saying that Wasteland was on GOG, then I saw the next post.  :'(

Darklands is great i've heard though, i tried a Somali Pirate version of that as well but it didn't work.  Glad it's on GOG so I can scoop it up next time I want a real RPG

[tiesto]

My bad, GOG is blocked at work, I did a google search just to see whether or not it was on, and then saw the results were for a message board posting on the game, figured that meant GOG had Wasteland. I'd totally get it, they need to put that and Akalabeth on there.

You ever go to the CRPG Addict blog (http://crpgaddict.blogspot.com)?

[fomalhaut]

that forum post was probably one i was in, crying and begging for the release of Wasteland :'(


i've not but i'm reading it right now, it looks clever enough.

[Mr. Gundam]

Tales of Vesperia (PS3): Just got the pirate girl. Game is absolutely gorgeous.

[demi]

So, I've been playing El Shaddai for the past couple days. I beat it, game sucks. So, I'm on another run using the special suit that negates damage.

The game has suddenly been doing this "freeze" - sometimes even blanking the screen - when I break an object or kill an enemy. It is the single most frustrating thing to happen, ever, in an action game. It's ridiculous.

I haven't tried for the G-ranks, but I don't think it will be difficult at all. I'm fairly certain 1000 is in the bag.

Of course that get ssidelined when I rape the shit out of Batman starting tomorrow.

[Bebpo]

You could tell Shaddai sucked from the demo.  Nice art, but to make a technical combat action game you need a great battle system designer and it was obvious they didn't have one.  Shame.  But if all I have are talented artists, I wouldn't have tried to make a technical action game.  You make an adventure game, or arpg or something in that case.

[iconoclast]

I don't mind the battle system so much, it's the GOD AWFUL level design that really kills the game for me. I've had it from gamefly for a few months and I still haven't bothered to push through my first playthrough, solely because each stage is so incredibly dull. It's like the entire game consists of nothing but long, narrow corridors and the occasional circular platform for you to fight enemies on.

I thought it would be worth playing for the art, but really, the art in each stage is interesting for about 30 seconds, because it never changes. Better off just googling an image of each stage.

[EmCeeGrammar]

I managed to get MonHunTri for 11 bucks.  I'm not too far in but I got this sort of dread in the back of my mind.  I keep collecting shit and I'm afraid I'm going to open my shit box and see pages and pages of shit and not know what to toss/sell/combine/equip/use.  The tutorial is kinda dragging on, but its not insufferable.  Controls are kinda weird too.  Doesn't help there's a lack of mechanical consistency between the different types of weapons.  Although using the lance class to fast travel as a torpedo underwater =awesome.

I guess I can say I look forward to my next session.

[Bebpo]

I tried the demo for id@lmaster 2 on PS3 and uhhh...it's surprisingly good and full of content. 

HOWEVER, IT'S THE FUCKING HARDEST BREAK YOUR DAMN CONTROLLER MUSIC GAME IN SOME TIME.  Goddamnit.  I spent an hour retrying the stage over and over again.  It's very beatmania difficulty, which is ridiculous for this kind of game.  Maybe it's easier in the full game when you level up and have better equipment.  But like this video:

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

This is pretty close to expert play, he combos the majority of the song perfectly and he still only just barely wins by 2000 points.  CPU cheats so much! 

Annoying because I sort of really enjoyed the rest of the demo 

[magus]

I managed to get MonHunTri for 11 bucks.  I'm not too far in but I got this sort of dread in the back of my mind.  I keep collecting shit and I'm afraid I'm going to open my shit box and see pages and pages of shit and not know what to toss/sell/combine/equip/use.  The tutorial is kinda dragging on, but its not insufferable.  Controls are kinda weird too.  Doesn't help there's a lack of mechanical consistency between the different types of weapons.  Although using the lance class to fast travel as a torpedo underwater =awesome.

I guess I can say I look forward to my next session.

i played the game for like 200 hours,if you have anything to ask,ask away

[Brehvolution]

I didn't know that much  existed. 

[magus]

playing the new professor layton,the actual game is... well the same thing as ever,the plot is actualy a prequel so you get to see an emo luke before he actualy meets professor layton and layton is accompanied by a girl called emmy,which you should know who it is if you played layton 3,this time the plot revolves around a giant mysterious monster which considering the plot of previous layton game has a 75% chance of actualy being a giant robot (i don't know if it is,i'm just guessing,STOP POINTING YOUR SPOILER FINGER AT ME )

some puzzle are pretty bullshitting

spoiler (click to show/hide)

one puzzle ask you to track the shortest road in a maze where you have to take 2 bucket of water with the entrance and the exit being the same,but if you track it starting from the bucket of water it will take it as a wrong answer,why? because apparently the bucket makes you slower even though the puzzle never mentions stuff like weight at all

or here's another one,one of these photo was taken on a different day,can you guess which one and why?

[close]

the bonus mode "london life" is really disappointing,some article promised "A 100 HOURS RPG" i wasn't expecting that much but what i got is an animal crossing clone,you do errands,you get clothes or furniture for your house as a reward and really that's all what the bonus mode is about,clothes affect your stat so for example if you want to enter the casino you have to be fashionable enough to do so and there are jobs to do to earn more money to buy more furniture/clothes but the only job i could find was a juggler one which was just a really really sad minigame

i guess for once europe isn't losing much

[Bebpo]

I didn't know that much  existed. 

Eh, it's not that bad.  I dunno, outside of the "egad this shit is embarrassing to be seen playing" aspect, the game actually plays to a lot of my interests:

-Visual equipment with ridiculous amount of loot/equipment = check
-Stats = check
-Music gaming = check
-Good graphics/production values = check

Dressing up the characters in ridiculous accessories (PAC-MAN GHOST HAND GLOVES omg + Glowing light tron outfits = lolz) and then playing a challenging, though simple, Ouendan beat driven music game and then watching people dance around spouting engrish in goofy outfits with great cell-shaded graphics is sort of appealing    Even the menu interface is super slick like Persona games.  Just feels very polished. 

I played some Gran Turismo 5 before the idolm@ster2 demo and the latter gave a much better impression.

Tempted to import... 

[demi]

So... NFS The Run

I love the idea, but the cars control like molasses... The snow level was way cooler than the boring dirt road. And they didnt even include one of the QTEs.

I might give it a rent...


* Never played Hot Pursuit

[cool breeze]

yeah, driving feels laggy, and the game has screen tearing and other visual oddities.  pretty fun, tho.  I'll buy it in 10 months and not play it like hot pursuit.

new sonic generations demo is fun too

[Bebpo]

It's not Criterion, Bizarre, the Dirt team, or Black Rock Studio so of course it's going to be average.  With Bizarre and BR dead, there's almost no one left who can make an arcade racer anymore

[Mr. Gundam]

I tried the demo for id@lmaster 2 on PS3 and uhhh...it's surprisingly good and full of content. 

HOWEVER, IT'S THE FUCKING HARDEST BREAK YOUR DAMN CONTROLLER MUSIC GAME IN SOME TIME.  Goddamnit.  I spent an hour retrying the stage over and over again.  It's very beatmania difficulty, which is ridiculous for this kind of game.  Maybe it's easier in the full game when you level up and have better equipment.  But like this video:

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

This is pretty close to expert play, he combos the majority of the song perfectly and he still only just barely wins by 2000 points.  CPU cheats so much! 

Annoying because I sort of really enjoyed the rest of the demo 

I considered downloading the demo, but then I realized how stupid that would be.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Goddammit you're gonna make me download this. :fml

[close]

[iconoclast]

Well at least the best arcade racer developer is still around. They're just biding their time.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[close]

[Himu]

Well at least the best arcade racer developer is still around. They're just biding their time.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[close]

[Bebpo]

I tried the demo for id@lmaster 2 on PS3 and uhhh...it's surprisingly good and full of content. 

HOWEVER, IT'S THE FUCKING HARDEST BREAK YOUR DAMN CONTROLLER MUSIC GAME IN SOME TIME.  Goddamnit.  I spent an hour retrying the stage over and over again.  It's very beatmania difficulty, which is ridiculous for this kind of game.  Maybe it's easier in the full game when you level up and have better equipment.  But like this video:

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

This is pretty close to expert play, he combos the majority of the song perfectly and he still only just barely wins by 2000 points.  CPU cheats so much! 

Annoying because I sort of really enjoyed the rest of the demo 

I considered downloading the demo, but then I realized how stupid that would be.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Goddammit you're gonna make me download this. :fml

[close]

I'd recommend the demo to most people, just play in a sound-proof room alone with all shades drawn.

[magus]

you know you can see how they are just trying to keep the layton train going on while it's running out of steam by the small things... each layton games had 3 side puzzle which were different each game but in this one they are almost identical to those of the previous game

- the previous game had a side puzzle where you drove a toy car around by putting directional arrow on a board in place's this one has a game where you drive a toy train by placing tracks on a board

- the previous game had a side puzzle where you placed rope's to move a parrot around,this game has a side puzzle where you place bubbles to move a fish around

- the previous game had a story book where you had to fill some missing words (yes,kinda like mad libs) this one it's the same only this time you fill verbs instead of nouns

[tiesto]

Just started Four Heroes of Light, so far it seems a bit generic and simplistic, but the graphics and music are charming. We'll see... I've heard mostly negative things about the game but figure I'd try for myself.

[cool breeze]

I tried demos for Orcs Must Die and Dungeon Defenders.  Both are action tower defense games.  Orcs Must Die is actually fun because it isn't that tower defense-y (dull).  Dungeon Defenders is really boring solo, but multiplayer is supposed to be make it less dull.

 

[tiesto]

Still chugging along in Trine, I'm at stage 11 or so, and was just going back through prior stages to finish collecting all the experience and treasures. It's a pretty fun game, the physics engine is a bit annoying (I'm not too big a fan of floaty physics in platformers), but it's heaploads better than LBP's physics engine. I wish there were more interesting enemies to fight than skeletons though, and some of the level design is already starting to feel pretty repetitive.

[Bebpo]

Shame.  I thought it was short enough to stay feeling fresh.  I didn't backtrack and do any collecting though.  Just did one run and grabbed what I could.  I didn't mind the physics and actually really enjoyed it for puzzles, but then I also loved LBP to death and don't have a probably with floaty physics in games.

Hopefully the final stage won't turn you off.  It's pretty rough and frustrates a lot of people since the physics aren't 100% perfectly tight.

I tried demos for Orcs Must Die and Dungeon Defenders.  Both are action tower defense games.  Orcs Must Die is actually fun because it isn't that tower defense-y (dull).  Dungeon Defenders is really boring solo, but multiplayer is supposed to be make it less dull.

 

I thought OmD was fun to play, but if the waves get longer and longer I think I'll still get bored.  I never played Sanctum but I'm guessing it plays similar?

[Bebpo]

I'm not playing anything console/pc because I'm in-between trips (got back Saturday night from Seattle, leaving Saturday morning to New York) and I don't want to get to into anything that I can't finish anytime soon.  So Dark Souls has been put away for a week and in November when I have some free time again I'll pick it back up and blow through it in the following weeks.  Might play Uncharted 3 first before going back to it, assuming U3 is fairly short.

Instead I'm just playing TiTS (Trails of the Sky First Chapter) and reading CoK (Clash of Kings) since I can take them with me while I travel.  TiTS is ok.  I like the writing a lot, nice characters, nice music, but it's a little slow and the sidequests drag the pacing down but I still want to do them because they have a lot of nice character development in them.  I hear it's the worst and most dated feeling out of the 5 games in the series so far.  I might start on Layton 4 tomorrow and take it with me since everyone I know is starting to play L4 and I want to be able to discuss the usual wacky Layton storyline along with them.

I think my goal is to finish TiTS FC and Layton 4 by the time I get back from my traveling so I can play FF Type-0 as my handheld game once I get it in my hands at the end of the month.

[Beezy]

TiTS

CoK

[Bebpo]

I was reading up on Idolmaster 2 and it seems like a far more legit, less embarrassing game than the first.

Basically they ditched the "pick a girl and producer her/dating sim with her" and just made it a full fledged Game Dev Story kind of Simulation game.  You pick 3 characters so there's no 1 on 1 dating type stuff, and you're always busy working on cd sales, live performances, etc... the game even has fairly complex math (for a game) for keeping your band popular and selling well.

Number of sales = ((((Spending power / 2)+High Score X 4) then round down the decimals) X Sales Bonus X Sales Coefficient) round down the decimals again).
Spending Power: In every area, multiply the Number of Fans with Awareness level (the smiley). For Awareness, pink=0.95, orange=0.90, green=0.85, blue=0.80

High Score: the song's high score.

Sales Bonus: From the 2nd released single onwards, this increases. 2nd=1.05, 3rd=1.10, 4th=1.15, 5th=1.20

Sales Coefficient: Every week after release, the total sales for that week will drop. So Sales Coefficient = (1-(number of weeks released - number of weeks with Keep status)x0.25).

**********

To simply things, basically what I always remember in my head while playing is that:

Sales for that week = more or less the total number of fans you have X Sales coefficient
Sales coefficient= if you did not manage to achieve a Keep, 1st week of release = 1.00, 2nd=0.75, 3rd=0.50, 4th=0.25, 5th week sales will completely stop)
High Score and the other stuff you don't really have to worry because you really can't do much about it to begin with.

So generally after I announce a new single, here's what I do:
-For 4 weeks before the song releases, accumulate as many fans as possible, and maybe do a National Audition the week it releases/the week before it releases to get all your Awareness levels as high as possible. During this time I'd also try for a best possible High Score (so don't go for Fes).

-After the song is released, for the next 3 or 4 weeks, keep going for Live so as to try and achieve a Keep. Note: Quintet Live is not applicable when trying for a Keep.

-When sales are coming to a halt, or if it doesn't seem profitable for you to try for a Keep anymore (i.e. you noticed that sales this week is only about 1/4 of the song's sales in the initial week - this is something you have to manually keep tab as the game only tracks total sales), start preparing for the next song by gathering more fans, accumulating war funds, going for lesson+promotion to up your stats AND Memory Appeals (very important), or try for one of the alternative strategies like Break (chances of it happening is higher the later it is in the game, according to President Takagi's email) or Revival.

It also is apparently very hard and everyone fails badly on their first few playthroughs, but you learn and get better at the sim aspect and the rhythm game and start doing well.

Seems like a neat quirky sim game if the concept of producing Japanese idols sounds appealing.  Going to pick it up now that it's on a region free system and try it out myself since the demo was good.  Even Victor Ireland likes the game!

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

am I batshit crazy, or is the demo for Real Steal actually pretty good?  I mean, I know Yukes is a competent combat game developer, but why is this shit so much fun?

somebody stop me before I buy a licensed game.

[chronovore]

I played it, it was OK. Apparently some people are unhappy with the DLC scheme, which is tied to customization. Whatever; it was pretty and the combat was fun. The director is an ex-AKI dev.

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

I played it, it was OK. Apparently some people are unhappy with the DLC scheme, which is tied to customization. Whatever; it was pretty and the combat was fun.

urge to buy, falling.

The director is an ex-AKI dev.

I was just wondering whatever happened to AKI, I guess they've split up and such, right?

[chronovore]

The wikipedia entry says AKI changed their name to "syn Sophia" and have been focused mainly on Japan-only games.
edit: beaten by Oscar the Grouch!

AKI did the Def Jam Vendetta 1&2, though apparently DJ:V 2 was almost all EA mothership controlled, and art-directed, with just programming and most planning being handled by AKI. Several AKI devs went to Yuke's in the Gamecube era to make that system's WWF games as close as possible to the N64-era greatness of No Mercy and WrestleMania 2000.

If you've never tried the gamecube WWF games, you might take a look. There's some solid gameplay in them.

And don't let me turn you off from Real Steel; the game will likely need every sale it can get.

[Bebpo]

nah.  AKI just changed their name to syn Sophia.  Right now they're handling two series: Girls Mode/Style Savvy DS/3DS, and Ryu ga Gotoku Kurohyou PSP.

The more face to face brutal combat in this game makes more sense now.

[magus]

oh for fucking sake

spoiler about professor layton and the last specter

spoiler (click to show/hide)

turns out the specter is really a giant robot

[close]

[Great Rumbler]

Japan

[Mr. Gundam]

oh for fucking sake

spoiler about professor layton and the last specter

spoiler (click to show/hide)

turns out the specter is really a giant robot

[close]

YEAH!!!

[Joe Molotov]

Started playing Tomb Raider: Legend. I just beat Japan and then got all the medals in the Croft Manor. Croft Manor is pretty awesome, just platforming and puzzle solving without any of the lame combat.

[magus]

whelp i finished professor layton,the puzzles are decent... some require some math,some have trick answer,some are worded in a very confusing manner,some are easy,some are hard... there is a nice variety to it,the background art and the music are really good too

it's the plot that's really stupid,most of it happens pretty late in the game and the game just seems to pull it off his ass and it all plays like a kid cartoons

i'm going to spoil the ending here,DO NOT OPEN IF YOU CARE ABOUT THE PLOT

spoiler (click to show/hide)

as i said it turns out the giant mystery monster is actualy a robot which is piloted by an EVIIIIIILLLLLLL masked man who's searching for some mcguffin,but it turns out a giant seal befriended by a sick little girl was trying to stop him which is what was causing the destruction of the town in the first place,i'm not sure how anybody can miss a giant seal fighting a giant robot but the whole big plot twist of the game hinges on the fact that nobody noticed a giant seal fighting a giant robot

in the end layton,with the help of the giant seal and the sick little girl defeated the mysterious EVIIIIIIILLLLL masked man and his giant robot and find the mcguffin,which just turns out to be an uncontaminated  garden,what was the villain going to do with a garden? i guess maybe raise some EVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLL flowers or something

the garden can apparently cure the sick little girl,but oh no! it turns out the fight with the giant robot weakened the giant seal who ends up dead,cue bittersweet ending! :'(

[close]

now i understand that the previous layton game were not exactly classic literature but they were going somewhere with their insane plot twist,sure they had to jump the shark (especialy layton 2) but at least in the end you had a pretty weird story,this one instead play like something that someone tought on the spot

buuuuuuuut anyway since i'm done with layton and i don't feel like playing anything else,i'm doing some retrogaming so i fired up super mario world which i love love love love,i finished the game once but i never cleared every level and it was so long ago i forgot most of the game

there is this level with a secret exit which leads to a secret level which has a FAKE secret exit to hide the fact that there is another secret exit and it's just like... woah....
oh and you know i never realized the color of the dots indicate if the level has a secondary exit or not,someone just made me notice that now

[demi]

Started playing Tomb Raider: Legend. I just beat Japan and then got all the medals in the Croft Manor. Croft Manor is pretty awesome, just platforming and puzzle solving without any of the lame combat.

Your first time?

Legend's ending is a classic, very powerful