Author Topic: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)  (Read 10399 times)

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Eel O'Brian

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direct download:  http://media.libsyn.com/media/borecast/Borecast27.mp3

Doug and Kevin welcome back special guest Robert (Fragamemnon) to talk about Holiday hardware & software, do a PC RPG roundup, and alienate fans of the largest-launching game in history! 

SEGMENT ONE:  HOLIDAY HARDWARE/SOFTWARE

We clue you in on the few good console/PC gaming deals out there for Black Friday, and tell you what to avoid (or at least be aware of).  Doug talks a little about the HP Mini 311 ION netbook, and gives some tips on using all your gift cards to assemble a reasonably priced gaming PC. 

SEGMENT TWO:  PC RPG ROUNDUP, PLAYLIST

(46:00)  Left 4 Dead 2, and a sidetrack into Borderlands

(59:20)  Assassin's Creed 2

(1:07:30)  King's Bounty:  Armored Princess

(1:18:00)  Gyromancer

(1:19:30)  Adventures to Go! (PSP)

(1:22:10)  Dragon Age

(1:50:25)  Risen

(1:57:45) Divine Divinity 2

(2:00:00)  Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood

SEGMENT THREE:  POSTMODERN WARFARE

(2:07:10)  Here's your warning:  If you're a huge fan of Modern Warfare 2, or you don't want to be spoiled, then you should probably just pretend the show ends here.  We come not to praise Captain Price, but to bury him.

We'll talk to you again on December 9th!
sup

Eel O'Brian

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #2 on: November 24, 2009, 02:20:25 PM »
Glad to see that you are back Eel.  I'll listen to this later today, probably.

Brehvolution

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #3 on: November 24, 2009, 02:21:28 PM »
:bow Eel
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Kestastrophe

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #4 on: November 24, 2009, 03:32:42 PM »
Oh cool, I wanted to hear what you guys thought of Risen. The demo was pretty cool
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tehjaybo

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #5 on: November 24, 2009, 03:36:04 PM »
I love jiggabytes.
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The Fake Shemp

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #6 on: November 24, 2009, 03:36:15 PM »
Eel! :rock
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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #7 on: November 24, 2009, 03:41:28 PM »
Make sure you get the right version of Risen:

PC version of Risen - 78% at Gamerankings
Xbox360 version of Risen - 57% at Gamerankings
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Herr Mafflard

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #8 on: November 24, 2009, 04:16:39 PM »
Will listen tomorrow.

I'm halfway through MW2's campaign, and yeah, it already feels like a chore. I have really no interest in the multiplayer at this point. Tied with FEAR2 for my most unsatisfactory shooter this gen.


Dragon Age and L4D2, tho :rock

Joe Molotov

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #9 on: November 24, 2009, 04:19:30 PM »
PC :rock
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Himu

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #10 on: November 24, 2009, 04:20:38 PM »
I tried the demo of Risen and couldn't get into it because of the combat.
IYKYK

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #11 on: November 24, 2009, 05:10:56 PM »
It doesn't sound like the ION is going to be able to handle World of Warcraft, or anything remotely recent...

Fragamemnon

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #12 on: November 24, 2009, 05:34:30 PM »
It doesn't sound like the ION is going to be able to handle World of Warcraft, or anything remotely recent...

At this point the ION netbooks are hobbled by the crappy Atom processors. I think they can run WoW though, just not very well, and my understanding is that performance is gated by CPU not GPU on the ION machines,
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Van Cruncheon

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #13 on: November 24, 2009, 06:10:46 PM »
i have wow running on medium settings, native res, win7, at 20-30 fps on my 311.
duc

Bildi

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #14 on: November 24, 2009, 06:11:37 PM »
Looks good, downloading.

Olivia Wilde Homo

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #15 on: November 25, 2009, 07:56:56 AM »
Wow, almost three hours
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Human Snorenado

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #16 on: November 25, 2009, 08:00:25 AM »
:lol

I think you guys talked about MW2 single player more than the majority of the people who bought the game played it.

Other than that, top notch podcast that makes me sort of not want to burn my laptop.
yar

Human Snorenado

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #17 on: November 25, 2009, 08:06:06 AM »
Also, I totally have to pat myself on the back for calling that Dragon Age would be a top tier release and GOTY contender back when everyone was mercilessly mocking the Marilyn Manson trailers and dumb shit Bioware was doing to promote it.  No! said I.  I would keep the faith, and verily was I rewarded with the best fantasy rpg this gen so far.  I totally understand (but don't sympathize with) Doug's sort of exasperation with high fantasy settings, but that sort of thing is what tickles my nerd prostate like nothing else, so for me it's like a bonus. 
yar

muckhole

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #18 on: November 25, 2009, 10:23:17 AM »
I enjoyed this one more than I expected, not really being much of a pc gamer. My only criticism is that Eel really seemed to vanish through during the whole middle segment of the podcast, only coming back in when MW2 came up at the end. May have just been my imagination, but it sort of detracted from the whole "round table" aspect.

Or maybe I'm just in love with the sound of Eel's voice.
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Van Cruncheon

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #19 on: November 25, 2009, 01:27:10 PM »
i actually noticed that DURING the podcast. :'( that said, we were goin' on about tech shit, and he tends to let us yammer about that. you'll note that i shut up during comic or movie discussions.
duc

Eel O'Brian

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #20 on: November 25, 2009, 01:43:18 PM »
Well, I did leave to go to the bathroom for about ten minutes, haha.  I just hadn't played any of the games they were talking about, except for Dragon Age (and I've only played a little of that).  I'll have more to say on the upcoming strategy games podcast when Frag returns.
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Herr Mafflard

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #21 on: November 25, 2009, 04:17:29 PM »
Frag, I'm looking forward to playing Divinity 2.

Interestingly, Eurogamer reviewed it and scored it 6/10. The text of the review implied that it was quite a good game, though with some major bugs.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/divinity-ii-ego-draconis-review?page=1

However, in the comments section, the reviewer posted this:

Quote
The bugs definitely bring it down a mark, but I have to judge a product as I see it, not on its potential post-patch. Bottom line: this is a 6 for most people, perhaps an 8 for a very patient RPG enthusiast.


Now, don't get me wrong but I was under the impression that anyone who was remotely interested in buying this product must have a little of the rpg enthusiast in him. You can make a case for Dragon Age getting this treatment from reviewers because it got tons of PR. But I don't think the mainstream are even aware that Divinity II exists.

Or is the reviewer compensating for the casual console gamer. If so, why? If the game is good enough for the experienced rpg gamer, then surely it should be good enough for everyone else? This objectifying of review scores are really getting on my nerves. If you think a game is 8/10, then for God's sake, give it an 8/10.

Apparently there is also a patch in the works, ironing most of the bugs out.

Fragamemnon

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #22 on: November 25, 2009, 06:34:50 PM »
Eurogamer has a hard time with WRPGs, it seems. I thought their Dragon Age and Risen reviews were both pretty bad.
hex

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #23 on: November 25, 2009, 06:42:48 PM »
Since everyone seems to know something about laptop gaming -- what is the word on the nVidia 9300M mobile chip?  I wouldn't mind getting a Mac Mini, and that's pretty much the only graphics option for them.

Eel O'Brian

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #24 on: November 25, 2009, 06:50:03 PM »
here's a pretty thorough rundown from notebookcheck, with tested games and such:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-9300M-GS.9452.0.html
sup

Van Cruncheon

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #25 on: November 25, 2009, 11:05:20 PM »
here's a pretty thorough rundown from notebookcheck, with tested games and such:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-9300M-GS.9452.0.html

those tests were run with a 2.0 GHz core 2 duo, not a 1.6 ghz atom :'(
duc

Van Cruncheon

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #26 on: November 25, 2009, 11:11:29 PM »
oh, yer talkin about the mac mini, not the ion

i blame this jug of carlo rossi burgundy, ignore me

burgundy should be in quotes, by the way
duc

Fragamemnon

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #27 on: November 25, 2009, 11:28:39 PM »
god this $320 hp 311 is staring me in the face (hp site+20% Bing Cashback). I don't know how long I will resist it siren's call of greater resolution and non-crappy IGP.

Though Atom is still totally  ::) at this point.
hex

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #28 on: November 26, 2009, 12:04:41 AM »
Yeah, what would be the point. I was honestly interested in one, but then I realized it's significantly less powerful than my current laptop:

17" HP with AMD Turion X2 64-bit 2.0Ghz, 4GB RAM and ATi 3200 IGP. I wish I could get this performance in a smaller form, but I guess we're a long ways off. I could sell this book for a little under $400, but it'd cost me about the same to buy a netbook that was significantly less powerful. :-\
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Olivia Wilde Homo

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #29 on: November 26, 2009, 01:35:44 PM »
Well...I finally got through the podcast.

After Segment Three, I'm kind of done with the podcast.  Oh well.
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Human Snorenado

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #30 on: November 26, 2009, 01:44:10 PM »
Segment Three was a great big ol' bitterfest, but I still find the podcast amusing enough to listen to.
yar

Van Cruncheon

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #31 on: November 26, 2009, 03:18:48 PM »
send us a note defending modern warfare 2's campaign -- IF YOU CAN
duc

Eel O'Brian

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #32 on: November 26, 2009, 05:06:57 PM »
Bitterfest?  Give me a fucking break.  It's a stupid game, and we ragged on it...for being a stupid game.  Selling umpteen-jillion copies makes it no less of a stupid game.  Would it be a bitterfest if we spent a half hour ragging on some stupid loli RPG?   

Quote
I'm sort of the instigator for the MW2 discussion. I kept getting angrier while playing through the SP campaign, asking myself "Do they think I'm too stupid to notice the goatse-wide plot holes and inconsistencies here?" The COD series has its silly moments, but has always managed to keep one foot in reality. This one tossed reality out the window, along with a great deal of logic and believability. I just felt like I was either being made fun of or condescended towards, and by the end I'm surprised the stinkeye I was giving it wasn't permanently affixed to my face.

And I couldn't, for the life of me, understand why this storyline was either being outright praised or at the very least being given a free pass, regardless of the multiplayer quality. As I said on the show, had it been any other game by any other developer the SP would have been shit on from all directions. It's an ugly game, cynical and manipulative in the worst ways possible, and it didn't even have the backbone to stand behind its own self-created controversy.


We gave you ample warning.  You didn't have to listen.  You could have just skipped it.  If you're offended by our controversial discussion, it's your own fault.
spoiler (click to show/hide)
/Infinity Ward
[close]
sup

Fresh Prince

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #33 on: November 26, 2009, 05:15:29 PM »
Had a spark when you started
but now you're just garbage.
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Eel O'Brian

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #34 on: November 26, 2009, 05:20:01 PM »
Coming from you, I'll take that as a sign we're headed in the right direction.
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Fresh Prince

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #35 on: November 26, 2009, 05:34:14 PM »
Touch-ay.
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Human Snorenado

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #36 on: November 26, 2009, 06:43:21 PM »
send us a note defending modern warfare 2's campaign -- IF YOU CAN

That's the thing (well besides the fact that I haven't bought it cause I'm not a fps nut and didn't play the first one) though- I don't think that most people are playing it and saying OH WOWSERS AWESOME SINGLE PLAYER CAMPAIGN DUDERZ.  I mean sure there's definitely some bros out there (and probably some mutants like demi) who probably lapped up that absurd shit, but to the best of my knowledge probably 9/10 of the appeal of the game is the multi-player, which is by all accounts not just good but really fun.

I mean, Eel and Frag bitched out the game for the same shit that I bitch out Nintendo for all the time- not living up to your capabilities yet still selling a bajillion copies to dumb mainstreamers, which is FINE.  I get that.  But honestly, I don't think a short, badly written main campaign (with apparently just ONE major intelligence insulting choice in there- again haven't played it myself) is the main reason they're so pissed off- it's the server thing and the fact that it sold a bajillion copies despite being kind of dumb.  I definitely got a "let's come down from our pc ivory tower to make fun of the plebians daring to have FUN with their game that we don't approve of" vibe off that whole segment- which again I say is FINE, since I readily acknowledge that pettiness and spite are admirable qualities in a good hate fest, but DAMN.  I don't think I made this much fun of ICO, and I ragged the shit out of ICO.

tl;dr:  I think you guys tried to justify your hatred of the game for other reasons.  Apparently the multi is the main draw and your entire rant was on the single player campaign other than Eel complaining about the screen being "too busy" or something. 

Really I'm just worried about you guys.  All that hate could be used for better purposes, like making fun of the PSP Go or somethin- OH SHIT WAIT
yar

Olivia Wilde Homo

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #37 on: November 26, 2009, 06:49:42 PM »
send us a note defending modern warfare 2's campaign -- IF YOU CAN

That isn't the issue -- the issue is the obnoxious hatefuck.

It's a lot of generic complaints shoehorned into a game you're forcing yourself to hate.  You could apply those these kinds of insults to any game of your liking:

"Jesus Christ, another fucking ice level.  It's like they designed this shit for children.  I mean, it's so easy to find the fireball power up that it is almost demeaning to the player.  I guess they need to make it simple for the first graders."

"I concur and I mean what the fuck was up with the previous level.  "The princess is in another castle?"  Why do they say that every time.  God, they're so fucking lazy!  They're directly insulting us!"

I listened to the whole thing for the sole purpose of thinking this was all some elaborate punking but then you guys imitated the corny dialogue.  A video game with cheesy dialogue?  Well, fuck me!

The rest of the podcast was great and I was interested in the technical discussions but man, segment three was terrible.  I don't even intend to get Modern Warfare 2 but ugh...

Edit: Triumph nailed it.
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demi

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #38 on: November 26, 2009, 07:04:40 PM »
MW2 :bow

SpecOps :bow

Multi that's easily revisited can't wait for COD7 :bow
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Eel O'Brian

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #39 on: November 26, 2009, 07:19:11 PM »
I admittedly think P2P matchmaking (as the only MP option) for PC games is distinguished mentally-challenged, but that's a broad hatred not solely reserved for MW2 (other than the terribad precedent it sets for others, I really don't give a shit about MW2 using it because I never intended to buy it).

The MP being too "busy" with too much crap popping all over the screen is just a personal preference.  I haven't been much of a COD MP fan for a while now (even COD W@W, which I enjoyed, got little play other than the Nazi Zombies mode).  I can see where others like it, but it just isn't my thing, and I don't feel comfortable criticizing that.

We ragged on the single player for being stupid and aiming at the LCD because no one else was doing it.  They are, in fact, praising the hell out of it where they would savage any other game with an equally stupid plot, which to me is akin to praising the writing on Full House while calling Facts of Life dumbed-down.  And, after thinking about it, I don't think it's a troll.  Watch the end credits (I forgot to mention this on the show) - they're set in a museum, with "exhibits" of scenes from the game which then come to life as the awestruck patrons gaze at the herculean feats on display.  I read that as them taking all this overblown crap seriously.  Ugh.  Yeah, I hate it.  It treats the player like an idiot.  I feel totally comfortable criticizing that.

Again, since it seems to have gone willfully ignored here - we've spent quite a bit of time poking fun at other games in the past and received nothing but lulz in response, so I'm at a loss as to why this particular one seems to have poked a sensitive sore spot.

I also said I enjoyed playing a couple of the levels (the Oil Rig scene,for one), and Robert did praise Spec Ops, but that's also been ignored here.
sup

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #40 on: November 26, 2009, 07:31:15 PM »
YOU JUST LOST A LISTENER

Eel O'Brian

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #41 on: November 26, 2009, 07:35:11 PM »
Wait a minute.  I just realized I've been wasting my time defending myself to a board full of people who boil their criticisms of overhyped games down to "shit game" or "lol Sony/Nintendo/MS" or by posting bad screenshots.

Pffffffffffffffffffffffft.  Y'all can all kiss my ass  :lol
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demi

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #42 on: November 26, 2009, 07:36:14 PM »
That's not true bro. MW2 is amazing.
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Fresh Prince

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #43 on: November 26, 2009, 07:39:24 PM »
MW2 knows it's customers, Eel does not :smug
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EmCeeGrammar

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #44 on: November 26, 2009, 08:01:35 PM »
Wow, I usually think you guys are pretty chill but... damn that was like the nerdiest circle jerk I have ever witnessed
 :-X
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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #45 on: November 26, 2009, 08:03:05 PM »
Eel is just telling it like it is. Some people just can't handle the truth, I guess. :smug
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demi

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #46 on: November 26, 2009, 08:06:20 PM »
Some people just can't handle the truth, I guess. :smug

So... that explains why they were flailing their arms? :lol

It has been well established MW2 is amazing.
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Eel O'Brian

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #47 on: November 26, 2009, 08:06:52 PM »
you didn't even listen, don't lie
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EmCeeGrammar

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #48 on: November 26, 2009, 08:11:13 PM »
I just realised Demi is only trolling because that was the reason cited for Eel not posting on the bore for awhile.
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Eel O'Brian

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #49 on: November 26, 2009, 08:19:55 PM »
that was incorrect reasoning, he can be as much of an ass as he wants

no drama to be found there, no specific person or thing, just a general internet malaise along with other things to do

i'm still on half-hiatus, prole was out of town so i posted this week, and i have some free time right now

why is it such a big deal when people quietly take a break from the internet, anyway
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EmCeeGrammar

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #50 on: November 26, 2009, 08:30:01 PM »
It isn't,
I'm posting for kicks right now.
 CLICK CLICK

EDIT:  I just remember prole said something like" Eel needs a break from the trolls" and Demi is doing his thang on cue.
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Fragamemnon

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #51 on: November 27, 2009, 12:12:52 AM »
Just to follow-up on Triumph's post a bit-especially that ivory tower part. I'm not sure that's its really possible for me to talk about a game like MW2 in any other way-my gaming tastes veer far from games like that for the most part. I had played COD/COD2 a long time ago and I remember the single player there as being straightforward action games with a emphasis on the chaos of battle put to the setting of some very famous WW2 skirmishes and battles. I also remember that those games-at times-felt like they were really trying to be evocative of the history in them and respected them for it, even though I did always think that the games were a bit simple in terms of mechanics. I know Kevin feels sort of the same way-the historicity of COD, no matter how shallow, did actually mean something. Only on occasion did the game veer into the ridiculous/implausible.

MW2 pretty much wallowed in absurdity in comparison. I'm the kind of dude that thinks of conflict and war in terms of logistical challenges and problems, and in that light MW2's SP is even more ridiculous. I'm willing to look over something that is just stretching the bounds of plausibility so that the game can actually be a techno-thriller action game with an easy to follow plot (norms for the medium), but the end result was an jumbled, confused, loud and obnoxious mess.

I'll also say this-two things grate me to no end when they are in a game. The first is a game that's willfully, intentionally stupid, because gamers are generally pretty smart people who are capable of handling nuance and complexity while playing, and second, games that don't know their place. If MW2 had you in a squad with Captain America fighting giant Russian attack bears with intentional use of B-movie style tropes and a cheeseball script, I would have praised it. Instead I felt that they tried to make the campaign into something that it clearly wasn't. So yeah, it sort of did strike a nerve while playing for me.

The PC matchmaking part didn't bother me all that much-it's basically just a bullshit cash grab by IW/Activision to sell DLC by putting bigger penalties on players who don't shell out for maps-but my criticism with the game (and it is limited to the SP, the multiplayer is good (but not my cup of tea), and specops is a thumbs up too) was with that campaign.
hex

Human Snorenado

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #52 on: November 27, 2009, 12:22:21 AM »
I haven't played the single player campaign yet (and don't know if I'll get around to it, especially after your description of it- dumbness and heavy handedness aren't my cup of tea either) but just answer this question:  plot/script worse than Kojima's crap or not?  Cause it's sounding very MGSish, which is probably one of my least favorite game series of all time.  STFU AND LET ME SNEAK AROUND AND KILL SHIT, ASSHOLES!
yar

Fragamemnon

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #53 on: November 27, 2009, 12:33:33 AM »
Quote
plot/script worse than Kojima's crap or not

Every bit as bad as the first two hours of MGS2, which is the limit of my exposure to the series (returned that game the same day I bought it back when you could do so at EB). For me it was for the same reason too-the events going on in both games clearly don't match the sort of tone and aesthetic the game is trying to make (i.e., doesn't know its place). I made the MW2->Kojima nuttery connection in my brain pretty quickly.

hex

Human Snorenado

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #54 on: November 27, 2009, 12:36:31 AM »
Oh holy shit.  First of all, the single player campaign must suuuuuck.  Second of all, you actually played the least offensively bad section of MGS2.  If you had gotten any farther, your brain probably would have 'asploded from all of the rampant idiocy and forced "storytelling" crap.
yar

The Fake Shemp

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #55 on: November 27, 2009, 12:41:57 AM »
Modern Warfare 2 is pretty awesome. Eel and Prole can say what they want, who cares? All in good fun.

The story for MW2 single player is quite stupid, but the game is briskly paced and pretty entertaining. I really can't say it sucked. It is up to Kojima levels of ridiculousness, but - really - who cares? There's no cutscenes, so it's not really a big deal. The biggest problem with MGS is the non-gameplay which puts emphasis on a stupid, stupid story. That's not the case here.
PSP

Fragamemnon

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #56 on: November 27, 2009, 12:45:40 AM »
Honestly, if you just skipped all the cutscenes and looped "America, Fuck Yeah" in the background it might be passable, think of it like a bad national guard recruitment video. Except for the airport level, though you can skip that cynical pile of crap entirely. Doing that would have put the right theatric backdrop for the the game's locales and in-game events.

Quote
The biggest problem with MGS is the non-gameplay which puts emphasis on a stupid, stupid story. That's not the case here.

Very, very true.
hex

Eel O'Brian

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #57 on: November 27, 2009, 07:13:24 AM »

I'll also say this-two things grate me to no end when they are in a game. The first is a game that's willfully, intentionally stupid, because gamers are generally pretty smart people who are capable of handling nuance and complexity while playing, and second, games that don't know their place. If MW2 had you in a squad with Captain America fighting giant Russian attack bears with intentional use of B-movie style tropes and a cheeseball script, I would have praised it. Instead I felt that they tried to make the campaign into something that it clearly wasn't. So yeah, it sort of did strike a nerve while playing for me.

That's why I'm one of the (very) few Darkest of Days defenders.  That game knows it's stupid and a little bit busted, and knows that you know it's stupid and a little bit busted, so it winks at you and says "All right, Champ, this is what you came for.  Here's a shoulder-mounted laser-guided artillery cannon.  Go fuck up that entire battlefield of WWI dudes."
sup

Van Cruncheon

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #58 on: November 27, 2009, 01:09:51 PM »
what's wrong with a little good old fashioned hate, anyhow?

then again, i'm a person who only wants to read reviews hating on things, even things i like. i can't stand circle jerks of positivity!
duc

Rman

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Re: Borecast 27: A Piece of Yourself (with special guest Fragamemnon!)
« Reply #59 on: November 27, 2009, 02:25:49 PM »
I really enjoyed this episode.