Backlogg'n Summer 2013, Day 10: Rise of the... where's my barf bucket???

[Human Snorenado]

So, as I mentioned on the last Cruncheons (which you should really listen to, it's probably one of our best episodes to date) I'm gonna try to burn through as much of my backlog as humanly possible before Fall Semester starts on August 14th.  I had intended to start on Monday, but ended up picking up a work shift that night, so I haven't reeeeeeaaally started in earnest yet.

I had intended to play 6-8 hours of one randomly chosen game each day, and I had also intended to ignore that "randomly chosen" thing and start off with The Last of Us and finish it off before I mailed it off to whoever wins the contest mentioned in Cruncheons 47.  I'm having a problem, though- I can't really get into The Last of Us.  I can play it in 1-2 hour long spurts, but then I just get bored with it.  It's really pretty to look at, and I guess there's a cool story or whatever, but I'm not feeling it.  Combat is kind of shitty other than stealth takedowns (and I guess killing clickers with molotovs is funny) but ugggggh combat is poo.  I'm just to the point where I got out of the quarantine zone with Ellie- does the game get better?  I like walking around the blighted apocalyptic hellscape, but I can do that in Fallout 3 GOTY and have fun with it.

So, anyway- this will serve as a daily sort of diary for everything I'm doing in this dumb quest to make a dent in my backlog.  I'm going to give The Last of Us a couple more days- I'm off work Thu/Fri so I plan on really trying to make a dent in it.  I may have to abandon my plan and just bounce back and forth between shit if I'm really this ADD-spergtastic and can't have a nice long session with one game at a time.

Starting Saturday if not earlier, I plan on picking shit at random from an excel file to focus on each day.  Here's what I've currently got in the list:

Red Dead Redemption
Uncharted 2
Trine 2
Dead Island
Fallout: New Vegas
Dishonored
Witcher 2
Bully
Valkyria Chronicles
Sleeping Dogs
Analogue: A Hate Story (Van Cruncheon special)

Some of those games I've played before, if just for a little bit, but I haven't made substantial progress in any of them and haven't beaten a single one.  My hope is that by the end of this experiment I'll be ready to swear off videogames completely!

[Stoney Mason]

does the game get better? 

Storywise and character wise Yes. Mechanically and game design wise no.

[Bebpo]

C'mon Stoney, the gameplay in the first 25% has nothing on the gameplay from that point on.  Yes you still sneak around past enemies and shoot/punch things and move ladders, but the level design and gameplay and combat variety is great after that point.

Gameplay-wise, I was fairly down on the game (as in, it was an 8/10 I don't get the big deal experience) until it hit 25% completion part around 5 hours in.  Loved everything after that.

[Human Snorenado]

 

[Stoney Mason]

C'mon Stoney, the gameplay in the first 25% has nothing on the gameplay from that point on.  Yes you still sneak around past enemies and shoot/punch things and move ladders, but the level design and gameplay and combat variety is great after that point.

Gameplay-wise, I was fairly down on the game (as in, it was an 8/10 I don't get the big deal experience) until it hit 25% completion part around 5 hours in.  Loved everything after that.

I'm gonna disagree but everybody has different opinions. As I said though in some other threads playing Resident Evil 4 made me look at the game in a worse context than when I originally played it although I still had many of the same issues when I originally beat it.  At a certain point I stopped stealthing and just started shooting people because it was the path of least resistance and I was bored of the gameplay stuff. And at a certain later point I just was completely tired of the stealth and the shooting and was only playing to see the next story bit or cutscene.

The only really fun parts of the game for me were the parts where you walked around with these characters in a menacing empty world and hearing about the world and the characters. In other words the parts that were kind of like playing the Walking Dead.

It's a game that wants to be so serious and gritty with its story and atmosphere (and succeeds at it) but its at the cost of what traditionally makes a good video game. Variety, Increasing empowerment, monster variety, game rewards, etc.

[magus]

analogue a hate story is like a 2 hour long game,might as well start with that

[Steve Contra]

You've never played New Vegas?

[Human Snorenado]

Played about five hours, got distracted, never went back to it.

[Steve Contra]

You should be ashamed of yourself.

[Human Snorenado]

Obsidian should make better games

[Positive Touch]

no no triumph; you did good. you did real good.

[Steve Contra]

Obsidian should make better games

[Stoney Mason]

Lots of people who I really respect dug Fallout New Vegas but I can't count myself among that group. I'm glad I played it but that game had a lot of stuff that bugged me about it, especially the ending.

Of Triumph's list Red Dead, Uncharted 2, Sleeping Dogs, and Bully were all great stuff.

I haven't played Dishonored, Witcher 2, & Valkyria Chronicles.

Trine 2 is more fun in co-op. And Dead Island is a mixed bag.

[Himu]

I like the idea of NV, and the atmosphere is fantastic, but the map is ATROCIOUS.

[Smooth Groove]

Gameplay in Last of Us gets better if you keep upgrading your combat abilities and weapons

There's much less combat for a few hours after you leave Pittsburgh

The action starts heating up again in Fall but level design is more open-ended and you get to use Ellie, which is a nice change of pace

Sadly, the last level forces you to play a certain way once again and you'll need lots of time and patience to clear a very tiny section

[cool breeze]

I barely remember how New Vegas ended, but I have overwhelmingly fond memories of everything from hour 2 to hour 70-some.  tbh I don't think any of Bethesda's games or games like it have a solid ending.  The meat of the games are how you lived your virtual life (by neglecting your real one) and not so much the critical path.  The ideal ending to any of them would be getting shot in the back by some nobody, left to die in some ditch, and then the slideshow ending acts as your life flashing before your eyes.  Something unremarkable like that.

C'mon Stoney, the gameplay in the first 25% has nothing on the gameplay from that point on.  Yes you still sneak around past enemies and shoot/punch things and move ladders, but the level design and gameplay and combat variety is great after that point.

Gameplay-wise, I was fairly down on the game (as in, it was an 8/10 I don't get the big deal experience) until it hit 25% completion part around 5 hours in.  Loved everything after that.

totally agree as I had the same experience.  also feel that it might be the type of game where you get more the more you put into it.  arguably a failure that it doesn't force you to play a certain way, but listening to people who're over the moon about it describe the gameplay doesn't entirely resonate with me and how I played.  on the other end, I can see why people are down on it, although it's easy to fall into the trap of letting yourself care too much about it in a "that's it?" sort of way.  I think I'm like that with RAGE...a bit insecure about disliking it when everyone seems up on it.

and but and and 5 hours of so-so game before it ramps up is still 5 hours.  that can be off putting.

[Steve Contra]

Man New Vegas was fucking awesome.  Anyone who liked FO3 more is a bad person.

[tiesto]

Play Valkyria Chronicles.

[fistfulofmetal]

Drop everything and play Witcher 2

[Human Snorenado]

I'm gonna play everything on that list at least a little bit.

I'd say that anything I don't finish in one sitting I'll play more of soon, but the simple fact is that school starts back up, then SRIV and the Bureau both come out.  Then, you know, I may have also preordered the PS3 version of Diablo 3, because I have a problem.

[CajoleJuice]

I still feel like the only person in the world who didn't love Red Dead.

[Positive Touch]

me too brother. played for 5-6 hours and just wasnt feeling it.

[Raban]

Red Dead

[Human Snorenado]

So, the game gets more fun when you get to the town.

-more varied environments, sorta!
-Bill is a bro!
-shotgun!

[fistfulofmetal]

Thinking I may find my Wii and hook it up to play Metroid Prime 3

[Bebpo]

So, the game gets more fun when you get to the town.

-more varied environments, sorta!
-Bill is a bro!
-shotgun!

Yeah, that exactly when it starts getting fun.

[Human Snorenado]

I like killing infected/clickers more than dudes with guns.  Dudes with guns can attack me from a range!

Ellie also is dumb:

*Joel kills the 100th person he's killed in front of her*

"Damn Joel!"

Whatever.  If they didn't want to be set on fire with a molotov cocktail, maybe they shouldn't have tried to kill me!

Also, too:  Bill and Frank were totes gay for each other.

[chronovore]

Obsidian should make better games

One of the designers was at the last place I worked. He said it was a very short turnaround project, and the budget was shoestring... More like a ratty shoestring which had already been used in a different pair of shoes.

[Human Snorenado]

Hey! I met new people! 

They're black, so nothing bad could possibly happen to them in the near future in this post-apocalyptic shithole version of Pittsburgh, right?

[Human Snorenado]

HENRY BETRAYED ME

PD EXPLAIN

[Cerveza mas fina]

  Then, you know, I may have also preordered the PS3 version of Diablo 3, because I have a problem.

Why would you want to play it on PS3 too?

[archnemesis]

Having direct control of your character might make the game more fun. Hack-and-slash games like Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance are great despite having poor loot systems and limited skill customization. If I wanted to play it myself, I would wait for the PS4 version.

[Human Snorenado]

re: D3 on console- I'm interested in seeing how it translates over.  One of the biggest things that's stuck with me over time is the phrase "Limitations breed creativity," and I'm frankly interested in seeing how Blizzard overcomes the console interface in making the game work.

We'll see.  Some of the biggest problems D3 has are:

-not enough endgame content
-Hell basically shouldn't exist; 4 difficulty levels are too many
-loot issues

That last one is going to be tricky to fix with no AH; they've said they've completely redone drop rates/loot for the console versions, but we'll see.

[Human Snorenado]

TLoU update:  today is the last day I'll be mainlining this game.  If I don't finish it, I'm going to start mixing it up with other games at the very least.

That's not because I still find it tedious- on the contrary, the game has come into it's own once you get out of the QZ, with more varied environments at the very least, if not more types of enemies.

While the game is enjoyable, I don't know if I like the *concept* of the game generally speaking... a story driven 3rd person action game with lots of QTE and shallow combat.  Once I've made it out into the world and am scavenging stuff and seeing different areas, accessing more random backstories, I make the inevitable Fallout 3 comparisons... and find this game lacking.  What really made Fallout 3 so awesome was that you could explore to your heart's content; here you're basically on rails. 

I'm definitely enjoying this game more, but still don't understand the massive hype for it aside from the increasingly prevalent idea that "video game journalists"  are a bunch of insecure manchildren that need to validate their hobby.

[thisismyusername]

It's because you haven't played Uncharted 2, dude. Go play that and then maybe go back to the Last of Us.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

I haven't played the Last of Us yet, so I'm slightly talking out of my ass but that's where most of the hype for Naughty Dog/Last of Us comes from.

[close]

If you aren't sick of Naughty Dog, go do Uncharted 2 next. It's easily a 12 hour or less game depending on your difficulty. Can knock that within a day if you have some free time and the will.

[Bebpo]

Well yeah, it's an on-rails linear experience.  That's what Naughty Dog makes.  There's room in gaming for both open world stuff and linear games.  Apples and Oranges and all that.

Play RDR next if you want an open world.

[Human Snorenado]

Well yeah, it's an on-rails linear experience.  That's what Naughty Dog makes.  There's room in gaming for both open world stuff and linear games.  Apples and Oranges and all that.

Play RDR next if you want an open world.

Yeah, but I think the setting/subject material is best served with an open world game.  I'm not saying that on-rails linear experiences are inherently inferior (although as a matter of personal taste I prefer open-world games, but whatevs) just that for this sort of setting/story, an open world works better.

Also!  Random number generator has spoken, and tomorrow's game is...

Analogue: A Hate Story   

[Human Snorenado]

I'm through Winter and into Spring; I've put about 16 hours into the game so far, as I can't NOT loot everything in sight. 

I feel like this is gonna end up being a solid game with really high production values that I just don't think is meant for me, which is cool. I'm glad I got to play it for basically nothing, and also happy that I'll be sending it along to someone else to enjoy.

And enjoyable it is.  There is a good game here, when it lets you play it.  It's fucking gorgeous to look at and combat has gotten better... although maybe I've just adjusted to it, whatever.  Still not a lot of depth to it or variety to enemies, but oh well.

[fistfulofmetal]

play Witcher 2 you jerk.

[Human Snorenado]

I'm totally at the whims of the random number generator here!

[Cerveza mas fina]

No AH and redone loot on consoles?

Damn. Sounds like the definitive version. Maybe increased difficulty too.

[Human Snorenado]

Difficulty will be "increased" in that you can't just go to the AH and kit out your dude in god tier shit, for sure.

[magus]

Well yeah, it's an on-rails linear experience.  That's what Naughty Dog makes.  There's room in gaming for both open world stuff and linear games.  Apples and Oranges and all that.

Play RDR next if you want an open world.

Yeah, but I think the setting/subject material is best served with an open world game.  I'm not saying that on-rails linear experiences are inherently inferior (although as a matter of personal taste I prefer open-world games, but whatevs) just that for this sort of setting/story, an open world works better.

Also!  Random number generator has spoken, and tomorrow's game is...

Analogue: A Hate Story   

[Cerveza mas fina]

Difficulty will be "increased" in that you can't just go to the AH and kit out your dude in god tier shit, for sure.

Sounds perfect

[Joe Molotov]

I'm looking forward to this Anal Uguu you're promising.

[Human Snorenado]

Analogue... first I was all



Then I was all

[Joe Molotov]

Who did you waifu?

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I played through Analogue for the first time about 2 weeks ago. It was better than I expected, though I didn't expect much.

Hate Plus comes out this month!

[Human Snorenado]

Who did you waifu?

Haven't gotten to that point yet, "playing" this is gonna be a struggle as, well, you know, this isn't my kind of bag.*

*He said as he got ready to leave his house to pick up a copy of Atelier Totori.  In public.

[magus]

Who did you waifu?

Haven't gotten to that point yet, "playing" this is gonna be a struggle as, well, you know, this isn't my kind of bag.*

*He said as he got ready to leave his house to pick up a copy of Atelier Totori.  In public.

[tiesto]

Who did you waifu?

Haven't gotten to that point yet, "playing" this is gonna be a struggle as, well, you know, this isn't my kind of bag.*

*He said as he got ready to leave his house to pick up a copy of Atelier Totori.  In public.

You are seriously going to pick up a copy of Totori?

[Human Snorenado]

It came strongly recommended by my podcast mates... although they may just be fucking with me, hard to tell sometimes.

Anyway, they didn't have one even though the website said they did

Gamestop

I didn't know if it's a case of the other Atelier games being comparable or what, so I held off on all the for now...

...and we'll find out how awful Bayonetta PS3 is

[Human Snorenado]

Random number generator has spoken, and apparently I'm to continue playing post-apocalyptic games, because today is Fallout: New Vegas.  Which is cool, I really should give it another go or Treesong and Contra will look at me angrily or whatever it is white people do.

I also will be wrapping up The Last of Us FOR REALZ today... I'm at the Firefly hospital and am about to start killing lots of dudes, I guess.  Don't piss Joel off.  I could probably finish it tonight but I have to get up in about 5 hours to work for a bit, so I'm gonna nap instead, plus after I'm done with the game I'd like to sit and think about it for a bit and write up a nice post-mortem for like, the one or none of you who give a shit what I have to say about it.  I'm conflicted about the game... I almost feel like it's impossible to discuss TLOU without some sort of bizarre, Rashomon-style navel-gazing... you have to consider the game on an objective measure like you would anything, but then you also have to judge it based on what it's trying to achieve/do, and finally it's impossible to really discuss this game without going into the stupid expectations that "video game journalists" have foisted upon it, unfortunately.  So, that will be coming tomorrow, probably posted to the actual TLOU thread I started.

Finally, I guess I'll finish up Analogue.

[Cerveza mas fina]

New Vegas is not so good, I mean its more of the same as 3, but less focussed.

[pilonv1]

lies, New Vegas is incredible. I hope you have Old World Blues

[Cerveza mas fina]

I live in Ireland so yeah...

[Human Snorenado]

So, Analogue is actually not terrible, just kind of embarrassing.  It's really good to have on while you're browsing /fucking around, because you can "play" it every five minutes or whatever.

[Human Snorenado]

[magus]

So, Analogue is actually not terrible, just kind of embarrassing.  It's really good to have on while you're browsing /fucking around, because you can "play" it every five minutes or whatever.

i tought the premise was really cool but the plot never goes anywhere

spoiler (click to show/hide)

modern girl in feudal japan

"oh that's a cool idea for a plot,i like it"

misogyn happens

"allright and then?"

everybody dies

"oh... uh... that's it?"

[close]

[Joe Molotov]

So, Analogue is actually not terrible, just kind of embarrassing.  It's really good to have on while you're browsing /fucking around, because you can "play" it every five minutes or whatever.

i tought the premise was really cool but the plot never goes anywhere

spoiler (click to show/hide)

modern girl in feudal japan

"oh that's a cool idea for a plot,i like it"

misogyn happens

"allright and then?"

everybody dies

"oh... uh... that's it?"

[close]

Excuse me, Feudal Korea! learn2visualnovel, newb.