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[Leon1464]

Hi everyone, i see it´s time to stir the still waters on this forum I haven´t been here for a few weeks and there is only a few new posts? I suppose it´s not much to talk about. Bugs seems to be adressed or being worked on (at least that´s all we believe in so let´s start another Off Topic thread.
I know that most of you probably don´t have much time to play games but is there anything in the gaming world that piqued your interest lately? Share it here.

I start with a PC port of a JRPG The Last Remnant. It is not as good as Final Fantasy but its charming characters storyline and next gen graphics made me spent more than a 20 hours plaing it and I´m not even in the half of the story.



I´ve been also watching a new Funcom MMO project called The Secret World. Since I loved The longest journey as well as Dreamfall i have a high expectations from this brand new Ragnar Tornquist project. You can watch interesting debut trailer here

Code:

http://www.darkdaysarecoming.com/

What makes this game really unique is the clever use of viral marketing for creating the community base. People were given a series of clues and a link to a page with a mysterious puzzle, the task was to solve the puzzle and it´s amazing how many people contributed to unveil the first few bits of the dark backstory. You can try it for yourself and if you are lost you can find the hints and solutions at the game forum.

Code:

http://www.darkdemonscrygaia.com/

Truly an online game on its own

Cheers ^^b

[amos]

Nice one Leon. I've never yet played and enjoyed an RPG. Pokemon was irritating and boring, and I've never tried Final Fantasy (FF8 comes recommended to me?).

Assassin's Creed is a game I've been playing a lot recently that I can't make my mind up about.



The characterisation is flat. The story is uninvolving. The voice acting is generally unconvincing. The missions are all the same. The object of the game (the assassinations) gets lost amongst stupid minigames.

However, the engine and the graphics are incredible. The sword fights are brilliant. The freerunning is addictive. The lighting and texturing is perfect. The modelling is very impressive.



It's fun to play and it could have been absolutely phenomenal - it had the potential to be groundbreaking, but it lost its direction - a real shame. Fingers crossed that they pick up on this for AC2...

[Roman]

Hello guys,

I know that most of you probably don?t have much time to play games but is there anything in the gaming world that piqued your interest lately? Share it here.

Exactly correct note about the lack of time, occasionally I play PC games only. I have nothing against consoles, PC is just a more convenient all-in-one device: you can digress from your workload and have fun for a while.


Of this year's I quite liked GTA4:
YouTube

Click To Enlarge :





maybe S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky too:
YouTube






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Of earlier, I much liked and still keep re-playing once in a while these,


of course Portal:
YouTube




Certainly waiting for Portal 2 and Black Mesa.


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Myst V :
YouTube




Complicated, but the graphics and sounds are excellent.



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Half-Life 2 & The Episodes:
YouTube-Hl2

YouTube-Episode 1

YouTube-Episode 2









Needless to say that HL2 is the big success in gaming industry and has deserved being called a masterpiece. Want nice textures, want shaders, animations, scripts - it has them all.

This had to be ~ cheats, anyone know how to reproduce them ?



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GTA 3 Vice City Killer Kip's Mod:
YouTube





Quite hard but cute and fun at the same time, with lots of vehicles and humor.




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Enter The Matrix:
YouTube

This is the best and the only PC esthetic martial arts game. I walked it completely many times and have spent lots of hours performing all the cool moves. Sad there are no new releases, with more quest tasks Enter The Matrix series could become another masterpiece.






I am a bit off schedule playing computer games, I should play Assasin's Creed too.

Cheers.

 

[amos]

Of this year's I quite liked GTA4

Did you play all the way through? What did you think of the storyline? I have some harsh words for GTA IV, I'm afraid.

This had to be ~ cheats, anyone know how to reproduce them ?

I mastered using the console in Half-Life 2 (although I've forgotten most of it), what do you want to know? How to import Half-Life 2 levels into Portal, as shown in your clip?

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/18/the-best-thing-youll-see-today-portal-gun-in-half-life-2/

It's not as good as it looks, gets boring quickly I'm afraid.

[Roman]

Did you play all the way through? What did you think of the storyline? I have some harsh words for GTA IV, I'm afraid.

Yes, I made it all the way through. If you mean the pain with the helicopter in the final mission - yes, I had it, I guess it was some 20th time I made it.

As for the storyline, well, what would you expect of GTA, more consistency, more variety ? I often wish a game were better, but unfortunately this is not the way games are developed (e.g. did you see much advancement in the Half-Life 2 Episodes ?).

I said "quite liked" because my overall impression is positive, as for the sounds, graphics, driving, as much as I could expect of GTA series. It is absolutely natural that there are strengths and weaknesses about anything in life, including video games. So don't be afraid, just say the harsh words.



~ ~ ~ ~

I mastered using the console in Half-Life 2 (although I've forgotten most of it), what do you want to know? How to import Half-Life 2 levels into Portal, as shown in your clip?

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/10/18/the-best-thing-youll-see-today-portal-gun-in-half-life-2/

It's not as good as it looks, gets boring quickly I'm afraid.

Thanks for the link. I was just curious how to achieve that: having the Orange Box installed full, one needs to enter ~ codes only or also has to move certain files.

[amos]

Yes, I made it all the way through.

[...]

I said "quite liked" because my overall impression is positive, as for the sounds, graphics, driving, as much as I could expect of GTA series. It is absolutely natural that there are strengths and weaknesses about anything in life, including video games. So don't be afraid, just say the harsh words.

The reason I ask about the storyline is because I gave up on the game by the time I'd unlocked the third island (Derek McReary's first mission). The storyline has been goung strong, and was inolving, and then it fell to pieces. The missions became boring and monotone. It was as if the creators suddenly ran out of ideas, or perhaps out of time.

For game that started so strongly, it thoroughly disappointed me.

(e.g. did you see much advancement in the Half-Life 2 Episodes ?)

Yes, I absolutely did! The HL2 episodes have successfully maintained momentum, keeping the storyline interesting and engaging, the scenery stunning, the conflicts challenging and the player both satisfied and keen for more. I have very little criticism for any Valve original single-player game I've played yet.

[Roman]

The reason I ask about the storyline is because I gave up on the game by the time I'd unlocked the third island (Derek McReary's first mission). The storyline has been goung strong, and was inolving, and then it fell to pieces. The missions became boring and monotone. It was as if the creators suddenly ran out of ideas, or perhaps out of time.

For game that started so strongly, it thoroughly disappointed me.

I see. Maybe resuming your gameplay later will give you new breath. 

I too agree the missions themselves remain uninspired and consist of the usual drive here and shoot people or collect something and escape, a design that the GTA games have excelled at for some time since its early installments. GTA 4 certainly won't make believers those who did not understand GTA 3.

Bad they didn't pay me for exploiting my name, especially offending me with the Roman's looks.  Anyway, did you like my taxis ?

Yes, I absolutely did! The HL2 episodes have successfully maintained momentum, keeping the storyline interesting and engaging, the scenery stunning, the conflicts challenging and the player both satisfied and keen for more. I have very little criticism for any Valve original single-player game I've played yet.

I did not find as many new aspects in the episodes. True that technically they kept the already pretty good half-life engine, but I did not actully see or feel any bit of improvement in the graphics or physics - all the same as in HL2, after years of development since Half-Life 2! I should have screenshoted the moment when once I had killed an insect and got right in the middle of its remnants and was not able to move anywhere. Occasionally I stumble on an object and can move nowhere until I crawl.

I liked the cooperation with Alyx and her dialogues, I liked the new hunters (of course except them escorting striders in the final part), but I still don't find the soldiers' looks successful, often they look like plush toys. I don't appreciate much the bloody zombies and the chicken-like headcrabs. Well I too sometimes love to shoot them, but Valve might have invented something more esthetic during the years of episode development.

Anyway my opinion is that HL 2 series are the nicest of all shooter games so far !

Compare the vorts in HL 2 and in Ep 2, namely the pattern on the back, just compare this vort to the one in Ep 2:





I like the 1st dude better, they should've added the glossiness but kept his patterned back. What do you say ?

[amos]

I like the 1st dude better, they should've added the glossiness but kept his patterned back. What do you say ?

Agreed.

[Leon1464]

Hi people I havea few comments to GTA IV and Half-Life. When I first installed and played GTA4 on my PC I uninstalled it right away. I didn´t like the idea of launching game through Rockstar Social Club, the graphics were terribly choppy on my HD4850 and I had a problem with textures (like 60% of them were plain black). After a few months I borrowed Saints Row 2 from my friend. At first it looked great you can easily customize your character, clothes etc. until I got into a car for the first time. The driving model was so terrible that I tried the GTA4 once again, with the brand new patch. I still think that for the graphics it shows the framerate should be generally higher but most of the technical issues are gone. Anyway I kind of miss the customization options from SR2 as I don´t like much Niko yet.

As for the HL 2 I still haven´t completed the main game, but for me HL2 is a great game with cool graphics and friendly computer requirements. As for the Episodes I think Valve cannot do much about Source. It is still old engine but with many new features added lately. Even if it doesn´t deliver the greates eye candy you can still  run it well on a laptop or older pc´s.

Talking about Source have you ever heard or played Vampire : The Masquerade Bloodlines? Source powered RPG developed by Troika? I remember it totally got me when I played it for the first time although the original release was rather buggy.

[Roman]

... I didn´t like the idea of launching game through Rockstar Social Club, the graphics were terribly choppy ...

I too dislike the Social Club and Steam when it comes to single-players: of course, patches are good, but only if those systems do not remind of themselves every time at game launch.

As for the HL 2 I still haven´t completed the main game ...

No way I'm gonna believe you, just how come, you don't have time to complete it or you haven't figured out all "puzzles" yet ?

Talking about Source have you ever heard or played Vampire : The Masquerade Bloodlines? Source powered RPG developed by Troika? I remember it totally got me when I played it for the first time although the original release was rather buggy.

I think I've heard of it before, but haven't played it. If in a few sentences, how do you find its graphics, sound, and the gameplay ?

Can it compare with Left4Dead ?

[Leon1464]

Actually I stopped playing when I was in the Sandtraps, I think it was because of some other game and so far I haven´t been able to get back to it. (I´ll try once I beat God of War 2

Vampire Bloodlines is way different than Left4Dead, since it runs on the first versions of source it looks more like HL2 than L4D. It is also an RPG so it has very good storyline and the combat is based on how you distribute your skill points. When you like stories about vampires this is one of the best games on pc. It has that dark horror atmosphere and some examples of wonderful level design. (The Ocean House Hotel quest which is basically a trip into the depths of the haunted house is amazing, I had nearly heart attack playing it, twice I beat this game twice and I still have it on my pc waiting for a third run. There is also an unofficial patch that fixed almost all of the bugs and added a couple of features that wasn´t initially part of the game but Troika "forgot" them in the game code. (The game release was a bit rushed, also I think this was Troika´s last game.)

[Roman]

Actually I stopped playing when I was in the Sandtraps, I think it was because of some other game and so far I haven´t been able to get back to it. (I´ll try once I beat God of War 2

Ok, I see, another great game attracted you. I think you could still easily play Half-Life 2 while being possesed with another game. After I walked HL2 back and forth about a hundred times, it looks very easy to me, especially the Sandtraps part. Just devote some 15 minutes to half an hour each day of your spare time, you'll soon make it, and just in case you should need help then Amos and I will be around.    Half-Life 2 is a well balanced cute shooter where you can a great deal suffer or can use the right techniques instead and play it without an effort. I think you'll like the big part of the game after Sandtraps.

Vampire Bloodlines is way different than Left4Dead, since it runs on the first versions of source it looks more like HL2 than L4D. It is also an RPG so it has very good storyline and the combat is based on how you distribute your skill points. When you like stories about vampires this is one of the best games on pc. It has that dark horror atmosphere and some examples of wonderful level design. (The Ocean House Hotel quest which is basically a trip into the depths of the haunted house is amazing, I had nearly heart attack playing it, twice  I beat this game twice and I still have it on my pc waiting for a third run. There is also an unofficial patch that fixed almost all of the bugs and added a couple of features that wasn´t initially part of the game but Troika "forgot" them in the game code. (The game release was a bit rushed, also I think this was Troika´s last game.)

Sounds attractive, and the screenshots you've presented here look good too, so I'll keep in mind I should deffinitely play it.

[Roman]

ARMA (II):


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I have just started playing it, in lack of spare time, so hopefully by the end of the summer I'll finish it.

[Roman]

RAGE - Bethesda Softworks 2011
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[Leon1464]

I almost gave up my hope that this messageboard will be online ever again. Thanks Khan for keeping this up

Now if we get back to the topic. Right now I´m totally immersed in Skyrim. I haven´t played game like that for a very long time. I just wish that Bethesda would release the SDK sooner