Video Game Discussion Thread

[Sinfire Titan]

Dragon Age II: Not as wonderful as Bioware's employee reviews would have you believe, not as shitty as a good portion of Metacritic would have you believe.

Discuss.

A friend of mine beat it fairly quickly, said it was a solid game despite being different from the first gameplay-wise.

[Bozwevial]

A friend of mine beat it fairly quickly, said it was a solid game despite being different from the first gameplay-wise.

Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, given that the first game, even on easier settings, practically forced you to have a specific party configuration. If I had to pick one thing to complain about, it'd be the lack of impact my decisions actually have on the story.

...and a DLC companion being released on day one.

[Kuroimaken]

So. FFXIII and Duodecim.

[spoiler]Duodecim: Lightning's voice acting is fucking atrocious.

XIII: Lightning is overrated. For fuck's sake, she can't even Bright Slap a whiny emo kid.[/spoiler]

Final Fantasy's got all kinds of problems. "10 was too linear, 12 was too freeform, 13 was too linear" being common complaints. Then you account for the storylines following a formula, and the lead characters often having no personality (especially true in 12).


In other words, avoid SE's mainstay titles.

Actually, I find that that 10 was one of the last few 'good' FFs. 12's problem wasn't that it was too freeform, it's that it was too BLAND. It was like a single-player MMO. 13 at least has been delivering a relatively good soundtrack. But aside from that, there's only a couple of REALLY likable characters, and they have next to zero screentime. The rest can be summed up as too bitchy, too moronic, and too "cooler-than-thou".

And Dissidia would be better if they finally got it through their heads that THEIR ENGLISH VAS SUCK DONKEY BALLS.

Dissidia would have been better if ArcSys handled the gameplay instead of SE.


I liked 10 myself (and 10-2 oddly, even ignoring the blatant fanservice). But 12 just plain enraged me (Skies of Arcadia rip-off and all that).

What WOULDN'T be better with ArcSys handling gameplay?

10-2? What is this madness you speak of? There is no such thing.

Naw, in order for it to be a Skies of Arcadia rip-off, it'd need to be GOOD.

[Tshern]

Going through the DLCs for Borderlands. Quite entertaining after the huge letdown that was the final boss of the original game.

[Sinfire Titan]

What WOULDN'T be better with ArcSys handling gameplay?

Most fighting game designers could take notes from ArcSys. Though from the demo, Mortal Kombat 9 is going in the right direction. ANd MvC3 isn't too bad (the graphics just bite IMO).

Naw, in order for it to be a Skies of Arcadia rip-off, it'd need to be GOOD.

LoL, true.

[Nick]

A friend of mine beat it fairly quickly, said it was a solid game despite being different from the first gameplay-wise.

Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, given that the first game, even on easier settings, practically forced you to have a specific party configuration. If I had to pick one thing to complain about, it'd be the lack of impact my decisions actually have on the story.

...and a DLC companion being released on day one.

I find it more frustrating that you have to collect all the companions before you can embark on any quests. Because every damn quest would raise friendship or rivalry points depending on the choices you made. I'm less worried about party configurations this time round, since combat seems easier for me this time.

I'm still trying to plot out the best route to collect all the companions and work on the relationships as I go along. Its just frustrating that your younger brother (I play a mage) is such a whiny bitch about mages, and he's about stuck with me when I have to go for the elf bloodmage and the gay terrorist.

Not to mention that the captain of the guard is so bloody paladin-stick-up-ass that having any other important conversation choice means you gotta piss her off.

I'm perfectly fine with the relationship values locking when its in full friendship or rivalry mode, but the journey there is frustrating.

[Bozwevial]

Yeah, I've given up understanding Aveline's motivations. It seems to be a toss-up between friendship and rivalry for any given choice.

Varric, on the other hand, is quite simply the best companion in the game. I don't think I ever racked up any rivalry with him.

[Nick]

Yeah, I've given up understanding Aveline's motivations. It seems to be a toss-up between friendship and rivalry for any given choice.

Varric, on the other hand, is quite simply the best companion in the game. I don't think I ever racked up any rivalry with him.

With Varric, Isabelle seems a little redundant on the Rogue skills side. But hell, Male Hawke + Isabelle is hilarious.

Oh well, not like I give a damn when Aveline is doing all the tanking. Serves her right for having a stick up her ass.

[Bozwevial]

Also, Fenris is surprisingly likable. If I had heard his character concept ahead of time, I would have laughed, but it does work pretty well. Isabela veers back and forth between enjoyable banter and okay-we-get-it-it's-a-sex-joke. Merril...it's all sunshine and daisies until you disagree with her (or even agree with her on certain things) and then MASSIVE RIVALRY POINTS. And Anders isn't nearly as enjoyable to have around as he was in Awakening, where he was basically Alistair with less of a moral code. And had a cat.

[Kuroimaken]

So Merril is a yandere? 

[Bozwevial]

So Merril is a yandere? 

Ehh, not quite. She never stops being cheerful and naive, except when it comes to [spoiler]blood magic and demons,[/spoiler] when she'll make decisions she knows are bad. But she never gets angry and it's nearly impossible to say no to her even when what she's proposing screams "this will end poorly" because it's like kicking a puppy.
[spoiler]A puppy who wants to summon a demon.[/spoiler]

[skydragonknight]

In other words, avoid SE's mainstay titles.

Depends on the developers. Developed and published by SE is dicey when it comes to making a purchase. But developed by another team and published by SE is just fine. Take the Star Ocean series (which Enix bought and SE inherited). They were smart enough not to screw with the development team, and thus it remains good.

[Kuroimaken]

In other words, avoid SE's mainstay titles.

Depends on the developers. Developed and published by SE is dicey when it comes to making a purchase. But developed by another team and published by SE is just fine. Take the Star Ocean series (which Enix bought and SE inherited). They were smart enough not to screw with the development team, and thus it remains good.

Likewise with Valkyrie Profile.

[Nick]

Anders...well...I've read some partial spoilers. I doubt I would like him alot.

And wtf is with all the male on male action? I mean I'm down with giving some dedications and shout outs to the LGBT community but damn.

[Kuroimaken]

Anders...well...I've read some partial spoilers. I doubt I would like him alot.

And wtf is with all the male on male action? I mean I'm down with giving some dedications and shout outs to the LGBT community but damn.

What about female-on-female action?

[Nick]

Anders...well...I've read some partial spoilers. I doubt I would like him alot.

And wtf is with all the male on male action? I mean I'm down with giving some dedications and shout outs to the LGBT community but damn.

What about female-on-female action?

Er...that one is fine. 

[Kuroimaken]

AHEM.

Actual quote from an in-game tutorial of Ar Tonelico Qoga:

"He who controls stripping, controls the battle."

That is all.

[Risada]

AHEM.

Actual quote from an in-game tutorial of Ar Tonelico Qoga:

"He who controls stripping, controls the battle."

That is all.

 

On a (sad) sidenote: I bought a game at Play-Asia at the end of January and it didn't arrive yet. Contacted CustServ at the start of this month and they are trying to contact the brazilian's post office since then. No answer yet.

I guess I lost some bucks

BTW, Kuro, what do you suggest me for my next waste buy: AT3, Disgaea 3 or Hyperdimension Neptunia? I've been reading good stuff from the last two... and mixed stuf about the first... but I can't get all three (at least, not right now)...

[Kuroimaken]

I'll be honest with you, HDN got me with mixed feelings at best. Yes, it has some great gaming in-jokes, but game-wise the system simply isn't THAT attractive.

Ar Tonelico III is shaping up to be at least as fun as its predecessors (I honestly didn't get very far into it yet), which means that's another chunk of my social life I'll lose to stripping songstresses. Disgaea 3 can be pretty fun, though the endgame grinding for specialists (with or without the duping trick) is horribly tedious. (At least they gave you an option so that you can train multiple characters at once by giving you the formation system from Soul Nomad. But still...)

Overall, I suppose I'd say... ATIII > Disgaea 3 > HDN, particularly in the joke department. (And ATIII comes with a side of fanservice if you're not ashamed of enjoying it. There's an actual trophy named "What's wrong with being a pervert?!" in this game. 'Nuff said.)

EDIT: It's all Customs' fault. We have a fucking 47% a year increase in imports and the Guv't doesn't bother with hiring new people, it's fucking frustrating.

EDIT2: If you buy Disgaea 3, DON'T DOWNLOAD THE UPDATE! You'll thank me for it later.

[Risada]

Hmm... well... I will think a little more...

On a (good) sidenote: the game I mentioned 2 posts earlier arrived today (and in top shape)! I am relieved