What is the last video game you played?

[King Mark 3,631]

Can anyone tell me what "combos" actually do in a game like GoW and Heavenly Sword? That's all I could seem to do, unlock longer and more complicated combos I'm unable to memorize anyways

Sure if you press XXYOOO the animation will be different than XXXYYY but you only end up mashing buttons randomly anyways

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Certain combos do more damage, obviously.

[Quintus 5,399]

This is why Batman has the best fight system in a third person game - there's no button combos to memorise.

[Wojo 2,453]

Actually, that was my biggest complaint with Arkham Asylum. No complicated finishing movies.

I really wanted to see Batman with a Babality.

[King Mark 3,631]

This is why Batman has the best fight system in a third person game - there's no button combos to memorise.

And that's why I like Dark Souls combat so much . Only a very few combos

[King Mark 3,631]

Well, time to get back into games. I as sidetracked a for a few days making Prequel edits

[Quintus 5,399]

I was distracted by children and Christmas presents. Still managed to squeeze in a bit of Skyrim, though.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Still on MW3. I actually attempted to play another game (Ratchet, since I forgot that I bought it and never played it) but the second I loaded up the game I got an invite for MW3. So it was a no-go

[Wojo 2,453]

I don't want to even buy Skyrim until I beat Morrowind. I have fallen back into love with that game, and there are a ton of mods that I'm waiting to download that will make it look very, very good.

I also bought a massive pile of games over Steam's Christmas sale. Skyrim would either collect dust or force them to.

[Quintus 5,399]

Skyrim makes Morrowind and Oblivion look like the Isle of Man and the Isle of Wight respectively.

[Wojo 2,453]

Then please forward all my mail to the Isle of Man for a few weeks.

Besides, I bought it but never beat it. I consider it a rite of passage.

[Maglorfin 196]

In the last month (since I have a new, powerful enough PC of course ), I became a big fan of Call of Duty games. I began with good ole CoD 2, then moved directly to MW3. Both are great. I also have MW1 and MW2 waiting - I know that due to continuity, it would be better if I played them first but after all the commotion around MW3, I just couldn't wait to eliminate some bad guys in New York, London, Hamburg and Paris!

However, I'm told I should also try Battlefield 3 and apparently, there's that eternal debate and "war" between CoD and BF fans. What do you guys think of it?

[King Mark 3,631]

Good lord, we lost another one

[Quintus 5,399]

However, I'm told I should also try Battlefield 3 and apparently, there's that eternal debate and "war" between CoD and BF fans. What do you guys think of it?

I much prefer Battlefield. It's got a steep learning curve, but stick with it and the payoff can be extremely satisfying and lots of fun. CoD caters mainly to the vast majority of casual gamers who are normally rubbish at online gaming. If one don't give a shit about team work and strategy then one is definately the sort of player that prefers CoD.

[Brónach 1,302]

Not into shooters. Probably because I'm shitty at them.

[Quintus 5,399]

You'd probably be quite good at CoD, then.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The COD franchise has some psycho players, as my friend and I like to call them. They play on insane sensitivity and do crazy shit like it's nothing. It isn't a game for people who are normally bad at online gaming, it's just that its 'pick up and play' style is very accessible to a majority of gamers. COD takes skill, and if you're good, you can destroy.

Battlefield puts its focus on teamwork, but developers fail to realize that 90% of players don't give a shit about the team and play for themselves.

[Quintus 5,399]

My dad who is 60 and GARBAGE at online gaming is tenth prestige and frequently gets 'top kills'.

CoD does that for people. Hence it's phenomenon.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Prestige isn't an indication of skill, just that you play a lot. KDR in modes like TDM and FFA, and WLR in team modes, along with accuracy, indicate skill in my book.

[Quintus 5,399]

Lol no. They're just gimmicky bragging stats for those who who find figures impressive. Have you any idea how many real-world variables are involved in what effectively constitutes as someone's 'kill death ratio'?

The only reliable way to check out a player's skill is to literally sit and watch them play under optimal conditions.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Well, yeah. I don't care about stats, but they are a good way to get a general consensus of the type of player you are. My KDR is 1.45 I think, but I consider myself a great player.

[King Mark 3,631]

Ok I've completed Hunted, The Demon's Forge. I thought it was better than what most reviewers gave it.

Play Skyrim now or play just another game before Skyrim?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I don't know... Skyrim never ends.

[Wojo 2,453]

Technically, neither did Morrowind or Oblivion. The previous two games each have a "main quest" that ends, but the game doesn't roll a credits screen. Eventually you will run out of side quests in Morrowind, as well as Oblivion, except for some Dark Brotherhood quests that you can keep racking up contracts for.

Yes, Skyrim does continually create random fetch, kill, escort, and similar quests to lure you into unexplored areas of the map, long after the main quest has run its course...but the point is, the main quest has an end. Eventually, grinding those random quests will become not worth it anymore, and you either create a new character or trade in the game.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I've gotten back into it and am probably around 30 hours of gameplay in. Picked up the Collector's Edition game guide today, comes with an interactive map that shows you the location of every place, person, skill book and other unique items. For $21 (employee discount), not a bad deal IMO.

[King Mark 3,631]

I'm assuming the "random quest generator" in Skyrim is not the same as the real scripted sidequests (like the ones in Fallout that involve more complex plots.)

i'd stop playing once I'm done all the true sidequests

[Wojo 2,453]

From the news that I read before the game was released, you would be correct. The random quests become fetch and murder quests.

"Go back to Area that you haven't been to in weeks and murder So and So that you talked to once."

"Go to Dungeon in area that you have never been to yet and bring back Artifact."

"Escort So and So from Area you have visited to area you haven't."

Stuff like that. I think the idea is that you would not be able to tell a "real" quest from a "randomly generated" quest, not without using the cheat book or consulting the UESP wiki.

[King Mark 3,631]

Usually for these types of games after I've done most of it I consult an online guide to see if I missed anything

Is there an "explorer" perk like Fallout3/New Vegas that shows you every location on the map?

[Wojo 2,453]

Gods, I hope not. That takes all the fun out of exploring and "filling in your map."

[Koray Savas 2,251]

The only perks in Skyrim are directly related to your skills. So no, no Explorer perk.

[King Mark 3,631]

Gods, I hope not. That takes all the fun out of exploring and "filling in your map."

well in Fallout they give it at high level when your about to quit playing anyways. So it gives you the opportunity to check out the places you missed. I tried without the perk and just looking at a pre-filled map online, but it's not as easy to pinpoint yout location

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Yeah you get the Explorer perk at the highest level in Fallout.

[King Mark 3,631]

Is magic user or melee combat better in Skyrim?

Magic sucked in Oblivion

[Koray Savas 2,251]

You have to pick one over the other. If you focus solely on ranking up your magic skills and putting your rank up points towards magika, you could kick some serious ass. I don't know how it happened, but I somehow ended up with infinite magika for awhile. Must have been some weird way I had my apparel set up, with enchanted items seriously boosting my skills. All I would do was hold down Fast Heal and Flames and no one could touch me. I messed around with my inventory and lost it, so I've decided to skip the magic and just focus on building some great weapons and armor.

[King Mark 3,631]

Ok I can see why you need spells in Skyrim

Just using Melee would be like playing Fallout 3 with Melee only and no guns

Also if I put a spell in the left hand I can't use a Shield so Melee becomes kind of last resort

not sure about bows yet

So I'm off as a High Elf with full magic boosting.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Not at all. You can do completely without magic easily, you just need to make sure you boost up Archery so you have some sort of ranged attack.

[Wojo 2,453]

While that is probably accurate, I would never want to play one of these games without magic. It offers too many ways to help out in combat and just playing the game. Health restoration, all the fortifcations you can do, bound weapons to free up inventory space, the creatures you can summon, and the ways to dole out mayhem from your finger tips are all too fun to pass up. Sure, you can skip the magic and stick with weapons, but that's like playing Fallout 3 or NV with just sledges and golf clubs, no guns --- but still a viable plan in a "role playing game."

Although from what I hear and read of the dragon shouts in Skyrim, you basically have "the Force" in addition to just magic and weapons, and of course potions and scrolls. It might take the place of it, it might not.

I'm playing one of these games as a Redguard, and finding that its poor magical prowess has stifled the fun in my early game. I have no trouble shaking a sword at rats, but I can't cast spells worth crap. It might be time to start over. You'd think that reading each book in the games would improve your intelligence. Now there's an exploit I'd like to program into the game.

[King Mark 3,631]

I started with the High Elf, but I was testing it. The 50 points extra magica may not be worth it once you reach high level.

I think I may start over with a Breton. They have high magical resistances and that may be usefull through the game. Wizards with long range spells can really kick your butt in this game because your basically a sitting duck

[King Mark 3,631]

Skyrim is a lot harder than Fallout 3/New Vegas

I got smashed to bits by a Giant in one hit. Blam! And it's harder to gain skill points in what you want. No I have 100 in guns already at level 5

It also looks gigantic and the map not too helpful. I've only been to a few places around the first city

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It is a lot harder, because it lacks VATS and guns. Giants are something to run away from in the beginning. Later on you'll be able to kill them like a skeever though.

If you want 100 Smithing and Speech really quick, there are two exploits.

For Smithing, buy and/or mine as much iron ore and iron ingots as you can, as well as leather strips. Go to a blacksmith forge and keep making iron daggers over and over, since it only costs one of each. This'll rank you up extremely fast, you could go to 100 in a couple hours I imagine. I do it whenever I find myself near a blacksmith and I'm around Level 80 or so.

For Speech, go to Riften and go to the Black-Briar Meadery. Speak to Ungrien and keep persuading him to tell you about some lady. The option never goes away and you an do that over and over until Level 100.

[King Mark 3,631]

The smithing thing seems like a "legit" gameplay way of leveling up so I wouldn't feel like cheating. I really want smithing for later in the game.(In Dark Souls I levelled up by luring those same 1000 soul guys off a cliff at the same spot over and over. It's ok to do that within the game's context and rule)

The speech thing seems more like exploiting a bug

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Oh, very much so, but Speech isn't really a vital skill here as it is in Fallout, so I have no problem farming it. I mostly just want to be able to get the point where I can invest in shops to make a ton more coin.

As for Smithing, I am now Level 95 and oh so close to crafting my own Dragon armor. Should be awesome. I've saved all the bones and scales from the dragons I've killed in the game.

[King Mark 3,631]

I just reached Winterhood College for mages, by treking 45 minutes through the mountains braving the snowstorms . You can feel the epicness of this game right there

[King Mark 3,631]

As for Smithing, I am now Level 95 and oh so close to crafting my own Dragon armor. Should be awesome. I've saved all the bones and scales from the dragons I've killed in the game.

Just made a Dragon Scale Armor, It's powerful . Just make sure you improve it to Legendary with a Smithing potion AND Improve Smithing acessories

I'l probably use this for most of the game now

getting Enchanting up to 100 is another story

[Red 75]

As for Smithing, I am now Level 95 and oh so close to crafting my own Dragon armor. Should be awesome. I've saved all the bones and scales from the dragons I've killed in the game.

Just made a Dragon Scale Armor, It's powerful . Just make sure you improve it to Legendary with a Smithing potion AND Improve Smithing acessories

I'l probably use this for most of the game now

getting Enchanting up to 100 is another story

That's what I'm trying to do now. It takes considerably more time to do that than leveling up smithing, which I've done.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Yeah I got my dragon armor decked out with enchantments. I've played this game so much recently and it seems like I'm getting more quests than I'm completing.

Thieves Guild is taking forever to complete.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

Back when Nintendo catered to gamers that weren't just families and kids, it meant something. The Wii U is another step in the wrong direction. They're focusing too much on the peripheral than on the core of gaming. Stop messing around with overpriced accessories and controls and just make great games.

Nintendo is smart for catering to families. I believe they cater to the kid in all of us. You do come off as slightly cynical. What types of games (like, you know, genres) attract you? I won't say anything regarding Wii U because, frankly, I don't know much about it. Well, I'll say it doesn't really have my interest. The Wii certainly did. I'm a casual gamer and I threw down hundreds on it. Nintendo does something right these days.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Any console is smart for catering to families, but it shouldn't be their sole focus. You won't find a wide selection of RPGs or FPSs on a Nintendo system. Nintendo 64 was the last console that had an appeal to any type of gamer. I'm not saying they need to dump Mario and Donkey Kong (although they should add something new to their plate), but they need to make something like motion control an option and not standard. They need to be on par with competing consoles in terms of current generation graphics and gameplay mechanics. The Wii U isn't next generation technology. It's too little too late. Admittedly, sticking with the Wii for another 3 or 4 years is probably a bad idea, but now in that time when PS3 and Xbox unleash their next gen consoles, Nintendo will again be left behind. Unless of course they plan a short lifespan for the U. But I just can't imagine that controller costing $35. They messed up fairly bad with the 3DS as well.

I'm interested to see how Sony's PS Vita sells. Apparently it had a poor launch in Japan. I'd consider purchasing one, but at this point it costs the same as a PS3, more if you want 3G. Add $100 for a 32GB memory stick, $50 per game, and let's say $20 for a case; you're down $600 almost instantly.

[Maglorfin 196]

I have recently bought and started playing Quantum of Solace (PC version). I bought it primarily 'cause it only cost 6 EUR. But I kind of like it, it's cool to be able to play in scenes and environments from CR and QoS films, and "presence" of Judi Dench, Mads Mikkelsen, Dan Craig and others is a great addition to the game.

Of course, I like MW3 better but I've yet to try BF3.

[King Mark 3,631]

In Skyrim I accidentally figured out a way to boost "armor" skill

I let mudcraps attack me and just heal when my health is low. In 15 minutes light armor was up to 70 with all the perks