What is the last video game you played?

[King Mark 3,631]

Playing a generic hack and slash called Dark Kingdom for PS3

Should be my last short title before tackling New Vegas, which I know will keep me busy all of July

[Quintus 5,399]

Have you not played Heavenly Sword?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

That was one of the first PS3 exclusives, right? Vaguely remember playing the demo and not liking it.

I decided to pick up Assassin's Creed II for $15.

[King Mark 3,631]

Have you not played Heavenly Sword?

oops, I must have seen it in the used game bin, but must have mistook it as the same game as Dark Kingdom because they have similar covers and generic sounding titles. I got the PS3 recently so I'm not as familiar with all the older titles yet . I'll buy it if I see it now

Edit:only 6 hours to complete it?...I'll have to be 9.99$ or less then

Assassin's Creed 2 was good enough to make me want to play Brotherhood (which I recently found new for 20$).

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

i've just killed my first High dragon...practically alone .

I'm playing in easy, but still a pair of drakes killed me more times than the dragon (?)

Thr whole party managed to hit untill 3/4 of health then they died. I was alone, with whynne's standard staff (the most powerful one i have and its medium crap...) and the full juggernaut armor set (i think this thing made the difference).

A little health spell when i needed and that's it. i didnt even had rock armor or the other arcane warrior spells because the dragon dispelled them periodically.

It didnt cured itself to it was only a matter of time since i killed it.

The test of the ashes (where you have to fight against yourself) was impossible for me. Let's see if the other dragons are that easy...Im on my way to buy the most powerful staff in the game...

[King Mark 3,631]

playing in Easy,not even "standard" mode?

High Dragon is easy towards the end of the game. But tackle him too early and you die .Depends when you do the Sacred Ashes quest

[King Mark 3,631]

I found a used copy of "Heavenly Sword" for 15$. It took me searching in 4 stores and I finally found one with no box. The guy tells me it's a "rare" game because it was very expensive until recently and most of the copies are out of circulation

maybe that's why I didn't notice it before

[Koray Savas 2,251]

He lied.

Honestly, why try and track down used games in stores? The internet is your oyster.

[King Mark 3,631]

well, I like doing that.

Plus I still got it 13$ cheaper and no shipping fee plus an extra 1.50 off with my EBgames discount card

And free Amazon shipping does not apply to Canada

I know which games I don't see many copies of after a while. All those Japanese strategy RPG's are rare

[Koray Savas 2,251]

It's $7 in the used section. Roughly $12 with shipping, and you get the case, booklet, everything.

[King Mark 3,631]

I guess game browsing in a store has replaced my c.d. browsing of the old days

[King Mark 3,631]

Crap I can't find a pdf of the instruction manual online

[Quintus 5,399]

What for?

[King Mark 3,631]

I usually read them carefully, especially in RPG's

[Quintus 5,399]

I haven't read a game's instruction manual for years - the ingame tutorial is sufficient for my needs.

[Wojo 2,453]

I usually just check the controls, inverse the Y-axis, tweak the mouse sensitivity, and I'm good.

[King Mark 3,631]

That's fine for shooters and hack and slash adventure games.

In RPG's sometimes you have to dig a little deeper into the manual to check what all the sub-menus and icons mean, what stats affect what, what the various meters and gauges on the screen mean, etc..

In Final Fantasy like games often there's more complex battle mechanics that need to be deciphered by reading the manual, like linked character combos and stuff like that

[Wojo 2,453]

If I check the manual, it's for reference as I go, in case I get stumped in-game. I usually never read the manual first because it's out of context. I want real-world experience with what everything means before information overload of a manual. Besides, it's not like it's a gun or hanglider manual where I can kill myself if I do something wrong. It's a game; fuck-ups are learning experiences.

I remember keeping the manual to KOTOR 1 open to the segment on turret shooting when I had to play the mini-game of shooting down the fighters. And while I didn't use the manual much for Fallout 3, I can imagine it'll be useful with New Vegas when I start gambling.

Military simulations like Arma II -- not to be confused with simple military shooters like COD and MOH -- require the manual because damn near every key is mapped to something.

[King Mark 3,631]

Yes, I usually play a little bit to try to figure most of it out, but in a lot of cases reading the manual after being in the game a bit is still essential.

There's even stuff in RPG's that's not explained in the manual and you have to dig in forum discussions (alchemy, spell creation...)

Some games have elaborate in-game tutorials and hold you by the hand like Final Fantasy 13. Some games are the opposite, in this case Resonance of Fate which was released at the same time as FF13. I had to read the manual 3 times before getting a grasp of the basic combat mechanics

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

playing in Easy,not even "standard" mode?

High Dragon is easy towards the end of the game. But tackle him too early and you die .Depends when you do the Sacred Ashes quest

I killed it at level 13 or 14...

Since i always play mage, i didnt want to re-load countless times because i died... that's why i play easy.

Im not using those 'tactics'... so i think tis more harder...

[King Mark 3,631]

I draw a line between artificially ramping up the difficulty by picking "hard" and lowering it too much by playing "easy" and not having to use many of the more advanced options and coast through the game . Normal is usually the way the game is meant to be played. Right now your playing a watered down "hack and slash" version of Dragon Age.

The "tactics" options was very important part of the game for me and you NEED to use them if you play on normal or enemies like the High Dragon will kill your party instantly

Every one in my party had very specific instructions ,like what spells to cast and exactly when to drink a health or mana potion and so forth. Like I kept dying in the Denerim side quests until I had everyone drink potions when their health got under 50% for example and the mages to heal when necessary. Then I tweaked them all the time

and you need a LOT of potions in this game, so be careful not to piss off the elf guy who sells Lyrium roots so he doesn't want to sell you anymore

The tactics is the first thing I set up in Dragon Age 2 also so my party members don't do random crap I don't want them to

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Assassin's Creed II

My opinion hasn't changed much from the full game trial. The story is still convoluted, and the graphics are pretty bad. The jumping, or rather "free running," mechanics are horrid. My guy never goes where I intend him to. Why can't they be like those in Infamous and Uncharted? Speaking of Uncharted, why is Nathan Drake the main character?! Nolan North voice acts in way too many video games

[King Mark 3,631]

The free running takes a while but got used to it..and climbing buildings. It's mostly what you do in the game . The controls seemed overly complicated

But even at the end of the game I had problems with some of the races mini-games. They have time limits and I kept falling at the wrong place or tripping up

I finished Dark Kingdom

How do low budget games make the end boss harder? By totally changing the combat mechanics without warning you and suddenly removing the "look " right stick camera control so you can't even see where he is or aim your ranged attacks

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

I draw a line between artificially ramping up the difficulty by picking "hard" and lowering it too much by playing "easy" and not having to use many of the more advanced options and coast through the game . Normal is usually the way the game is meant to be played. Right now your playing a watered down "hack and slash" version of Dragon Age.

The "tactics" options was very important part of the game for me and you NEED to use them if you play on normal or enemies like the High Dragon will kill your party instantly

Every one in my party had very specific instructions ,like what spells to cast and exactly when to drink a health or mana potion and so forth. Like I kept dying in the Denerim side quests until I had everyone drink potions when their health got under 50% for example and the mages to heal when necessary. Then I tweaked them all the time

and you need a LOT of potions in this game, so be careful not to piss off the elf guy who sells Lyrium roots so he doesn't want to sell you anymore

The tactics is the first thing I set up in Dragon Age 2 also so my party members don't do random crap I don't want them to

oops. I have used like 2 or 3 health potions, and non lyrium.

I think i'm missing something Healing spell seems to suffice.

I'll try setting those tactics, but i looked into it and it looked rahter complicated and arduous to set....

[King Mark 3,631]

I'll try setting those tactics, but i looked into it and it looked rahter complicated and arduous to set....

I think that's the point . At the beginning of the game in Normal you can beat the enemies using the default tactics, but you get to a point where you have to set them manually or keep dying, and make vast supplies of health potions and so forth.. That's the type of things I love about more complex RPG's , you have to dig a little deeper into the game mechanics and sub-menus and discover these things even if they seem obscure at first. And once you set them and your party members do exactly what they should be doing , it's a rewarding experience.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Assassin's Creed II is getting better the more I delve into it. I can finally assassinate people! What a surprise!

[Quintus 5,399]

About three hours into Castlevania: Lord of Shadows. Wow, this game is pretty. Superb fun to play and explore, too. Not what I was expecting at all.

I've heard it's a big game, but I reckon I'll see it through. I like.

[King Mark 3,631]

Can you control the camera view with the right stick or it's like GOW3?

Assassin's Creed II is getting better the more I delve into it. I can finally assassinate people! What a surprise!

Are you going to climb every tower to fill the map? I did. I also grabbed every single treasure chest

to me the best part of Assassins Creed 2 was finding the symbol puzzles on the wall relating to the main story and the dungeons for the 5 hidden seals to get the armor of Altair

[Quintus 5,399]

Nah, it's like GoW 3.

Doesn't particularly bother me, though. The camera is pretty much always where you need it to be.

Actually KM, I'm surprised you haven't already done this game. Seems very much like your cup of tea, to me.

I was thinking last night, hmm, could this turn out to be even better than God of War?.

[King Mark 3,631]

I told you to play Bayonetta first. It's GOW3 with the controls exactly like I want them

[Quintus 5,399]

Yeah that's coming next. I went into my account and added it to my rental list, but I need to send Castlevania back first before they will post it to me. I've had it for ages but only started it this weekend.

[King Mark 3,631]

Anyways I think a fixed camera, and top-down isometric perspective in RPG's, is a remnant of when the 3D design technology wasn't good enough to render backgrounds properly and hinders game play severely. In other words, should never be used in modern games

[Quintus 5,399]

I don't really mind a fixed camera so long as it's been designed properly and it isn't a hindrance. The best camera work in the biz has to be in the Mario series, it's just so sublimely done.

Anyway, has anyone seen this? (Watch it in HD)

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-2011-bioshock-infinite/717145

My. Jaw. Just. Dropped.

Up until now I thought Portal 2 had Game of the Year in the bag, but now I'm not so sure.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

BioShock Infinite comes out next year.

While Portal 2 is superb, the game of the year will almost certainly go to Uncharted 3.

Assassin's Creed II is getting better the more I delve into it. I can finally assassinate people! What a surprise!

Are you going to climb every tower to fill the map? I did. I also grabbed every single treasure chest

to me the best part of Assassins Creed 2 was finding the symbol puzzles on the wall relating to the main story and the dungeons for the 5 hidden seals to get the armor of Altair

Yep, I'm going to try and do every last thing. I love how you can upgrade your city and stuff like that. The combat system is still very rigid, in my opinion. But now it's definitely more like a RPG and those elements make it so much more enjoyable than the first 90 minutes of gameplay.

[Quintus 5,399]

BioShock Infinite comes out next year.

While Portal 2 is superb, the game of the year will almost certainly go to Uncharted 3.

Uncharted doesn't stand a chance.

Next year for Bioshock? Pfft.

[Luke Skywalker 1,796]

In dregon age, the cutscene when you get the boat to travel to the tower of magi, is that an hommage to arriving to howrts from the 1st film, right?

inon zur should have hommaged williams there too

[King Mark 3,631]

The combat system is still very rigid, in my opinion.

You get more fancy techniques later, but it's always better assassinate than fight with other weapons when given the choice.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

I pretty much just sit and wait for them to strike so I can counter-kill them.

I ordered another copy of Mafia II. I was playing it a couple nights ago, and was literally like 5 Playboy magazines away from getting Platinum. I get a message and a chat invite from one of my friends. I don't immediately respond, but I reach my checkpoint and quit the game. Eject the disc, put it away, etc. Try to join the chat to discover that he didn't stick around and deleted it.

So, I decide to pop the game back in. The disc doesn't show up in the XMB, and my PS3 makes the "eject" sound, but the disc doesn't come out. I manually eject, pop it back in, and the same thing happens. I start to freak out thinking it's my PS3, but then I pop in Assassin's Creed II and it's fine.

I try Mafia II again, same thing. I eject it, and as I'm taking it out I realize that it somehow got cracked. There's a small split from the inner circle that managed to reach the meat of the disc. Don't know how the hell it happened. Was working fine, and then less than a minute later it's cracked and won't read.

[King Mark 3,631]

I put a DVD that made the PS3 make weird sounds once (I think it was the RotS special features disk).Maybe it was some sort of physical defect and the PS3 is sensitive to that

ok, for me I guess it's really Fallout New Vegas time

[Wojo 2,453]

I just bought the Dead Money and Honest Hearts DLCs on Steam for ridiculously cheap. The third comes out next week. Even though I haven't even left the tutorial village in NV yet -- still looking for those plants, because I haven't made the time to play, let alone tag all my music -- I could not pass up the deal.

[Ollie 1,059]

Tiger Woods 2012, they've added a caddy. I wish there was an option to wrap your club around his neck.

[Wojo 2,453]

Tiger Woods 2012, they've added a caddy. I wish there was an option to wrap your club around his neck.

So the white SUV driving mini-game was dropped from the final game, too?

[Koray Savas 2,251]

ok, for me I guess it's really Fallout New Vegas time

It's about time!

I just bought the Dead Money and Honest Hearts DLCs on Steam for ridiculously cheap. The third comes out next week. Even though I haven't even left the tutorial village in NV yet -- still looking for those plants, because I haven't made the time to play, let alone tag all my music -- I could not pass up the deal.

Still in Goodsprings?! That means you've played for like 20 minutes

Dead Money wasn't very good, but I liked Honest Hearts.

[Ollie 1,059]

Tiger Woods 2012, they've added a caddy. I wish there was an option to wrap your club around his neck.

So the white SUV driving mini-game was dropped from the final game, too?

John and I tried to get a write in campaign to have it added, you get the option of playing Tiger or Elin. But EA wasn't too thrilled about the idea.

[King Mark 3,631]

Fall out New Vegas just got an important patch. Perfect timing

[Wojo 2,453]

No more than a half hour, that's for sure. I took what I could from the doctor, but the draw distance on the laptop I'm playing it on is terrible, so I wasn't able to save the lady from the tutorial geckos, and I can't even see them till they're right on top of me. I just haven't transferred the game to my desktop yet.

[King Mark 3,631]

Played a few hours of Fallout New Vegas

I'm level 5 and I put most of a skill points in Guns so I'm already at 85 and do a lot of damage.(in Fallout 3 I mostly used normal guns ,and Energy Weapons late in the game)

Now I'll put points in speech, because there's a lot of speech checks for quests

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Already Level 85 Guns? Jesus KM, spread it out.

Speech is the #1 skill you need if you like to talk your way through things like me. Unlike in Fallout 3, you need a specific level if you want to pass a speech option. I preferred having a percent of success. You'll need Level 100 if you want to beat the game without much of a struggle. Guns, Medicine, and Speech were my three skill choices. Melee and Unarmed are the ones I never upgraded.

I'm Level 49 right now have most of the important stuff at Level 100: Guns, Energy Weapons, Barter, Speech, Lockpick, Science, and Medicine.

The Old World Blues DLC was supposed to be in the store today, but alas there is nothing.

[King Mark 3,631]

I have 9 intelligence and a learning perk so I get 17 skill points by level

My next 3 levels will be spent on speech. I'm taking a bit of a risk I might get stuck in the meantime but I can always go kill random wildlife until I gain a few levels. I haven't even found a decent weapon yet...mostly using a 9mm pistol to kill things

Right now I'm "reviled" by the Powder Gangers and they attack me on sight .I hope I sided with the right people

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Powder Gangers are the only faction I never really dealt with. I always defended Goodsprings in the beginning and ignored them until tens of hours later. After I did mostly everything I went back and killed them all at their base.