Welcome to the Next Level, a.k.a. The Video Game Thread Options

[Sir_Robin_the_br...]

Get both of them. Go on, you know you want to.

I think you can probably pick up Dead Rising for about the price of a round in the pub these days.

[fatseff1234]

That's where I was divided, as I love games with zombies in it.

Easy choice then, Dead Rising it is.

If you feel you've made the wrong choice on my account, I'll sit here and not really care .

But seriously Dead Rising had me far more wrapped up than Half Life 2 and just think, GTA with Zombies.

[GundamGuy_UK]

You've got me wanting Dead Rising now.

And it's on a BOGOF offer in Game, with Gears of War... looks like more money gone tomorrow.

[Jubei]

And Portal:Still Alive is due out for the 360 arcade at some point too.

Whoop de la Hoop! What is that, like an expansion pack? Or a standalone? Do I hold off giving back The Orange Box to my friend for that?

[GundamGuy_UK]

As far as I know, Still Alive is an expansion exclusive to 360.

There's a full other game coming though, but judging how Valve handle release dates it could be years away.

[monkeyman]

The Orange Box wins over most things, not just Dead Rising.

Half Life 2 is one of the most perfectly structured games ever made and Portal is sublime.

Fun, fun, fun.

Agreed.

If you just want to have fun then you can just fuck off the time constraints. If you're going for it propperly then the harsh time constraints and having to be adequately tooled up for the job can add to the frantic tension created.

Yeah but the problem there is that its an automatic game over if you arent in the right place at the right time.....I reckon you have a point in that if I replayed it several times I'd probably enjoy it more as you level up and find things much easier.

[zeden]

Essentially an expansion for the original game, Still Alive will feature new stages and Achievements, and be available exclusively on Xbox Live Arcade this fall.

That's pretty much all I can track down in terms of what it'll actually contain.


Marvel vs Capcom 2 looks set for another outing, this time via download on the 360 Arcade and PSN. This hints that Capcom might just have the rights to Marvel characters again so number three might well be in production. After taunting myself with some brilliant content from the Mugen engine user made MVSC3 I'm aching for a legit sequel.
Check out footage of user made versions of Captain Marvel, a very simple Galactus, ProtoMan, Thor (Including cool Norse Gods finisher), The Thing and Carnage.
And Part 2 featuring Spiderman 2099, Hulk 2099, a simple Green Goblin, Sandman (including Sinister Six finisher), Deadpool, Ghostrider and finally some kind of Onslaught/Venom mix up for the last boss.

Has anyone used Mugen at all? I'm interested to give it a try, but I expect my computer could run it at a shocking frame rate.

[Nonus Aequilibri...]

As far as I know, Still Alive is an expansion exclusive to 360.

There's a full other game coming though, but judging how Valve handle release dates it could be years away.

I downloaded Still Alive and from what I can tell, it was just basically the same game as in the Orange Box, only available on Xbox Live Arcade. There were a couple of levels I didn't recognise, so they may have been extra levels, but I'm not sure.

I reckon you have a point in that if I replayed it several times I'd probably enjoy it more as you level up and find things much easier.

That is one of the problems with it, you're quite underpowered when you start the game and so it's quite frustrating. However, once you've played it for a while, it becomes way more fun. You play it through the first time quite sloppy, just levelling your character up. Your character persists across new games though so if you start a new game after having got to level 50, you'll still be level 50 right from the start, with any goodies you unlocked from previous playthroughs in the safe room (like the real megaman weapon that makes psychos piss easy to kill if you did the genocide achievement).

[Drifter]

Well got the Bioshock problem figured out, why I never thought of it earlier I dont know. Its like with Halo 3 and Assassins Creed, you have to remove the hard drive and insert the MU if you want to save any of your progress and achievements. Ive no idea why, remove hard drive and it works, put hard drive back on and it refuses to work - microsoft madness.

[Llama]

A bit late to the discussion.. but I'd like to add my name to the list of "meh" reviews for 'Dead Rising'. I only played it twice and then sent it back to LoveFilm.

[fatseff1234]

I downloaded Still Alive and from what I can tell, it was just basically the same game as in the Orange Box, only available on Xbox Live Arcade. There were a couple of levels I didn't recognise, so they may have been extra levels, but I'm not sure.

That is one of the problems with it, you're quite underpowered when you start the game and so it's quite frustrating. However, once you've played it for a while, it becomes way more fun. You play it through the first time quite sloppy, just levelling your character up. Your character persists across new games though so if you start a new game after having got to level 50, you'll still be level 50 right from the start, with any goodies you unlocked from previous playthroughs in the safe room (like the real megaman weapon that makes psychos piss easy to kill if you did the genocide achievement).

Portal: Still Alive is exactly that. Portal with one or two new puzzles thrown in. Which is good but not worth the purchase if you already have it within The Orange Box.

I feel Dead Rising's play throughs boil down to this:

1) You're out for your own survival. Try and help people if you can but mainly figure out the layout of the mall and work out the quickest and safest routes between the multiple plazas. DON'T visit the Gun Shop.

2) With a half decent knowledge of the Mall and a rough Idea of what you're actually doing this time it's quite safe to be a bit more ambitious with your people saving. Mix it up a bit and go for more than one rescue at a time. DON'T visit the gun shop.

3) Frank's the man and the mall is yours for the taking. Go slap Cletus up-side his head.

Ofcourse i might just be talking out my ass and you lot may be more skilled gamers than I and quite capable of taking on everything the mall has to offer within your first play through.

Just enjoy the zombie-maiming.

Llama? you're "meh" .

Agreed.


Yeah but the problem there is that its an automatic game over if you arent in the right place at the right time.....I reckon you have a point in that if I replayed it several times I'd probably enjoy it more as you level up and find things much easier.

This is true, I managed to miss out on meeting Issobella at 10 on the final day on my second play through. Thus rendering the entire thing pretty much redundant. I'd bloody well worked hard on that play through as well. Oh and one little tip. There's a couple of main storyline missions that you need to leave yourself ample time for getting to a boss and for killing them as well. Twice I had to give up on a full game because I just hadn't left myself enough time.

It's not really until level 35+ that you start to unlock the really interesting abilities, many of which really are quite fiddly to pull off. It makes them oh so much more special when you finally do though. My personal fav' is where frank runs up to a Zombie and rips his/her entrails out... Ah, good times.

You've got me wanting Dead Rising now.

And it's on a BOGOF offer in Game, with Gears of War... looks like more money gone tomorrow.

If you've not got those two particular titles then deffinately go for it, money well spent right there.

I actually feel like a spell of the Zombieness myself, hmmm, I did say I was going to re-play The Darkness though... choices, choices.

[GundamGuy_UK]

From IGN:

October 14, 2008 - According to a Tokyo Game Show report from Japanese investment research firm Morningstar, Metal Gear Solid 4 may find its way to the Xbox 360 after all. Morningstar published a general article covering multiplatform trends that features a quote from a Konami public relations representative that should fuel rumors for months to come. The rep is quoted as saying, regarding MGS4, "We're actively looking into a release for the Xbox 360." While this isn't a confirmation of it coming, it does lend hope to those Xbox 360 owners who haven't plunked down money on a PS3.

[Omniscia]

So, I've gone back to the original Diablo for a bit. I'd nearly forgotten how much fun it can be!

[monkeyman]

From IGN:

October 14, 2008 - According to a Tokyo Game Show report from Japanese investment research firm Morningstar, Metal Gear Solid 4 may find its way to the Xbox 360 after all. Morningstar published a general article covering multiplatform trends that features a quote from a Konami public relations representative that should fuel rumors for months to come. The rep is quoted as saying, regarding MGS4, "We're actively looking into a release for the Xbox 360." While this isn't a confirmation of it coming, it does lend hope to those Xbox 360 owners who haven't plunked down money on a PS3

Thats interesting as Kotaku have a very similar article: http://kotaku.com/5063447/konami-officiall...al-gear-solid-4
But the quote there is

The worldwide demand for an Xbox 360 version (of MGS4) is quite high, and it is something we are currently looking in to.

Which is very different from the quote IGN gave. It'd be good for the franchise if it went multi platform as it would get much more money and therfore be bigger and better, which can only be a good thing.
The only problems I can see with a port is that the game was designed and built specifically around the (apparantly difficult to work with) PS3 architecture, and I don't see how it could be ported with the same level of detail. Theres also the issue of multiple disc costs, I remember reading an article by the guys at id Software, who were talking about their game Rage; they said that the 360 version would look inferior to the PS3 version because they were having to cut/reduce textures to fit it onto less discs as they weren't willing to pay the ludicrous royalty costs on so many additional discs.
It'll be interesting to see them replace the PS3's in the game and change the in game digs at anything not Blu-Ray/Sony.

This post has been edited by monkeyman: Oct 15 2008, 09:17 AM

[Jubei]

Thats interesting as Kotaku have a very similar article: http://kotaku.com/5063447/konami-officiall...al-gear-solid-4
But the quote there is
Which is very different from the quote IGN gave. It'd be good for the franchise if it went multi platform as it would get much more money and therfore be bigger and better, which can only be a good thing.
The only problems I can see with a port is that the game was designed and built specifically around the (apparantly difficult to work with) PS3 architecture, and I don't see how it could be ported with the same level of detail. Theres also the issue of multiple disc costs, I remember reading an article by the guys at id Software, who were talking about their game Rage; they said that the 360 version would look inferior to the PS3 version because they were having to cut/reduce textures to fit it onto less discs as they weren't willing to pay the ludicrous royalty costs on so many additional discs.
It'll be interesting to see them replace the PS3's in the game and change the in game digs at anything not Blu-Ray/Sony.

There's plenty of cross platform games, so it can't be that hard to make something that works on A also work on B. Also, those quotes could be translations, hence the difference? It's good news for me though, as MGS4 is one of the few games that makes me want a PS3.