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

[zeden]

I'll make a point of adding you when I get in Kick.

Alistair got pissy because I made a few choices towards the end that he didn't agree with. He ended up going off in a huff.
And seeing as the choice for guys is either horrid harridan Morrigan or chaste religious "mess up one conversation and we'll never get off" Lelianna, my first character got no sexy times at all. My angry dwarf on the other hand has been getting off with the vicious cow, cos he's a right bastard and all that.

I pre ordered DA2 yesterday, four days after the free upgrade to the Signature edition promotion ended. It's only £35 on shopto though so I can probably just buy the extra content with the money I've saved.

Also ordered Deus Ex 3 to get the extra dlc mission pack for free. They're advertising it as featuring a character from the other games. I'm thinking Tracer Tong or JC perhaps.

And those Skyrim pics look, for want of a slightly less over used term, epic.

This post has been edited by zeden: Jan 17 2011, 12:09 AM

[monkeyman]

Littlebigplanet 2 on Friday, Dead Space 2 Monday after, Killzone 3 February and Infamous 2 & Deus Ex March after is my game buying plans for now. I won't bother with Mass Effect 2 as we have it in the 360. Dragon Age 2 I'll get at some point when it's cheaper.
Good start to the year.

The Skyrim screenshots do indeed look epic. I just hope they make combat a bit more...visceral and less silly. It was all based on behind the scenes dice rolls wasn't it? So in Oblivion you could swing at a rat with a longsword but if your sword skill wasn't high enough you'd miss.
I'd like to see a fight system that takes more skill, looking for openings between enemies attacking/blocking to attack them or parry their hits. Critical hits like hitting them in the knack for one hit kills would be great also.
I'd like to see realtime armour/body damage and gore but I'm not hopeful.

[fatseff1234]

I would like Skyrims babies.

[GundamGuy_UK]

The Skyrim screenshots do indeed look epic. I just hope they make combat a bit more...visceral and less silly. It was all based on behind the scenes dice rolls wasn't it? So in Oblivion you could swing at a rat with a longsword but if your sword skill wasn't high enough you'd miss.

I know what you mean. The main reason I could never get into them is because it never felt like I was doing anything in combat - me attacking, seeing the sword move, and any damage incurred all seemed like very separate events. Fallout gets past this problem by having guns, so I can play those fine.

[zeden]

It was all based on behind the scenes dice rolls wasn't it? So in Oblivion you could swing at a rat with a longsword but if your sword skill wasn't high enough you'd miss.

It was Morrowind that had that little quirk. I can remember playing it for the first time, charging at an enemy and finding that in spite of my sword passing through his head I was doing nothing. Glad that kind of thing has been relegated to the past.

[Silky]

Don't get me wrong, I completed Dragon Age twice, and I loved certain characters (mostly Morrigan )
I think my mistake was getting the console version. It's just that I was expecting more.
I think that DA is a victim of Biowares reputation for truly amazing games. If any other studio had made it, i'd have no problems, I've just come to expect more from Bioware over the years.

[monkeyman]

@Zeden: I was sure Oblivion was the same, but perhaps I'm just misremembering. Either way, as Joe says they need to work on making you feel more connected to the combat, there were very few instances in Oblivion where I felt that way so I hope they manage it.

Has any played Dead Space: Extraction? It's coming free with the PS3 version of Dead Space 2 and I'm wondering if it's any good. It's been given an HD polish. I'm tempted to get a set of Move controllers for it.

This post has been edited by monkeyman: Jan 17 2011, 09:55 AM

[Silky]

I want Skyrim. Hopefully they will employ more voice actors this time.

[Kick in the Head]

Has any played Dead Space: Extraction? It's coming free with the PS3 version of Dead Space 2 and I'm wondering if it's any good. It's been given an HD polish. I'm tempted to get a set of Move controllers for it.

I only played the first couple of levels with my brother, but he really liked it as a fan of the original game. I'd view it more as a companion piece than an actual game, in that the gameplay isn't particularly great but it's focus is more on backstory and atmosphere than actual balls-to-the-wall action - a little like the Resident Evil: Umbrella/Darkside Chronicles games but even more dialogue and script sequences. A fine diversion which was impressive on the Wii, but not a lot else.

[zeden]

@Zeden: I was sure Oblivion was the same, but perhaps I'm just misremembering. Either way, as Joe says they need to work on making you feel more connected to the combat, there were very few instances in Oblivion where I felt that way so I hope they manage it.

Nah, if you swung in Oblivion it would connect but if you were puny it would only take a tiny fraction of health and wouldn't stagger the enemy. Just watched a couple of vids to double check.

Bought Dishwasher off the Xbox arcade for 400ms points today. Value for money doesn't really cover it. I played 2-player with my mate Beezer for over an hour and we only got half way into the multiplayer levels.

[monkeyman]

PS3 version of Portal 2 gets Cross platform play
And other things

Alongside cross platform play, PS3 owners also get persistent cloud-based storage of saved games, cross platform chat (PC/Mac and PS3), and a digital Steam Play copy of Portal 2 for PC and Mac at no additional cost by simply linking your PSN and Steam accounts.

Awesome. Free PC copy with the PS3 version .
I guess it also means all the free updates and additions will actually occur via steamworks now? As the PS3/360 version currently have none of the free Team Fortress 2 updates do they?

[GundamGuy_UK]

That's a very, very good thing. I'm surprised it happened on PS3 first, whatwith the whole "360 is more like a PC than a console" ethos they keep mentioning.

I'm very excited about this, though. It could be the start of some amazing things. Personally, I'd like to see all multiplayer with the option of cross-platorm. Cloud saving is awesome, too. You'd never lose your saves, no matter what console you're on.

[Silky]

Sounds brilliant.
A friend of mine who is an avid PC user and has never owned or used a console is still amazed that all this stuff is not cross platform by now.

[monkeyman]

That's a very, very good thing. I'm surprised it happened on PS3 first, whatwith the whole "360 is more like a PC than a console" ethos they keep mentioning.

I'm very excited about this, though. It could be the start of some amazing things. Personally, I'd like to see all multiplayer with the option of cross-platorm. Cloud saving is awesome, too. You'd never lose your saves, no matter what console you're on.

I believe the reason it's not happening on the 360 (at the moment) is do to their policy regarding Live and things. The example I used of Team Fortress 2, in the PC version there's a hat collecting mechanic, crafting, new weapons and all sorts of tweaks that were free. Microsoft refused to release these things for the 360 version for free so Valve are going to release them in bundles to justify a price.
It's the same sort of reason the 360 doesn't have iplayer (because MS refuse to let Silver members have access to it).
Be interesting to see if they change there policies seeing as it looks like this is going to shift a lot of PS3 copies.

[Silky]

Watched a ten minute demo of Shogun 2 Total War last night. Looks like my PC is going to need an overhaul before March.