The Game/Book Club- Bioshock - Use a golf club through choice by 18/2 - The Bear and Badger

Moot_Geeza

Dark Soldier wrote:

I may very well be in for Stranger's Wrath (will purchase on ps3) and Sonic Adventure.

I'm really looking forward to both.Â I'll try to get Retrokings1981 to play it too, as he might as well make the most of the rare scraps he gets from me in our heavily one-sided gameshare deal.

Birdorf

I'll give Pikmin a crack, only ever played it for a couple of hours, didn't grip me.

James

Definitely up for Pikmin, it's the only game on the list so far that I didn't complete back in the day.

Does Stranger's Wrath work bc on 360? I still have it in the loft but no oldbox.

Will use Sonic Adventure as an excuse to get a VGA box for my DC.

Moot_Geeza

James wrote:

Does Stranger's Wrath work bc on 360?

Unfortunately not.

James

Moot_Geeza wrote:

James wrote:

Does Stranger's Wrath work bc on 360?

Unfortunately not.

Cheers, suppose I'll pick up the HD update for PS3 at some point.

Moot_Geeza

It's about time it went in some sort of weekly deal, I've been waiting since release.Â Perhaps I missed it.

James

Think it's free on that PSN+ thingy

Moot_Geeza

Yeah, I was tempted, but not keeping games when your sub expires put me off.Â I'd already prefer it if XBLA/PSN/Wiiare games were also available in cheap disk editions, because even though downloadable gaming is the best thing about this gen for me, I'd still prefer a physical copy of Fez etc.

Moot_Geeza

Can we do Super Metroid at some point next year?Â I want to play it but I need a push.

Dark Soldier

Sure thing, I'd play through it again right now.

Nina

I'd love to do Pikmin, guess you mean the first one? I almost completed it, but panicked when I realized I probably didn't have enough time left to complete. Was probably just me being stupid, but I've always fancied to give it another go.

Would do Stranger's Wrath as well.

Tempy

I have reached strut A today and just now I read the OP and Reg's TEACHERMODE at me yesterday was not on as it basically says you can chat about the game however you want but also that you can only chat about it on Friday. MADNESS.

regmcfly

NONONONONO you could chat about your previous memories and recollections or expectations, but try to keep it out of your present gaming experience.

FUL.

hylian_elf

On Strut A. Now how do I quit to titled screen???

Also, how do you install games on ps3?

Tempy

You can't quit to title, except through a node I believe.

hylian_elf

Started downloading Stranger's Wrath in prep for the future. 290 minutes. Riiiiiightttttt.

regmcfly

Wheeee embargo lifts at 00:01

Sasukekun

I wont be saying anything until I've woken up....

regmcfly

Last night to get the first bit done! I've been messing around with Otacon calls.

regmcfly

Breaking curfew, but have shit to do tomorrow - So here's my thoughts -
I remember the stealth in the game being much more complicated, watching lights, timing patrols, being awesome. It's not like that at all. It's all about pre programmed patrols, learning these and working around them. Considering I finished MGS1 with Big Boss status - twice - I guess I must have known that deep down.

It's still utterly bonkers - what other game would build in 60-90 second dialogue moments that you can miss just by not looking in the right place, or taking the right photo. See "snake beater".

So I got stuck once while playing it, on crew Decl A at the stairs area where the glass is and the guard sitting on the stairs. Couldn't figure out what to do, so took the alarm and pegged it.

Olga was kind of cool once the taro got going, had to really think about how to place my darts. And I do love the MG ray speech where the commander adds in stretch breaks and makes reference to his repeating himself.

Having fun so far, but nowhere near as memorable as Snake Earer, which I'm currently ROMPING on my 3DS (no spottings yet!)

Tempy

I am breaking too because I am up at 5am tomorrow and then at work for 10 hours and I doubt I can bothered when I get home.

I am still impressed with the cinematic look of the game. Graphically it holds up even in HD through virtue of wonderfully clean textures. The game gets 'military porn' in a way that CoD never, ever will. Watching the Russian's take over the Tanker is a masterclass in motion capture, down to the way they hold their rifles and how the walk around, tapping each others backs etc.Â

I find myself having less patience for the dialogue these days, although it does have its own wonderfully unique style, full of brilliantÂ acronymsÂ and bizarre historical facts about weapons treaties and formation/dissolvingÂ of various organisation... it's something that is very much opposed with the nutty attitude the rest of the game holds. Kojima is aÂ schizophrenicÂ mental, and I love him for it. Any editing to force it into more absurd or less absurd territory would ruin it. the friction between the two elements is perfect for the game.

The controls do feel really dated, especially the camera and shooting (Xbox has no analogue buttons so shooting isn't very fun) and like Reg said, the stealth isn't complicated, it's just pacman but with a few more controls. However, when you get spotted, escaping is a lot of fun and the AI is still ruthless at finding you. The tranq gun kinda steals a lot of the fun from the game as it is far to easy to just tranq and hold up everyone as the ammo never runs dry.

Niggles were had at the corridor shooting section which had meÂ flummoxedÂ for a good hour or so, I just couldn't get into the mindset of the controls (didn't help that I hadn't figured out how to invert by that point) and only just scraped through - I did love the ability to lean and pop up from cover in first person though, an advantage of the most backwards of shooting schemes.

Something that has interested me is my attitude to failing on it. I cannot abide hitting the alert on the game, and I think this comes back to being able to finish it on much harder difficulties in the past. In the intervening 8 years, easier games have compromised my skills and their tight control schemes andÂ rigorouslyÂ tested set pieces make it hard to go back to a game that is interested in you learning it well, I'm having to spend a lot more time restarting than usual as I am unable to swallow my pride just yet. That'll come though.

I also played through MGS3 this week too. That is an absolutely timeless classic. It looks divine to this day and the gameplay is brilliant. The slower pace of the jungle sneaking is amazing, but there are still a few weak sections where getting spotted is far too easy. Lots of blind corners that the game wants you to learn for the next playthrough. Still, very, very enjoyable.

hylian_elf

It's not as great as I remember. It was the game I waited for before buying a PS2.

Controls are definitely an issue. Found it frustrating being able to aim and move at the same time. Part of the reason why I dread going back to Resi (4) at some point - I just expect to be able to move and sim having played so many games in past years, FPS or otherwise, that allow this.Â

Fixed overhead viewpoint is a bitch. Annoying that you have to hold another button for first person view so you can see what the hell you're aiming at.Â

Cut scenes, eh? I knew I would find then annoying (again), but seriously! They can be so unnecessarily long. Can you pause them? I skipped one by accident, and skipped a lot of the end of tanker scenes on purpose. 20 seconds of a scene to show a soldier shooting and ray kicking him? Fucking hell, that's pointless.Â

Also, a hell of a lot of the dialogue is repetitive and pointless. Also also, if I press a button to skip through the dialogue quickly, there is no way to read the text and know who is supposed to be saying the lines. Stupid.Â

Some things are immersion breaking. You're in the flow of the game, then you end up with a long codec call. And what is it with the use of words like "action button"? Yes, I know I'm playing a game. But the game telling me I'm playing a game just breaks any immersion that was there.Â

Still, I love the sneaking and route making gameplay. It's still great. Getting caught and trying to escape can pose problems, but it's all fun and games.Â

Lots to go yet.

stormyskiesahead

I was planning my comment on this then read Hylian's post and realised it was pretty much identical. So yeah, dodgy controls and annoying cut scenes but good fun.

Birdorf

Love the way he trots up and down stairs, endearingly camp.

Choke

Ha, yes, and the somersault which looks awesome coming down the stairs, but up them....

Sasukekun

Gonna stick my tuppence in here

It's hard to tell whether the HD upgrade has had much of an effect, it looks exactly how you remember it. Textures are clean, but a little fuzzy, it looks good, but does it look different to qualify for the HD tag?

Anyway, despite that, playing through the tanker, you remember all those incidental details which were amazing at the time. You can shoot individual bottles, the watermelons in the store rooms explode when shot, flour can choke the room when you shoot the bags.Â
It's all very familiar 'Boom!' forgot about those laser bombs.....sigh.

The crass humour has been added to as well, a 'Snake Beater' achievement/trophy popping up for the Easter egg of 'pleasuring yourself' in front of a poster and calling Otacon, guess it matches Hideo's rather silly sense of humour.

We're the controls really this bad back then? If they were this fiddly when I was younger and less patient surely I would have given up?

regmcfly

Snake's face at Snake beater = priceless.

I think the controls were that bad, we were in the days of N64 3D platforming...

Sasukekun

I had significant problems sticking to walls and thus corner peeking.
Whether this is an effect caused by the Vita's tiny sticks, or just my general ability I do not know.

In theory, was MGS2 the first cover shooter?

stormyskiesahead

I'm playing this on my PS2 and I'm also having trouble sticking to walls. More often than not I'll Just slide along the wall and into full view of the baddies.

I remember it being exactly this awkward when released but, as Reg said, so were many others. You just put up with it because this is how it was.

Tempy

Sasukekun wrote:

In theory, was MGS2 the first cover shooter?

Winback was before that and Spinter Cell was roughly the same time as MGS2, but they're both stealth games, not cover shooters. The first 'cover shooter' technically was Konami's Kill Switch, as shooting from cover was the core mechanic.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories