toxicitizen

Dark Souls II isn't a bad game by any means, it's still better than most of what's out there imho. It's just disappointing because of the way it feels like they just tried to emulate the first game without really putting much thought into why Dark Souls did things the way it did. It definitely improves on some elements but, overall, Dark Souls 1 had a lot of subtle but very deliberate design decisions that added up to create a very satisfying experience. Dark Souls II really feels like it lacked that strong, cohesive vision driving its design.

Been hearing really good things about it on NeoGAF. People are saying it's a better stealth game than the recent Thief, which I actually enjoyed, so it sounds right up my alley. I passed on it when it was one of the dailies on Steam but it's in the VIP section over on GMG today (better discounts but no vouchers can be applied) and I was able to use what little credit I had left to bring it down just low enough where I couldn't say no. It's a prequel to Of Orcs and Men, though, which I haven't played. Hopefully I won't miss out on much by playing this one first.

1) Then you're going to absolutely fucking despise Dark Souls II. Not only is there somewhat of a repeat of the Gargoyles fight (only worse), one of the main complaints leveled at the game is how it takes an overly simplistic approach to creating challenge by simply increasing the number of enemies you're fighting at once. And, naturally, that design philosophy extends to boss fights. 2) The game is getting GFWL patched out in favor of Steamworks in the very near future. So, if that matters to you at all, you might want to hold off on playing for a little bit. They said there's going to be a way to transfer saves and achievements, though.

Ethan was supposed to send everyone their targets yesterday but he hasn't done it yet so you're probably good.

Yeah, that's always a risk with Early Access. Games I'm willing to take a chance on are definitely in the minority. In this case, considering Hinterland is made up of established industry vets as opposed to unknown/unproven devs, it seemed like a safer bet. That and the combination of overwhelmingly positive feedback, having quite a bit of extra cash to spend and being really intrigued by the premise made it hard to resist. Their goal is to be in Early Access for no more than 2-3 months so I think the core mechanics are pretty far along.

Purchases from the Steam sale so far. BattleBlock Theater was more of a "eh, why the hell not" since it was like a dollar but I've had my eye on Circuits for a couple weeks now. It's a neat little music-themed puzzle game. As for The Long Dark, I've been intrigued by it ever since the initial kickstarter. Haven't had a lot of time to try it yet but so far it seems pretty cool. It's still in Early Access so only the sandbox mode is available right now but I'm really looking forward to seeing how the story mode will play out. I tend to be very careful which Early Access games I support and this one seemed like a safe bet. It's getting regular updates and the devs seem to know what they're doing. I was hoping for a better deal on Isaac but my PS+ sub is ending like today or tomorrow and I'm not sure if I'll re-sub right away so I went for it.

What? Was anyone actually expecting the christmas sale this early. This was obviously going to be a much shorter, smaller sale.

Not sure I follow you on that one. Dark Souls II had a pretty damn good PC port.

While a console port to PS4/XOne isn't surprising, it doesn't really sit right with me that they're going to be selling a new PC version. I mean, some of it is going to be patched in, which is cool, but some content and the visual upgrades (and DX11 support) will require a new purchase. There is absolutely no way to justify this on PC, there are no hardware limitations preventing them from updating the existing version's visuals. They better price it very reasonably for existing owners because otherwise it's little more than a shameless cash grab. And for fuck's sake, if you're going to charge for it then at the very least put some effort into the process and offer a damn upgrade path. I'll most likely want the upgrade but I really don't need two copies of Dark Souls II in my Steam library.

I can't interpret a delay as anything other than a good thing. It shows a willingness to recognize that a game isn't ready to be released. That only benefits us in the end.

You're on Steam, Cowboy?! I had no idea.

God, Ethan! This normally goes in Events! Can't you do anything right?! (I'm in.)

Lol. Not sure if you're joking but if you aren't then go back like 4 posts.

IS IT JUNE YET?!?

Skullgirls is currently on sale on GMG, Castle of Illusion was a couple days ago. I've been meaning to get both for a while but for some reason never pulled the trigger whenever they went on sale. I guess being able to stack a 20+% voucher on top of a 75% discount makes it harder to say no. Really looking forward to checking out Skullgirls, if only because I've heard such high praise of its tutorial. Will this be the game that finally teaches me how to get good at fighting games?! Probably not.

Valkyria Chronicles. Every bit as good as I remembered it to be. The increased resolution really makes the game's visuals shine more than ever before, especially if you downsample. And considering how buttery smooth it runs, downsampling from 4K is very feasible on a shit rig like mine and with only a negligible performance hit. If you like turn-based strategy games, you really need to give this one a shot. Another thing to note is that VC was one of those PS3 games that never got a trophy patch despite a lot of fans voicing their desire for one. So it's kinda nice to finally have achievements for it, I'm definitely going to try going for 100% completion. And with that, I'm reminded that I still haven't played VCII. It's been on my Vita ready to go for a while but now I'm thinking maybe I should wait to see if they port that one to PC as well. But in the meantime, DO VANQUISH NEXT, SEGA!

Went to see Interstellar saturday night. I'd normally consider myself a pretty big fan of Nolan but holy shit, this is his best one yet and by far. The story was great and they clearly did their research when it comes to the physics behind it all, so that's always nice. But the most memorable part for me had to be the soundtrack. It's just so fucking good and adds so much tension to what's happening on-screen. I also highly recommend seeing it in 70mm IMAX because some of the shots look so fucking amazing that it would be doing the movie a disservice to experience it any other way.

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. I mean, I guess? I lucked into a really strong build and beat Mom. I know she's not the true final boss and that the game is only just getting started and all that but you know what, fuck it. I never managed to beat the regular final boss in Spelunky so I'm counting this one. I don't think I ever managed to beat her in the original version of Isaac, so I'm wondering if it was just a really lucky build or if the game overall is easier. It definitely plays a lot better so that probably indirectly helps. Also, it's really nice having the game on Vita but I think I'd rather play it on my PC. :/ I kinda regret not getting it while the loyalty discount was active because, with the introduction of Canadian dollars on Steam, it's 17 bucks right now and there's no way I'm paying that much for it. Oh well, hopefully it'll go on sale during the holidays or whatever.

I was tempted to get the Vita version back in September but now that it's on Steam I'm really glad I didn't. Got an extra copy to gift, too. Now if I can just find someone willing to trade me Binding of Isaac: Rebirth for it, that'd be awesome.

Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways. Does this count? Eh, whatever, who cares. So, playing Ada's campaign in RE6 made me remember that I still needed to do the same thing in RE4. I've played RE4 quite a few times but somehow never touched Separate Ways until now. It was kinda jarring going back to RE4 right after RE6. The old controls were confusing for about 20 seconds but then it was kind of insane how much better in every way RE4 is. And this is only a side campaign that mostly re-uses assets from the main game, there's very little actual new content. I think it goes without saying but RE6 is not a scary game in the least. There's no tension whatsoever at any point in the game, not even during the Nemesis-like bits in Jake's campaign. But there was one moment near the end of Separate Ways where you go through a room from RE4's main campaign. You know the one, a broken staircase at the end and decrepit jail cells on each sides. I knew logically that the regenerator probably wouldn't be there because I didn't have the thermal scope necessary to take it out. But man, I was still nervous as hell making my way through there. It took me no more than 5 mins to clear that room but it was more interesting and memorable than anything in all of RE6's 20+ hours. It just goes to show how a little bit of tension and atmosphere goes a long way when the lack of an enemy was more fun than an entire game's worth of over the top action bullshit.

Good, so you can still return it!

Lol. Why am I not surprised? But still, I've actually felt like giving FFXIII a replay for a couple years now, I've just been putting it off again and again, even when I have the time. The PC version pretty much just gave me an excuse to do it sooner rather than later. The only problem with that is that, in true Square Enix fashion, they're being complete fucking morons about it. The game is 50GBs because you have to download all the audio files (and I think video?) for both languages. I'm pretty sure Steam has some kind of option to select your language under game properties. Fucking use that! Or shit, at least make the Japanese files into DLC, that way at least you can choose not to install it. As it is, even if you delete the files you don't need you'll end up having to redownload everything whenever the game gets patched.

I already spent the credit I was saving for this on Valkyria Chronicles so I had to pay out of pocket. I was going to wait since I still haven't really touched FFXIII but then GMG sent me a 25% voucher that stacks on top of the 10% pre-order discount. 13.50$ was low enough for me to bite. Unlike FFXIII, I've never actually played this one. I think I have a digital copy of the PS3 version from when it was on sale on PSN but I never got around to playing it. It's been so long since I played the original that I felt like I needed to replay it first anyway, so I'm not too bothered by the accidental double-dipping. I'd rather play it on PC anyway.

Resident Evil 6. Finished the last campaign tonight. Eh, I can honestly say that I did not expect to enjoy this one as much as I did. It's a fucking awful Resident Evil game (and I even kinda want to say a bad game overall) but it's actually pretty damn fun! Ironically enough, I thought the more action-oriented campaigns were the best ones. Leon's was probably the weakest of the bunch (and holy shit lol @ Capcom calling it the "traditional atmospheric" one. Yeaah... no.) but I ended up blasting right through Jake's, Chris' and Ada's campaigns over the week-end. They're much shorter but still, all together that's about two-thirds of a 20+ hours long game. Hard to complain too much when it's that engrossing. But like I said, kind of a bad game. I should expand on that. Say what you will about tank controls and not being able to move and shoot at the same time but at least those controls were fucking tight. Here, the characters move way too fast, the aiming is a bit too floaty and almost everything about the control scheme feels unpolished and "loose". Then there's the story, which is a complete fucking mess. It's enjoyable if you like Resident Evil's trademark cheesiness but I felt like splitting it all up between 4 campaigns did more harm than good. Taken individually, none of the campaigns have a particularly satisfying narrative. And this might seem a bit nitpicky but what is the point of having the campaigns intersect if you're not going to maintain consistency? Like, the first time I played through a certain event I ended up looking forward to experiencing it again from the other character's point of view. Then when I got to that part, it was just... the same. Like, literally the same fucking thing. The perspective wasn't flipped, I just went through the same section of the level and the other guys somehow magically ended up where I should've been. I mean, I get that it was probably easier to make it this way but if you're going to half-ass it then why even bother? Anyway, despite my criticism I actually enjoyed the game a lot and I'm really glad I gave it a shot. It's just really not up to the series' usual level of quality, in terms of both polish and game design. I really fucking hope that RE7 will go back to being a regular one campaign game. This little experiment was fun but it did not work. Not even a little. It's definitely the worst out of all the modern REs (4,5,6 and Revelations). But at least until then, between the HD Remaster of the GCN remake and Revelations 2 looking like it might be decent, it's actually not a bad time to be a Resident Evil fan.

You're a bad person. Also, why? I kinda want to say it gets better and that that's too early to write it off but without knowing what it is you disliked about it then it's hard to say for sure. I mean, I know you like stealth games and I can't imagine how a fan of stealth games could possibly not love MotN.