Hot Heart

http://biceratops.bandcamp.com/

Two chicks at the same time.

It's nice to see that people care about a cover but when you're saying stuff like... You really need to remember the phrase 'Don't judge a book by its cover'. Could be that they just don't give a shit about the cover because it's the product that speaks for itself.

No probs. Next week then!

The timing comment was more of a general one for other people who may be interested, but yeah I'm up for it!

Excellent! In terms of timing, Sunday evenings would probably work best on my end. Mainly because that's a day when most people are free, but also that would mean it's daytime for North America. And I have Mondays off, so I can be on pretty late as well if need be. Saturday evenings are good, too, I guess. Would be good to make it a regular thing, anyways, I miss that from when I played Halo 3.

I'll complete LEGO Batman 2, I will! (I probably won't) I was working on BL2, then got distracted by other games. And was waiting for a friend to play co-op, who has been too busy at the mo. Also, neat doc! Arkham City, yeah!

I am terrible at this game. Someone carry me through Spartan Ops and/or War Games. Thanks. Seriously, though, it would be cool to arrange some sessions with other people on here. Halo is always fun with friends.

I guess they actually try and close in more on higher difficulties, or use cover when their shields are down? Most of the time I could just keep shooting them from a distance and they couldn't really do anything except die. With the Covenant, they've got snipers, sneaky guys with swords, Grunts with fuel rod cannons alongside Jackals with shields, etc. I do really want to try the game on Legendary, but not solo. Seems too much like unnecessary punishment. Anyway, now that the campaign is done...who's up for Spartan Ops?

Halo 4. I enjoyed it. I think they did a really good job in designing most of the encounters when it came to the Covenant. There's enough depth and breadth that they can throw all sorts of things at you, and force you to mix up which weapons you use and how you approach. It makes for a decent challenge, even on Normal. However, the new enemies are just either boring or annoying to fight. Maybe they benefit from playing on a higher difficulty, but I never really felt challenged by them, as long as I kept my distance and used the DMR or Lightrifle, with a close-range weapon for some of the Knights. On the plus side, I'd rather them than the Flood units introduced in 3. I'm not too familiar with Halo lore, so the story was a little confusing, but I got the main thread, and the character focus was well-done. It also had a nice mix of gameplay elements to stop things getting too stale. Though, I think the vehicle sections went a little overboard with the number of enemies/waves (have another Ghost, and another, and another!) My main complaints would be that some of the art direction renders certain scenery and enemies too flat (though the 360's age probably hinders the crispness a little), with Grunts now just grey blobs, and sometimes there's just too much shit on the HUD. I appreciate that they're really trying to put you inside MC's helmet, but I found it fairly annoying.

Like a film, I usually find it's about pacing. I could probably write a lot about it, but I'll save you the torture... Generally, I'm drawn to games with some sort of narrative, so there's a real need for a decent balance there. There has to be enough to keep it interesting. For example, I don't think Arkham Asylum or Arkham City were particularly long games, but there's a well-planned feed of new ideas and locations or other changes so it never becomes dull. That's even without the side stuff (that I also loved). My gaming habits have definitely changed though, as I find myself with less time (or inclination), so certain games appeal to me more. I can quite happily leap into Mass Effect 3's multiplayer for an hour or so, or do a few side missions in Borderlands 2. Just recently, I've been alternating between doing a mission of Halo 4 per sitting and some Assassin's III side missions or, again, the occasional longer, more involved mission. I wouldn't dream of starting a game like Fallout 3 or Skyrim, or many RPGs, really. I can't remember where it was said (some gaming site), but someone said Arkham City felt like it was designed by people with children. As in, they understood how to keep the moment-to-moment, bite-size gameplay rewarding as well. It's a valid point, I think, and I can see where they're coming from. I remember there was the Bungie '30 seconds of fun' concept, but I never found that an accurate term (and that's without getting pedantic over exact timing). There's also the 'review factor', whereby reviewers gaming habits may be markedly different from a player. They will have sat down and played a game all day, finding it too repetitive or too short or whatever, whereas someone taking their time won't be bothered so much by certain things (AC3 would probably fit into this). Anyway, I think it would be useful if people expanded on why they felt a game was too short or too long. In the case of the latter, it's easy to say that things dragged on, gameplay or storywise, but when it's short it's always related to cost which, as FDS already mentioned, will usually change.

No one told me that some of the music is amazing! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyQBXKUu2QM Also, having experienced the naval combat and seen the gorgeous (which I was hoping would've stayed a 'platforming puzzle' level instead of a chase), I would love to see a pirate or Carribean-set game by them. EDIT: Ha, just discovered that your guy on the ship is Mr. Gibbs from the Pirates of the Carribean films. And Desmond's father is Q (the Star Trek one).

I'm quite enjoying the game so far. Or, I should say, I'm enjoying some of the missions more than I expected. Early on it has those horrible insta-fail conditions and there are still some really horribly-designed missions (along with seriously messed up bugs), but the past few have been quite nice and open-ended to some extent. Some of the secondary objectives are actually worthy. I like when it is more about 'not being detected' than arbitrary crap they add in for no real reason ('Avoid this AMOUNT OF TIME of open combat!' Fuck you. Why?). It allows a more free-form playstyle compared to having to follow a strict routine. Having the foliage act as cover is handy, too. I'm also sensing a nice bit of depth to some of the story. I mean, on the surface, it has that 'YEAH, REVOLUTION' vibe but I can see a bit of conflict in the minds of both Desmond and Connor. Hoping that's not just window-dressing. Anyway, I'll share some of my favourite moments so far, but in spoiler tags (though I've only just finished sequence 6)

Because, sometimes, people want to see women (or minorities) as the protagonist/hero; nothing more to it. It's a good starting point anyways, as a decent writer will always find something else to build in (e.g. Ripley in Aliens takes on a 'motherly' role). It's just rarely seen in videogames.

I think this sums it up best.

This is where we hear that The Indie Stone guys dun goofed again.

This one's for Dean. Starts about 0:44.

Yeah, I think you can also 'fail' that first confrontation with Ioverth. Nice symmetry in that mouthing off to Roche or Ioverth can get you killed.

Yeah, I ignored one about avoiding damage from a firing line because that one seemed ridiculous when it came to being able to grab a guy to use as a shield. Combat was a complete clusterfuck with everyone in redcoats anyway...

Speaking of stealth games, I've been playing some Assassin's Creed III (LOL!). Seriously, though, I just punished myself by doing a mission over and over to get full sync. But I did it and it felt so good...to go back to the mission area afterwards and kill every single one of those bastards.

I do wonder if Crash Commando still has an online community. That was a fun game. And had a great trailer. I know Rag Doll Kung Fu is much maligned (perhaps for singleplayer) but that game is fucking amazing if you can get three other people playing with you. So easy to pick up, and absolute chaos always ensues.

Don't tell me you can resist learning this on bass (would take five minutes) and headbanging!