TornadoCreator

I've finally gone through my collection and updated my backloggery to include every game I currently own; which interestingly enough came out to exactly 300 games. Of those games 192 are unfinished, and 98 of them are unopened/unplayed which is rather sad admittedly. For perspective though remember unfinished includes the likes of Final Fantasy 7 which I simply didn't finish the final boss battle because I was spending hours breading Chocobo, and Dungeons Of Dreadmor; a roguelike I've sunk over 200 hours into but have yet to beat, to name but a few. So, I was wondering, does anyone else have a substantive backlog and what tactics do you use to eat through it without turning gaming into work? Also, does anyone else here use backloggery; mine is in my signature naturally.

Cool histories so far. Interesting to see how there's little actual brand loyalty going on so far. People seem happy to jump between console brands when it suits them which is good.

Fair enough. To be fair, I'll never find Metroid Prime appealing because it's first person. First person games give me motion sickness so I can only play for maybe an hour before feeling ill... with exploration as a primary goal, I'll be lost entirely.

Seems we have very similar ideals there staySICK. I find I temper my opinions somewhat though the lenses of reasonable change and realistic public sway. While I agree capitalism as a whole doesn't work, the public won't be swayed of this and even if they where we can't just end capitalism. We need reasonable transitioning and small issue politics is the way to accomplish that. Ending capitalism, massive fundamental reform, that would significantly lessen the quality of life for most people such that it's an unreasonable expectation. Slow socialist-libertarian changes (which is a counter intuitive combination I know), could cause great ripples in the corporate system. Capitalism is unsustainable anyway, this global recession shows that. With free media, the internet, and the 3D printer now a reality; capitalism can only survive by restricting the free-flow of information. Copyright and trademark laws will soon become some of the most important cornerstones of capitalism.

Actually, I think there are genuine barriers for entry; especially when it comes to the likes of fighting games. Reaction times and manual dexterity are things some people simply cannot account for or improve on. For me FPSs are unapproachable because I get motion sickness which causes headaches. I don't get this with any other genres so far, although I do with 3D film and the 3D feature on the 3DS. It makes games like Bioshock unplayable, and games like Fallout 3 I have to play in third person mode.

So glad I don't live in the American south, it's this kind of thing that would push me to violence; and with guns legal over there I'd have surely killed someone by now. Criminals who aren't allowed to own guns have guns. The legality isn't the issue. That's not my worry. I'm not going to get a gun illegally, but if I could just buy one without issue... that would be worrying. I consider myself a decent stable person, and I wouldn't trust myself with a gun. I'd only need to feel threatened once and someone could die, or heat of the moment in anger and boom... If I can't trust myself with a gun, I certainly can't trust the average person.

I never reall got into the Metroid Prime series, I question why so many modern "hardcore gamers" go for them so much, what is the appeal? They just feel like slow paced FPS games with hidden item style exploration included.

I hear that sentiment a lot, I always wondered if that meant conservative politics was more mature and I was too immature to see it, or is people lose their sense of idealism with age and my spirit was yet to be crushed... ...I've actually become more staunchly socialist with age though, so I'm clearly bucking the trend regardless.

New threads are always the way to go. It may seem more streamlined but new members will generally not post in a thread with multiple pages worth of posts because there's a feel that they're intruding, and they don't want to have to read pages of posts before starting up a conversation. Similarly, if a thread has been inactive longer than 2 days, new members will invariably presume it to be dead, especially as many forums will have moderators complain if you "necro" a dead thread. Worse of all though, a forum without new threads regularly appearing will put off new members from starting their own threads as they will feel they can't start a thread without somthing "important" to post. This combined with the earlier issues will mean new members will post in a few threads on their first few days then never venture outside of these few established threads because that form of communication on the forum is most reinforced... if those threads reach a natural conversation end the members will often stop posting all together. In my experience a small forum wants to aim for about 5-10 new threads per day, and a minimum of 50 posts per day, with ideally around 20 regular active members minimum. This keeps forum turnover less of an issue and ensures people don't log on to find nothing in the "what's new" section. Addional, non-themed 'General Chat' sections help in that. While most forums have an 'Off Topic' section, that phase has negative connotations and discourages posting, better to replace it with a 'General Chat' and a 'Debates/Extended Discussion' section. This keeps the in depth religious, political, and philosophical discussions separate from people talking about their favourite pizza topping, as well as clearly defining a section of the board where it's appropriate to criticise peoples religion or politics. This makes it easy for people easily offended to avoid conversations they don't want to be a part of. Another section worth considering for a gaming forum would be a 'Tech & Gadgets' section; this would be niche but members may feel discouraged talking tech news in the gaming sections, but may feel disenfranchised posting it in 'Off Topic'. As you can guess I've been a member of many many forums; tends to happen when you're at home all day and in need for human contact. I've been a moderator/admin a fair few times too... if you ever want some advice, by all means don't hesitate to ask.

I really didn't like Civ V. As a massive Civ IV fan I felt they simplified too much, put far too much emphasis on warfare and by changing the governmental system to a World Of Warcraft style talent tree they not only removed much of the customisation but they rather offensively ranked political systems and schools of political thought. You should never level up a communist police state into a democratic republic, one is not the precursor state to the other; they are both diametrically opposed forms of government. I felt patronised and all round disappointed with Civ V... heres hoping for less "streamlining for a wider audience" in Beyond Earth because I don't need my strategy games dumbed down for the FPS-tards.

This is why I like the European Union. Under EU law you cannot be required to give up your statutory rights for any reason... so fuck Microsoft, sue them in Europe.

Well, I thought this would be a good way to get to know each other and discuss gaming at the same time. So what's your gaming history? Here's mine; Started gaming in 1991 when I got my first console; the Master System. Only had a few games including Alex Kidd, Enduro Racer, The Ninja, Paperboy, Sonic The Hedgehog, Lucky Dime Caper and Castle Of Illusion. I think that was my entire library as a kid. Christmas 1993 I got a SEGA Mega Drive and thanks to car boot sales, charity shops and my cousins who would sell off their old games; I actually had a massive library of games. More than 50 games in 3 years, though I have none off them now. My guess is my parents traded them in without telling me, or they're in a box in the attic and have been for over 15 years. After the Mega Drive I got a Sega Saturn in early 1997 I think, which I eventually gave away, much to my regret now. I had some genuinely collectable games on it too and I'd like in time to build up a good Saturn collection. Meanwhile my brother got an SNES second hand and for his birthday in 1998 he got a Playstation... so now we're a multi-platform household which back then was rare. My first launch console was my Dreamcast in 1999, as an early Christmas present. It's still to this day a console I love and regularly play. My brother would go on to get a PS2 in 2001, and I bought one second hand in late 2002 though I never really got my own games for it. My cousin had an N64 and Gamecube during this time but I never played them much. At one point they even had a 3DO and a Neo Geo. In 2000 I got a Gameboy Colour which was my first handheld... it was used mainly for Pokémon. In 2002 I got my first PC, though we'd had a family PC in the living room since 1993 so PC gaming wasn't anything new to me... though now I didn't have to fight my mum for gaming time on the PC, (yes my mum is an old school PC gamer). This same year I got my Gameboy Advance, again mainly for Pokémon and now Golden Sun too. I got my Xbox in 2004 mainly to play DVDs as I was at University and didn't have a DVD player. It felt like the spiritual sucessor to the Dreamcast though, and the KOTOR games where awesome. I got a PSP for Christmas 2005, which I feel is very underrated as a system. I was given my first Xbox 360 for free by a roommate because it was "on the way out anyway" when he upgraded to the Elite in late 2007, my parents then bought me another one that Christmas despite me telling them I already had one many times; the one they bought me never bloody worked anyway. They bought it off my cousin and he'd clearly not looked after it because it had graphical glitches whenever I tried to play games in it. It became a glorified DVD player. The "on-the-way-out" console lasted me for 4 years of heavy use, it wasn't looked after, often had clothes or pizza boxes piled on it... and it was a release day model. When it finally red-ringed, it earned it. I got my PS3 back in 2012, and I had three fats, none of which lasted more than 6 weeks... never buy preowned PS3s. Eventually, I got a PS3 slim in early 2013, which is my primary console to this day. I got my 3DS in early 2013 also, though for a long time I had no games for it and borrowed my sisters copy of Super Mario 3D Land, I did have Pokémon SoulSilver for DS though. Lastly there's this year, I got my Vita in February and love it, my favourite system if I'm honest. Most recent of all though is the Wii U which I got last week... and it rocks. So that's my, very abridged history with video games. I look forward to reading others.

Never played Alpha Protocol, I heard bad things about it, both onlline and from my old roommate at the time. That said I'm always cautious of review scores, especially if there's 'outrage' over something. A good friend of mine is planning to get a PS4 in November so I'll see it in action then but I won't be getting one till 2016 at the earliest. I want a new camcorder and editing PC first and I already have plenty of consoles.

Couldn't agree more there Deanb, Lost Odyssey is quite literally the only reason I still own an Xbox 360. I used to be an Xbox gamer... picked it over the PS2 for the superior multiplats, Bioware RPGs and SEGA support, then I went to the Xbox 360 with Lost Odyssey and Mass Effect being exclusives. Now, with PS3 having the Mass Effect series, Lost Odyssey is the only game on 360 that matters to me. I got Bayonetta on 360 because the PS3 version had terrible framerate issues and glitchy textures, but with the Wii U version coming out with added extras even that game won't matter. I swear I bought Gears Of War for the 360 just so Lost Odyssey wouldn't get lonely. ...pity really, the Xbox brand started so strong but now it's pretty much dirt. PS3 has won me over and I will eventually get a PS4, once they stop releasing the games cross-gen that is. It just seems silly to buy a PS4 if exactly the same game is coming to PS3 with the only difference being it runs 720p at 30fps instead of 1080p at 60fps. I really don't care about graphical clarity that much. Let's face it; The Last Of Us, Grand Theft Auto V, Tomb Raider, Watch Dogs, Dragon Age: Inquisition, The Evil Within, Metal Gear Sold V, Assassin's Creed IV, Aliens: Isolation and Mad Max... these are all PS4 games I'm interested in playing, none of which I've played (some have yet to release obviously), and every single one is also getting a PS3 release. This generation isn't transitioning and for me, without Final Fantasy XV, Uncharted 4, and Batman: Arkham Knight which aren't getting PS3 versions (and none of them will see a release before 2015); I see absolutely no reason to upgrade. ...well that was a massive tangent.

I specifically wanted to talk about anticipated NINTENDO games, hence this section. Otherwise the conversation will be filled with games for PS4/XOne that I can't play because I don't own the console like Destiny, Arkham Knight, and Uncharted 4... which happened anyway.

So glad I don't live in the American south, it's this kind of thing that would push me to violence; and with guns legal over there I'd have surely killed someone by now.

Seems like reasonable sensible positions for within USA, as much as it pains me, it's pretty much pointless being an American socialist. I'm an outright socialist, so much so that I consider my country far too capitalist and conservative. I believe in stateism, and the UK is moving away from that every year: The NHS for example, it doesn't include opticians, dentists, or free prescriptions for those in full time work... well that's not Universal Healthcare is it? Are teeth and eyes no longer bodyparts? Is it not a health issue if there's a problem? Then there's hospitals, which now charge for phone, TV, and internet access in long stay wards. Only 10 years ago, these where all considered free comforts. Mental health suffers terribly when someone is trapped, injured or sick in a bed with no way to pass the time. Hospitals should not be taking advantage of fear and depression by charging premium rates to use phones or a TV, especially when they won't allow you to bring your own phone. Fiscally I abhor privatisation. Selling off public property to private companies is just wrong. The postal service and national rail network are being ruined. On top of that commercial rail has no incentive to interlink the Northern cities, something vital for keeping the regions ecconomically viable. Instead they want to link everything to London as there's better profit margins. This however will cause hypercentralisation, overcrowding London and causing COL inflation, while draining jobs out of the North turning all the towns there into ghost towns. A highspeed network between Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and York would revitalise the cities and allow for massive regional growth, lowering unemployment and the tax burden, but it's not commercially lucritive so the private sector won't do it. These are just two of the things that turn me away from capitalism here. The system doesn't do what's best for the people or the country, it causes companies to manipulate the system in the search for greater profit. Worst still, it's profit for profits sake, the company as an entity doesn't want profit for a reason; it doesn't intend to spend it to increase the quality of life for people individually or en mass. No, much like a child a company wants money because it's there, it wants a bigger profit because it just does... and that lack of reason, that lack of motive is exactly why I cannot trust capitalism. It's a system based on the unending greed of a faceless entity that not even the people controlling can stop. Think about it, if Microsofts CEO and directors stopped making money, the shareholders would fire them and hire more... you must make profit, it is all that matters, one of us, one of us, one of us. It's terrifyingly Orwellean and yet society as a whole just accepts it. So yeah, that's my reasoning for my anti-capitalist stance.

Simple enough, what's your most anticipated game or games from Nintendo currently... For me it's, depending on my mood either Bayonetta 2, Hyrule Warriors or Devil's Third. Bayonetta 2 has pissed me off a little by making the pack in copy on the first Bayonetta a physical disc in Japan but a fucking download code outside of Japan. I'm a collector, digital is fucking worthless to me. In effect the western version doesn't come with the first game as far as I'm concerned and because of that the WON'T be getting my purchase without a big price drop unless they release a collectors edition etc. with a physical copy in it. Still that said, this was the game I was most looking forward to so I'm still excited for it. I love Devil May Cry style action, so definitely my kind of game. Hyrule Warriors is basically Dynasty Warrior with Nintendo polish... that may well be awsome. I wonder if it'll be much compared to Dynasty Warriors, after all there's not really enough characters in the Zelda franchise is there? We'll see. Lastly my wildcard, Devil's Third. I'll be very interested to see what Nintendo do with the male power fantasy action game. It's not their usual thing, but this looks interesting. Looks like someone mixed Ninja Gaiden with Gears Of War, which is bound to be good albeit juvenile fun... but who doesn't want that occasionally?

I'm always feeling somewhat ill, but presumably everyone feels sick from time to time and has that go-to game they play. That game that is just pure abnegation for them, no real storyline, (or maybe one you know so well it doesn't matter), no real difficulty, just the chance to zone out. I have three... Dynasty Warriors, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and Burnout. The first, well it can be almost any of them from Dynasty Warriors 3 onwards, but the newest one DW8 is perfect. I had it for PS3 but gave it away when I got the Xtreme Legends Complete version for my Vita as it's the perfect Vita game I say. Mindless combat at it's best, there's still enough challenge for it to be worth it, but it's so cathartic to hack though masses of nameless goons. Add in dozens of colourful characters and plenty of unlockable weapons and hidden levels and you've got the perfect game for when you sick. Tony Hawk games are an odd choice. Obviously I only mean the first 4, beyond that they went open world and completely lost their charm. This could also apply to SSX snowboarding games though, which where also very good. It's the short burst gameplay I think works, that and the soundtrack. The 90s Rock music always makes me feel better. The main reason I pick this is it was the game I played when I had quite a bad gastric infection in about 2003, ever since then these games remind me of being ill and how they made me feel better. Lastly, Burnout; mainly Burnout 3: Takedown which was by far the best one. The soundtrack, much like with Tony Hawk games is fantastic 90s and early 2000s Rock and Metal. The gameplay though, it's fast paced short burst gameplay where I'm encouraged to crash into and kill my opponents... pefect. Very cathartic like Dynasty Warriors and energizing like Tony Hawk. So those are my three games I play when I'm ill... do you guys have anything similar?

Indeed, it's why I feel there should be an exam before people are allowed to vote. My suggestion is, if you can't explain 5 policies that you candidate/party support, your vote doesn't count. It would mean half of Ron Pauls votes wouldn't count, as well as a massive amount of UKIP votes in UK. It'd also mean those people who vote in USA to make sure the government keeps out of Medicare while arging AGAINT socialised medicine, and the people in UK voting to stop benefit fraud and immigration loopholes that don't actually exist; these people would all be ignored finally... letting important issues that actually exist rise to the top. It may be hard to set up, but it'd be worth it.

Can you elaborate somewhat, after all "extreme left" means very different things in different countries eg. in USA 'left-wing' is laughably centrist (seriously in Europe we see Republicans and Democrats as basically the same thing, you have Conservatives or more Conservatives... the only real difference seems to be that the Republicans are also racist, homophobic, sexist, hyper-religious fools and the Democrats are spineless lying bureaucracy spewing spin-doctors... yeah, I have little respect for USA politics). Also, what axis are you using, do you mean progressively left-wing or fiscally left-wing for example? I'd love to hear more, so by all means everyone join in. There's no such thing as a wrong answer in politics, it's all just different points of view so don't be afraid to join in.

I was going to join in the other political discussions but I don't want to break the flow of already established threads with open-ended discussion; so here's a new thread. What political stance do you take as a whole? Conservative, Liberal, Socialist, Libertarian, Nationalist, Environmentalist, Unionist, Secularist etc. and for what reasons. Personally I lean slightly in favour liberal and environmental policies, but I'm a pretty die-hard socialist and secularist. My primary concerns naturally are healthcare, disability care, housing, and social issues. I'm also interested in privatisation, science funding, education, and the environment. Obviously my politics are skewed somewhat by my situation. As a disabled adult that relies on free healthcare and disability benefits, these things matter most to me, but I held them in high regard even when I was abled bodied and working full time. Social issues I feel are massively important, currently gay discrimination is still an issue, drug prohibition needs massive reform, decentralisation of economic power should be a priority, and corporate tax reform is needed... obviously depending on where you live, these opinions will be wildly different I'm sure. So, let's break one of the cardinal rules of the internet. Let's talk politics.

Even the porn is fine in the right threads. What a liberal forum. Next you'll tell me I have to pay for your health insurance. YOU COMMIE BASTARD What is this "insurance" you speak of... here in the frozen European wastes we have no such thing. In all seriousness though, thank fuck for that. Socialised medicine is a must for me, I have no idea how Americans can live without free universal healthcare. I'm pretty sure I'd just be dead.

Great article, I've only played about half of these games but the ones I did play where far better than people said.

I thought this would be a good way to share video games that people may otherwise overlook completely. Basically it's just this, name a game you feel is really overlooked and explain what's good about it. With luck we'll all find some great new games to play. Let's keep it to one game per post, so there's more focus on each game. So, here's my first Splatterhouse (2010) for PS3/Xbox 360. Given terrible reviews this game was panned and really didn't deserve it. It's a solid 3D Brawler that actually pulls off style over substance, whilst still maintaining enough substantive gameplay to stay challenging and fun. The art direction and plot evoke traditional eighties slasher flicks combining them with a hyper-masculine power fantasy, whilst still grounding the player in relateable goals. The theme of being on the edge of control is well reinforced and keeps the pacing up, and is well conveyed though great voice acting and witty dialogue. Level design is competent and reinforces the style of the game. The control and gameplay are responsive and balanced but nothing special for those seeking mastery of the game. Those who want to play for a sense of mastery would be far happier with games that emphasise skill such as Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden, Splatterhouse isn't trying to be so complex, and while not without challenge this emphasis on spectacle allows it to forgo the frustration often present in such games. Really this game is just a delivery system for it's horror styled motif and power fantasy experience and in that respect it's a clear success. If you enjoy abnegation in gameplay, sensory overload, and the tounge-in-cheek stylings of eighties horror you'll have fun here. Definitely worth picking up especially as it's often found online for less than £10, which is a fantastic price, Hopefully this was useful and I look forward to seeing some recommendations from everyone else.