TheMightyEthan

I almost impulse-bought the Splinter Cell HD Trilogy, but the Walmart here didn't have it. Take that my impulses!

Ico. PS3 version. Already beat it on PS2, but I'm counting it again anyway.

Starting Ico, having just finished SotC.

I finally decided to install this.

That bundle is the one with Child of Eden too.

Shadow of the Colossus. I know technically we're only supposed to count games we haven't beat before, but since this is the PS3 version I figured I'd add it anyway...

Work has SEVERELY cut into my gaming time. Stupid need for money to live...

SotC has save points, but they're plentiful and given the nature of the game world I don't mind them. I agree with you though that in general save points are the work of Satan.

Frozen Synapse + Humble FrozenByte Bundle. I didn't realize I would get all those games, I thought it would just be Frozen Synapse, now I feel guilty for giving so little...

Looks like an Amish villain from Austin Powers.

Started playing SotC HD yesterday. Been playing in 3D, and I'll say the 3D really adds to the awesome sense of scale that the game already had. And HD makes finding those damned white-tailed lizards SOOO much easier. It's still way harder than it needs to be to get on Aggro though.

My internet likes to cut out for about half a second every couple hours. Not usually too much of a problem, but I have a feeling it would drive me nuts with that kind of DRM.

They patched out the always-on connection requirement, didn't they?

I'm not a UK legal person, but I went and read that law, and it certainly seems like that guy might be right. Steam sales are kind of hard to classify under that law though. For instance, it says it doesn't apply to sales by automatic vending machines or automated commercial premises. Also, the only place it specifically references computer software it says the seller need only provide a refund if the software is still sealed, which doesn't really have any bearing on Steam sales. So just a quick reading of the law makes it seem like it's certainly possible that people in the UK have the right to a refund from Steam within 7 days of the purchase, and assuming that transcript is real it certainly seems like Steam thinks you have that right. I wouldn't go using it as a 7-day demo of every game, but if you got a game that you really felt strongly that you deserved your money back I'd give it a shot.

I agree, they really dropped the ball on the new game plus for ME2. Do you even keep your money?

lol, must you have to start playing the very second it goes live?

Okay, I only watched the first minute and a half of that, but that is like the coolest thing I've ever seen.

Officially? Had you already unofficially beaten it?

I agree that TOR will probably go free. In fact I'm the one that first asked how long people think it will last... I'm confused, what are we even supposed to be arguing about? I just said "Ask Blizzard" because you asked how to compete with free, and as far as I can tell Blizzard is the only one succeeding...

I love that with Minecraft if you have issues you can freaking ask the head of the company and stand a decent chance of getting a response.

Yeah, the UK definitely has the advantage of not being so spread out, which would certainly help with the latency. And since the latency is my biggest complaint if they fixed that I would seriously consider subscribing. @madbass: I agree with the preference for controller. When I used it today I plugged my wired 360 controller into the laptop I was using. My laptop really was functioning exactly like a micro-console. Another thing I'll add: the OnLive PC client has great support for the 360 controller, down to the guide button bringing up the OnLive overlay.

So I just tried it on my 47" 1080p TV (lunch break), and while I still think it's too muddy it's not nearly as bothersome as it was on the PC. However, the latency was still pretty bad, bad enough to make Dirt 3 unplayable. I ended up weaving back and forth across the road because of latency between when I corrected for the car's motion, when that correction took effect, and when I saw its effect. And here's a speed test I ran immediately after I quit playing to show that it's not my connection that's at fault for that: If I can't play it on a connection that's faster than 92% of the US then the tech isn't quite there yet, though on a slower game (like Tropico mentioned in the article) the latency wouldn't be an issue. I would play Civ V or Tropico on this, and MAYBE something like Arkham Asylum or Assassin's Creed, but I wouldn't play Battlefield 3 or Need for Speed. As for the visuals, while they weren't as troubling on the TV as they had been on my monitor, they were still significantly worse than a 360 or PS3. You know how some games *cough*Arkham Asylum*cough* will have in-engine cutscenes that are for some reason pre-rendered instead of rendered live and so they're blocky and blurry? That's what this looks like whenever anything is moving very much (slow movements are okay). Again though this would only manifest in fast-paced games and wouldn't be (as much of) an issue in something like Civ V. And the graphics were fantastic, with all the fanciness and everything turned on. It's kind of weird, the contrast between those two. It's like playing on a crazy high-end PC with really dirty glasses. All of that said, I agree with the RPS assessment that if I were a console-maker this would have me worried. Though the visuals aren't up to snuff and the latency is too much for anything that requires fast or precise movements/reactions this service is new and it will surely improve with time. And the fact that it completely eliminates piracy has to make it really attractive to game publishers.

That's funny, I'm kind of the opposite. I will often get in a multiplayer beta, play it 24/7 for the entire time it's running, then barely touch the multiplayer once the game comes out. Examples: Modern Warfare, Halo 3, Halo Reach. I think that has more to do though with me wanting to get a taste of a game I'm really excited for though, because generally I eschew multiplayer (except coop).

It's comparable to Netflix, maybe not quite as good. My connection's stable enough that I almost always get whatever the max quality they can provide is.

RPS likes OnLive more than me, but I think that article does a good job of explaining the benefits and shortcomings. They recognize all the problems I had, they just aren't as bothered by them. That article did convince me to hook up my laptop to my TV tonight and give OnLive another shot in "console" mode. I've previously only tried it in a more standard "PC" setting, which RPS agrees is nigh unplayable.