The Gamer's Quarter

SuperWes · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 12:29 pm Post subject:

So I played a bit more of No More Heroes and Rainbow 6 last night (both Ubisoft games incidentally), and my feelings on both have sort of changed a bit. No More Heroes is really fun, but now that I've spent more time driving around the city I think it's something where you could easily screw yourself over into not liking it. A lot of the side-things-to-do are pretty asinine and either cost money to do or give you money, but both ways it feels kinda like work. I'm not sure how they could have made it better though because I stand by my original stance that if it was just unlimited fighting it would get old really fast. Still a good game, but if they start telling me that I'll need to do more than 5 side-missions between each kill I can definately see myself calling it quits.

The section I played through of Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 reminded me of why I liked the first one so much. This area had me chasing a terrorist in a Hazmat suit through a YMCA, then through the Las Vegas Convention Center, then through a bunch of back yards, and finally catching him in a junkyard filled with discarded relics of Vegas gaudiness. Each of these areas was very convincing and the whole feeling of "this could be a real place" that I loved in the first game was in full effect.

My favorite section was the YMCA's climbing wall, which had me sniping at terrorists on the third floor while I sent my team climbing up the wall after them, where they could do the same for me. The area showed me that the designers have an understanding of the game's mechanics and know how to craft a unique situation around those mechanics using real world locations without seeming forced. The story's still kind of all over the place at this point, but the gameplay is starting to catch up. Woo!

-Wes
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Ethoscapade · . Joined: 30 Oct 2005 Posts: 276

gonna be a total asshole here, wes:

1) no more heroes is about as much "an ubisoft game" as is lumines

2) definitely. like definite. only definite-ly. this typo is infuriating.

SuperWes · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 1:27 pm Post subject:

daphaknee · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 2:57 pm Post subject:

look iwas just making fun of harveyjames i dont know anything about videogame companies except that they take up time showing me who tehy are when i could BE PLAYING THE GAME ALREADY GOD

dessgeega · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 3:52 pm Post subject:

wes, what are you talking about.

never mind, i don't care.
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

I think you guys are avoiding the most pressing issue of that Duke Nukem post, namely how good MISS MANAGEMENT is.

Winged Assassins (1984) · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 5:23 pm Post subject:

Duke Nukem is also armed with a huge selection of guns (penises) including one that shrinks enemies to make them smaller, lesser men.
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Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

See FPS thread!
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Winged Assassins (1984) · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 6:16 pm Post subject:

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Haha, that line was great because it's exactly what I was thinking.

And yeah, Lo Wang is just a dirty old man. What you like to wash wang, or would you like to watch wang wash wang?

All the naked chicks were in the shareware episode too! And the bunny humping areas! All the great stuff was in the shareware episode.
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Winged Assassins (1984) · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 6:30 pm Post subject:

But the shareware episode didn't have the Lo Wang Rap, that's the real best part about the game.
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

God damn it I just accidentally edited my lengthy Duke Nukem post out of existence, because I clicked edit instead of quote

Maybe it's for the best

dessgeega · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 7:17 pm Post subject:

finished apollo justice. i like the story it was telling, but it was hard to appreciate when all the series's storytelling techniques have long since passed into cliche. the fade to white as the camera moves from person to person, finally stopping on the one who shouted "objection" (despite their identity usually being obvious), the witness / villian undergoing a transformation that shows their true color (to the sound of roaring wind). wasn't this game supposed to inject new blood into the series?

the more i play bangai-o spirits, on the other hand, the more i like it. which is probably because the more i play it, the more i understand it. the freeze and reflect attacks are smart, and using them correctly is the key to a lot of situations. tim says the game transcends genre, and on this he's right. this is one of the most intelligent games treasure has made.
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Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

transend genres? whatever, darwinia is POST-genre.

anyway, harvey, your duke post was good bring it back, bitchtits.
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Rather than dwell on what I don't like, I'd rather talk about a game I do like (MISS MANAGEMENT )

Isn't Darwinia that crappy RTS with Tron spaceships in it?

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

MISS MANAGEMENT LOOKS DUMB WHAT IS IT ABOUT

ALSO YES DARWINIA IS THAT
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Miss Management is a office management sim where you have 4 co-workers and you, as Miss Management, have to get them through their day and reach certain targets within allotted hours. But each coworker has different likes and dislikes, and don't let their stress meter get too high or they'll have to go home! Oh no!

For example, one given task might be that the office lothario has to spend 30 seconds of his day talking to the cute girl. Each day lasts about 4 minutes. The problem is, the more he talks to her the more stressed she gets, because she is shy. So to cool her off you have to send her to her whiteboard where she can draw anime. Except, this pisses off Steve who sits next to the whiteboard and hates the squeak of her markers, so when she does that his stress meter will rise. Also, when cute girl is away from her desk you might get too many art assignments piling up, and she's the only one who is any good at those so you have to watch out for that, too. It's a balancing act! While this is going on you'll have about 4 other goals you're trying to reach with the other people in the office.

This is all framed by completely adorable Advance-Wars style talky segments, but unlike Advance Wars the character's personalities are important and feed directly into the gameplay. Plus stuff happens and people evolve! It's like an interactive sitcom! The story is never superfluous, though, it all has a direct effect on the gameplay. I fully recommend this game. The one hour trial is free! The game itself is only £9.99! I'm seriously considering buying it!

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

That sounds... interesting actually. Isn't awesome that casual games are starting to get innovative and interesting? I don't have to hate them anymore!
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Yeah because GOD DID I HATE THAT TETRIS

Also K Thor Jensen was a staff writer on this. He used to work on Old Man Murray with Eric Wolpaw back in the day. so I guess you could say Miss Management is a distant cousin of Portal.

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

INTEREST DOWN.

Also, Tetris isn't a casual game because it was released on the brick Game Boy.
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

It came out for PCs first, so stick that up your arse

So if they release a handheld version of Miss Management will it stop being a casual game, like Tetris apparently did? I barely know what the term means. SOUNDS LIKE YOU DON'T EITHER, SONNY

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Uh, no. Only if it comes out on the original Game Boy. Learn to read, jackass!
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

So basically this is what you're saying. Handheld games can be considered 'casual', unless they happened to appear on the original Game Boy at any time which is like 'CASUAL' KRYPTONITE

I don't get what the original Game Boy has to do with it

I DON'T KNOW WHAT 'CASUAL' IS

I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOUR DEMENTED TRAIN OF LOGIC

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Harvey I am yanking your chain.

When I say "casual" I'm referring to crappy match 3/hunt the item/that kind of crap games, but lately some decent stuff has been coming out. Well, interesting.
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Oh right

Nah Miss Management is way more sophisticated than those hunt 3 match the item games, but probably aimed at the same audience. If it was on the DS and about making curry in a japanese maid cafe you fags would be all over it. You should all play it.

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Yeah but you have a hard on for anything that had something to do with that series of websites you worship. You're worse than me and Marathon, dude.
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Man K. Thor was so absent from Old Man Murray as to be almost invisible, and I'd be hard pressed to tell you what he did on this! That connection is just a coincidence.

I'm going to install Miss Management on my mum's computer as an experiment, I think she might like it

ryan · . Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 999

Thor recently did a piece in Game Informer about Diner Dash, one of the most copied casual games of recent memory. I know a company that has made oodles by doing nothing but changing out graphics for their clients' themes and keeping everything else the exact same - like in Mortal Kombat Trilogy, how the new ninjas were just pallet swaps, it's that blatant. He mentions how much of a problem it's been so far. Working in casual games would drive me nuts.
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Come to me, Mordel. We shall depart.

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Interesting, can you provide a link to this article? I can't find it.

ryan · . Joined: 20 Feb 2005 Posts: 999

It was in the March issue, and I don't think it's online since I can only find references to it. The post below was the only one with a quote:

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Hmm, interesting. I hope gamelab end up making some Wiiware games.

I played Diner Dash! It's good, but man, it's no Miss Management! It's the characterisation that sets it apart. Miss Management is on some Pheonix Wright type shit.

I will let you know my thoughts on Shopmania in an hour!

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Shopmania is pretty good! I like it a lot! The production values are through the roof for a game that only cost £5. It's got a level of polish and craft you expect from someone like Nintendo. The sound design and art really work together well. Plus, it's a lot of fun. I don't see myself getting addicted to this I like I might with Miss Management, though.

Did I mention you guys should play Miss Management? www.gamelab.com

(Miss Management)

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

I actually want to do a regular casual game bit in the magazine, but I don't think we have enough room for a regular feature that no readers care about.

Diner Dash sucks, it's Whack-A-Mole without the fun.

Don't gamelab make mobile sgames too? I think I have a couple of their games on my piece. That reminds me, I still need to get that pillow fight game.
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Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

So I'm playing HOMEWORLD which reiterates just how much I suck at RTS games. It's also one of the best RTS games I've played, making my list of RTS games that are actually not completely boring to me.
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

I liked Diner Dash ok, but they've definitely got better at making games since then. It's more like something like Mario's Cement Factory than it is Whack-a-Mole. I can see where you're coming from, though.

Actually, all the Gamelab games I've played so far remind me of Mario's Cement Factory, and I mean that as the highest possible compliment!

I'm gonna play me some MOTHER!

dessgeega · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 9:48 pm Post subject:

Winged Assassins (1984) · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:33 pm Post subject:

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

dessgeega · Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:11 am Post subject:

i like the art!
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Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

Golly gee, who came up with this control scheme for Crusader, it is awful Sad

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Redeye · . Joined: 02 Oct 2006 Posts: 986 Location: filth

ApM · Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:04 pm Post subject:

Hey guys why isn't everyone on this thread talking about how awesome the leaked K-Project beta is? I just fought the area 1 boss while Born Slippy played in the background.

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

I've been meaning to check it out. I wonder if the games namesake song is in there somewhere? I recall hearing it was used for area 5. Are you using a real DC or emulating it?

Why doesn't crusader let me change the keys? The current configuration is pretty awful. I hate it when I can't change keys!

The biggest problem, though, is that DOSbox doesn't seem to like this game very much.
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dessgeega · Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 7:01 pm Post subject:

around the nineties and hundreds of bangai-o spirits are big stages that remind me of the original's maps. there's also a stage of sokobon, and a hard one too. and a recreation of the battleship stage in r-type.

i love the dash attack. you lunge into an enemy, knocking it into the air. some stages will have boxes or balls or enemies stacked in big piles so you can ram into them and send them all flying. there is a stage where you need to use a pile of soccer balls to defeat a screen-filling horde of giant robot samurai. this game is amazing.

i played through the first season of miss management. i like timothy.

i think the most obvious problem with these management games is that strategy is next to nil - what you should be doing is usually obvious - so the only skill the game really demands is the ability to click things quickly. that said, i could see this game actually becoming an interesting balancing act later on.

and i like the art.
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dessgeega · Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 7:04 pm Post subject:

speaking of which, what's that windows game with the gremlins that try to steal gems, and you have to click on gremlins to smoosh them but if you miss you open a new hole for gremlins to come out of and soon it's totally unmanageable? ApM?
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Redeye · . Joined: 02 Oct 2006 Posts: 986 Location: filth

I've been having a bit o fun with EVE.

A new agent (mission-giver) was posted in Umokka- attracting many players with battleships/etc. It became super laggy and filled with asininity.

Which is to say it became more fun. (I had been quietly mining away in this backwater for 3 weeks.)

So I did my bit to enjoy the lag.

I just got banned for leaving 20 shuttles (named "Laggy Agent Station") right in the docking zone of the station with the new level 4 agent, and was starting to leave ships named "Welcome To Jita" (a notoriously laggy hub) around the Stargate to Ruvas. (Umokka's only exit/entry.)

Someone else was making a huge cursive sign reading "L A G" out of storage containers. (Visible from the stargate.)

If anyone has an EVE account I'd like to see a screenshot of the finished sign. If it wasn't destroyed along with my shuttles. (It's in Caldari space near the start for engineering players (assuming there's only one) if anyone wants to start an alt or get the free trial directly or through steam.)

Note: Unlike the Billboard signs people make by using the container name as a message, this was an ASCII style message made of over 40 containers. (100-200 km out from gate.)

I saw it 80% done b4 ban.
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I felt sheer anarchic joy when I ran over my first pedestrian.

ApM · Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2008 11:52 pm Post subject:

Cycle · Mac daddy Joined: 08 Sep 2006 Posts: 2767

I've been trying to play Crusader based on DIASs recommendation, but I just can't get into it. It feels so loose. The main character constantly jumpes around, ether that or stopping dead at inconvenient moments. It's really annoying because apart from that, I've been getting into the game. Though right now I'm stuck. I keep getting messages but can't read them... maybe they were fmvs not included in the CD-RIP? I don't know. They probably tell me how to get past this next bit, though.
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