The General Pooter Games Thread.

[Psychosplodge]

Also look at this skyrim mod :D

http://i57.tinypic.com/1191guo.jpg

[Kirsten]

apparently there is a Girls und Panzer mod for World of Tanks, I may have to start playing again.

[Mr Mystery]

Totes joining the PS4 Massive a week Thursday.

Little reward to self for finally sorting out my finances.

[Psychosplodge]

But thats money you could spend on a graphics card, have you considered the GTX 980?

[Mr Mystery]

Would need a desktop for that. And the space for one (tower, screen, unit etc).

Nope, Consoles all the way for me.

[Psychosplodge]

The shame...

[Mr Mystery]

Happier with a console. No need to upgrade the machinery until the next gen.

And PS4 now does 3D, which is what I've been waiting for.

[Wolfshade]

You could arguably say the same about the PC, oh the PS4 now does 3D, wow, does it do 4k?

Just picked up XCOM for free :)

[Kirsten]

dropped the Wii U idea?

[Psychosplodge]

Apparently this is from change . org
How stupid are some people?

http://i60.tinypic.com/2irxa8k.png

[Kirsten]

I don't know where to begin with that...

[Tyrendian]

I'd start with an ouch...

[Mr Mystery]

dropped the Wii U idea?

I.....I don't know.

I'll look at Wii U Bundles. Actually fits my spending power better this month!

[Psychosplodge]

Do it.
Also last time I looked they were cheaper direct from Nintendo UK website than amazon...

[Mr Mystery]

Nice.

And the Wii U Virtual library reads like a who's who of the game I loved when I was littler and youngerer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Virtual_Console_games_for_Wii_U_(PAL_regio n)).

Defo getting one!

[Psychosplodge]

Good man, next to convince you a small formfactor pc under the tv is a better idea than a PS4 :D

[Mr Mystery]

I honestly don't game enough to justify a decent gaming rig.

And on Zavvi, found a Wii U Bundled with Skylander's Trap Force for £185....and I can trade in the Trap Force at CEX for £50.....

Yes please Santa! I should coco!

[Psychosplodge]

is it 32gb console though? I wouldn't bother with the 8gb version tbh.

[Mr Mystery]

It is indeed just the 8gb....so would need some additional storage.

Probs best to just get the 32Gb and be done!

[Psychosplodge]

Yeah it probably is. IDK how you go about upgrading the storage.

[Mr Mystery]

Apparently, and according to Nintendo's own site, external storage HDDs are best.

But no point skimping on the console cost, just to have to buy external off the bat.

[Psychosplodge]

oh they actually do do them then? So that's not bad (have a spare 120gb ssd laying around :D)

[Mr Mystery]

Nintendo don't, but they do offer a list of compatible (but not necessarily recommended) models.

[Kirsten]

get the 32gb, it is hardly any more money, and is often actually the same price as the 8gb, and saves you messing around later.

[Tyrendian]

so, who else is going to get CIV: Beyond Earth? looks really neat to me...

[Psychosplodge]

When it's sub £10 in the steam sale, I've plenty to play till then, or when all the DLC is out and they do the complete pack at a reasonable price.

[eldargal]

I'll get it at some point.

Also Destiny is coming to PC, yay.

[Psychosplodge]

We new it would be, but are they going to optimise it or will it need to be modded to not look like some crappy console port.
But if it's just co-op halo anyway I'm prepared to be underwhelmed.

[eldargal]

Optimise it apparently, not talking bout it but it's not going to be out until sometime next year.

[Tyrendian]

speaking of console ports... what's the news on GTA5? kinda lost track between all the "it's coming! definitely maybe soon when it's done or not"

[Psychosplodge]

Dunno but after how shockingly bad the IV port was I opted for the console version like a peasant

[Tyrendian]

Dunno but after how shockingly bad the IV port was I opted for the console version like a peasant

mh I kinda took that in stride as normal for the GTA series... the main thing (causing mayhem) worked just fine... and I don't have any kind of up to date console nor do I plan on getting one so...

[Psychosplodge]

mine was a present, apparently a graphics card isnt a proper present.

[Tyrendian]

well a Granny would say you can't play something on a graphics card...

[Wolfshade]

zomg!` XCOM is so feaking good.

Though as I loved the old one this re-make is perfect

[Mr Mystery]

well a Granny would say you can't play something on a graphics card...

Granny's Garden?

Ace educational game!

[Kirsten]

GTAV is supposed to be getting a proper PC version next year, not just a bad port but something with effort gone in.

XCOM is pretty awesome, though it can get kinda frustrating.

[Tyrendian]

zomg!` XCOM is so feaking good.

Though as I loved the old one this re-make is perfect

I'll just throw the recommendation to try The Long War your way... really incredible mod that more or less doubles the content (more in some areas like weapons, classes and general campaign stuff to do, less in others like number of different alien types - only adds a couple, but radically changes all of them). Probably finish a campaign or two of the base game plus Enemy Within first though, since Long War is where XCOM gets properly hard - like your best soldiers getting oneshotted by aliens at more or less any stage in the campaign as soon as you make one bad decision or have a bit too much bad luck.

[Psychosplodge]

payday the heist is apparently free to download today on steam.

[Gotthammer]

For Psycho some fun in Minecraft - you have to build a thing based off of a word then someone else guesses what it it based off of your build then another builds that guess etc:


http://youtu.be/Xs0FcYuenvE?t=6m47s

Skip to 6:50 for some (probably nsfw) fun.

[Psychosplodge]

So you require people and effort? :D

[Gotthammer]

Not necessarily people:


http://youtu.be/O5rmP0sDu94

[Psychosplodge]

I take it you play?

[Gotthammer]

A little bit but mostly watch it on youtube while doing other things. Got into it after watching lots of videos and my daughter started really liking it.

[Psychosplodge]

Ah yeah if you're playing with your offspring I get that, not old enough for L4D2 yet? :D
A lot of gaming videos can be playing anything and be entertaining if the people are entertaining, but thats not to say theres not cool stuff been done with minecraft, the working virtual hdd someone made was fascinating, but it just looks like hardwork/a chore to me hence why I never bothered.

[Gotthammer]

Well that's fair enough, mostly just something I do like "hrm I want to build a giant castle with skulls and lava and stuff" so I can. Also creative mode so you can just build things like lego really.

[Wolfshade]

Yeah meant to say, picked that up too, its a good month for free games!

My XCOM team are doing well, no fatalities, well aside from the egyptian rookie, but he doesn't count.

It's good, though it did amuse me that my sniper is a russian woman, and my assault is an israel woman.

[Tyrendian]

I'm going through the AC series atm - coming up to number three, curious how atrocious it really is...

[eldargal]

AC III isn't terrible, it's just not as good as others. Brotherhood and Revelations were better.

XCOM is fun, stressful sometimes.

[DWest]

It's not really XCOM till you have a kitted Colonel mulched by a Sectoid. But then again, I accidentally snuffed the final boss with a sniper overwatch, so at least humans and aliens are receiving fair and equal violation by the RNG gods.

[Tyrendian]

It's not really XCOM till you have a kitted Colonel mulched by a Sectoid. But then again, I accidentally snuffed the final boss with a sniper overwatch, so at least humans and aliens are receiving fair and equal violation by the RNG gods.

yup, and XCOM usually makes you feel like it was a mistake on your part that made things go wrong, and not the game "purposefully" screwing you over via mechanics or pure RNG - like "I positioned said Colonel that far up front where he was at risk in the first place"...

[Kirsten]

until those bloody disk things turn up and grenade all your people because the level is an alien ship and the corridor is too narrow to avoid it :p

[Tyrendian]

still no reason to clump up - the corridor may be narrow, but even then it's long :P

[Kirsten]

well then the people at the back can't see to shoot and the aliens overwhelm the people at the front :p

[eldargal]

Two heavy weapons ladies with the double damage against machines on overwatch usually ****s the disks well up.

[Tyrendian]

Two heavy weapons ladies with the double damage against machines on overwatch usually ****s the disks well up.

why oh why did I know you'd do an all ladies team :D at least in XCOM you're able to... enough soldiers to choose from usually...

[Kirsten]

Two heavy weapons ladies with the double damage against machines on overwatch usually ****s the disks well up.

I still hate them with a fiery passion.

[eldargal]

why oh why did I know you'd do an all ladies team :D at least in XCOM you're able to... enough soldiers to choose from usually...
It was the reason I bought the game, finding out their was an achievement for an all woman team.:p

Yeah they suck until you get two heavy weapons ladies with double damage against machines.;)

[Kirsten]

two women against machines sounds like a film I would watch...

[Gotthammer]

https://40.media.tumblr.com/93ea45302e5e7f430a23b747b3562dbd/tumblr_na9vsl9LXt1rdtpuzo1_500.png

[Wolfshade]

So a cyber disk basically wiped out my squad that was hiding in a petrol station, and I haven't the money to replace their kit, and lost the game.

New game, now I have all the satellites.

[Kirsten]

see? disks are totes ebil.

[Aenir]

Silent Hunter 4, (patched) been submariner-ing recently.... nothing quite like stalking a cruiser, launching a torpedo, blowing up the magazine then diving and praying the destroyers dont see you...

Submarine games still are some of the most suspenseful games out there imo.

[Psychosplodge]

Has anyone successfully reclaimed a stolen steam account before?

[Psychosplodge]

Started the deadpool game last night.
It's a very silly game.

[Tyrendian]

Started the deadpool game last night.
It's a very silly game.

that's kind of the point isn't it?

[Psychosplodge]

pretty much.

[Psychosplodge]

yeah so this time the Halloween event on TF2 has actually started.

[Psychosplodge]

Apparently Bayonetta 2 is good, In the hour since its arrived this morning I've had half a dozen messages telling me as much :D

[Kirsten]

eagerly waiting for the postman with my copy.

[Psychosplodge]

I won't comment because spoilers :D

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

I'm waiting for my full-art Lightning Bolts. :/

[Psychosplodge]

your what?

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

http://8e8460c4912582c4e519-11fcbfd88ed5b90cfb46edba899033c9.r65.cf1.rackcdn.c om/sales/cardscans/MAGPRM/lightningbolt_TXL.jpg

[Psychosplodge]

Ah I see.

[Tyrendian]

don't you mean this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_ekugPKqFw

[Kirsten]

Bayonetta is awesome.

[Psychosplodge]

Yeah the SO finished it in about ten hours and spent all weekend telling me about how awesome it was.

[Mr Mystery]

Just bought a 160gb HDD to upgrade my PS3, along with the bracket thing it needs, and some screwdrivers. And Deadpool for PS3.

And Imperial Aces.

Yay!

[Psychosplodge]

That's not much of an upgrade, why not a 500gb? the difference unless its SSD is usually negligible these days.

The deadpool game is so silly :D I'm not far as I'm playing on hard and it is bloody hard like that.

[Mr Mystery]

Not a massive gamer - but have stocked up on games recently (Resi 5, Resi 6, Space Marine, Pain and now Deadpool) so I can get back into it.

160gb is more than plenty for my requirements :)

[Psychosplodge]

But its so tiny

[Mr Mystery]

Look, matey. I can blimmin' well remember when 128k was massive, and then the squeeing when 1gb hard drives became affordable.

You keep your skewed perspective to yourself :p

[Psychosplodge]

So can I :D
But in relative terms nowadays a 160gb wont go far...

[Mr Mystery]

Meh. I don't download stuff onto my PS3 - don't have the need. I tend to wait for Gold Edition games with all the DLC on the disc.

Main reason I'm upgrading is I'm bored of having to uninstall the previous game to get cracking with the new one.

[Psychosplodge]

what bracket thing though? all the bracketry you need is already there?

[Mr Mystery]

Was told on review sites it needed one, and it was only a couple of quid, so I figured better safe than sorry.

[Psychosplodge]

iirc (I upgraded the SO's several years ago) its a straight swap out using a laptop sized hdd.

[Mr Mystery]

Ahh, mine is one of the moderner ones, with the slidey disc bit, rather than automated.

[Psychosplodge]

I'd still imagine the existing architecture would support it, you sure the haven't sold you a bracket to mount it in a pc case?

[Psychosplodge]

https://31.media.tumblr.com/6f16b1f861ee15fac7f12a49ce246197/tumblr_nb0khi2afF1smj69go3_500.gif

If this (http://techraptor.net/content/star-wars-tie-fighter-x-wing-getting-re-released-gog) is true I'm dead chuffed

[Kirsten]

Look, matey. I can blimmin' well remember when 128k was massive, and then the squeeing when 1gb hard drives became affordable.

You keep your skewed perspective to yourself :p

I have an amstrad with no memory at all. I remember the first time I encountered a game that required 1GB of hard drive space. it was on a friend's computer, Discworld Noir. we had to delete literally everything except the OS to fit it in.


https://31.media.tumblr.com/6f16b1f861ee15fac7f12a49ce246197/tumblr_nb0khi2afF1smj69go3_500.gif

If this (http://techraptor.net/content/star-wars-tie-fighter-x-wing-getting-re-released-gog) is true I'm dead chuffed

already out, go buy them now. $9.99

[Mr Mystery]

Dude I started a thread for those games!

[Psychosplodge]

Yeah but this one is general.

[Kirsten]

Ubisoft were right, women were too hard to animate:

http://www.themarysue.com/asscreed-what-are-you-doing/

[eldargal]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B2N0Ic0IQAAJtva.jpg
Just laughed so much I choked.

[Wolfshade]

I like this one:

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/78971000/jpg/_78971521_8adf04a3-3da6-444a-b358-453c082343b1.jpg

[Psychosplodge]

quality game there as usual.

[Tyrendian]

quality game there as usual.

well Black Flag wasn't half bad - some hilarious bugs were there, sure (Ascension of the Jackdaw anyone? look it up on youtube), but those were pretty rare in my experience. Unity on the other hand seems to be quite the bugfest... good thing I wasn't particularly interested in the first place... maybe gonna get it in a steam sale at some point for a tenner or something...

[Erik Setzer]

Well, I certainly didn't need to sleep tonight.

Or any time. Ever.

[Kirsten]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B2N0Ic0IQAAJtva.jpg
Just laughed so much I choked.

I liked that one, it looks like some sort of Loreal product placement ad in game :p


well Black Flag wasn't half bad - some hilarious bugs were there, sure (Ascension of the Jackdaw anyone? look it up on youtube), but those were pretty rare in my experience. Unity on the other hand seems to be quite the bugfest... good thing I wasn't particularly interested in the first place... maybe gonna get it in a steam sale at some point for a tenner or something...

I had the opposite problem, my Jackdaw sank to the bottom of the harbour and everybody carried on as normal...


Well, I certainly didn't need to sleep tonight.

Or any time. Ever.

they are straight out of a horror film

[Kirsten]

woohoo, finished Dragon Age 2, so I have completed both of them in two weeks. that means I have the weekend to play the new Mario Kart dlc, and play some Bayonetta 2, before Farcry 4 on Tuesday, and Dragon Age Inquisition on Friday.

[White Tiger88]

You want pooter game? Go try warlords of Quenor! Wows latest expansion is an epic tale of crashing,server shrinking and fail!

[eldargal]

What's new about that, WoW often has terrible queues and server issues after expansions, it's one reason why I wait for a while for things to settle down before buying and playing them.

[Tyrendian]

so, This War of Mine dropped yesterday... anyone else got it?
basically, you play a couple of people during a war - but not the elite soldiers of say a CoD, nor even rank-and-file dudes: you play as a group of civilians trying to survive in a city torn apart by civil war, scavenging for supplies at night (daytime is Sniper time, and thus going out is a baaad idea) and using said supplies to try and make a living during the day. There's choices to be made - do we risk helping our neighbour who needs us to protect her and her teen daughter from looters, or is our own life more important? Do we intervene when we find a soldier assaulting a girl during one of our nighttime excursions? Do we take in another survivor who will need to be fed, but might have useful skills? Works kinda rogue-like, so no save-s******* those decisions - if and when something goes wrong, you'll have to deal with the consequences, be they desperately trying to find bandages for your wounded comrade, seeing your people fall ever deeper into depression because you robbed an elderly couple of their possessions, or dealing with the loss of a valued friend who got shot by a sniper that happened to have night-vision goggles...
Does a pretty great job of transporting the horrors a war brings to the populace... really great setting and atmosphere, and gameplay isn't half bad either! Much recommended!

[Erik Setzer]

You want pooter game? Go try warlords of Quenor! Wows latest expansion is an epic tale of crashing,server shrinking and fail!

There was a nice site showing web attacks live (or as live as they got the reports), and it was amazing to see how much of a concerted effort there was to just wreck Blizzard's servers. Yeah, Blizzard had a few things to clean up still (hey, we beta testers can only spot so many issues), but most of the problem was due to a combination of a lot of people returning and a massive concerted effort to shut them down. They did what they could, kept guys in late, and finally blew a load of money on upgrading hardware to help, and when they brought things back up, even though you could still see some attacks heading at them, things were a LOT smoother.

High Pop servers still have queues at times, but you get that with a lot of games. Hey, you want the high pop, you get to deal with it.

Since the hardware upgrade on their end, I've been able to play a lot, and spent pretty much all day yesterday playing, without trouble. No lag, no crashes, none of the madness from Thursday and Friday. So yeah, it was rough at first, but they took the time and spent the money to fix it, they didn't just sit on their hands. Only fair to give them kudos for that.

Now, that out of the way, I'll take this moment to give my impressions of it.

I am loving the expansion so far. End game will be a real test, see if the stuff there can hold my interest, but I'm only at level 99. The stories for the zones are interesting enough that I wanted to make sure to complete them even if I'd hit the level for the next zone. And the main reason I was getting much into the level "past" what a zone was is that there's a lot to do. It tends to slow you down at times if you're just wanting to quest, but it's fun. Trying to figure out how to navigate the terrain to get to a "treasure," tracking down special mobs to fill, doing bonus objectives around the map, working with the garrison, etc.

The garrison was better than I thought, and I'll already tempered my expectations so I was happy with what I expected. But it's really nice to come back to it to set up more work orders or send more followers on missions, and as you walk around the garrison you'll see NPCs that you helped out around the world while questing, sticking around your garrison to help you. There was a large tree I helped to fulfill his duty in Gorgrond, he now walks around and acts as a vendor for natural foods (which provide some buffs). There was a ghostly Gnome bartender in an area I helped (can't say where or how, that'd be a spoiler), he now walks around my garrison selling his drinks still (I should probably try them, I think they have special effects). And you can log out anywhere in the base and gain rest XP, so I walked around it, found an NPC I'd helped out in the world, and clicked on a seat to sit at a table and imagine my character talking to them as I logged out.

There's plenty of fun toys and stuff, too. And as an Alchemist, I can make plenty of useful potions again, so I'm happy. But one that's really fun is called something like "Transmorphic Tincture," which changes your gender for five minutes.

It's not all rainbows and sunshine... I've enjoyed the dungeons I've done so far, but I've only gotten one piece of gear thanks to the personal loot rolls, while watching everyone around me getting useful pieces. Ironically, that one piece was quickly replaced by a piece I got while questing (but then, you also have a chance for quest gear or drops from special mobs to be better quality, and this one ended up being top-quality). That's just leveling, though. We'll see how the top-level dungeons go, and the raids (likely will do some LFR runs while waiting for the guild to reform a raid team).

Oh, and the music is absolutely great, at least in my opinion (others might not prefer the style).

I'm glad it's holding my interest, because I don't think I'll have DA:I for a while, as much as I absolutely love the Dragon Age games. It's $60, and I already am trying to figure out how I can work a $75 book and a $66 (likely) book into my budget from GW, with it looking like I'll get the $66 book, wait for a cheaper version of the $75 book, and wait to get DA:I until after the holiday season. If not for needing to buy gifts for people, I'd be good to go, but, well... Christmas beckons.

[eldargal]

Is is true it only takes about ten hours to get ot 100? That's one major criticism I've seen in reviews a few times, but other people have been disputing it so...

[Path Walker]

Is is true it only takes about ten hours to get ot 100? That's one major criticism I've seen in reviews a few times, but other people have been disputing it so...

I've played casually for around 5 hours and I'm only just 93, but I've been messing about with missions and Garrisons, hunting out the Rare Elites, which are plentiful and often drop cool loot (I killed a giant Ancient that drops a toy that turns you into a grumpy immobile little treant) and reading all the quest logs and generally enjoying myself, I think if you power through quests, skip the ones you don't need to do and do a lot of random dungeons you can level quickly, but taking my time and really loving it so far, even little things like more "swarms" of enemies, 3 or 4 weaker Mobs that attack as one, meaning you have to switch things up, and more Mobs are like those in Timeless Isle where you have to move about a lot.

[Erik Setzer]

Is is true it only takes about ten hours to get ot 100? That's one major criticism I've seen in reviews a few times, but other people have been disputing it so...

It's likely possible, if you have higher end raiding gear that's fully upgraded (+16 item levels) from MoP, and you skip quest text, and you just blaze through.

For those of us who are going around messing with the fun stuff and all? Nope.

I just turned 99 last night. On Thursday I was able to play an hour or so, maybe longer, in between all the mess. About 3-4 hours Friday night, I think (it's hard to tell with all the mess with the queue and all). Saturday night, played a couple hours after getting home from the game store. And then yesterday I played for about 12-13 hours, with some breaks here and there. (Hey, it was really fun, and I didn't have an NFL game to watch as it's my team's bye week.)

So yeah, you can speed rush to the top level with good enough gear. But then you'll miss the story, and have to skip a lot of stuff, to do so. If that's what someone enjoys, okay.

[Psychosplodge]

One way to compete in a tournament (http://tallymarx.tumblr.com/post/102928934347/challengerapproaching-they-call-themselves).

[Gotthammer]

OMG yes!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6vqWxTku8I


A masked vigilante showed up at a smash bros meetup with a ski mask and sunglasses. He didn't say a word for 9 entire hours, beat everyone there and won the bracket, gave a thumbs up and left without saying a word. When asked what to enter him as in the tournament he got a pen and wrote "Falcomaster3000"

[Psychosplodge]

How to ensure he became internet famous :D

[Kirsten]

Farcry 4 is amazing, like one of the best games ever amazing... it is very much the same as Farcry 3 in a lot of ways, you climb towers to uncover areas, you hunt and skin animals, unlock free weapons, craft pouch upgrades... but the Himalayan scenery is incredible, very vertical, the bad guy, Pagan Min is absolutely genius, there are more weapons, more upgrades, and you can ride an elephant and fight enemies with it...

[Psychosplodge]

are you sure you aren't describing assassins creed?

[Tyrendian]

that's what I was thinking...

[Gotthammer]

Some first look videos (spoilers obv):


Never Alone (even if you watch only the first five minutes or so I really recommend you do):


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB50exiuXME



Far Cry 4:


http://youtu.be/W30guDFdA0I



Dragon Age Inquisition:


http://youtu.be/nTwZAqTaLd0

[Kirsten]

are you sure you aren't describing assassins creed?

it is a squillion times better than assassin's creed.

[Wolfshade]

it is a squillion times better than assassin's creed.

That's not hard though really....

[Psychosplodge]

it is a squillion times better than assassin's creed.

Then whys it sound just like it?

[Kirsten]

because it doesn't

[Psychosplodge]

Farcry 4 is amazing, like one of the best games ever amazing... it is very much the same as Farcry 3 in a lot of ways, you climb towers to uncover areas brotherhood?, you hunt and skin animals black flag, unlock free weapons all of them, craft pouch upgrades... black flag but the Himalayan scenery is incredible, very vertical, the bad guy, Pagan Min is absolutely genius, there are more weapons, more upgrades, and you can ride an elephant and fight enemies with it...

oh

[Kirsten]

yeah and you use modern weaponry just like, oh, which Assassin's Creed had those? and the mountainous terrain is just like... and the quad bikes, the first person perspective, the characters, the plot, the gameplay, the missions... hang on a minute...

[Psychosplodge]

So what you're telling me is its your description at fault? ;)

But anyway new pokemon soon. Which version you having?

[Gotthammer]

Hi. I’m Carolyn Petit. You may remember me from GameSpot’s original review (http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/grand-theft-auto-v-review/1900-6414475/) of Grand Theft Auto V. It caused a bit of a kerfuffle. I criticized the game for being misogynistic, and for this, users who objected to my critique flooded the comments with lots of hateful, sexist, transphobic garbage and a petition was created to get me fired for what they saw as the transgression of bringing my personal politics into the review. (Though my review was hardly “about feminism,” the reaction to it was nonetheless a great illustration of Lewis’s Law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Lewis_%28journalist%29#Lewis.27s_law).) The conversation blew up a little bit, which I think was a good thing. For instance, Alyssa Rosenberg wrote about the reactions to my review in this post, “No, Analyzing the Gender Politics of Grand Theft Auto V—or Anything Else—Isn’t ‘Unprofessional.’”

Now, because Grand Theft Auto V has been released on new platforms, there are new reviews being posted for it, and GameSpot has one (http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/grand-theft-auto-5-ps4-review/1900-6415959/). I think it is a good, well-written review that I don’t doubt honestly reflects the writer’s experience with and opinion of the game.

There are at least a few comments on the review that praise it, in direct contrast to my review, for what those commenters perceive as its pleasant, appropriate lack of a political agenda.

https://31.media.tumblr.com/840e445044f45a400aa59a29c8019cad/tumblr_inline_nf9adfC2o81qcqpir.jpg

But there is no such thing as a lack of a political viewpoint when reviewing a game as deeply political as Grand Theft Auto V.

And what really frustrates me about the whole ongoing debate about “SJWs” and critiquing the meanings and values of games along with their gameplay and graphics and sound is not so much the politics of those who rail against “SJWs” and their “agendas” but rather is the fact that many of these people honestly believe that their position is neutral, apolitical, that it is not, itself, a deeply political agenda in support of the status quo and against anything that seeks to call the status quo into question.

This is a huge problem. I think the first step a person needs to take before they can have any chance of reasonably participating in this discussion is simply to recognize that their position is just as political as any other. Of course, if you are a member of the dominant culture, it’s easy to see games, by and large, as apolitical, when the worldviews present in so many mainstream games (not to mention films and television programs) mesh seamlessly with your own. The politics present in these media can be invisible to you. So you can end up feeling like Grand Theft Auto is apolitical, but that Gone Home is deeply political, when of course the truth is that these two games are just differently political.


It became apparent to me that gaming culture is a deeply political space from the moment I started working for a major, mainstream gaming site. I was immediately faced with tons of comments making it clear that, to many, the mere fact that I was a woman and that I was transgender made me a transgressor in that space. If you’re a straight white man in that space, the politics of it may be invisible to you, but they could never be invisible to me.

And it quickly became clear to me that there was a correlation between the politics of gaming culture and the politics of most mainstream games themselves. Straight white men were dominant in the online spaces and in the narratives of the games themselves. Women, people of color, and queer folks were marginalized in the online spaces, and in the narratives of the games themselves. Those who are attacking women in gaming spaces, attacking “social justice warriors” and the idea of video game criticism that analyzes the sociopolitical values of games, see people who engage in such criticism (people like me) as trying to bring about an imbalance to something that was already perfectly balanced and neutral. If they had the capability to put themselves in the shoes of people different from themselves more often, if media asked that of them or if their own ability to empathize and see things from the perspective of others was simply well-developed enough, they might better be able to understand that things are already deeply imbalanced and that we are trying to bring a little more balance to these spaces.


Grand Theft Auto V is a game about men and masculinity and violence and crime and culture and has things to say—unfortunate things—about how women and trans folks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egPpXoK9684) fit into this world. It is incredibly political. You cannot engage with or review the game apolitically. Despite what the commenters above may think, the new GameSpot review is not apolitical. It is just differently political from my review. Here’s an example. The writer says, “GTA V is sometimes heavy-handed with its satire, but there are few games that dare go as far as GTA does with its nihilistic commentary, and fewer still that do it with such conviction.”

That is a political statement, because satire must have some sort of political value. My political perspective on this issue is different. I don’t think the so-called satire in GTA is daring at all. I don’t think it “goes far” at all. I don’t think it takes guts at all to reinforce traditional notions of masculinity, to mock women and trans folks, to reinforce the status quo. I don’t think there is a single moment in GTA V when the average straight male player will find his worldview challenged, his notions about masculinity seriously called into question, when he will feel in any way threatened or caught off-guard by anything the game is saying about our culture.

It doesn’t take nerve to side with the powerful and to punch down.

To call for an absence of “political agendas” in video game criticism is itself a deeply political agenda, one in defense of a very imbalanced status quo that many perceive as perfectly balanced. It is also to hope for the impossible, since most games are inherently political and therefore any review of such a game, whether by choosing to discuss the politics of the game or choosing not to, is assuming a political position of some kind. When people say “get politics out of my games and game reviews,” what they really mean is “Keep making games that reinforce my worldview, stop making games that challenge my worldview, and stop questioning the political values of the games that reinforce my worldview.”

I don’t know how we do it, but I think getting people to understand that there is no politically neutral position here may be the essential first step if this conversation is ever going to move forward in any meaningful way.

via (http://agameofme.tumblr.com/post/103002856657/a-quick-note-about-politics-video-game-reviews-and)

[Kirsten]

hot damn this is awesome, Shadow of Mordor gets free DLC allowing you to play as a female warrior commander

http://www.themarysue.com/shadow-of-mordor-lady-warrior-dlc/

[eldargal]

Might just get me to get the game, sometime next year after I'm worn out with Dragon Age Inquisition which lets yo be a woman from the start rather relegating it to DLC...

Edit: Oh it's just a skin, not even voiced or given cutscenes, **** that lol.

[Kirsten]

it is a fantastic game, and a player skin is much more than most games give you

[Psychosplodge]

Had a Reindoonicorn (https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Reindoonicorn) drop in TF2 Saturday. Must be nearly xmas.

And went back to RomeTW2. Everything was going well till loads of buildings finished at the same time and put me into very negative food. I almost lost my two oldest armies that have existed from the start, but luckily a concerted building effort put me upto 80 surplus before that happened, though most of my veterans had deserted so it did cost me heavily there. This was the turn after three factions had declared war on me in the eastern side of what is now Turkey. Luckily agent actions held them at bay till my armies recovered. They're now subdued.
The AI still isn't fixed, its still really easy to beat 3 and 4 to one odds.

[Gotthammer]

Must be nearly xmas.

One month to go!

[Psychosplodge]

Shh I'm ignoring it and it might go away :D

[Psychosplodge]

I bought an overpriced shiney and bright tablet when I should have bought a 3DS (http://bgr.com/2014/11/26/nintendo-pokemon-game-sales/)

[Wolfshade]

Age of Wonders free on gog.com

[Gotthammer]

http://youtu.be/PqToiIwh7Fc


Down in Hell, surrounded by all those poor unfortunate souls, Jezebel dreams that someday her prince (or princess) will come. She wants a whole new world where she can just let it go. She just wants to be part of our world and feel the love tonight.


http://media.tumblr.com/440e62415f2f0116799d3b361ffaef31/tumblr_inline_mgly9y8qqb1qkmfut.jpg

It's beautiful.

[eldargal]

https://31.media.tumblr.com/1535e592a791960f84df5951c01f2a1f/tumblr_inline_n3hmixXtU11qjop0x.gif

[Kirsten]

Square Enix trolls the world...
http://kotaku.com/the-internet-reacts-to-final-fantasy-vii-on-ps4-1668134367?utm_campaign=Socialflow_Kotaku_Facebook&utm_source=Kotaku_Facebook&utm_medium=Socialflow

[Psychosplodge]

more like more kotaku clickbait?

[Wolfshade]

https://www.origin.com/en-gb/store/buy/simcity-catalog/pc-download/base-game/special-edition#media

SimCity 2000 free on origin

[Kirsten]

more like more kotaku clickbait?

not really, nobody is happy with Square Enix, the looks on the faces of the audience at the event are hilarious, loads of places reporting it.

- - - Updated - - -

never played any Sim City games, not really my thing, worth trying for free? hmmm

[Psychosplodge]

not really, nobody is happy with Square Enix, the looks on the faces of the audience at the event are hilarious, loads of places reporting it.

But its hardly a surprise as they're releasing old games in the online shop like Nintendo did with the wii.
But yeah I know how much they want a current gen ffvii remake, i've been hearing about from the SO and her friends for years.
(why do you think I've seen distant worlds twice :D)


never played any Sim City games, not really my thing, worth trying for free? hmmm

It's not a bad game. played it on snes and PC. Definitely works better with the mouse.

[Psychosplodge]

I didn't know the Sniper could do that

http://36.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvgj5xAf8w1qhimkoo1_1280.jpg

[Kirsten]

quite a kick

finished Far Cry 4, which was totally awesome. around 30 hours for 75% completion.

back to try a bit of dragon age, see if it can redeem itself...

[Mr Mystery]

GRAH!!!!

Still can't decide on a console :(

PS4 - in it's favour currently, lots of really good deals from Game (PS4, GTA V, Last of Us, plus 3 Blurays I don't currently have for £369). And Alien Isolation should be proper pants fillingly terrifying in this gen.

Wii U - Zelda still.

Gonna bit the bullet one way or t'other this month.

[Kirsten]

You are useless

[Wolfshade]

Howabout a steambox?

[Kirsten]

no thanks, just had a shower.

[Wolfshade]

no thanks, just had a shower.


There has to be some comment that the correct response is fnarr!

Imagine I said that

- - - Updated - - -

Fnarr!

[Gotthammer]

Found the dude who sells the high tier items:

https://31.media.tumblr.com/dbcf66ceaabc6a685f6a1d74c9faf7c8/tumblr_ngis6fWU2R1s0tnt7o1_1280.jpg

[Wolfshade]

Vulture guy looks like he is annoyed at having to explain yet again why he has a pet vulture.

[eldargal]

'Our is a forbidden love, go away'

[Mr Mystery]

You are useless

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6c-TGyfmECA/Tqq6e4yyM3I/AAAAAAAAAKQ/ahcds52gOuQ/s1600/dunce_cap.jpg

I'm blaming it on my lack of a significant other to keep me organised.

[Psychosplodge]

PS4 and XBone still have few games, even fewer that aren't still geting a PS3/360 release as well. The Wii U has started releasing the quality titles.

[Mr Mystery]

Think it's going to be a Wii U.

Classic Game library has seriously swung it.

Super Metroid yo!

[Wolfshade]

HoMMIII (my #2 favourite game of all time) is being re-released in HD boo yah!

[Psychosplodge]

https://33.media.tumblr.com/91de6b926cd4987846957d686e3313ae/tumblr_nglkk7AGbp1sqv60so1_1280.png


>random guy in **** tier iron armor shows up one day saying a dragon is burning down a city
>don’t know why the guards let him in
>figure I can throw another body at my court wizard so I shuffle him over
>Comes back with arrows sticking out of his body and holding the tablet out for my court wizard like its nothing
>Hear reports someone killed literally every bandit, rat, wolf, and rabbit between here and the spot he was sent
>I now need to get this pain immune lunatic murderer out of my city.
>Dragon shows up
>Ohthankthegods
>Send the guy out on a suicide mission to kill a dragon
>End of my worries
>He comes back, apparently having killed the dragon and eaten its soul
>According to reports just stood there and let the dragon burn him while chugging addictive and dangerous health potions he made himself.
>Now standing in front of me eating an entire bushel of apples, two loaves of bread, and an entire side of beef while everyone looks on in horror and disgust
>Need to get him away from my children as fast as possible
>Tell him he needs to climb the tallest mountain in Skyrim and stay with the Graybeards
>He leaves without a word
>Hopefully thats the last I’ll see of him.

[Psychosplodge]

So I'm stuck without internet at home at moment, came home wednesday to find the broadband down, and through a lack of forsight I hadn't downloaded many single player games for offline use in steam, and those I had I rather stupidly had my saved games on "the steam cloud" so last night I spent my evening playing Football manager 2005 which actually felt like a step backwards from the previous management game I'd played "premier manager 2000" It is annoying that you don't seem to have a stadium development aspect and the anti virus really doesn't like the .exe file, but mostly how slow a game that requires a stunning 600mhz processor and 512mb of ram runs on an i5 and 16gb of ram :D

[Psychosplodge]

This (http://bretonmage.tumblr.com/post/105520848067/vennyhedgie-boned-furry-mancharm)is good to know.

[Mr Mystery]

Ordered a Wii U this morning.

I shall be in Hyrule all weekend!

[Psychosplodge]

which games you gone for?

[Mr Mystery]

Super Mario Bros U and Super Luigi U, with the black console.

Will visit CEX at some point tomorrow to get Hyrule Warriors

[Psychosplodge]

The SO hasn't shut up about hyrule warriors since she got it. Super smash bros is good too. Get mariokart 8 :D
Also if its down to a tenner get the zombie u game. Its an interesting use of the wii pad but not worth paying loads for.

[Kirsten]

Mario Kart is a must, along with the DLC for it. I enjoyed Hyrule Warriors, I didn't keep it, traded it in while it was still worth quite a bit, but it was fun, and something I might at some point buy again dirt cheap.

[DarkLink]

This (http://bretonmage.tumblr.com/post/105520848067/vennyhedgie-boned-furry-mancharm)is good to know.

Of course, it's a hugely misleading comparison. Google obviously isn't a relevant company since it hasn't been big as long as Microsoft, right? The British had a huge empire for hundreds of years, so obviously they're the world's only super-power to this day. Harry Potter sold nearly as many copies as the Bible, so obviously it must be topping 2014's best seller list. I could go on :P...

[Morgrim]

I think the main bit isn't the totals at the end (which as mentioned are kind of pointless), it's the fact that lots of people claim that Nintendo is doomed and needs to do things like join the smartphone market when they're quietly plugging along making profits that are similar or higher to the companies that are frequently claimed to be doing much, much better than them and threatening their existence.

[DarkLink]

Well, I was mainly thinking of the comment that claimed that Sony and Microsoft aren't even in the same league as Nintendo. But even still, dropping from 5+ billion to less than 1 billion in profit/revenue/whatever in two years time? That's pretty bad. It also doesn't show the last three years, which considering that Nintendo's alleged woes are very recent could mean bad things for them anyways. I did find this, though: http://www.zeldainformer.com/articles/a-deeper-analysis-of-nintendos-financials-why-they-cant-drop-hardware#.VJW1914Aw

[Mr Mystery]

Absolutely lovingly my Wii U.

Downloaded A Link To The Past, and have been caning it!

[Kirsten]

quite right too.

[Mr Mystery]

Plus, if I prop the door open, I can play on the handset whilst in bed. Which is nice.

[Tyrendian]

I can play on the handset whilst in bed. Which is nice.

this is kinda close to sounding kinda wrong... :P

[Mr Mystery]

Honestly. I bet you would even misconstrue that I was twiddling the knobs whilst playing in bed!

[Psychosplodge]

Of course, it's a hugely misleading comparison. Google obviously isn't a relevant company since it hasn't been big as long as Microsoft, right? The British had a huge empire for hundreds of years, so obviously they're the world's only super-power to this day. Harry Potter sold nearly as many copies as the Bible, so obviously it must be topping 2014's best seller list. I could go on :P...

So would you be a crazed xbox zealot? or a sony fanboy? Morgrim hits the nail on the head really.
Lets face it though console wars are like two women arguing who has the biggest dick /PCMR :D


Spent the weekend playing Baldur's Gate 2, forgot how good the story was. keep forgetting to play as a male fighter though to get the free castle, apparently a human noble daughter shagging an elf ranger would be scandalous...

[Mr Mystery]

Also downloaded Zelda II - The Adventure of Link, and Super Metroid.

And picked up a copy of Hyrule Warriors.

I'd quite forgotten what it was like to play games intended primarily to be fun rather than some 'hardcore' thing.

[Psychosplodge]

Not worrying about your k/d ratio eh?

[Kirsten]

I don't know, Zelda 2 and Super Metroid are pretty hardcore

[Psychosplodge]

Playing the same half a dozen call of modern battlefield maps is the definition of casual.

RPGs and grand strategy are much closer to hardcore, something that requires 60/100/200 hours not restarts after twenty minutes. :D

[eldargal]

Spent the weekend playing Baldur's Gate 2, forgot how good the story was. keep forgetting to play as a male fighter though to get the free castle, apparently a human noble daughter shagging an elf ranger would be scandalous...

I'm still bitter about that.

[Mr Mystery]

I don't know, Zelda 2 and Super Metroid are pretty hardcore

Yeah, but no stealth-sneak-sneak nonsense involved. Just stabby and dakka.

[Kirsten]

I am currently hooked on Steam World Dig, available on most platforms. it is pretty simple, but incredibly addictive. you are a steam powered old west prospector robot, and you dig down for minerals to sell on the surface. you basically just keep going down on one map, picking up new abilities, using your hard earned dollars to improve your gear. later on you reach a few more areas as well and start teleporting back to the surface. it is one of those games where you think 'just one more trip down' and then realise you have been playing for three hours mining minerals. absolutely love it.

[Kirsten]

hope the Playstation Network comes back up soon. you have to be a serious asshat to take down Xbox and Playstation networks on Christmas Day, it is a major dick move that achieves nothing other than pissing people off over christmas, absolutely disgusting.

[DarkLink]

So would you be a crazed xbox zealot? or a sony fanboy? Morgrim hits the nail on the head really.
Lets face it though console wars are like two women arguing who has the biggest dick /PCMR :D


If it's xbox vs playstation, then rabid xbox fan because I vastly prefer the xbox's exclusives and I hate the playstation controller. But nintendo is cool too, and would be about ten times cooler if they stopped with the gimmicky systems and released an awesome new zelda game or something instead of mario tennis. But yeah, I remember when Learn2Eel was "reviewing" the xbox vs ps4 and basically decided that because the ps4 had a marginally better framerate, it was infinitely superior in every possible way. Seriously? If you want good graphics more than anything else, go PC. Otherwise, just pick the system that has the games you want to play and get over yourself.

[Mr Mystery]

Had quite forgotten how ace Super Metroid is!

About half way through, and apart from the odd 'FFS' moments, such an enjoyable game!

[Wolfshade]

Finally succumbed to the steam sale and picked up democracy 3.

Voters are so irritating

[Erik Setzer]

Finally succumbed to the steam sale and picked up democracy 3.

Voters are so irritating

I picked that up at the same time as "South Park: The Stick of Truth," which seemed like a healthy dose of irony to me. Anyway, I tried the UK as a challenge, and promptly wanted to throw my hands up and give up. People are unhappy because of the insane taxes, but they want all kinds of freebies which can't be afforded without the huge taxes. Lower either, and you have a revolt. What the heck, voters? (Note that this isn't an actual commentary on the real UK.)

I need to fire it up again. I wonder if I can get assassinated...

[Wolfshade]

I've been sniped and exploded...

The capitalists don't like me for some reason.

I've had massive success 96% vote in Germany, but no such luck in the UK, or the USA.

[Psychosplodge]

If it's xbox vs playstation, then rabid xbox fan because I vastly prefer the xbox's exclusives and I hate the playstation controller. But nintendo is cool too, and would be about ten times cooler if they stopped with the gimmicky systems and released an awesome new zelda game or something instead of mario tennis. But yeah, I remember when Learn2Eel was "reviewing" the xbox vs ps4 and basically decided that because the ps4 had a marginally better framerate, it was infinitely superior in every possible way. Seriously? If you want good graphics more than anything else, go PC. Otherwise, just pick the system that has the games you want to play and get over yourself.

I still think the gamecube has the best controller. But it seems to have been swept under the rug that the wii runs generally runs at 1080 and 60fps but both the "superior" systems still don't always. *shrugs*
yes when it comes to consoles I'm definitely a fan of Nintendo
but mostly because if I have a nintendo and a PC I can play pretty much anything I want to.

[Learn2Eel]

If it's xbox vs playstation, then rabid xbox fan because I vastly prefer the xbox's exclusives and I hate the playstation controller. But nintendo is cool too, and would be about ten times cooler if they stopped with the gimmicky systems and released an awesome new zelda game or something instead of mario tennis. But yeah, I remember when Learn2Eel was "reviewing" the xbox vs ps4 and basically decided that because the ps4 had a marginally better framerate, it was infinitely superior in every possible way. Seriously? If you want good graphics more than anything else, go PC. Otherwise, just pick the system that has the games you want to play and get over yourself.

I take it you haven't been paying attention to the Wii U lately? 2014 may as well be the year of the Wii U, it is still lagging dangerously behind the PS4 and Xbox One in terms of sales but it has got it where it counts; games. Nintendo accomplished a miracle by pretty much turning around the fortunes of a previously doomed console entirely. Bayonetta 2, Super Smash Bros. Wii U, Donkey Kong Country, Hyrule Warriors, Mario Kart 8....utterly phenomenal year. I also wouldn't call it "gimmicky", the gamepad is pretty darned awesome.

Also, eh? I was posting heavily at a time when people were still trying to determine which console they should pick up. You are heavily misquoting me, it's quite laughable really. I never said the PS4 was "infinitely superior in every possible way", I don't know how you extrapolated that from my comparisons that used established facts to support my arguments. Besides, at the time and onwards I have recommended the Xbox One to numerous people, so that point of yours is utterly moot. A lot of people were asking which was the most powerful console at the time, and the answer remains the PS4; now, how significant the raw performance gap is will only be determined later in the generation once developers are comfortable with both consoles (as was the case with the overly complex Cell architecture on the PS3).

As for "marginally better framerate", I don't think you quite understand what I was talking about. The primary game used for performance comparison between the two consoles back when they released was Call of Duty: Ghosts. While the assets and frame-rate were identical, the resolution was not; the PS4 version natively output at 1080p (1920x1080), while the Xbox One version output at 720p (1280x720). I don't need to be a computer tech expert to tell you that the former outputs over double the pixels of the other. That is not "marginal" in any way, that is a ridiculously huge gap - that the two both had a stable 60fps performance indicated (at the time) that there was a significant gap in terms of raw power between the two consoles. Since then, the gap has mostly closed thanks to Microsoft releasing what was essentially an over-clocking update for the Xbox One; the majority of games do still favour the PS4 in direct feed comparisons, but generally the differences are infinitesimal.

Regardless of the above, I find it quite humorous that you are labeling my opinion as determining a small advantage for one console and then screaming its overall praises. At the time of release, the PS4 was the cheaper and more powerful console; it's a no brainer which I would recommend to most people. However, for those who aren't as keen on getting the absolute best visuals (usually the difference is indeed tiny with recent releases) then the exclusives should sway them - which is what I've been telling people in my gaming group from day one. If Bloodborne or The Order: 1886 attract you more as opposed to Halo 5: Guardians and Scalebound, go for them and vice-versa. Whatever you might think, I was providing probably the fairest analysis of the two for everyone who has asked me; if you haven't guessed, I own both and am loving my time with them.

As for the PC comment, while that is mostly true, when I am asked to provide my opinion on which console to pick and the question of "which is the most powerful" comes up as it inevitably does - people want to make the most of their shiny new TV's after all - I'm going to be honest and I would expect nothing less of anyone else. There are some unbelievable visuals capable on consoles that the PC hasn't quite yet caught up to, most notable being The Order: 1886 and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. It is absolutely insane how good the former looks in particular; currently there's nothing that tops it for pure image quality and photo-realism on the PC, though there will of course be a successor in a few months.


I still think the gamecube has the best controller. But it seems to have been swept under the rug that the wii runs generally runs at 1080 and 60fps but both the "superior" systems still don't always. *shrugs*
yes when it comes to consoles I'm definitely a fan of Nintendo
but mostly because if I have a nintendo and a PC I can play pretty much anything I want to.

I only got to play around with a Gamecube a few times, unfortunately. Such a great console, almost everyone forgets it had more power under the hood than both the PS2 and Xbox. I couldn't say which is the best controller honestly, too many to really point a finger at.

Just an FYI, resolution and frame-rate are hardly the only indicators of how good a game looks. They tend to be the most important aspects of visual quality and performance, but (a crude example here) that is like saying Final Fantasy VI running at 1080p and 60fps (more like 300fps) means the hardware running it is more competitive than one that runs Crysis at 900p and 50fps. I know you probably understand this but the way your comment was worded seems to indicate you believe the Wii U has a technical advantage over the PS4 and Xbox One which, let's be perfectly honest, is about as wrong as could be.

http://cdn.superbwallpapers.com/wallpapers/games/the-order-1886-21409-1920x1080.jpg

This is an in-engine screenshot of The Order: 1886. The Wii U simply isn't capable of producing anything like this on a technical level. Before anyone says "that's not gameplay", the visuals you see in cut-scenes are identical to those found in gameplay; something that Ready at Dawn have specifically made a point of so that there is no visual disparity or compromise when viewing the world. Below is a gameplay screenshot of Ryse: Son of Rome;

http://cdn.desktopwallpapers4.me/wallpapers/games/1920x1080/3/23712-ryse-son-of-rome-1920x1080-game-wallpaper.jpg

Where resolution and frame-rate become most important when used for comparisons are in PC stress-tests and console multi-platform games, as the assets are usually identical (some aberrations such as the original Bayonetta are the exceptions). If you look at the exclusives, however, even if I had rose-coloured glassed for a Wii U (which I wish I owned) there's no way I could say it is capable of outputting visuals on a level equivalent to either of the PS4 or Xbox One.

[DarkLink]

Still as rambling as ever, I see.

[Learn2Eel]

Still as rambling as ever, I see.

How mature of you. It's not that difficult to apologize for misquoting me, but hey, I'm not fussed.

In other news, The Witcher II is available on Steam for $3. That's a crazy good holiday deal!

[Gotthammer]

https://33.media.tumblr.com/ee0fc2e806020573f08e44d64718f071/tumblr_nhflgcwymd1qjrgdko1_1280.png

http://40.media.tumblr.com/f8ad711be0a379ba94dc0a84609a2f91/tumblr_n1y4imeEJY1qj2kgto1_1280.jpg

[eldargal]

Oh, Bioware.

[DarkLink]

How mature of you. It's not that difficult to apologize for misquoting me, but hey, I'm not fussed.


I used exaggerated rhetoric to mildly mock your writing style. If you didn't mean to communicate that you thought the ps4 was better than the xbox because of a neglible difference in graphics, your lengthy essays didn't communicate that very well. In general, you have a tendancy to use too many words to describe things that can be stated more simply.

[Psychosplodge]

There are some unbelievable visuals capable on consoles that the PC hasn't quite yet caught up to, most notable being The Order: 1886 and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. It is absolutely insane how good the former looks in particular; currently there's nothing that tops it for pure image quality and photo-realism on the PC, though there will of course be a successor in a few months.


For graphical output if thats what we're after the consoles were already 12-18 months behind at launch.
If they look any worse on PC its down to lazy porting. go compare PC skyrim and console skyrim, the first thing steam does is links you to the HD texture pack, and then theres all the fan made mods.

http://i.imgur.com/LXeNk1q.jpg






Just an FYI, resolution and frame-rate are hardly the only indicators of how good a game looks. They tend to be the most important aspects of visual quality and performance, but (a crude example here) that is like saying Final Fantasy VI running at 1080p and 60fps (more like 300fps) means the hardware running it is more competitive than one that runs Crysis at 900p and 50fps. I know you probably understand this but the way your comment was worded seems to indicate you believe the Wii U has a technical advantage over the PS4 and Xbox One which, let's be perfectly honest, is about as wrong as could be.
.

I do. I was just prodding the console gamers, plus I'm rather fond of the wii u even if I haven't got my own yet, and it does seem to have the better games.

[Learn2Eel]

I used exaggerated rhetoric to mildly mock your writing style. If you didn't mean to communicate that you thought the ps4 was better than the xbox because of a neglible difference in graphics, your lengthy essays didn't communicate that very well. In general, you have a tendancy to use too many words to describe things that can be stated more simply.

Fair enough. My apologies, my cat is sick at the moment and I am a little jumpy; sorry!


For graphical output if thats what we're after the consoles were already 12-18 months behind at launch.
If they look any worse on PC its down to lazy porting. go compare PC skyrim and console skyrim, the first thing steam does is links you to the HD texture pack, and then theres all the fan made mods.

http://i.imgur.com/LXeNk1q.jpg

I do. I was just prodding the console gamers, plus I'm rather fond of the wii u even if I haven't got my own yet, and it does seem to have the better games.

It's obviously an issue that the new consoles can't pull off 1080p and 60fps consistently, however - as was the case with last-gen - developers often sacrifice resolution and frame-rate to push image quality and assets further. As all consoles and modern televisions natively upscale their displays to match the resolution of the TV, it's easy to notice a difference but many feel it is worth it to see visuals such as those introduced by The Last of Us and Ryse. This is why everyone on Neogaf is jumping up and down about The Order; it's technically a letter-box display but it still looks breath-taking in motion, so much so that many - myself included - think it easily beats out anything you can currently view on a PC short of perhaps a game like Metro: Last Light running at 4K resolution.

As far as games looking worse on PC, I wasn't referring to multi-platform games. The Order: 1886 and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End are PS4 exclusives and look better than anything you could get on any console or PC at the moment on a technical level. For the same reason that a PS3 with 256MB of RAM was able to produce stunning visuals with The Last of Us, you will see immensely impressive games on the two power-house consoles despite their actual raw hardware being equivalent to a high-end mid-tier PC; optimization. Consoles don't run Windows, and developers only have to develop for one set of hardware specifications, not an unlimited amount as is the case with PC's.

Comparing PC Skyrim and console Skyrim is kind of a moot point as console Skyrim was released on last-gen consoles, not current-gen consoles. Modded Skyrim with the HD texture pack looks gorgeous, but I - and many others - are still firmly in the camp that The Order in particular is the game to show off a shiny new screen or TV and will be for at least a few months.

I recommend getting a Wii U for sure, if someone asked me whether to get one at this time last year my answer would have been a flat "no" as pretty much everyone believed Nintendo were going to pull the plug in 2014 or 2015. I'm one of the many still in disbelief that they managed to turn it around! As for better games, that generally revolves around the exclusives when it comes to the Wii and Wii U as they don't get anywhere near the same amount of love with multi-platform games as the Xbox and PS do.

[Psychosplodge]

Yes skyrim was last gen, but I disagree its just an example of the differences.

I'm not sure where this idea came from that nintendo were going to pull the plug on the Wii U, you're the third person I've found that had that impression.
Is it just something these clickbaity "gaming" websites came up with on a slow news day?

[Mr Mystery]

Wii U is a nice little console. Perhaps not for hardcore gaming and graphics, but it's still a sexy wee thing in it's own right.

Granted so far I've only used mine to play SNES games (so good!), but I do have Hyrule Warriors and Mario to play.

Me, I'm not massively fussed for graphics. Probably because I started on the Speccy. As long as the game is fun, and doesn't have glitches, I'm happy!

[Psychosplodge]

loading old cassette games was a game itself, a game of "will it load?"

[Mr Mystery]

And it's prequel - 'It's Still Not Done Yet', usually played just after dinner.

[Learn2Eel]

Yes skyrim was last gen, but I disagree its just an example of the differences.

I'm not sure where this idea came from that nintendo were going to pull the plug on the Wii U, you're the third person I've found that had that impression.
Is it just something these clickbaity "gaming" websites came up with on a slow news day?

My point is that I feel that currently there's nothing on PC that is more impressive than The Order: 1886 on a technical level. There obviously will be in a few months, but it speaks volumes about what developers are capable of when working on mid-tier preset hardware specifications.

The idea came about because the Wii U had a full year of sales to enjoy before the PS4 and Xbox One released, and yet the PS4 managed to surpass the Wii U's global sales in the space of 4 months. It took the PS4 4 months to surpass or at least equal what the Wii U managed in 16 months. I'm not as certain of where the Xbox One is in relation to the Wii U as Microsoft are being very quiet about their own sales figures, but it is widely accepted that the Wii U and Xbox One are at the very least neck-and-neck. From the perspective of a share-holder, the Wii U looked like a colossal failure. I'm surprised you haven't heard more people share that view a year ago as it was the widely accepted theory, and no, it wasn't just some flavour of the month article designed to stir the pot. When your two direct competitors blitz you in sales in the space of a few months despite you having a year's head-start in the market even though the previous iteration of your console was the highest selling of its generation by a significant margin (the Wii), it's standard to assume the product is dead in the water. It wasn't (and still isn't, albeit to a far lesser degree) helped by the fact that many third-party developers completely abandoned the console. This is why despite the Wii U not selling anywhere near as much as the PS4 and presumably the Xbox One as well in 2014, many gamers have labeled 2014 the "year of the Wii U" as Nintendo have done an unbelievable job of turning it around and restoring faith to their consumers.

As an aside, even though the PS4 is enjoying a huge total sales gap over both the Xbox One and Wii U, it is important to note that the Xbox One is actually selling more than the Xbox 360 did in the same amount of time. The Xbox 360 took 2 and a half years to reach the 10 million sales mark, whereas the Xbox One has already reached (rough estimate) 6-8 million sales in the space of 1 year.

[Kirsten]

just played a little bit of Wasteland 2, made by the guy who did the original Fallout I believe. seems interesting, but then it crashed fairly quickly, and is meant to be played on a 64bit system. Currently playing Metro 2033 Redux on PS4 which is quite entertaining.

[Wolfshade]

I picked up Metro 2033 for free awhile ago.

[Kirsten]

I am really enjoying it. nobody does post apocalyptic despair like the eastern europeans...

[Mr Mystery]

Officially in a mood with Adventure of Link.

It has no reason to be quite that hard - stupid enemies who you have to get near to hurt, yet have unblockable attacks.....

[Kirsten]

yup, drives me mad. never finished that one

[eldargal]

Sounds Wiily difficult.

[Mr Mystery]

U know it.

Completed it on the NES yonks ago. I think it's the whole 'always start at the palace' thing that irks me.

[Psychosplodge]

The idea came about because the Wii U had a full year of sales to enjoy before the PS4 and Xbox One released, and yet the PS4 managed to surpass the Wii U's global sales in the space of 4 months. It took the PS4 4 months to surpass or at least equal what the Wii U managed in 16 months. I'm not as certain of where the Xbox One is in relation to the Wii U as Microsoft are being very quiet about their own sales figures, but it is widely accepted that the Wii U and Xbox One are at the very least neck-and-neck. From the perspective of a share-holder, the Wii U looked like a colossal failure. I'm surprised you haven't heard more people share that view a year ago as it was the widely accepted theory, and no, it wasn't just some flavour of the month article designed to stir the pot. When your two direct competitors blitz you in sales in the space of a few months despite you having a year's head-start in the market even though the previous iteration of your console was the highest selling of its generation by a significant margin (the Wii), it's standard to assume the product is dead in the water. It wasn't (and still isn't, albeit to a far lesser degree) helped by the fact that many third-party developers completely abandoned the console. This is why despite the Wii U not selling anywhere near as much as the PS4 and presumably the Xbox One as well in 2014, many gamers have labeled 2014 the "year of the Wii U" as Nintendo have done an unbelievable job of turning it around and restoring faith to their consumers.

As an aside, even though the PS4 is enjoying a huge total sales gap over both the Xbox One and Wii U, it is important to note that the Xbox One is actually selling more than the Xbox 360 did in the same amount of time. The Xbox 360 took 2 and a half years to reach the 10 million sales mark, whereas the Xbox One has already reached (rough estimate) 6-8 million sales in the space of 1 year.

I think they made a mistake by not changing the name enough to differentiate it from the wii. Even a Wii 2 would have probably made a difference. But sales were always going to be slow till games people want came out.
Obviously the fanboys are going to be at the midnight launch, but until theres something you want whats the point of paying top dollar for a console you know will eventually be cheaper?

[Kirsten]

yup, I said this to quite a few people. vast numbers of people who are not traditionally gamers bought Wii's, and when the Wii U came out they said, no thanks, don't need a tablet to go with the Wii. that is all most people think it is, a very expensive tablet controller to add to their existing Wii, and they get enough out of the Wii not to need a peripheral for it. used to get customers in Game all the time who had no idea the Wii U was a whole new console. Nintendo obviously went with that name trying to capitalise on the popularity of the Wii name, but it seriously backfired on them.

[eldargal]

I bet Nintendo Wiigrets taking that approach now.

[Psychosplodge]

*head desk*

[eldargal]

:cool:

[Psychosplodge]

http://i.imgur.com/3jc8LSe.png

[eldargal]

Is that photoshopped or is it a Wiil mod?

[Psychosplodge]

it was labelled as a mod, but only linked to the pic on r/pcmr.

[eldargal]

Wiierd, you'd think they would link to the actual mod.

[Psychosplodge]

nope (http://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/2rc81o/gotta_love_civ_mods/) not even in the comments

[eldargal]

That's very Wiimiss of them.

[Psychosplodge]

indeed it is. Is probably in the steam workshop or whatever its called.

[Kirsten]

now I am pissed off :mad:

every single year when my Xbox gold membership renews I tell it not to auto renew the following year. every single year the renewal date rolls around and it prompts you again, and I say no, don't auto renew. every single year it auto renews anyway. just got an email now telling me it will auto renew on the 4th of Feb. gone online to my xbox account, gone to the subscriptions page. according to the support page, there is a big 'cancel auto payment' button to click on. except that there isn't. every support article about renewing simply provides a link to the subscription page and tells you to click the button that isn't there. eventually found a different method via the forums, and have yet again selected the do not renew option. if they take the money again this year I am going to damn well prosecute them for theft.

[Psychosplodge]

take out wads of cash, cancel card, use a scratch card renewel code?

[Kirsten]

I will probably try to remove all my payment information from the account now that I don't really use the 360 any more. in the past though a) it was handy for purchasing stuff, and b) it wouldn't let me remove my payment details because they were linked to my subscription which I kept telling them not to do...

[Psychosplodge]

yeah i've seen that complaint online before.

[Kirsten]

it is a total scam. they make it near impossible to actually stop it happening, no matter how many times you tell them not to. then when you do finally find the right section, ignoring the section they continually link you to, they do the whole song and dance of 'are you sure you want to cancel?' 'really sure?' 'you will miss out on these great benefits'

[Psychosplodge]

That's proper U.S. customer service right there, just like that twenty minute call of a bloke trying to switch his ISP...

[Kirsten]

yup. they must have sensed that I was about to send them a hate filled message of threats because their 'contact us' system is currently down.

[Psychosplodge]

until about mid February no doubt...

[Kirsten]

sounds about right. just got another email from Xbox now telling me that my subscription is going to expire and I need to take steps to renew it. on the one hand, getting more mail from them is a pain, on the other hand I hope that means the cancellation actually worked.

[Psychosplodge]

fingers crossed

[Learn2Eel]

I think they made a mistake by not changing the name enough to differentiate it from the wii. Even a Wii 2 would have probably made a difference. But sales were always going to be slow till games people want came out.
Obviously the fanboys are going to be at the midnight launch, but until theres something you want whats the point of paying top dollar for a console you know will eventually be cheaper?

That's pretty much my take as well, Nintendo screwed up big time with the Wii U marketing and branding. The sales are turning around which is obviously great, the last thing the gaming industry needs is for Nintendo to pull out of the console space.


now I am pissed off :mad:

every single year when my Xbox gold membership renews I tell it not to auto renew the following year. every single year the renewal date rolls around and it prompts you again, and I say no, don't auto renew. every single year it auto renews anyway. just got an email now telling me it will auto renew on the 4th of Feb. gone online to my xbox account, gone to the subscriptions page. according to the support page, there is a big 'cancel auto payment' button to click on. except that there isn't. every support article about renewing simply provides a link to the subscription page and tells you to click the button that isn't there. eventually found a different method via the forums, and have yet again selected the do not renew option. if they take the money again this year I am going to damn well prosecute them for theft.

Funnily enough, I had the exact same experience when I canceled my Xbox Live Gold subscription in...was it mid 2013? Anyway, I logged in on my computer and tried to cancel the renewal after sifting through the horrendously backwards website that you dealt with, only to be greeted with a "your computer has changed and is not the primary computer for your account, we will need to re-verify your new computer as your primary computer, this will take at least a month" or something along those lines. Two months later after I had forgotten that I was trying to cancel renewal, I finally got it sorted after having to go through a literal torrent of "are you sure" messages and intentionally obfuscated webpages designed to drive consumers insane before they can find the actual "cancel renewal" prompt. Oh, and they still charged me for those two months too where I didn't even touch my Xbox 360. It's absolutely disgusting and goes to show how the big corporations are allowed to get away with what essentially amounts to theft, I was so disappointed and never bothered to renew again. I reactivated it for a month with my Xbox One with the free voucher that came with the console but chose not to renew the subscription, not until Halo 5 comes out anyway.

By the by, this is a translation of a tweet some big-shot at Sony sent out;


Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) to sell "PlayStation 4" (PS4 ™), the New Year's holiday shopping season of 2014 ※ 1 in 410 million units ※ 2 to achieve a more real sales, 2015 1 worldwide total actual sales volume is 18.5 million units in the month the 4th time ※ 3 was exceeded. Continue, has continued to spread expansion in history "PlayStation" hardware fastest ever.

As has been confirmed by numerous reputable sources after the tweet went out, that 18.5 million figure is sold through to consumer. Yikes! From what I can tell the PS4 is getting really close to being the fastest selling console ever.

[Mr Mystery]

And I'm yet to buy one! But I will. Oh yes.

And that XBone for my friend, because I said I would and I'm a goon of my word.

[Mr Mystery]

Something something, PC Master Race, something something, wish finally fulfilled, something (http://www.alternet.org/sex-amp-relationships/video-game-controller-goes-your-vagina-how-skea-can-make-you-better-sex)

*runs away*

[eldargal]

UnbeWiivable.

[Psychosplodge]

So a new joystick?

[Mr Mystery]

Dunno.

But Gamergaters will be waking up to the fact that, yes indeed, PC's are now technically getting more than them too.

[Psychosplodge]

doubt it :p

[Mr Mystery]

Nah you're right.

It's not gone 3 pm yet. They'll still be in their bed.

[eldargal]

It's actually not a bad idea, it's just really crappy that it seems to be being marketed in a 'buy this and give your boyfriend better sex' kind of way.

[Psychosplodge]

you wouldn't want anyone else using your controller though would you? sounds rather expensive.

[eldargal]

You'd need a detachable, washable bit you can pop off and clean after use. There was a controller with a vibrator element a few years ago, depending how well you did in a certain game the feedback to teh vibrator varied so the better you did the more pleasure the recipient user would get. I only read about it sadly.:p

[Psychosplodge]

some sort of erogame? or whatever they're called?

[Kirsten]

some sort of erogame? or whatever they're called?

as if you don't know...

[Psychosplodge]

I went to a panel at gemucon :D I just can't remember the exact wording :p

[Tyrendian]

just found a little gem of a game called Choice of Robots - it's basically an entirely text-based (no graphics or sound effects) Choose Your Own Adventure / Interactive Novel that has you be the creator of the first sentient robots etc., with lots of choice on how to design them and what to do with them (fittingly, I've only just gotten around to finally watching Battlestar Galactica :)) There are lots of paths to take (seventy odd achievements, got 6 on my first playthrough), and wildly diverging ones as well. It's on Steam for a mere {insert the appropriate, but almost definitely single digit number of your local currency here}, much recommended if you like that kind of game!

[Psychosplodge]

It is indeed £3.99 in local currency.
And far too addictive. Bought it on your recommendation and played through two complete stories. Died once.
Became world renowned in history books and a billionaire in one.
Comfortably wealthy and nationally famous in another.
also mad ai anime mechas in one of them :D

[Tyrendian]

I've only managed one playthrough so far - basically ruined home country by not supporting war effort, got jailed and then pardoned, other than that mostly peaceful life doing a lot of good for humanity. Next up is creating Cylons basically... :)

[Psychosplodge]

I was pursuing a surgery route and fine manipulation. Turns out that helps with millatary once the war breaks out and you specifically chase millitary funding.
second play through I went through the games route which was interesting :D

[Psychosplodge]

http://i.imgur.com/EtjUE1P.jpg

[eldargal]

Yup.

[Tyrendian]

yeah... and this (http://www.pcgamer.com/skyrim-week-of-madness-day-1-the-world-according-to-sheogorath/) happens when one just installs a bunch of random mods for the heck of it (NSFW, also wordy but highly amusing)

[Wildeybeast]

Games workshop games are up to 90% off in the humble store this weekend.

https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/gamesworkshop

[Psychosplodge]

This made me lol

http://i.imgur.com/mfJueGM.jpg

Then of course the internet responds quickly

http://i.imgur.com/ToinJlO.png

[Gotthammer]

https://38.media.tumblr.com/358bd578c7ced0091bc7c0690759ddbf/tumblr_n0l8irko8p1rh1v81o1_400.gif