Sno

Compared to what? To Uprising? I mean, i guess it's a similar control scheme. If you found that fine, you'd probably find Uprising fine. Very different games though, Uprising is, for the most part, a third person shooter. (Where your movement direction is used to modify your attacks, on top of charge, rapid, and melee attacks.) It's also a rail shooter, every level is preceded by an on-rails shooting sequence. (Which are amazing.)

You control movement with the stick while aiming with the stylus, so there is a bit of a right hand bias there. It's not hopeless though, the game supports the CPP for an alternate left-handed control scheme, but the device's considerable bulk makes the control scheme even more unwieldy. (No dual-analog either, you still have to aim with the touchscreen. People who insist that the game would be better with dual-analog are being silly though, the game moves so fast that you really need a precise aiming scheme.)

I think Uprising's still probably one of my favorite 3DS games. You can also definitely tell it's a Sakurai game, it has a lot of his trademarks, including that it's just absolutely overstuffed with content. If you dig the combat and the loot mechanics, and if the control scheme doesn't cramp up your hand, there's a lot to like in there. (I nest the bottom right corner of the 3DS into the palm of my right hand instead of putting the whole weight of the system on my left hand, which i assume is the issue for most people.)

I haven't been playing Dota nearly as long as some of you, so i'm probably still being matched against scrubby players, but I started playing Phoenix and i'm 7 wins with 1 loss so far. Phoenix is awesome. One point in icarus, max fire spirits to fuck with the enemy's last hitting in laning and then build into sunray and the ult before finishing icarus dive. Play as a support in laning, give your partner the farm and focus on harassment and denies instead. Sentry ward aggressively if their team has invisible gankers, because you're always hovering around 30-40% health in laning. Tranquil > Wand > Urn > Shiva (Intelligence solves Phoenix's minor mana problems, aura protects the ult, the active makes the ult hard to escape.) Cast out those fire spirits, hit the shiva active, icarus dive, ult and explode, cast out more fire spirits, sunray the stragglers, fly off into the sunset like a boss. If the match runs long, go for a Halbred too. More right click protection, and the added strength will ensure that sunray can turn almost any team fight. Be afraid of ultra-fast right clickers like Troll and Ursa, and don't even bother picking Phoenix against a Silencer.

I've played through Escape mutliple times, and i've always felt that certain stretches of stealth gameplay were a little too rigid and strict, mainly in the mines. On the whole though, it's a phenomenal game.

Is anybody else here interested in this game? Is it worth a topic? I've been playing a lot of it over the last week and i'm really, really into it.

I don't remember exactly how the menus were laid out, but the sub menu for registering as a mercenary should be pretty obvious. You go in, setup some basic information to present to people looking for hires, and then you're loaded into the test map where you can fiddle around with your bot while you wait to be matched. (On average, it usually took around five minutes to be pinged for a match, sometimes longer and sometimes right away.) The campaign has like ten "core" story missions, but then also a huge collection of side missions, which are themselves often quite elaborate. It's not an exceptionally lengthy campaign, but it's not short. (There's that hardcore mode too, i think that's awesome. It creates a separate instance of the store where you only have money from the missions you've played in the campaign, and access only to the parts you can buy with that money. There's also a permadeath mechanic, you have a limited pool of lives. You can also only play missions once, no grinding out resources.) About the different sets of parts, i don't know. I think there is a way to set "favorite" parts and then see only those, perhaps that's what you're doing? There should be a button you can hit that explains what the buttons do in the build lab. Also, as with all From games, hitting the back button - or whatever the dualshock 3 equivalent is - should bring up some fairly useful tooltips. That by itself should make most of the game's mechanics pretty clear. (Really, it should, the tooltips are pretty concise.) Another tip, because it's a common mistake i saw people make and one you might make, you don't need an FCS with a high lock-on speed to go with weapons that similarly have a high base lock-on, it's just redundant. Save the fast lock-on buffs for builds that have slow-tracking weapons. Relatedly, firing stability on the arms affects reload time, which again, is a little redundant on weapons with low base reload times, though not as useless as stacking a powerful FCS with an ultra-fast base lock-on. (Also, because of the way the armor system works, the gats are nowhere near as good as their stats indicate. That low base damage against most builds having very good kinetic armor means they are extremely low dps weapons. Not useless though, you tend to get a lot out of their cumulative impact force damage, which while not enough to outright stagger the target, will cause it to feel more sluggish for the other player. The good tracking and high rate of fire also generally ensures a pretty constant and difficult-to-evade dps source as well.) Make sure your generator has lots of overhead as well, because that extra power is your recovery rate, and your recovery rate is generally much more important than your capacity. (This one is probably very obvious, but the reason it's key in Verdict Day is because it's completely possible to create a build that has enough energy recovery to allow constant glide boost, which, combined with glide boosting not losing altitude, is something you'll see snipers do a lot in the multiplayer. You usually give up a lot of speed to achieve such a build though.)

Which system are you playing on? There isn't much of a centralized Armored Core community, i definitely looked. Some little fan communities here and there with intermittently decent information, but no big comprehensive resources. It's a pretty sorry state of affairs, it's no wonder the game still comes off to people as being impenetrable even when the Souls series sees booming success with a similar or greater degree of complex inscrutability. I played quite a lot of ACV and Verdict Day, so if you have questions, i can probably answer mostly anything. The mechanics are actually quite a good deal streamlined relative to AC4 and ACFA, especially in regards to fire control systems and weapon tracking. (Which is just nonsensically complicated in the AC4 games. The often bewildering balance tuning mechanic from the AC4 games is also gone.) Probably the most inscrutable part of the AC5 games is how the defense curves work. (The stronger the target's armor, the stronger a weapon of a matching damage type needs to be to overcome the defense. Worst case scenario is that you land "ineffective" hits that are virtually worthless. The little notch in the armor curve indicates where damage type-matched weapons of a lower attack value will be ineffective.) General gameplay tips: Abuse the wall climb as much as possible, an altitude advantage is an easy victory. Switch to scan mode whenever not attacking to abuse the increased energy regen. Also, probably remap high boost to one of the bumpers. (Probably in place of the toggle for activating/disabling boost movement, which is important for creating a fast descent so you can fall behind a piece of cover, but not as important as being able to easily high boost in the middle of a fight.) Regarding multiplayer, i don't know how active the community still is since i haven't played in the last half year or so, but even if it's still active, put to rest any notions of starting your own squad and having people just show up. Even mercenaries will start refusing invites once they catch on that you're a one-man squad. You'll need to either seek out a group, or be content with playing a mercenary for other squads. (Which doesn't really earn you much of anything, but if you're good, it's a good way to get invited to join a squad.) If no mercenaries were showing up in the queue at all, however, it's probably a pretty good indication that the community has died off significantly, because there were always multiple mercenaries looking for matches. (Additionally, if you start a match and it can't find another team to set you against, you'll likely just be sent out to attack a territory filled with boring npc enemies. Match-making was pretty consistent in the game's early days though, but was largely dominated by extremely organized clans and cheaters, it got a bit toxic.) Also, play through the campaign until you unlock UNACs, then build your own UNAC, because the default ones suck. On top of hiring mercenaries, you can also use UNACs to fill out a squad. There's even an achievement for winning a match by serving as operator* to a team filled with UNACs. (I ended up with a good lightweight UNAC running a highly erratic and aggressive movement routine that was able to pretty consistently defeat most of the players i threw it at. For the purposes of filling out a team for multiplayer matches, it was often better than any mercenaries i could hire.) Also, even if you don't run any multiplayer matches, you can use UNACs for solo co-op. * - The operator is the fifth spot on each team in a match, filled by a player with a god's eye view and the ability to set up additional radar beacons and issue waypoints and alerts to the team. Also, the shop might seem a tiny bit sparse at first, but as you rank up your profile, the shop will open up dramatically. The game actually has - i think - over six hundred parts, it's kind of wild. There's also a rad hardcore-mode in Verdict Day that i'd recommend checking out if you get through the campaign and want more, but can't find people to play against. There is also a free-match option somewhere in the menus, but nobody really used it even when the game was new. (Don't confuse it with the options for launching practice fights against your own squad.)

I am seriously surprised at how much of a strong impression Nintendo made at this E3, it almost makes me believe they can still turn things around on the Wii U front.

Things that interested me: Kinect cut loose like a stuck anchor - It struck me as quite amusing that they got through a Dance Central showing without mentioning Kinect by name, it seemed oddly purposeful given that there was also a complete dearth of Kinect news elsewhere in the presser. (There was some buzz that many games in development that were being developed with it in mind are now being retooled for optional gamepad controls.) Crackdown 3 - I adore the original Crackdown, and i'm willing to believe that Microsoft will give this one proper time to cook and won't churn out another lazy sequel like CD2. (Which was, quite literally, CD1 with zombies.) The bigger issue is what Crackdown will do to differentiate itself in a world where it is now surrounded by games it has inspired and influenced. (Rumor is environmental destructibility on a completely ridiculous scale, which jives with what the cg trailer depicts.) Scaleborn - That trailer told me nothing about the game, but it's Platinum, so i'm probably on board. That studio simply has not made a bad game. Phantom Dust - I never played the original, but the internet insists it's an underappreciated cult classic. It sounds like a weird game though, i like weird. Witcher 3 - I guess i should catch up on this series, huh? That game looks stunning. General EA sadness - Lots of protoypes and little to show. Rainbow Six: Siege - There has been a serious dearth of good small-squad tactical shooters lately, and Siege looks like it might promise some action pretty true to the original spirit of Rainbow Six, just with bonkers wacky environmental destruction. (Incidentally, i'm not so sure about The Division.) Far Cry 4 - I don't think i'm into what Ubi has been doing with the series in regards to tone, but it's hard to argue with the gameplay demo they showed off. Arkham Knight - That demo during the Sony show was wild, that game looks phenomenal. Bloodborne - I like the title they've gone with for Project Beast, but i'm disappointed that the gameplay footage form the leaked stills was nowhere in sight. Grim Fandango remake - Whaaaaaaaat???

So i would still place Super Metroid as the best game in the series, but i do think there is an argument to be made for Metroid Prime being one of the best games of all time and an easy second spot for the series. For starters, it's a fairly remarkable feat that they translated the mechanics and feel of Metroid so successfully, not just to 3d environments, but to a first-person perspective. First person platforming? FPS boss fights? It turns these things into strengths rather than have them as anchors dragging the experience down? I think it owes to how Retro radically rethought how to approach first-person games. (Or, at the very least, took cues from other 3D japanese games of the time, the control scheme certainly has a lot in common with how the N64 Zeldas of only a year or two prior handled.) Yet, even with those things considered, the game has some very western flourishes, beyond simply the chosen perspective, such as the diegetic hud presentation and the emphasis on narrative through discovered log entries. I think the game ends up being this really beautiful cohesion of western and japanese design ideals, and is absolutely better for it. Then there's the really phenomenal art direction served by a powerhouse of an engine, pushing some of the best visuals the GC ever saw while doing it at 60fps and at the progressive scan resolution. Not to forget that powerfully distinctive soundtrack composed by the composer of Super Metroid, and including many remixes of Super Metroid themes. (There's also a really rich ambient soundscape in the game, try turning down the music some time.) The presentation of the game is so good that i can go back to it and it barely feels like it's aged at all, it still looks and sounds marvelous. (It's a 2002 game, think about how well other games from around then hold up.)

Just to get out of ahead of it. It probably will be coming to PC, don't worry guys.

You had a subjective response to a piece of media, same as everybody else. I don't think you're necessarily wrong, i just don't necessarily agree.

I've done a run through Half-Life within the last year and i'm certain i remember them spamming out grenades when they lose line of sight with you, mainly if they don't have a direct path to allow chase.

It's been a pretty slow year for the 3DS, kind of a bummer after how much 2013 spoiled us. Tomodachi Collection just came out in NA. (I need to play that, i forgot that it was set to come out so soon after the localization was announced.)

The first half-life was the first game i remember doing that.

The thing is, i swear i've seen this behavior in FEAR's AI. It doesn't make the game any harder though, the player character can too easily tank through damage. (Part of why i think the game is worth playing on hard to force a more measured play style.)

Personally, there are two key things i expect to see out of FPS AI to make for a more dynamic and less exploitable game. 1) I want to see flanking behaviors, i dont want to be able to sit in one position and have them all funnel down through my line of fire. 2) I don't want to see enemies frantically stumbling over themselves to chase me whenever they lose line of sight, probably giving up advantageous positions to do so. (There are exceptions to this of course. The enemies in Serious Sam games do not need to be smart, or at least not the kind of smart that a shooter with a more modern mindset would usually demand.) FEAR was a rare game that hit both of those marks and seemed to go even further. It's been so many years since i played it, but i remember the AI in that game doing some very surprising things. Whether it was simply a confluence of simple AI routines giving the right illusion or actual intricately designed behavior, the game left quite an impression. (I think it's a game worth playing on hard just for how much it forces you to slow down, because by drawing out the fights, it shines a light on how good the AI can really be.) With regards to Halo, it also hits those two marks and goes further. The way that series infuses its enemies with tons of personality is just amazing, how the various kinds of enemies all interact with eachother in ways that create a complex little ecosystem in each fight. (The examples everybody knows being that killing an elite might cause the grunts under its command to panic and flee, while killing one hunter in a pair will cause the survivor to become enranged and give chase.)

Context is everything, and when the context is that it's an event that needs to believably traumatize our hardened soldier protagonist and establish the main villain as a horrible, irredeemable monster, i'd say it's pretty effective on both counts. I think New Order definitely has narrative problems, but i'm not sure i'd buy that this is one of them.

The Artorias DLC for Dark Souls was a pretty phenomenal piece of add-on content, so i'm going to give From all the benefits of the doubt on this. I also definitely don't think Dark Souls 2 feels like a game that is missing something, this absolutely does not reek of an Asura's Wrath-like move.

Despite my appreciation of the original, i've never actually played Ultima Underworld 2. I probably should, shouldn't i? I've never heard anything bad about the game, certainly. I also need to sit down and do a full playthrough of System Shock some day, i've never finished it.

I've got a friend who plays Io sometimes and has been absolutely clutch in some very high stress games. This is what i can share, based on my observations of Io from those matches: In general, Io needs to pick a carry on the team and just stay glued to that person. (Don't be afraid to refocus on somebody else if somebody else has started carrying the team.) Think Team Fortress 2 medic, stay tethered to your heavy. Io can make your team's carry damn near unkillable. Also, Io's ability to teleport around is incredibly beneficial, but absolutely requires coordination and communication. Io always returns to the original location at the end of his teleport, but the tethered player can either stay or return depending on whether or not he stays tethered after the first teleport. (Earlier on in the match, if your carry has bad recovery and your own abilities aren't yet sufficiently supplementing that, you can take them to the fountain after a fight for a few seconds of recovery and then both return to the original location.) One of the keys to Io though is that you're actually more item dependent han you would expect a support to be, since recovery buffs are factored into the regen you confer upon your tethered ally. (The regen is only shared if you are yourself actively recovering health/mana, but overcharge drains you and can force that, while also giving you and your tethered ally a large attack buff.) Io can also lay on some surprisingly crippling debuffs with his tether sweep, and his spirits do a ton of damage.

I've always felt like Ultima Underworld is secretly one of the most influential games ever made. If you trace out a lineage of the things it's peripherally influenced and directly inspired, it's clear that its impact on gaming has been unbelievably profound, but it doesn't feel like it's ever really been given the credit it deserves.

Rule #1 for Shrine of Amana is to make bloody sure you have a lot of arrows or bolts for your bow or crossbow, don't even bother trying to screw around with those mages, cheese that shit. Often times, running up for melee or even magic range will just end up aggroing a ton of other hollows that lie hidden in the water. (Alternatively, trying to clear out the hollows before the mages is just as dumb.) Once you have the mages in a specific stretch down, just move slowly and listen for movement, the hollows make a lot of noise when they aggro on you. The mages are the hardest part though, the rest is fairly easy, except for that one bit where it's possible to aggro like four of those mace-wielding guys simultaneously. That bit is dangerous, try to pull them individually from as far away as you can. (At a certain distance, they just stop having hurtboxes and you can't even hit them with arrows or bolts, even though you can clearly see them spawned into the map.) Shrine of Amana is probably the only part of the game where i felt like i had to fall back into a Dark Souls 1-style rhythm of carefully sniping at enemies to take them on one at a time. I found it to be probably the hardest area of the game, but not really in a "holy shit, this is awesome" way, i ended up just finding it kind of tedious. Unfortunate, because it's conceptually an awesome area, and one of the most visually arresting areas in the game. Also, the Shrine of Amana gimmick: When there is singing, fireflies will flit around the hollows. As long as those fireflies are there, the hollows won't aggro on you unless you're virtually bumping right up into them. Couple things make this a little trickier though, because if you want to do a clear run of Shrine of Amana, you'll probably need a torch to see the paths under the water. The issue is that the torch will scare away the fireflies on top of making the hollows aggro on your from further away.

Yeah, it really bums me out. Whenever i come across people discussing ODST in a more "casual player" context, they're never saying kind things about the game. Always just that it's boring and that it doesn't have multiplayer.