prettyunsmart

On the tutorial mission Overall, though, I am starting to come around on the game. The story stuff is still not great, but once you get into the city and can wander around, it feels more like what I want out of a Deus Ex game. Lots of hacking, sneaking, breaking into places and finding secrets off the beaten path. And it's not like the originals had great stories, writing, or voice acting. "I spill my drink!" and all that.

So I picked this up because the original is one of my favorite games. I know it isn't perfect and that its story is super goofy (though 13 year old me thought it was so, so good). HR felt similar, if a bit more grimdark. I enjoyed it for a lot of the reasons I like the original, even if it feels like a cover version of a song I love. This new one though, I'm not feeling it so far. The trailer issues and its apolitical politics are rubbing me the wrong way really badly in the first post-credits area, and the "mechanical apartheid" stuff is just cringe-worthy.

Star Citizen's first module came out yesterday. The full game is still a long way off, but "Arena Commander," the game/flight simulator within the game lets you fly around a couple of maps, take part in a hoard mode, or play a few different online multiplayer modes (including deathmatch, team deathmatch and capture the flag). I thought I'd provide a few scattered impressions in case anyone was curious. The game is really pretty. It can be hard to tell from screenshots, but the game looks really good in motion. Some of the animations are still a little rough, like the pilot's hands on the joystick, but the level of detail on the ship textures and the backgrounds is really impressive overall. Both of the included maps have a relatively similar look with lots of asteroids in an open field, but the map pictured above has some particularly shiny lighting effects going on. This isn't really surprising with all of the video of the game that has been around the Internet for a while, but I was still struck by how good it looked when I was actually in game. It runs shockingly well My PC isn't the most powerful thing around (Radeon 7870, AMD-FX 6-Core Black), but I've been running Star Citizen on high at a smooth framerate. From what I hear, this isn't consistent for all hardware. Particularly it sounds like people with Nvidia cards are having a harder time. Still, what I thought was going to be a game that would melt my mid-range computer is actually working with it really well. Maybe I'm not due for an upgrade after all. I feel like a second-class Star Citizen Reading other people's impressions of the game, I've been hearing how much some say the game's auto-aim ruins the game for them. I was really confused, because I was having a really hard time taking down enemy ships with my RSI Aurora (the game's entry-level, all-purpose ship). In part, this was because I haven't played a lot of space sims, and am just not very good at the combat, but after watching a few videos of people playing with higher-tier fighters, I started to understand what they meant. My ship is small, slower, and armed with only a couple of laser cannons. It can hold its own in a fight, but unless I have the perfect angle on an AI ship, it usually take a long time of chasing and chipping away at its shields to take down even the weakest enemy ship (this is in the Vanduul Swarm horde mode, not the deathmatch...I haven't tried the online mode just yet). Videos of players with the other two ships show them quickly dispatching a variety of ships using a range of weapons not available on my ship. These players pledged roughly $65-$125 for the game, while I backed for around $35. To some extent, getting a really cool ship up front does make sense as a backer reward, but it also stratifies the experience from the very start, making those of us who didn't want to place a larger bet on the game feel somewhat inferior. Part of the reason I haven't played online just yet is that I figure my cheaper ship doesn't stand a chance against the higher-level fighters. This isn't to say that I don't like the game, or that I think the game is tuned to be impossible if you're flying the entry-level ship. It just is a strange feeling to have when playing the game for the first time. That said, it's an alpha, and the space-flight feels pretty awesome. I'm enjoying fighting against the AI and looking at the general majesty of space. PS: I thought there would be a thread for this already, but I couldn't find one. If there is, I'm sorry. EDIT: I realized I didn't actually say too much about how the game actually feels. Flying around in space feels great, if a little slower than I expected. From what I've read this is because higher speeds make dog fighting actually really hard, with people just constantly zooming by each other. It can also be a little disorienting at first to chase someone who can move vertically so much more freely than in a regular flight simulator. It took a minute, but I started to find that kind of awesome rather than nauseating. After a while, I got used to the targeting system and learned to read the instruments (which aren't explained super-well in-game or in any documentation I could find), it started to me much easier to take out the AI, and I felt a little less under-powered. I still kind of wish I had one of the faster, sleeker ships, but that just means Chris Roberts' crowdfunding magic is sort of working.

In case anyone else was wondering where to find the codes for Steve's contracts: Here's one Here's another

I found it tough be sneaky for the secondary target, but with the right disguise you can get really close to the primary target pretty easily.

Same. The Sapeinza bonus mission was kind of neat, but I didn't feel the need to replay it like I have with all the main missions. I also didn't ever get around to finishing the Marakesh bonus mission at all because it didn't seem very interesting.

Yeah, the bonus mission stuff, and the fact that there's no easy upgrade path for someone who bought the starter pack and an episode and wants to get everything, is not great. I usually avoid season passes, but I didn't in this case. I bought in after hearing the Thumbs talk about Sapienza. I figured that if the first two levels were as good as they said, the season pass would probably be worth it. I haven't regretted it yet, but that doesn't help anyone who tried to buy it episode by episode.

The Thailand mission is out! Did that sneak up on anyone else? I just finished my first time through. Nailed it.

If that's what you're looking for, I think you'd probably really enjoy it. The tutorial can be a bit of a slog, but after that, it become a perfect game to just relax and wander around in. I'm really enjoying setting short term goals for myself, like repairing a neat looking ship.

I think reactions to it are really going to be determined by what they want out if it. If you want a game that is repetitive in a relaxing way that lets you fly around different planets looking at stuff, you'll love it. If you want deep combat/survival/story content, you'll feel a bit let down. I have to say that I am loving the language system so far. I'm getting close to understanding the aliens in my starting area at least a little and I feel weirdly proud of that.

Austin Walker's first impressions of the game are making it really hard to not get my hopes up. And to not cave in and by it for PS4 to play a few days early.

I'm kind of glad that the PC version is delayed. It makes it easier to not pre-order and just wait to hear how people like it. If it sounds good, I'll pick it up on Friday. If not, I'll hold off. Delays make it easier to suppress hype.

So Dan did an AMA on the Giant Bomb subreddit yesterday. His "proof" picture included Letterman hat, a conspicuous set of Amiibos, and a set of coins. Anyway, the first letter of all the Amiibos spell out "GB NYC" and the change adds up to 8/5, so I guess Dan starts at GB East tomorrow?

I've really been enjoying it. With every arc of The Adventure Zone getting stronger, I've been wondering if we might see Griffin take a shot at game design/writing.

As with 30 Flights of Loving and Gravity Bone, some of the background details are my favorite parts of this game so far, like this book: It is now my goal in life to write something that causes someone to describe me as an "explosion of a human being who will stop at nothing to shock and titillate you."

I finished the Busey mission and the bonus Sapienza mission. Busey Bonus Mission (Sapienza Movie Set)

I really wish I remembered more about the first three acts. I'm torn between installing it and playing right away or waiting and plaything through I-IV so I have a better sense of what's going on.

I don't have many strong feelings about Gary Busey, but what does anyone have against Gary Cole? He was the voice of Harvey Birdman and he's great on Veep.

Gary Busey will be the next Elusive Target. I checked the date and it is not actually April 1st.

I just finished it in the least interesting way possible.

Thanks! I just finished the game (I missed some umbilical cords, so bad endings for me) and all things considered, I think that's my least favorite boss fight. I can't put my finger on it, but something about it just made it feel way less manageable than the rest.

Thanks for the advice. I actually have tried summoning, but I never seem to get a response. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever been able to summon anyone other than an NPC successfully. Is there any NPC for Logarius that I'm missing? EDIT: And I just tried it again solo and made it through. I had been using a Kirkhammer, but I tried using a Tonitrus and that made all the difference apparently. DOUBLE EDIT: Of course there was no one around to help, but there was someone around to invade me in the next area. Hooray for jolly cooperation.

I bought a PS4 not too long ago (I know, new versions, etc.) and have been getting deep into Bloodborne lately. I've made it pretty far without too much difficulty, but I just can't seem to get past Martyr Logarius. I've mostly given up on it, but as I keep going, leveling up and beating more bosses, I keep going back and trying to take him down, but I never seem to make any progress. That guy is just the worst. Any advice?

My group of friends who don't play games (or more accurately only a couple of them do regularly) are all in on this thing. They basically spent all weekend scouting out the city for the best places for catching em all. Basically, it confirms Austin Walker's take on the whole thing, that the game isn't particularly good, but it doesn't really matter.

I started playing Blood and Wine a few days ago and I found it really difficult, mostly because it's been such a long time since I've played the game. It throws you into fighting a few boss monsters right away, one of which is basically immune to my basic Witcher fighting strategy (use the Quen shield to tank damage, use the alternate shield to heal when that fails) so I'm a bit stuck. That isn't really the game's problems, but it is a problem with putting out a big piece of content that assumes the player still remembers how to play it after a while away.