twmac

Damn you Mington! How did you know? Even though that isn't true and wouldn't really change the point I was making anyway. tegan, that is one of the things we talked about on a Podcast that never saw the light of day, there is so much of that game that doesn't really get going until the second play through. I did like a lot of the game but it was just another one of those things where you look at what they (the design/development team) put her in and kind of go 'ugh' reflexively. I'm slipping a little off topic though. I am sure Dragon's Crown is going to be a fine game as Vanillaware make good 'uns but I just cannot see past that character design and the designer's response to the Kotaku article, kind of sealed the deal. Edited: out the 'inflammatory article' part as the article was an opinion piece that was a little rude but not as rude as it could have been.

Nier was okay but Kaine's attire was very awkward and I had to ignore it the entire time I played (note I was doing a review for it so that is why I was playing it). Incidentally, that review will be out tomorrow. The art is good it is just the designs aren't. It reminds me of being about 13 when I practiced drawing all the time and I had another kid come up to me and offer me money to do some drawings for him. I asked what he wanted and he answered: 'Psylocke and Jean from X-Men but with bigger tits, and naked'

Never got round to playing it as there were too many other things on the menu. That was from 3 years ago... I was very shouty then.

Nice article, I had not read it before and it definitely made me think. As for the Dragon's Crown thing though, I cannot get past that character art. I find it deeply unappealing and whether I like it or not my first reaction was 'this is pandering to a certain audience isn't it?' right down to the spine-snapping poses the artist puts the characters through in all the concept art. So, aesthetically too far in the wrong direction for me.

I really enjoyed this game too. There are things that it lost (like the Horde mode) and trying to tell me that I am ever going to like Baird. However, the mechanics are great and PCF have subtlely stamped their own personality on it. The guns are all a bit more arcadey, the pacing is definitely a little nippier and the changing ruleset is a nice idea for the game.

I love Miner Dig Deep and I think Unfinished Swan is great.

Wow, I guess no one really cared about this game in the end as I have seen zero mentions in most places. Loved the game as a lovely bite-sized bit of gaming/story telling. I wrote a tiny piece about it: http://www.arcadianrhythms.com/2013/04/nyr-unfinished-swan/ And we uploaded some images to our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.515200798542962.1073741825.154320157964363&type=1 I strongly recommend playing this game, along with the other PSN exclusives it made me not regret buying a PS3.

How dare you besmirch the name of most loved Scottish Poet Robert Burns.

Have you contacted Electron Dance? He is a relatively small blogger in terms of size but he gets quite a bit of traffic. Worth sending him a version of the game and if he likes he will write about it.

Don't worry, your levels are independent from your class affinity. You can switch your classes fairly freely as long as you get yourself some decent gear. If you need help getting through the game (and you are on X360) add me as a friend and you can borrow my Pawn. He is a beast at level 60 and is a good damage sponge.

Dark Arisen is out this week! I am so excited I can hardly contain myself.

Nintendo trawls out another game from its LoZ backlog and flogs it to death. Awesome.

Indeed, well worth the time and bandwidth. If it is free you have no excuse.

Sold.

I have this on X360 if anyone fancies doing Co-Op on it. Also I have a HD PVR so I can record and screen cap elements for this thread's pleasure. Let me know if anyone is interested in doing that in some time in May as I am desperately looking for someone to Co-Op this with.

I kind of see it as a combination of Trials HD, Lumines and Tony Hawks. Really like the idea and the later challenges are pretty awesome to achieve.

Finished 'The Splatters', definitely recommend it

Just finished this game and I have to write that I much preferred it now than I did 2 years ago when I first tried it. There are still some really annoying sections like the Big Boner moment that will haunt me until my end of days and there are the chase sequences that utterly infuriate but overall I did find myself thoroughly enjoying the weapons, the art work and the soundtrack.

I hate that Colossus. It was the only one I had to resort to a walkthrough for.

Are you sure there are achievements and game listings? Because if it does and it isn't coming out, I am not sure how much this April Fools would be appreciated by Microsoft's Biz Ops team.

http://www.idlethumbs.net/forums/topic/7350-gears-of-war-3/?hl=gears#entry184968 And yes, yes, yes, I am very excited about Amored Core. I skipped V and wished I hadn't as it sounded like they incorporated some of the global war from Chromehounds. But this isn't about Armored Core. I cannot wait to finish my New Year's Resolution so that I can buy Judgement. I don't think the multiplayer modes are as interesting, although I do appreciate that they tried somethign different with survival and overrun.

I think that Gears 3 is linear bollocks and that 2 was the best of the series. Pretty sure we did argue about this before (in a polite manner that is befitting of this forum) I am just glad that remembered as I found it eerie how much our opinions seemed to be the exact same (love of Armored Core, Resonance of Fate etc). As for Gears: Judge Dredd. It is pretty good, People Can Fly have made kept the formula the same but added some flavour to it. I really like the mini-challenges within each level and there is definitely an incentive to replay each area again.

Finally! You and I disagree on this! This is good, and I think I mentioned it last time this was discussed, as I was starting to worry that we were the same person.

Yeah, sorry. I was trying to address the arguments being made on the game's own (de)merits. Then Tycho brought up GTA as though this is what is to be expected of this style of game and I am very much opposed to this as I really don't like GTA, so I ranted a bit.

Frenetic - I totally see what you mean about Saints Row The Third's implementation. The game does not really make you earn it, the set pieces and moments are presented to you on a silver platter but man, what delights each of them feel like. I love games that make me feel like I am having to work but SR3 just flies in the face of all that by just inundating me with ever escalating nonsense. For a game to recognise what most people want from a sandbox game (explosions, nonsense) and embrace that in an ever escalating series of madness is something I cherished. I actually went back and placed up to the moment where you first meet the naked Russian Oleg and I felt like the game was still so playful and silly that I was willing to let all authorial control rest in the developers hands. Tycho - I can almost see what you mean about the cars in SR3, in that they all pretty much handle the same with only minor tweaks for the very big or very small vehicles. It does not feel rewarding to seek out a good car as it will only have a impact on the game. Likewise, your car instantly becomes more powerful than anything else on the road with you able to knock dumpster trucks out of the way with a hatchback. It ties in with what the developers are trying to do - streamline the experience so that you are never really struggling or getting frustrated so as to tie into the sociopathic power fantasy that the game's narrative is pushing. Though to offer GTA as the counterpoint to this is something that I am going to have to complete disagree with. Most of the cars in GTA handle like fresh dog shit on a wet, linoleum floor. Forever slipping out from under you and generally making the world traversal a chore in the way that just isn't interesting. The shooting mechanics have been nothing but an abomination, GTA IV went some way towards fixing that with the free aim stuff but I just never got comfortable with it and getting a bead on anything or anyone was tiresome. I dreaded playing any of the side missions or getting a phone call to have to deal with anyone, that and the story missions were basically a massive joke. It is like Rockstar never got past designing missions for the PlayStation in their rigid structure. By this I mean that they go beyond the hand holding of SR3 and get into the Far Cry 3 level of strong arming you into exactly what they tell you to or else you can expect a Game Over screen. Sorry for that to end up as a bit of an anti-GTA rant but, like I said, I could kind of see where you are coming from in your dislike of some of SR3's mechanics but I feel like viewing GTA as the better alternative is backwards as Rockstar have been so static in that regard when there are so many improvements they need to make.