Wrestlevania

So I'm just getting back into DayZ again after a few months hiatus—the amount of hacking going on seemed ridiculous, but there seems to perhaps be less of it now..? Anyway, some quite decent changes have happened with the release of version 1.8 of the mod: basic crafting is finally here, including simple weapons and traps the loot system has been polished and had a load of bugs squashed—stuff no longer randomly vanishes when you put it down! the gear interface has been rebuilt and is much clearer and easier to use you can carry three weapons at once now, including a pistol, a rifle/shotgun, and a melee weapon, and switch between them with ease! I've also just discovered the excellent iZurvive loot map. It's like the usual DayZ maps you may have used already, but iZurvive lets you create a group and then share markers with everyone in that group. It's quite handy for that extra bit of coordination. (iZurvive is also available as a free app on both Google Play and the App Store, which is extra-useful to have running on your phone or iPad while you're playing!) So I've duly set up an Idle Thumbs group in iZurvive - secret is wizaaaard (4 A's) - and added my current position to it. If you're still playing, it would be great to see where other Thumbs are in Chernarus, and maybe even get a regular session going like we do with GTA IV and Left 4 Dead.

Thanks for the invite! I'm confused though; is this platform-dependent?

I've set this up for Sunday (i.e. tomorrow) again, as Sundays seem to be more popular..? I'll try to join in when I've finished my regular Left 4 Dead session this time. We went on for a good hour longer than normal last week, which is unusual, and why I didn't make it. I know, I am a horrible person - but you already knew that.

Fuck off.

Pinch/grain of salt, but NeoGaf's rumour-mongering about the existence of a PC version.

So Blizzard made a little announcement yesterday that it seems everybody (me included) might have missed..!

HAIL THUMBS I am on the lookout for good two-player co-op gameses for the IBM-compatible Personal Computer, to play with a dear friend of mine who lives many miles away. Alas I am somewhat out of touch with what's good in this department, and so I would greatly appreciate your recommendations! Something action-orient(at)ed would be brilliant, but I would love to hear of anything you've enjoyed playing with another person over the Interwebs. Ideally, said games would be playable in bursts of a couple of hours, once or twice a week - we both have kids and partners, you see - so stuff like Civilization would be just too slow to be satisfying I think. I shall thank ye in advance! Small note on the action games side of things: most recently, we tried to play Resi 5 over Game for Windows LIVE, and it was without doubt one of the most dispiriting and frustrating gaming experiences I've ever had. So we've already crossed that one off the list, then burned the list and flushed the remaining ashes down a particularly smelly toilet. Anything else is gravy.

Making a big bang on current-gen makes sense, as does withholding details of next-gen versions to ensure that happens. I don't think PC sales would have much impact on this, however, because I don't believe many console gamers also own "decent" gaming PCs as well. And by "decent" I mean capable of running a current-gen console game conversion at a high resolution, with a smooth, fast frame rate. I'm not being snobby, basically; I'm talking about which platform is going to give most people the best experience--their dedicated games machine, or the cheap family laptop.

Bah, that's pretty damning--thanks for your candour. Appreciate the suggestions for Dungeon Defenders. It's something I've had in my Steam library for ages, through one of the Humbles I think, but I've never actually played it. Looks like that could be the one to go for next!

Like most I think, I gorged on Diablo III for the fortnight after it came out and then pretty much abandoned it after finishing it (twice). It'll be interesting to see how Torchlight II holds up under co-op, as both me and the friend I co-op with tried Diablo III together for a short while and didn't really think much of it. My main worry is that there's a lot of reading in Torchlight II, which might be a bit jarring and slow down the flow of things.

In the end, this is the first game we went for. And what a huge amount of fun it was! We played on PC over Skype, and while not as great as being sat next to each other, we still had some of the best gaming fun I've had in years. What makes Guardian of Light special is just how well considered the co-op elements are. You really can't do much without working together constantly, whether that's helping each other cross the same seemingly-impassable chasm, or just covering the other player's back whilst they work on completing a puzzle. The game is littered with clever, delightful, essential little touches, not least the brilliant grappling hook mechanic. The level design is also extremely well thought-out. It lets you explore in complete freedom, encouraging you to experiment, take risks, and enjoy just messing around together, without ever punishing you with heavy-handed restarts or distant checkpointing. For example, if you die and the other person is still alive, you can spawn in again next to them after just a few seconds. If you both die, you simply restart the current encounter or puzzle. So you never lose more than a couple of minutes' of play. The game's careful design also has you constantly learning how its systems work in many different ways. More than once we passed something earlier in the game which seemed unreachable, only for a later puzzle to introduce a new approach to play we hadn't considered before. Going back to earlier levels with this new knowledge, after completing the game, and hoovering up the leftover collectibles we'd missed was also really satisfying. Guardian of Light also has one of the most compelling high score systems I've come across in quite some time. It's no more complicated than having three high score tiers per level, with each one unlocking a new weapon, artefact, or character outfit. It adds to the gameplay in a meaningful way, because you both start to work that much harder in fights, focussing more, working harder to protect each other and preserve your precious weapon overcharge meter; this meter slowly fills up as you collect gems or kill enemies, and when full makes your gun much more powerful, but empties if you take a single hit. I loved this game. It's a proper playground, hugely fun to explore, and also beautiful to look at. Thoroughly recommended—thanks for the suggestion, toblix! Up next, we're thinking we might go for Torchlight 2.

I play Left 4 Dead on Sunday nights, so I wouldn't until after 10pm BST (i.e. a couple of hours after the usual start time). I would like more people to be able to make it though, so lets move it if that makes it happen.

Either I have failed at sarcasm, or you have succeeded at trolling.

40?!! HOW VERY DARE YOU, SIR!

We've been sticking to the original game so far, so please do come along. We filter into the Mumble channel from around 8pm BST and then start a game once we've 4 or more. There's interest in trying out some of the Episodes multiplayer modes as well though, particularly those in The Ballad of Gay Tony (which I'm told are excellent). I'll arrange a specific event for that, perhaps next Monday? Anyway, no; tonight we'll be playing good old fashioned GTA IV - hope to catch you later!

For those who loved System Shock 2, or simply those who might Shock-curious, GOG have massively discounted their superb restoration of the game to less than $3* at the moment. What's unique about GOG's version (to the best of my knowledge) is that they've collected together all the official patches - including the 3-player co-op one that came out many years after release - as well as the best of the SShock2 community's tweaks, and bundled them all together into something a bit special. This doesn't include any of the numerous texture replacement packs though, thankfully. They even do a Mac version! *that's well under £2 in Real Money Edit: In my ignorance when I first posted this, I conflated the essential Shtup texture update with the rather less appealing 'Rebirth' character and enemy remodelling mod. Apologies! You should definitely download Shtup.

Here is a recent photographic representation of my meatspace form (inc. bonus 'Wife' DLC), just to totally disrupt that "thirty-something white guy with a beard" trend... I started wearing glasses late last year, after being diagnosed with mild shortsightedness in my left eye after a sudden bout of intense migraines. I guess I should be wearing a monocle really, what?!

~furiously scribbles notes for next Grand Thumb Auto~

I also really liked GTA IV's grotty environment. It felt lived-in and was essential in sympathising with Nico and Roman's shitty reality. On the flip side, GTA V's setting looks to be a mixing pot of over-indulged superficiality and spoilt brat mentality. Say what you like, but Rockstar's social commentary is one of my favourite things in gaming.

I've scheduled a new event for this Monday in the Thumbs Steam calendar - come along if you can!

NO JAMES YOU SOUND FINE IN-GAME. PARDON? Don't worry, it's just your recording.

Had another thought earlier today as to why Nintendo crated the 2DS: people on older DS(i)'s now have a simpler and - critically - cheaper upgrade path, so there's less reason not to. I reckon a significant number of existing DS users have held off upgrading either because of cost, or because they saw no real value in the 3D gimmick to warrant spending that much on very similar hardware. But now that Nintendo's software production for the older machines has dried up, and the 3DS has a burgeoning catalogue of exclusive quality games, the 2DS could be perceived as cheap enough to go for. In that regard at least, I think the 2DS is brilliant.

Whilst it often doesn't add much to the mechanics of play, it can still add significantly to the experience of play. I played dozens of hours of Animal Crossing on my old DS, but New Leaf with the 3D turned on is that bit more wonderful—it's incredibly beautiful to see. Yes, you can still play it with the 3D off. No, 3D doesn't help you achieve anything extra. But the vibrancy of the game and how much more it draws you in makes 3D a worthwhile addition to the experience. Same goes for the rebuilt Ocarina of Time in my opinion. NB: Apologies, Thrik, I'm no trying to troll you.

...possibly? It's so long since that my addled brain can't remember any other Thumbs who might have turned up beyond Miffy and myself. So... apologies. But I love you dearly, you know that. (Also you, me and the Miff should get on this again!)

You'd enjoy co-op Insect Armageddon I think, 'blix. HINT HINT.