scribl

—IGN.com

Game sounds like Diablo, after the "Jesus Christ."

Also, Nick is the original L4D2 boycotter. This is from episode 17, before the game was announced. In response to a question about why they never talk about sports games: Nick: For me, it's like buying a multiplayer-only game, like buying Left 4 Dead. It's a very specific type of game. And it's a valid complaint that not much changes between each version. It'd be like buying L4D the next year but instead of Bill, it's some other dude. "Changed up the roster!"

Don't fight it. Let your subconscious do its thing. Keep track of your weird mind-Chris and -Jake, and in a few months we'll have a script for the first new podcast!

I actually made a new save right after I finished helping the musicians so I could go back and listen to the song they play. /nerd And yeah, I agree that there are too many actual-puzzle puzzles, but other than that, I loved every bit of Machinarium.

Dawn of War II is definitely awesome. I played for 2-3 hours tonight, and it was the most fun I've ever had just playing the single-player campaign in an RTS. I bought Noby Noby Boy, but I don't know why.

How the heck have you been playing with the 360's d-pad? That thing is terrible. I play with the analog stick, and it's not too bad. It's far easier to use than in HD Remix (SF4's definitely less strict about command inputs), though there have been more than a few times where I meant to throw Ryu's Ultra/Super and ended up doing a Shoryuken.I got all the regular unlocks today, and I'm going for Akuma tomorrow. It's pretty easy to get a perfect on the first two fights on Easiest: Just spam Hadouken, and they won't dodge. Works every time.

I thought you spent ~10 minutes talking about storytelling in games because you'd already read my email. Pretty great coincidence. Oh, and I get where Chris is coming from on Matt Hazard's gameplay. It seems kinda B-grade—though if the humor holds up, it won't matter to me. I'm curious to see how much of the parody comes in the gameplay, and how much in the cut scenes. I hope they make fun of broader game conventions—I can think of a number of ripe targets—instead of just picking a few titles to directly parody.

I actually don't mind the combat anymore. After beating the game twice (the second time on Easy), I'd gotten pretty good at the combat my third time through the game (on Normal). Don't get me wrong, I hated those big arena rooms my first time through the game, but I didn't have much trouble with them on the other play-throughs. But yeah, the story is awful.

I'm not sure. It's something I wasn't even conscious of until my friends pointed it out while watching me play Halo 3. I do play on a higher sensitivity than the default, so that might play a part too. @Soupface The difference is that Halo is still playable today. >_>

Unlike Chris, I wouldn't say that either one is better, just different. You definitely get more precision with the mouse, but you get more sense of weight with a controller. I'm actually holding something in my hands. And pulling the 360's R trigger is much more satisfying than clicking my left mouse button (not that I would ever think of comparing the former to firing a real gun). Also, Steve, I don't "pan the stick slowly" when I play a console shooter. I tap the stick quickly so my view jerks around the screen, until I start firing—then I use smaller, more precise movements. The only first-person game I have ever found myself "panning" around in was Mirror's Edge. Not to mention that console shooters tend to be designed with slower movement speed (look at Bungie vs Valve and Epic). Halo's speed is a nice medium between the super-fast, twitch action of Unreal and the step-by-step pace of tactical shooters like SWAT 4 on PC. All that said, I can't get enough of L4D on PC. I tried the demo on 360 first, but seeing the Valve logo on a TV screen freaked me out. So yeah, ultimately, I believe you should play a shooter on the platform for which it was designed. Halo's a console shooter. Half-Life's a PC shooter. Simple as that. Where that leaves multiplatform stuff like CoD4, I have no idea, though I feel pretty comfortable playing it on consoles.