So, what're you playing?

[Ingmar]

I actually did have all the points from the ME2 save import that I needed for the Quarian/Geth resolution. I think I didn't do the sentry base mission before the last Rannoch mission and that fucked me. It's not really apparent which one you have to do in which order. It also seemed like a really shitty, lazy writing decision giving me no real choice in the matter. Seemed really stupid how it played out.

Um... it's pretty damn obvious which one is the ending planet mission, just like it is on Tuchanka.

Also kind of funny to see complaining about "I can't save both sides!" juxtaposed with all the praise over the last few months for that Walking Dead game where that's like, its entire thing.

[HaemishM]

Oh, I'd be fine with not being able to save both sides if the destruction made any goddamn sense - but it didn't. During my playthrough, I got all but one of the admirals to admit that going all sickhouse total war on the geth was a bad idea and that the salvation of the species was the most important fucking thing. And yet, in the middle of this thing with one admiral clearly saying not to fucking attack because the shit was all cleared up, not only did not one of the ships hold back on the attack, they all went full retard. And this is with a race that was so fucking focused on preservation that they didn't even let their skin touch the air even in their own ships for fear of disease transmission. The quarians turned into krogans in the span of like 3 missions and it felt entirely out of character - yes, there were elements of the quarians who had been that crazy, but on the whole, the race had in my games been able to see reason when it was right the fuck in front of them. Tali's suicide right after that made no goddamn sense to me whatsoever nor did the death of Legion. Both felt like avoidable deaths that served no purpose other than to try to manipulate the viewer emotionally. Instead, it made me angry because of how out of place it was.

[Yegolev]

Tablets.  Quite a number of games for them to play and they don't have to learn how to use an awkward controller, just their awkward fingers.   Plus, great for trips.

Well, one of my thoughts was Pokemon via some sort of DS.  There's a tremendous amount of bullshit available on that system.  Or Minecraft, everyone loves that pile of shit.

[rk47]

Both felt like avoidable deaths that served no purpose other than to try to manipulate the viewer emotionally. Instead, it made me angry because of how out of place it was.

Well. You can always load game and try again.
But seeing Tali jump off the cliff is pretty funny, I enjoyed that scene. Laughed a bit - then got back to another load - got it done right.
You went to Tuchanka right? I'd say that's the tops of the game - everything else is downhill from there.
Did they ask you to return to Citadel yet? That's the pinnacle of decline right there.

[rk47]

[Sky]

Bitch don't like pancakes.

[HaemishM]

Both felt like avoidable deaths that served no purpose other than to try to manipulate the viewer emotionally. Instead, it made me angry because of how out of place it was.

Well. You can always load game and try again.
But seeing Tali jump off the cliff is pretty funny, I enjoyed that scene. Laughed a bit - then got back to another load - got it done right.
You went to Tuchanka right? I'd say that's the tops of the game - everything else is downhill from there.
Did they ask you to return to Citadel yet? That's the pinnacle of decline right there.

I didn't feel like reloading - the gameplay in ME3 is not good enough to go back over and try to "get it right." If I saw ManShep dryhumping two sides of a corridor while I'm trying to go through the fucking door one more goddamn time, I was going to have to choke a bitch. Absolutely agree about Tuchunka - best goddamn part of the game. The Citadel in all its forms can eat a goddamn dick. 5 boring ass hallways with quest givers that I have to listen to inane conversations to actually get sidequests then try to figure out where the fuck the quest giver was after doing the cake and coffee run it takes to get the quest item - just a fucking horrible idea. Quest journal was totally fucking worthless.

[Sky]

Haem...there's really no need to over-think it, is there?

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/herpes/n12082/

[Ingmar]

Both felt like avoidable deaths that served no purpose other than to try to manipulate the viewer emotionally. Instead, it made me angry because of how out of place it was.

Well. You can always load game and try again.
But seeing Tali jump off the cliff is pretty funny, I enjoyed that scene. Laughed a bit - then got back to another load - got it done right.
You went to Tuchanka right? I'd say that's the tops of the game - everything else is downhill from there.
Did they ask you to return to Citadel yet? That's the pinnacle of decline right there.

I didn't feel like reloading - the gameplay in ME3 is not good enough to go back over and try to "get it right." If I saw ManShep dryhumping two sides of a corridor while I'm trying to go through the fucking door one more goddamn time, I was going to have to choke a bitch. Absolutely agree about Tuchunka - best goddamn part of the game. The Citadel in all its forms can eat a goddamn dick. 5 boring ass hallways with quest givers that I have to listen to inane conversations to actually get sidequests then try to figure out where the fuck the quest giver was after doing the cake and coffee run it takes to get the quest item - just a fucking horrible idea. Quest journal was totally fucking worthless.

[schild]

Alright, fuckit, I'm picking up Sir, You are Being Hunted. I love everything about the content and theme.

[Rendakor]

Got back into Path of Exile; my LA Duelist is finishing up Act 2 Merciless and still slaughtering all the things. I also rolled a Marauder, building around Multistrike Infernal Blow which is excellent. I'm glad speccing for some damage is viable again.

Still have to Tales of Xillia, but I forgot how much I hate games that start you out as a badass and take your powers away half an hour in. Maybe in a week or so I'll forget that happened and actually get into the game.

Also starting up a P&P Pathfinder game for the first time, which will be interesting. I thought we had a thread for that but didn't see anything in the DP&P subforum, so maybe I'm going nuts.

[HaemishM]

Yep, I missed every single bit of that. It's possible I forgot the stuff from ME1 though to be honest, I don't remember any of that about the Citadel from ME1. I didn't read any of the codex stuff in game though - if a plot element isn't shown to me in a cutscene or through the quests, it doesn't exist. I shouldn't have to read books in a visual medium to get the whole plot. I call that lazy writing.

[schild]

Sir, You Are Being Hunted is the straw that broke the camel's back. That I can't run this thing at max everything is proof positive I need a motherfucking new computer. Six years though. Good run from this fucker.

[Sky]

I shouldn't have to read books

[Ingmar]

All that stuff is revealed in core conversations that I don't think you can skip, so...

[Ironwood]

I shouldn't have to read books

lol

[Yegolev]

Reading, Jesus, fuck that shit.  Even Gabriel Knight had voice acting.  Holy fuck.  God-damned Planescape.

[Stormwaltz]

Reading, Jesus, fuck that shit.  Even Gabriel Knight had voice acting.

You're in luck; the primary codex entries are read to you!

Would you like me to make you a warm glass of milk and fetch a blanket while the nice man tells you stories about fake science?

[HaemishM]

All that stuff is revealed in core conversations that I don't think you can skip, so...

Then it went completely over my head. I was probably tired when I played through that part.

As for the   in a movie, I don't expect the audience to pull out a compendium in the theater. A TV script writer shouldn't expect that the audience will absolutely follow along with a "second screen experience" to get all the major plot points. In a game that is fully-voiced where the plot is driven by a cutscene, the codex is fluff because you can't expect that it will be read.

EDIT: Also, even if the Reapers couldn't destroy the Citadel, you have to think it would be so much more logical to just start the cleansing process by capturing the Citadel before you start sending the rape ships against planets. Or, you know, don't let organics take your central AI as the headquarters for their galactic empires.

[Ingmar]

[Sky]

I'll just say that I dislike that lore has become 'fluff' and reading is frowned upon. If you make the 'fucking fluff' or as I call it 'lore' just meandering bullshit about your navel that it's 'ok to skip' then it becomes worthless to read even for people interested.

While I'll allow that all major plot points should probably be hammered over your head for the average american 8th grade educated drooling moron who needs to be force fed anything beyond 'go here, kill this', having a lot of interesting stuff that impacts both story and gameplay 'hidden' in lore text is a nice bonus to those of us who want a somewhat deeper experience than Die Hard XVI: Yippie-Ki-Ay Mother Shepard.

Speaking of which, SR4 is fun.

[Yegolev]

Would you like me to make you a warm glass of milk and fetch a blanket while the nice man tells you stories about fake science?

Can it be Morgan Freeman?

[HaemishM]

I'll just say that I dislike that lore has become 'fluff' and reading is frowned upon. If you make the 'fucking fluff' or as I call it 'lore' just meandering bullshit about your navel that it's 'ok to skip' then it becomes worthless to read even for people interested.

Again, I go back to it being a visual medium. When video games were basically walls of text (Baldur's Gate 1) with few cutscenes, having plot points be hidden in "fluff text" or "lore" was fine. But you have to treat something like Mass Effect as not that kind of medium anymore. It is a cinematic experience and "show don't tell" is more important than ever - especially as you know that half your audience will never read the lore texts. I'd treat it differently if I was dealing with MMOG's that don't have fully-voiced cutscenes or something like Crusader Kings 2. But this thing which might as well be a movie? You have to write it like a movie. All that lore which isn't immediately germane to the action happening onscreen better be treated as fluff.

[Sky]

Or you can just laugh at people who don't get the plot because they didn't take the time to read. Better yet, have the game seem to sell you one plot that reading reveals to be completely wrong.

[HaemishM]

Meh. I enjoyed the first two games even missing that plot point, but even had I known that plot point, the third one would still have fallen apart whether I'd read the text or not because the bad guy's evil plan seemed to be "let the good guys win."

[rk47]

Didn't you want to know why they created heat sinks instead of relying on the usual cool-down system? 
Hint: Cause the designers think it's cool to reload.

[Ingmar]

The gameplay is so much better with heat sinks than with the overheating-cooldown from ME1 that it cannot easily be measured. Night and day.

[MisterNoisy]

Didn't you want to know why they created heat sinks instead of relying on the usual cool-down system? 
Hint: Cause the designers think it's cool to reload.

I figured it was a function of adding multiplayer, since finite ammo keeps the players from turtling indefinitely.

[Ingmar]

Nah, they changed it in ME2, which had no multiplayer. The basic reasoning is the same though, keeps you from just sitting behind the same piece of cover the entire time.

[ezrast]

I played through the old-new Prince of Persia, the 2003 one. It got pretty repetitive but I can see why it was a big deal at the time. Also started Darksiders but it's probably going to go on hold in favor of Dust: an Elysian Tail, which I started today and of which I highly approve. I can't quite get over the main character's nightie but I do really like stabbing things.

Stabbing things is going to be the theme of my gaming for a while to come, I think. I'm too shallow for complex intellectual games anymore. It's nice to actually finish something for a change.

[kildorn]

Honestly going back and trying to play ME1 after playing 2 and 3's combat makes me cringe and hate life. Good game, would kill for it ported into the newer combat systems. At first I rolled my eyes at ammo, and then I adored it compared to heat.

[HaemishM]

See, I thought the combat in 2 and 3 was worse than 1. The first one felt more shootery - the last two had way too much cover mechanic involved. Plus, I often barely felt the presence of the companions in 2 and 3. The system of ordering companions in 1 might have been more fiddly but they at least felt like they were in the same building. At times, I didn't seem to notice the difference between taking Garrus and James or EDI and Liara.

[Sjofn]

I didn't notice the companions doing much in the way of contribution in any of them, to be honest. I thought ME1's combat was shitty compared to ME2&3. I liked the game in spite of it, but I can't play it any more because blurgh. And put me down as preferring reloading to the overheat crap.

[Rasix]

ME1's combat is hell for us red/green color cripples. That cursor is just something that is really hard for me to see.   And the combat is just worse compared to 2/3.  Playing them in order should make this terribly obvious.  But then again (for Haem): RED STEEL.

I actually completed the monthly in GW2 for the first time.  Wow, that's a lot of shit they give you.

edit: Shotguns were better in 1.  Don't know why, but I couldn't use the damn things in 2/3.

[PalmTrees]

Finished up the bounty hunter story in swtor, and that's all eight done. Might get the rest of my guys to max level. Have civ5 and x-com sitting around, gonna get started on one of those soon.