SilentBtAmazing

Re: why do people buy consoles on launch day, this is the first time I ever did. I got an xbone mostly because I loathe the older Sony controllers and I place a lot of value on controllers because of how much time I spend gaming. Why launch day for me came down to: -do not own a gaming PC and really sick of the old graphics on PS3 / 360 (this is the really huge one) -had the money (aka why not) -played all the last gen games I wanted to I think I said it elsewhere but the barriers to entry into PC gaming remain fairly high and so if you at all are interested in graphics but cannot / do not want to get a PC, then next gen has obvious appeal. One sort of parting shot here: some people actually like Call of Duty and sports games. I realize the Thumbs zeitgeist would probably prefer a Catherine-Spelunky crossover Oculus text adventure involving a lesbian ghost who lights brushfires in Africa ... but there are plenty of us out here in the unwashed masses who think a couple shooters, a couple sports games and a good AssCreed is a perfectly fine group of games to mess with until March.

Dude. I cannot express the sheer piratical joy that this game captures at times. I thought about making this more descriptive but all I really want to add to avoid spoilers is that my pirate-joy relates to game mechanics and the way I really love their implementation. The shanties are one example I can point to without feeling bad Edit to expand: so the music in this game is really great I think, from the haunting cello theme to the authentic shanties I have never heard before. My daughter and I have decided that we love it when the crew sings, especially at night and at travel speed where you can see the hanging lanterns off the back of the ship. But anyway I have blown so many missions by spotting a nearby shanty (they're moving collectible orbs basically) and just chasing after it and for example blowing my stealth and then having to kill everyone in some denied area. There are much better examples but I don't see any point in putting them in as spoilers, but they basically are slightly more meaningful elements of piracy that are core mechanics in a good way. I am glad that they took this pirate thing deeper than "you have a parrot or a monkey, assassin dude."

Agree on the points above - basically they reduced the amount of time you spend blending into a slow moving crowd etc, resulting in more fun moments at least in my experience so far.

I am playing this on xbone and it is my favorite game on that console currently. I should note I basically hated the rest of this series so take that fwiw.

So far xboning is pretty fun. Some social features are oddly lacking or else I am just not used to them though. Like is there really not a way to comment on those Friend videos that show up in your feed? It's funny but before I got this system I shared the sentiment that reviewers have been too easy on the new consoles with the concept that "oh none of these games is that great, but the consoles have so much promise that it will be ok." Now I kind of see what they mean though, moving around in all the stuff I like to do is just way easier and smoother; I definitely will be happy to live in this ecosystem for a few years.

Just Cause (& JC2) ...just cause

I see what you mean but I am not sure it is totally unrelated. Is it possible that folks who started earning money during the last 7 or 8 years are maybe more likely to be PC gamers just because of the rise of the Internet? The last time I owned a gaming-capable PC it was back when you had to call a 1-800 number and take out a $1200 personal loan for something that showed up in a cow box. Finding games that worked on your PC was kind of a crapshoot involving physical boxes and being able to recall your system specs in the middle of Waldenbooks. Personally I found consoles more cost efficient at that time and just never have made my way back over; so I wonder if there is an element of age to the PC bit as well (honestly not sure about that though).

A lot of this thread comes across as old / cranky / PC-centric, which I largely interpret as "I became a grownup during or just prior to this generation." As a guy whose first kid's birth interrupted an Ocarina of Time release-year play through I really think you just do not appreciate how incredibly wonderful the mechanics of game distribution and even just "less shitty controllers" really have become. I think aching for a better age is just total selective memory or else pasting your personal life phases onto the Video game world. Yeah it's true that Quake III Arena LAN in college was some of the best gaming fun I ever personally had but I suspect other people played other video games in that unique college life phase and had similarly unique experiences. In sum: video games.

I had no problem with him whatsoever as a dex character. Same for O&S. I kinda think everyone has different tough spots just from reading posts.

I felt like this was the generation where video games really started to resemble the future I dreamed of as a kid playing Atari. In particular, the first time I shot a slaver with Abraham Lincolns repeater at the Lincoln Memorial in Fallout 3 I thought to myself "fuck yes, I am living in the golden age of human existence."

I would seriously estimate it took me fourish hours to make it past those archers, broken up into two sessions with a huge side trip into the place with Phalanxes in between. Holy crap man I just felt like I could not catch a break - I would estimate the archer fell down after killing me / knocking me off more than 15 times. I almost quit. I did not; but I did make peace with the fact I am terrible at this game. The rest of that castle seemed pretty easy in comparison and I breezed through the big boss fight with a friendly ghost (real person).

Thanks! Digging this quite a bit.

Perfect Strangers episodic content a la the Walking Dead. Every episode cousin Larry tells a hug, unnecessary lie and Balki goes along with it against his instincts. Hijinx ensue. In a surprising unlock able mode you can play as Mary Ann.

Noyb actually alluded to ghosting in the spoiler above /pedantry

Nov 21 launch to try to upstage the next gen consoles, very clever

I always avoided these books for some pretentious reason or other but am halfway through Colour of Magic based on this thread. I am digging it - I shy away from books with humor but I like the way it is handled at least in this book.

I recall that being true last time as well for what it's worth. "Who needs more power than a PS2 / Xbox?" sounded crazy within a couple years though.

@Thrik I always thought PS3 was technically more powerful than 360 but that in practice, they were even when it came to how games actually played. I think I (foolishly?) thought it would be the same kind if thing this time around.

I was leaning xbone because of how much I preferred 360 to ps3 (owned both) but this 720p thing with CoD kind of has me spooked: http://metro.co.uk/2013/11/05/call-of-duty-ghosts-mark-rubin-interview-there-are-things-that-were-not-allowed-to-talk-about-4173810/

Just lost 30k souls to those damn ARCHERS!

I would like to echo the sentiments of those who said that if you travel a bit for work, an eReader is worth its weight in gold. It was by far my most important item during a multi month work trip overseas this year. After I got used to it a few years ago, it's kind of hard to turn back. Recently upgraded to the most recent Paperwhite after my Kindle 2 died; I slightly preferred the size and non touch screen of the older model. I typically highlight a word or change the page on accident at least once per day.

I usually stream music from my iPhone while playing 360, I can't tell if this would prevent that kind of thing or not (depending on which apps they go with eventually)

Fwiw I am just getting ready to confront Queelag. I made a mental decision that it was ok to use guides up until this point so as to learn systems without ten bajillion deaths - but from the ringing bells forward I am exploring. The only thing I really know is that there are archers at some point.

I dreamt I was on American Pickers and we found my grandfathers Korean War scrapbook in an attic. There was a noise out on the street. Of course it was an alien invasion. We fought well across town using large weapons that are apparently part of the American Pickers setup, but the aliens killed us at the quarry.

Risen 2: I enjoyed and completed the first game but the inconceivable lack of Dodge or Roll on the console port of this sequel made combat zero fun. Too bad, I was enjoying the story and Risen elements going on otherwise. But seriously: no dodge or roll in a brawling RPG???