Payday's just a bit outside my impulse buy range, considering all the purchases for self and gifts made already. Just looking for a drop on Bulletstorm, and maybe AssCreed 2. Pulling an 8 hour drive in a few minutes on 3 hours of sleep thanks to my overexcited baby, hoping the anticipation of great deals will keep me from falling asleep...
Feel free to hit me up with a driveby friending, gents, and keep it classy!
I came *this close* (makes small gap between finger and thumb) to buying Splinter Cell: Conviction, only to find that everyone's favorite fast-talking weekly game reviewer over at The Escapist had given it bad marks. Following up with some gameplay videos on YouTube seemed to at least validate his snarkiness in this case.
0
minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
I feel like I should point out that if I skipped every game Yahtzee hated, I'd basically never play video games.
Everything looks beautiful when you're young and pretty
0
SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
Only about 1 hour to go until the final daily sale!
I know it's a bit late, but I am hella digging LA Noire. The shooting is clunky; the conversation system is simplistic and confusing at times; the world honestly doesn't look that great on my machine; the faces, though well-animated, sometimes look like movies being projected onto a blank face (if that makes any sense) which looks weird as hell; the street crimes are boring shooting sections I've stopped paying attention to entirely; and sometimes the game completely forgets what tone it's going for and has you *minor mid-game plot spoiler*
dangling from a chandelier in the Hall of Records like Prince of Persia what the hell is even going on
.
And I am 20 hours in and cannot wait to go back for more. For all the things that feel half-implemented, every major character I've met so far has been pretty brilliant, even if they're total scumbags. I just got to a case on Vice where you run into your old partners from Homicide and Traffic and was filled with childish glee at having the gang back together (note that every time I get a new partner I miss my old one, despite the fact that when I got my old one I longed for the one before that and so on and so on). The game does a real good job of making the characters you spend a lot of time with (IE. your partners) likeable but flawed. Even my current partner, who is a grade A twat, has been growing on me since the first case I had with him. Even the people you're locking up rarely feel like caricatures, except *major Homicide spoiler*
The Black Dahlia murderer who was a pretentious dickmongler. Fuck that guy.
I especially like Cole. I was expecting it to be a kind of Mafia II situation where you were the one impartial party in an ocean of misogyny and racism, but then I picked "Lie" during a conversation and Cole unleashed a "You left-wing-leaning parasite!" on me and I was glad the PC hadn't been surgically transplanted into the 40s from 2011. He's still a basically-good guy, but there are little touches like that one that get rid of the weird feeling that your character has been designed to fit in with your beliefs and values rather than the ones he would actually hold in the time period he's in.
So yeah, I like LA Noire you guys.
Haaa, see how much you like Earle after you finish the Homicide desk.
Resisting SC: Conviction for another two hours. I have served the Newell well this far, may he give me a few hours respite.
Watch a YouTube video of the interrogation segments. Then try your pathetic little "resisting."
To counter this, I hated Conviction. It's ultra-linear, and with little to no emphasis on stealth, since you can just gun down enemies, instead of them being dangerous. The best Splinter Cell is Chaos Theory, get that instead, it has atmosphere, whereas Conviction doesn't, doesn't require sign-up to Ubisoft's bullshit system, and the gameplay is actually fun.
To counter this, I loved Conviction for exactly the reason long-time fans of the Splinter Cell series hated it. Unlike the other SC games, Conviction doesn't mercilessly punish you for breaking stealth, it just rewards you for being stealthy.
I agree 100%. I never liked the artificial requirement of stealth-or-die. Conviction took Splinter Cell's solid mechanics and story and added to them, and gave you the flexibility to badass your way out of a jam. Because hey, Sam's a goddamn ex-SEAL covert government agent. I think it's fair to say he could take down a handful of armed thugs in a fight when he needs to. I mean, it's not going all Call of Duty or anything.
Life is so much easier if you're stealthy, but you can feel free to cause the occasional ruckus and get out with most limbs intact. I think it's a fair balance, but of course, if you want high-level stealth action, it's not for you.
My problem with it is that stealth really wasn't a viable option to get through the game. There were maybe a couple of parts where you could sneak around guys, but eventually you had to start getting into firefights and killing people. At least, that's how I remember it.
Resisting SC: Conviction for another two hours. I have served the Newell well this far, may he give me a few hours respite.
Watch a YouTube video of the interrogation segments. Then try your pathetic little "resisting."
To counter this, I hated Conviction. It's ultra-linear, and with little to no emphasis on stealth, since you can just gun down enemies, instead of them being dangerous. The best Splinter Cell is Chaos Theory, get that instead, it has atmosphere, whereas Conviction doesn't, doesn't require sign-up to Ubisoft's bullshit system, and the gameplay is actually fun.
To counter this, I loved Conviction for exactly the reason long-time fans of the Splinter Cell series hated it. Unlike the other SC games, Conviction doesn't mercilessly punish you for breaking stealth, it just rewards you for being stealthy.
I agree 100%. I never liked the artificial requirement of stealth-or-die. Conviction took Splinter Cell's solid mechanics and story and added to them, and gave you the flexibility to badass your way out of a jam. Because hey, Sam's a goddamn ex-SEAL covert government agent. I think it's fair to say he could take down a handful of armed thugs in a fight when he needs to. I mean, it's not going all Call of Duty or anything.
Life is so much easier if you're stealthy, but you can feel free to cause the occasional ruckus and get out with most limbs intact. I think it's a fair balance, but of course, if you want high-level stealth action, it's not for you.
I started writing a post about the ways Chaos Theory is better than Conviction and by the end of the draft I realized that while CT may be "purer Splinter Cell", I probably had more fun with Conviction. So there you go.
I feel like I should point out that if I skipped every game Yahtzee hated, I'd basically never play video games.
A great point. On the one hand, so many games are utter crap and are clumsily churned out solely in service to some profit motive. But on the other hand, his salty reviews are treated as entertainment unto themselves, as the actual entertainment product he's supposed to be assessing becomes largely irrelevant to the array of fart and dick jokes on display.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy his reviews, it's just hard to tell how much of it is sound analysis and how much of it is done for the sake of a punchline.
But it's not like the rest of the internet is helpful, either. There was a time when one could look up a score on metacritic and get a general idea of a game's quality, but there are just too many weird statistical outliers (read: paid shills) for that to be of much use anymore either.
For instance, check out the metacritic rating for the Xbox version of the game. Check out the perfect 100s from the Escapist and from GamePro. Really?? Even if the problem is a systemic one, and lies in the way a textual (or flash-based) review has been translated into a numerical score, it still makes the ratings suspect anyway. Splinter Cell: Conviction. The perfect game!
Form of Monkey! on
0
minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
@big I That's exactly how I feel. I loved the first three, but I'm having a blast replaying Conviction right now, whereas I have zero desire to ever play SC1-3 again.
Everything looks beautiful when you're young and pretty
0
Custom SpecialI know I am, I'm sure I am,I'm Sounders 'til I die!Registered Userregular
Odd question - does Steam have any kind of "find games that will run on my PC" feature? I'd love to see a filtered list of older games that would run on my Netbook. I love buying these new sale games but I have to play them on the wife's laptop so I don't get to play them as much...
I don't believe it has.
Your best bet is to check the requirements on each game's page.
Look up Can You Run It by system requirements lab. You pick a game, it scans your computer to see what you have then gives you a little bar showing if you meet requirements and recommendations with notes about each components score (CPU, RAM, GPU, etc). Great way to figure that stuff out.
I feel like I should point out that if I skipped every game Yahtzee hated, I'd basically never play video games.
A great point. On the one hand, so many games are utter crap and are clumsily churned out solely in service to some profit motive. But on the other hand, his salty reviews are treated as entertainment unto themselves, as the actual entertainment product he's supposed to be assessing becomes largely irrelevant to the array of fart and dick jokes on display.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy his reviews, it's just hard to tell how much of it is sound analysis and how much of it is done for the sake of a punchline.
But it's not like the rest of the internet is helpful, either. There was a time when one could look up a score on metacritic and get a general idea of a game's quality, but there are just too many weird statistical outliers (read: paid shills) for that to be of much use anymore either.
For instance, check out the metacritic rating for the Xbox version of the game. Check out the perfect 100s from the Escapist and from GamePro. Really?? Even if the problem is a systemic one, and lies in the way a textual (or flash-based) review has been translated into a numerical score, it still makes the ratings suspect anyway. Splinter Cell: Conviction. The perfect game!
Oh, I get what you're saying. Totally. That's a big reason why I look for opinions from the folks around here on games. I trust all of your opinions as unbiased and intelligent over most of what I find online.
Everything looks beautiful when you're young and pretty
0
Lord_SnotЖиву за выходныеAmerican ValhallaRegistered Userregular
Damn, no one agrees with me about Conviction. Humbug.
I feel like I should point out that if I skipped every game Yahtzee hated, I'd basically never play video games.
A great point. On the one hand, so many games are utter crap and are clumsily churned out solely in service to some profit motive. But on the other hand, his salty reviews are treated as entertainment unto themselves, as the actual entertainment product he's supposed to be assessing becomes largely irrelevant to the array of fart and dick jokes on display.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy his reviews, it's just hard to tell how much of it is sound analysis and how much of it is done for the sake of a punchline.
But it's not like the rest of the internet is helpful, either. There was a time when one could look up a score on metacritic and get a general idea of a game's quality, but there are just too many weird statistical outliers (read: paid shills) for that to be of much use anymore either.
For instance, check out the metacritic rating for the Xbox version of the game. Check out the perfect 100s from the Escapist and from GamePro. Really?? Even if the problem is a systemic one, and lies in the way a textual (or flash-based) review has been translated into a numerical score, it still makes the ratings suspect anyway. Splinter Cell: Conviction. The perfect game!
I won HL2 from cλλssy @JMan711 steamgifts giveaway. It's my first steamgifts win, and half-life which I can only assume means it's part of the HL3 launch ARG.
My problem with it is that stealth really wasn't a viable option to get through the game. There were maybe a couple of parts where you could sneak around guys, but eventually you had to start getting into firefights and killing people. At least, that's how I remember it.
Oh, someone does!
Yeah, that's how I felt. It does start forcing you into firefights, and the combat is the worst part of the game, which is why I hate it so.
I feel like I should point out that if I skipped every game Yahtzee hated, I'd basically never play video games.
A great point. On the one hand, so many games are utter crap and are clumsily churned out solely in service to some profit motive. But on the other hand, his salty reviews are treated as entertainment unto themselves, as the actual entertainment product he's supposed to be assessing becomes largely irrelevant to the array of fart and dick jokes on display.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy his reviews, it's just hard to tell how much of it is sound analysis and how much of it is done for the sake of a punchline.
But it's not like the rest of the internet is helpful, either. There was a time when one could look up a score on metacritic and get a general idea of a game's quality, but there are just too many weird statistical outliers (read: paid shills) for that to be of much use anymore either.
For instance, check out the metacritic rating for the Xbox version of the game. Check out the perfect 100s from the Escapist and from GamePro. Really?? Even if the problem is a systemic one, and lies in the way a textual (or flash-based) review has been translated into a numerical score, it still makes the ratings suspect anyway. Splinter Cell: Conviction. The perfect game!
My problem with it is that stealth really wasn't a viable option to get through the game. There were maybe a couple of parts where you could sneak around guys, but eventually you had to start getting into firefights and killing people. At least, that's how I remember it.
Oh, someone does!
Yeah, that's how I felt. It does start forcing you into firefights, and the combat is the worst part of the game, which is why I hate it so.
I can agree that it's not as hardcore stealthy as the first three, and that's what most SC fans want from the series, but I just have more fun with Conviction.
Everything looks beautiful when you're young and pretty
Haaa, see how much you like Earle after you finish the Homicide desk.
You mean Vice? I accidentally spoiled myself (I do that a lot because I am dumb) on what happens. Still, even if the graph of "How much I like Earle over time" takes a sudden dip right at the end, I still think it's cool how it climbs gradually before that.
0
minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
I've noticed all the gifts I've received lately used the term "gift subscription."
Not sure what that phrasing is all about.
Everything looks beautiful when you're young and pretty
My problem with it is that stealth really wasn't a viable option to get through the game. There were maybe a couple of parts where you could sneak around guys, but eventually you had to start getting into firefights and killing people. At least, that's how I remember it.
Oh, someone does!
Yeah, that's how I felt. It does start forcing you into firefights, and the combat is the worst part of the game, which is why I hate it so.
I can agree that it's not as hardcore stealthy as the first three, and that's what most SC fans want from the series, but I just have more fun with Conviction.
I'm not attacking opinions, just saying mine.
Also, I don't really see a problem with Yahtzee reviewing games singleplayer only. The SP should be strong enough to stand on it's own in any game except an MMO, a fair percentage of gamers still don't have, or not fast enough internet connections to play games online. The SP should not simply function as training for the MP, or just be there because it has to be. I had a fun time with Borderlands singleplayer, and have never played it online, so I don't see a problem with reviewing it in SP, for people like me. Most reviews will still review the MP, some with emphasis on the MP.
I've noticed all the gifts I've received lately used the term "gift subscription."
Not sure what that phrasing is all about.
It might have something to do with Steam's terms of service or some such legalese that allows Valve to deny an account holder access to their Steam games due to fraud since you're technically buying a "subscription" to access that game through Steam.
My problem with it is that stealth really wasn't a viable option to get through the game. There were maybe a couple of parts where you could sneak around guys, but eventually you had to start getting into firefights and killing people. At least, that's how I remember it.
Oh, someone does!
Yeah, that's how I felt. It does start forcing you into firefights, and the combat is the worst part of the game, which is why I hate it so.
I can agree that it's not as hardcore stealthy as the first three, and that's what most SC fans want from the series, but I just have more fun with Conviction.
I'm not attacking opinions, just saying mine.
Also, I don't really see a problem with Yahtzee reviewing games singleplayer only. The SP should be strong enough to stand on it's own in any game except an MMO, a fair percentage of gamers still don't have, or not fast enough internet connections to play games online. The SP should not simply function as training for the MP, or just be there because it has to be. I had a fun time with Borderlands singleplayer, and have never played it online, so I don't see a problem with reviewing it in SP, for people like me. Most reviews will still review the MP, some with emphasis on the MP.
If you're going to ignore half the mechanics of the game, then expect half the experience. Thats not too unexpected.
I see your point, but I also think that for some gamers (myself included until recently), it's not a case of ignoring half the game, but being unable to use it. I know that the majority of gamers will play it online, but it's nice for someone to review the SP alone. Yahtzee is the most deliberately contrarian reviewer out there though, and is far too harsh and picky.
Also, I bought Conviction for 10 euros a few months after release. I don't even think I got my money's worth. I enjoyed it while I played it, but afterwards, I really don't know why. I haven't touched it since.
Come on NBA 2K12 and a Bioware bundle, eh...maybe even Sid Meier's Pirates or something. I'd love to have that on Steam after owning just the Mac port, for some reason.
About yahtzee I agree that if you are going to include a single player optionto a game, then it should be fully fleshed out and totally awesome by itself. Nothing half-assed, that isn't acceptable to me.
Do people really use Yahtzee as an actual purchasing guide? The guy's funny but he deliberately exaggerates a game's negative points and disregards positives. He even says himself people don't like it when he's positive about games because he's not as funny.
EDIT: In unrelated news: games which have missions in which you have to tail people (and don't just transition to "fuck it just chase him" when they see you) are stupid dumb games for babies.
I see your point, but I also think that for some gamers (myself included until recently), it's not a case of ignoring half the game, but being unable to use it.
Yeah, I mean, I get ya. It does suck and its a real bummer when you go to play a coop game or something and cant find other people. Ha ha ha.
This is becoming a weird meta-game, I now physically cannot pick things up in the sale, but I still quit out of a (superfun but I think I messed it up for people by not shooting all the mans) Payday group because I'm so excited for the new sale
0
Dark Raven XLaugh hard, run fast,be kindRegistered Userregular
edited November 2011
I am hoping for... Bulletstorm, so I can get it crazy cheap from a US guy!
Also maybe Bioshock and Assassins Creed Collection.
Or Batman AC HAHAHAHAHHAno.
EDIT: yeah I use Yahtzee as a legit reviewer; if he actually praises something, I know it's definitely worth a look.
And TPSou; it was not your fault. The rozzers just leveled up or some shit right at the end there.
Do people really use Yahtzee as an actual purchasing guide? The guy's funny but he deliberately exaggerates a game's negative points and disregards positives. He even says himself people don't like it when he's positive about games because he's not as funny.
EDIT: In unrelated news: games which have missions in which you have to tail people (and don't just transition to "fuck it just chase him" when they see you) are stupid dumb games for babies.
Well, he was one of my influences for BUYING painkiller. Basically, if he has nothing nice to say about a game, ignore him. If he has nothing BAD to say about the game, well then it must be an amazing game because not even Yahtzee can think up something bad to say.
Posts
Feel free to hit me up with a driveby friending, gents, and keep it classy!
Here's my game library: Prince of Persia Sands of Time
Haaa, see how much you like Earle after you finish the Homicide desk.
My problem with it is that stealth really wasn't a viable option to get through the game. There were maybe a couple of parts where you could sneak around guys, but eventually you had to start getting into firefights and killing people. At least, that's how I remember it.
I started writing a post about the ways Chaos Theory is better than Conviction and by the end of the draft I realized that while CT may be "purer Splinter Cell", I probably had more fun with Conviction. So there you go.
I'm gonna take this sale home...
Steam ID: Obos Vent: Obos
A great point. On the one hand, so many games are utter crap and are clumsily churned out solely in service to some profit motive. But on the other hand, his salty reviews are treated as entertainment unto themselves, as the actual entertainment product he's supposed to be assessing becomes largely irrelevant to the array of fart and dick jokes on display.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy his reviews, it's just hard to tell how much of it is sound analysis and how much of it is done for the sake of a punchline.
But it's not like the rest of the internet is helpful, either. There was a time when one could look up a score on metacritic and get a general idea of a game's quality, but there are just too many weird statistical outliers (read: paid shills) for that to be of much use anymore either.
For instance, check out the metacritic rating for the Xbox version of the game. Check out the perfect 100s from the Escapist and from GamePro. Really?? Even if the problem is a systemic one, and lies in the way a textual (or flash-based) review has been translated into a numerical score, it still makes the ratings suspect anyway. Splinter Cell: Conviction. The perfect game!
Look up Can You Run It by system requirements lab. You pick a game, it scans your computer to see what you have then gives you a little bar showing if you meet requirements and recommendations with notes about each components score (CPU, RAM, GPU, etc). Great way to figure that stuff out.
Oh, I get what you're saying. Totally. That's a big reason why I look for opinions from the folks around here on games. I trust all of your opinions as unbiased and intelligent over most of what I find online.
Blog
Twitter
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/review-splinter-cell/64417
Steam ID: Good Life
Oh, someone does!
Yeah, that's how I felt. It does start forcing you into firefights, and the combat is the worst part of the game, which is why I hate it so.
Blog
Twitter
You mean Yatzhee "Borderlands is a SINGLLLEEE PLAAAYYYYERRRR game because FUCK YOU" Croshaw? Yeah, don't take him seriously.
I can agree that it's not as hardcore stealthy as the first three, and that's what most SC fans want from the series, but I just have more fun with Conviction.
You mean Vice? I accidentally spoiled myself (I do that a lot because I am dumb) on what happens. Still, even if the graph of "How much I like Earle over time" takes a sudden dip right at the end, I still think it's cool how it climbs gradually before that.
Not sure what that phrasing is all about.
I'm not attacking opinions, just saying mine.
Also, I don't really see a problem with Yahtzee reviewing games singleplayer only. The SP should be strong enough to stand on it's own in any game except an MMO, a fair percentage of gamers still don't have, or not fast enough internet connections to play games online. The SP should not simply function as training for the MP, or just be there because it has to be. I had a fun time with Borderlands singleplayer, and have never played it online, so I don't see a problem with reviewing it in SP, for people like me. Most reviews will still review the MP, some with emphasis on the MP.
Blog
Twitter
It might have something to do with Steam's terms of service or some such legalese that allows Valve to deny an account holder access to their Steam games due to fraud since you're technically buying a "subscription" to access that game through Steam.
If you're going to ignore half the mechanics of the game, then expect half the experience. Thats not too unexpected.
I see your point, but I also think that for some gamers (myself included until recently), it's not a case of ignoring half the game, but being unable to use it. I know that the majority of gamers will play it online, but it's nice for someone to review the SP alone. Yahtzee is the most deliberately contrarian reviewer out there though, and is far too harsh and picky.
Also, I bought Conviction for 10 euros a few months after release. I don't even think I got my money's worth. I enjoyed it while I played it, but afterwards, I really don't know why. I haven't touched it since.
Blog
Twitter
Come on. No whammy no whammy stop.
About yahtzee I agree that if you are going to include a single player optionto a game, then it should be fully fleshed out and totally awesome by itself. Nothing half-assed, that isn't acceptable to me.
EDIT: In unrelated news: games which have missions in which you have to tail people (and don't just transition to "fuck it just chase him" when they see you) are stupid dumb games for babies.
Yeah, I mean, I get ya. It does suck and its a real bummer when you go to play a coop game or something and cant find other people. Ha ha ha.
Also maybe Bioshock and Assassins Creed Collection.
Or Batman AC HAHAHAHAHHAno.
EDIT: yeah I use Yahtzee as a legit reviewer; if he actually praises something, I know it's definitely worth a look.
And TPSou; it was not your fault. The rozzers just leveled up or some shit right at the end there.
3DS friend code: 4811-7214-5053