Got sick, fined, dumped, shifts cut and more all in 3 days. The festival was amazing, the second it ended shit went bad. It was Evil Invaders in Sydney.
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AusGAF 6 - Ricki Lee is awful. Everything else about Australia is AMAZING [Free hugs]
- Thread starter HolyCheck
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Got sick, fined, dumped, shifts cut and more all in 3 days. The festival was amazing, the second it ended shit went bad. It was Evil Invaders in Sydney.
reptilescorpio
Member
So huge thanks to Choc for Max Payne 3!
Feels a little like too many cooks in the end, they throw everything into the game.
The original bullet time gunplay of the first two titles while introducing Uncharted style third person cover shooting and several on rails shooting gallery experiences.
Worst of all you have a few instances of having to shoot a rocket or grenade in slow motion that makes no fucking sense and seems really out of place with the rest of the game.
They style is very much Michael Mann/Tony Scott. First half of the game is very Man on Fire until the character 'arc' is 'completed' enough for them to stop pretending that they had any idea what kind of story they wanted to tell. The moralising and inner anguish is contrived and stumbles around the place before finally deciding it is all too much work and just goes for a classic action movie ending.
Most importantly the stupid stylistic bullshit is mostly thrown to the wayside for the final 1/3 of the game, which is also where the best action is.
The gameplay itself holds up pretty good, although the level design for the most part is linear and boring. Just a sequence of scares designed to bumble you through another post processed mind fuck. Taking cover is nice. Much more useful that shootdodging unfortunately. Max moves great and the camera is never an issue, which Rockstar really should be commended for. A few niggles with Max not going into cover well here and there but I would rate it as more dependable than Gears of War.
When the game decides to take itself a little more serious and ignore the call of 'hollywood level set pieces' it zooms along, a beautiful dance of death as Max cuts through swathes of generic people who are shooting at you for financial reason. Nothing feels better than commanding a sweep around a room of waist high cover or galloping through corridor after corridor snapping that hefty firearm into place and shredding some scalp. The guns all feel great and the more 'realistic' inventory system becomes second nature quickly and has allowed Rockstar to control the speed of play but never becomes forceful. You don't walk out of a door to find an RPG waiting for you as if the next corner will herald a Tank to play fire with.
I guess they swapped one set of cliches for another but it really is jarring coming from the older games how little they relate to each other. The finale of Max Payne 2 is ignored and you are basically told (well, not told, you have to draw the conclusion for yourself since further explanation would take away from the scratchy synths and slow motion Bayplosions), "Hey! It is an undisclosed time since those other games and Max is old and tired and drunk! He sad and mourney! He like bang bang!". The monologues don't seem as witty and the tongue is nowhere near the cheek. It's an enjoyable ride but you can't help but want more exposition that never arrives. Everything feels thrown together, as if 3 different studios worked on different chapters of the game...
The major standout is the AI which is crafty as shit and has no issue with tricking you into looking at one guy on the left while a second sneaks up your buttocks on the right. Shooty people dynamically shift in and out of cover, use grenades to flush you out or keep you pinned back. Every step of the way you feel like it is the world against Max, thousands of bodies pile up for you to leap over and add to.
Health have been brought on to handle the soundtrack, for some random reason. They do a damn good job of it, much better than I was expecting since I don't find their regular releases to be much more than noise rock synth indie eh. Most of the time they lend a strong pulse to the Tony Scott infused visuals and effect, lathering Max in the bounce of Sao Paolo and certainly brightening up the noise in contrast to the meaty blam of the gun. They do have several sections of the game where they pull you out of the rhythm, the repetitive nature of their scope shows through and you get pulled out of Max's head and into the role of voyeur. A video game player. It doesn't feel natural. It feels stupid and you want the music to stop. They even chucked in the 'lead single' from the soundtrack in the last level. Lyrics and everything while you are trying to play! Maybe if it was playing through a stereo system that would be fine but piping it directly into the players head just breaks any concentration on what Max is doing. For the most part it serves as a good mood setter in the back of your mind though thankfully.
Playing it a second time has really taken the shine off for me. What was enjoyable and impressive the first time is now pretty rudimentary. The loading times are masked by the cutscenes, which means sitting though 5 minutes of blah blah blah that you can't skip because you are waiting for it to load too, which becomes incredibly frustrating. PS3 version has a very large install at the beginning too of course. Overall it looked and ran like a dream on PS3, a few cutscene hitches here and there along with the odd sound glitch but nothing too major. Framerate held up even under heavy attack and the controls felt natural and headshots weren't too hard to pull off towards the end of play using the free aim. The people who think shoot should be mapped to R2 though are fucking joking. Hilarious. Changed that quick smart. Auto-aim comes in two delicious varieties; small - which is your usually snap to target, hard - which is just press R1 and it will pick up any enemy that exists somewhere. Helpful when starting out and the small autoaim would be recommended for a first play on consoles. I would expect on PC to be pulling off headshots in free aim from the get go.
I would give it a 4/5. Worth a rental. Very much one of those games you play for the impact of the first time rather than one that will remain with you for years and years.
Feels a little like too many cooks in the end, they throw everything into the game.
The original bullet time gunplay of the first two titles while introducing Uncharted style third person cover shooting and several on rails shooting gallery experiences.
Worst of all you have a few instances of having to shoot a rocket or grenade in slow motion that makes no fucking sense and seems really out of place with the rest of the game.
They style is very much Michael Mann/Tony Scott. First half of the game is very Man on Fire until the character 'arc' is 'completed' enough for them to stop pretending that they had any idea what kind of story they wanted to tell. The moralising and inner anguish is contrived and stumbles around the place before finally deciding it is all too much work and just goes for a classic action movie ending.
Most importantly the stupid stylistic bullshit is mostly thrown to the wayside for the final 1/3 of the game, which is also where the best action is.
The gameplay itself holds up pretty good, although the level design for the most part is linear and boring. Just a sequence of scares designed to bumble you through another post processed mind fuck. Taking cover is nice. Much more useful that shootdodging unfortunately. Max moves great and the camera is never an issue, which Rockstar really should be commended for. A few niggles with Max not going into cover well here and there but I would rate it as more dependable than Gears of War.
When the game decides to take itself a little more serious and ignore the call of 'hollywood level set pieces' it zooms along, a beautiful dance of death as Max cuts through swathes of generic people who are shooting at you for financial reason. Nothing feels better than commanding a sweep around a room of waist high cover or galloping through corridor after corridor snapping that hefty firearm into place and shredding some scalp. The guns all feel great and the more 'realistic' inventory system becomes second nature quickly and has allowed Rockstar to control the speed of play but never becomes forceful. You don't walk out of a door to find an RPG waiting for you as if the next corner will herald a Tank to play fire with.
I guess they swapped one set of cliches for another but it really is jarring coming from the older games how little they relate to each other. The finale of Max Payne 2 is ignored and you are basically told (well, not told, you have to draw the conclusion for yourself since further explanation would take away from the scratchy synths and slow motion Bayplosions), "Hey! It is an undisclosed time since those other games and Max is old and tired and drunk! He sad and mourney! He like bang bang!". The monologues don't seem as witty and the tongue is nowhere near the cheek. It's an enjoyable ride but you can't help but want more exposition that never arrives. Everything feels thrown together, as if 3 different studios worked on different chapters of the game...
The major standout is the AI which is crafty as shit and has no issue with tricking you into looking at one guy on the left while a second sneaks up your buttocks on the right. Shooty people dynamically shift in and out of cover, use grenades to flush you out or keep you pinned back. Every step of the way you feel like it is the world against Max, thousands of bodies pile up for you to leap over and add to.
Health have been brought on to handle the soundtrack, for some random reason. They do a damn good job of it, much better than I was expecting since I don't find their regular releases to be much more than noise rock synth indie eh. Most of the time they lend a strong pulse to the Tony Scott infused visuals and effect, lathering Max in the bounce of Sao Paolo and certainly brightening up the noise in contrast to the meaty blam of the gun. They do have several sections of the game where they pull you out of the rhythm, the repetitive nature of their scope shows through and you get pulled out of Max's head and into the role of voyeur. A video game player. It doesn't feel natural. It feels stupid and you want the music to stop. They even chucked in the 'lead single' from the soundtrack in the last level. Lyrics and everything while you are trying to play! Maybe if it was playing through a stereo system that would be fine but piping it directly into the players head just breaks any concentration on what Max is doing. For the most part it serves as a good mood setter in the back of your mind though thankfully.
Playing it a second time has really taken the shine off for me. What was enjoyable and impressive the first time is now pretty rudimentary. The loading times are masked by the cutscenes, which means sitting though 5 minutes of blah blah blah that you can't skip because you are waiting for it to load too, which becomes incredibly frustrating. PS3 version has a very large install at the beginning too of course. Overall it looked and ran like a dream on PS3, a few cutscene hitches here and there along with the odd sound glitch but nothing too major. Framerate held up even under heavy attack and the controls felt natural and headshots weren't too hard to pull off towards the end of play using the free aim. The people who think shoot should be mapped to R2 though are fucking joking. Hilarious. Changed that quick smart. Auto-aim comes in two delicious varieties; small - which is your usually snap to target, hard - which is just press R1 and it will pick up any enemy that exists somewhere. Helpful when starting out and the small autoaim would be recommended for a first play on consoles. I would expect on PC to be pulling off headshots in free aim from the get go.
I would give it a 4/5. Worth a rental. Very much one of those games you play for the impact of the first time rather than one that will remain with you for years and years.
MELBGAF
29th of June?
WHAT SAY YE:
5pm onwards beers? or earlier?
YEIGH:
Ho-Check(will get there 6pm plus)
Bananaarnie
shanshan
shaneus
Aonshinskidesu (will get there 5:30plus)
Aniseed
Omi
Jambo
Codswallop
TENTATIVEIGH BARRING ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS OR UNCERTAINTIES
evlcookie: WILL HE, WONT HE?
NEIGH:
fappenmeister: I'm not going to MelGAF i'll be washing my pubic hairs
WHAT SAY YE?
Lafiel?
Ridonkulus?
Megadrive?
29th of June?
WHAT SAY YE:
5pm onwards beers? or earlier?
YEIGH:
Ho-Check(will get there 6pm plus)
Bananaarnie
shanshan
shaneus
Aonshinskidesu (will get there 5:30plus)
Aniseed
Omi
Jambo
Codswallop
TENTATIVEIGH BARRING ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS OR UNCERTAINTIES
evlcookie: WILL HE, WONT HE?
NEIGH:
fappenmeister: I'm not going to MelGAF i'll be washing my pubic hairs
WHAT SAY YE?
Lafiel?
Ridonkulus?
Megadrive?
If I am not a groggy wreck every single day I'm in QLD, I am going to leave disappointed. A few years ago, when I was 19, I went to my cousin's wedding in Launceston. It was the first time in my life I have ever heard the words, "unlimited tab bar", and the first time I'd had a three hour conversation with people well outside my social group (friends of the groom).
Now, that guy's brother is getting married, and word is they're keeping up the tradition of drink 'til you drop. They may be a bunch of racist, homophobic, ultra-religious greaseheads. But shit, they're fun to be around.
Hopefully I haven't somehow scheduled over QLDGAF or the wedding. I'll probably ditch the wedding preparations if it comes to it.
Now, that guy's brother is getting married, and word is they're keeping up the tradition of drink 'til you drop. They may be a bunch of racist, homophobic, ultra-religious greaseheads. But shit, they're fun to be around.
Hopefully I haven't somehow scheduled over QLDGAF or the wedding. I'll probably ditch the wedding preparations if it comes to it.
fappenmeister
Member
How were Inquisition and Johnny Touch? Ouch at the rest.
shanshan310
Member
Brisgaf, 3rd of July
There will be Grill'd, there will be schnapps.
head count:
Kritz
Clipper
Shanshan
Salazar
Marsh
Gazunta
VKS
Rlan (after 6pm)
Maybe:
Fallbackpants
ClivePwned
Anyone else?
Meet around dinner time, say 5? earlier?
I guess we can have grill'd then either go to the mana bar and then trek over to the Bavarian Beer Garden or vice versa. Or something. Depending on which grill'd we go to we can meet at central or the valley station. Plan? Plan.
There will be Grill'd, there will be schnapps.
head count:
Kritz
Clipper
Shanshan
Salazar
Marsh
Gazunta
VKS
Rlan (after 6pm)
Maybe:
Fallbackpants
ClivePwned
Anyone else?
Meet around dinner time, say 5? earlier?
I guess we can have grill'd then either go to the mana bar and then trek over to the Bavarian Beer Garden or vice versa. Or something. Depending on which grill'd we go to we can meet at central or the valley station. Plan? Plan.
-w-Kritz said:
I'm yet to see anyone out drink northern Tasmanians.
2 games are in Brisbane next year..
And I did not, at that. Didn't do bad for myself.
Seems Grill'd is right across from the Mana Bar, according to Google. I'll try and work out where on earth I'm staying so I can figure out how long a bus ride will take.
... Does Queensland have trains? I liked the trains in Melbourne. They were fast, and went everywhere.
Inquisition were good though they aren't a band I'm that into. I did end up watching them both nights though so I guess that says something. Only caught the last bit of Johnny Touch. They seemed alright, the crowd was right into it.
Fuck, its 2012. Melbourne games are bullshit.
Yar.
shanshan310
Member
I'm kind of torn about whether to go on an angry rant and risk getting banned or not =/
Where?
Will you be staying in Brisbane for any of your time here?
Where?
Will you be staying in Brisbane for any of your time here?
Hahahahaha...
Pffffft. Never worth it.
So the brisgaf meet is gonna be huuuuge after all
Sounds great so far!
Visit, Deek.
I'm kind of torn about whether to go on an angry rant and risk getting banned or not =/
Where?
Will you be staying in Brisbane for any of your time here?
I can't tell if I'm staying at Montville, the goldcoast, or anywhere else.
Okay, I think what they mean is (SMSing sucks), the wedding itself is in montville. We're staying at some place called the "Swell Resort", which is apparently in some place called the "Burleigh Heads Beach".
... which is still 100km away from Brisbane. So... 200km drive to the wedding. What the fuck.
WHICH THREAD?
This wedding wouldn't happen to be next Sunday?
I have one at Montvile then. It is a somewhat popular place for weddings though.
shanshan310
Member
So the brisgaf meet is gonna be huuuuge after all
Sounds great so far!
Come and make it huger~
kay
It would have been a great angry response though.aah, it doesn't matter. EDIT: The 'are muscular men like anorexic women?' one. *sigh*
Nah it's on the 4th or 5th of next month.
I am not driving, and even if I were... sheesh. 200km. That is all of Tasmania.
Is there an iOS app I can download that will give me transport information? There was a great metro app someone recommended for me while I was in Melbourne. Got me home safely after MelbGAF.
D
Deleted member 30609
Unconfirmed Member
damn, forgot to buy Lollipop after work today. How am I supposed to do a terribly irresponsible pre-exam all nighter without a new game? I guess I'll have to play Witcher 2. Fiiiiiiiine.
ClivePwned
Member
Gazunta, you Gacunta
FallbackPants
Member
Goddamn Dave Taylor needs to learn how to dive on a ball. Cracking game though.
Isn't Montville Sunny Coast?
Isn't Montville Sunny Coast?
QLD bias flows through again
You hosted two in 2011, when do we get two again? For fuck sake, the luck that QLD has is ridiculous with this series.
It is supposed to be our turn to get two becaues we didnt get two this year thanks to AFL town
And risk getting stabbed? No thank you!shanshan310 said:
Also I have work, stuff to do, places to be etc..
FallbackPants
Member
Honest question here, why is the Sydney game the second game? Surely It should have been Sydney (moved to Melbourne)-Brisbane-Sydney?
We're staying in Gold Coast, meetup is in Brisbane, wedding is in Sunshine Coast.
I get a full blown tour. Whoopie.
Or groped.
Damn, that sucks man.
Gravity should do a lot of the work.
Yeah, I wondered that. I think it's because QLD would be favourites to win in Melbourne, so the series would be likely to be over by the time it got to Sydney. This way at least the series is alive by game 3. Better TV ratings and all that.
Since 2006, Melbourne has gotten one every three years. It alternates who loses their home game, which kinda sucks because most Victorians prefer Queensland because they're not the guys next door. Add the Storm influence, with their feeder club being QLD based, and any Melbourne based game these days has a slight QLD advantage. It also sucks because NSW lose two home game series in the middle of a slump, so our next reasonable chance at a series win is 2014. It's not bias though.Choc said:
shanshan310
Member
Definitely this. It's such a waste.
Grill'd --> drinks --> back to Grill'd.
shanshan310
Member
This sounds like the best plan. Although depending on how much schnapps is consumed it may end up going Grill'd -> Drinks -> Pizza and Kebabs.
You mad about the TRUE SPORTS CAPITAL OF AUSTRALIA???
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