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[DunderHassan]

If you already did the achievements, even by booting the game you won't obtain rewards. By the way I'm waiting for my credits reward from three days, only 3€ were added so far.

It can take a day or two for the rewards to update. You can't get rewards for achievements you got before they put it into their reward system though.

That's strange, got the rewards for Quantum Conundrum, which I haven't touched in a long time.
Sucks though, already have the achievements for the most games they have, so much free cash to a waste.

 

[Henry Swanson]

Enjoy! Some older extras. None of it should be taken. I hope. Good luck!

Thank you for Commander.

Freebies..

And thank you for A New Beginning.

 

[kiyomi]

Ace Combat Assault Horizon - Enhanced Edition is -75% off, only $7.50 AUD.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/228400/

Get on it, fellas.

Steam reviews are putting me off.

 

[RionaaM]

Way late to the party (and subsequent 'witch hunt') but I'll throw my hat into the ring.

It's a really hard thing to say to some one to try one game before or over the other without knowing in detail what you like and don't like about a games mechanics, right down to the nitty gritty. Even jumping in to the middle of a series or starting from the beginning or end can put you off others more more than reasons solely because of connected story or mechanics.

So this comes on to the subject of Dragon Age. Now there's nothing wrong with wanting to play 2 before Origins and as you say you might prefer it more than the first but pretty much everyone I know who is/was a keen RPG fan, myself included that played Origins first felts like they had been violated by 2 (in fact go seek out EviLore's OT, it's probably the best OT ever Edit: Found it! Worth a read for everyone). This is more to do with growing up with paper and pen, table top and older CRPG's that Origins, while really striping back on mechanics and the complicated lore of the older titles in the genre, brought back to the fore. If you played any MMORPG's in the last 10 years (and yes 'that' popular one as well) you will find the basic mechanics and character sheet and skills are quite similar with the added bonus of having the older CRPG style companions on your quest instead of some online yahoos.

2 on the other hand does a Mass Effect 2 and bins all that was great in the first game and turns it more into and Action RPG. Now that might be more your thing and no one can tell you what you should and shouldn't like (unless Argentina has introduced some new barmy laws I'm unaware of) but for people who grew up with and enjoyed the predecessors to Origins as well as the first game itself it's a massive slap to the face with the biggest, stinkiest fish you can think of. If 2 was a Risen or a Two World game it wouldn't get half the hate it does.

Bottom line is this if you want to get into the more tactical CRPG's Dragons Age: Origins is a great start before looking at something like an older game like Icewind Dale. Likewise if you like a great world to explore with a varied party Dragon Age: Origins should be you're first stop then look at Baulders Gate I and then II. If story is your thing then maybe jump straight into Planetscape: Torment as it plays a little differently (and not it's best strength) but has by far and away the best story in an RPG ever (and no that is not hyperbole). Reason I suggest Dragon Age: Origins first is that it's been paired back way, way more than the earlier titles and doesn't require the 200 page plus manual just to work out how to craft a character. Once you've gotten used to the paradigms of the genre with Dragon Age you stand the best chance of not being scared off by the classics.

On a plus side Obsidian's Pillars of Eternity is shaping up nicely (even after the Paradox scare I had) and Torment: Tides of Numenra is just entering production and hopefully on it's way for 2015. Getting into the genre now could really set you up for 2 great looking titles on the horizon and ones that I'm most excited for (even more than Dark Souls II).

Or seeing as you like Deus Ex, why don't you have a look at Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines. And yes the GAF hype is on the money with that game.

I wanna thank you for your comment, because it provides examples of different games to try, with recommendations for each taste. I have VTM:B on Steam, and I'd like to give it a try someday.

But I think you really misunderstood my post. It was a reply to Toddhunter's, in which he said DA2 wasn't an accurate representation of the genre, and that it would be better to play the classics (following the conversation, I think he was talking about Final Fantasy). Never did he mention DAO, and I only stated I planned on playing that one first, and maybe DA2 afterwards.

hmm, I'll have to give SPM another shot down the road, I played it for about 30 minutes didn't get into it and put it away.

Are there some games like SPM on Steam by any chance? Only thing that springs to mind would be FEZ and it's perspective shifting mechanic, but aside from that it's not much like SPM at all(or at least from what I played of it)[/QUOTE]
I have a soft spot for SPM. It was the game that sparked my love for the franchise. I had tried the original way back then and didn't like it at all, but when I got my Wii in 2010 I decided to give SPM a chance (no reason why, it just happened) and I was amazed by how good it was, how fun to play it was, how funny the writing was. I admit it wasn't without flaws (the

Spoiler

Sammer's Kingdom

chapter was tiresome and a bit annoying), but I felt a lot of joy while playing it, not unlike how I felt with Super Mario Galaxy. Then I played the other ones and loved them too.

Of course, don't take my opinion as fact. Many people disliked it, and the fact that it's very different to the previous entries in the franchise. This isn't a turn-based RPG, this is a 2D/3D platformer with a few RPG-like elements and different companions (each with their own ability) and characters. Anr humor. Lots and lots and lots of humor.

I don't recall any game similar to SPM. I can say Costume Quest and South Park: The Stick of Truth felt similar to the original PM, but not to SPM. If there's one, I'd love to hear it too!

 

[RavenValor95]

Wow, no Aussie premium prices™, does that happen often?

Not often enough

(USD Base)Lord of the Rings: War in the North - 270.14% Increase
(USD base)The Sims 3 Plus Showtime - 166.72% Increase
(GBP base)Modern Warfare 2 - 171.44% Increase
(USD base) Crazy Taxi - 123.35% increase
I didn't do any the conversions myself, I just took the numbers off of enhanced steam.

Although, sometimes we aren't alone in getting premium prices™

Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z is most expensive in the UK(38.19% increase with USD as the default currency)

 

[FloatOn]

I was going through these pages I missed last night and found the sad discovery that salsashark likes bioshock infinite.

bioshock is just as offensive as tomb raider 2013 to me. where tomb raider had decent gameplay and a shit story, infinite had an awesome story but shit gameplay. basically the yin/yang of shitty video games.

 

[Atraveller]

I was going through these pages I missed last night and found the sad discovery that salsashark likes bioshock infinite.

bioshock is just as offensive as tomb raider 2013 to me. where tomb raider had decent gameplay and a shit story, infinite had an awesome story but shit gameplay. basically the yin/yang of shitty video games.

Tomb Raider had great gameplay? It's a generic 3rd person cover based shooter with some very linear climbing and a tagged on hunting mechanics.

 

[wetflame]

Tomb Raider had great gameplay? It's a generic 3rd person cover based shooter with some very linear climbing and a tagged on hunting mechanics.

Yeah it did, I really enjoyed it. It was a fun game with good exploration and I really enjoyed the archery. Plus I enjoyed the story, and the way they re-tooled the series.

 

[aku:jiki]

I was going through these pages I missed last night and found the sad discovery that salsashark likes bioshock infinite.

bioshock is just as offensive as tomb raider 2013 to me. where tomb raider had decent gameplay and a shit story, infinite had an awesome story but shit gameplay. basically the yin/yang of shitty video games.

Sir, I do believe that you're confused. If a game has good gameplay, nothing else matters. Games are for playing, books are for stories.

 

[FloatOn]

Tomb Raider had great gameplay? It's a generic 3rd person cover based shooter with some very linear climbing and a tagged on hunting mechanics.

I didn't say great.

It helped that I didn't play the uncharted series. It's kind of like how I enjoyed Lords of Shadow because I didn't play the God of War series.

I popped my "cinematic" 3rd person cherry with tomb raider '13. Also I pretty much only used the bow because it was immensely more satisfying.

Sir, I do believe that you're confused. If a game has good gameplay, nothing else matters. Games are for playing, books are for stories.

whycantwehaveboth.jpg

 

[jon bones]

tomb raider 2013 was a super solid game, though the story and characters were weak. bioshock infinite had neither good story telling nor gameplay :/

Sir, I do believe that you're confused. If a game has good gameplay, nothing else matters. Games are for playing, books are for stories.

are modern pc gamers too young to remember pncs? also lol @ "sir"

 

[Rickenslacker]

Tomb Raider had great gameplay? It's a generic 3rd person cover based shooter with some very linear climbing and a tagged on hunting mechanics.

Combat was pretty fun, enemies were pretty reactive made for some excellent shooting feedback. I loved shooting a guy only to have him stumble off of a high platform. You also had all your available weapons on you at all times which pretty much strikes it from being generic by default in this day and age.

 

[Knurek]

whycantwehaveboth.jpg

From can't do more than one Souls game per year.

 

[aku:jiki]

are modern pc gamers too young to remember pncs? also lol @ "sir"

I'm 33 years old and have played pretty much the entire Sierra and Lucas catalogs. Things and people change in 20 years, though, and I've come to realize that playing games is about, well, playing games. The writing is almost always crap anyway.

 

[Atraveller]

Combat was pretty fun, enemies were pretty reactive made for some excellent shooting feedback. I loved shooting a guy only to have him stumble off of a high platform. You also had all your available weapons on you at all times which pretty much strikes it from being generic by default in this day and age.

By reactive you mean hivemind AI then you are correct. The enemy design is straight from a game design textbook, the normal one, the big one with armor, the melee one and the sniper. And the chest high covers let you play whack a mole with those generic enemies.

Edit: And when you are out of combat, the whole game just screams Ubisoft sandbox game.

 

[Stallion Free]

It's much more enjoyable than RE 5/6 to me.

Oh yeah I had way more fun with RE:R than those two. RE5 and particularly 6 have such awful level design For RE games.

 

[jon bones]

I'm 33 years old and have played pretty much the entire Sierra and Lucas catalogs. Things and people change in 20 years, though, and I've come to realize that playing games is about, well, playing games. The writing is almost always crap anyway.

i mean, everyone plays for different reasons but i think there is as much value in something like gone home as there is in mgr:r

 

[Baha]

Another extra

Instructions for participants:
I am giving away a Steam key. To enter this giveaway, send a PM to ModBot with any subject line. In the body, copy and paste the entire line below containing the key.

Rules for this Giveaway:
- Do not trade keys you win off-site to enrich yourself. Don't try to claim games you have no interest in collecting or playing. Don't claim games to give them to friends off-site.
- If the key is already taken you will not receive a reply. Replies may take a minute or two:


Aerena -- MB-EAC928D886D4B308 - Taken by Sammichu

 

[Dr Dogg]

I wanna thank you for your comment, because it provides examples of different games to try, with recommendations for each taste. I have VTM:B on Steam, and I'd like to give it a try someday.

But I think you really misunderstood my post. It was a reply to Toddhunter's, in which he said DA2 wasn't an accurate representation of the genre, and that it would be better to play the classics (following the conversation, I think he was talking about Final Fantasy). Never did he mention DAO, and I only stated I planned on playing that one first, and maybe DA2 afterwards.

Your welcome.

Hahaha no I totally got that just I might have tried to sum up a threads worth of information into one post without hitting the limit. Problem lies in that 'RPG' as a pigeon holed genre classification is so broad and doesn't really fit the scope of what it has now become. I only mentioned a few and didn't even go into JRPG's, TRPG's, hybrids RTS systems and even the elements that creep into other genres as well. To some the term 'RPG' means a game focused around your own created hero where you've spent the time crafting him/her/it through their character sheet and then forge your own quest, some feel there are first person dungeon crawlers and a quest for loot, to others it's a predetermined cast of characters and your choices and decisions that form the role playing part, others its the party you put together. Even down to combat systems some people think real time, others turn based and even real time with a pause function (the real choice). None are wrong but it's a massive genre now with even more sub-genres.

I've tried to give a brief outline of the different directions the genre has spread from it's origins (pen and paper not Dragon Age) and Dragon Age 2, while not in the traditional sense, an RPG but is still an Action RPG. Hence why I said if it was a Risen or Two World (christ even Two Human) game it would get less stick. You could say it has way more in common with Adventure games than traditional RPG's but that's another slant the genre has adopted over time.

And even now I'm painting this with a very broad brush. I didn't even mention the original Fallout's, the Ultima series, Diablo before it lost it's edge, the Mount and Blade and King Arthur series', KotOR I & II, Arcanium, Neverwinter Nights and bloody loads more that have given me years worth of enjoyment.

End of the day if you enjoy it then more power to you and that goes for about any game ever. Hey I'm enjoying Ride to Hell does that make me a stain on society? Granted for very, very different reasons than the devs intended.

 

[Big_Al]

Oh yeah I had way more fun with RE:R than those two. RE5 and particularly 6 have such awful level design For RE games.

I like RE:R but the main problem I have with it is that shooting monsters/the monster reactions in that game isn't as satisfying as in the others, including 5 and 6.

Still, got the PC version as well and looking forward to playing it again. Love Raid mode.

 

[Anteater]

I'm enjoying my time with Grid a bit more than Dirt 2 so far, maybe it has to do with the UI in Dirt 2, it feels a bit quicker to just enter and play a few race in Grid and quit, it has less gimmicky races outside of the demolition derby and drifting race, and they aren't so bad.

 

[Dr. Buni]

Sir, I do believe that you're confused. If a game has good gameplay, nothing else matters. Games are for playing, books are for stories.

I agree. Although my problem with Bioshock Infinite was that it didn't have a good gameplay. The story sucked too ._.

 

[Rickenslacker]

By reactive you mean hivemind AI then you are correct. The enemy design is straight from a game design textbook, the normal one, the big one with armor, the melee one and the sniper. And the chest high covers let you play whack a mole with those generic enemies.

Edit: And when you are out of combat, the whole game just screams Ubisoft sandbox game.

What's wrong with class based enemy design? They're easily identifiable and their different configurations add to different dynamics in handling combat. By reactive I mean that they would do more than just stand there and soak in the damage you dished; when they were hit, they would react in various ways which is something that a lot of similar games get wrong even now.

You could play it as generic as you wanted, but you could do the same in Max Payne 3 as well. In Tomb Raider I was always shuffling around and switching up my weapon use, I was constantly on the move. Contrast that to Uncharted which is what I was expecting it to play like going in, where it really didn't expect you to do much other than sit behind cover and take pot shots at the same cardboard cutout dudes who mostly shrug off shots that don't kill them.

The interim of auto-platforming and checklist collecting is bland though I'll agree, and the characters and story are pretty bad. Still, the combat really took me by surprise in it and made it stand out to me.

 

[radMonkey]

Allow me to say that even if I am kind of angry @GMG (since your pricing policy change, you're up to 30% more expensive for Eastern Europe buyers than Steam is), it's very refreshing to see this kind of community outreach from any company.

I wish Valve would be doing the same, honestly (unless jshackles is their secret spy).

I pretty much on the Playfire side, so I can't really comment on the pricing policy, but glad we can make it up to you in other ways. I try to reach out to other communities when I have time. We just hired an assistant community manager, so hopefully I'll you'll see me around more often.

Oh yeah I suspected Monaco may get playfire rewards!

BTW will there be playfire rewards for Moebius too if you don't mind me asking?

It probably would have got some rewards, but I've made a note to include it just to be sure.

 

[MMBosstones86]

I popped my "cinematic" 3rd person cherry with tomb raider '13. Also I pretty much only used the bow because it was immensely more satisfying.

That bow was god-tier. Especially once you unlock fire and 'nade arrows.

tomb raider 2013 was a super solid game, though the story and characters were weak. bioshock infinite had neither good story telling nor gameplay :/

 

[jon bones]

cramming a bunch of exposition in the last 15 minutesdoes not make for good storytellubg. the story itself was ok, but it wasn't told well at all.

 

[Dr Dogg]

That bow was god-tier. Especially once you unlock fire and 'nade arrows.

As part of my closing thoughts on Tomb Raider in the OT I said that if CD did away with all the other close to pointless weapons the game throws at you (even more so towards the end) and just focused on the bow and the pistol the game could really stood out a lot more. Maybe work some puzzle or traversals systems in to the mechanics with the bow instead of the tired same one puzzle formula tombs.

 

[Atraveller]

What's wrong with class based enemy design? They're easily identifiable and their different configurations add to different dynamics in handling combat. By reactive I mean that they would do more than just stand there and soak in the damage you dished; when they were hit, they would react in various ways which is something that a lot of similar games get wrong even now.

You could play it as generic as you wanted, but you could do the same in Max Payne 3 as well. In Tomb Raider I was always shuffling around and switching up my weapon use, I was constantly on the move. Contrast that to Uncharted which is what I was expecting it to play like going in, where it really didn't expect you to do much other than sit behind cover and take pot shots at the same cardboard cutout dudes who mostly shrug off shots that don't kill them.
.

I didn't say it's bad, I said it's generic.

I find it hard to play MP3 like a cover shooter, the enemies are highly accurate and you don't regenerate health, the inclusion of the cover mechanics just gets in the way. As for running around in the game that is designed to be a cover shooter, that depends on which difficulty you are on.

 

[Rickenslacker]

I didn't say it's bad, I said it's generic.

I find it hard to play MP3 like a cover shooter, the enemies are highly accurate and you don't regenerate health, the inclusion of the cover mechanics just gets in the way. As for running around in the game that is designed to be a cover shooter, that depends on which difficulty you are on.

That's fine, I just thought the combat was enough for it to not feel like that was the case. *shrug* I just bring up Max Payne 3 because similar complaints could be (and are) levied against it, and while it has the exact same problems on the character and story side of things, I think you it's up to the player to make the most out of the mechanics it offers. In my case that would be non-stop infinite shootdodge at every given possible moment.

 

[Dr. Buni]

bullshit.gif[IMG][/QUOTE]
Yeah, the story in Bioshock Infinite was exactly that. lol

 

[RionaaM]

Tomb Raider had great gameplay? It's a generic 3rd person cover based shooter with some very linear climbing and a tagged on hunting mechanics.

And it all worked fine. I felt the shooting was solid, even though I played with a gamepad, and platforming was nice (but rather simple; Sands of Time this isn't).

I haven't played BioInf, but I played enough of the original to say its gameplay sucks. The weapons feel weak, I couldn't feel I was hurting the enemies, most of them were bullet sponges, the plasmids felt like they weren't hitting anything, and on Hard I never had enough bullets to kill anything. Taking 1/20 of a Big Daddy's life bar, only to die and respawn and do it all again was as boring as it could be. But the alternative, turning off the vita chambers, sounds even worse, because then I couldn't even wear them down slowly (I didn't bother trying this, of course). Putting it on Easy helped solved this issue, but then every encounter was a non-threat, making them completely pointless and a waste of time. Which is a shame, because the setting, plot and atmosphere are incredible.

 

[Knurek]

Saoirse should totally play that person in her next movie.
Totally.

 

[Atraveller]

Lol at DA:O and DA2's OTs, but I still like the Modern Warfare games' more, they give more information.

 

[RionaaM]

Your welcome.

Hahaha no I totally got that just I might have tried to sum up a threads worth of information into one post without hitting the limit. Problem lies in that 'RPG' as a pigeon holed genre classification is so broad and doesn't really fit the scope of what it has now become. I only mentioned a few and didn't even go into JRPG's, TRPG's, hybrids RTS systems and even the elements that creep into other genres as well. To some the term 'RPG' means a game focused around your own created hero where you've spent the time crafting him/her/it through their character sheet and then forge your own quest, some feel there are first person dungeon crawlers and a quest for loot, to others it's a predetermined cast of characters and your choices and decisions that form the role playing part, others its the party you put together. Even down to combat systems some people think real time, others turn based and even real time with a pause function (the real choice). None are wrong but it's a massive genre now with even more sub-genres.

I've tried to give a brief outline of the different directions the genre has spread from it's origins (pen and paper not Dragon Age) and Dragon Age 2, while not in the traditional sense, an RPG but is still an Action RPG. Hence why I said if it was a Risen or Two World (christ even Two Human) game it would get less stick. You could say it has way more in common with Adventure games than traditional RPG's but that's another slant the genre has adopted over time.

And even now I'm painting this with a very broad brush. I didn't even mention the original Fallout's, the Ultima series, Diablo before it lost it's edge, the Mount and Blade and King Arthur series', KotOR I & II, Arcanium, Neverwinter Nights and bloody loads more that have given me years worth of enjoyment.

End of the day if you enjoy it then more power to you and that goes for about any game ever. Hey I'm enjoying Ride to Hell does that make me a stain on society? Granted for very, very different reasons than the devs intended.

Don't worry, I thought your post was very insightful and interesting. I'll keep those names in mind, though I can't promise I'll try them

And wow, the genre is truly huge, with many sub-genres and stuff. It'd be nice to start liking these kind of games, so maybe it's just a matter of finding one that clicks with me. Maybe DAO will be the one, hopefully.

 

[Acccent]

not sure if i like it quite as much tho. i personally take offense with the leveling system. i hate that you gotta get kills to level up instead of just using experience. it basically makes the support dudes stay low level forever unless you keep some 1 hp dredge running around for your archers and whatnot to lasthit

you guys made my interest in the game slowly rise up (idk why I'd dismissed it in the first place) and then you instantly killed it with that detail the exact thing I'm struggling with in FEA atm

Sir, I do believe that you're confused. If a game has good gameplay, nothing else matters. Games are for playing, books are for stories.

Games are for enjoying and if I enjoy good stories with only a touch of meaningful interactivity I sure as hell will enjoy games that do this


btw bioshock infinite's story was worse than its gameplay and its gameplay was so bad that I enjoyed watching LPs more than actually playing
just saying
#truthfacts

 

[Atraveller]

Don't worry, I thought your post was very insightful and interesting. I'll keep those names in mind, though I can't promise I'll try them

And wow, the genre is truly huge, with many sub-genres and stuff. It'd be nice to start liking these kind of games, so maybe it's just a matter of finding one that clicks with me. Maybe DAO will be the one, hopefully.

There's an annoying section called the Fade, if you too find it insufferable, there's a mod that could remove that.

 

[Rickenslacker]

btw bioshock infinite's story was worse than its gameplay and its gameplay was so bad that I enjoyed watching LPs more than actually playing
just saying
#truthfacts

 

[RionaaM]

There's an annoying section called the Fade, if you too find it insufferable, there's a mod that could remove that.

So you could say the mod will make it... Fade Away.


Thank you, you've been a great audience!

 

[Stallion Free]

Ooo nice Playfire has a couple rewards for Halo: Spartan Assault which comes out at some point today.

 

[Atraveller]

So you could say the mod will make it... Fade Away.


Thank you, you've been a great audience!

hehe

Actually the title of the OT is "Letting The Fade fade out of memory".

 

[spindoctor]

*smug face*

Sad that I don't have more people populating that list though.

 

[MMBosstones86]

cramming a bunch of exposition in the last 15 minutesdoes not make for good storytellubg. the story itself was ok, but it wasn't told well at all.

I agree on the rushed ending, but the story until there was fine. I'm not saying its some pinnacle or anything, but calling it shit is a bit much.

Yeah, the story in Bioshock Infinite was exactly that. lol

oh come on....

As part of my closing thoughts on Tomb Raider in the OT I said that if CD did away with all the other close to pointless weapons the game throws at you (even more so towards the end) and just focused on the bow and the pistol the game could really stood out a lot more. Maybe work some puzzle or traversals systems in to the mechanics with the bow instead of the tired same one puzzle formula tombs.

Completely agree, I really only used the other weapons to get the achievements and then went back to bow and pistol

btw bioshock infinite's story was worse than its gameplay and its gameplay was so bad that I enjoyed watching LPs more than actually playing
just saying
#truthfacts

You've played BioInf but not Deus Ex or SS2?

 

[wetflame]

*smug face*

Sad that I don't have more people populating that list though.

I only had 2 on my list too, although I'm sure more people than that have the game.

 

[Amzin]

I definitely don't get the hate for Infinite. It played far better than the first two, and while the story wasn't quite as good as the first one, it also didn't have the dragging-on the first Bioshock had after what probably should have been the actual ending. The story and world of Infinite was still interesting. Obviously that's a matter of taste but that's also why it's dumb to call it shit

 

[JaseC]

I love how Valve claims that the restrictions are set by publishers, and publishers say it's Valve.

Frankly, I'm inclined to think MS is feigning innocence. For one, we know that region-locked subs aren't made by default*, as exampled by, say, Strategy First's version of Infected that appeared a few days ago and lasted 10mins; secondly, Valve's little experiment earlier in the year that saw it impose the gifting/trading restriction upon a handful of games was reversed by all but Ubisoft (South Park) and Whoever-devs-Hawken (Hawken). Something is fishy.

* Yes, I said otherwise on the AoM hub, but that was just for the sake of discussion.

Question about the Playfire rewards, if I already have the achievements, do I have to boot the game before I get the rewards or something?
Seems like the rewards are kinda slow with updating and probably have missed out on a bunch of rewards but gotten others.

HI DUNDER.

 

[Levyne]

I just followed a guide for the Fade to make it over with faster. I had to set the difficulty to easy for the boss though. How shameful of me.

 

[jon bones]

I agree on the rushed ending, but the story until there was fine. I'm not saying its some pinnacle or anything, but calling it shit is a bit much.

i mean it wasn't "shit" but i can't call it "good"

there was a real lack of characterization, especially with elizabeth. it had some great concepts but never leveraged them to any great effect. i feel like it could have been good with a lot of editing and some rewrites but as is, it's merely an "ok" story. i also think the whole thing is 5 hours too long.

 

[Freedom = $1.05]

i mean it wasn't "shit" but i can't call it "good"

there was a real lack of characterization, especially with elizabeth. it had some great concepts but never leveraged them to any great effect. i feel like it could have been good with a lot of editing and some rewrites but as is, it's merely an "ok" story

Weirdly enough, the narrative smells of being rushed and underdeveloped, which is kinda nuts for a game that had 5 years in the oven.

 

[NaM]

Frankly, I'm inclined to think MS is feigning innocence. For one, we know that region-locked subs aren't made by default*, as exampled by, say, Strategy First's version of Infected that appeared a few days ago and lasted 10mins; secondly, Valve's little experiment earlier in the year that saw it impose the gifting/trading restriction upon a handful of games was reversed by all but Ubisoft (South Park) and Whoever-devs-Hawken (Hawken). Something is fishy.

Who is more affected by regional restrictions, Valve or the publishers? That's your answer right there.

 

[JaseC]

*smug face*



Sad that I don't have more people populating that list though.

It's okay, Salsa will edge ahead when the game is ported to the 3DS. Just you wait!

Who is more affected by regional restrictions, Valve or the publishers? That's your answer right there.

Well, Valve. I mean, if Valve insists upon restricting store subs yet allows publishers to sell region-free keys at no cost... where are people going to go? Insisting upon region locks by default and hoping publishers won't make their own region-free subs for sales outside of Steam is, well, dumb. And Valve isn't dumb.

I'm not addressing you here, but speaking from an observational perspective, the notion that publishers don't have control over their own subs that pertain to their own games is ludicrous -- we recently saw the Age of Wonders 3 developers remove the OARIC flag from the RU sub, for example, well before the game unlocked. Valve can recommend actions, as it has in the past, but the final say rests upon the will of the publisher.