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STEAM | September II 2014 - Ride the Lightning

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R

RavenValor95

Member
fspm said:
I liked fear and fear 2 but 3 is a mediocre low budget fps and fxaa cannot be disabled which makes it even worse - blurry mess. Can't say anything about coop.
Click to expand...
Coop is the only way to experience FEAR 3, because anything with a friend can be enjoyable, even watching paint dry.

But Fear 3 on the easiest difficulty setting with a friend is just a fun game to laugh at and make jokes about stuff like how Paxton Fettel has enough of a physical presence to be hurt by guns but not enough of one to pick up and use one.
 
C

Chariot

Member
Teeth said:
I would even say that the predator parts inside buildings are some of the best in the series. The combat is about on par (with positives in the direction of throwing a ton of guys at you at once and tightening up the counter timing, but on the negative side, giving you a weapon that trivializes fights about 2/3 through the game). I never do the Riddler stuff so I can't really comment on that.

The traversal is definitely worse than City, with tons of buildings that have no grapple points. Also splitting the map over two islands can lead to some tedious flying times.

To me, the biggest let down is the art design. All the beautiful intricate detail and ghoulish colours of the Rocksteady games are bled dry to a palette of white, grey, and black. All of the ramshackle mess of every corner of the previous games is cleaned up to uniform brick textures and metal grates. The interiors fare way better, looking at least as good as a Rocksteady B-team. Most people seem to like the toned down versions of the bat villains and especially Batman himself, but I feel like they all lack flavour. Like they were created by an outsourced modelling company to bland concept art. I liked the freaks and goons of the Rocksteady games.

Also, the tier B level bat villains aren't as iconic or interesting either. Anarky, Black Mask, Deathstroke, and the final villain are all good, but ones like the cyber guy are just lame, even if they are decently fun to fight.

That said, it was good fun overall. I didn't experience any bugs, but I know that is mostly just because I got lucky (and played it late).
Click to expand...
Good post.
I am in full agreement - well, almost. I think especially Black Mask was played down.
I am so sick of Joker, although he was very good in Origins. But seriously, I was excited for some real Black Mask action.
 
D

Deques

Member
Yesterday I finished Steamworld Dig. The game started slow and repetitive, but after gaining new skills and upgrades it got more fun and faster.

za0obkN.png


Not sure if I want to go for the other achievements. I want to 100% it though...
 
D

DocSeuss

Member
Origins is, despite being buggy, a better game than City. Its combat is better, but flows differently--people playing it like City's groove have a hard time slipping in. Likewise, its story is better, but, again, flows differently. City's not nearly as well-written, and doesn't really experience any real arcs--Origins does.
 
G

Gipsy Danger

Member
Deques said:
Yesterday I finished Steamworld Dig. The game started slow and repetitive, but after gaining new skills and upgrades it got more fun and faster.

za0obkN.png


Not sure if I want to go for the other achievements. I want to 100% it though...
Click to expand...

I was playing through it, got about an hour in but I just find it extremely repetitive. At what point would you say it opens up and becomes more fun? I might just push through.
 
A

aku:jiki

Member
Deques said:
Not sure if I want to go for the other achievements. I want to 100% it though...
Click to expand...
I really wanted to do it too but the one for getting all stars in one playthrough sounds like a real pain, so I bailed. I'm way too lazy with getting these 100%'s on Steam...

Gipsy Danger said:
I was playing through it, got about an hour in but I just find it extremely repetitive. At what point would you say it opens up and becomes more fun? I might just push through.
Click to expand...
The gameplay never changes, you just get more efficient drills and pickaxes and stuff and can move around faster. It's a gradual change as you buy more upgrades, not like you hit a certain area and everything changes.
 
D

Deques

Member
Gipsy Danger said:
I was playing through it, got about an hour in but I just find it extremely repetitive. At what point would you say it opens up and becomes more fun? I might just push through.
Click to expand...

I have to say when I got the double jump ability and the power punch ability it got more fun.
 
T

Teeth

Member
Chariot said:
Good post.
I am in full agreement - well, almost. I think especially Black Mask was played down.
I am so sick of Joker, although he was very good in Origins. But seriously, I was excited for some real Black Mask action.
Click to expand...

So, the thing is, they showed the spoilered guy in pre-release videos a whole bunch. The story bits with him weren't exactly obvious, but they were a let down in a climax sense.

That said, I have no affinity for Black Mask, and the little Origin Beta story they threw in for the final villain was cool (even if they mostly lifted it from the comics, which i've never read).

I also forgot to mention the QTE-esque traversal portions near the end of the game are horrifically bad. The clarity of what you can land on/grapple to/climb on is terrible and it leads to some really awful on rails hit-the-right-button-or-die "platforming". But again, it's a small portion of an otherwise decent game.

A lot of this just feels like listing a bunch of negatives, but I feel like if you've played a Batman Arkham ____ game, you know what they are like (and that they are good)...so here's the parts that aren't as good. Everything else is good.

Oh, and the newly added detective parts are hand-held to the point of becoming interactive cut scenes. Basically zero actual detective work or puzzle solving or gameplay, really, involved.

But still.....good game overall!

Gipsy Danger said:
I was playing through it, got about an hour in but I just find it extremely repetitive. At what point would you say it opens up and becomes more fun? I might just push through.
Click to expand...

It never opens up. By the time you get a better drill, the rocks get harder, so they take just as long to get through. It's like someone thought the level scaling of Oblivion would work in any situation and made a platforming ability out of it.

There are basically no enemies that are entertaining to fight (they just walk back and forth) and only the most tenuous resemblances to puzzles.

You just drill down. The whole game. Then you get a fetch quest to go back through the levels you previously finished.

There are no advanced techniques to master, no better drilling strategies, no real enemies to overcome or patterns to learn. It is the most rote game i've played in years.
 
G

Gipsy Danger

Member
Deques said:
I have to say when I got the double jump ability and the power punch ability it got more fun.
Click to expand...

Oh. I already have those. :(

Teeth said:
So, the thing is, they showed the spoilered guy in pre-release videos a whole bunch. The story bits with him weren't exactly obvious, but they were a let down in a climax sense.

That said, I have no affinity for Black Mask, and the little Origin Beta story they threw in for the final villain was cool (even if they mostly lifted it from the comics, which i've never read).

I also forgot to mention the QTE-esque traversal portions near the end of the game are horrifically bad. The clarity of what you can land on/grapple to/climb on is terrible and it leads to some really awful on rails hit-the-right-button-or-die "platforming". But again, it's a small portion of an otherwise decent game.

A lot of this just feels like listing a bunch of negatives, but I feel like if you've played a Batman Arkham ____ game, you know what they are like (and that they are good)...so here's the parts that aren't as good. Everything else is good.

Oh, and the newly added detective parts are hand-held to the point of becoming interactive cut scenes. Basically zero actual detective work or puzzle solving or gameplay, really, involved.

But still.....good game overall!
Click to expand...

Oranges is a great game. But they ruined
Knightfall
and for that I cannot forgive.

Just kidding, but it was a pretty poor adaptation.
 
D

Dr Dogg

Member
Rhaknar said:
anyone know any good reliable european stores to buy computer components that ships within europe?

the ones here seem terribly outdated

*new computer to play new steam games to stay on topic >_>
Click to expand...

Well that's a bit of tricky question regards to reliable but for price most of the major German retailers are hard to beat but really what I tend to do is look for components from companies I trust and manufactures that have an RMA centre either in my country or not too far away. The various European arms of Amazon have some corking customer service some Amazon.es might be worth a shout as with most components you can use them to cover your warranty.
 
9

969

Member
dante81 said:
Did any of you guys enjoy F.3.A.R? I'm pondering whether I should add it to my Steam list(and play it) or give it away. The first F.E.A.R is my fave and the firefights are some of the greatest of all time, and the sequel has it's merits(played on PS3 in 2009) with a rather disturbing ending(understatement).

This one has a lot of negativity surrounding it due to supposed lack of scares. I've always wanted to play as Paxton Fettel, though, and is the coop a fun experience? I watched a bit of the DSP video, and boy does that guy curse up a storm.
Click to expand...

I found F.3.A.R to be very enjoyable although i am in the minority regarding my opinion on the F.E.A.R games. To provide a bit of context i played each one of them on release at maximum settings (+EAX enabled on the 1st game) ,at night only and with the volume turned up. Even though i consider all of the F.E.A.R games to be some of the best fps released i prefered the 2nd one to the 1st.

The only jumpscare that did it for me in the 1st game was the 1st encounter with Fettel. Other than that i found that the game followed a certain pattern that went like empty room -> jumpscare -> raid and point man was armed to the teeth so i wasn't afraid of anything even on the highest difficulty. My main gripe with the 1st game was the setting. Going through all these offices all the time felt like a chore and this is one of the areas that the sequels improve upon imo.

Now regarding F.3.A.R, there are various levels all of them with a different "theme". The weakest one for me was the Favela while some of the strongest were the appartment complex and the supermarket. Gunplay is still very strong and fluid; the assault rifle can dismember enemies, the penetrator is still in and the shotgun can peel an enemy's face off. The game feels more arcade-y with messages popping up as you complete challenges. There is also a mech level in the campaign and one in co-op multi where you get to pilot one of these beasts and wreak havoc. Playing as Fettel is another high point as you get to possess enemies, throw energy blasts at them or lift them up in the air and explode them into a bloody mist. You also have the choice to either extend your staying time in your current host by picking up the life essence of your enemies or you can materialize, exploding your host from within in the process, and pick another target to possess.

Finally each multi mode was very fun. Contractions was a bit like blops zombies. You have to barricade a certain spot and fight for survival until the wave ends. Then you have to go outside and pick up as many supply crates as possible. Once the wave starts a thick mist fills the stage so you have to be close to each other and at a safe spot as you won't be able to see far. In Fucking Run you have to keep running to escape a wall of death that keeps chasing you through the stage all the while trying to kill enemies and evade their fire. Soul king is the closest thing to FFA deathmatch in the game. You all spawn as wraiths and you start to possess and kill different enemies. Enemies drop point orbs that you'll have to pick up. If you get killed while in wraith form you drop all your points and at the end of the round the player with the most points wins. Finally in soul survivor the game starts as 1 vs 3 and the wraith player tries to kill and possess others while the human players try to stay alive.

Scare factor throughout the game was close to 0 for me but then again i don't find any of the F.E.A.R games scary.

Sry for the long post, i tried to provide as much info as possible.
 
F

FloatOn

Member
DillonMabry said:
Oh come on, being good at one game isn't going to make you good at every game. That's a hilariously weak retort.

Learn the timing. Don't push the button as soon as it's on screen. Be patient. And most important of all...

This. The line between a "prompt" and a "QTE" is a bit fuzzy, but there is a distinct difference.
Click to expand...

It's kind of lame I had to retort in the first place, generally I think of steamgaf as my safe place from troll-ish behavior. I was caught off guard by being accused of sucking.

I only brought up dark souls because it occurred to me that what they were trying to do with deathstroke, dark souls did much better with the artorias showdown.

I could regularly get deathstroke down to the last third of his health but by that time I would only have a couple ticks of health myself. And that is only because there were at least two of his combos where the prompt to counter wouldn't flash at all. I could record this to prove my point but I just don't care enough. The game was weaker than Arkham City which was a weaker Arkham Asylum. I really hope the next game corrects this downward spiral.
 
S

Servizio

I don't really need a tag, but I figured I'd get one to make people jealous. Is it working?
I'm not sure between City and Origins that I could say with confidence either of them is objectively better than the other. They're too similar for me to say one or the other is definitely improved over the other. Origins mostly feels different rather than better.

Subjectively, I prefer City far and way. I love me some The Animated Series Batman and that's City's inspiration through and through. Origins definitely feels more Nolan Batman, or a comic series I haven't read. Not bad at all but a lot less resonant.

I dunno. For less than ten bucks, they're all kind of amazing deals if you're fond of Batman at all, or punching cowardly and superstitious criminals in the face.
 
R

RavenValor95

Member
RealityExists said:
It's kind of lame I had to retort in the first place, generally I think of steamgaf as my safe place from troll-ish behavior. I was caught off guard by being accused of sucking.

I only brought up dark souls because it occurred to me that what they were trying to do with deathstroke, dark souls did much better with the artorias showdown.

I could regularly get deathstroke down to the last third of his health but by that time I would only have a couple ticks of health myself. And that is only because there were at least two of his combos where the prompt to counter wouldn't flash at all. I could record this to prove my point but I just don't care enough. The game was weaker than Arkham City which was a weaker Arkham Asylum. I really hope the next game corrects this downward spiral.
Click to expand...
The next game in the arkham franchise is still pretty bad, it tries to be a 2.5 metroidvania sort of thing, but the freeflow combat isn't as freeflowing in 2D as it is in 3D, and there's also these weird detective mode things where you have to use your mouse to highlight specific objects before you can interact with them(certain object can have explosive gel used on it, but wont explode until you highlight it and scan it)

i'm talking about Arkham origins: blackgate, I know you actually meant arkham knight when you said next game
 
D

DillonMabry

Banned
RealityExists said:
It's kind of lame I had to retort in the first place, generally I think of steamgaf as my safe place from troll-ish behavior. I was caught off guard by being accused of sucking.

I only brought up dark souls because it occurred to me that what they were trying to do with deathstroke, dark souls did much better with the artorias showdown.

I could regularly get deathstroke down to the last third of his health but by that time I would only have a couple ticks of health myself. And that is only because there were at least two of his combos where the prompt to counter wouldn't flash at all. I could record this to prove my point but I just don't care enough. The game was weaker than Arkham City which was a weaker Arkham Asylum. I really hope the next game corrects this downward spiral.
Click to expand...

"Suck" was a poor choice of words. I apologize for that. What I meant was that maybe you were bad at the game, rather than the game being bad.

I haven't actually gotten around to Dark Souls, waiting for them to gut GFWL, so I can't speak to that particular fight... But the point still stands. Entirely different engines, mechanics, just entirely different games. Just because you're good at one game, doesn't mean you'll be good at all of them, even if there are similarities, and it doesn't mean one game did it better than the other.

Unless there was something completely broken for you in that fight, there are always indicators of when an enemy is going to attack, and if you know the timing, you'll be able to counter with relative ease. I know prompts cancel if you're button mashing or press too soon, so that could be a problem here... Again, it's all about timing. I would say that depending completely on prompts, and having bad timing makes you bad at the game, it doesn't make the game bad when it doesn't hold your hand all of the time.

Like I said, my intent wasn't to attack you, just point out that it could be you at fault, not the game. The game is solid, and I'll defend it.
 
D

DocSeuss

Member
Servizio said:
I'm not sure between City and Origins that I could say with confidence either of them is objectively better than the other. They're too similar for me to say one or the other is definitely improved over the other. Origins mostly feels different rather than better.

Subjectively, I prefer City far and way. I love me some The Animated Series Batman and that's City's inspiration through and through. Origins definitely feels more Nolan Batman, or a comic series I haven't read. Not bad at all but a lot less resonant.

I dunno. For less than ten bucks, they're all kind of amazing deals if you're fond of Batman at all, or punching cowardly and superstitious criminals in the face.
Click to expand...

I think that it's not so much the writing that changes things--personally, I feel it still leans towards TAS than Nolan's terrible writing choices--but the voice acting. It isn't Conroy and Hamill.
 
D

Deques

Member
Atraveller said:
Question to those who upgraded to 900 series: What did you do with your old cards?
Click to expand...

Seems to be interesting to know that. Is the old card going to garbage bin or are they resold to other people?

Btw, Atraveller. I seem not to have you in my Steam friend list, so I added you
 
A

Arthea

Member
Tizoc said:
Wouldn't a new thread be better? I'd join but I'm already playing half a dozen games that I need to finish to go back to the other games I put on hold @_@
Click to expand...
not really, no, the plan was to have kind of a club there. There is no point in having a new thread every time we start a new game, and activity is low so far too.
 
G

Gipsy Danger

Member
DillonMabry said:
Like I said, my intent wasn't to attack you, just point out that it could be you at fault, not the game. The game is solid, and I'll defend it.
Click to expand...

Maybe it's just me but that Deathstroke fight was one of my favourite parts of the game. I thought it was super cool and it was exactly what I thought a fight between the two would be. I was just super gutted that
you didn't get to fight him again, even though it felt like the game was leading up to that :(
 
J

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
Atraveller said:
Question to those who upgraded to 900 series: What did you do with your old cards?
Click to expand...

I haven't upgraded yet but I intend to keep my generic 670 for PhysX (the EVGA one I'll sell as it still has roughly a year left on its warranty period), although it won't be used right away as it'd have to go in a 4x slot, which would be too constrictive. Spending money on a PhysX card isn't something I'd recommend, however keeping an old one around isn't a bad idea:

Assassins_Creed_Black_Flag_Physx_pcgh_1.png

From top to bottom: PhysX off, PhysX high + GT 640, PhysX low, PhysX high
 
M

Milamber

Member
CyanideFuse said:
I suppose it depends on how old the card is. What one do you have?
Click to expand...

I had an 8800 GTX that I put in my office PC for my Kerbals, after that my old GTX 460 overclocked in my other PC for my "games" and my current PC has my 770 GTX for everything else. Will probably change it for a XX70 GTX or some sort 2 generations from now.
 
A

Atraveller

Banned
JaseC said:
I haven't upgraded yet but I intend to keep my generic 670 for PhysX (the EVGA one I'll sell as it still has roughly a year left on its warranty period), although it won't be used right away as it'd have to go in a 4x slot, which would be too constrictive. Spending money on a PhysX card isn't something I'd recommend, however keeping an old one around isn't a bad idea:

Assassins_Creed_Black_Flag_Physx_pcgh_1.png

From top to bottom: PhysX off, PhysX high + GT 640, PhysX low, PhysX high
Click to expand...
That's actually a pretty good idea, too bad I can't do any SLI, kind of cheaped out when I was choosing my MB, got a B85, my Xeon can't be overclocked anyway.
 
C

CyanideFuse

Member
kudoboi said:
i havnt bought a 970 but when i do, id probably throw away my HD7870
Click to expand...

Perhaps you could give it away. Isn't there a thread for giving stuff away on GAF? It might be an oldish card but someone might have use for it.

I have an R7 265 that would be replaced by my 670 if I do go ahead with a 970. The 970 would then go in the main PC. I have kept a watch on a couple of cards on Ebay to get an idea of what a card like this would sell for in the UK seeing as it is newish.
 
derExperte

derExperte

Member
doctorcdcs said:
So, if I were to sign the form that valve asks me to fill out, I don't have to worry that something along the lines of valve/IRS notifying the CRA (Canadian revenue agency) that I am indeed getting some sort of income (even though it'll amount to about maybe $20 if I'm lucky) as part of their procedure?

I'm taking student assistance to pay for my student tuition and I declared that I'm receiving no income whatsoever (they check my taxes to make sure that I am indeed not receiving anything). I know it sounds silly when reading the question, but I have to make sure.
Click to expand...

Read the FAQ: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=6088-UDXM-7214#addldocsemail

And if you're not US and never bought something using an US address* you'll get unlocked immediately. *If you did you'll have to send them proof you're a foreigner but the only thing that'll happen is that someone will confirm the documents are legit, there's been zero evidence that Valve will contact any foreign tax agencies.
 
J

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
doctorcdcs said:
So, if I were to sign the form that valve asks me to fill out, I don't have to worry that something along the lines of valve/IRS notifying the CRA (Canadian revenue agency) that I am indeed getting some sort of income (even though it'll amount to about maybe $20 if I'm lucky) as part of their procedure?

I'm taking student assistance to pay for my student tuition and I declared that I'm receiving no income whatsoever (they check my taxes to make sure that I am indeed not receiving anything). I know it sounds silly when reading the question, but I have to make sure.
Click to expand...

No. Canada isn't the US. ;) Even if you were living in the US and submitted your information, Valve doesn't actually ask you to fill out a 1099-K form unless you hit $20k in sales for the calendar year, which, given the context (the Steam Market), is a stupidly high amount -- and just to be super-duper clear, non-US users don't have to worry about submitting any "sensitive" information at all, even after exceeding the aforementioned $20k threshold.
 
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