Automan?

No, not Automan, but the same-ish era. I thought Automan was cool.

_{(Sue me. I was twelve. Yes, I liked fucking Airwolf, too.)}

Edit: I think the guy needed to be charged up or he'd die or something. It's so fuzzy it's maddening.

Edit2: Maybe I'm mixing up The Phoenix with some other shows...?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: colin,

Why the fuck do I keep playing A&A games?

Bought Neverwinter Nights 2 for a twenty.

Seriously, I keep forgetting these games aren't fucking fun. I have a processor that can do a huge amount of complex maths on the fly, yet A&A rules just bust it down to the equivalent of a half-dozen sweaty, neck-bearded, Dorito-stained, anime-watching nerds arguing in a basement.

"No. You may not attack now- because it's not your turn."

Man, shoulda listened to Joel...

At least you can now shift alignment, without the back-arsewards rule that you're not allowed to be humanly fallible of the old rulesets.

Ah well, maybe I'll bust out the cheats tonight.

inFAMOUS feels more and more like a cross between GTA (sandbox city) and The Force Unleashed (superpowers, especially lightning bolts).
It really is a lot of fun.

I have mixed feelings about the announcement for Left 4 Dead 2 : TF2-style patching and new maps would have been appreciated, instead of having to pay the price of a whole new game.
I really hope the new content will justify this cost.

The article I read mentioned they were overhauling the AI Director system for L4D2 among other things. So it's not just new maps and models....

Mass Effect. Picked it up for $30 at an EB sale.

I think I'm gonna like this game. A lot.

(More or less) great voice acting, and the cutscene work is something special - actually feels like I'm playing a movie. There's enough science fiction mixed into the sci-fi to keep the game (relatively) smart, at least smart enough for a game that stuntcasts Lance Henriksen and Seth Green (although they both do an excellent job). Jennifer Hale, still kicking arse. Should found room for Terri Brosius in there, though...

Seems good so far. The hi-res textures are definitely worth it. Gameplay's nice - it's not a calculus simulator like every other game Bioware's put out - but there's enough action, with enough RPG-esque variables that have been rightly simplified for the digital environment - and the characters, for now, seem to be genuinely interesting, rather than orcs-and-trolls-and-elves-in-space.

Seems brilliant enough. Unfortunately, I don't have a net connection, so I had to get a crack...ah, ViTALITY, RAZOR1911, RELOADED...bless you all. Funny how it's actually harder to get the game to run when you've purchased it legally.

Bought Alien Shooter, Alien Shooter Revisited, Alien Shooter 2 and Zombie Shooter on Steam for $15. It's mindless fun with lots of gore. Takes me back to a simpler time.

quote:

It's mindless fun with lots of gore.

This got my brain thinking about violence in video games (probably cause I've started designing a few new games, only one of which does not involve hurting or destroying enemies). New point for discussion:

How does everyone feel about all that gore and pain inherent in so many games? Why does it seem so necessary to make so many games that could be labeled "violence simulators" for lack of a better term? Is it just wired into our little monkey brains to think blowing enemies into gorey gooey bits is fun?

In contrast, what is your favorite NON-violent game?

Outsider perspective here.
My son (sixteen now) went from being a Myst devote at the tender age of twelve or so (a game he still speaks fondly of) (and keeps up with the creator of that work on line in hope of something new) to becoming a fan of games requiring faster reflexes different strategeries.
There is a delight in the violent games now though he is in no way desensitized to meanness nor violence. He plays games like The Halos’ and Mass Effect, more Halo, and a little Calling of the Duties thrown in here and there.
After reading the Max brooks Zombie Guides a few years ago he took an interest in Left for Dead, I am more often than I care to be enlightened that these are not to be confused with the Brooks’ style of Zombie but still fun zombies notwithstanding.
Plot and back-story are real factors for him, he likes Assassins Creed rather too much. I think Story as well as acquiring abilities appeals to him-
If there were a Joseph Campbell Hero Of A Thousand Faces inspired Video game with elements of Myst and Creed thrown in, splendid imagery and such he would likely really go for that.
But, what do I know, I need to focus when he goes into one of those gamer type monologues, as I tend tune out when he starts in, but if I rally and ask intelligent questions the tone of his discourse changes a bit. He likes a puzzle that requires fast action on his part, if it appeals to his sensibilities as well then all the better… Yeah I think he would still go for a non-violent game, how would you inspire an adrenaline rush though?

That adrenaline rush is the key, I think. Instead of calling them violence simulators, you could call them excitement generators. Most games try to be exciting, and one kind of excitement comes from the threat of violence, and the defeat of that threat (most often by returned violence). Sports games come at it from a slightly different angle, but related, I think.

I think over-the-top gore often helps players enjoy the game by clearly separating it from reality. I recall one of the aspects of the original Half Life that stuck with me was the way the soldiers would choke and gasp as they died. That's getting close to disturbingly real for some people, I think, and it helped give the game a darker and more horrific atmosphere. I think that's appropriate for a more adult-themed game. Fun, less serious (but still violent) games tend to feature enemies that explode into bloody chunks rather than linger and force you to realize they feel any kind of pain (or a simulation thereof).

Best non-violent game? Tetris still wins for me.

Like I said, I bought Zen Pinball a couple week ago. Still really, really enjoying it! I have almost gotten to where I know one of the tables well, but there are 3 more that I am practically clueless at. Excellent value for $10! Gotta try and get online with some other people and play a few rounds too.

GTA4 proceeds apace. Working for new and interesting people, all of whom want me to meet other new and interesting people and kill them.

Holy shit, 25 years.

Maybe telling that the only games I've played in the last (edited) years are basic Tetris clones, racing simulators and this: Kiki the NanoBot, an addictive 3D Sokoban-like puzzle.

I don't think games need to be violent to be good. I mean, I love Peggle, which has Unicorns shooting rainbows out their asses. But a game that does have over the top violence does catch my eye a lot easier.

Maybe violence is just inherently entertaining, particularly when actual personal harm is taken out of the equation.

I think I've said before that the Looking Glass games such as Thief I, II and III, Deus Ex and System Shock 2 are cool because they can include violence but the narrative militates quite strongly against it. In Thief, for example, the Expert level is the hardest, and you can't kill anyone at all. I've played through Deus Ex and only killed one person, although someone has since told me there's a way to avoid that too. Preaching against violence doesn't really work, and neither does banning it, but making avoiding it a matter of skill and finesse and style within the game's world is kinda cool.

We're still enjoying our re=play of Dungeon Siege 2. You get the feeling that they actually decided to get rid of everything annoying out of RPGs - like the fact that pressing the Z key just picks up all the treasure on the ground with one move instead of having to click on each piece. There are lots of little touches like that.

I just beat King Hippo playing the new Nintendo Punch Out.

You know, this game actually is pretty fun. They're onto something here.

And it gets difficult pretty quickly - the timing can be really tricky.

quote:

Originally posted by Bravus:
I think I've said before that the Looking Glass games such as Thief I, II and III, Deus Ex...

[pedant]Deus Ex was Ion Storm Austin, Bravus.*[/pedant]

Bad Bravus! No biscuit!

It's a rare treasure, a game like that. Mass Effect's has some dialogue options that will get you out of a fight; however, since there's not many options for sneaking, it feels more like Planescape: Torment, rather than Deus Ex.

The amount of dialogue recorded for ME is amazing. And it's not shit-boring like Oblivion's, it's genuinely interesting. Definitely up there with Deus Ex. And the character design's as interesting as Planescape's.

Maybe that's one reason I can't stand "traditional" (ie, A&A) RPGs - a bunch of Yank-accented characters talking with affected pseudo-Middle-English diction.

_{*Of course, Deus Ex's heritage shows. And Warren Spector's.}

What's up with ads for that game PROTOTYPE? Looks just like Assassin's Creed.....

I've been buzzing round the "Big Surf Island" add-on to Burnout Paradise. You would not believe the number of references to British television they've worked in to the thing. There's a rather cute Blade Runner reference, too:



Great fun.

best,
Chris H

Tried some random flash game out yesterday. Can't recall the name, but basically you have a view of a 3D cube, divided into square regions on each face and you have to connect to similar colored squares to one another without blocking access between the other similar differently colored squares. You only deal with the three facing faces of the cube (basically you're looking at one corner's three faces and ignoring the rest of the cube....)