The Gaming Postwhoring Thread

[maruda]

Now playing Murdered: Soul Suspect with some COD: Advanced Warfare Exo-Survival on the side.

[Tuffty]

So I do agree that it depends on the game. Something open-world like MGS5 would be open to questioning about the mechanics, but Super Mario Maker I think lends itself better to an informed opinion even if all someone did was watch it being played. Now I think about it, it also depends on who played it and whether the viewer has some sort of connection of the person or just randomly watched someone play it.

You're absolutely right about that. Going back to my TLOU example if I had watched someone else do it with a guns blazing approach (which is totally valid), I might never have known you can rely on stealth a lot (also equally valid) and to me I get more pleasure out of doing the latter. Had I seen the former approach my opinion of the game might change and indeed had I not played it at all, I would have missed out on some of the best experiences of playing a game yet. I guess that's what I'm trying to get at, sometimes people are so quick to judge based on watching a playthrough rather than playing the game that they too could be missing out on these experiences or games. Another example, when I first saw Dark Souls I thought it looked too obscure, too obtuse and far too difficult for me to enjoy. But I took a chance on it one day after seeing it on sale and sure enough it became one of my favourite games of all time. Some games demo better than others I guess.

I hope I didn't come across too judgemental in my previous post. I would be a hypocrite for saying playthroughs can't influence opinion because I know my initial impressions of a game are based around watching footage from a mixture of professional sites as well as some youtube people. I've seen enough of Undertale to know that it's super charming and funny and a great game to play but just enough for me to know I would be better experiencing it for myself. Video games are weird

Defeated the Loran Darkbeast in Bloodborne earlier. Was my white whale for a time, but like most Bloodborne bosses, you need to work out a strategy and commit to it so the execution is perfect. I switched up my weapons and armor too so I could have more of an edge in the fight, something almost essential for any boss in this game. So unbelievably satisfying to finally do it, there's no other experience like it.

Recorded some gameplay from myself which shows off a lot of what Battlefront has to offer.

[thatonezombie]

^ I don't think you were judgmental at all. You had an interesting question and we are engaging in it.

The collaborative nature of video games is what makes it compelling. I don't say interactive because watching a movie or listening to music is a different type of interaction than video games but still is a form of it. The fact that a story only moves when you make it so is unique to video games. You can cover your eyes during Cabin in the Woods, but the movie keeps going. In Resident Evil 4, Leon only saves Ashley when you make him get to that point.

But with the rise of streaming video games, we are taking a collaborative art and making it public. We can now see someone take Leon and watch them protect Ashley. Does that mean the viewer is part of the collaboration? Does that mean someone can pass judgment on a game they haven't physically played? These are the type of questions we are having to think about. I think it's pretty cool that we are seeing how this medium is changing.

[shirenuファクトリー]

Saw an interesting question posed elsewhere which was 'Do you think watching a Youtube playthrough entitle you to determine if the game is bad?'

Maybe I can pitch in here, since as a cowardly person, most horror games I have ONLY experienced by watching them on YouTube. And Last of Us + Heavy Rain because I don't have the right console for them

I actually have a list of the ones I've seen (holy shit that is a lot of hours):
Silent Hill 1, 2 & 3
Clock Tower 3
Cryostasis
Call of Cthulhu
Rule of Rose
F.E.A.R.
Comdemned: Criminal Origins
Siren
Thief 3 enter the cradle level
Heavy Rain (well, only one playthrough)
Amnesia
Dead Space
Dead Space 2
System Shock 2
The Last of Us
Penumbra Overture: Episode 1
Penumbra: Black Plague

Based on all this 'experience' (lol) my answer would be NO, you can't determine if a game is good or bad if you watch a playthrough. You can determine if the story is bad, perhaps, but in the end it's about the overall experience. I don't remember a lot of stuff from these games anymore because I only watched them. If people talk about the games, I don't feel like I can pitch in because I have a very shallow knowledge of them. And for me, the whole point in watching the horror games on YouTube is that the effect of watching is not nearly as intense as playing them. If it was, I wouldn't be even able to watch them. The time I remember feeling most anxious watching something is not even listed here (Scarecrow in Arkham Asylum, when Batman is hiding from his gaze). Heee...

Also a lot of games that are great to play are not great to watch. o-o Watching a game with a lot of combat scenes (some of the games above have those, too) is a very dull experience, and a lot of the time I was multitasking instead of intensely engaging with the video... It takes an extremely skilled and experienced player to do even combat in a way that is entertaining. Oh and of course, none of the playthroughs I watched had commentary.

I have to admit tho, with a game like Rule of Rose it was possible to tell that the controls were clunky simply from watching it, and I think some things like that can be picked up from watching. But watching is so not the same thing as playing >_<

[vlinorman]

Finished Resident Evil 6. Not bad per se, but way too many annoyances to make it good. I give it a 5/10.

- no way to pause the game at all
- overly long chapters combined with too few savepoints
- way too many annoying QTE and nonsensical cinematic sequences
- weird lighting; I had to almost max out the brightness setting just to be able to see anything
- bad FOV
- forced vehicle sections
- too many reliances on instances where enemies spawn non stop out of nowhere
- some incredibly annoying enemies and bosses you are forced to fight over and over again

I did not like any of the campaigns much, except for Ada's and Leon's.

Chris campaign was a cheap third person Call of Duty knockoff. Wesker Jr campaign was annoying with the Nemesis ripoff sections.

[maruda]

Finished Murdered: Soul Suspect. Next game to play is Remember Me.

- no way to pause the game at all
- way too many annoying QTE
- bad FOV

They can be changed in the settings.

If the network selection is set to "Playstation Network", your game will be treated like an online co-op session, even when you're playing solo and set the partner join setting to "don't allow", meaning you won't be able to pause the game.

You can set the auto action button setting to "on" which means even if you fail a cutscene/boss QTE, the games acts like you got it right. I don't it works on regular/common QTEs, like escaping a zombie grab.

You can widen your field-of-view in the camera settings. There are three settings: default, FOV while aiming, and position while aiming.

[coachie]

Started with Witcher 2 at the Weekend.
I love the world painted in the Witcher, dark and gritty and nothing is black or White. One of These days I want to start with the books.
Only downside is the combat, I'm really bad at it, so bad that I couldn't properly finish the tutorial and the game is like  " you know what? do us both a favour and Play on easy!"
The lock on Feature is completely useless to me. Whats the Point of lock on when as soon as you move your character, he Shows his back to the attacking enemy. Thank you, very helpful. I might aswell put "defend" on the lock on button instead, because that is what I want to press all the time anyway.
So far I'm fighting more with the controls than with the enemy.
And the camera is always too Close for my liking.

Playing on easy makes me feel like a loser

[hackata48]

Started with Witcher 2 at the Weekend.
I love the world painted in the Witcher, dark and gritty and nothing is black or White. One of These days I want to start with the books.
Only downside is the combat, I'm really bad at it, so bad that I couldn't properly finish the tutorial and the game is like  " you know what? do us both a favour and Play on easy!"
The lock on Feature is completely useless to me. Whats the Point of lock on when as soon as you move your character, he Shows his back to the attacking enemy. Thank you, very helpful. I might aswell put "defend" on the lock on button instead, because that is what I want to press all the time anyway.
So far I'm fighting more with the controls than with the enemy.
And the camera is always too Close for my liking.

Playing on easy makes me feel like a loser

I can relate! The lake boss was probably the hardest boss I have ever fought. Those tentacles just come in so fast and hard! And I was playing it on Easy

[Tuffty]

Witcher's combat is pretty divisive, you hate it or like it, no inbetween! My advice is to rely on using Quen a lot, it'll take a few hits from enemies for you. It's not possible to max Geralt out so I would focus on 1 or 2 skill trees to put points into, my advice being for Swordsmanship and Magic. Think there's definitely some skills you should be working towards like Enhanced Quen or the ability to block from all directions. It does feel like you're in a disadvantage at the beginning but as you gain levels you'll start to notice yourself having an easier time.

I cracked and bought Transformers Devastation. It's a game made by Platinum Games, how could I not? Sure enough, it looks good, sounds even better and plays the best. Like a glorious match of the melee combat from Bayonetta (witch time included), the ranged combat of Vanquish and the parrying from Revengeance. Also the first instance of a game made by Platinum that uses a loot mechanic system as if the actual game itself wasn't appealing enough they had to throw in some meta game systems there too to fuel my desire for better weapons, improve them by fusing them with other weapons and crafting accessories that grant stat bonuses like a higher chance of dropping rare loot. What a wonderful little surprise of a game. It's a proper video game that knows what exactly what it is and I love that about it.

[vlinorman]

Geralt is supposed to be one of the best swordsmen in the world, yet at the start of every game he's a n00b.

It worked at the beginning of the first game, but really not in the sequels. It's the so called "ludonarrative dissonance".

Imo there's nothing wrong with being powerful at the beginning especially when your character is based on a book character.

[Tuffty]

It's still a game and an RPG at the end of the day, gotta have something to work towards as you're playing a game that will last dozens of hours otherwise. I get what you're saying about Geralt but I dunno, it seems fine to me. That badass still comes across in cutscenes even if it doesn't always look that way when you're getting to learn the combat system in your first few hours. If anything, the books kind of limit how far you can take Geralt, as a Witcher he only knows basic magic so you only ever have those same spells, he has to use the steel and silver swords and nothing else...It doesn't offer the same creative freedom to build your character as say Dragon Age or Skyrim but I will gladly take that trade for a defined character as interesting as Geralt is.

I can think of far worse examples (Tomb Raider remake, GTA 4, Assassins Creed 2 & 3) for bad cases of ludonarrative dissonance.

[maruda]

Bought some stuff from PSN:
Sleeping Dogs: Year of the Snake
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 - Revelations
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate
Mass Effect 2: Arrival
Batman: Arkham Origins - Cold, Cold Heart
Rain

Finished the first two on the list. About to play Mirror of Fate.

[scorn]

Started with Witcher 2 at the Weekend.
I love the world painted in the Witcher, dark and gritty and nothing is black or White. One of These days I want to start with the books.
Only downside is the combat, I'm really bad at it, so bad that I couldn't properly finish the tutorial and the game is like  " you know what? do us both a favour and Play on easy!"
The lock on Feature is completely useless to me. Whats the Point of lock on when as soon as you move your character, he Shows his back to the attacking enemy. Thank you, very helpful. I might aswell put "defend" on the lock on button instead, because that is what I want to press all the time anyway.
So far I'm fighting more with the controls than with the enemy.
And the camera is always too Close for my liking.

This is why I never got into Witcher 2 (didn't experienced Witcher 1 before) & consequently never got caught up in the Witcher 3 hype.

[winner]

I felt Witcher 3's fighting mechanics were improved a lot. The movement, combo attacks/defend, magic and the left/right/back dodges all react quickly.
Maybe no drastic changes, but its more fluid and you feel more in control.
Witcher 2's controls instead felt clunky in places. Kinda like playing Geralt the robot. Honestly, the one thing I remember the most is rolling crazily all over the place to dodge.

The potion-making portion of the games I totally skipped. I don't care if it gives me total invincibility and ultimate manliness for an hour. I'm doing enough chores in the fetch missions. Last thing I want do in a game is to be a menu item-mixer guy.

[Tuffty]

^ Witcher 3's combat is definitely an improvement, all of the combat mechanics are solid from the get go, no needing to learn a skill to defend your back! I tap into alchemy a little bit just to enhance my swordsmanship and magic like making the potion to reduce the stamina cooldown so I can cast magic faster or apply some superior versions of an oil onto my blade to do 50% extra damage against this witcher contract against a wraith. What I think Witcher 3 doesn't do well in that respect is highlight where you can find alchemy ingredients. It's a massive open world and it isn't clear where you can find the ingredients you need. I thought it was going to be a huge pain point for me until I realised you can find an alchemist and 9 times out of 10 they will have the right ingredients to sell you for a few coins so it isn't so bad. Would have maybe liked it if for example, you could go to the world map and it was divided up by regions and hovering over them would tell you which herbs were available. Shadows of Mordor did that well. Anyway, it's one of a few gripes I have with what is one of my favourite games of the year and possibly on my all time list.

Good to see AC Syndicate getting good reviews. Victorian London was a setting I always wanted the series to do so it's nice to hear there's a good game there build around it. Sounds like an Assassins Creed game through and through and in a year where The Witcher 3 and MGSV really moved the goalposts in terms of what open world games can achieve, I would like to see the series formula get something of a revisit. As much as I like those games for what they are and always enjoy my annual murder spree through history, I guess I wouldn't be too upset if they announced the series was taking a break for a while either before fatigue really sets in, as I know it already has for a lot of people.

[hackata48]

Who plays Total War Attila?

My. Fave factions are:
Jutes (Vikings!)
Saxons (I like their helmets)
Franks (Ferocious as F)
Roman Expedition (Tagmata Nuff said)
Huns (Fire arrow Horse Cav. FTW)

I got my catchphrase from that game. All of my Vikings shall shout 'Te heta Hada WODA!'


My favorite tactic that I use for most factions is Hugs.
Heavy. units confront Infantry with skirmishes from my archers or Javelins.
And my Cav wrecks the Foot skirmishers and any stragglers before sealing the battle with a charge from the back.
I prefer using Spear armed Melee cav, Light or Medium Heavy Cav, and light Arrow and javelin Cav.

[scorn]

Good to see AC Syndicate getting good reviews. Victorian London was a setting I always wanted the series to do so it's nice to hear there's a good game there build around it. Sounds like an Assassins Creed game through and through and in a year where The Witcher 3 and MGSV really moved the goalposts in terms of what open world games can achieve, I would like to see the series formula get something of a revisit. As much as I like those games for what they are and always enjoy my annual murder spree through history, I guess I wouldn't be too upset if they announced the series was taking a break for a while either before fatigue really sets in, as I know it already has for a lot of people.

Hmm I dunno..the part I like about AC is the modern plot; at least before the main antagonist changed from the Templars to Ancient Ghost Goddess
And Unity is basically devoid of any modern plot so I don't have that high hopes for ACS

[Tuffty]

Apparently ACS is much the same in that regard so perhaps nothing to get too excited for there. I was interested in it to until how AC3 wrapped up, since then it feels like they're fumbling along, looking to continue a story with no end in sight. It seems like even they don't know.

[coachie]

I can relate! The lake boss was probably the hardest boss I have ever fought. Those tentacles just come in so fast and hard! And I was playing it on Easy

Dude, you really made me worry there!
But I defeated the Kayran and on NORMAL difficulty too, phew and yay me!
I switched to normal difficulty in the meantime and it's not as bad as i thought it would be. Combat still sucks, but I manage. But I'm still in Act 1, so who knows what still awaits me.

@all
Thanks for sharing your Witcher experiences.

[THUNDERDUCK]

I pre-ordered Halo 5 and will pick it up after work tomorrow