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The People's Republic of Clogher
I'm downloading this now but I can't seem to find out when I can actually play it. Everywhere says released today but Steam says it's a preorder.


Any1 know when I can play it here in the UK.


IGN gave it 9/10 so hopefully will be a lot of fun.
US releases are usually on Tuesdays, Europe is Fridays. If Thief's anything to go by you'll be able to play it on Thursday evening.

EDIT - This might well be the first Obsidian/Black Isle game I won't buy ... and it's not even supposed to be buggy - a first for them. Combat looks good but I've got no interest in the subject matter.
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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan



The People's Republic of Clogher
One Finger Death Punch is stupidly enjoyable. Been waiting for ages for it to come out on Steam.



3 quid on Steam, a quid on Desura. I'd happily pay the extra £2 though because Desura is an awful client.



Finally played Gunpoint. Fun little game. Seems like a great candidate for procedural generation (even though I'm actually not a huge fan of those in practice), and it's definitely a fair bit short, but it's clean, funny, and never overstays its welcome, at least. I do think I'll probably replay it once a little differently, though it does miss an opportunity for a bit more branching, so I'm only just bothering to. Amusingly, if it were a bit longer, I probably wouldn't.

I think Francis (the game-writer-turned-developer who made it) noticed the lack of levels/procedural thing, too, because I think I read that the game was delayed specifically because the puzzles were taking awhile, and his new project (a multi-layered stealth game in space) is going to be procedural. So, good on him for incorporating those lessons. Hope it works out.

Meanwhile...

Game Dev Tycoon is a proper time sink. I had to physically tell myself to turn it off last night.

Still, I have managed to produce one of the all time great games - Behold the mighty Realm of Sharon!

I think this might have been the post that convinced me to buy Game Dev Tycoon when I saw it on sale. Or maybe you mentioned it in a PM. Either way, I fired it up and yeah, it's got that potato chip thing going. Parts of I don't love, but I admit to being impressed at the difficulty curve. I'd expect a simulator of this general scope and size to either feel way too easy once you learn the formula, or else way too random and arbitrary, but this one does seem to find the general sweet spot.

I do think the pace is a little more frantic sometimes than I'd like from a simulator, once you get an employee or two. But I'm still playing, aren't I? Probably won't end up with a ton of hours in the end, but when you get something like this on sale, it ain't bad.

No perfect scores across the board like that yet, though. I got my first 10 from something like my fourth game, and I'm not sure I've had one in several dozen since! I'm starting to discover that you pretty much need to use a publisher once you upgrade your digs, though. I was going the independent route for too long, I think.



The People's Republic of Clogher
Ha! I saw you playing it.

It's a tremendously likeable little game, I think, but I've not felt the urge to play it again after the initial blast. That's probably because, the longer I played it the more I realised that your review scores aren't based on an awful lot of complex algorithms and owe a fair amount to luck. It's only a minor quibble really, as the real fun is unlocking the different machines and game types.

Well worth it for the price.



Ah, so that doesn't end up making any more sense later, then? The review scores? It's been hard to tell if they're a little random or whether or not I'm just not playing very well, but I had my suspicions. I'll probably keep going and maybe start over once just to try something different, then. Seems like a great way to spend 5 hours and an awful way to spend 20, which still isn't too bad.



The People's Republic of Clogher
There's apparently a knack to maximising your review scores (but one I didn't use because it was more immersive and fun playing the role) in that you only use one advancement at a time on a particular game. That way you get higher scores for being original, or something - I think the game's weakest part is the review process not being explained.



The People's Republic of Clogher
Hopefully that doesn't signal Square getting tired with the developers and telling them to release the game or else. If a studio's desperate to cover its losses we mightn't see the patches the game requires.
Posted a day before the studio let a load of employees go. Oops.



I don't remember asking you a ******* thing!
I'm really liking South Park: The Stick of Truth. It's funny as hell for one. There are SOOO many references to the show, but the real humor comes when they make fun of video game tropes. The characters shouldn't even need to be described if you watch South Park at all. The gameplay is fun too. Think of a Paper Mario like RPG, but slightly more simplified. It's a lot of fun, and much deeper than I actually anticipated it would be. I wish the quest system was a little less vague, but it's not so bad. Either way, I can't wait for more.



My favorite drag queen, Miss Coco Peru, just released a video where she's playing Grand Theft Auto 5.



I thought this was fitting for the thread.



The People's Republic of Clogher
Sorry, lots of big images, but these shots from The Witness are too pretty not to share:
Yeah. I think we were talking about instabuys and The Witness recently?

If confirmation were needed...

Meanwhile, One Finger Death Punch is the best game I've played this year (that was actually released this year, sorry Pacman Championship Edition DX PLUS).

Such a simple idea - Tricky to master but when you do you're transported to a Zen island of Groove where time seems to slow and you're looking through the screen instead of at it.

Then you **** up, start chasing your tale and begin to sweat. Then you get back in the groove.

HUGELY recommended.

No spoilers here, really. There's not really a story to spoil...




Welcome to the human race...
Wow, apparently I haven't posted in this thread since September 2012. A bit strange, considering it's my most successful thread ever.

Anyway, in regards to what game I'm playing at the moment - well, believe it or not, I'm trying to get through The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask on Nintendo 64. As in an actual Nintendo 64. It's a bit bothersome because the controller I'm using is a bit worn and pressing forward on the control stick isn't as effective anymore. A character should be running but they're taking baby steps because of the insensitive control stick. I'm puzzling through it, but the weirdly convoluted "three-day time limit that constantly needs to be reset" mechanic is proving a little annoying, to say nothing of the fact that you really do need a guide to get the most out of it. I can see why younger me never finished it when it first came out.

As for other games I've played since my last post - well, I think the main ones I played to relative completion were Grand Theft Auto V and Dishonoured (both on Xbox 360). The former was pretty great for the most part (and I'm sure people around here have nitpicked its shortcomings for a while now), while the latter was a decent stealth/action RPG with some interesting design choices but ultimately a little basic and not all that great. Still worth a shot, though.
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I really just want you all angry and confused the whole time.
Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0



Hearing you say Dishonored isn't all that great makes me want to blink behind you, throw a bomb on a rat, possess it, and then make it run up to you so it explodes.



there's a frog in my snake oil
My favorite drag queen, Miss Coco Peru, just released a video where she's playing Grand Theft Auto 5.
You see, fun for all the family

Although her attempts to leave the house did remind me of this...

&start=300
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I'm really liking South Park: The Stick of Truth. It's funny as hell for one. There are SOOO many references to the show, but the real humor comes when they make fun of video game tropes. The characters shouldn't even need to be described if you watch South Park at all. The gameplay is fun too. Think of a Paper Mario like RPG, but slightly more simplified. It's a lot of fun, and much deeper than I actually anticipated it would be. I wish the quest system was a little less vague, but it's not so bad. Either way, I can't wait for more.
Agreed. It's totally like playing the show. The RPG stuff is handled well, gradually becoming more complex with the sticker-mods and perks/ability upgrades while keeping combat fun with lots of timing-based options. I didn't fully appreciate the depth until around the UFO event at the end of day 1 in the story, then the gameplay really hits its stride. Bottom line: This is the definitive South Park game and a fine RPG.
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Registered User
I am liking Walking Dead Season 2 way more than Season 1 so far... simply brilliant work from Telltale.
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IGN's Watchdogs hands on preview



VFN
Winter Calls Thy Name
Hmm, I read a review or two that thought it came up short. Is it still mostly story w/o much game play?

Hearing you say Dishonored isn't all that great makes me want to blink behind you, throw a bomb on a rat, possess it, and then make it run up to you so it explodes.
Made me laugh. I too didn't like Dishonored and stopped playing after the first mission.



No worries on liking it or not (MORE FOR ME), but I would definitely play past the first mission before you decide. Not only is it one of the weaker ones, but you start off with limited abilities--once you add a few the all sorts of possibilities open up. There's a sense of freedom and invention after the first few levels that just doesn't exist in the first. Gotta get through House of Pleasure, at least.



VFN
Winter Calls Thy Name
Yeah, I admit I bailed early, but it just wasn't grabbing me and I really tend to shy away from first person games. They've just never felt right to me.