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Username:  battlegrub
Joined:  15 Oct 2008
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battlegrub's Recent Forum Posts
For people who live and breathe WoW this must be like buying a new car. icon_smile.gif

There's a pretty fierce debate going on where a lot of people are angry that Blizzard is charging for cosmetic items. I personally don't give a stuff as long as those items remain cosmetic only.
Weeks old news, but is anyone else looking forward to:
Operation: Gnomeregan!
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/03/operation-gnomeregan-transcripts-and-details/ (Spoilers alert)

It now seems like such an obvious decision for blizzard to make given the changes that are coming in Cataclysm that I wonder why I hadn't thought of this before. Previously I thought I'd resubscribe when the expansion came out, but now I think I'll be back earlier than expected.

Also, the horde will be getting the same treatment:
http://www.wow.com/2010/03/03/operation-echo-isles-transcripts-and-details/
What a bunch of douchesnobbery.

I can imagine heaps of people would fall the that, and I really don't think he deserves to be called "retarded" twice especially since he didn't try to blame anyone and was only here to warn others about it.
http://store.turbine.com/store/turbine/DisplayHomePage

They're now selling the digital download complete version for USD$9.99 for the main game including all 3 expansions, but only until Sunday.

Also, JB has discounted the 60 day time cards to just $15 (provided they have stock), i'll be grabbing 2 or 3 of those.

It'd be nice to see the game get some more players it deserves.
Nicely done
Dutch Rootsman wrote
I only encountered one glitch: When climbing up towards the final battle the loading icon appeared. About 2 minutes with no action, however I could play on after the freeze.
Oh wow, same thing happened to me at exactly the same point. Had several other glitches as well, but nothing that a quick "restart from checkpoint" didn't immediately fix.

I didn't think it was too short at all. Was at around 10 hours gameplay time when I finished, not including deaths, reloads and challenges, that seems plenty to me. It was much more fun combat wise than even the first two god of wars (namely with the grapple bodyslam move) so there's no doubt i'll be playing through it again.
News Limited online poll:


Are you happy that Michael Atkinson will no longer be South Australia's Attorney-General?
Yes
97.89% (418 votes)
No
2.11% (9 votes)
Total votes: 427

Wowzer icon_smile.gif
THEMAN wrote
so the wii is gamecube 1.5? last gen? looks like it.
Amazing that after this many years, people say "gamecube 1.5" as though they still think it was a mistake for Nintendo to not go HD. That turned out to be an awesome business decision, obviously customers didn't care as much about graphics as you think.
x7h3CUREx wrote
....nintendos comments on the other hand are a bit blinded by their own self worth.
Stop anthropomorphizing these companies as though they are even capable of experiencing these petty emotions. I think you'd be less upset if you think of them as the business that they are. Of course they're going to talk down the competition, that's what businesses do. Stop trying to psychoanalyze them.
pom013 wrote
The shoe was on the other foot 10 years ago. Remember the Gamecube?
I might point out that the Gamecube was an example of a system where they did nothing but improve the graphics hardware and it turned out to be a relative flop. I'm guessing the lesson they learned was that people wanted more than prettier graphics.

pom013 wrote
I don't want to contribute much because I've already made my feelings (disappointment) known plenty of times here regarding the Wii, but I will say this: sales figures don't negate criticism.
Criticism is fine, but I still don't see how Nintendo has somehow "betrayed" gamers as is constantly being implied by some here.

Plus the consistancy of sales for such a long period of time without any major customer backlash can be an indicator that customers are satisfied with the product.
THEMAN wrote
^ so says the poster with the Palgn nintendo fanboy sig.
You don't have to like Nintendo to see the idiocy in this thread. icon_smile.gif
ArcherGrave wrote
Im just trying to say Nintendo is taking a huge crap on gamers, just for profit
I don't get this odd notion that Nintendo is somehow "disloyal" to gamers, can you name some examples? It seems to me that the company has been operating the same way for the last 2 decades.

If you think, as I pretty much do, that xbox and playstation are better consoles, then by all means go buy their products. Obviously Nintendo feels they are satisfying customers judging by sales and don't feel they need to change.
ArcherGrave wrote
^ Massive fanboy right here
Let's not throw stones in glass houses. They're all good systems, with different pros and cons.
May want to wait for the Playstation Move Plus or the Natal Plus in 3 years. =)

Seriously though, motion control isn't going to fade. The technology will keep improving until it approaches the speed and accuracy of handheld controls. May take some years however.
Re: Heavy Rain Review (3 years ago)
Phreakuency wrote
Nowhere near the best looking game ever made... half the textures are low res, the expressions on the character faces are terrible and likewise for most of their basic animations.

But it's a MUCH better game than I thought it would be from hating the demo.
I'd say that's a bit nit-picky. Facial expression are not perfect, but I don't think any game is. Some of the close-ups don't look so good. But in every single scene where the camera is behind the character and you're moving about, the overall scenery including weather, lighting are 100% gorgeous. And there are quite a lot of scenes in total.

With the exception of Uncharted 2 which I haven't played, I don't know of any other game that looks this good.
Re: Heavy Rain Review (3 years ago)
emech wrote
http://www.destructoid.com/why-heavy-rain-proves-ebert-right-165034.phtml this sums up my problems with the game EXCEPT that I would like to have the choice questions polled in the cinema - repeat viewings of a movie would result different outcomes making it "fresh" BUT to ensure character and narrative consistancy requires care and skill.

Does anyone think the "plot holes" are casued by content being removed for the inevitable DLC? I'm for micro-expansions of a title, but (like assasians creed) pre-planned missing content is a rip............
Great article! I agree with it as it applies to all games with emphasis on choices. The more choice you give to a character the less real they seem to me. That's why I can't get into nearly all Bioware games that actually tauts its endless dialogue trees. Most players enjoy it though so I can't really complain about Bioware giving people what they want.

As for Heavy Rain, I've played it through what is probably my one and only time (hopefully achieving the best ending possible). Not that interested in seeing the outcomes of different choices. The story is fairly satisfying but not too great. Easily the best looking game ever made though.
Jeremy wrote
^You'd be surprised actually. Most of the non-gamers that I've spoken to about this, are actually very receptive to the argument that we've laid out here.

It's gamers that we seem to have a hard time accepting it... And I can guarantee that the vast majority of the gamers who don't (or don't want to get) are not parents...
You might be right, but perhaps it's easier to convince someone person-to-person than convincing a public audience.

What about my second point though? How would you respond to someone who says we should just strengthen the existing MA15+ rating?

pom013 wrote
It's not fair for either side to say that gamers just want more violence. In my opinion, violence in video games is comparble to swearing in comedy. Sometimes it is contextually appropriate and adds to the experience, other times it is needless and used only to mask poor quality or a lack of substance.
Agreed, and it is certainly not the job of government to decide what is appropriate and what is gratuitous for adults.
Dissenting opinion here. I'm actually finding the "protecting the children" thing a bit hard to swallow. Technically I agree with the argument itself, but making this the core argument is inviting skepticism.

Firstly, most gamers want an R18+ rating system for clearly non-altruistic reasons, and it might backfire if this message of "protecting the children" is perceived by the neutral observer as dishonest.

Secondly, if the primary concern is the protection of children, then the solution is perhaps not an R18+ rating, but rather stricter enforcement of the existing MA15+ rating.

Again I'm in favour of an R18+ rating but this argument might not help the cause.
Re: Heavy Rain Review (3 years ago)
ManeKast wrote
Finished it on hard. Great game, loved it and played it solid for three nights. Event he girlfriend loved watching it.

Which brings me to a point which I think is really really valid. THE CONTROLS.

My girlfriend was acheing to play this. Though, the controls COMPLETELY turned her off. As a casual gamer she really really struggled with the R2 to walk, left stick to aim.

Seems they missed the mark with what otherwise would have been a great experience for a casual gamer.

For me though, the controls even though annoying, were OK. Just let us point the left stick to move the character?

Maybe ARC will fix this?
Actually I disagree, I think the movement controls are very suited this particular game. Traditional controls means the character is constantly running into walls at full speed and it breaks immersion somewhat. It's still not perfect, but your character here actually moves like a real person than a video game character.

It's a bit more cumbersome and slower to move, but that's not really a problem for this type of game. Plus the improvement in realism is worth it imo.
Dick Smith:
Final Fntasy XIII: $109 (available from 19 February)
God of War III: $109 (available from 18 February)
Heavy Rain: $99 (available from 18 February)

Too soon? icon_smile.gif Confirmation of these dates please?
Two things seem clear -

1. There's no hope of him losing his seat in March
2. He's not going to back down on his position

So it seems like unless SA Labor loses government as a whole in march we're stuck with no R18+ rating, is that true?
Don't remember spike thing but a certain Quicktime event towards the end of God of war 2 took me literally 30+ goes before I somehow managed to fluke it. Failing the event causes you to restart the encounter which also includes unskippable cutscenes. Not sure how long that took me but it was a complete waste of time, it really marred what was really a great game up to that point.

QTE are pretty stupid to begin with, but it doesn't bother me if they are used as an excuse to show some cool scripted scenes. But then to make them too hard and then to punish you for it by wasting your time in mindless repetition is just awful game design.

/rage
Re: Love to Hate #12 (3 years ago)
Dutch Rootsman wrote
Way to stamp your foot and give orders to a website that you don't pay for.

If you want encyclopedic reviews of games in boilerplate format go to any of the hundreds of reviews sites out there. Seems better that people write about whatever piques their interest than to churn out articles on a rigid schedule.
Re: Love to Hate #12 (3 years ago)
The MGS series really rammed the dubious story down your throat while I felt Braid included the story as more of an extra to the core part of the game. You can always go back and read the text passages if you became interested, but while I was playing, I didn't think it was important to understand everything that was going on. Hence it didn't bother me so much, but I loved the overall ambience and the sense of mystery it created.

Vervulus Maximus wrote
Am I the only one who interpreted it that way or did others think the same thing?
I think most players got the same gist as you did, BUT while it was clear that Tim may have been some kind of villain, it is not clear how or why. You can presume that Tim is kind of obsessed stalker, but that's just guessing. There could be any number of reasons the ending unfolded the way it did.
ANDYBALLINA wrote
I'm surprised this game has so little interest around it. No one seems to know about it.

I'm pretty keen for it and think Bioware are an awesome company, so am definately picking this game up on day one.
I guess they haven't showed anything worth getting excited about, correct me if I'm wrong. Or maybe Bioware just isn't good at the hype. Personally, I've played a bit of Neverwinter nights, Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale and it all seems kinda boring to me. I know some love these games but it might be more for a niche crowd.
You could look into getting a pre-paid visa card which I may have seen at petrol stations. There was a thread on this earlier - http://palgn.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=41352&highlight=visa, not 100% sure it'll work.

That or you may apply for visa debit, I doubt you'd get refused for those.
Re: God of War 3 Preview (3 years ago)
Sinthesys wrote
I think they're going for an 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' approach to GOW3. Although either way, they can't win. Too much like the original and it will be deemed 'stale', too different and fans will say 'they ruined it'.
Yeah it doesn't look like there's much danger of them messing with the formula too much. I'm a bit worried that the creativity that inspired some of the best bits of the originals may have left the development team though. As long as they take the good bits of the series and ramp it up a notch or two and not just rehash them then I'll be satisfied, but it probably won't blow me away like 1 and 2 did.
Re: Borderlands Preview (3 years ago)
This game sounded great in concept, but to hear that it also plays well is terrific news.

I'm a bit confused about the multiplayer setup though, is it played through centralised servers like Blizzard games or local ones like Half-Life servers?
Re: God of War 3 Preview (3 years ago)
Yes indeed, Poseidon has appeared briefly in cutscenes looking kinda like an average joe (like Helios) also on Zeus's side, although no dialogue that I can recall. I can only imagine what they could do with a battle against the god of the sea.

Speaking of other mythologies, there's a God of War clone due for release in February based on the Divine Comedy. Let's hope it is worthy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante%27s_Inferno_(video_game)
Re: God of War 3 Preview (3 years ago)
Sin Ogaris wrote
Just out of curiousity, where the Hell do you go in Greek Mythology after you kill Zeus? I mean, there literally is no one else, Kratos is probably now the ruler of Olympus or something (haven't played yet, want to), where the Hell do you go from there?
Spoiler wrote
Actually I'm pretty sure Zeus survived the aforementioned chest-sawing and will remain leader of Mount Olympus (which includes Hades) for GoW3. Hades has in fact already appeared in cutscenes as a fat BDSM looking kind of guy in league with Zeus so he'll no doubt be a boss as well.