Maluvin

Increasingly I play sans mods at least initially. I kind of want to see what the game was going for and a lot of times I find I don't necessarily get that until I've sunk in quite a bit of time. Like if a difficulty mod came out for Dark Souls on PC right away that made the game easier I think that would have ruined the experience for me personally. I do make exceptions for mods that enhance a technical feature like mods that unlock better resolutions or framerates as well as mods that clean up glitches or errors.

Totally cool with others doing it though as long as it doesn't negatively affect my experience.

Technically XCom has always been about timers just on the geoscape rather than the tactical map. It all comes down to applying pressure to the player in the right way that makes every victory or success meaningful (obviously it's dependent on careful balancing).

I thought the timers associated with Meld XCOM:EW were great and they got me out of relying on the same old slow crawl strategies where it was basically my sniper killing everything withe rest of my squad basically just being used as spotters.

My guess is Dishonored 2, Doom, and Fallout 4 DLC plans. I think they'll hold off on Elder Scrolls VI for awhile. There's no reason for them to upstage their own projects right now.

I backed this game on kickstarter and have enjoyed the changes introduced over time. I get the frustration with changes but at the same time there haven't been any additions that I didn't think were manageable. Like corpses are easy to deal with by mixing up your party and skill composition (or switching off the mechanic). Feel like it has more systems depth than it did initially and I consider that a good thing.

I'm pretty happy with both the Bombcast and Beastcast right now. They're both the right length for how they fit into my week and for how much or how little is going on in the world of video games and (mostly) related subjects.

I have to say that I'm actually pretty impressed with the level of energy both crews still have given how difficult things have been elsewhere in games related media. A lot of these guys have weathered a lot of change in the state of gaming over the years and we've seen that cause burnout in a lot of other people to the point they left games media altogether. I was rewatching some early Whiskey Media Happy Hour stuff the other day and, while I miss some of the spontaneity of that early material, I appreciate that their production process has streamlined a lot over time and that there were more misses early on than we sometimes think through our rose-tinted glasses.

I'd like to see Danswers return personally but I think it needs to be seasonal. Plan for X number of episodes with the right number of guests ahead of time with a theme to each episode. Dan and Danny are dynamic enough people that they'd still have that spontaneity that shows needs but it would keep it from dying on the tail end IMHO.

I'd like to hear Austin do more interviews. Those bits are interesting especially when he talks with designers and gets designers to open up more about their thought process. The change I'd like to see is for him to mix up talking with indie designers with more AAA designers just so there's some contrast in what's being presented and so that everyone gets out of their comfort zone.

I expect really great art design and good gameplay that will add another data point to the endless debate of which Souls game is the best and why any other choice is wrong.

I've been playing DotA for a few years now. If you're playing with friends and family it's just an amazing game. I love all the factors that have to be taken into consideration from the initial drafting of teams, item build, ability order pick, overall farming picture, map control, group fight tactics, push pacing etc.. It's a lot to take in but once you have general feel for the game it just feels so rich and they change things slowly enough that the metagame doesn't feel totally chaotic while still having some life to it. The competitive scene is really entertaining to watch as well. With that said I'm really wary playing with strangers because some players just take this crap way too seriously.

I'm surprised LoL isn't ranked higher than it is. It's a more accessible experience than DotA IMO and has more players overall but still a lot of depth. I have fun when I play it but I don't feel busy enough when I'm playing it compared to DotA. My biggest gripe though is that they add heroes on a regular basis who are overpowered at release then nerfed to hell during the next patch. It's not the worst thing but a bit of bummer.

I haven't played a ton of HotS but I had a good time with it here and there. It's way easier to get into than DotA and LoL. I will say compared to DotA there were times when I felt like it was hard to feel like I was having a tangible effect on a match either good or bad and that caused me to bounce off of it. Still a good game.

I just tried Smite for the first time like a week ago and I actually had a lot of fun with it. I think after DotA it's probably the game I'd be most likely to pick up on a regular basis. Just had a fun pace to the whole thing and the different vantage point makes for a distinct experience in the MOBA genre which doesn't just feel like a gimmick.

I've stopped using a case on a daily basis. I found that the cases I was buying actually led to me dropping my phone more often when pulling it out of my pocket because they were a little too grippy. I'd probably feel different if I did a lot more walking around in a city but with me sitting at a desk all day at work, driving around, and using it at my carpeted home I just don't feel like I really need one.

The exception is when I go running when I stick it in a protective armband (having to slip the phone in and out of the armband was actually another reason I went caseless).

@devise22: I've been playing daily since it released. It's replaced Marvel Puzzle quest as my time waster of choice on phone. Feel like there's a good amount of strategy to employ for a free-to-play game. I feel like the main trick is to put together a primary team that you really enjoy playing (all Jedi, droid death squad, tanky squad) and then not spreading your resources (especially training droids) out too thin for characters you don't really use.

It does have its flaws. There are quite a few resources to manage and for some reason I have way more credits than I know what to do with and I really wish there was a good way to dump them for some other recourse like training droids or more equipment.

I haven't spent a cent on it yet although I may throw a few bucks at the developer given how much time I've spent with it at this point.

I feel really bad for Dead Space 3 because I just don't think it gets quite the appreciation it deserves. I played through it co-op with my brother-in-law when it came out and had a great time. Great weapon upgrade system that was actually kind of a predecessor to what Bethesda ending up doing in FO4. Lost some of the tension of Dead Space 1 and 2 and an unnecessary but annoying microtransaction aspect built in but still a good game IMO.