MuttersomeTaxicab

@Chop said:

Tomb of Giants is worse

^^^^

This. Blighttown got frustrating, but once I realized that the muck poisoned me, I climbed all the fucking way back out while I still had the necessary moss to cure poison, then I bought a metric fuckton before going back down. Though, admittedly, I entered/left Blighttown through the Valley of the Drakes shortcut.

I loved, loved Tomb of Giants, but kind of in the same way that Patrick "enjoyed" Amnesia. The pervasive darkness, narrow ledges, etc. were all great and highly atmospheric, but for the last two hours of bashing around down there, I was a wreck. I just wanted to kill Nito and get the fuck out.

Not that, y'know, Crystal Cave is any easier.

For some reason I want to hoist this article up on my shoulders and parade it around the room.

A friend of mine gifted me a copy of Half-Life 2. I imagine the next game I purchased directly on steam was probably Left 4 Dead or the id pack.

I played my first rounds of CS:S last December during the Valve gift grab stuff. I'd never really been into military shooters, so I was just goofing around and trying to find a loadout that worked for my playstyle. It was tough, but I was consistently getting at least one kill a round. Because I spent a lot of time wandering around the maps to get the lay of the land, there were more than a few times I missed brutal firefights that decimated my team, so I was the last man standing. I even managed to win a round like that by popping a terrorist in the head just as they were coming to ambush me. What's great about Counter Strike is how much Valve understands the reward-you-even-if-you're-still-learning aspect of achievements. So even while you're dying constantly, it's still raining cheevos, which is a nice feeling. I've never really encountered any shit talking on any of the servers I've played on, but I typically ignore the chat feed and, if I'm playing on my laptop, I have the speakers muted.

As a result of those reasonably positive experiences, I'm pretty excited for CS:GO. Really enjoyed what I played of the beta. Arms Race is a neat little mode, too. Since it's so cheap, I'm considering picking it up for PS3 as well as PC.

@pyromagnestir said:

racism.

To be fair, I only do it casually. Y'know, if I'm at a party and someone else is being racist.

I'm just gonna bump this because: internet.

We love you, Patrick. Loved that write-up on Amnesia (almost convinced me to go back and finish it) - seriously can't wait for that System Shock 2 coverage whenever ya get to it.

@patrickklepek said:

@freakin9 said:

I would describe Patrick's review as luke-warm, not quite "acclaim"

I dunno, man. Just because I didn't give it five stars doesn't mean I can't have really enjoyed my time with it.

Yeah, if we're going to get into "stars = enjoyment-of-game" territory, then Trackmania 2 deserves way more stars than the 3 Jeff gave it. Sometimes a reviewer can have a good time with a game, but recognize significant flaws that will likely push other players away. Just one of the many blithe ways the review "score" system betrays itself.

Edit: sorry. Jeff gave Trackmania 2 four stars, but still ripped on it pretty hard for not doing more to fix issues from previous games.

@Jams said:

@believer258 said:

@Jams said:

@believer258: Would you rather play shootupmania?

I'm afraid I don't quite get what you're saying?

If you mean "would I rather play something that allows you to carry different weapons and shoot more rounds", then yes, I would.

Sorry, bad attempt at joke.

Kurt Cobain and William S. Burroughs Day 1 DLC makes Shootupmania a no-buy for me.

Played during the TNT. Had an absolute blast. It's in 50+ player games that I can really see Shootmania's appeal as, well, manic. But for real: needs more dubstep.

Yeah. I mean, I'm not surprised at any of the choices they had to make to put the game on PC. That said, I absolutely loved Dark Souls on the PS3, and I'm amazed that they even responded to the online petition. Will pick it up, even if it's just to support FROM.