Vanek

@yummylee:

I think what I'll do is play the Strider for a good amount of levels and then change eventually to Fighter and get some of the Augments you mentioned. I remember trying the Ranger briefly and not liking how it played for some reason. There was something about the bow and difference in speed I just didn't like. The ferrystone thing is still kind of a bummer even if they have adjusted it. I can deal with only being able to re-customize certain parts of my character and I'll probably just go with a Fighter for my pawn.

Thanks for all the help! =D

I got my copy today, installed it and then thought if I'm going to play through such a long game I need to ask some questions first. I'm unsure on a few things so if anyone can set me straight I'd appreciate it.

1. If I play 200 levels of one class the only major thing I'm gong to miss is augments, right? I played five hours of the base game before and really the only class I enjoyed was the Strider. If the only difference is the stat gains each level (they all balance out anyway) and augments then I'd rather play a class that I enjoy playing, but I don't know if I'm missing something else.

2. I heard they added some kind of fast travel, but something about needing a save from the base game? (I sold it months ago so if that's true I'm going to cry)

3. Is there a way to edit a characters appearance should I get half way through the game and fancy a change? (Vanity will be the death of me I swear ...)

4. Any suggestions for what class to make my pawn be if I'm going to use the Strider class?

If it's actually true? No amount of exclusives will make me buy it. Even if it isn't true Microsoft made some dick moves this generation so I don't really want to support them anyway.

I've had enough problems with my Internet connection over the years and if they start again it could easily make that machine unusable. I know some people have a perfect connection, so it won't bother them, but I don't and even so I don't trust Microsoft to get it right. I don't want my console to be dependent on another service and I don't want something that becomes a paper weight after they shut down the servers.

I tried both settings and in the end I'm giving up on the 360 version as the inconsistency and general choppiness really bothers me. I found that while it was never terrible it fluctuated to the point that I kept getting distracted. I've since ordered the PC version and will happily run it on the lowest settings if it can run a little more consistently.

If the bonus XP thing is still happening and you purchase the double XP ... thing ... then it should stack. I looked it up a few days ago out of curiosity and found nothing to suggest it wouldn't.

If you consider how eager they are to sell you more crap it'd be silly if it didn't work. Though really, there's no need to buy double XP given that the level system does nothing meaningful for you.

@yummylee: I had no issues playing Gow 3 so I think it's on their end or a code thing. My Internet hasn't changed either so it can't be something on my end.

When you say the idea of was to make the game more frantic I understand the changes, but now it's lost some of what made it Gears in the first place. I'm doing worse because of the changes and with the matchmaking being frankly awful means I now keep getting put into matches with people far better than me. I end up getting stomped and barely have any fun. I went into some private bot matches to test the weapons earlier and actually ended up having way more fun because I felt like I had a decent chance.

Those bot matches made me realise I can live with the changes and some actually aren't so bad, but the Gnasher being fucked and the matchmaking straight up not doing what it's supposed to is a bummer.

@yummylee said:

I've really noticed the inconsistency and it can be really frustrating at times. I don't know if it's me doing something wrong or the server/client seeing something different but I've had some deaths that made me want to scream. I've also had the odd stutter during some matches which makes me wonder if the servers are being wonky or if they changed the net code in a bad way.

I dislike the fact that everyone just throws grenades for the hell of it because it's so easy. You can't stick them to walls anymore and it's so quick and easy to throw them when someone with a Gnasher gets close that it feels cheap. I even feel bad when I randomly throw one and catch someone by chance. I think the way it was before made you have to really think about switching to it and now that's lost. =(

I was thinking the same thing. The game is clearly borrowing a lot of GoW 3 so I bet they could have easily added more character skins from the previous game. Heck, someone from remnants from GoW 3 match types in the games code. The characters they do have are just weird, as I already mentioned, they lock the most important character from the franchise away as a preorder bonus for some reason. It also doesn't help that the skins they sell are so over priced! I checked a few out and some were nearly 400 points each. Fuck that.

I'm two days out but this is the most recent thread about the game so what the hell. I'll try and format my jumbled thoughts about the multiplayer ...

1. I don't like the maps. The vertical aspect is a nice addition but I don't like Overrun so I've basically got four maps that just don't feel as well designed as in the previous games. It could just be the amount of time since I last played Gears of War 3 but they seem smaller or more condensed meaning everyone just uses the Gnasher. I freely admit that I'm not great at these games but the second I switched to the Gnasher I started doing so much better.

2. The little changes don't really improve anything. The grenade changes and condensed maps lead to everyone spamming, the match constantly puts the best players in one team and the worst in the other (I've kept track from match to match) and the weapon selection doesn't make sense. I don't see how only being able to choose one weapon is an improvement and given that everyone drops the pistol at the first opportunity it just seems pointless. The lack of the DBNO system is also a shame as I found it rewarding and TDM being score based instead of respawn based isn't as fun. There was something amazing about watching a 1 vs 4 man comeback that now can't happen.

3. This is really a non issue for most people, but for weird people like me it stuck out that the previous game a lot of character skins for versus and this has something like 8. I know the story isn't about Marcus but locking him and other main characters behind preorders feels really shitty. I think there are 5/6 preorder skins and then 2 purchasable which combined with the amount of crap you pay more money for makes me feel bad every time I open the menu. The mutliplayer lacks content and if frankly if they must sell so much extra crap at least give me an option to hide it.

I have no problem with PCF changing things but I feel that some of them don't make sense, some remove what was unique about GoW and the others often simply don't work. There are some good changes, but the bad combined with how thin the content is feels bad. I supported GoW 3 and happily bought the season pass but I don't think I want to support this game at all. I'm not going to give up completely though, I'll keep playing and see if something changes and I start enjoying it more.

I somehow didn't register that it was only at GAME, which was down to me being lazy and exhausted earlier (naps make everything clearer), so now I completely get it being added value and that was a really silly oversight from me on that one, my bad.

I think the release date/price relation thing is really hard to say. I can completely understand both sides and can't really argue that you're wrong, but I can't accept I'm wrong either. We can easily agree to disagree on that one I think. I will say as someone that has put a large amount of hours into Xenoblade Chronicles that you do make a good point about the Project Rainfall games and when I think about that I can absolutely get on board with that.

In the end I'm just being grumpy because I wanted the game so badly last year and feel like I got burned. You are right though so I'll happily concede with a respectful tip of the hat and happily celebrate the fact it's finally got a release date so the UK can enjoy the game. I hope you enjoy it especially if you can get your hands on a vinyl player. =)

@razielcuts said:

I can see this going on forever and quickly descending into more of a fight than a discussion. So, final thoughts ...

It's a year late and being priced notably higher than it costs in the US to buy today and they're apology is a "unique" item that most people won't use or want. The idea should have been to give us something everyone the majority could use and want and if they couldn't find an item like that a reduced (be it £5 or £15) cost should have been the answer. A vinyl is certainly an interesting idea for collectors but to the average person it's another packed in item that will go in the closet and never be used.

As someone previously pointed out it now sells in the US for $30 (£19.79) and we get it for £13 more with an item several people have already questioned. I might have bought it for £20 but not for £32.99.