Oh wow, didn't know you could survive the last "battle". Great last words of all the endings.

Finished it on FUBAR, now have 27 hrs on that game, just on the campaign lol.

So many deaths, such bad checkpointing. All of the combat scenarios seem to have multiple stages, so you reload two firefights behind which is infuriating. The sand stuff became more necessary, the only time I never used it was the ceiling sand which never seemed to work in a beneficial way. Also crouching with the turret is a viable thing when you can die in a couple of shots. If you stick your head out for a second, you're dead. Still love the shooting, it's punchy, AK-47 has a real kick to it, and that slow-mo headshot is like a mini bullet time so you can survey the other enemies.

A lot of it makes sense on 2nd playthrough, instead of finding holes in the twist I just picked up better on the tiny details. I feel confident in explaining any question about the story, one of the best to grace a shooter and a great example of ludonarrative storytelling while most games go for cutscenes as the most outdated method to tell a videogame story.

I'm playing on normal right now. I hadn't used the AK much until now, Just got out of the mall... I think it was a mall... After the tankers crash. Anyway, I used the AK for alittle bit and yeah... That sucker on 3 round burst is amazing.

I just played it on the easiest setting possible, loved the story (one of my favorites ever) and thought Jeff and Vinny oversold the problems that the shell of the game had. All in all, loved loved loved the game.

I'm still trying to beat the game on fubar. But I keep having bad luck during intense shootouts. I really hate it when they spam grenades, and there one shot kills.

Yeah I was surprised about the last battle too, but I made it on Fubar also. I didn't crouch on turrets though. After playing through on Combat Op and Suicide Mission I knew where the AI would be and just gunned them down quickly. Didn't like the AK though, not as accurate from distance. It was one of my last resort weapons.

So it really fucked up beyond all recognition?

Funny how when I was playing through on Fubar when Adams says "Watch out for the guys with the knives, they'll fuck you up", I was thinking, well I AM playing on Fubar. LOL

@Frag_Maniac said:

Yeah I was surprised about the last battle too, but I made it on Fubar also. I didn't crouch on turrets though. After playing through on Combat Op and Suicide Mission I knew where the AI would be and just gunned them down quickly. Didn't like the AK though, not as accurate from distance. It was one of my last resort weapons.

It's a good weapon when you've run out of your primary rifle and other enemies have enough ammo for it.

Sticky grenade is so morbidly satisfying, seeing dudes kamikaze into each other and the other guy bashes him away but still gets blown up, great animation.

@Witzig said:

So it really fucked up beyond all recognition?

The situation of the story, most definitely. It can't get any worse.

As far as difficulty, it's manageable. Other than the bad checkpointing, it's nowhere as frustrating as CoD veteran.

@AssInAss said:

It's a good weapon when you've run out of your primary rifle and other enemies have enough ammo for it.

Well IMO that's the same as saying it's in fact not a good weapon and only adequate as a last resort option, like I said.

I also ran through this pretty much after Patrick and Jeff spoke of it in comparison to Eternal Darkness. Easy mode, wanted to see the story, and I'm glad I played this game and experienced that story. Watched some Apocalypse Now Redux after it too. Really would like to see games borrow storytelling elements from this game, and I hope Jeff's prediction that the story from this game will be akin to the cover mechanic from Kill.switch.

@oneidwille said:

I also ran through this pretty much after Patrick and Jeff spoke of it in comparison to Eternal Darkness. Easy mode, wanted to see the story, and I'm glad I played this game and experienced that story. Watched some Apocalypse Now Redux after it too. Really would like to see games borrow storytelling elements from this game, and I hope Jeff's prediction that the story from this game will be akin to the cover mechanic from Kill.switch.

I don't know if Jeff was specifically calling out the story and its themes so much as the adaptive dialogue, genuine character arcs, and those fucking death messages (holy shit).

However, this game does fit into a larger trend of storytelling in games becoming more conscious of genre and the conventions of the medium. In that sense, it's only following in the footsteps of the likes of Bioshock. I don't see The Line as being a determinative cause in any flourishing of meta-narrative in video games, but it is a sign that things are moving forward. I do think Jeff is totally correct in thinking that stock audio files for reloading, giving squad commands, etc will become more adaptive in the future and we will look back on this game as we do to Kill.switch.

@AssInAss: citizen_kane_clapping.gif

I was ready to throw my computer out the window playing on suicide. Impressed you even attempted it. Well done!

I actually was a bit disappointed with FUBAR, I kinda expected it to be harder. There are like one or two where you're pretty much fucked and you just have to hit your head against the wall until you make it through, but other than that, I just played carefully and aware of my environments and it wasn't too tough.

But then again, I also really enjoyed the gameplay, finding it to be very enjoyable and really good third-person-cover-shooter. I love how everyone (well expect for Zulu (which only seems like bullet-sponges when you first fight them) and the Heavies of course) only take a few bullets before being torn to shreds.

I didn't like the AK though, and pretty much only used it when I was low on ammo on the M4A1, the P90, the FAMAS, the SCAR or the Semi-Automatic Assault Rifle - or the power weapons (the LMG, Grenade Launcher and AA-12) so it was actually pretty low on my list of weapons.

COD4 and on in the hardest difficulties (barring WaW) I can accept, COD4 I actually like going through time and time again, but Spec Ops on FUBAR, no way in hell. Even on Normal I felt it sometimes was too much.  I think I have a hard time dealing with cover shooters over something that requires more from the player than endurance and persistence like Spec Ops.

@Village_Guy said:

I didn't like the AK though, and pretty much only used it when I was low on ammo on the M4A1, the P90, the FAMAS, the SCAR or the Semi-Automatic Assault Rifle - or the power weapons (the LMG, Grenade Launcher and AA-12) so it was actually pretty low on my list of weapons.

I liked the shotguns better than pretty much every rifle. Even the basic one can 1-shot motherfuckers at medium range if you hit mostly center-mass. I'm maybe 1/3 through the game on FUBAR and I've been toting the grenade launcher with me ever since I found it. Ammo is scarce but I don't think I've killed less than three enemies with each precious round.

@SomeJerk said:

COD4 and on in the hardest difficulties (barring WaW) I can accept, COD4 I actually like going through time and time again, but Spec Ops on FUBAR, no way in hell. Even on Normal I felt it sometimes was too much. I think I have a hard time dealing with cover shooters over something that requires more from the player than endurance and persistence like Spec Ops.

LOL, yeah it's no doubt more you fumbling with the cover system than anything. Most any CoD game on Veteran is harder.

I recall how hard Blow Torch & Corkscrew and Heart of the Reich were in WaW on Vet, along with the fuel barrel trenches of SOG and the tunnels after shooting down the missile and following the heli segments in Black Ops on Vet. In a word, in some places like the ones mentioned, CoD enemies move faster, respawn continuously, and toss lots of grenades, BIG difference.

I find that TPS games with cover systems are pretty manageable on the hardest difficulties most of the time. COD and Halo games are a bitch.

Then again, I tore through the veteran mode in MW3 in like half a day. That shit was a cakewalk.

@AssInAss: Did you open fire on the soldiers at the very end?

@Napalm said:

@AssInAss: Did you open fire on the soldiers at the very end?

Yeah, incredibly hard getting to first piece of cover and killing the front wave of 4-5 guys before any of them throw a grenade, after that it's smooth sailing since you can move around more.

@AssInAss said:

@Napalm said:

@AssInAss: Did you open fire on the soldiers at the very end?

Yeah, incredibly hard getting to first piece of cover and killing the front wave of 4-5 guys before any of them throw a grenade, after that it's smooth sailing since you can move around more.

What happens when you kill all of them? What happens if they kill you?

@Napalm said:

@AssInAss said:

@Napalm said:

@AssInAss: Did you open fire on the soldiers at the very end?

Yeah, incredibly hard getting to first piece of cover and killing the front wave of 4-5 guys before any of them throw a grenade, after that it's smooth sailing since you can move around more.

What happens when you kill all of them? What happens if they kill you?

2 different endings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoJy70e7eY4#t=14m30s

@AssInAss said:

2 different endings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoJy70e7eY4#t=14m30s

That's fucked up.