Video Game Thread 2.0

[erictheblue]

(from what I know, certain levels are all but impossible to complete without a certain character).

No. You can complete the entire game using 1 character alone, if by complete you mean "finish the last stage and defeat the boss." If you want to unlock the hidden areas, you need a character of the appropriate type, of which there are 6 (I think). You do not have to have a certain character. In short, you can do everything in the game with 6 characters.

As an aside, the characters are $15, not $20. (It isn't a huge difference, but it is one.) You can get 3 characters for $25, or  $8.33 each.

I'm not sure how that makes even a modicum of sense. Does the act of placing a figurine on a sensor somehow turn an otherwise single-player experience into a great family bonding activity?

You can put 2 character on the portal at a time. So parents can play with their kids.

[Mechtaur]

On top of what Eric said (In my area, each of the smaller ones are about $10 with the giants being $15, but the triple pack is the same price), one of the ideas that was nice with Skylanders is that it allows compatibility between systems and was the only way around DLC (the Wii does not support DLC, no clue on the Wii U). Plus, you only need to use the characters once in a file to unlock the special stat boosting challenge levels. So, you don't need to buy all the figures to unlock everything if you can work up some friends to get some of the characters you don't have.

But, yeah, it is a massive money pit that will wring collectors out of house and home.

[Shane for Wax]

I got the geth juggernaut in the gift pack for ME3 MP. My friend got the Cabal Vanguard (the turian).

She's already 1hit KO'd a phantom in her turian.

Let's see what I do in my tank of a geth.

[chitoryu12]

In other news, I finally finished the original Deus Ex. I have to say, all three endings were hugely disappointing. None of them give us anything more than a few measly lines of dialogue and a historical quote. That's it. Not even a glimpse of how things turned out. Have Ion Storm never heard of "show, don't tell", or had they just run out of money when it came time to wrap things up? Either way, it's a quite a big fuckoff blemish on an otherwise fantastic game.

Ironically, one of the biggest criticisms of Human Revolution was saying that the ending was disappointing and that nothing was as interesting or had as big of an impact as it did in the original game, nothing but "select button 1, 2, or 3." That's pretty much exactly how the original game went.

Of course, they also said that in Deus Ex you could do a 100% no kills run even on the bosses without exploits. It's like they've never even played the original.

[Witchyjoshy]

As an aside, the characters are $15, not $20. (It isn't a huge difference, but it is one.)

That actually is a significant difference for people like me XD

Though the starting package to get into Skylanders is a bit too expensive... and technically it's not even a Spyro game -- Spyro's just making a starring cameo appearance.

[kefkaownsall]

Well in Deus Ex you had to work for the ending while in HR they were all right next to each other.  Also Skylanders I say the parent child thing since that is how Activision markets and it is very successful.  They are #1 selling toys.  Doesn't hurt they are nicely sculpted and painted.
On a final note FUCK YOU EA their CFO says microtransactions for every game

[chitoryu12]

Well in Deus Ex you had to work for the ending while in HR they were all right next to each other.

Not necessarily a 100% improvement. What's important is just how fun the extra work doing all of the necessary steps and fighting more enemies is. Especially since you go through a lot more effort for an unsatisfying conclusion.

Also, I think Human Revolution is generally longer than the original. So it's not like they're cutting the game down into an inferior product.

Have Ion Storm never heard of "show, don't tell", or had they just run out of money when it came time to wrap things up?

Not money, but time. It happens to a lot of games, where the finale is placed somewhere at the end of the development cycle. It's done with movies as well, filming everything in sequence. It's most comparable to writing a book. There's advantages to it, such as gaining a more natural flow as you learn to incorporate past developments into newer sequences. But it also means that if you start to run short, you need to wrap things up quickly to get the game out on time. You NEVER want to miss deadlines. Just ask John Romero.

[kefkaownsall]

Daikatana was both too early and too late.  Early in that the already abysmal game was buggy and too late as Half Life came out so we were all spoiled by a better shooter.

[chitoryu12]

Daikatana was both too early and too late.  Early in that the already abysmal game was buggy and too late as Half Life came out so we were all spoiled by a better shooter.

Daikatana suffered from a lot of the same problems as Duke Nukem Forever, namely switching engines when the game was nearly complete out of an obsessive attempt to have The Best (TM). They also had a lot of people who didn't really get proper game design, like the artist who designed a 2000 pixel arrow model.....in the 1990s.

They had ages to finish the game, but had no set schedule or ideas and everyone was too busy shifting the blame onto everyone else to actually get to work.

[Saturn500]

On top of what Eric said (In my area, each of the smaller ones are about $10 with the giants being $15, but the triple pack is the same price), one of the ideas that was nice with Skylanders is that it allows compatibility between systems and was the only way around DLC (the Wii does not support DLC, no clue on the Wii U).

Considering the announcement of the 80-level Luigi-themed DLC for New Super Mario Bros. U...

[chitoryu12]

On top of what Eric said (In my area, each of the smaller ones are about $10 with the giants being $15, but the triple pack is the same price), one of the ideas that was nice with Skylanders is that it allows compatibility between systems and was the only way around DLC (the Wii does not support DLC, no clue on the Wii U).

Considering the announcement of the 80-level Luigi-themed DLC for New Super Mario Bros. U...

AKA the soon-to-be most purchased DLC in history.

[syaoranvee]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW1rapFNwqQ" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW1rapFNwqQ</a>

[Cloud3514]

As I am one of the few people who actually LIKED the drama between Conner and Haytham, I'm hoping that they delve into why Haytham betrayed the Assassins.

[chad sexington]

AC4 already?  What about the half-dozen DLC/Expansions/Spinoffs for III?

That said, holy shit this game looks awesome!

[Saturn500]

[Playing FE: Awakening] Holy shit, using a Second Seal on a unit returns them to level 1, but they keep their stats!