The upcoming PC game debate and discussion thread

[Shada]

"Thinking outside the box" doesn't automatically qualify a good mark. I've played games which felt like their whole purpose was to think outside the box, and their fun was real short lived.

Shooting the fuck out of people and blowing shit up, though, that's fun <i>always</i>.

[fabyak]

Try telling that to Jean Charles de Menezes

[Baliame]

Indeed you are right, however this particular box is getting tighter and tighter, almost limited to FPSes cloning each other and strategy games cloning each other.

As for Multiwinia, I believe randomness gives the game an extra layer, a feeling that you still can lose it, and in fact everyone has the chance to win, unlike other strategy games (I'm thinking of probably everything here, starting with Starcraft all the way up to CnC3, DoW, etc.). It eliminates elitism where some fucking nerd rapes you up the arse every time because he played the game since the first cracked beta.

[Stoat]

On the other hand, if the game's going to be decided by a random number generator let's save some electricity and get the dice out.

[Baliame]

I don't say it has to be decided by an RNG, but it is significantly more fair if there's an element of randomness.

In Multiwinia, randomness is bullshit with a good rush, but it can be decisive if someone is good at defending.

[Grimmie]

PC Zone's reviews this month.

Red Alert 3 - 86% (Recommended rating)
/ Three distinct factions
/ Co-commanders are a hit
/ Co-operative campaign play
/ Frenetic and entertaining
x Some predictable and static enemy AI
x Co-commanders lack tactical diversity

Fallout 3 - 91% (Classic rating)
/ Successfully picks up the Fallout torch
/ Brilliant and imaginative quests
/ Great combat, excellent stats system
/ Beautiful and desolate
x Washington DC is a pain to navigate
x Some Oblivion-esque niggles

Far Cry 2 - 90% (Classic rating)
/ Innovative storytelling
/ Beautiful, large world
/ Great mid-game world expansion
/ Superb AI on harder modes
/ One of the most open worlds
x Everyone hates you

[Dr. kitteny berk]

Far Cry 2 - 90% (Classic rating)
x Everyone hates you

This made it good, so much like real life

[FatherJack]

So far, roughly:
Game Hours
Fallout 3 18
Left4Dead Demo 5
Fable II 4
C&C Red Alert 3 3
Valkyria Chronicles 2
Far Cry 2 1
Little Big Planet 1
Dead Space 0.5

Was going to mini review RA3 and LBP, but I haven't really scratched enough of the surface for even a first-impression review, though I did already get stuck in the Russian campaign of RA3.

[HereComesPete]

Only 1 hour in far cry 2? Did you not like it? I rushed the end a bit and clocked up 40.

30 hours in fallout 3 and I'm due to start another character soon, a nasty sneaky cupcake kinda person.

Mind you, I've got less games across less consoles to worry about. I think I'd try them all a bit then finish one after the other instead of jumping between them.

In relation to getting a bit bored of the l4d demo as mentioned on the disco, it's fun, but a quick blast through 2 stages of another style area to mix it up would have made it much better.

I was going to sweep dead space, anyone put any time into that?

[FatherJack]

Only 1 hour in far cry 2? Did you not like it?

Not massively, but mainly it was the blue screens that kept me from firing it up, haven't tried post-patch and I've gone back to 169.25 x64 nVidia drivers which seem more stable for me.

That's XFire hours, so there may be a few more that weren't registered, but it didn't really grab me. Clear Sky had left a bad taste and with the similarity in the wooden buildings in a kind of deserty area, I kind of associated the two games with a miserable experience.

I began to wonder if I'd ever be able to play a new PC game without it crashing after five minutes again. I spent that week - the week I'd specifically booked off work to play SCS and FC2 - playing console games and rediscovering The Movies where I didn't have to put up with that crashing shit. A week later Fallout 3 showed me it wasn't just my computer being shit, it is possible to release a new PC game that you can play uninterrupted for hours at a time, but it was the Left4Dead demo that prompted me to try older drivers, as I couldn't survive a boomer puke without a lockup in that.

With all the new games this week, it's rather lost it's chance, albeit mostly because of my ropey system and fickle nature and is back on the list of games I should go back and play sometime, rather than the one of new games I must play now, and perhaps like the original Far Cry and Mafia it could be two years before I complete it.

Being picky, I could cite the environment as not being particularly interesting, being drives down dusty roads devoid of wildlife to a few shacks with bad guys in, but you could level the same accusation at Fallout 3, with its [little bit of street] - [tube station] - [train tracks] cycle almost reminiscent of Hellgate.

I don't have infinite time and right now it's Fallout's turn as it's been good to me. Of course when Mirror's Edge, CoD 5, Football Manager 2009 and some expansion for a little-known MMO turn up later this week, all bets are off.

I'm not expecting much from Mirror's Edge, as it doesn't seem to be my sort of game - I just have to see it, am suspicious that CoD 5 might need a patch or two before attaining stability, but a new Footy Manager is at least a 30-hour timesink and that MMO thing sucks up all the rest, never mind that Left4Dead pops up soon after.

[HereComesPete]

I'm not expecting much from Mirror's Edge, as it doesn't seem to be my sort of game - I just have to see it

This. Looks so shiny and different but I can't help but feel it wont grape my squildo. I'll give it a go however, if I have time with all the other stuff that's due.

[deject]

I'm waiting for the PC demo, but Mirror's Edge looks fantastic to me.

[Stoat]

I'm waiting for the PC demo, but Mirror's Edge looks fantastic to me.

This. I'm hearing that people have been loving the PS3 demo.

[spoodie]

I played the 360 demo of Mirror's Edge and enjoyed it. If the full game is done right it could be something new and special.