Currently playing 4: Guns of the Patriots

[Oz]

Did you know that the story was a metaphor of the discovery of the A Bomb?

Wh-wh.....what? I had to google this interpretation because I had no idea about it and all I can say that if it was the main purpose of the story it didn't really work at all since I didn't pick up the references. It works so bloody well in the less ambitious thematics of regret, longing for the past and forgiveness that I don't really like to associate the game with such bizarre sentiments.

That's pretty much what it was (and unfortunately that seems to be more and more Ubisoft's MO), that game was made to capitalize on the hundredth anniversary of the beginning of WWI, and was mainly targeted to the French Market as a way to know better the life of the soldiers in the trenches (especially since the last of the "Poilus", the nickname for the French infantrymen of that war, died a few years ago), hence all the background story and historical trivia being in a separate menu, like an educational program, which is pretty much how the game was advertised here in France, best exemplarized in the French name of the game : Soldats Inconnus : Mémoires de la Grande Guerre, meaning "Unknown Soldiers: Memories of the Great War".

I personally thought while playing that it was marketed more towards an American/Canadian audience given how much the game likes to focus on their role in the war with one of the playable characters being American and Canadian troops leading the charge in one sequence.

[Sailor Star Dust]

Blow has stated that there is more than one interpretation of the story;[20] he "would not be capable" of explaining the whole story of the game in words, and said that the central idea is "something big and subtle and resists being looked at directly."[28] Blow considered Braid to be "about the journey, not the destination".[29] He deliberately designed the plot not to be fully revealed to the player unless they completed the game, seeing it as a way to provide "a longer-term challenge".[21]

[ElMariachi]

Wh-wh.....what? I had to google this interpretation because I had no idea about it and all I can say that if it was the main purpose of the story it didn't really work at all since I didn't pick up the references. It works so bloody well in the less ambitious thematics of regret, longing for the past and forgiveness that I don't really like to associate the game with such bizarre sentiments.

The main argument for it comes from the texts in the epilogue after you find the princess (the level in the clouds with the books),

SPOILER: Show

including the hidden texts: on each panel when you open the book, if you get on a precise spot (always the one where you're hidden behind the scenery), the text showed changes, and the depiction as well as one line of dialog "Now we are all sons of bitches" corresponds exactly with the one said by one of the lead scientists of the Project Manhattan.

Supporting that interpretation there's also what happens when you find all the hidden stars:

SPOILER: Show

one of the levers in the level with the princess becomes immune to time manipulation, letting you get ahead of the princess and actually catch her, and when you do that she starts flashing before loudly detonating in a flash that leaves the screen white for several seconds.
On that light, the big wall of text could be interpreted as the blast of a nuclear detonation as it destroys everything on its path, and the apparently burning city in background of the title screen the logical consequence of mankind finally getting the nuclear weapon: it being ultimately used.
Finally when you come back to the "main screen" (where there's the hub to go in the different worlds), there an image of the princess in chains represented in stars in the skies, supposedly representing how mankind took control of the nuclear power.

See what I'm talking about here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G7fP7kZdLo

[Oz]

^ I did find those details when I googled for the atomic bomb interpretation, but even then I find it only bizarre. It's not that the hints do not make sense, but the very idea of including such a specific theme strikes me odd. Even more so when it is purposefully hidden as a cryptic easter egg.

[NemZ]

Braid is an interesting platformer puzzle game with it's head wedged firmly up it's own ass when you try to look at it any other way. Extraordinarily pretentious, even for an indie game.

[ElMariachi]

^ I did find those details when I googled for the atomic bomb interpretation, but even then I find it only bizarre. It's not that the hints do not make sense, but the very idea of including such a specific theme strikes me odd. Even more so when it is purposefully hidden as a cryptic easter egg.

Well as SSD noted, the creator said that there isn't an iron-clad interpretation of the story, so it can be about the A bomb, learning to let go, stop imposing yourself and your desires to other people, not stalking a girl you like but doesn't like you thinking that she'll fall in you arms if you're insistent enough, or all of this at the same time, or something else entirely, or not bothering with all the texts and symbolism and just enjoy the game as a very beautiful game with awesome music and interesting time-based puzzles.

[Rosenakahara]

[url]http://www.reddit.com/r/MonsterHunter/comments/2vb0az/i_i_have_it/[/url]
im not mad, no im not mad at all.
totally calm here, just going to calmly flip this table BECAUSE THIS FUCKER GOT MH4U EARLY:

SPOILER: Show

[Trajan]

After going nearly a month without video games, having a Skyrim and Bioshock Infinite marathon this past weekend was very satisfying. Probably should have been doing some homework in that time, but oh well. There's always time for that the night before things are due.

[Joy Evangelion]

Last night I started Claire's A game in Resident Evil 2, my first play-through of the game since the summer of 2000, in which I not only had the official strategy guide, but also utilized infinite health and ammo cheats; I was not about to take any chances with those bioweapons . Though this time I'm playing through it on a PS1 instead of an N64, and back in 2000 I played through Leon's A game.

I really love how the game doesn't mess around and starts you out surrounded by zombies, like, if you don't know what the run button is you're going to get eaten before the game even begins. It's also wonderful how the first place you run into is a gunshop, in which the proprietor chooses the damn bowgun as his weapon of choice to fight off the zombie hordes, and totally doesn't mind you stealing his handgun ammo.

Anyways, since it's been so long since I replayed the game it was an incredible trip when I walked into the police station for the first time; it gave me the same feelings of hopelessness and unease that I experienced fifteen years ago. Excuse this lame line, but the game really does feel just evil. The lighting, the music, just the coldness of all of the art in the building creates such a foreboding environment, one that I find much worse than any of the other core Resident Evil's settings. Like, it isn't too hard to make a mansion out in the woods a creepy place, but a well lit police station in the middle a city should be a safe haven(though I will admit that I do find the S.T.A.R.S. room to be really charming). The developers really did a fantastic job by designing that place.

Only about a third of the way through the game, so hopefully I'll post a couple more thoughts on it when I finish, but here are a few sentimental sentences I need to post on the game: RE2 was my first RE game, and I can still remember the exact moment I played it for the first time at my friends house on a Friday night in the middle of winter 2000. He rented it from Blockbuster and showed it to me for some reason and from the opening cutscene my mind was blown; I was truly in love. The controls were so unique and strange, the inventory screen was so barren but stylish, and you healed yourself by eating green herbs. Like I think I even dug the fact that you saved your game with ink ribbons on a typewriter even though I had no idea what an ink ribbon was. Needless to say, I'm very glad to be playing this one again.

[Chuckman]

Started Dungeon Keeper 2. It's pretty great. The artstyle is great and the gameplay is awesome- we really could do with more "management" games outside the realms of shitty phone games and bargain bin simulators.

I cannot tell you how crushed I was to learn that Dungeon Keeper 3 would never be made.

[Monk Ed]

I cannot tell you how crushed I was to learn that Dungeon Keeper 3 would never be made.

That promo.

But hey, it's only joining the club of probably-never-coming sequels.

After going nearly a month without video games, having a Skyrim and Bioshock Infinite marathon this past weekend was very satisfying. Probably should have been doing some homework in that time, but oh well. There's always time for that the night before things are due.

This man gets it.

[Ray]

Life Is Strange Episode1:

This is basically 'Indy Movie: The Game", and I love it.

You NEED to play this Game. It's probably one of the most original titles in years, despite lifting a few gameplay mechanics from other games. It deals with themes and talks about things that other games these days barely touch upon, if at all.

The plot? Basically, a psuedo-slacker hipster girl in a private school outside of Seattle Washington, discovers the ability to reset her life whenever she makes a mistake Ala Edge Of Tomorrow/Girl Who Leapt through time. She discovers this ability when she witnesses the start of a school shooting, wishing to save her best friend from a murder. That's all I'm revealing of the plot, you have to play it yourself. it's only the first episode

Gameplay wise its sort've like Telltales walking dead. But it fully acknowledges the meta implications of the Point and Click choose your own adventure video game genre that Telltale pioneered by building time travel, the ability to replay a conversation or action into the game. It's sort've surreal.

The time travel mechanic is really useful, you can't lose an argument or make a mistake when you have it. When you're trash talking the schools queen bee (who is a total bee-itch BTW) you can replay the conversation you have with her over and over until you own her with an insult just as scathing as the one she owned you with.

While you can just blaze through the plot if you want, the game actually encourages you to spend time lazing around the campus finding out more about this strange world you find yourself in, and the characters that inhabit it. The little interactions between your character and the people at the school is what make it seem so much more cozy and relatable. The script and dialogue is really well written, it's very Whedon-esque in many respects. The characters talk over each other, use language that only people in their specific circles and cliques use. It makes the whole thing come off as believable and more real.

Also, visually. This game is GORGEOUS. It's a Square Enix production, and say what you will about their last few productions. They're always on top of their game when it comes to making a game look good. Aesthetic wise despite being set in the modern day, it's a love letter to Indy movies from the late nineties early 2000's and 90's grunge music. The little details really make this game sing. If you like Twin Peaks, you'll love Life Is Strange. If you like Weird Indy movies like Juno you'll like Life Is Strange. Although being the first episode, it does leave some things to be desired due to the open ended, ominous ending.

I just hope this doesn't start out strong and fizzle out. If it plays it's cards right, it has the potential to be at least one of the top ten Game of the Year

What are you waiting for? Get off your keister and play it!

[Stryker]

Just got Castle Crashers. Hope to play it soon.

[Dr. Talos]

Sailing my way through Sunless Sea. Really having a blast so far. It's a dark rougelike survival rpg set in the same universe as Fallen London. The writing which is the heart of the game is deliciously dark and playful. Be it the island where everyone wears a mask and must preform the role their mask dictates or the island that calls all members of the Royal Mail to eventually where they work forever dragging rotting post from the back waters, the writing is full of creativity.

The gameplay is smooth and fairly simple. Lot of reading and choose your own adventure style conversation navigation abounds and the light survival mechanics of managing fuel, supplies and terror make the sailing through the darkness of the Unterzee a nail biting experience more often than not. There's nothing like limping into port on half a tank of fuel, no supplies and only 3 crew members (you had to eat the rest) with a hold full of spider silk from an island in the far east where everyone insists there are no spiders (there are and they're horrifying).

[Shinoyami65]

^Sounds interesting, maybe I'll stop waiting for Steam to complete the Dark Souls GFWL migration and try something Lovecraftian instead.

Just a heads-up to any DoTA 2 players, if you take part in the Year Beast Brawls in this years New Bloom Festival thingy, then you're guaranteed an item set each time you win. Now, these events are held infrequently and you only have 10 minutes to join in (and the network gets real bad because everyone's trying for a spot) and you can't sell any items you earn but if you ever wanted to make your Heroes look cooler without buying anything you now can do so. There's also some prediction badge thingy you get by recycling 10 unwanted cosmetic items and if you predict three victories with it you get more treasure and once in an octarine moon an Arcana-type set, according to legend.

[Monk Ed]

^Sounds interesting, maybe I'll stop waiting for Steam to complete the Dark Souls GFWL migration and try something Lovecraftian instead.

Eh? I migrated my Dark Souls game from GFWL to Steamworks like ages ago at this point.

It's Resident Evil 5 I'm waiting for a migration on.

[Shinoyami65]

^Yeah, but they haven't completed the final step which is apparently to make it completely Steamworks rather than forcing you to migrate and (most importantly) make it available on Steam in regions other than the US and areas which once supported GFWL.

[ElMariachi]

Life Is Strange Episode1:

I'm interested in that game since quite some time, but I hate the episodic format of games, it just incites you to forget what you were doing when the next episode is released a few months later, and you even lose the momentum that made you immerse yourself in the story.
That and the fact that it's a neat way to make you pay more all the episodes as they are released than if you had paid for a finished game.
I'll just wait that all the episodes are released and for a bundle at a honest price.

[Shinoyami65]

^As I understand it you can pay for the completed product (all episodes) and get episodes for free as they are released, rather than paying for them individually.

I am interested in Life is Strange, although I want to know if choices can actually affect the ending, unlike TWD where you are always heading towards the same inevitable conclusion.

[Giji Shinka]

I played the first chapter of MGS2: Sons of liberty and it was overall pretty great. (NOTE: I've only played Metal gear rising revengeance and Ground zeroes)

I have few minor issues with the game though:
-I'm not a fan of the camera, I like when camera is fully under my control

-There was one immersion breaking moment: somehow the black commander guy and his henchmen don't notice you when you take pictures of metal gear ray in this small room