What game are you playing now

[Tarekith]

I noticed this in a few of the fights, I'd be scratching my head unable to beat all the bad guys, only to realize I could have just run away and saved ammo. Escape from the high school where you're pushing the truck for instance.

[stringtapper]

Yeah there parts where you can "ghost" through TLOU, but there are also a lot of forced detections and combat sequences, so it's ultimately not the "truest" stealth game like Splinter Cell: Blacklist or Deus Ex: Human Revolution where you can go through the entire game without killing anyone or ever even knocking anyone out or being seen at all.

[beats me]

I’m not entirely sure, but pretty sure that in Naughty Dog games if you keep dying in certain parts it dials back the AI to make it a little easier but during certain keep parts its “You’re stuck in difficult mode, bitch!”

I too didn’t realize you don’t have to blast your way through every enemy all the time. Diablo 3 pisses me off because it seems you do have to blast your way through the pileup of enemies most of the time and its relentless.

[beats me]

Another thing about LotR, I feel like they slammed you into the nemesis system quickly and suddenly you’re looking at this chess board thing and checking stat cards. I think I might have to play it for a couple hours and then start over once I get a handle of the mechanics and strategy.

[stringtapper]

Basically there are the four main War Chiefs (top row) and then all of the lieutenants (or whatever). Literally any orc you come into contact with in the game (e.g. some loner you stumble upon) has the potential to be promoted up to one of these ranks if they kill you. Every time they kill you they level up. So the more you die the stronger they get.

You can randomly come into contact with one of the main chiefs on the "chess board" out in the open world and identify them that way (change their figure on the board from blacked out to visible) or you can find intel on them to figure out who they are.

It's a pretty badass system and apparently it will be severely scaled back for the last-gen versions coming out later. They designed the Nemesis system so that you'll never see the same Orc twice so there's a lot of algorithmic computing power that the new-gen versions are crunching in the background.

Gameplay-wise it's pretty much an amalgam of Assassin's Creed and the Arkham series. In fact there was a controversy over the fact that they actually used some AC II code for the parkour system. And the combat is taken straight from the Arkham series, since Warner Brothers produced both.

Overall, chopping Orc heads off is pretty fun.

[beats me]

Basically there are the four main War Chiefs (top row) and then all of the lieutenants (or whatever). Literally any orc you come into contact with in the game (e.g. some loner you stumble upon) has the potential to be promoted up to one of these ranks if they kill you. Every time they kill you they level up. So the more you die the stronger they get.

You can randomly come into contact with one of the main chiefs on the "chess board" out in the open world and identify them that way (change their figure on the board from blacked out to visible) or you can find intel on them to figure out who they are.

It's a pretty badass system and apparently it will be severely scaled back for the last-gen versions coming out later. They designed the Nemesis system so that you'll never see the same Orc twice so there's a lot of algorithmic computing power that the new-gen versions are crunching in the background.

Gameplay-wise it's pretty much an amalgam of Assassin's Creed and the Arkham series. In fact there was a controversy over the fact that they actually used some AC II code for the parkour system. And the combat is taken straight from the Arkham series, since Warner Brothers produced both.

Overall, chopping Orc heads off is pretty fun.

I get how it works. I just need a little practice, especially during combat when you have that window to interrogate whoever it is you are fighting. Then there’s the info that they are immune to some attacks or more damaged by other types of attacks, sometimes as a result of you attacking them a certain way previously. I don’t know how you are supposed to be on top of that in the heat of battle, especially with multiple enemies.

I think the key is probably to be a little more stealthy than berserker all the time.

[stringtapper]

Then there’s the info that they are immune to some attacks or more damaged by other types of attacks, sometimes as a result of you attacking them a certain way previously. I don’t know how you are supposed to be on top of that in the heat of battle, especially with multiple enemies.

They definitely have strategy in mind in that regard. They're expecting that you're getting intel on the guys, reading it and then going in prepared to fight to their weaknesses.

[crystalmsc]

You can't "beat" it, only evade it.

passed that part already, thank you. 54% now, can't wait to play the "Left Behind" story. Will continue on Monday night after the family weekend.

Splinter Cell: Blacklist

the more I enjoy TLOU, the more curious about that one.

[Tarekith]

How do you know how far along you are, percentage wise?

[stringtapper]

Alien: Isolation isn't getting good reviews. Consensus is it's too unforgiving and too long. I'll probably still check it out since it's ultimately a stealth game and people agree that it captures the atmosphere of the original film.

[beats me]

Then there’s the info that they are immune to some attacks or more damaged by other types of attacks, sometimes as a result of you attacking them a certain way previously. I don’t know how you are supposed to be on top of that in the heat of battle, especially with multiple enemies.

They definitely have strategy in mind in that regard. They're expecting that you're getting intel on the guys, reading it and then going in prepared to fight to their weaknesses.

Spent some more time with it last night and now I really like it. It’s like the game is constantly changing based on rank changes and who gets killed, sometimes enemies killing each other.

[beats me]

A limited but still playable version of Drive Club for the PS4 will be free to anybody with a PS Plus account later this month and of course the full pay for version will be out too. This was supposed to be one of the big release titles available for the PS4 launch and now it’s coming out nearly a year later. Developer says it was ready on the original release date but they wanted to add more. High expectations.

[beats me]

How do you know how far along you are, percentage wise?

I thought the PS4 dashboard showed that info for all games but I guess that percentage is just for trophies earned, something I couldn’t give less of a shit about.

Love when I play a game and decide to take a break only to come back and discover I only had about 10 minutes of gameplay left.

I also had a situation in an iOS game where I was going to do an IAP to get more loot (rare that I do that) but 10 minutes later I finished the game. Bullet dodged.

[Tarekith]

Everything since the second Alien movie with the name Alien attached to it has been something of a disappointment, though personally didn't think Alien 3 was THAT bad. But yeah, kinda bummed to hear the reviews are so so on this one, it sounded interesting.

[stringtapper]

Everything since the second Alien movie with the name Alien attached to it has been something of a disappointment, though personally didn't think Alien 3 was THAT bad. But yeah, kinda bummed to hear the reviews are so so on this one, it sounded interesting.

It sounded like it could be the first really good game based on the franchise. Actually the Kotaku review isn't too bad and goes pretty far in depth. It seems like it's a case of a good idea not necessarily translating very well into a good gaming experience, which in the end is what matters most.

I'm going to play it because sneaking around hiding under desks waiting for the bad guys is what I do in games that aren't even meant for that play style.

The weird thing about it is that you cannot kill the Alien. Ever. If the Alien sees you it's over. So it's basically about evasion. Sort of the ultimate ghosting stealth game I guess. We'll see…