Cutter wrote on Apr 24, 2013, 10:43:
Its biggest failure was the lack of a random map generator and/or editor. We'd all still be playing it if had that. Huge mistake not to do that. Huge.

Mikus_Aurelius wrote on Apr 24, 2013, 09:25:

Beamer wrote on Apr 24, 2013, 09:18:
I think it was, at best, a moderate success.

I'm under the impression that it did very well for a strategy game. It surely didn't pull AAA FPS numbers, but it also didn't cost AAA FPS money to produce. I haven't heard anything about layoffs at Firaxis, which is generally a sign of a successful product.

Verno wrote on Apr 24, 2013, 09:13:
Good call, this is pretty much what they should have done from the start. I think last years X-COM was a moderate success and they don't want to potentially damage the brand going forward as well.

Draugr wrote on Apr 23, 2013, 22:19:

Redmask wrote on Apr 23, 2013, 19:55:

LittleMe wrote on Apr 23, 2013, 18:13:
All that said, I support a consumption tax more than an income tax. I'd support getting rid of the latter, replacing it with consumption tax.

If the goal is reducing the deficit then just having consumption tax would be about the most absurd way to go about it, not to mention completely unrealistic as a way to tax an entire populace the size and advancement of America.

Especially when you consider not everyone consumes at the same levels, so it would disproportionately effect different groups.
It's the same reason the GOP was okay with signing off on this, despite it being a tax increase, as when it comes to this kind of tax increase, it does little to effect those whose taxes they are concerned with.

Prez wrote on Apr 23, 2013, 19:05:
Gamers (yes, even console gamers) are more sophisticated than publishers will ever give them credit for. Games that are more complicated don't need to be simplified. In fact, evidence is suggesting that over-simplification turns gamers off more than complexity does (Dragon Age Origins outsold the sequel by a fair margin as an example). A game system only needs simplification if it is over complicated. Splinter Cell has never been over complicated and needs no simplification for its appeal.

xXBatmanXx wrote on Apr 23, 2013, 18:24:
huh? 49.99 for a game that is the same game with different models and SHOULD HAVE been an addon or DLC?

Nope. First time I will be waiting for a Saints Row game to go bargain bin or 50% off.....this is insane. I am disappointed.

Axis wrote on Apr 23, 2013, 18:25:
Good points Little, but you're wasting your time. Most libs don't even know what they stand for let alone what a 'libertarian' is... minus a wiki scan now and again and cnn for talking points...

OpticNerve wrote on Apr 23, 2013, 16:10:
I quite enjoyed SR3, but overall, I think that SR2 was a better game since there were more memorable characters, memorable cutscenes and more activities to do. A really abysmal PC port though.

Yes, SR4 does look a bit like an expansion pack, but that might be a good thing in this case since the SR3 PC port was pretty good and the engine was solid. The lack of variety and things to do compared to SR2 was pretty apparent though so I'm hoping SR4 just adds in a ton of content. I don't think that anyone who enjoyed SR3 is really asking for a dramatic change anyway, just more stuff in general which is what SR4 seems to be doing.

NegaDeath wrote on Apr 23, 2013, 15:09:
Might be neat if they could do it entirely through kinect voice commands and not pause the running game. "Xbox! Order one large pepperoni pizza".

But since I'll never own an xbox I'll settle for the old fashioned methods.

avianflu wrote on Apr 23, 2013, 14:47:
What Verno says: PayPal can freeze your paypal account for any reason they see fit and they dont have to obey the laws that banks have to when there are disputes. I wouldnt go anywhere near them myself.

Verno wrote on Apr 23, 2013, 14:37:
Because smartphones? A console is probably the least intuitive way to order a pizza I can think of even with Kinect.

Also apparently you have to quit out of the game you're playing to use this app, rendering it pretty much useless.

Jerykk wrote on Apr 23, 2013, 12:31:
combat should never be a viable option in any stealth game

xXBatmanXx wrote on Apr 22, 2013, 17:41:

Beamer wrote on Apr 22, 2013, 16:08:

netnerd85 wrote on Apr 22, 2013, 15:46:

Cutter wrote on Apr 22, 2013, 11:02:

Mr. Tact wrote on Apr 22, 2013, 09:14:
My gift to the Earth -- I cut the lawn yesterday..

Too bad your lawn wasn't emo, that way it would cut itself.

2002 called, it wants it's joke back...

Mean while, I'm playing Homefront. That game is FUCKING HORRIBLE. Why does it have any fans, why did it get 70/100 metacritic. This game is truly the most lazy, horrible thing I have played :|, to celebrate Earth day, let's remove this thing (Homefront) from the Planet.

[Edit]
The Internet: A warning from 50 years in the future
LMAO, that is awesome... and I'm a web developer

what have we done.

Yeah, I started it on the Xbox a few weeks back. Miserable. I mean, they did nothing right. Even the presentation - a too long movie to start the game. The loading icon is a CD spinning rather than something special to the game. Subtitles are in the exact middle of the screen and sometimes disappear after a second and several seconds before they're spoken.

The gameplay itself? I had to die about 20 times in one of the first fights. They kept throwing grenades at me, but there was no way to tell how close they were to me or if they'd damage me at all.

I made it to the part where they mention the something or other, then a giant vehicle comes smashing through the house I was in. It was supposed to be a big event, I guess, but I started firing thinking it was the enemy, then realized I was supposed to control it, which was super boring.

Out the game went. I've put 33 hours into XCOM on the PC since.

No one complained about the long ass intro to Half Life.
Loading is actually part of the story, articles and what not - maybe that is an xbox issue.
Subs were fine on PC.
Yea some parts are confusing, but you have saves everywhere, so not a big deal.

I actually enjoyed it, not really defending it, but I thought it was a decent linear SP shooter.

Verno wrote on Apr 23, 2013, 09:56:
It seems like all publishers want to chase the mythical everyman who just wants to mindlessly have the game play itself and reward him. Nothing wrong with options I guess but it seems like what eventually happens is that the options go away and you're left with just the action oriented stuff.

I've always enjoyed the Splinter Cell games but they've had a good long run now and I'm not sure the gameplay is whats holding them back.

Verno wrote on Apr 23, 2013, 09:06:

PropheT wrote on Apr 23, 2013, 00:16:
I loved SR3. I think its charm was that it was batshit insane.

In retrospect, it's kind of sad that it stands out to me as being a great game because all it was trying to do was do its best to be fun. I don't know why more developers don't aim for that with their games, but they don't.

I thought SR2 struck a better balance of nuts to fun while retaining a decent campaign and a lot of side activities and enterable buildings, etc. That said SR3 was still a pretty good game and I'll definitely pick it up. I do think that the dick/fart humor will wear thin with the audience and I'm not sure where is to go after "you're the president and you're fighting aliens" except down.