DeathscytheX

The Anatomy of a Titanfall Map
 

 
Hype Reel


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Yes, you need BF4 Strider, so you can enjoy the fruits of my rpg no fly zone that Sledge gets the pleasure of seeing in action. I really need to upload them to YouTube. It would be great to have another squad mate and have more spawn options.

Not going to quote everything but I’ll cover each point GG mentioned.
 
Never-ending games: This is something I’ve found myself struggling with accepting lately. Much like you I prefer my games to be played and done when I get to the end, not end and be told that to find out the rest I need to buy the next installment. This has always bugged me, more so because I know it’s a ploy by the developer and the publisher just to get more money by forcing people to buy sequels to get the rest of the story (which is why I hate the expansion dominated MMO market yet still love it (it’s a sordid relationship)). However, I make exceptions for certain IP’s (Assassin’s Creed, Mass Effect, Halo (story only), Starcraft, and a few others) because they stand out as great games that make you want to play them instead of forcing you to play them just to get the rest of the story (though 343, imo, dropped the ball with Halo 4). Multi-player is its own beast and much like Yahtzee I believe a game should be able to stand on its own based entirely off the single-player aspect.  A game solely bought for multi-player is the biggest waste of money.
 
Arcades: Growing up I never had access to arcade games like most people I know. We never had one in my hometown and the only arcade games were at Pizza Hut and the bowling alley (which to this day I still hold all the top scores on all arcade games at the bowling alley) so for me it was always about console games. Sadly the arcade fad died in the 90’s (unlike in Japan) and actually finding one in my area is a slim to none chance, kinda sucks as I like the arcade scene. Sadly though it’s cheaper for me to play consoles, I’ve dropped more money in arcade games then I have console wise over the years (in one sitting at a motel I dropped more than $40 playing arcade games. Sad I know).
 
Limited-lives: For certain games this works and works well but sadly those type of games aren’t as popular as they were in the past (Contra for example). Now-a-days limiting the lives of a player is paramount to shooting yourself in the foot as you’ll lose all your potential sales. Gaming has evolved to almost be a solely multi-player dominated genre now and limiting lives in a multi-player game is retarded as the game wouldn’t be fun. Certain games still do it but it’ll never be a major thing again. I point you to Sledge’s post for more in-depth coverage on this because I really don’t want to rehash what he already said. I honestly don’t mind either way as I play mostly RPG’s and when you die you have to reload from your last save point (which sometimes can mean three hours back if you forgot to save recently). If I was limited on how many times I could do this I would just quit gaming. I’ve grown spoiled in my old age, sue me. I do still enjoy me some Contra though, if only to get pissed because I ran out of lives at a very critical point.
 
Multiple buttons: I turn you to Sledge’s post again. I actually enjoy having a lot of buttons to press, makes me feel like I’m actually playing instead of hitting 6 different buttons to do anything. Plus I’m a huge MMO player so pushing multiple buttons is an everyday thing for me so it doesn’t bug me when I switch over to a controller to play a game.
 
War/Zombie Games: I tend to stick away from these games. Zombie games for me are boring. Where’s the challenge in killing an enemy who can’t think for themselves? There is none. Plus the Zombie thing isn’t that interesting, it’s been overdone so much I cry everytime I read about another one being made. Let’s stop beating the dead horse with the stick guys because the genre isn’t getting any better. War games I only play if I have friends playing them because honestly the SP campaigns for CoD and BF are extremely boring and in most cases extremely bad as the company’s focus more on multi-player aspects which I’m not really into (though I will be buying BF4 when I get my PS4, only if to play with DX and Sledge). Honestly the War game genre is much like the Zombie genre, it’s not getting any better so let’s just let it die (only in the FPS aspect, I still enjoy modern day/past war based RTS games).
 
Price: I point you to DX’s post on this. Games cost basically the same as they did back then when you count inflation into it. Honestly I buy maybe 2-3 games a year now unless something really wows me. Believe me I understand you on the spending $60 on a game and not playing it, I have a stack of about 10 games I bought brand new and still haven’t played (some of which are for the PSX and PS2). I ran out of free time to play them when I bought them and just haven’t found time to go back and play them. *looks at his copies of Remember Me, Halo Anniversary, and FFXIII*
 
OST’s: They’ve gotten nothing but better over the years. Hell I have every FF soundtrack there is and listen to them constantly when I’m in work mode.  Sadly though this only for most genres except for FPS’s (though the Gears soundtrack was rather amazing). Most of the time when I play multi-player games I usually have my own music running in the background (especially for games like BF and CoD, puts me in the zone). Haven’t really run into many games that I have not enjoyed the soundtrack to. Then again as I stated earlier I play mostly RPG’s which always have amazing soundtracks (like FFXIV, yes it’s an MMO but its soundtrack is freaking amazing. Can’t wait for March to hit so I can actually buy the CD when it’s released).
 
That's just ole crazy Strider's thoughts on the subject.

By inflation standards games were not more affordable back then. What was worse was the whole review scene didn't exist. The only trailer you got was a 20 second hype reel tv commercial telling you: "THIS GAME IS F'ING AWESOME". Other than that, you had to go by the picture on the label and the publishers description and hope for the best. It was easy to get burned out of $40, and as a kid that didn't have a steady cash flow, it was a big hit to the wallet... Nintendo Power was another option for information as well... I almost forgot.
 

 
Steam actually makes gaming more affordable than it has ever been.
 
I agree with Sledge on the aspect of gaming is like playing cards with friends. That's what most of my gaming consists off. As a kid, I'd use every penny I'd ever receive on gaming alone. I had massive libraries of NES, Sega Genesis, PS1, and PS2 games, and had friends that has even more, and we'd constantly borrow games from each other. As I reached my 20s, and PS3 and Xbox 360 came a long, my interest in gaming cooled a bit. I started sticking with familiar series that came over from the previous generations. I went from buying 10-15 games a year to 3-5 maybe... This year I plan to buy more games than I have in a long time, because there are some pretty innovative stuff going on gameplay wise with Watchdogs, The Division, and Titanfall. While I mostly play competitive multiplayer I really enjoy co-operative games a lot more. The only issue is that good ones are a lot rarer. PAYDAY 2 is a really good one, along with Borderlands, Earth Defense Forces, and some of the Halo games. Army of Two (the first one) was pretty fun as well. If they made more games like that, I'd buy them up as other friends did. Those types of games, I'm willing to put it on the hardest setting and try to grind it out, because when I'm with a friend it just more fun. When I am by myself and getting my ass handed to me non stop, I tend to lose interest quickly.
 
I love casual games where I can enjoy a good story and interact with it. I don't have the patience to deal with 3 lives and then start all over again if I cant make it. They should still make those types of games though because a lot of people still probably enjoy them.
 
I do miss original soundtracks in games... I'm waiting for an purposely nostalgic over the top action game with the classic electric guitar rift heavy sound tracks that loop 3-4 times a level.

Yes please... I'll take one of everything on the menu as well... XD XD

Nice.
My anime crushes are Nami and Robin from One Piece and Erza from Fairy Tail.
Heres a pic of Erza in some of her multiple armors:

DICE must be doing some active balancing. Attack Helicopters yesterday were horrible, but I was able to enjoy them on numerous matches today. I'd still get shot down, but I wasn't getting instant locked on everywhere I went. Maybe the stingers had their range reduced? Also, the UCAV now resupplies itself without needing to sit on an ammo box. This makes the gadget completely useable now. Now that I can shoot one off while playing the objective, as long as I stay alive for another 1:30 I can shoot off another. This should help eliminate UCAV campers.
 
Tank weapons have been rebalanced again. It looks like guided shells come with 2 at the spawn now and it reloads faster. The transition between HE shells and canister shells seems a bit faster now too. Everything I experienced tonight with the game was very positive. I hope they keep these changes.

Here is the newest trailer for Wolfenstein: The New Order, coming out this May.
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I'll put my two cents in and say that Dust is amazing... This bundle is worth getting just for it. I don't regret paying what I did for it, and I pray for its continual support. I want to see more dust games.

I was wondering about the beginning of the trailer where they put the drunk guy into the sewer, because all the normal matches start out jumping out of a drop ship. Its about the best way to make a campaign, because there is no way to make a linear experience without a bunch of invisible walls that would just make the game seem dated.
 
I got 4 titans and 24 pilot kills today which is insane consider the avarage for is around 5-9 for a good round and 12 is an excellent round for most since I've been playing. I've also read the game will come with 14 maps.
 
I obtained a burn card to drop a Stryder class titan last night. Atlas is the only build you can use in the beta, as I assume its the medium between Stryder and Ogre. The Stryder didn't see to move much faster than the Atlas at normal speed, but its sprint was noticeable faster, and it has 3 dash meters compared to atlas' 2... I assume Ogre will only have 1. Each Titan has an special ability that activates overtime (there are burn cards that will allow you to have the ability as soon as you enter your titan). The Atlas has "Damage Core" which gives you increased damage output for a short period of time. The Stryder has unlimited dash ability which is very useful in maps populated with buildings. Dash meters come back over a moderate recharge rate, being able to spam it to get away from heavy fire is very valuable.
 
I think I'm most impressed with the Titan computer. It keeps you up to date on what the hell is going on. Its hard to be like "WTF just happened". The computer will tell you when someone is rodeoing you, by how much you're outnumbered if more enemy titans show up while you're engaging a foe, when your shields are depleted advising you to retreat, and when you need to eject.

http://www.vg247.com/2014/02/18/strider-reviews-are-go-get-all-the-scores-here/
 
Seems to be getting high marks.

http://kotaku.com/the-titanfall-hype-explained-1524388082
 
A pretty good article.

Ok... after playing the beta I will say this game is fun as shit... The grunts are easy targets and keep the action fresh when pilots want to camp. When you kill a real person its a 100+ extra XP bonus... every kill reduces the time of your titanfall. I've maxed out at 3 titan drops in one round.. but that is only when you get your titan destroyed too fast, and wreck face with the actual pilot.
 
There is a new learning curve. The tutorial at the start before you can play any rounds is very helpful... it starts out with the stupid basics that any casual FPS player should know, but then it gives you a good taste of the parkour system which is pretty fluid once you learn it. They also let you sample a watered down version of a titan.
 
The default controls are the stupid COD default controls plus the extras... they thankfully have the set up to switch Stick to B for melee and stick crouch, and there is also the weird ass killzone set up... props for appealing to all shooter's preferences.... yes I don't use a keyboard and mouse. I use the xbox wired controller... this game is fully gamepad compatible.
 
As a beta there are 3 default titan classes and 3 pilot classes. the pilot classes are customizable after rank 5 and the titan classes are customizable after rank 10. Only 2 maps are playable in this beta.
 
The rounds are fast pace COD style, but feature an epilogue segment. If your team loses, you can escape to the extraction point which is visible to friend and foe teams. As victor or loser once you are killed in this time period you are not allowed to respawn. The losing team can escape to an extraction ship, or they can be wiped out... or the extraction ship can be destroyed before it escapes... Those that might escape are granted an extra 200 xp for successful evacuation. The extraction ship has a lot of health and it takes more than 3-4 titans to take it down.
 
I will probably buy this for PC... the pandemonium that ensues in this game is too fun.. the original Infinity Ward has once again redefined the FPS genre... its just a shame that its a MS exclusive. The wall running and ledge grabbing is innovative and borrowed heavily from the failed Brink game... You cant run and gun like previous COD games or even the grunts will kill you. You have to adapt and use the multiple floors to  stay alive. The Radar works the same, but with 2-4 levels per building, its hard to tell where they are when they pop off rounds.

Thats a good approach. I borrowed the first couple volumes from a friend at the end of season 3, I was borrowing 3 at a time until he just gave me all of them and I plowed through from 6-18 in one sitting. I couldn't get enough. I'm ahead of the TV series, and while I do like the graphic novel better. I love the TV show almost as much. I respect the delivery within the bounds they are confined in. The best decision they made was having Kirkman (the creator) heavily involved with the TV series. Honestly some of the events in the book wouldn't even be suitable for HBO or a movie... 
 
The best part about watching the TV show first, is that you read the graphic novel in the voices you know and love from the TV series.

I just got my X1 beta code and have it installing now so I'll see how that goes myself

From the original

Brick Mansions is a remake of the 2004 french film Banlieue 13 (District B13). Staring Paul Walker and David Bell who is reprising his role from the original film. 
I love the original so I will probably go see this. I'm wondering how toned down the parkour aspect of it will be as Paul Walker was probably not on the level of David Bell or Cyril Raffaelli who he is replacing from the original. The story looks to be exactly the same, but they'll probably alter it a bit. The second one, District 13: Ultimatum, was in theaters a few years ago and had a super cheesy story, but the action was way more over the top. They are both on Netflix right now and I'd recommend it if you want to have a ton of fun watching insane stunts pulled off by the actual actors instead of stunt doubles.

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Naughty Dog is becoming Prominent fast. I was reading yesterday that developers and media sources were calling Second Son PS4's first Naughty Dog type game.... when your brand is used as a complement, you're doing something right. I regret I've never played the Uncharted Series, but I will be getting the next installment on PS4.

The fact that the video was cut and he was actually spinning like that for 2-3 minutes is astonishing how he didn't pass out at Mach 1 or throw up in his helmet.
 

You should really consider picking up the graphic novel, as you have captured what the TV show is trying to replicate from the books. I've read it in volumes, but there are compendiums 1 and 2 now that cover the first 16 volumes. I'm tempted to subscribe to the issues... but I'd just get pissed off on how short they were compared to the volumes I was consuming by comparison.
 
This episode was ripped straight from the graphic novel verbatim minus 1-2 minor details.

Does this sum it up for you?
 

 

The creators of L4D are trying to change the way we play multilayer with their upcoming game called Evolve. Evolve attempts to combine the world of co-op with the world of competitive multiplayer by pitting four players against one. Four on one doesn't sound awful fair at first until you realize that the one player gets to control a giant boss-like character, while the other four have to try to take them down with four traditional sized characters.
Go here: http://evolvegame.co...kes/sweeps.html to enter the sweepstakes and take along 4 friends to PAX East to be the first to try it out!
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I do want to read it!!!!!  but I've been forcing myself to stay away until the show is a little further along so I can read the stuff slowly so it doesn't catch up to the show. I want to be able to enjoy both tellings of the story without my "the book was better!" getting in the way lol.
When visual media is done right you can extrapolate volumes of information in one conversation. Body language, tone, setting etc. Art by its very nature is open to interpretation. I like that they have deliberately done things different between tv show and graphic novel. When a Stephen King book gets movied up he usually screws w the ending somehow so it is different then the written piece. When you switch mediums with a story the delivery of some things has to change. You can't read a chapter of back story, you have to do a flashback or have the characters talk about it to deliver that information to the audience. Story format and script format are miles apart. The point is telling a good story worthy of being shared and retold indefinitely.  
 
BSG pulled off the whole post apocalypse story brilliantly in mutherfuckin space. They changed some things from the original, the big one was making Starbuck a woman. It worked amazing. There was great balance in the show; Bill commanded the military, Laura the citizens. Guias is pushed to greatness by  Caprica 6.Lee outranks Kara but she runs those pilots and he leaves to go into politics.Character growth and relationships on the show was unlike anything I'd ever seen on tv. Series ended well, we got closure and cried a lot. As the show went on a bigger budget gave us awesome battle scenes. Bear McCreary did all the music for BSG and is also doing TWD, SHIELD etc.  

There are very few television series that I would call art. Ron Moore's Battlestar Galactica and The Walking Dead are art. With this medium the writing, directing, acting all have to be the tip of the top. I look at each episode, season then series over all. It has to be a thought provoking and emotionally impacting story, the delivery has to be amazing. Not an easy thing to do on the small screen.
 
I think its awesome they open w Michonne. You see her transition in the ep from someone willing to blend in w the dead to someone who wants to live w people. Her flashback dream sequence was wicked, her first pets, her child, the beginning of the reasons she traveled alone for so long.Flashbacks and conversations are the only way we're going to get back story. She was so different before the zombie plague.  We now know she cried holding Judith because she is mourning her own child. Seeing her walker double made her realize that even if being with the living can be painful its better then being dead emotionally. After slaughtering the herd she goes right back to Rick's tracks and follows them to Carl who she has bonded with. She is so frigin happy to see the kid alive (and I bet she has his shoe)
 
I imagine Rick saw Michonne w the shoe through the peek hole. When he turns and flops on the couch with that genuine happy amused smile!!! OMG haven't seen that since he found Laurie and Carl...
 
When Carl yells at his unconscious father... its all shit I woulda said to Rick myself. He had become useless and was dragging others down with him. If he had killed the gov at the start Hershel Andrea Milton Judith (?) could still be alive. He was weak when it came to dealing with external threats. He was a fucking asshole when it came to issues inside the prison. He was a douchenado to Michonne when they first met, she has saved him and his kid repeatedly. She's the only one that went looking for the gov after the shit went down at the prison. And then there is Carol. He was intimidated by her ability to adapt, teach, lead the group and do the hard things alone if necessary (from getting water to burning infected bodies). She found her bravery and Rick lost his so he took his crap out on her. Sending her away was a rape/death sentence, an utterly malicious move he tried to write off as protecting her from Tyreese. The ultimate bullshit was inviting the gov in after kicking Carol out. Rick is broken and has been since he killed Shane.