The... uhm... don't-know-the-number Official Althanas Gaming Thread

[Vigil]

UPDATE: Used a trick to get through this mess that I'm pretty sure will work on any 'mob' here. I wasted time coating my blade with spectre oil, went through the cinematic and got back to the fight with the Beast. Instead of trying to kill the hounds, I ran to the other side of the circle and lured him there. Stunned his ass with my stun sign and one shotted him.

Problem fucking solved.

[orphans]

reminds me of something I read in a fortune cookie... >_> the straight path isn't always the quickest.

[Letho]

UPDATE: Used a trick to get through this mess that I'm pretty sure will work on any 'mob' here. I wasted time coating my blade with spectre oil, went through the cinematic and got back to the fight with the Beast. Instead of trying to kill the hounds, I ran to the other side of the circle and lured him there. Stunned his ass with my stun sign and one shotted him.

Problem fucking solved.

The Beast can be a pain in the ass. It's been a while since I've played the first Witcher, though, but I generally invest all my points in sword skills, especially the group stance. At the beginning you do little damage with it, but later on you can really handle larger crowds with it, with a little bit of switching to strong or fast when need be. I personally found the three-stance combat rather interesting.

Speaking of the Witcher, here's something to keep in mind if you thought the second one is any easier.

http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/05/25

It's not. :P

[orphans]

Sheez... listening to everyone talk about how the Witcher is hell and back with the controls makes me want to try...

Then again... as Artie will tell you, I'm apparently a glutton for punishment <_<... I don't think it's true, as I don't play ninja gaiden, like him.

[Dargor]

Apparently Square-Enix has bought a domain for Final Fantasy XII-3 already, even though they claimed their full attention would be directed to VS13.

Speaking about the Witcher, though... First one recommended or should I jump directly into 2?

[Letho]

If that's true (about FF XIII-3), I must admit I find it rather annoying that they choose to further expand on one of the worst games in the franchise (don't get me wrong, XIII was still a good game, but it just doesn't measure up to other FFs) instead of focusing on something else, like Versus.

As for the Witcher, I'd say start with the first one. The story is very good and the combat can be interesting (but also, as mentioned before, sometimes irritating). But then again, the second won't treat you much better in the beginning, so it doesn't matter as far as that goes. The story of the second one almost directly follows the first one (though its a different story arc), so that's one more reason to play the first one. Also, you get much more ass in the first one. I'm talking loads of ass.

[Elrundir]

It's not surprising. Square-Enix is losing money hand-over-fist thanks to the failure (I think it's safe to call it that, now) of Final Fantasy XIV. The game was released a year ago, and as with a lot of MMORPGs players are given one free month to play. Then the complaints started rolling in. For all intents and purposes, the game was practically half-finished. When that free month ended, it would be like paying for a beta. So S-E gave us an extra free month... then another... and another... and then the vague promise that it will remain free-to-play until it "meets player expectations." The trouble is, the game's not designed around a free-to-play model like Guild Wars is, so they're basically absorbing all the associated costs that would normally be covered by player fees.

It's safer to release games that are cheaper to make (most of the development has already been done; the characters, models, textures, etc are already there) and likely to bring in easy sales. Whatever popular opinion may be about FFXIII, the thing sold like hotcakes. Their business plan seems to be all about bailing water out of the sinking boat faster than it can pour in, rather than fixing the hole in the first place.

[Silence Sei]

If that's true (about FF XIII-3), I must admit I find it rather annoying that they choose to further expand on one of the worst games in the franchise (don't get me wrong, XIII was still a good game, but it just doesn't measure up to other FFs) instead of focusing on something else, like Versus.

After X-2, you -expected- them to make decent sequels to the respective worlds of each game? Hell, even Dirge of Cerebus was crap (though that PSP game with Zack was pretty decent), and that was capitalizing on their hugest f-ing cash cow.

Now, if they made a sequel to say, FF6, -that- shit would fly off shelves faster than anyone could produce em, and it'd be terribly terribly terribly hard to fuck up.

Unless they threw Cloud in for no gosh darned reason *coughcoughFFTcoughcough*

[Letho]

After X-2, you -expected- them to make decent sequels to the respective worlds of each game? Hell, even Dirge of Cerebus was crap (though that PSP game with Zack was pretty decent), and that was capitalizing on their hugest f-ing cash cow.

Hey, hey. No badmouthing anything connected to FFX. That game was the shit. X-2 was... well, I can't really say great, but it was still enjoyable if for no other reason, then because of the hot chicks. Crisis Core was pretty awesome, though. I basically bought a PSP solely for the purpose of playing that game. And didn't regret it.

It's not surprising. Square-Enix is losing money hand-over-fist thanks to the failure (I think it's safe to call it that, now) of Final Fantasy XIV. The game was released a year ago, and as with a lot of MMORPGs players are given one free month to play. Then the complaints started rolling in. For all intents and purposes, the game was practically half-finished. When that free month ended, it would be like paying for a beta. So S-E gave us an extra free month... then another... and another... and then the vague promise that it will remain free-to-play until it "meets player expectations." The trouble is, the game's not designed around a free-to-play model like Guild Wars is, so they're basically absorbing all the associated costs that would normally be covered by player fees.

It's safer to release games that are cheaper to make (most of the development has already been done; the characters, models, textures, etc are already there) and likely to bring in easy sales. Whatever popular opinion may be about FFXIII, the thing sold like hotcakes. Their business plan seems to be all about bailing water out of the sinking boat faster than it can pour in, rather than fixing the hole in the first place.

And the sad part it, you can't blame S-E for doing so, not really. It's the gaming populace that is to blame. They (or should I say "we") keep buying these recycled ideas, letting them get away with it. And they're not even great ideas. XIII was so damn linear that it lacked the very basics of the previous games, and that's to go around and explore the world when given the chance. You're never given that choice in XIII. And no, I don't count the part on the planet, where you basically just run around hunting some wildlife. And from what I saw in the trailers, XIII-2 won't be much different. The locations do seem a bit more complex, but putting a couple more hallways in a dungeon won't really fix the problem.

If they really want to throw some water out, they should just do a remake of VII. I'm personally not a big fan, but given the reverence with which a large number of FF fans look upon it, they would probably make some sick money out of it.

[Vigil]

Also, you get much more ass in the first one. I'm talking loads of ass.

In the trade district if you walk around, you can hear townspeople shout, "The witcher is here, hide your women!"

Couldn't be more right.