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My Spoiler-Free Experience with Fallout 4

Azurephile gives this a solid "Rad" on the Ghost Scale

This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.

Azurephile gives this a "Rad" on the Ghost Scale

This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.

My experience included:

S.P.E.C.I.A.L. point allocation uncertainty

Limited ammo and use of melee weapons

Crafting, settlement building, and looting everything

Realizing it’s not necessary to give companions Stimpaks

Radiant quests

Factions and having to choose sides

Issue/bug with one mission

Available choices in how to go about a quest and dialogue

Starting a new game to choose a different path

Pre-loading: I was aware of Fallout 4 about the time when Bethesda showed it off at E3. I liked what they showed. Since I enjoyed Fallout 3 and New Vegas, I was sure I'd enjoy 4, although I didn't get too excited about it. I did finally pre-order the game on Steam, but it... Read All My experience included:

S.P.E.C.I.A.L. point allocation uncertainty

Limited ammo and use of melee weapons

Crafting, settlement building, and looting everything

Realizing it’s not necessary to give companions Stimpaks

Radiant quests

Factions and having to choose sides

Issue/bug with one mission

Available choices in how to go about a quest and dialogue

Starting a new game to choose a different path

Pre-loading: I was aware of Fallout 4 about the time when Bethesda showed it off at E3. I liked what they showed. Since I enjoyed Fallout 3 and New Vegas, I was sure I'd enjoy 4, although I didn't get too excited about it. I did finally pre-order the game on Steam, but it wasn't until launch day or hours before that I realized it was ready for “pre-loading.” It took me a few hours to get it downloaded and installed, but once it was ready, I jumped in.

S.P.E.C.I.A.L. allocation: My beginning with it was full of anxiety. I had no idea how I wanted to allocate my S.P.E.C.I.A.L. points at the beginning. So, I decided to even them all out. I actually restarted my game quite a few times. One of the reasons was because it seemed too difficult for my taste. Luckily, Travis brought it to my attention that you can change the game's difficulty level (at any time) under the game's options, something I overlooked. I also decided to max out my Strength stat because I was looting everything and getting encumbered. Then, I found the perk that increases your carrying capacity. I also learned that companions have a limited amount of weight they can carry.

I also felt that ammo was too limited. So, I ended up trying to kill almost everything with a melee weapon. Speaking of weapons, I was also overwhelmed with how many are in the game, I wasn't sure which pistols or rifles to carry around. I ended up carrying around many more than I actually used. I also didn't even try to mod them. I only modded my armor a couple of times to help me carry more weight. The only other kind of crafting that I did was giving a few settlements things they needed like defense turrets and repairing my Power Armor when needed. I also did a lot of cooking. I ended up mostly relying on those items to restore my health. Travis helped me realize that even though you can use Stimpaks on your companions, you probably should save them for yourself. It doesn't seem as though companions can die, but they can become helpless during battle if they take too much damage, unless you give them a Stimpak.

Radiant quests: Travis also helped me realize that the game's quests are very much like Skyrim, that is many of them are “radiant” or, in other words, never-ending. So, I ended up searching on Google to find out which quests were radiant and I ignored them, because I got tired of doing them after a while. I did run into some non-radiant side quests. I was trying to focus on them while ignoring the main quest line. Eventually, I decided to just go for it.

This was about when the game started to focus more on factions. Siding with different factions helps you gain allies, but it also creates enemies. This intensified later because I found out that two factions wanted the same thing from one location and the game forces you to decide which side to take. So you were given a choice as to go on to the mission or inform the other side. If you use the transportation provided by either side it will tell you that you will become an enemy of the other.

The only major technical issue I had with the game was when I got lost on a particular mission. I took an elevator back to the top of a building, because the game had me going around in circles. When I got to the top, the screen was totally black after it loaded that area. A few seconds later, I could see the world around me, but I fell to my death when I tried to move. So, I had to revert to a previous save which cost me a few hours of game play. In the end, I realized that I was supposed to be with someone on that mission, someone who wasn't there the first time I tried. I also forced this person to follow me by coaxing them into an elevator by moving in front of them, because I wasn't sure if the person would follow me to a lower floor.

Choices: I noticed other instances in which the game gave you the option of how to handle a situation, which could turn out in your favor or against you. During one in particular, I chose a path that didn't end very well, so I tried it again another way, which gave me a good result. Another mission started off badly if I didn't successfully convince another faction of my good intentions. A little later in the mission, I had to try to convince someone to join me, which failed every time until I decided to suit up in some clothing that increased my Charisma stat.

Eventually I became more comfortable with the game and how I was progressing as a player. After a while, I stopped looting everything, for instance. In conclusion, I think the game is good. I definitely recommend it for anyone who's played even a little bit of Fallout 3 and/or New Vegas and enjoyed it. In the end, the game forces you to choose sides, which can be a tough decision, but I think that just adds to the game's replay value.

I know I did not discover every place and I'm sure there's plenty that I missed, but I felt like I “finished” the game. However, since I picked one side and went with it, I decided to start a new game so I could play a bit differently and go along with the other side. One of the other main differences in this new game play is that I maxed out my Intelligence stat right away so I could get the most EXP possible right away. I think that will help me out greatly with leveling up and selecting the perks I want.

Epic Games Announces New Gears of War Styled MOBA Called Paragon

Epic just announced that it will be launching a new MOBA in 2016 called Paragon. From the gameplay trailer above it looks like it pulls some elements from Gears of War, Unreal Tournament and their iOS game Infinity Blade. If you are a MOBA fan 2016 will be a good year as 2K's Battleborn is coming out as well as the very popular League of Legends, DoTA 2 and Heroes of the Storm are getting more attention than ever.

Paragon will launch in 2016 to a paid early access and then later with a summer beta on PC and PS4.

"Today Full of Energy Mario Runs" - Did You Know The Super Mario Theme Had Lyrics?

You can file this in this "what the..." section but apparently the Super Mario Theme has official Nintendo sanctioned lyrics. See if we take our time machine and go back to 1985 Nintendo fans submitted lyrics for the theme song to a Japaneese radio contest. The winner was selected and the song pressed to a vinyl record that someone later recorded and posted above. Some awesome person at Destruction later translated the song to English and what follows will really give you a deeper understanding of Mario and the entire series.

Oh and the title of the song? Go Go Mario of course!

"Today, full of energy, Mario is still running, running
Go save Princess Peach! Go!
Today, full... Read All You can file this in this "what the..." section but apparently the Super Mario Theme has official Nintendo sanctioned lyrics. See if we take our time machine and go back to 1985 Nintendo fans submitted lyrics for the theme song to a Japaneese radio contest. The winner was selected and the song pressed to a vinyl record that someone later recorded and posted above. Some awesome person at Destruction later translated the song to English and what follows will really give you a deeper understanding of Mario and the entire series.

Oh and the title of the song? Go Go Mario of course!

"Today, full of energy, Mario is still running, running
Go save Princess Peach! Go!
Today, full of energy, Mario runs
Today, full of energy, jumping!
Today, full of energy, searching for coins
Today, keep going, Mario!

Get a mushroom - it's Super Mario!
Get a flower - it's Fire Mario!

Goomba! Troopa! Buzzy Beetle! Beat them all!
Mario is always full of energy and strong!

[Spoken] The only one who can reverse the spell that has captured the Mushroom People is Princess Peach. But Princess Peach is hidden underground, in a far-off castle. Ah, the days of peace... if we could once more return to those days... to save Princess Peach and bring peace back to the Mushroom Kingdom, that is why Mario is on his journey today.

Today, full of energy, Mario is still running, running
Go and beat the Koopa tribe, go!
Today, full of energy, Mario runs
Today, full of energy, jumping!
Today, full of energy, searching for coins
Today, keep going, Mario!

Get a star - become invincible!
Quickly, go save Princess Peach!

Lakitu! Blooper! Cheep Cheep! Beat them all!
Mario is always full of energy and strong!

Today, full of energy, Mario is still running, running
He's made it to the castle and gets fireworks!
Lightly sidestepping the Hammer Bros.
Show the last of your power, Mario!
It's been a long journey but it's nearly at an end
You've done it, you've done it! You've defeated Bowser!

Princess Peach says "Thank you"
Mario's got a great big heart!

Mario's adventure is over for now, but
Mario's dream lives forever..."

http://www.destructoid.com/super-mario-bros-theme-has-lyrics-30498.phtml#skePQ8mQwzRvQ8Rd.99

Day of The Tentacle Remastered Is Going To Take On The World March 2016

Day of The Tentacle was one game in a batch of 90's adventure games I have fond memories for. It contained such a unique sense of humor and figuring out each puzzle felt like you were some kind of genius because most of them were so bizarre. On the heels of Grim Fandango Remastered, Double Fine has been spending time polishing up Day of the Tentacle for the same kind of HD treatment and will drop the game on March 2016 on PC, Mac, Vita and PS4.

Oh and Tim Schafer also noted that they will be relaunching Full Throttle Remastered in 2016 as well. So many remastered games, so little time.

"Now, over twenty years later, Day of the Tentacle is back in a remastered edition... Read All

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/06/2015 at 10:30pm

That's cool. I believe Day of the Tentacle is supposed to be a bit of a sequel to Maniac Mansion, which was one of my favorite games on the NES. I played DotT maybe once. Perhaps I'll pick it up when it the remastered version gets released so I can play it again.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 12/07/2015 at 05:25am

I still have the 3.5 inch floppies!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/07/2015 at 05:42am

Nice! I had DOTT on CD and it was one of the games that used the sound blaster for full voice audio!

Timogorgon Member wrote on 12/07/2015 at 05:58am

Awwwwww yeah!

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 12/07/2015 at 05:28pm

@jdodson, now that you mention it, I think it is CD.

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Interview With Travis Newman Creator Of Indie Sensation Animator's Nightmare

In the wake of this years many gaming disappointments, community fiascos and the ever growing disappearance of the sacred dollar menu at restaurants many wonder about the future of gaming and culture. Will the industry see a new wave of games that captivate us in the same way as the ones that came before? Or are we to be held in a creative limbo where everything created is the exact same as the things that came before? In a world of sequels, reboots and DLC packs some developers are taking the gaming basketball down the court and jumping up for a slam dunk. I was able to experience one such effort in developer Travis Newman's brand new game Animator's Nightmare. After... Read All

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/05/2015 at 07:12pm

This game is so hard, I only scored 5!! Is there any way you could possibly tone down the difficulty? I mean it said to press the ANY key to jump, but I can't find it!!!!! Do I need to upgrade my keyboard? Also, the my GTX 690 had severe issues with the graphics. I didn't see the amazing graphics Jon mentioned, should I upgrade my PC? I mean my computer could barely run it. It was kind of slow. This is a terrible game and you should be ashamed that you made it. I am going to call upon my fellow trolls and make you afraid to step outside of your hows!!!!!!

HAHAHAHA I'm kidding as much as you guys. Good job, Travis! Good interview, too!!! =)

Travis Admin wrote on 12/05/2015 at 10:25pm

My high score is like 40 because I got bored. The next version will be harder. :D

But yeah this was fun to make. All the backgrounds and obstacles were from previous animations I've done throughout the semester. The plot, such as it is, I fall asleep at the PC and have a dream that I'm trapped in the Flash software with all my creations trying to kill me. The timeline and titlebar you see the player running on are parts of the Flash interface, and the panel with the score and health are the symbol properties for the player symbol. The title and game over screens are wrapped in the Flash interface, with a ton of the panels hidden so I could make it feasibly sized and still have the content show up.

I'm super proud of the concept, it works without any noticeable bugs (as mentioned in the interview :D) but I seriously might change it up a bit for a more general audience who hasn't seen all my previous animations, and make it actually have some difficulty.

Travis Admin wrote on 12/05/2015 at 10:51pm

If you want the context of all those animations you see riddled throughout that make no sense: http://nrccstudents.org/newmant/flashprojects.html

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/05/2015 at 11:22pm

> Also, the my GTX 690 had severe issues with the graphics. I didn't see the amazing graphics Jon mentioned, should I upgrade my PC?

You don't ask if Animator's Nightmare should change to fit your PC, the proper reasoning is to change your PC to work better with Animator's Nightmare.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/06/2015 at 12:11am

That's what I said Jon, you even quoted me saying "...should I upgrade my PC?" Maybe if I upgraded my GTX 690 to a 3dfx Voodoo 2, it would look amazing! I'm not sure I'm ready to have a $1,300 graphics card though. Steam says I've spent 1,000 hours playing this game and I still think it sucks! Granite, I think the conpect is neice becuz who woold of thout to have a charakter jumping over thing?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Do you like what I did there? Seriously, good job, Travis! I hope you enjoy my humor as I've enjoyed the humor of your interview. Remember your good ol' roommate when you get rich! =)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/06/2015 at 12:19am

scrypt Supporter wrote on 12/06/2015 at 01:59am

I first played Animator's Nightmare back on 12/4/15, before it was cool, and it terrified me. Everything about it seemed so REAL, especially the horror. I'm glad there was a jump ability, because there was no way I was going to lose another fight to a dancing baby! No one should have to relive that moment...

My only complaint is that this game suffers from what I call "coercive nostalgia." The past is so present in such a way that it causes me to forget any recent knowledge I've acquired of video games, and how to play them. Granted, this works to the games advantage, but it really sucks when I then go on to play The Talos Principle, forgetting how to apply logic, or even push other non-jumping buttons.

I have to hand it to Newman, though. Only the bravest son-of-a-bitch could take those very personal, haunted dreams and push them on people in such a simple, yet not condescending way. A masterful stroke, almost frighteningly so, proving once again that Canadian game developers should definitely be taken seriously.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 12/06/2015 at 05:23am

After awhile the level design starts to feel recycled. Also, I felt there were too many dancing babies and not enough Humping Robots. I also think it could have used more anime cat girls.
4/10.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/06/2015 at 05:36am

**account deleted**

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/06/2015 at 06:24am

After searching for a few hours on local a BBS, I found out that in order to run the game properly, I had to upgrade my Netscape Navigator to 2.0. I can't afford to buy the brand new 3dfx Voodoo 2 nor can I afford to upgrade my 14.4 modem. Luckily, I was able to play the game again and I got a better score. I did notice a significant boost in proformance of the game and golly, the graphics are amazing!!! I also found out that there's this gaming company called "Copcam" and they have this game called "Megamain" or something like that. Anyway, the karakter jumps just like yours in the game. You clearly made your game first and so you should sue them for cofyright infrengiment. I hope you'll hook me up with some of that money you get when you win that lawsuit, since I'm the furst to pont it out two your!!!!

Hahahaha I looked at your other work, too. Good job! Parallax Background was probably most notable to me because I remembered seeing that "Parallax" option in Terraria and didn't really know what it was about. I don't even think I looked it up.

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Double Fine Launches New Crowdfunding Effort For Psychonauts 2

Tim Schafer and Double Fine are at it again with a new Crowdfunding campaign to launch the development of Psychonauts 2. As seen in the video above they are enlisting the help of many people associated with the original game to cook up what looks to be a nice follow up to the original. The video is very fun and features a cameo by Valve overlord Gabe Newell and writer Eric Wolpaw that is work the price of admission alone.

To date Double Fine seems to have navigated a few Crowdfunding snafus with Broken Age and Spacebase DF9. I can't speak to Spacebase but I found Broken Age to be an incredibly fun game even though the funding efforts were a bit shaky at times. To... Read All

Epic Mark Hamill Interview on Star Citizen, Wing Commander and Star Wars

Mark Hamill is one of the many actors that will appear in Star Citizen, the extremely well funded Kickstarter Space simulation game that has raised an estimated $99 million dollars with pre-launch crowdfunding. Apparently Star Citizen is bringing on some very talented actors such as Mark Hamill, Gary Oldman, Gillian Anderson & John Rhys Davies to help tell the games story. Hamill is no slouch to lending his voice and acting abilities to gaming as my first memory of him outside Star Wars* was Adrian Ripburger in Full Throttle and went on to later star in Wing Commander and the voice of the Joker in the Batman comics as well as video games. In this interview with PC... Read All

Get Jade Empire Free On EA Origin!

EA is giving away the classic BioWare RPG Jade Empire so head over to Origin to redeem it while supplies last! While the digital supplies last. So basically until they run out of keys? Or does it expire? They don't really say so just click that link down there.

https://www.origin.com/en-us/store/free-games/on-the-house

Kirby's Dream Land - An Amazing Retro Platformer That Is Incredibly Easy To Beat

One of the retro karts I picked up as this years Portland Retro Gaming Expo was Kirby's Dreamland on Gameboy. I have fond memories of Kirby on NES and since I wanted to pickup a Gameboy Advance at this years PRGE I decided to also get some classic Gameboy titles such as Metroid Return of Samus and Kirby's Dreamland.

A week ago I snapped Kirby's Dreamland in my Advance and started it up. Immediately I was reminded of how much fun Kirbys Adventure is on the Nintendo as it's nearly perfectly translated here to Gameboy. The play control is great and the platforming is super smooth. Kirby can suck in enemies and air that he can then shoot out as a projectile weapon as well... Read All

Tales From The Void - My Thoughts On The First Half of Starcraft II Legacy of The Void

I am a StarCraft zombie from way back so when news of the final chapter of the StarCraft II series was releasing I zerg rushed to get it. Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm took the series into a much deeper and more interesting place and as seen in my numerous play sessions of both games. Legacy of the Void continues the epic saga and I can safely say that it's quite enjoyable and so far, a very entertaining ride. I don't want to spoil the game for anyone so I am going to not get too specific about anything I feel is related to the plot.

As the game launches you back into the StarCraft-verse things happen that I didn't expect but make sense with how Blizzard like... Read All I am a StarCraft zombie from way back so when news of the final chapter of the StarCraft II series was releasing I zerg rushed to get it. Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm took the series into a much deeper and more interesting place and as seen in my numerous play sessions of both games. Legacy of the Void continues the epic saga and I can safely say that it's quite enjoyable and so far, a very entertaining ride. I don't want to spoil the game for anyone so I am going to not get too specific about anything I feel is related to the plot.

As the game launches you back into the StarCraft-verse things happen that I didn't expect but make sense with how Blizzard like to tell stories. After the initial couple missions things get very bleak, which makes sense considering they want you to feel like the odds are against you and you might not win. But since you always win in video games that you spend the time to complete this trope is honestly starting to feel a bit played out. It's not that I don't mind the odds stacked against you in a game, it's just that the lengths Blizzard goes to accomplish that seem entirely transparent. I'll try to explain what I mean without getting too specific about the story but at one point you come across a race that did very well in the last couple games and should be quite strong yet in one mission they are unbelievably devastated. "You mean all the stuff I did in the last games to build things up are wiped out in a mission or two? *sigh* sure Ok then." The only other thing I found a bit obnoxious was the Protoss have very well reasoned plans with clear objectives that keep getting figured out for not apparent reason. The game makes it plain that you are on the cutting edge of an idea and means to make you believe you arrive on location before the enemy does to only be hoodwinked by them as they have already arrived and are extremely well prepared. The game basically wants you to believe that when you come to some news first and leave right away the bad guys beat you to the punch... every... single... time. Again, this isn't a bad trope if you do it once or twice but it happens all the time.

That said the other aspects of the game are solid and extremely enjoyable. The diversity of missions is solid, the art direction is incredible and the music is top notch. If you loved the earlier StarCraft games you'd do well to play this one as it's a fitting end to the series.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/01/2015 at 02:22am

I must admit that I still haven't played it. Fallout 4 and Ark: Survival Evolved are to blame. Well, that and my anxiety with even the first Oblivion mission. As I've said, I intended to play Fallout 4 first. I've also thought about starting LotV and going back to the Oblivion missions when I feel more comfortable with the Protoss, since it's been so long since I've seriously played some StarCraft II.

Thanks for your input! How many missions have you played through? Or, how many hours have you put into LotV?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/01/2015 at 05:55am

I've played through a bit more than half of the game. Hours? I don't know Blizzard doesn't make it easy to see that. By the end maybe 25 or 30?

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/20/2015 at 08:33pm

I finally just finished Whispers of Oblivion. It was a bit difficult to get into it and proceed through the first two missions, I had to look up some help after a few attempts. I failed a few times with the last mission, but ended up finishing it. I played on Normal difficulty. At first, it was because I wasn't used to Protoss units and wasn't sure how to proceed. In the first mission, I built some very strong robotic ground units, which was helpful. For the second one, I used a good group of air units.

So, what do you think about LotV now that you finished?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/20/2015 at 08:56pm

Ah, good question I should get a review out. In general i was hapoy with it but it wasnt as great as Wings or HoTS. That said it had a very satisfying prologue ending.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/20/2015 at 09:08pm

Did you pre-order the Nova thing yet? I'm thinking about it, there is a sale going on for it.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 12/20/2015 at 09:34pm

Yep, I will.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 12/20/2015 at 09:45pm

I did. It's only $14.99. =)

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