Random Gaming Thoughts

[CFFJR]

Cool, that's good to hear! Thanks!

[ApolloBoy]

I don't like either, NCSX has steep prices and it seems like Play-Asia never has anything in stock when it comes to old stuff.

[dunpeal2064]

Has NCSX gotten worse? Last I used them, I purchased Muchi Pork/Pink Sweets LE, which ran me $120. Seemed just about spot on

[CFFJR]

I don't like either, NCSX has steep prices and it seems like Play-Asia never has anything in stock when it comes to old stuff.

Has NCSX gotten worse? Last I used them, I purchased Muchi Pork/Pink Sweets LE, which ran me $120. Seemed just about spot on

Well, the game I'm looking at would be a preorder anyway, and the price difference between the two sites is about 4 bucks. I'm gonna order from ncsx for the reason dunpeal stated in his earlier response.

*shrug*

That does sound obnoxious though. Do you have an alternative that you prefer Apollo?

[Sload Soap]

I wish there was a way to smoosh the two Sonic All Stars Racing games together to make one perfect kart racer. I noticed Transformed has a "classics" 360 release so hopefully a sequel will be considered. And I get to be project lead.

[Erik_Twice]

I'm gonna copypaste this rambling rant about Thief II I wrote in another forum

Thief II has left me very conflicted when it comes to judging its level design. I'm at mission 10 now and I've seen the game go from one of the best level design I've seen in years to one of the worst in a couple of hours.

After the first two levels, which kind of serve as some kind of introduction to the rest of the game there's a really great mission that has you infiltrate a police station(!) to frame someone of a crime he didn't commit. And all this without killing or knocking anyone out because that would raise suspicions. It's really great to time your way through the constant patrols and hug the walls to dodge the creepy brass faces that act as cameras. Really cool level.

Level four has you escape the city guard after being betrayed by an acquaintance and it's a very interesting change of pace. It's the first level in which making noise to distract the guards and just making bold moves from one shadow to another is the way to go, normally you would just knock everybody out.

Level five is amazing. It takes place in this huge technomagical cathedral filled with incredibly creepy brass-faced robots that sing chants to the Sacred Builder of the Mechanists, there are floors of metal that instantly alert anybody if you aren't careful with your movements and pressure is constant.

But it's nothing compared to level six, which has you robbing a bank. It's filled with dozens of guards, dozens of cameras and hundreds, hundreds of robots in patrol. Opening a door without knowing who will be watching behind it while the mechanical thud of the mechanical starts becoming louder and louder gives me a huge rush of adrenaline. Oh, and the floors are often made of marble and your feet make these distinct noise that gives your position away if you aren't careful. And the goals are amazing, not only you have to get in the most secure place in the planet, you have to disable at least two different security systems while managing your water arrows and other useful items. One of the best levels I've played in ages.

Level seven was kind of a dissapointment, simply because it was hard to compare to the awesomeness of the previous one. It's a fairly straighfoward mansion map, just peek around the corners and take out the guards one by one. Well made, but lacks that sharp edge that made the two previous levels so great.

And then...the design goes to hell. Level eight is filler, it's uses the same map level 4 used and simply has you follow a couple dudes around the town. It's so simple, it's dull. Just move from shadow to shadow in a straight line.

But it was a short level so I didn't quite mind it, the problem was the level that followed. Oh, level 9 is awful, awful, awful, one of the worst levels I've played in ages. Suddenly the game ditches the magitek/steampunkish aura for corny, tired fantasy tropes and the big mansions in which all kinds of strategies are possible are replaced with a dull treetop village that just has you waiting for enemies to pass by so you can knock them down. For an hour. It absolutely killed my excitement, I was bored because it added nothing, it was junk.


Fortunately, I'm told level 10 is one of the best levels in the game. The leader of the mechanists has organized a ball in a highly secure palace and all kinds of royalty are invited to it. There will be sneaking, guards, creepy robots and actual thievery instead of just knocking people down. I really look foward to it

TL;DR:

Level 1, 2 Good
Level 3 Great
Level 4 Good
Level 5, 6 AMAZING
Level 7 Good
Level 8 Boring
Level 9 JUNK

[dunpeal2064]

I have a less informative rant of my own.

Fuck Knytt Underground

[Xeogred]

Just wait until the final level General_Norris...

That level...

My god, it's like an entire game in itself. For better or worse, it was utterly ridiculous. I think it took me a week or two alone of playing off and on to finish it.

I like Thief 1-2 probably the same. The Thief 2 level design was definitely an improvement and they were a lot bigger and more complex, but Thief was weirder. Some people rag on the zombies and supernatural stuff in that one, but I don't think it even bothered me. Some of the weirder levels in that one like the twisting mansion, the three elemental towers, etc really stood out a lot. Thief 2 had Karas though, what a villain.

I think Deadly Shadows was a great game. Still had most of the same elements, voice actor, composer, etc, but the story does get pretty bad in the second half, and unfortunately it has one of the worst engines ever (same as Invisible War). So even on PC, the game runs pretty terrible and the maps are tiny. It's definitely worth a run though, but yeah.

Can't wait to see how the new one stacks up.

[Gooseberrysoda]

I don't care HOW cheap the listing is, if you insist on writing it like "doge," I'm going to not buy it on principle alone

[Violent By Design]

Hey, not sure if this is a coincidence or not, but you can get Thief Gold for free right now.

http://thiefmodcompetition.com/

(you dont have to put in a real e-mail, they won't confirm).

They give you a code, you go to Amazon.com to redeem it. (in which they'll give you a Steam code to redeem that)

Why are consoles so scarce at launch? I remember Jack Trenton say something along the lines of "If you want one, you'll get one" yet it took me over a month of scouring the web to get my hands on a PS4. If this some sort of marketing technique?

Better to make a few and sell them all out then to make too many and have them lying on the shelves.