What single player FPS campaign are you playing?

[MrPopo]

Hey Ds, since FEAR 2 is now on GOG, I realized that I have yet to play the expansions for the first. What are your thoughts on Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate? How long are they? Which one would be a better choice to start with?

I'd echo MrPopo's thoughts on order. I don't recall how long they are to be honest...I feel like maybe each one was about half as long as FEAR itself.

That sounds about right.

[Xeogred]

Yeah, I recall each FEAR expansion being within the 3-4 hour range.

The FEAR 2 "expansion" on the other hand is like 30 minutes long. Make sure that's only 50 cents or something.

[ExedExes]

Ok, so I think I'm really going to like Rise of the Triad 2013. All the original characters, weapons, and even those crazy floating platforms in a newer, more open type setting. Looks great on Unreal Engine 3. Not bad for free.

[Ack]

I fired up Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight last night for the first time. I absolutely loved the original Dark Forces but never gave the sequel a shot because I just wasn't interested in force powers. I always thought there was way too much focus on being one of the squeaky-clean Jedi in a lot of SW media when I was more interested in the grimier parts of the Star Wars universe, and the original Dark Forces delivered on that. But after years of putting it off, I finally decided to sit down with this one.

First, the controls took a little reworking, mainly because some of the buttons I like to use for things are now taken up by Force powers. I retooled and found something comfortable, and after experimenting a bit with the mouse layout, I've got it fixed. I was happy to see Nar Shaddaa at the start, as that was one of my favorite levels in the first game(Ramses Hed is another, and now that I'm on level 5, I'm happy to be returning there too). But one of my least favorite levels in Dark Forces was the Anoat sewers, and so far DF2 has a lot of sewerage levels...though thankfully so far no sewer monsters.

Also, isn't Kyle supposed to be much older by this point in the Star Wars storyline? I remember him looking like he was in his mid-30s in the first game, which takes place during and in the general aftermath of the destruction of the first Death Star(there is some discrepancy, as Kyle rescues Crix Madine, who has information on the second one). The second game takes place after the destruction of the second Death Star, yet he looks like he's gotten younger. It's throwing me for a loop.

[Ack]

I played through a few more levels today and have beaten my first Dark Jedi. Aiming is an issue occasionally, as no weapons have iron sights and most can be incredibly inaccurate with their fire. Also, there are apparently only two major ammunition types, which concerns me a bit. Two guns use one, while three use the other, and one of that three spits ammo away like no tomorrow. The other weapons I have now are either melee or explosives, and I don't often use them for fighting. Thermal detonators have a horrendous arc, so I mainly use them for clearing landmines. I have yet to use mines for anything.

I have begun using force powers more, and despite my initial hesitation, I quite like Force Speed and Force Jump despite their limitations. Maybe more points spent upgrading them will help, but I have a bad habit of missing a single secret in each level, which means I just haven't gotten any bonus stars for upgrades. I kind of wish finding 100% secrets wasn't my only other means of boosting my powers. Also, not sure how this dark side/light side dynamic works, because I am slighty light side but still quite in the middle.

Anyway, glad to be fighting proper stormtroopers again.

[MrPopo]

Aiming is an issue occasionally, as no weapons have iron sights and most can be incredibly inaccurate with their fire.

For complaining about a game not having iron sights I sentence you to marathoning Doom, Doom II, Heretic, and Duke Nukem 3D before you're allowed to play any other games.

[Ack]

Aiming is an issue occasionally, as no weapons have iron sights and most can be incredibly inaccurate with their fire.

For complaining about a game not having iron sights I sentence you to marathoning Doom, Doom II, Heretic, and Duke Nukem 3D before you're allowed to play any other games.

The problem is, those guns shoot straight. I know where those projectiles will go in all of those. Kyle flails his wrist about like a rag doll in this game. I shot sideways once.

[Xeogred]

I replayed Jedi Knight a few years back myself and thought it had aged really well for the most part. It came out only a year before Half-Life I believe and although the engine is more dated, it feels more advanced in other ways. I love how platforming based those old FPS's are too.

Definitely one of my long time favorites and some of my favorite Star Wars stuff in general honestly. It is a bit weird compared to the first one though. Jedi Knight Outcast is pretty solid too, but not quite as good. I couldn't get into Jedi Academy though.

As for aiming, I thought most weapons auto locked on anyways? Outside of the Crossbow.

[Ack]

It depends on the weapon. The Bryer pistol is very accurate, so it's great for sniping a long range target, but there is no way to possibly lead anything. The blaster rifle isn't good for firing at long ranges, as it just isn't accurate or consistent enough. It vaguely auto aims when it wants to, from what I can tell. The bowcaster also is poor at auto-aiming, nor does it shoot straight. Now the repeater is great because you can see how the stream moves, though it does spit out a lot of ammunition, and the concussion rifle has a splash effect, so even if you miss, you hit, but this is a mixed bag at medium to close range because the splash hits you as well.

I find I tend to never use the bowcaster. The Bryer pistol gets used at long range, the concussion rifle at long to medium range, the blaster rifle at medium to close range, and the repeater I am comfortable using at just about any range, though I prefer medium to close. The mines I still don't use, the thermal detonators are more of a utility for my playstyle, and I haven't spent enough time with the rocket launcher to make a real judgment on its versatility. There's no reason to use the fists once you have the lightsaber unless you are near NPCs you wish to keep alive(the lightsaber has an arc that can sometimes kill people on your extreme left and right, or even slightly behind you). While I don't often fight with it anymore outside of required boss battles, the lightsaber is useful for cutting through certain barriers, repelling blaster fire while I wait(such as for a door to close), and makes a decent light source.

I still feel the game is a mixed bag, but if I am frank with myself, DFII never really had a chance considering how much I love the first game in the series. That said, while the level design varies a bit, there have been some places that I thought were truly amazing and inspired.

[Thierry Henry]

Playing a bit of Battlefield Hardline.

With MGS and Splinter Cell type game-play being right up my alley I knew I'd probably enjoy this as I prefer a stealthy approach to games
There's something very satisfying in clearing an area without alerting anyone.
If you're a pure "action junkie" though I'd say cut a hard line in the other direction.