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GwaR commented on:
Why do gamers hate Activision? |
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@ Chris Antista I appreciate what you tried to do here. I've got to agree with a lot of the other comments, though, and say that your article missed the mark. I get it that Dan's your buddy and you don't want to burn him at the stake, or don't feel it's warranted, but YOU DID PUSSY-FOOT AROUND THE CORE ISSUES. Go back and re-read your own article with a critical eye. You failed to mention almost all of the reasons gamers actually hate on Activision. It sure as hell isn't because they're the 'biggest kid on the block-BS'. That's a corporate scape-goat that Activision themselves created to try and get some positive PR spin just a few weeks ago. Don't feed us their crap, hit Dan with some actual hard questions and call him to the carpet with some specific scenarios in Activision's recent past. They've mis-handled plenty of things, by admission from multiple developers recently. So let's ask them to de-bunk those 'myths'. Is Activision really that bad? Nope, probably not. They're a business and have to do what they feel is right for their bottom line. I would guess their biggest sin is probably just doing a terrible job on the PR side and not locking Bobby Kotick's mouth behind sound-proof glass, as soon as he started saying things that pissed off gamers. You as a journalist have to do a bit more, though. I normally come to GR because, 1) you guys are funny and 2) because you normally cut right through this kind of BS to get to the heart of the issue. Please take this as constructive criticism: I really feel you could've done a lot better on this one. |
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GwaR commented on:
Battlefield 3 (PC): Battlefield 3: New gameplay footage looks intense, amazing |
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@KevlarTurban You are so right. My jaw hit the floor seeing that section where you're running through street following your AI teammate. The guy actually looks like he's running! Uncanny valley destroyed! @db1331 Agreed, it looks far better than Killzone in every respect. Now, if only we could marry the character animations of BF3 with the facial animations of LA Noire -and BAMMMMM, the next generation is upon us! |
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GwaR commented on:
6 crap game design flaws that really should be extinct by now (but that we accept anyway) |
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@ nragedTortoise1 Mandatory combat should NEVER have been in Mirror's Edge design, seeing as how the game wasn't really made for it and didn't handle it well. The sign-posting was so poor and the level design so convoluted in some areas, however, that you had no choice but to go commando on everyone just to get through. And yes, the sign-posting in Mirror's Edge was pretty poor in a lot of the levels, despite the color coding. I can't count the number of times I blind leaped off a building to my death because I thought I was going the right way. It also didn't help that the color coding only showed up when it felt like it. |
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GwaR commented on:
Grand Theft Auto (PC): GTA almost never happened because it "crashed all the f*cking time" |
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@garnsr - The first two didn't sell really highly, but sold well enough that they were actually able to release the third one, which is when they changed everything and really became a household name. Had they not been able to release the first one, then they never would've gotten to the third one in the first place. Additionally, I don't think anyone gives them enough credit for the first two GTAs. They were ground breaking games, they just weren't as ground breaking as GTA 3. Here's hoping that GTA 5 comes soon! |
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GwaR commented on:
Homefront (Xbox 360): Homefront hands-on preview |
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Yes, as AxiamWolfe said, you could've made it a lot easier on yourselves if you just said 'multiplayer is almost exactly like frontline: fuels of war'. Maybe the previewer failed to realize that it was the same studio making Homefront as Frontlines, or more likely he just never played Frontlines... |
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GwaR commented on:
Super Street Fighter IV (PS3): Smackdown vs. Raw: Scarily accurate Street Fighter cast are so good it's downright surreal |
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Wow, those are impressive. Some serious talent on display there. Doing the skins is one thing, but the special moves are a stroke of genius. |
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GwaR commented on:
The Top 7… Games you don’t want for Christmas 2010 |
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The Bloodstone one made me laugh so hard I was crying, must've missed it on 4chan... |
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GwaR commented on:
The Top 7... Overlooked games of 2010 |
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Sorry videos = not so good. I can't have sound at my work desk. |
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GwaR commented on:
GamesRadar Editors' Games of the Year: 2010 Edition |
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LOL @ Brett Elston's. You sir, have made my day. |
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GwaR commented on:
Call of Duty: Black Ops (Xbox 360): November NPD results contain percentages, other numbers |
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"Many consumers who have studied the numbers have pointed out what they say is a "surprising" correlation between the popularity of a game and its sales, and have expressed their concerns with comments such as, "WTF CoD sux," and, "lol just dance 2 rlly?!" - I almost got fired I was laughing so hard. Way to start my Friday. Love you GR! |
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GwaR commented on:
Dead Space 2 (Xbox 360): Great EA games 'fell below expectations' says big boss man. Sshhhh, don't listen Mirror's Edge! |
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I know everyone's enjoying hating on EA's CEO, because after all he is their CEO (all CEOs are evil). That being said, he IS right about mirror's edge. Re-read what he said, he's pretty much spot on. The game was fun and good when it was firing on all cylinders, but that was the exception in Mirror's Edge, as other lame caveats kept bringing the experience down. Lame story, mandatory combat in WAY too many areas for a game that's based on avoiding combat, the indoor environments (almost all of them were terrible), and the utter lack of replay value. The time trials were fun for a little while, but there was nothing else to come back for after that. I loved Mirror's Edge in spite of it's flaws, which is a testament to how strong the core concept was, but it was very flawed. What the CEO is saying here, though, is that they should've done more. They should've gone all out and put everything they could into these IPs rather than just 'dipping their toes in the water' to see if they could make money. I agree with him. With a little more polish and a better story, Mirror's Edge could've been the 'next big thing' rather than another cult game. |
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GwaR commented on:
Dungeons (PC): Dungeons – first look |
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Yes, for those who played DK1 or 2 this sounds almost exactly like them -which is AWESOME!!!!! I've been waiting years for another game in this mold (haven't had anything close since Evil Genius). Day 1 purchase for me. Woot! |
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GwaR commented on:
14 forgotten franchises we want back |
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Also, add Dungeon Keeper to the list. I haven't seen another game like it since Evil Genius -which was largely overlooked. |
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GwaR commented on:
14 forgotten franchises we want back |
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RC PRO AM! Whoa, this whole sentence = RPM, Rock n’ Roll Racing, Super Off-Road, Micro Machines. I loved them all and had all but forgotten about all of them until this article. I can't believe no one has done a modern update of these classics. They were universally fun and the best ones were tightly balanced. They even allowed upgrades to your ride -perfect template for a modern update. Nice job GR! Also, I'll second Colony Wars and Tie Fighter, or any space combat game with a plot. They all seemed to die out in the 90s, which is shame when you think what they could do with a Freespace or a Wing Commander now. Lastly, I'd point out that Trine is kind of a spiritual successor to Lost Vikings. Trine is more combat-y and isn't nearly as hard, but it's the same kind of idea. Just saying... |
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GwaR commented on:
Street Fighter IV (PC): Piracy concerns lead to cancellation of Super Street Fighter IV on PC |
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@Gamesradar Mark Raby - Since no one else has called you on your bullshit, I suppose I will. How the hell do you expect the PC version to show up in the top twenty if THEY DON'T EVEN POST A TOP 20 FOR PC GAME SALES. You sir are either mis-informed, or don't have a clue, as the NPD stopped reporting PC sales over 2 years ago because it was 'too hard track'. They don't show up next to console game sales for that reason and that reason only. @jmcgrotty - You're just trolling bro, as you obviously have no idea how many games are sold digitally for PCs (hint = the majority). My only problem with all of this, is how stupidly obtuse an argument it is that Capcom is using, and how Gamesradar is eating it up. I never figured you guys for sheep, so think about it for a second here and follow along with me: A) Here is the sentence = 'but even so it has sold admirably since it was released earlier this year' That means that Capcom is pleased with the sales of SF4 on PC, which means that it's either selling well or that it has sold well enough that they've made a good amount of profit. B) Next = During the interview, he said the PC version of Street Fighter IV was "number one in piracy." -This is fairly common and sad, but the best and most popular games on the PC are the ones that are the most pirated. So, if we take point A + point B then we get (from Capcom) = Don't make games for the PC because they sell well/make a profit and because they are popular they will also be pirated. Is everyone else reading this or am I crazy? Seriously, how can a video game be selling well/making a profit and yet be a bad decision? The only reason I can firgure is that Capcom is counting piracy as LOSSES. Which is absolutely ridiculous. It's like counting all of the used game sales as losses -oh wait, the video game companies do that too.... |
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GwaR commented on:
What do you prefer, freedom or scripting? |
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Like others have mentioned, scripted moments within a free-form game (or at least a game that makes you think it's free-form) seem to be the pinnacle for me. Others have mentioned RDRedemption, but I also look at Portal as a good example. Glados is going to do/say the same thing no matter what, but you're still free to tackle the puzzles however you see fit and at your own pace. it's not truely open and free, but it makes you FEEL like it is -which is the important part. |
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GwaR commented on:
Do gamer boycotts accomplish anything? |
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Yes, as many have already said, the fundamental flaw with them is that most gamers don't have the will-power to follow through. We're like crack addicts that can't keep away no matter what we tell ourselves. MW2 is the most telling example. If core PC users had truly boycotted the game, Activision would have felt it in the lack of sales. That didn't happen, though, in fact one statistic I read put PC copies purchased through retail at over 20% of the total sales. That doesn't even count Steam, which has had MW2 firmly slotted in it's top 10 sales list every week since it was released. In other words, almost none of the 'MW2 boycotters' actually boycotted the game. What good is a boycott if you only threaten to do it? Activision called their bluff and proved that they were full of crap. On a happy side note, as someone already pointed out, it did still have an impact -as one of the first announcements for COD Black Ops was dedicated servers. |
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GwaR commented on:
How gritty western obsessions are murdering Japanese games |
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Wow, a lot of mixed views on the issue. Throwing in my two cents: 1) There's nothing wrong with the way Japan does things with their game design, but IT DOES NEED TO EVOLVE. Their quirkiness is part of the appeal, just like their art style being wholely unique, but that doesn't mean they can keep doing the same things over and over again and expect to get away with it. 2) JRPGs are stale at the moment. Just look at the plot of almost every major JRPG in the last 5 years! GR obviously sees it too, which is why you guys did a feature asking 'are JRPGs dead?'. Btw - convenient that you 'forgot' to link the article, eh Houghton? 3) Change/evolution is not necessarily equal to 'more gritty'. No one said that the japanese games industry needs to start making Halo clones and Gears of War clones to survive (some studios seem to think this is the answer, though, ...cough...cough.. Vanquish). Instead, evolution may just mean they need to alter a few design elements, a few plot areas, and axe a few annoying stereo-type characters. Hopefully they can pull it off, because if they don't, Western audiences will stop buying their games. If that happens, then they'll stop importing/localizing them -which will be a sad day for all of us. |
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GwaR commented on:
5 games we wish had audio commentary |
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Props for shoving Daikatana in there, but you forgot to mention Okami. No GR list of must haves is complete without mention of Okami. |
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GwaR commented on:
Infinity Ward: Business as usual, morale is high |
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Wow. Dodge, dodge, and dodge some more. Amazing that he manages to say almost nothing and yet still trys to come off as having said something. This is my favorite quote: 'Yeah, we will. We’re going to have a second map pack at some point. We don’t have details on that yet, but we’re definitely going to do more than one DLC this time around.' It took them 5 months to make 3 new maps and re-skin 2 old ones. I like how he just vaguely says 'at some point'. He doesn't even bother lieing to say 'soon'. LOL! |
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GwaR commented on:
Just Cause 2 (PC): Just Cause 2 – hands-on |
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The lack of difficulty was not the major flaw of the first game, but rather the irrating amount villages, towns, and cities that you had to 'liberate'. I seriously spent hours liberating areas only to look at my map and realize there were hundreds more left -and they all liberated through the same basic mechanics (go in shooting and blow a bunch of stuff up whilst killing hundreds of re-spawning enemies). Talk about terrible, rinse and repeat ad nauseum game play... Anyway, the new one looks promising. I hope there is no village liberating, though. |
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GwaR commented on:
Crysis 2 (Xbox 360): Crysis 2 – first look |
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I'm cautiously optomistic, just like GR seems to be. The original Far Cry and Crysis are some of my favorite all-time FPSs for their sandbox approaches to almost every situation. In fact, the parts of both games that I disliked were the scripted sequences and boss fights. Anything linear like that should be saved for COD and the other outfits who do it better than Crytek. Crytek's strength is in creating a beautifully rendered sandbox FPS AND making it fun. No other company yet seems to have been able to do that. My hope is that Crytek can pull it off on multiple platforms, just like they did on the PC. My skepticism stems from the fact that no matter how you slice it, the consoles don't have anywhere near the power of modern multi-core PCs. Let's hope Crytek can pull off some of their magic, because they're going to need it... |
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GwaR commented on:
The 10 most distracting things in Heavy Rain |
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The schizophrenia reference was a stretch, but the others were spot on -especially the ultra-creepy teeth. I get annoyed in movies when they try to claim that the plot is set somewhere, but it's obvious that it's actually Hong Kong (just one example among many). So it's needless to say that I was bugged throughout the entire game that was obviously taking place in Europe, but was claiming to be in America. I lived many years in both continents and they are completely different from an aesthetic stand point. Would it have been so hard to hire one real American consultant who tell you that the game you were making looks and feels nothing like America? How hard would that have been, really? Anyway, great article. I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed. |
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GwaR commented on:
Two Worlds II (Xbox 360): Two Worlds II – hands-on |
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Alpha Protocol, if it ever gets released, is supposed to be set in the modern world -albeit a spy world. Maybe someone will mod in orcs and wizards after the fact... |
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GwaR commented on:
Aliens vs Predator (Xbox 360): Aliens vs Predator |
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I wanted to take a moment to thank GR for actually reviewing the game in its entirety. Most of the review sites out there (Game Spy, Game Informer, Gamespot, etc.) seem to focus in on the Single Player campaign and completely ignore the most important aspect of the game, the multiplayer. Just wanted to throw out a quick kudos to GR for actually playing the WHOLE game before posting a review. |
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GwaR commented on:
Aliens vs Predator (PC): Aliens vs Predator |
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I wanted to take a moment to thank GR for actually reviewing the game in its entirety. Most of the review sites out there (Game Spy, Game Informer, Gamespot, etc.) seem to focus in on the Single Player campaign and completely ignore the most important aspect of the game, the multiplayer. Just wanted to throw out a quick kudos to GR for actually playing the WHOLE game before posting a review. |
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GwaR commented on:
Games that are doomed to die in 2010 |
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I'm going to have to echo everyone else and say that you're very wrong about Red Dead Redemption. There's a large audience for it already and I'm positive it will sell very well. As everyone else has already said, you're wrong on that one and I'm positive it's sales will exceed 2 million (which is plenty by any measure). The rest of the list is great. Kudos for managing to squeeze both Okami and Sonic into the article. It's made me wonder whether there's a standing bet at the GR offices as to who can shoe-horn them into the most articles. |
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GwaR commented on:
The Anti-Awards 2009 |
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As always, the anti-awards are excellent and well thought out. Tony Hawk taking the top spot is perfect, and very well deserved. Two glaring omissions, however, were made. You failed to mention COD Modern Warfare 2 giving PC owners the middle finger -whilst sneaking in the news that they were going to give them the middle finger a mere 3 weeks before the game released. You also forgot to nominate Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, for being a total dick in every respect. |
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GwaR commented on:
The Top 7... Disappointing games of the decade |
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No, I don't think you can do it GR. Not have more fun at Sonic's and Daikatana's expenses in the future? It's too much to ask. If only Duke Nukem Forever had been delayed another year too... Here's to many more years of fun at stupid games expenses! |
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GwaR commented on:
Fanboy wars throughout the ages - Settled at last! |
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The Doom meter! The measure of all greatness has returned! Awesomeness. I especially love that the younger respondents have no idea why Doom is the ultimate measuring stick. Old farts that grew up worshipping Doom FTW! |
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GwaR commented on:
E3 09: The Top 7... crushing letdowns in E3 history |
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Reading through your paragraph on the Wii Music disaster made me LOL all over again just like I did the first time I read about it. Great article. |
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GwaR commented on:
E3 09: PSP Go revealed |
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Sorry, Sony lost all of my trust with their first PSP. I was an early adopter and have regretted the decision ever since. I've watched as game after game released for the DS that I would rather play. My PSP.... well... damn... DSi here I come. |
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GwaR commented on:
E3 09: PSP Go revealed |
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Sorry, Sony lost all of my trust with their first PSP. I was an early adopter and have regretted the decision ever since. I've watched as game after game released for the DS that I would rather play. My PSP.... well... damn... DSi here I come. |
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GwaR commented on:
E3 09: The Top 7... crushing letdowns in E3 history |
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Reading through your paragraph on the Wii Music disaster made me LOL all over again just like I did the first time I read about it. Great article. |
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GwaR commented on:
WARNING: Far Cry 2 is still a broken game |
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Wow, I bought the game last week in Ubisoft's Steam sale. Wish you'd posted this before then. This is pretty unexcusable. Well, let's just hope that this article prompts Ubisoft to step up to the plate and put some man-power behind getting a fix out, as it seems obvious that they haven't really been trying very hard up to this point. |
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GwaR commented on:
Just Cause 2 (PC): Just Cause 2 |
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The mayhem in the First Just Cause was fun for a bit, but repetitive is a total understatement. I remember cursing that if I had to liberate one more village, I was going to fucking snap. This one sounds promising, but for the love of everything holy, I hope they eliminate all of the rinse and repeat gameplay from the first one. |
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GwaR commented on:
Commandments of Co-op |
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You seemed to have missed the thing that has most often killed me on expert = firing discipline. Sure, if everyone could or would stick to the diamond formation throughout the entire campaign, then maybe this issue would be solved. They won't, though, and you know it (not even your battle hardened buddies). So, here's the other rule = Pay attention to where you're pointing that thing. Don't shoot the zombie that's right next to me when you could hit me too, unless the situation is dire (a regular horde-zombie sitting next to me when I have full health, for example, is not a dire situation). Melee the bastard and then finish him when he's sufficiently far away from me. Also, if I'm shooting, don't run in front of my gun! I'll try and hold my fire to avoid hitting your sorry ass, but the moment you step in front of my blazing muzzle, all bets are off. |
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GwaR commented on:
15 big 2009 games you've probably forgotten about |
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As others pointed out, Beyond Good & Evil 2 is probably the most glaring omission. I think Prototype, Borderlands, and some of the others omitted are fairly high profile. Most of them landed covers in GameInformer and other big magazines when they were announced. Great list, though, can't wait for everything coming in 2009. |
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GwaR commented on:
2008 sucked compared to 2007 |
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FriendlyFire and DozerKing's posts are spot on. There were so many ground-breaking and innovative games in 2008 that it makes Charlie's article seem embarassingly under-thought. Which makes me wonder why he even wrote it... My guess, he wanted to enrage the fanboys. Which, judging by the amount of Halo vs Gears and Dead Space vs Bioshock posts there are, he succeed. Way to go Charlie. |
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GwaR commented on:
Whose co-op is best? |
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Yes, L4D is definently lacking without other players to game with... but why the hell wouldn't you play it with others? Not only do I give it props for being the most intense co-op game I've ever played, but it's one of the few multiplayer games where the griefing is kept to a minimum. People needing to work together to succeed tends to keep your teammates from getting too cocky or being asses to each other. And if they are being ass-hats, well, you can always just leave them there when a hunter nails them. :) As for all the people trying to defend R2's co-op, seriously, get another console or a PC to broaden your horizons. What a piece of crap... |
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