What game are you wasting time on?

[sser]

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault

ah, much better than RtCW. game feels buttery smooth, as it was built on Quake 3 engine. Weapons feel great, enemies react to nonlethal shots. great variety of missions, sniping, urban warfare, really cool undercover/stealth levels. 2 HUGE difficulty spikes though, sniper town and the final "escape"


MoH: Spearhead
more action packed than the first, still has bland turret/tank sections


MoH: Breakthrough
non-stop action, cool set pieces, still the same tough combat from before but fewer bullshit/difficulty spike moments.
Easily the best part of Allied Assault


oh and the game has fantastic music:

Yeah they all have excellent music. Frontline on the consoles had some of the best -- actually one of the better MoH games in general.

 

[Joni Odin von Hassenstein]

 

[Doktor Best]

Better than Planescape...

 

[Joni Odin von Hassenstein]

Better than Planescape...

I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it's definitely top 10 material!

 

[Ulminati]

Currently playing duskers because of WhiskeyWolf and Rimworld because of Grimwulf . Both are addicting as hell. They will keep me plenty busy until Stellaris 1.1

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Better than Planescape...

I'm not sure I'd go that far, but it's definitely top 10 material!

MoTB has barbarians, planescape has none. MoTB wins.

 

[Ivan]

Call of Duty
definitely not a run and gunner like Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. I played on the 2nd hardest setting and found that I could only get shot 3 times before you died. So yeah, this is prob. the first incarnation of the popamole shooter. It doesn't have a cover system, but it does retain the lean function introduced in the expansions of MoH: AA. The set pieces are fantastic, particularly the first mission of the Russian campaign. This was a much tougher game than MoH but it also featured smart friendly AI that saved my ass a plethora of times. Health packs were plentiful throughout, no real major difficulty spikes. Main takaway, the days of run and gunning, spongy PC is gone.


Call of Duty: United Offensive
So, United Offensive: it's developed by Grey Matter, the folks who worked on Return to Castle Wolfestein, and it's a mixed bag. The American campaign is kind of a recap of the original, the Brish one has some terribad vehicle sections (lookingat you Warplane level), but GOD does the Russian campaign deliver. The British campaign has an awful level where you have to hold a house for what feels like 10 minutes. The Russian camp. has a similarly themed level but with much better execution set in a large train depot. All in all I'm glad I stuck through the weak second third to get to what's possibly the most action packed level in the whole package.

Final thoughts: while you can't really run and gun like in MoH, you can safely rely on your AI comrades to watch your back. It's a more visceral experience than MoH and downing enemies, flanking them, feels more rewarding this time around since both they and you can only take 2 shots.

 

[octavius]

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault

ah, much better than RtCW. game feels buttery smooth, as it was built on Quake 3 engine. Weapons feel great, enemies react to nonlethal shots. great variety of missions, sniping, urban warfare, really cool undercover/stealth levels. 2 HUGE difficulty spikes though, sniper town and the final "escape"


MoH: Spearhead
more action packed than the first, still has bland turret/tank sections


MoH: Breakthrough
non-stop action, cool set pieces, still the same tough combat from before but fewer bullshit/difficulty spike moments.
Easily the best part of Allied Assault

Shortest expansion packs ever. Not much value for money IMO.

 

[Carrion]

Call of Duty
definitely not a run and gunner like Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. I played on the 2nd hardest setting and found that I could only get shot 3 times before you died. So yeah, this is prob. the first incarnation of the popamole shooter.

Operation Overlord from Allied Assault actually served as some kind of a blueprint for the first CoD, as they wanted to create more of these really tense scenarios where there's tons of lead in the air at all times, people are shouting, friendly soldiers are dying all around you, standing around in the open means death, and so on. There are some missions that break the monotony, namely in the British campaign, but in general the missions in CoD are mostly really tightly scripted and generally a lot less memorable than ones in Allied Assault.

The sequel is where they went full popamole by throwing all sense of pacing out from the window and introducing regenerating health, and I remember my complete and utter inability to wrap my head around the fact that they introduced such a mechanic in a shooter that was based on a real-world setting. How little did I know... The whole game is just godawful.

 

[Ivan]

^^
You know, I'm reminded that the Insurgency team are working on a new entry where they'll be using UE4 and are creating a SP for it. I would love for it to return to the MoH Allied Assault roots with the capable AI units of CoD 1.

Call of Duty: World At War
Oh boy, where do I start. Invisible walls everywhere, friendly AI units either get in your way or fail to finish off enemies. This games cinematic moments (e.g. D Day in MoH, the first Russian mission in CoD1) are wasted on filler exposition getting to know particular characters. UGH. That or edgy violence. In other words, it's trying to do what Brothers In Arms did and fails laughbably at it. Why even bother? Oh well. I guess it's unfortunate that CoD went down this path. CoD 1 was subtle, it was a solid game that aimed to be "cinematic." Coming off the heels of COD4 it even apes the Sniper mission. No creativity to be found here, you even have your obligatory tank/warplane/turret sections. Only played this entry b/c I somehow own it on Steam. Oh well, saved the best for last: COD2.
it's playable

me when I learned the final mission was a Michael Bay version of CoD1's ending.

 

[Durandal]

Quake
holy fucking shit this game
everything about it is so TIGHT, the aesthetics, the music, the designs, the movement, the level design and the gameplay
the bullet spongy nature of the enemies and tight levels force you to get creative with your movement while the minimal weapon arsenal does it job just fine
the level design is truly what elevates this game to a masterpiece, it's like Descent where someone got the newest tools and decides to use them to their full extent, the level design in Quake makes full use of the 3D capabilities on a level no other game has even come close to
every level feels unique and different, challenging the player in its own ways
only Spawns are just bitches to deal with and the final boss is kind of a letdown, but other than that its GREAT
/

 

[Naraya]

Quake
holy fucking shit this game
everything about it is so TIGHT, the aesthetics, the music, the designs, the movement, the level design and the gameplay
the bullet spongy nature of the enemies and tight levels force you to get creative with your movement while the minimal weapon arsenal does it job just fine
the level design is truly what elevates this game to a masterpiece, it's like Descent where someone got the newest tools and decides to use them to their full extent, the level design in Quake makes full use of the 3D capabilities on a level no other game has even come close to
every level feels unique and different, challenging the player in its own ways
only Spawns are just bitches to deal with and the final boss is kind of a letdown, but other than that its GREAT
/

I highly reccommend Darkplaces mod. It kicks the awesomeness of Quake to 11.

 

[Starwars]

Nearing the end of STALKER. Love, love, love this game but the end-game is unfortunately terrible. One thing is for sure, I am *not* gonna make the choice that leads to that fucking gauntlet this time around. Fuck that section.

Also playing some GTA V on the side. Reinstalled it so starting from the beginning. I'm still really impressed by the gameworld in this. It's amusing to just walk down the street and look at things. Also, probably the only game that has actively made me want to go for a swim. Gotta love that beach.

I'm in a Witcher type mood so I'm mostly waiting on Blood & Wine at the moment.

 

[octavius]

Original Strife: Veteran Edition
I tried the orignal version, but found it just too primitive, but the Veteran Edition by Night Dive is a huge improvement.
The setting reminds me of Fritz's Leiber's novel "Gather, Darkness" which I read recently.
The game also reminds me of Cybermage (a game I would love to see remade), and both games feel like proto Deus Ex.

One thing that is bloody annoying is no ability to crouch. Also, not being able to make screenshots when in the dialogue menu, which is when I really need it.

BTW, is it possible to do the missions in Sanctuary without setting off the alarm?

EDIT: Does taking the Chalice really make the game unwinnable?

 

[Aeschylus]

BTW, is it possible to do the missions in Sanctuary without setting off the alarm?

Yes -- certain things will always set off the alarm, but I'm pretty sure they're all avoidable.

EDIT: Does taking the Chalice really make the game unwinnable?

It did in the original, though I think they changed it in the veteran edition.

 

[octavius]

Haven't had much time to play Strife, but I noticed something interesting/buggy. I grabbed the Chalice, entered the Tavern, and exited due to having no weapon against the Turret. But if I ran past it, and talked to Harris, he would first repeat the "take this crossbow" line and when talking to him again he would talk about the Governor. If I kill him a secret door opens.
But if I retreat, enter the base and buy an assault gun from Irale, and return to the Tavern, Harris will only repeat the crossbow line, and when I kill him no secret door appears, but some Acolyte or Templar teleports in and insta-kills me.
BTW, are you supposed to get any dialogue from Irale the weapons dealer, or are you sent there just to get a better weapon?

 

[octavius]

Looks like I'm truly fucked when stealing that Chalice. Tolkaing to the governor, I'm captured and paced back at start (but with all gear intact ) and returning to the Base and talking to Macil accomplishes nothing.
Dropping the Chalice back where I found it doesn't work with.
What a shitty game.

 

[Great Deceiver]

I highly reccommend Darkplaces mod. It kicks the awesomeness of Quake to 11.

Darkplaces is neat for awhile, but inevitably you get sick of the lighting gimmicks and realize the prebaked lighting on the original levels was excellent, and also realise that nearest_mipmap_linear is actually miles better than linear_*. Then you are one step closer to enlightenment.

 

[Naraya]

I highly reccommend Darkplaces mod. It kicks the awesomeness of Quake to 11.

Darkplaces is neat for awhile, but inevitably you get sick of the lighting gimmicks and realize the prebaked lighting on the original levels was excellent, and also realise that nearest_mipmap_linear is actually miles better than linear_*. Then you are one step closer to enlightenment.

Well, I played and replayed Quake back when it was released so I know what you mean. But that's what I like about Darkplaces mod - it manages to create a completely different beast from the aged game. When I replayed the whole trilogy several months ago I was especially awed by shooting a rocket in long dark corridors - looks fantastic

Also - as someone mentioned in the other thread - music is an absolute must to enjoy this game in all its glory.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Looks like I'm truly fucked when stealing that Chalice. Tolkaing to the governor, I'm captured and paced back at start (but with all gear intact ) and returning to the Base and talking to Macil accomplishes nothing.
Dropping the Chalice back where I found it doesn't work with.
What a shitty game.

I recall Strife being...unconventional when it came to the governor and the chalice quest. I think I solved it by not doing that quest.

 

[DeepOcean]

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault

ah, much better than RtCW. game feels buttery smooth, as it was built on Quake 3 engine. Weapons feel great, enemies react to nonlethal shots. great variety of missions, sniping, urban warfare, really cool undercover/stealth levels. 2 HUGE difficulty spikes though, sniper town and the final "escape"


MoH: Spearhead
more action packed than the first, still has bland turret/tank sections


MoH: Breakthrough
non-stop action, cool set pieces, still the same tough combat from before but fewer bullshit/difficulty spike moments.
Easily the best part of Allied Assault

How did you manage to make this thing to work on a modern computer?

 

[octavius]

Looks like I'm truly fucked when stealing that Chalice. Tolkaing to the governor, I'm captured and paced back at start (but with all gear intact ) and returning to the Base and talking to Macil accomplishes nothing.
Dropping the Chalice back where I found it doesn't work with.
What a shitty game.

I recall Strife being...unconventional when it came to the governor and the chalice quest. I think I solved it by not doing that quest.

Yeah, that is shitty design. The idea is good, but the execution is shitty.
Otherwise an enjoyable game, but I haven't had much to play (too nice weather for much gaming). Will have to restart anyway.

 

[Baron Dupek]

Cooperative mod? What about MP there days, dead or full of die hard unbeatable time wasters?
Yeah, MP was a thing... like most good things it go away. Like farts in the wind.

Meanwhile I decided to get my shit together and finish Duke Nukem Forever.

Bad:
-everything

Middle Ground:
-some references? (Halo armor)

Good:
-the BBQ/grill, that I made when credits were rolling, was p. good.
After all these years of "developing" made it the longest credits in the history of gaming. They were going and going and going and going.

 

[sullynathan]

wasted my time trying TW3, game controls poorly even with the alternative update. Will pirate again when I get a new new computer.

 

[dextermorgan]

Currently playing duskers because of WhiskeyWolf

Is there an LP?