GAMING THREAD aka holy fuck, l.a. noire = ^_^

[Static]

Batman Arkham Asylum on Steam for £3.75 until Thursday.  Bargain!

[individualzero]

Holy shit, that is a FANTASTIC deal -- that game is great! If I hadn't played and beaten it on the 360 (and was notoriously bad at replaying games) I'd have picked it up again. lol

[Static]

Yeah I played it to death, it's one of the few games I finished 100% in terms of unlocks/achievements etc

[individualzero]

It was just so FUN to try to unlock everything. To me, it didn't feel like a grind -- it was all really interesting to play through and strive to achieve. That's a rarity in modern games, something I hadn't felt since the platformers of the '90s.

[Static]

Yes exactly, it was fun to get them all.  I looked forward to all the challenges and none of them seemed like a chore and so I would actively seek them out.  It hit all the right notes.  I haven't played a game to completion like that for a very very long time and not since.

[Aaron]

So I have been reading up on D3. Cuz. I WANTS SOOO BAD. However, this makes me very very very very sad.

More or less they will have an Auction House for D3 stuff and it can be bought with in game money (gold) OR real life money... So I'm sure all the gold farmers will be super happy about this. And Bliz will be getting their cut. I wonder if they just thought this would be the way to make them more cash...

http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/2397-Diablo-3-Auction-House-Announced-Spend-and-Earn-Real-Life-Money

[Naylzie]

Ugh.  Friend of mine linked that article on G+ last night...  All I can say is Activision fails.  That, and Blizz is probably going to be losing my customership pretty quick here.  Things (in WoW) have been grindy in the past, but rarely so mindlessly so as they are in this expansion (excepting Vanilla because that's before my time).  The Beloved is sure to be disappointed in this development about D3, and he's REALLY been looking forward to it, so there's a good chance that ActiBlizz will be losing both of us in short order here.

[Aaron]

This is the first expanstion pack I have played from the start for WoW. I got into WoLK when it was pretty much over. I even got carried in ICC a week or so after I hit 80. And now, I'm bored of it... So I'm not reuping my account for next month...

But I don't really care about the in game gold/real life money for it. I mean even in D2 there was stuff you could buy on Ebay... Or what other shady sites... So while I guess it kinda erks me that some people are just gona drop some cash and get geared hella, and those that work and play an insane amount of hours to get the loot. So I guess that kinda bugs me. But the fact that Blizz is in control of it. I'm at lest hoping, that it means it will be done well. And people won't get fucked over...

[r00]

So while I guess it kinda erks me that some people are just gona drop some cash and get geared hella, and those that work and play an insane amount of hours to get the loot. So I guess that kinda bugs me.

Yeah, I don't need that much RL in my MMO's!  8-p

[Aaron]

I just hope they don't make it like wow... (OTHER then resetting  talent tree points.)

I could see playing and making money for the first few weeks/month(s) that the game is out. And then gearing my guy... And making some cash that way. I hate that they would tax you twice if you did that. But whatever, you make some cash, and they make theirs...
I really don't think I will have anything to do with it. And if I do, I would use the in game gold...

I think the best thing about the Diablo games was grinding to get gear...

I am installing D2. And it just had to run a test to see if my video card could handle the sheer POWER that is d2. I giggled...

[Naylzie]

I am installing D2. And it just had to run a test to see if my video card could handle the sheer POWER that is d2. I giggled...

And this almost made my wash my computer with my lukewarm coffee.  Bravo, sir.

[r00]

even when it came out, it was practically pointless to analyze the video card.  It was sprite driven (so no rendering) and release at a max rez of 800x600.  really sad.  They upped the rez in a later patch thank god.

[Aaron]

And this almost made my wash my computer with my lukewarm coffee.  Bravo, sir.

WOOHOO! I don't owe you a new PC cuz you can handle your liquids!

even when it came out, it was practically pointless to analyze the video card.  It was sprite driven (so no rendering) and release at a max rez of 800x600.  really sad.  They upped the rez in a later patch thank god.

Ya. Its horrible. and if I alt tab to change tunes or whatever. My start bar (which I have on the right side of my screen,) takes up about a third of the screen. Not always though...

Well as someone pointed out. Even D3 is gona have dated graphics... I mean they have been working on it for a couple years now. And unless they went with Crysis looking game play (which they didn't) it won't even come out of the box brand new and shiny... (err graphics wise...) And since we have seen clips of game play, I would say they are right. However, it does look nice... D2 was a joke when it came out. (AMAZING game. just bad graphics to it...)

Shit the first computer we had could run it. And that thing came with a 6GB HDD and win98 SE (and I want to say 128MB ram maybe) And it Ran D2 like a fucking CHAMP. Load times weren't super fast, but whatever. 

[Static]

I'm really getting fed up of the business models for video games now.  Purchasing or unlocking in game items or locations fo real life money and to get 'advantages' over other users.  Or buying a game where only 3/4 of the disc contents are available only so they can sell you an unlock code for the rest of your damn game.  What the hell happened to free updates?  Not only that, what the hell happened to proper expansions and missions that didn't amount to crappy DLC map packs or a portion of your already purchased discs?

[r00]

Unfortunately that is the new business model and I am afraid with physical media disappearing, it will be here to stay.  8(  What you will hear next to justify it will be the "this is how we keep the $50-$60 price point.  It is also giving you freedom to choose how you want to play the game."  Get ready for it.