What Game Did You Play Today?

Technology and Gaming
#4001

I finished Spec Ops: The Line.

All in all, the combat and shooting mechanics were excellent, if a bit sloggish towards the end, but the story was… Interesting. It was a fairly good, if generic shooter, but as far as being a deconstruction goes it’s a bit iffy.

[spoiler]“The truth, Walker, is that you’re here because you wanted to feel like something you’re not; a hero.”

It’s one heck of a trip. I’ve never played a game that tries to make you feel like a bad person for playing it, much less done so so actively.

I really liked the way the game leaned on the fourth wall and subverted the mechanics more and more as the game went on, as well as the intentionally fucky environment and eerie, inconsistent skyline.

That said, I personally feel that the multiple possible interpretations of the plot (not only the multiple endings, but the other two possible and official interpretations that are just varying degrees of “it was all a dream”) kinda confuse the message a little and conflict with the idea of guilt-tripping the player for thoughtless actions. This is especially blatant, IMO, because the game is very, very unclear on where the line between the player and Walker’s character is. I also disagree with the idea of “the best ending is just to stop playing early”.[/spoiler]

#4002

I felt like it was a metaphor for war time PTSD and dementia

#4003

More Mass Effect 3. I stumbled into the Citadel DLC. That was something

#4004

It arguably was.

[spoiler]There are two plausible alternate interpretations of the entire story.

The first is that Walker died during the helicopter crash in the prologue, which explains why Conrad’s face inexplicably shows up on a billboard in chapter 1, and why he says “we’ve already done this part!” once you get back around to the helicopter sequence for the second time. The entire game, then, is just a very elaborate flashback and dying dream.

The second is that the entire game is a personal purgatory, of sorts, for Walker after something that was hinted at having happened in Afghanistan before the game began. This would explain why everyone in Dubai speaks Farsi, which is the national language of Aganistan, instead of, y’know, Arabic.

Even if neither is true, the game still did use the environment as a metaphor for the characters’ journey and their states of mind. There are details like the floating glass butterflies in the mall level. More obviously, the the city as a whole is persistently eerie and surreal… Not no mention how the skyline just straight-up changes every chapter.[/spoiler]

I’m ranting again, dangit.

#4005

I was surprised that Black Ops 2 still has over 100,000 users on PS3 and that it gives me match with a good connection in Japan.

#4006

Life is Strange.
I’m gonna go ahead and say it’s one of the best games I’ve ever played, and plot it at #5.

#4007

Played some Dark Souls 1 today. Been missing the first game.

#4008

I just finished episode 4 last night. I don’t think I’ve ever played such an emotionally affecting game in my entire life.

#4009

Basically. I’m very rarely even kind of invested in characters, but this game has me absolutely attached, it’s incredible.

#4010

Life is Strange…

They forced me to buy it! :wink:

#4011

You’re welcome.

#4012

I got back from vacation today and played a bunch of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX during that time. Haven’t finished, but I finished Mario and Luigi: Dream Team. I bought Majora’s Mask 3D yesterday so I’ve been playing that and Mario Golf: World Tour.

#4013

Started Call of Chernobyl, a standalone mod for Call of Pripyat centered on freeplay where you choose a faction to start as and do missions and stuff given to you by the game or just screw around. I started as an ecologist. Managed to scavenge an assault rifle off a corpse after a shootout with a burrer. Radiation poisoning is kicking my ass more than anything though but I don’t have any money to load up on antirads. I do have like 6 bottles of vodka though, which do in the games for some reason help lower radiation.

#4014

I think IRL alcohol is used to aid in the treatment of radiation poisoning. I recall a scene in The Hunt For Red October where the doctor ordered someone to get wine for irradiated crewmembers to absorb ions or something from their bloodstream.

Could be BS, but it might also have a scientific basis.

#4015

It does, in fact, have a scientific basis. According to research, a natural anti-oxidant found in red wine (resveratrol) can protect cells from the damage caused by radiation. The vodka remedy, however, seems to come from the fact that the workers who were sent to clean up Chernobyl were told to drink half a glass of vodka after every two hours of exposure to radiation.

#4016

Life is Strange Episode II finished…

Somebody ingame died and I feel bad about it (not gonna spoil anything)

SO it’s a real good game, well made… Actually feels as something that can be real!

Very nice story driven episodes! Great atmosphere, voice acting and it get you involved in the life of the person

#4017

You didn’t save Kate? Go back and fix that, man! She’s important!

#4018

I solo’d the Tabula Rasa achievement for Payday.
That was fun.

#4019

Shadow Warrior 2013. I started yesterday and this game is ridiculously fun. A nice breath of fresh air for me, all I’ve really been playing lately are stealth games.

#4020

I recently “acquired” a beta release version of Payday 2, so I’ve been playing that.

Ohmygod this game has changed so much.

e: spent the last 2 hours playing with the files in the beta and making current Payday have old animations / sounds.
yay.

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