|
Post by Lionheart on Oct 16, 2009 22:17:14 GMT -5
A tad. Actually, I don't really care. You're the one who seems to be taking my criticism of a game (pre-release!) rather personally. Actually, I expected to be in the minority, and don't mind that. It does get rather tiresome when people act like my having an unpopular opinion is an attack on themselves and all they hold dear, but that's really their problem, not mine. What logic? You have no argument other than "You're wrong! Who are you to question El Dandy Valve?"
|
|
|
Post by Lionheart on Oct 16, 2009 21:16:13 GMT -5
I don't see the fake difficulty argument, personally. It's not like a QTE where you die if you don't press a button in time. It's just a momentary freeze, something to make you want to stay together like the game says you need to do. It's like not being able to shake off the Hunter and Smoker, or needing your friends to protect you when you get boomed on. It's more like trying to put faith in your teammates than trying to be cheap. Hey, look at that, an exchange of ideas...as opposed to gain-saying and acting butthurt that somebody has an opinion.
|
|
|
Post by Lionheart on Oct 16, 2009 20:48:53 GMT -5
I'm sorry, but who are you to say that it makes no sense in the context of the game? Who are you to say that it does? Because Valve wants my money for their game? Yeah, that's right, it's the old "It's my opinion" defense. And I don't apologize for it. This is an internet forum. Expressing opinions is what people do here. It doesn't mean they expect everybody else to agree. Can you contribute anything to the discussion beyond telling me my word isn't law? Because I already knew that. You may as well just ignore the thread. I mean, have you ever seen the Monty Python "argument clinic" sketch? Reasonably certain I covered this in my post above. Well, I guess you told me. What difference does it make that it's pre-release? What's the point of pre-release info at all if I can't make judgements based on them? That's what they WANT me to do; of course they're hoping the previews will sell me on the game, but they take the risk it will turn me off, too. How is it any less valid to dislike the game before it's released, based on the info available, than it is it to say, "This game is going to be great!" and pre-order it? Both ways, I've never actually played the game, so I don't know. Like I said: this is what DEMOS were supposed to be for. Oh believe me, I am. Covered this. I can if that's what they appear to be to me.
|
|
|
Post by Lionheart on Oct 16, 2009 20:30:16 GMT -5
I'm really not seeing why the Jockey is so bad but the Hunter and Smoker are all right. This has got to be the stupidest complaint I've ever seen. The Smoker was already pushing the boundaries of credulity, I admit (see my initial post). The Hunter is probably the most "realistic" or "believable" of the special infected so far. He pounces and rips people to shreds, just like a predatory animal, thus the name. Pretty straightforward. I guess for me this crosses the boundary into what TVTropes calls "Fake Difficulty." I mean, what if L4D2 had random lighting bolts coming down from the sky which you had to dodge or they'd kill you instantly? That would be aggravating, wouldn't it? And that's the point, isn't it? Well, kinda, yeah, but it would be artificially aggravating; it would make no sense in the context of the game and just suck the fun out of it. For me, that's what the Jockey is like. Really, it goes to what feels like an overall philosophical problem with the game design I mentioned in my initial post, and which a lot of game sequels suffer from: making changes and additions in a reactionary fashion, responding to player behavior from the previous installment in the series without regard to an overall creative vision, increased difficulty made the focus to the exclusion of all else. I understand some people think L4D1 was too easy; but it almost seems as if all the (major) changes were conceived with the sole purpose of making the game harder. Yes, a sequel should present new challenges, but a balance must be struck between, on one hand, freshening things up and, on the other, maintaining the "feel" of the series and making sure the player can maintain their suspension of disbelief; otherwise every game series slowly becomes I Wanna Be The Guy. Alright, I understand I'm in the minority about this, as I expected; not surprised that most people don't get what I'm complaining about, and I know I probably sound like a whiner. Just wanted to get this out of my system. Thanks for the discussion.
|
|
|
Post by Lionheart on Oct 16, 2009 16:58:44 GMT -5
Is Nog that little Ferengi? (Or however it's spelled). I remember seeing some little Ferengi guy as a Captain of a Federation Ship (in a time travel episode) and I can remember laughing like hell at this tiny little twerp in the Captain's chair. I don't know why I found it so funny, because I accept Yoda as is, but this just looked so stupid. Not to blast Trek or anything, I just that moment was hilarious. memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Nog
|
|
|
Post by Lionheart on Oct 16, 2009 16:45:41 GMT -5
On the pantheon of inspiring, effective leaders in the Star Trek universe, Janeway ranks somewhere below Nog.
|
|
|
Post by Lionheart on Oct 16, 2009 16:31:51 GMT -5
Monte Carlo GP.
|
|
|
Post by Lionheart on Oct 16, 2009 16:17:53 GMT -5
it's a videogame dude.from what I understand,he doesn't take total control of your character.it's gonna be fun trying to steer your character away from where the infected is trying to take you.as far as the name,it makes sense..would you prefer the piggy-back-rider? Just "Rider" would have been far preferable, yes. Damned if I'm paying fifty bucks to find out if I'm right. In days of yore, this is what demos of games were for, but Valve apparently thinks of a demo as just a reward for being at the front of the line of those handing over their cash. Now see, I don't play Versus at all. I guess Versus people will appreciate this addition when they're on the infected side. If only there were a way to turn the little bugger on and off so he doesn't ruin my co-op campaign, though. (Actually, more difficulty customization in general would be a fine tweak in the sequel.) Maybe if he didn't look like an evil version of Dobby the House Elf...
|
|
|
Post by Lionheart on Oct 16, 2009 15:45:53 GMT -5
uhhh,really?the idea of "the jockey" sounds good to me.an infected that rides on your back and tries to steer you into a horde,off a cliff,etc...it's sure as hell gonna make the game more interesting. If by "interesting," you mean "aggravating and stupid." Perhaps in Left 4 Dead 3, the same fertile creative mind which conceived the Jockey will give us more variations on the theme of special infected with sports-themed names designed to make the game more frustrating and difficult while at the same time sapping the player's ability to take it seriously: The Goalie: Stands in front of the entrance to a safehouse, slaps away any survivors trying to enter. The Punter: Has a huge mutated foot, picks up survivors and drop-kicks them off of tall buildings. The (90's baseball-style) Trainer: Force-feeds survivors steroids until they turn into Tanks and kick the ass of their teammates. I can't wait.
|
|
|
Twitter
Oct 16, 2009 15:38:42 GMT -5
Post by Lionheart on Oct 16, 2009 15:38:42 GMT -5
I will never be important or interesting enough to justify having Twitter. Is anyone?? Not really, but some people don't realize it.
|
|
|
Post by Lionheart on Oct 16, 2009 14:35:05 GMT -5
What the heck kind of neighborhood does he live in?
|
|
|
Post by Lionheart on Oct 16, 2009 12:47:17 GMT -5
I'm still waiting on Woody Harrelson. They said Woody was going to host. Where is he? They'll schedule him two months after the DVD release of Zombieland.
|
|
|
Post by Lionheart on Oct 16, 2009 12:37:52 GMT -5
...until I found out about this.
Yeah, yeah, I know I'm probably way behind the times on this. But still.
Just...what the hell?
I am a huge L4D fan. HUGE. And up until this, I was in a state of steadily increasing anticipation about L4D2.
Sure, I was a little disappointed about the Replacement Scrappy cast...
And I was slightly concerned that a lot of the new gameplay additions seem to have been designed for the single purpose of frustrating players rather than springing from a coherent creative philosophy...
And the Charger seemed kinda lame (So it's kinda like a faster, weaker Tank? MmmmK)...
And the Spitter, from an aesthetic if not a gameplay standpoint, struck me as monumentally stupid (I think it's the pigtails that push it over the edge)...
But the fundamentals of the game I loved were still there, and I was eager to play through the new campaigns and bash zombies over the head with skillets and such.
Yet for some reason, I just can't get past the Jockey. Ordinarily I'm not too bothered by sounding stupid when I try to explain something in a video game to random dorm wingmates who wander in and look over my shoulder or whatever. ("That's the Smoker. He, um, shoots out his tongue like a frog and tries to constrict you like a boa, and...he has really bad gas, I guess.") And I realize that Left 4 Dead has never been been a deadly-earnest (pun intended, kinda) take on the genre...if it had been, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much.
But...but...
He's called the Jockey???
He jumps on your back and you lose control of your character?!?!
I honestly thought this was an internet hoax or a prank perpetrated by Valve upon the players when I first heard about it.
I don't know. I can't fully explain it. What I do know is that I'll save my my $50 for something else and keep enjoying L4D1, which they hopefully won't totally abandon after the token (but appreciated) Crash Course DLC.
|
|
|
Post by Lionheart on Oct 16, 2009 12:20:06 GMT -5
Mini-Me. Uh- huh."Have any Titanic jokes you'd like to make as long as we're hitting these cultural phenomena at the height of their popularity?"
|
|
|
Post by Lionheart on Oct 16, 2009 12:17:46 GMT -5
Castlevania.
|
|
|
Twitter
Oct 16, 2009 9:57:45 GMT -5
Post by Lionheart on Oct 16, 2009 9:57:45 GMT -5
I will never be important or interesting enough to justify having Twitter.
|
|
|
Post by Lionheart on Oct 16, 2009 7:08:41 GMT -5
How long til a "but whats shane doing in the impact zone" appears? Wait for it...wait for it! ... NOW!
|
|
|
Post by Lionheart on Oct 15, 2009 21:39:30 GMT -5
"Rad Tiboday-uxss-ss."
|
|
|
Post by Lionheart on Oct 15, 2009 21:09:04 GMT -5
I also am displeased by the lack of Guile. (Or Charlie.)
|
|
|
Post by Lionheart on Oct 15, 2009 18:38:49 GMT -5
ESPN tells its broadcasters what to hype and what not to. They would probably deny it, but it seems pretty obvious to me. ESPN bailed on hockey during the lockout, and now they're doing their best to ensure hockey remains unpopular as a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy by ignoring it. Meanwhile, I think nobody remembered to tell them the poker craze ended like three years ago. ESPN is no different than any other supposed mainstream "journalists": they're not there to report the (sports) news, they're trying to make and shape it.
|
|