CB’s Supercilious Shirking of the System

CB

For posterity, since I did join the contest, here is my list of games that meet the requirements - about half my total list of games:

A Valley Without Wind
A Valley Without Wind 2
AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome
Age of Chivalry
AirMech
Alien Swarm
Altitude
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
And Yet It Moves
Anomaly Warzone Earth
Armed and Dangerous
Atom Zombie Smasher
Batman: Arkham City GOTY
BIT.TRIP RUNNER
Borderlands 2
Braid
Bunch Of Heroes
Castle Crashers
Castle Crashers - Blacksmith Pack
Chime
Closure
Cogs
Company of Heroes
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts
Crayon Physics Deluxe
Darksiders
Darksiders II
Dead Island
Dead Space
Dead Space 2
DEFCON
Defense Grid: Resurgence Map Pack 1
Defense Grid: Resurgence Map Pack 2
Defense Grid: Resurgence Map Pack 3
Defense Grid: Resurgence Map Pack 4
Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition
Deus Ex: Invisible War
DOOM 3
DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil
DUNGEONS - Steam Special Edition
E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy
Eternal Silence
Eufloria
Everyday Shooter
Faerie Solitaire
Fractal: Make Blooms Not War
From Dust
FTL: Faster Than Light
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved
Gothic 3
Gothic II: Gold Edition
Grand Ages: Rome
Gratuitous Space Battles
Hacker Evolution - Untold
Hacker Evolution Duality
Hammerfight
HOARD
Home
Homefront
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indie Game: The Movie
Intrusion 2
Jamestown
King Arthur II - The Role-playing Wargame
L.A. Noire
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead 2
Legend of Grimrock
LIMBO
Loom
Lucidity
Lumines
Lumines: Advanced Pack
Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013
Magicka
Magicka: Final Frontier
Magicka: Frozen Lake
Magicka: Nippon
Magicka: Party Robes
Magicka: The Watchtower
Magicka: Vietnam
Magicka: Wizard's Survival Kit
MapleStory
Mark of the Ninja
Master Levels for DOOM II
Max Payne 3
Metro 2033
Moonbase Alpha
Mount & Blade
MX vs ATV Reflex
Nexuiz
Nexuiz Beta
Nexuiz STUPID Mode
NightSky
Offspring Fling!
Orcs Must Die! 2
Osmos
Overlord II
Overlord: Raising Hell
Plain Sight
Poker Night at the Inventory
Portal
Quantum Conundrum
RAGE
Red Faction II
Red Faction: Armageddon
Return to Castle Wolfenstein
Revenge of the Titans
RISK Factions
Rochard
Saints Row 2
Saints Row: The Third
Saira
Sanctum
SEGA Genesis & Mega Drive Classics
Shank
Shank 2
Shatter
Shattered Horizon
Smashball
Snapshot
Solar 2
Sonic Generations
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 4 Episode I
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 4 Episode II
Space Pirates and Zombies
SpaceChem
Spiral Knights
Splice
Star Wars - Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II
Star Wars Starfighter
Star Wars: Dark Forces
Steel Storm: Burning Retribution
Super Meat Boy
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP
Supreme Commander 2
The Basement Collection
The Binding of Isaac
The Dig
The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom
The Path
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition
Titan Attacks
Torchlight II
TRAUMA
Trine 2
Universe Sandbox
Vessel
VVVVVV
Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine
Warhammer® 40,000™: Dawn of War® II
Warhammer® 40,000™: Dawn of War® II - Chaos Rising™
Warhammer® 40,000™: Dawn of War® II – Retribution™
Warlock - Master of the Arcane
Wizorb
World of Goo
Your Doodles Are Bugged!
Zombie Shooter
Zombie Shooter 2

CrazyJoe

I left off A Valley Without Wind 1/2 from my list since they were broke-ass when we tried to play them.

CB

and my /quit about an hour later:

CB said:

I can't play that game for 10 hours. It's meaningless drivel.

Note that, at the time, I thought AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome was my first game on the list, as the A Valley Without Wind games were hidden in a category.

CrazyJoe

I don't think we have to quit if the games are broken and we cannot play them. :-)

CB

A Valley Without Wind has, supposedly, been fixed, but I quit on Aaaaaa! because it was terrible.

BobbyDigi

From what I remember, I actually liked playing Aaaaaa! when it was a Potato achievment. Guess I'll see after I pass 1...2...3....Kick it!

timuchan

You were a worthy foe.

Zanthian

I noticed Achron Missing off your list. I had to buy that game full price to play with you... it better be on your list

CB

I took any game that I purchased or was given solely for review purposes off the list. Not that it matters, since I already quit the contest.

CB

Beat FTL tonight after 49 hours. I used the Noether (the secondary version of the Zoltan Cruiser) to finally beat the third iteration of the boss. Not done yet, however. I'm going to give 'Normal' difficulty a shot with my new Federation ship.

Edit: Ugh... 'Normal' is just too hard, even with this new, sweet ship. It's just not that much fun.

CB

"finished" with Legend of Grimrock. I was enjoying it for a while, but got to a point where the puzzles were more annoying than fun. I was powering through, but when I mistakenly caused myself to lose a couple hours of play, I just can't go back. I might say I'll go back someday, but I know I wont. I've stopped with 12 hours invested.

CB

Also, thanks to sweet Linux sale, I've added Eversion, Conquest of Elysium 3, Dwarfs?!, and To the Moon to my list

primesuspect

I didn't think we'd disagree on that game, really. I loved Legend of Grimrock. I played through it three times.

CB

I was also surprised.

It was on your recommendation that I picked it up, and, as I said, I was pretty impressed with it at first, but a few small things sort of started to annoy me. A lot of the puzzles aren't really puzzles, they're trial-and-error activities, and that just starts to feel like a waste of time to me because it doesn't give me thew sense of satisfaction at the end. Solving the puzzles that actually required creative problem-solving would make me go, "Yes! I finally figured it out!", but solving the trial-and-error activities would make me say to myself "I'm glad that dumb part of the game is finally over." Eventually, I just started looking up the solutions on the internet whenever I would see that the next puzzle was something I would have to solve by trail-and-error (The teleporter maze on Level 6 was the last straw for me). There were enough real puzzles mixed in, however, that I didn't really mind so much.

The other thing I disliked was the combat mechanics, but this one may be my fault. One of the things I was looking forward to in this game, was straight-forward combat mechanics: tactical, rather than action oriented. I was remembering my days in the classic graph-paper required dungeons, and thought the combat would represent that. And it did at first, but then around level 3, lvI realized that since the combat was not turn based, like in those old games, I could use my freedom of movement between attacks to dodge enemy attacks. I felt smart and like I'd figured something out... Until I got to level 6, where I had a moment of realization. After dispatching a few spiders, I was fighting a big ogre guy in this large room. I would shoot him with whatever I had, then run around to his side, and swipe him with my swords, then back up as he turned, unleash arrows and spells, then run around to his side again, and I suddenly realized: I'm circle-strafing this ogre! I'm actually using the same fucking "tactics" I would use against any enemy in any FPS ever. That did in the combat for me. After that, I was unable to appreciated the combat mechanics at all. It was broken for me. I was still willing to roll with it though, hoping it would get more interesting.

It wasn't long after that, I ran into a pair of fire-demon things with some ranged attacks. I beat them, but not before one of them circle-strafed me, and took out my archer and wizard from behind. I quick-saved as I headed back toward the stairs, so I could go up and use the most recent blu-crystal to bring back my party members, only then realizing that the door back up to level 5 was permanently closed. I checked the saved games list to find that my most recent non-quick save was back on level 4. I tried to move on with my two remaining party members, but it was useless, they couldn't even beat a couple spiders, it was either re-do two levels worth of stuff or quit, so I quit.

I was upset about it when I posted last night, but now I'm over the initial frustration of ruining my save. Perhaps in a couple days, I'll go back and try again.

primesuspect

I didn't see any of the puzzles as trial-and-error at all. Every puzzle had a clue buried in one of Toorum's notes.

The combat is deceivingly action-oriented, especially as you go on. You have to keep your side and backs protected, particularly from the spellcasters (and there are much more challenging spellcaster enemies later). You end up doing a lot of quick, almost rhythm-based movement keypresses, which gives the combat a choreographed feel: W,A,hit,hit,D,hit,hit,Q,hit,hit,hit,A,hit, and so on.

The teleporter maze on level six is exactly the kind of old-school computer RPG puzzle that makes the game so refreshingly challenging. The way to solve that is by mapping the teleporter maze, by hand, on graph paper... like we used to have to do COME ON MAN, THAT'S THE POINT.

midga

I feel you, CB. I was actually legitimately disappointed when I discovered the game wasn't turn-based. After getting over that, somewhat, I still didn't enjoy having to react quickly in a grid. If they had made it an actual FPS, that'd be alright, but it's grid-combat. That, in my opinion, ought to be turn-based.

I didn't get exceedingly far into it. I'll still be playing it when I get to it, but I have to admit I'm not really looking forward to it...

CB

primesuspect said:

The teleporter maze on level six is exactly the kind of old-school computer RPG puzzle that makes the game so refreshingly challenging. The way to solve that is by mapping the teleporter maze, by hand, on graph paper... like we used to have to do COME ON MAN, THAT'S THE POINT.

That's what I'm saying though. That's not really a 'puzzle', it's just map-making busywork. I already figured out how to 'solve' the 'puzzle' but now it takes 45 minutes of experimenting and notating to actually get through it. I guess I do remember having to do things like that in days of yore, though... maybe I've changed, or maybe there is something else about it bothering me which I can't easily put my finger on.

midga

CB said:

primesuspect said:

The teleporter maze on level six is exactly the kind of old-school computer RPG puzzle that makes the game so refreshingly challenging. The way to solve that is by mapping the teleporter maze, by hand, on graph paper... like we used to have to do COME ON MAN, THAT'S THE POINT.

That's what I'm saying though. That's not really a 'puzzle', it's just map-making busywork. I already figured out how to 'solve' the 'puzzle' but now it takes 45 minutes of experimenting and notating to actually get through it. I guess I do remember having to do things like that in days of yore, though... maybe I've changed, or maybe there is something else about it bothering me which I can't easily put my finger on.

We did it back then because it's what we had. Now it's fairly simple to, at least, put a mapping system in a game. It's just bad design, plain and simple.

primesuspect

There is a mapping system in-game. You have to take notes, comparing the on-screen map, your position where you start, and where you end up when you teleport. It's the very definition of a puzzle. When you solve it, you feel triumphant.

midga

primesuspect said:

There is a mapping system in-game. You have to take notes, comparing the on-screen map, your position where you start, and where you end up when you teleport. It's the very definition of a puzzle. When you solve it, you feel triumphant.

It's been a while since I played, so I made an assumption. I certainly don't remember a map. Anyway, it'll be a while before I'm in the Bs

CB

Okay. Time to update.

I interupted my List playing to play and finish Bioshock Infinite. It was rad.

I tried to play Sonic the Hedgehog 4, but I could not get over the physics issues, and it put me off trying Sonic Generations for a while.

I finished Orcs Must Die! 2 with Zanthian, and now were playing through some of the Nightmare levels when we find the time (Usually while waiting for the other Mitey Worriers to show up, since the other two are persistently late to our sessions).

The Mitey Worriers did manage to finally beat Borderlands 2. We loved the first one, and so started this one the week it came out (even though we were in the middle of another game), but with only a few hours a week to play together, it took us a while.

CB

I tried Batman Arkham City, and was getting into it at first, but had a sudden disillusionment at around the tenth hour. Without warning the busy-work of the game started to really get on my nerves, and I realized that I was only playing to get to the next part of the story. I was rushing through the 'game' part, and enjoying only the cut-scenes. Thus, I stopped playing and just went to read the wikipedia entry about the plot. It was not satisfying. It's weird because I liked Arkham Asylum, and played it to conclusion. I think the difference was the open-world stuff. The fun part of Asylum was the rafters hanging, tactical, sneaker combat, but it's not just that there is less of that in City. They also somehow managed to make that part less fun. I can't explain it.

CB

I had a similar experience with L.A. Noire, though I'm at less of a loss to explain what I didn't like about it. I actually got a lot further. Steam says I played for 23 hours. I really liked the mechanics of the game. The clue-searching, suspect interviewing stuff was all well-done, and only forcing me to actually drive the car when there is a chase on was greatly appreciated. My problem with this one was entirely with the writing. The setting was fine, and well depicted, sure, but the cases were terribad, and I did not have anywhere near enough freedom to pursue the case the way I wanted.

In the homicide chapter, I knew who the serial killer was after the second case. I had suspected him in the first case, but he was not an option to make a suspect, so I moved on, but then when he coincidentally turned up in the second case too, I really wanted to interview him, but the game wouldn't let me. At that point I knew what was going on. This guy is the murderer, and the game's writers are going to make me go through several more cases, in which I put innocent men in jail for this other guy's crimes before it will finally reveal him as a suspect. That's terrible writing, and it a very clear example of what I was talking about in the Bioshock Infinite thread: about how it's possible to have a game filled with choices, but which gives the player no agency at all. I was actually mad at the writers. It's a cheap trick. They wanted me to feel bad for putting all these innocent men in jail when the killer was right in front of me all along, but it didn't work because I knew what they were doing many hours before the revelation, and if I had been able to actually investigate, rather than follow their script for the case, I would have saved four lives. That made it their fault those women died, not mine. It just made me feel like the writers and their characters were ultra-dumb.

After that, I kind-of half-assed the next case. I sort-of just clicked through and didn't really look at stuff or think about the questions I was asking. I felt dis-empowered, and was just going through the motions. I failed that case miserably. After getting an 'exemplary' score on every previous case, I got demerits for this one, but you know what's strange? The case still got solved, and the dude still went to jail. The only difference was that I got yelled at by the boss instead of commended.

So, I learned that it didn't really matter what I did in this game, the result, the story, was not going to change. I couldn't derail it if I tried. The only real choice I had in the game was to continue to play or not to continue to play. Stacking that on with a genuine hatred for the protagonists new partner on the Vice squad, I had to quit.

L.A. Noire is a terrible game, and I will not be going back to finish it.

CB

I hopped into Metro 2033 last night. It's a game I'd had on the list for a very long time. I played for about an hour, and when I closed it last night, I had been planning to go back to it, but in the light of the morning, I realize that the game completely failed to capture my interest in that hour, and I really have no reason to load it back up again.

That brings my actual backlog list down to a manageable seeming list of only eleven games (one of which doesn't work on Win8, so I can't play it yet):

Conquest of Elysium 3
Dwarfs!?
Eversion
From Dust (out of order)
I Am Alive
Mark of the Ninja
Max Payne 3
Overlord II
Sonic Generations
To the Moon
Trine 2

CB

Finished Eversion tonight in about an hour. Wasn't expecting it to be so short.

CB

Taking Dwarfs!? off the list after playing it for a couple of nights, not because it's terrible, but because I misunderstood what it was. I like it, but I've taken it off of my 'to play' list, and moved it onto my 'casuals' list, which contains all the non-story puzzle/action type games that I could play anytime.

CB

Got 13 hours into Overlord II, and was enjoying it despite some bugs. Finally found a game-breaking bug that kept me from being able to proceed, however, so I'm done with that one against my will. :/