I guess I'm in a similar boat. I love the idea of the X series but whenever I download and give it another shot the snails pace of progression at the start and the absolutely horrid, convoluted and non user friendly ui makes me delete it again :P

If it was easier to get into then I would probably give it a go, but the learning curve is just too much for me I guess. I loved Freelancer because it gave me the same feeling of the X series but it was much, much simpler. 

I never played any of this series. I seem to remember having trouble getting the BioShock demo to run. That plus GFWL and DRM, and I just gave up.

There's a 2K games special on Steam this weekend. BioShock 1 and 2 for $4.99 each, Infinite for $13.59

Worth it? 

Next question? 

been playing for a few hours today. combat seems a lot better than I remember it. there is less weapon clutter (no more alpha, beta, gamma variants of the same weapon) and overall ship types and weapons seem more focused.

i seem to be doing fairly well so far, having captured a couple of ships and sold them for almost a million credits. i was able to pick up a transport ship and used remote commands to do some trading while i went out and blew up some pirates and such.

the UI is as bad as I remember it from x2 though, so no argument there. i wish the UI was more like eve or wow, with proper windows that you could move around and switch focus between. the x3 UI windows just feel very old fashioned.
there needs to be more information on the main screen too, such as target listing. that info is available in the map, but i'd rather it was always displayed so you could switch targets more easily.

re: pace, i think capturing ships is the fastest way to start off. the starter ship you get with the default argon start is good but don't use those HEPT guns that are on it as they use your power up like crazy and kill really fast (but you miss more because the projectiles move slow).
if you can keep hitting a target with the low damage weapons you can force them to bail out. then just command the ship to dock at a shipyard and make easy money. 

Yes, Bioshock 1 and 2 are great (even though BS2 is basically the same as 1 with new levels). They don't use GFWL on Steam. 

Thanks Killes. Yeah I enjoyed it, especially the second half.

Been trying to play something new this weekend. Tried America's Army 3. Didn't realise it's just a bunch of lame training missions. Graphics are utter shit. I did the first level and couldn't hit the targets, not because I'm a fkn noob but because the giant ironsight so so unreliable, waves around everywhere and jumps on the mere movement of the mouse instead of being smooth. FUCKING DELETE.

Then tried Overlord II. Mint design, the tower looks so fucking cool, why can't there be some good third/first person games like this with proper combat, but Overlord II combat was shit, from what I could play. Lame melee button smash then all these stupid minions covering the screen screen that are supposed to kill for you. Unfortunately I couldn't play it, one of the moves you need to use through the game is bugged (basically my minions won't return to me) so it's impossible to complete the first level. I only managed to play a few levels using someone elses saves, but I'd missed too much to continue. Probably a good thing, I can't be bothered to play a game with pretty below average gameplay just for the graphics for almost 15 hours.

Now installed Section 8. I'll review this one, as I will complete it, but it's just a botmatch for 3 hours across 8 levels. Waste of money so I'll have to get something else to play this week. Just as well my list of games to play is almost 200 long, and doesn't include any 2013 or console games yet :P 

Just picked up Teleglitch Die More Edition for �2.25...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqpgYphxPu0 

http://i.imgur.com/EuglQEO.jpg 

and were suddenly silent.

RIP Thief, you were beautiful. 

Apart from the top right main paragraph which sounds like dick. Still mostly sounds like a medieval / victorian Deus Ex which is fine. 

You mean Deus Ex: Human Revolution, not Deus Ex. 

but I don't know how they can get Thief so wrong.

No hammerites? No pagans? An emphasis on combat? Linear maps? Easier game? Removal of all slang and accents? Rope arrows are limited to pre-set points?

It goes on and on. I'm disgusted. 

The new Thief game is not aimed at original fans, it is designed for a new generation of console players. Most new players have not played or even heard of the original series, it is pretty much a clean slate. 

But then, why call it thief? 

why call it thief?
Because of marketing and brand awareness. The game developer and marketing department are often separate entities with different goals for a game. The reboot of Syndicate is a classic example of building on an existing brand name but going in a different direction to the original. 

They can just call it fucking
Thief: Next Generation
Thief 2013
ThiAf
Thief: Unlike Thief
Casual Thief
Thief for consoles

or anything like that. Words are free! But I guess alienating old fans is irrelevant. 

 

This strategy is supposed to succeed. If you are relying on the strength of a brand then you use the strengths and core aspects of said brand in the game.

Syndicate was an abomination. 

Deus Ex HR was pretty good in my opinion, so I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt for Thief. Obviously it'll be quite "modernized", but it still might end up being a good game. 

you did see quake 1-4 right, each not at all like the last? 

The thing is the old-time fans of Thief think this game is going to be a turd and most of the profane audience think this is some kind of edgy Dishonored knock off. Most of the reviewers also seem to think the game is meh at best. I honestly highly doubt this game will be successful. 

yeah, but there's not that many old-time thief fans in the grand scheme of things.
the biggest problem is getting someone to give you money to develop your game. if you throw a title that has made money in the past at them, they are more likely the green-light it.
that's why you see all those 'reboots' of old films.

my only problem is that it just sounds like more lowest common denominator fare, but that is the price you pay when you go AAA. (hey, that rimes!) 

thief is a niche market game. not everyone likes stealth, especially those that played the originals and will like it more because of nostalgia. sounds like they're trying to get out of that niche to make more money from the console gamers. I don't know if it's the right choice, could be... the modern console gamer is a fucktard, afterall.

but I seem to remember the old thief having a great story (well, thief3 that is) so I don't know what they're going on about saying this isn't 1998 anymore and games need a story. 

But will still sell moderately well. 

Well I'll defs play it, but I won't be eagerly awaiting it. I'm certain they won't be able to top Thief3.

Anyway, played a couple more games this week. Section 8: fucking 3 hours of crappy bot matches. 5.0/10

Then Bionic Commando - great game, 8.5/10.
Reviewed here http://etherealhell.com/etherealhell/reviews/2013/bionic_commando.php

By the way, is GTA4 worth playing? I forgot about it, but just watching over some reviews of it, it looks pretty poor graphics. Definitely hasn't aged well for a 2008 game. Although it is a city, and there's only so good a modern city can actually look. I'm not sure I need to sit through a 30 movie/game filled with meaningless minigames when there's plenty other RPG's since then. Unless it's had some good graphic enhancement mods.