[Spoiler]

About the last level and end game...

Spoiler for Hiden:

Did anybody else feel like the final level in the underground desert city was given the creative shaft by the dev team? The flame headed uber baddies showed up for a level or two and then vanished. This all is explained away by the water being hallucinogenic. I though it was a more interesting narrative when Sully actually was dead (though, knowing how safe the series plays it, I knew he wasn't dead). Other than that, the final level is pretty lifeless. I thought it was disappointingly anti-climatic. I wanted to shoot the bad lady in the kneecaps, not try to save her from quicksand.

[Spoiler]

I have the feeling the next Drake game will show up on the PS4, and probably be way more open in terms of its puzzles and environments.

I think there's a missed opportunity for more exploration aspects with less linear shooting, at least, when not in a big action set piece.

Stuff where you go an entire level exploring a decent sized location to try and uncover a secret. Just wandering around, finding stuff to jot down in Nate's notebook, instead of everything already being in there.

Personally I wouldn't  mind that at all but I have a feeling that won't go over too well.  A lot of people are complaining about the pacing in the first half of U3 which is actually a lot closer to the above concept than previous games.  In fact the least liked level in the game from discussions I've seen:

Spoiler for Chapter 8 and 9:

Syria

is probably the closest to that in that it involves fewer setpieces/story/character interaction and more exploration and puzzles, with a bit of combat thrown in. 

In all honestly I don't think they can change things up a whole lot and still keep the game feeling like "Uncharted"  but I'm up for whatever ND comes up with. 

I just finished the game and I agree about chapters 8 and 9 being the worst. I didn't feel there was exploration there at all. It just seemed bland, slightly confusing, and almost like it was thrown in as filler when they realized there wasn't enough content in the interesting levels. I knew that I would be going there to rescue those two goons when it was first mentioned, though.

This was my least favorite of the Uncharted games. I hope the next one is a little more inspired, has a more interesting and coherent story, and returns some of the exploration feel to the series. There's no chance that I'll either play through this one on SP again or take a look at the multiplayer or co-op modes.

For now, I'm looking forward to the Tomb Raider reboot.

But, most games nowdays seem optimised for that controller, and I like sitting in the lazy boy, kicked back, infront of the larger screen TV.

 

My 360 sounds like a jumbo jet taking off, so I pretty much go for PS3 whenever it's otherwise equivalent, especially for single player games. I wish I had the $ for a gaming PC, but I don't right now. Oh well.

If you install games, it will be much quieter since the spinning is a large part of the noise.

Yep, I do. It's a little quieter, but not by much. The 360 may be on it's last leg; it's pretty old. It also has a tiny hard drive and can only handle 1 fully installed game without me deleting other DLC and XBLA games that I've purchased. Anyhoo, I guess I answered my own question and will get the PS3 version of Skyrim.

p.s. I like the PS3 controller better. *shock*

My 360 sounds like a jumbo jet taking off, so I pretty much go for PS3 whenever it's otherwise equivalent, especially for single player games. I wish I had the $ for a gaming PC, but I don't right now. Oh well.

You're right, it's the next-to-last chapter, and yes, you do have control, but it's woozy control.

[Spoiler]

I'm 10 minutes from finishing the game...

Spoiler for Hiden:

Woozy shooting? Really? Ok, so the drugged part of the Yemen missions was clever, but the bit at the end is just plain irritating. Also, was I supposed to shoot Sully or not? I didn't... it didn't seem to make a difference. I got pissed with the woozy shooting and turned it off last night.

Regarding your question:

Spoiler for Hiden:

I didn't realize you could refrain from shooting him. What happened when you didn't shoot him? I figured since he was dead, it had to be a bad guy pretending to be Sully, so I put a cap in him.

Well...

Spoiler for Hiden:

I'm talking about the first time -- when I was woozy 8-yr old Drake on the roof. Sully shot me and it continued to the next scene without skipping a beat.

[Spoiler]

I'm 10 minutes from finishing the game...

Spoiler for Hiden:

Woozy shooting? Really? Ok, so the drugged part of the Yemen missions was clever, but the bit at the end is just plain irritating. Also, was I supposed to shoot Sully or not? I didn't... it didn't seem to make a difference. I got pissed with the woozy shooting and turned it off last night.

Is there any indication whether the PS3 or 360 version of Skyrim is better?

[Spoiler]

Spoilers regarding Homicide case "The Golden Butterfly":

Spoiler for Hiden:

Like some of you guys mentioned, I butchered the interrogation at the end.  My first real big screw up.  I talked to the molester first, and got 1/4 right and left to talk to the husband.  I thought I did ok with him, I can't recall the number of questions correct.  I charged him with murder and promptly got chewed out by the chief, but it was pretty clear to me that the husband did it.  Tire iron from his make of car, bloody clothes, shoes he was burning, no alibi match with daughter.  So when I start the mission, the chief is happy with me and cites that I the evidence and lack of alibi make the DA happy....yet I only got 1 star...what gives?! 

I got the sense that he wasn't really happy -- just didn't give a crap as long as the DA was happy.

[Spoiler]

Ran into this guy during one of the homicide cases, and shouted Matt Parkman!! Seeing an actor that I recognized in the game made me realize how good the facial animation stuff really is.

I also completely butchered his case.

Spoiler for Hiden:

I started off strong, getting all of the early questions right. But once I got the two suspects into interrogation things fell apart. I forgot that the child molester couldn't be tied to the abandoned vehicle, and called him a liar because of the overalls I found in the car (hint: they weren't his, and I was the fool). I couldn't tie him to the case despite the fact that he had the victims butterfly brooch in his pocket. I then butchered the husband's interrogation as well, but still sent him to jail without a confession.

My first 1 star rating, and the Captain chewed me out after the interrogation and at the start of the next case. I can't wait to go back and get this one right. I wonder if the Captain still ends up yelling at me if I get everything correct.

My biggest complaint so far is that I'm flying through the cases, even though I'm not rushing. I'm already on disc 2 and about halfway through the cases, and that's with going back through some of my traffic cases to get 5 stars on everything.

Interesting! For me it played out like:

Spoiler for Hiden:

I sent the child molester to prison based on evidence, though I didn't have anything conclusive. I felt like I had done the wrong thing. I totally flubbed the interrogation of the husband. The chief and my partner both were thrilled with the outcome, suggesting that it didn't matter that I had the wrong guy. I got 4 stars for the case.

And here I thought there was only 1 ending to each case...

Flubbing interrogation questions doesn't usually mean you fail the case -- it frequently means that it plays out in a different way -- you have to rely on other evidence, locate other areas, identify other suspects, etc. While I don't think there are branching cases, per se, I think there are multiple routes to the conclusion of the case and the route you follow determines your merit level on the case. The case notes at the end sometimes can help you understand what another route might have been.

To shoot into the air, you have to be close enough to the suspect and aiming at him. The meter will start to fill up. If he gets too far away or the view is obscured (a car driving between you, for example), then the meter will stop and start again. Once the meter fills up, I think you automatically shoot into the air to stop him. It's a bit trickier than it seems because there are always things passing between the two of you unless you are really close.

I know that the game is "on rails," so to speak, but I think the cases can play out pretty differently, depending on how you question suspects and what evidence you collect.

The fast-travel mechanic is superbly easy to use -- I wish it were this easy in RDR.

I'm absolutely loving the game so far. It's a very nice change of pace. The cases become more complicated and I think they're a blast.

Well, any way you look at it, 3 discs is a good bit of content... I'm guessing it will be 25-30 hours, but that's total speculation.

The Guardian review said that the game is about the length of two seasons of a television show... so, what's that? 30 - 40 hours? It specifically mentioned the fact that it was refreshing that the game was so long after all of the recent short releases.

How about some reviews!!!

Since it's six days before release, I doubt that there are any.

Here you go. Sounds awesome:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2011/may/13/la-noire-game-review

My friend just went through this. In the end, it was cheaper to buy the hdd bundled with the Xbox than to get it separately. You have to have the 'slim' hdd, as mentioned.

Just Cause 2. Almost there.

That's what I'm playing, too. Such a great game.

I've switched from 360 to PS3 for streaming Netflix, too. I've never had it take hours... it works like a charm.

The entire recent Battlestar Galactica series is on there now, so I'm working my way through it (again).

Movies come and go with regards to their streaming availability. Just because something appears there today as available for streaming does not mean that it will stay there. Your online queue, after a while, will show you which of your queued movies no longer are available.

I recommend this Quarter to Three thread for streaming movie recommendations, though you should start at the end of the thread, since the older stuff may no longer be available:
http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/showthread.php?t=48930

Unless the PS3 version costs $180, that's the one I'll be getting, then.

My biggest problem with the Infocom games is that it possible to get into a state where it is impossible to win the game, without any clue that you are permanently stuck. Granted, that doesn't happen all of the time, but it is maddening when it does. Some of my fondest gaming memories are from playing the Zork series with my sister... it really helped me learn to visualize spaces described in text.

Modern interactive fiction tends toward more forgiving design, where you cannot get stuck.

Tropico!

I'm not sure if I'm describing this right, but if I'm understanding it someone is working on ways to start using other programming languages with Kinect.

Definitely. Here's info on how to use it with Processing and Cinder (a C++ library for visualization):
http://www.shiffman.net/p5/kinect/

I'm going to be changing a lot of diapers. I haven't figured out how to get any gaming time in with a newborn yet.

I have three kids, you play when they are asleep. Which with a newborn maybe limited to 20 minute play sessions.

I have not mastered this. Plus, somebody (the maid, probably) stole my bluetooth headphones, so no quiet gaming for me for now.

I'm going to be changing a lot of diapers. I haven't figured out how to get any gaming time in with a newborn yet.

Zork I

Does the iPad not charge when plugged in via USB to a PC? Last night when I connected it, it made sure to point out in the top right that the device was not charging.

It requires more power than most USB ports supply, so no -- it usually will not charge via USB. Hence the small power adapter that comes with it (versus the one that comes with the iPhone).

Carmack is truely a master of the brown/grey color palette.  Every time I think - "he has to use green for that!"  He finds a way to make it brown.

LOL

There were some outdoor levels and some green in the original Rage (non-iOS) announcement, I think...

close to 800 mb

A friend is coming over and I want to play some simple same-screen co-op with him... suggestions? 360 or PS3 would be best, since the Wii sensor hates my windows. I was thinking Laura Croft, Guardian of Light, maybe Sacred 2, or.... ?

I haven't been keeping this thread up, but... just finished:

Heavy Rain
Uncharted 1
Uncharted 2

I used to assist with these surgeries from time to time when I was a surgical tech. Most of the patients were in their 30s... I guess you can live a happy life with a Chiari malformation for a long time. Most who had them removed were experiencing symptoms like headaches and balance problems, but never anything life threatening. By the way, the parts of the brain that are affected are referred to as the "tonsils of the brain."

An exec producer friend of mine told me that marketing for AAA titles costs almost as much as the development these days... that depresses the crap out of me.

Why?  Marketing is important in any field of retail product.

Are you one of those anti-marketing people?  How else is the mass casual public supposed to know a product.

No, I'm not anti-marketing... I guess my point is that when games are released that obviously needed more budget put towards QA, yet they come along with $40M in marketing, that perhaps a slight retooling of the budget allocation could have put a higher quality game on the shelves with a slightly reduced marketing presence. I'm aware that there are 100 reasons why this type of budget calculation would be near-impossible to make.

It seems like newer digital distribution channels (XBLA, Steam, etc) make it feasible for smaller teams to release games without the marketing overhead. Word-of-mouth can increase sales, but it never will make up for billboards plastered on the sides of city buses, etc.

I do wonder, though, with a game like Fallout 3... the buzz was pretty loud just based on gamer interest in a sequel in the Fallout universe. How much difference in sales would there have been from a 15% reduction in marketing costs?

An exec producer friend of mine told me that marketing for AAA titles costs almost as much as the development these days... that depresses the crap out of me.

Cutting QA teams is one of the first things that happens in most development studios when their budget is short. One could argue that teams are too ambitious -- games smaller in scope would be easier to create without bugs... Once a game is in production, however, it's difficult to cut significant parts of the design or story without a total reworking, hence QA teams are cut instead of artists and programmers.

IMHO, it's a failure of oversight and project management that so many games are released in such a poor state. Publishers should step in to reduce feature creep and game scope at an earlier stage, and require development studios to institute sound QA practices.

Yeah, Brittany was hilarious and fantastic. The show seems a bit off this season -- like they're trying to subdue the characters and story and just do more music. The music is good, but it's the context of the stories that makes it great.

I had a lot of fun with the Runaway games. The second one is good, too. I also suck and have to resort to a FAQ. It annoyed me at first, but I got over it and try to just enjoy the story. Otherwise, it will just sit unplayed.

Shadow Complex is a lot of fun - highly recommended.

I just got a PS3. Uncharted 1 and 2 are a lot of fun. I also have Demon's Souls -- for an M-rated game, I find it less violent than Uncharted 2. It's scarier, though, but a lot of fun.