What game are you playing?

[Johncarllos]

I have seen footage of Saint's Row.
I'm not sure what I think.

I remember I wasn't too impressed by what I saw.

[Majikn]

That's what you get for watching Fox News.

Hey. HEY. You insult me. I didn't watch Fox News. It was part of the wikipedia entry I read. I wasn't expecting it to be bad. But I expected it to be at least a little worse from what I was hearing. It was funny before I even saw the scene.

The asari did look cool. I let her live, so I may see her again, at the very least.

Response!:
[spoiler]I didn't really choose anyone exactly. I was nice to everyone basically, I almost always chose the top option because I feel like that's actually what I would say. I didn't really feel a connection between Liara and I though... but I said yes just because of the curiosity I mentioned. Ashley died, and I wasn't sure there was anyone else to choose from anyway. I think if I had let it all continue on, I might've had them fight over me, which I have seen in a youtube video, but this is me thinking that because I'm always nice to everyone and I wasn't actually trying to do it, I only saw the video after I beat it and I was like "Whoa."[/spoiler]

[Mikero]

I have seen footage of Saint's Row.
I'm not sure what I think.

I remember I wasn't too impressed by what I saw.

The graphics aren't that hot, but otherwise it's pretty much like San Andreas in terms of play. The second one improves a LOT all around, and though the graphics still aren't gorgeous they're not bad.

The first Saints Row is very much like an inbetween of GTA:SA and GTAIV.

That's what you get for watching Fox News.

Hey. HEY. You insult me. I didn't watch Fox News. It was part of the wikipedia entry I read. I wasn't expecting it to be bad. But I expected it to be at least a little worse from what I was hearing. It was funny before I even saw the scene.

The asari did look cool. I let her live, so I may see her again, at the very least.

Response!:
[spoiler]I didn't really choose anyone exactly. I was nice to everyone basically, I almost always chose the top option because I feel like that's actually what I would say. I didn't really feel a connection between Liara and I though... but I said yes just because of the curiosity I mentioned. Ashley died, and I wasn't sure there was anyone else to choose from anyway. I think if I had let it all continue on, I might've had them fight over me, which I have seen in a youtube video, but this is me thinking that because I'm always nice to everyone and I wasn't actually trying to do it, I only saw the video after I beat it and I was like "Whoa."[/spoiler]

Same here for the Asari, but SHE is actually purple. I really thought her green clone looked so awesome.

[spoiler]I was nice to everyone too, and I usually picked the top response for the same reasons. I like Liara more than Ash right away. First of all she was somehow actually hotter despite being a blue alien. Then, she's a smart doctor type and I found what she had to say actually interesting. Ashley's face seems to the change after Eden Prime, and she's a total bitch to everyone. Add to that that she's a racist and that pretty much sealed it. I saved Kaidan too, since the whole game before that I was like "Kaidan you're my boy!". And because I went to Noveria first, and then Artemis Tau second, Ashley died before her and Liara would have confronted me about feelings and stuff. Yeah, if you're nice to both of them and don't really confirm anything they apparently confront you after a debriefing and you can to choose. If you try to choose both, Ashley/Kaidan gets pissed and you just continue with Liara.

On Virmire, when Wrex gets really pissed off, there's actually a chance he can die. You can kill him, or Ashley can kill him. I calmed him down, thankfully.

Also you can actually go through the game without ever getting Garrus or Wrex. But since I like them both and Garrus is pretty much my right hand man (AFTER Kaidan) I think that'd be stupid. [/spoiler]

[Majikn]

I was like "WTF" on Virmire and then reloaded and put points to intimidate and tried again until I prevented it.

I had Garrus and Alenko mainly, but I had to choose someone else that one time and chose Wrex, because you know, and he had like 42 points built up. I like Wrex but being a vanguard I don't need him. I suppose it'll be different next time I play.

I forgot that she was a purple, so now I bet that they was just green because of the plant-cloning thing.

The above sentence is what happens when I post-edit a pronoun and don't look at the rest of the sentence.

[Johncarllos]

Wow.

I can't wait until I understand what you all are talking about.

[Mikero]

Same here.

I'm chose to be an Infiltrator, and then I chose the Operative option on Luna.

One thing I liked about being an Infiltrator is that no other squad members are really the same kind of thing. I think Tali might be the closest.

I never put any points into Intimidate, so it's only at the one it gave me. My Charm is completely maxed out to twelve though. Intimidate is the last thing on my list to upgrade, I don't think I'll even have it maxed to the ~4 available slots if I get to level 60.

[Johncarllos]

Picked up Mass Effect for next to nothing today (leftover gift cards).

Used though.
The disc is not in spectacular condition, but it will definitely work.

[Captain Sanoguchi]

I've been playing Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones.
I actually enjoy it.
I got it pretty cheap at the GameAttack demo at SGC.

[Johncarllos]

Cool.


I just beat Noveria on Mass Effect last night.

I'm not doing too many of the side missions yet, I want to get into the groove of the game first.

[Slugkid]

I've been playing Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones.
I actually enjoy it.
I got it pretty cheap at the GameAttack demo at SGC.

You probably know this, but, don't use Seth. Ever. It's like Marcus from the other GBA Fire Emblems.
Also, make two saves on chapter 9, you can pick two different paths.

[Captain Sanoguchi]

No idea what that means, but thanks for spoiling the game for me.

[Kuchiri]

Cool.


I just beat Noveria on Mass Effect last night.

I'm not doing too many of the side missions yet, I want to get into the groove of the game first.

Before going to Virmire...make sure you do almost every side quest possible. Trust me.

To get the 'Ally' Achievements you need to complete 15 Missions and 45 Sidequests.

[Edgecrusher]

That's what you get for watching Fox News.

Hey. HEY. You insult me.

No, I didn't. An insult would have been "You're an idiot for watching Fox News."

Rather, I just pointed out that sensationalism was something to be expected from them.

[Kuchiri]

Hey don't bash Fox News, Red Eye is one of the best shows in cable.

[Majikn]

I wasn't ACTUALLY insulted, I was really just insulting Fox News by saying I'm insulted that you would suggest I watch Fox News.

Hey don't bash Fox News, Red Eye is one of the best shows in cable.

I'm currently under the impression that Red Eye is a television show, and Fox News is... well, propaganda in place of news. So in my mind, to bash one of them would not bash the other.

[Kuchiri]

Fox pumps just as much propaganda as MSNBC...that is why CNN is the best.

[Majikn]

I've heard absolute bull##### from CNN as well. ##### like this is part of the reason the USA has a bad name among other countries. It's a kick in the ass to honest journalism, too.

I'm generally turned off by television itself, much less news on television. So I have no idea what is implied by comparing it to MSNBC.

[Kuchiri]

MSNBC is Biased Left...very biased left. If you even say you want to vote for one republican then they will bash you to the ground calling you evil.

Fox bashes anyone that tries to change replubican ways

CNN and HLN is very boring and just state the news.

[Majikn]

Not from what I've seen.

EDIT: To be clear I'm not going to talk about politics period, and I wasn't bringing it up. I'm talking about dishonesty.

[Johncarllos]

I NOT LIEK POLOTICKS.

Lets talk about Mass Effect.

SO, I was going to do a bunch of side missions after Noveria. I did like 2 and then they all disappeared from my journal.
So I did the Artemis Tau cluster, and they are still gone.

I'm going to find and do every side mission I can before I go to Feros. I'm going to land on every planet I can and survey stuff.
I'm going to do THINGS.

Also, I'm trying to get Ashley, so I'm keeping her in my party at all times, and I'm also using Tali, because I like decrypting things.
I might swap Ashley for whoever is half combat half techie for more skill, I think it's Garrus.

I'm playing half combat half biotic, but I wish I'd chosen tech. that combo only has pistol and sniper though, and I really like the shotgun as the combat is close up.
I never use my biotics anyways, throw is lame, and so is warp.

[Majikn]

Use lift, then. Paralysis within an area of effect. At full points it goes on for a whole 12 seconds. That's a lot of free hits.

[Mikero]

I never used Ashley after Eden Prime and the Citadel. I'd only take her out at the Citadel to work with her stats and maybe the end/start of a sidequest. But any time she talked to anyone about anything she was a bitch. If I had used Garrus instead of her during the initial sidequests I'd probably have his achievement.

I was an Infiltrator, which is part combat and part tech. It was a really great combo to pick, as I said, the other characters aren't really similar. I think Garrus is the closest but he can use assault rifles and overkill and stuff.

I'm glad I didn't pick stuff with biotics because... Eh. I let everyone use their stuff freely so Kaidan used his biotics alright, though if I wanted him using Lift I usually had to tell him to. Liara has singularity, which is cool, but I'm glad I didn't pick biotics for me as they'd never be used. Whereas I use Overload and Sabotage a LOT. The only way I'd play a biotic character would be to get the achievements but that's stupid.

I got the Kaidan ally achievement, I think. I'll probably get the Garrus one in my next playthrough just because I won't really use Tali for Feros (she's surprisingly agressive with a shotgun by the way) this time. I might go for Liara's achievement because I could go get her right away, but I don't REALLY care about achievements, I just like the character.

I think Stasis is a horrible biotic power though. You can't damage anyone in it unless you're that certain sub-class or something.

You can use any weapon anyway, John. You'll just suck at it. I used the shotgun and assault rifle enough to get the achievements even, but I really just liked my pistol.

I have no idea what's wrong with your journal but see what happens if you complete a sidequest. There's only one solar system in the game without something to land on anyway, but some sidequests only unlock when you hit a certain level or stage in the game. And at least one sidequest can only be started within a certain window, but it's different depending on what your background is.

[Johncarllos]

Okay, I'll have all my quests listed.
I'll start one, like go find so and so, and all but my main missions will disappear. I won;t be able to look at my sidequests.


I'm just now guessing that there are multiple parts to the journal. I can probably scroll left and right to do things.

If not, it's stupid.

Posted on: July 08, 2009, 12:58:04 AM

Also, I really never use anything but the pistol, and shotgun when I'm up close.

I kind of wish I could have the pistol, assault rifle combo but the assault rifle's accuracy is horrible. Unrealistically so.

I use the shotgun enough though.

Also, is there no scope on the rifle?

[Mikero]

Scope is on the sniper rifle, bud.

I can't comment on the accuracy of weapons I wasn't able to train on. I figured they just sucked because I wasn't supposed to use them. Although when you get nuff upgrade slots you can help it. Not enough, but like I said I made at least 150 kills with each thing and I didn't even LIKE using anything but my pistol, and the sniper rifle when applicable.

Okay, I'll have all my quests listed.
I'll start one, like go find so and so, and all but my main missions will disappear. I won;t be able to look at my sidequests.

Uhm.

I'm not trying to be like... condescending or anything... but you realize the main missions and the side-quests are listed separately right?

Like, there's the list of Primary missions, and the list of Secondary missions. You just push left or right based on what you want to see.

When "Journal" is flashing and you open it, it takes you directly to the list with the newest thing.
 
The Codex works the same.

[Vinchenz Rock]

I gotta get Mass Effect one day, I hear nothing but good things about it, and not just from here either.

So, I'm almost done 100 Percenting Super Paper Mario. That game is an even bigger bitch to 100% than Paper Mario 2.

I also finally downloaded Fallout 3 on Steam. I'll get started on that baby as soon as I'm done with SPM.

[Johncarllos]

Yeah I can't figure out how to use the sniper scope.

And Vinch, you will be let down.
It is fun, but getting anywhere takes FOREVER.
Walk for 3 minutes, ride in an elevator for a minute, take 5 steps and hop in another elevator, get in a ship, choose where you're going, watch a 30 second animation (from the citadel) and THEN choose again and let the 10 second autosaves kill you as well as the random loading chunks and the texture pop-ins.
Also, the horrible framerates when playing in 1080p.
There are a lot of negatives, and it takes forever to get places.
Not to mention the AI of your allies is pretty bad.
I tell them to move and they stand in the open and get rocketed to death.

Also, you can only RUN during combat, the rest of the time you jog everywhere.

Also, you can't give yourself cheekbones without them being disgustingly pointy.

I'm not trying to be like... condescending or anything... but you realize the main missions and the side-quests are listed separately right?

Like, there's the list of Primary missions, and the list of Secondary missions. You just push left or right based on what you want to see.

When "Journal" is flashing and you open it, it takes you directly to the list with the newest thing.
 
The Codex works the same.

[size=8]#####.[/size]
This is me right now.

Posted on: July 08, 2009, 01:26:26 AM

ALSO, driving the Mako is ridiculous.

[Mikero]

John;

-The scope works with the left trigger or something like that.
-Going places seems less slow later. Just do all your Citadel sidequests at once so you're not going there every ten minutes.
-Turn auto-save off. It sucks. It's useless.
-If you've got room, put the game on the hard drive. Cuts down on everything's loading. While it's not perfect, it helps with Citadel elevators. The elevator in the Normady I was fine with. I think this will help with it taking long for you to get places, because it didn't bother me at all after I installed the game.
-If you tell your ally's to go somewhere specific (with that arrow thing), they should try to take cover once they get there. Otherwise they're just normal. To be safe, I always hit down (cover) when they go where I need them to. It seems like they get better later anyway. But I generally tell them to cover in a doorway or something while I run ahead, you really only need them for cover fire.

Vinch;
-You won't be disappointed, John is just sad 'cause he SUCKS AT MASS EFFECT BIATCH!

The problem is just that the game doesn't teach you how to play it, so you only REALLY know what you're doing somewhere after half-way through. Also it's a big game, and it needs a lot of your system which is why I say firmly install it to your hard drive.

My only actual issue with the game is that it has a #####TY inventory system. I don't have to bother with it anymore because most everything is worse than what I have, but they fixed it in the PC version which is basically a confirmation that Mass Effect 2 will have a decent system. I don't see why they can't patch the XBox version for that but fine, whatever.

[Johncarllos]

And Mike, the elevators do NOT change speed if you install to hard drive. I tested it.
It also doesn't help as much as it should with texture pop-in either.

I just hate the elevator to the Normandy. It is the absolute worst.

When I'm in an elevator I just check my messages, facebook, the MMM, make a snack, go to the bathroom, take a vacation, and live my life.

The inventory is not good at all, but it's not unusable. It just takes forever.

[Mikero]

Honestly the one in the Normandy is the quickest for me. And my elevator speeds definitely changed along with all load times; Especially traveling from one system to another within the same cluster.

Or maybe I just got used to it or something. But it's really not at all long for me. None of them. I think the longest is the one from the dock to C-Sec, but there's always a conversation or something on the radio during those so it's fine. The radio stuff gives you sidequests too, or relates to how you handled sidequests.

[Kuchiri]

You can get 4 Assignments from the radio, depending on who you talked to or what other assignments you have done.

There are 2 Assignments with the reporter.

There are a History Based Assignment for where you were raised. ((Shepard has a mother in one...))

If you hit 75% Paragon or Renegade you unlock another Assignment. ((On your second play though you can do a glitch with the guy in Noveria in the bar, the one you need to turn into a witness, where you can loop the conversation to get max out both.))

'Bringing Down the Sky' Gives you a few more assignments.

There is another Assignment increasing DLC coming out later on this year before ME2.

[Mikero]

Actually there's two different reporters. It's weird. But I think there's two sidequests with the first reporter, yeah?

The Spacer history based one is the one where you talk to your mother. I was Earthborn, so I was an orphan and the sidequest deals with very different stuff. I forget what the other one is about.

You really don't need to glitch anything to get to 75% P/R points. I filled the Paragon meter well before the end of the game, and still was getting Paragon points that couldn't fit in there.

I'm probably gonna get "Bring Down The Sky", if I buy one of those cards and continue my second playthrough anyway.


I always hold down the run button in Mass Effect when I'm going around. I don't actually think it makes you go faster, but it feels like it does somehow. It doesn't, I'm sure. But still. Anyway the game is clearly not meant to be a "go go go go go" type thing, which is why none of the combat is actually hard. It's about the story, which is what I like about it most.

[Edgecrusher]

CNN and HLN is very boring and just state the news.

Just stating the news is what all news programs should be doing.
The constant barrage of graphics and sensationalism make it hard to take any of it seriously.

Walter Cronkite must be spinning in his grave.

In this day and age you're better off avoiding television broadcast news altogether.

Turn off your television and read.

[Mikero]

I highly doubt any news station just states the news right now.

[Majikn]

There seem to be a fair amount more things that have changed in the PC version. I noticed a different interface, I noticed player-controlling your allies, for example. Saw a playing manually walking Garrus over to a Geth Colossus and using overload.

I think John's talking about the really tall elevator leading to the Normandy at the Citadel, not the one in the Normandy.

[Kuchiri]

Bringing Down the Sky is definitely worth it. If you start a new playthrough by going there, you can easily get Level VII equipment while you are still using Level III. Insane stuff.

[Mikero]

I'm using Level X stuff anyway so that doesn't really matter, I'll just get Bring Down The Sky to play it.

Saw a playing manually walking Garrus over to a Geth Colossus and using overload.

I think John's talking about the really tall elevator leading to the Normandy at the Citadel, not the one in the Normandy.

Well, you can do that on XBox if I'm reading you right, but I don't see the point. I only need the allies for cover fire and their unique skills once in a while so it's fine if they do their own thing. As long as you have it set so they can use their abilities freely and such.

And yeah that's the only elevator I think is too long. C-Sec to Docks. But it's the one with the conversations and radio stuff so it's OK.

[Johncarllos]

So, I found all my Gamecube stuff and fired it up today.

Oooh the nostalgia.

Only played for about 10 minutes, because I had something else to do, but i plan to beat Windwaker again.

Also, I plan to sell the Gamecube too.
Just because.

[Captain Sanoguchi]

'Kay, so here's Sano's random gaming update.
I'm playing Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones.
I'm playing Link's Awakening, which I had as a child till one of my brother's douchey friends stole it from me and I've actually just gotten a tad further than I did as a young lad.
And I'm also replaying Majora's Mask, because it kicks ass.
So, I've got a bit on my plate.

[Mikero]

Majora's Mask does NOT kick ass and it never has.

[ASR]

Majora's Mask was pretty coooooool.

[Mikero]

If "coooooool" stands for "Clearly OOOOOOOfully Lame"

[ASR]

yeah

[TheOnly]

I never liked Zelda period.

[Majikn]

I never liked Zelda blood IN GENERAL.

[ASR]

good one

because periods are like

okay yeah

[Johncarllos]

o no i didnt get that until alec said that omg im gonna puke now

[Edgecrusher]

I never liked Zelda period.

...

Never heard Beethoven and don't like Zelda?

I'm starting to wonder if you were grown in some sort of lab.

[ChaosVortex]

Majora's Mask isn't all that bad, it's just okay. I played it at Annie's house for a bit and I thought it was the most frustrating thing possible. I was panicking to get the whole thing done in just that short of time, until I learned that you can go back in time to day one, which relieves your stress for a bit. Made it seem not as bad then, but Nintendo did give me a bit of a scare, and not the good kind.

Aside from that, my main issue is your starting point. You start smack dab in the center of the world, and there's like, four areas surrounding them. By the way that's set up, it kinda takes away from the adventurous feel.

I never liked Zelda period.

...

Never heard Beethoven and don't like Zelda?

I'm starting to wonder if you were grown in some sort of lab.

Had you worded that differently, it could have been a double slam, implying he's a dog.

[Edgecrusher]

Majora's Mask was bad because it was so clearly made from constituent pieces of OoT.

Mask trading was okay as a mini-game in OoT, but it fails as the core structure of a game.

[Johncarllos]

I need to play MM again.

I remember liking that game a lot.