Weekend Confirmed 82 - Firefall, Dark Souls, Space Marine 2

I thought I'd point out that the saving and camp fire systems are separate in Dark Souls. The game automatically saves where ever you leave off in my experience (although I think the game prefers that you manually quit through the menu to do this perfectly). So you can go to a camp fire, kill the enemies in your immediate area, quit, and when you come back the enemies will still be dead.

Incredibly disappointed in you guys for supporting shoddy business practices by WB Studios and Rocksteady with the new Batman game.

Mark Kern (not sure of the exact spelling) saying it "fixes the used game problem" is a slap in the face to anyone who games and should be permanantly banned from ever appearing on a podcast ever again.

I guess it's easy to defend stuff that screws customers when you get review copies for free.

I love the part with Jeff trying to explain why he didn't play Demon Souls or why it didn't appeal to him at all and now he figured he should give Dark Souls a shot. Demon Souls available on PS3 only, Dark Souls available on 360. Cmon you guys could hardly talk about Demon Souls and now you're spending time to talk about the game in detail.

Just say well it's on 360 so now I'll give it a try :)

When it comes to the whole issue with customers and used games, gamers need to realize something.

When a gamer buys a game new, they are customer of the publisher and the store, because both parties get a cut.

When a gamer buys a game used, they are a customer of the store. Not the publisher. The publisher owes them NOTHING in that transaction.

So crying that they are being treated unfairly by having certain content locked away falls on deaf ears. You are not their customer. You can buy the game new, or you can pay for the pass and become their customer.

Otherwise, complain to the people you're giving your money to - the store you're buying the used game from.

Reply to this comment If you are interested in winning the Magic the Gather Core Pack. Only your first comment will be counted as an entry. I will pick a winner on Wednesday, 10/19 at 10am PST.

If you don't know what I am talking about view the Pre-Show video above.

For Xav, just want to point out there was a Mutant League Hockey. EA just has to bring it back with the Mutant League Football someday! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutant_League_Hockey

Are Game Devs Full Of It?

Lately it seems as if developers are clamoring for better technology in the consoles in order to make their games "better". However, if there is one lesson that we are learning for this generation is that there are not enough "hardcore" gamers willing to pay full price for the high cost of development, and thus big name studios are either shutting down (Team Bondi) or having massive layoffs (Disney) despite having good sales. A next generation focused on "more and better" will just either raise costs for consumers (I personally fell as if the next generation will have $80 games) or make games more homogenous for a wider audience. It seems as if a lot of studios are using a lack of technology as an excuse for poor design decisions.

I have always been a believer that boxes are good for creativity. I was in a painting class once that complained that they never had the opportunity to paint exactly what they wanted. The teacher was fed up with the complaints and let us paint anything. Guess what? People complained that they didn't know what to paint.

Thoughts?

Been playing Batman: AC all day, and am interested to hear what fellow shackers and the WC crew think of the game.

Personally, I think it's a little disappointing, and a tad overrated.

It's well made, but all the fears I had about the move to the open world have come to bear, albeit not as badly as they could have.

The game doesn't feel as tightly paced, the areas you traverse through in the missions don't feel as well designed, and the extra space just feels like padding. Some of the side-missions are interesting, others are flat-out stupid (Flying through hoops and finding ringing phones, I'm looking at you). The only reason I do them is for Batman fan service, not cause they're fun.

I couldn't put Batman: AA down from start to finish. This one... I put Gears of War 3 back in every few hours, just cause I'm getting restless.

Regarding the Free to Play model and Mark's comments. I really applaud what they are doing with Firefall and wish them all the luck. Maybe it's the cynic in me though but won't the Free To Play model have the same problems as games that retail for $40? That because it isn't $60 dollars then it is seen as too casual or not the same value as a $60 game? In this case since there is no monthly fee and it is completely free then it must not be as good as a WOW. I hope that Firefall can change the world of this fucked up way of thinking because I know I have spent money on my fair share of shitty $60 games.

Has anyone else played Skylanders?

My wife and I bought it today on a whim and we have already put about 3-4 hours into it. It feels like I shouldn't be having this much fun with a game targeted at a whole different audience.

When you change the figurines it happens instantly. Not only does this make the experience slick and enjoyable. It allows you to seamlessly change characters on the fly. It’s similar to CCG in that your party is the toy figurines and you call them in when you need their particular skill set. ala Pokémon

Also the game does not make switching to a particular character a must (unless you are a completionist). So you can play with your favorite character without feeling alienated for not owning a fire guy.

Additionally all of your character's stats, upgrades, and XP are stored independently on the toys.

When dueling (multiplayer), the player has to choose a character that is strong against the opposite character while still being able to mitigate incoming damage. Player skill and neutral traps also play a role in deciding the victor.

All this plus a robust web interface that connects with the games backend to offer even more content.

I know there are a million games out there competing for everyone's time and money. I'm not saying this one deserves it, but I do believe its concepts should be observed and discussed.

Anyone else played this game. Thoughts?

Xav sort of hinted at it, but I am curious why a game like Darksouls/Demonsouls that sounds like it is riddled with horrible game design is lauded while every games are panned. The game seems to have such a narrow appeal that does not seem to justify all the talk it generates.

No offense, but I think you guys should stop talking about Dark Souls.... at least until one of you put 20-30ish hours into it and started to really understand what it is.

Canatta got all his misnomers wrong (can't blame him, he didn't get to the hard parts yet ... I want to hear him calling it "not hard" after the Ornstein & Smough bossfight) and Berghammer is bashing the game for the second podcast in a row while not even knowing about it's ingenious online play (yes, there is coop, and it's even part of the game's covenent system ... players progress by helping others, or dependent on the covenant by griefing others. It's the most suspensful, dramatic and satisfying online experience I had in many years).

The game is not perfect (especially from the technical side) but it's utterly fascinating and unique. It's pulling me in like no other game since SH2 and SotC on the ps2.

I love MTG!!!

Hey guys, I couldn't see anywhere this was posted yet... I wanted to clear up something Jeff said that was so wrong! The Dark Souls bonfires are in no way "checkpoints"! They are respawn points, yes, but you can stop and save the game at any point. You gave Mark the impression he would have to play for hours without being able to save the game in between, but it's not so. You can quit and save whenever you want :)

Love MTG i didnt think you would ever really get into the game jeff after watching the TRS episode where you first played MTG with dan and alex. pretty awsome you gave it a shot again and got addicted hope i can win those cards

Does anyone else think the new spyro game looks very interesting, and looks to be another major hit title for... Wait for it the dreaded activision!!! Hate the company and there CEO all you like but man do they know what gamers want.

Jeff Cannata: "I'm surprised that not all connected gamers are on Facebook and Twitter." (paraphrasing here; too lazy to transcribe tonight)

I'm refusing to join Facebook and Twitter because it's a jungle of insanity, and I don't want to give personal info to companies that may do stupid things with it (whether it's stealth privacy policy changes like Facebook, or getting hacked like PSN, or advertising spam like everyone).

I also consider the "you must sign up for this service login to play a game" to be a liability. I'm sacrificing privacy to play a video game. I refused to buy UT3 because they used GameSpy for the mandatory login. I've been with Steam since Half-Life 2, but they take privacy and security seriously, and they appear to be the exception in online services. We just had a Shacker get his XBox Live account hijacked, and there's been a rash of Live account hijackings allegedly related to the release timing of FIFA 12: http://www.giantbomb.com/news/microsoft-ea-claim-fifa-isnt-causing-rash-of-xbox-live-hacks/3746/

One thing that I think will put a damper on the "PC renaissance" is the sheer number of logins a gamer needs to register to be able to play games over multiple services. My personal mantra right now is "Steam or nothing!", which pretty much means I'm only playing games with Steamworks, or indie games with no DRM. Because they've walled themselves off, I can't buy any titles from Ubisoft (UPlay), EA (Origin), Microsoft (Games for Windows Live), or other publishers who don't commit to Steamworks or no online activation DRM. I'm not interested in MMOs, and I want to be able to play PC games when my Internet connection flakes out (as it frequently does).

Since the show failed to address the topic. Most likely to lack of concern, but since it's the most press video games will probably get for the next 4 years I think it merits discussion. The Boston red sox, and there lack of concentration or care for their jobs because of playing video games, drinking beer and eating fried food.

There 3 things that concern me and all of them true to a extent. The demonstrative look at games saying playing games leads to lack of accomplishing work... Which is true we all have skipped out on work of some kind to play a game I'm sure.

Second the rampant alcoholism that has become synonymous with gamers. As helped along by much of the media including this site. This is not a good thing. I'm not saying I don't enjoy a beer and a drunken Halo party. However, it almost seems now that to enjoy video games you should always be drunk and or stoned. This is not helping the culture of games, and it is a problem.

Finally the over eating and obesity that most of America has become. I really don't have much to say about this it speaks for itself.

All these thing lumped together is what gamers are portrayed as. Fat, drunken, losers, and I was wondering your thoughts on this, and whether site and podcasters can change that, or will simply continue to feed that image of us as gamers.

Yay for Arkham City releasing early down under! I started playing Sunday and love it so far. Didn't think it was possible but the combat is a lot more satisfying than AA, partly because of the investment in levelling up Batman's abilities. Arkham City itself is breathtaking. I spent well over an hour just gliding around and trying my hand at the Augmented Reality Flight Training beacons scattered around; very fun.

The characters, particularly Batman's enemies, are so well realised. It actually has me intrigued into submerging myself in the Batman universe more (being born in 1990 I think I missed the comic book craze, plunging right into Pokemon instead :P).

Great game so far, can't wait to see where the story takes me as well.

I LOVE Dark Souls, but Cannata nailed it in his description.

//Niklas

Thanks for such a consistently wonderful show! As a teacher I have little time to game now, but your show keeps me informed and entertained week in and week out! I live you guys!

PS- I'm drunk!

PPS- I know I got a lot of type-os in my posts. I promise I'm a better teacher than I am poster. I usually have a very short window to post now and proofreading falls to the way side.

I love you guys!!!!!

I think it is great that you all had a representative from a developer contribute to shacknews. I am all for the shack having more content. It would have even been better if the interview with the Fire Fly guy was mid week he showed up half way through the show. The beginning of it was awkward, as to be expected when you pull a random dude in.

I'd love to win the magic.

Special guest = please speak up.

All the enthusiasm for Magic the Gathering has made me realize something. The reason it doesn't bother me that Pokemon games don't really change much (for what it's worth, the small changes affect multiplayer considerably more than they do single player... but I digress) is that they effectively scratch the CCG itch for me.

What I mean is that even though it's a turn based RPG, and so things like stats and levelling up demonstrably affect the outcome, the way you strategize in Pokemon is based largely around how you choose to build your team. The thing is, you're not building your team the way you would in a more traditional JRPG.

You don't have a healer, or a buffer, or a bruiser, or a tank or any of those classes that would constitute a balanced party in a DQ style game. What you have instead, are groups of monsters based around having specific elemental strengths and weaknesses, each of which can only have a maximum of 4 combat moves and 1 equipable item, and every monster belongs to one or two elemental classes, and they're all weak against something, strong against something, super effective against something, and borderline useless against something, and the balance of these games is amazing.

I won't go into it too much more, because frankly, I'm pretty sure we all know how to play Pokemon, but the fun of those games, the thing that is both frustrating, rewarding, and somewhat time-sinking, is building that perfectly balanced deck, a team that can take on a broad range of opponents while covering for it's own weaknesses. Battles themselves are a simple affair (unless you're a tournament player) and it's all in how well you've prepared.

So, the reason I'm okay with these games not changing very much, because each game is effectively an expansion set of new cards. There's a dopey little quest that never changes, but it's main function is just to teach you the mechanics and let you get a feel for the new monsters, and the game really only starts after you've become the champion.

I wasn't to upset about Mass effect co-op (alot of my friends own every mass effect game would be nice to play something other than COD), But while Xav didn't sound to happy about the idea of multiplayer affecting the single player, I for one would like to see friend's multiplayer characters appear as mini-bosses or other characters in the game (just imagine throwing Christan spicer's multiplayer character out a window like the last game) It would make ME3's mutiplayer more than a fun but forgettable diversion.

On a related note Bioware confirmed turians, krogans, salarians, humans, asaris, and drells, but that's not all the races in mass effect which race not included (Quarians, Hanar, Volus Elcores) would you purchase DLC to play as? I'd pick either the Volus or the Elcor

Enjoyed the show.

Glad to hear you guys more open to Dark Souls this week. Frankly, I think you should be. As Jeff indicated, this is a game that does a lot of things different. It doesn't follow the direction gaming has been going and it outright defies many of the "rules" of game design. And until I played it for over 30 hours, I never realized how much I think many of those rules need to be questioned.

A few corrections though:

-The game does explain all the stats (including humanity). In the status screen you can hit the "details" button on any stat and it explains what that stat does.

-You can't pause but you can quit to the title screen at anytime and the game brings you right back to the exact place you were standing.

-It is co-op up to 3 players when you are in human form. However you can't pick who enters your game. You lay down a sign and others see your call for help in their world in the spot you lay it down and select it to join (pretty cool idea, if you ask me).

Mark sounds like smooth jazz DJ at 2 A.M.

@Xav,

You keep holding out for Too Human 2 and Ill keep holding out for Advent Rising 2...

Maybe Majesco will spend some of that Zumba Fintness Kinect money on that dead IP. Plus with Kinect developing experience they can ruin the next game even worse.

Here's the video Mark was talking about for Firefall if you're interested - http://www.shacknews.com/game/firefall/videos/10817/firefall-inside-forge-trailer

Xav,

Bioware did note that you could achieve the best ending without touching the multiplayer at all, and that it's just one of several options available to the player to increase their "readiness". It was probably the most prominent point they've made in all their public statements. I wasn't aware that there was any confusion about this.

As far as I'm concerned, this Galaxy at War thing is fine if I can safely ignore it, since I have no interest in multiplayer of any sort, least of all in Mass Effect. That seems to be the case so far. So... whatever.

Since BIoware said there were aspects of Galaxy at War yet to be announced, I wouldn't be surprised if the next announcement had something to do with Facebook or something, because "needlessly invasive" is just how EA rolls these days.

Sign me up. love to see some new magic cards

I'd love to take those cards off your hands for ya!

That Magic core pack that was seen on the weekend confirmed eps. 82 pre show, yeah I would love that.

How can you win that baby?