I just completed Modern Warfare 2 in two sittings. Way too short, and it's basically just a map-pack for Modern Warfare 1 - it's exactly the same game, save for one or two gimmicks they've chucked into the mix (like the slow-mo sequences when you breach a door and the extremely unrealistic vehicle handling). Still enjoyable, though. I'd definitely never pay what the publishers are asking for it, and like so many games these days it really doesn't deserve the hysterical hype surrounding it.

Check out Dungeon Fighter Online. Another 2D Side scrolling without the cutsie animations.

So should I get CoD MW2 or not? I've never owned anything from the series and have only played a few semi-extensively at friend's houses but loved every second of it when I did.

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Well Modern Warfare I was a blast. Seriously. I had to pause and take a smoke/breather on multiple occasions. And apparently, the 2nd one is more of the same and better. So nothing to lose!
Once again a SHORT career though, but a load of separate missions you can also play in CO-OP are waiting for you after you finish the storyline apparently. I'd have downloaded it to try it by now, but 14 gigs is half of what my internet-provider ehm, provides me with for each month.

Also our guitarplayer has it and can't stop bitching about how good it is.

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If you want to be able to shoot me with an RPG this thanksgiving break... then I suggest you go ahead and pick it up.

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I do! I probably will.

But fuck, 14 GBs?!

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I can't run it. You need a 3.2 GHz and I only have 2.66. Fuck it.

I can run the first one though, do people still play it?

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Of course. I think mostly because of the bigger matches and the server-joining

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I just finished Machinarium, and if you don't know what it is you're a smelly cunt with a fat face.

It's a point 'n' click adventure/puzzle game, but it's pretty different than other games in the genre. You can play the demo in your browser (it's a Flash game):

http://machinarium.net/demo/

PLAY IT

I played a game very similar to this one. Would you happen to know the name of it?

Nevermind it was Samorost.

Do you still play Quake Live, Req? I pretty much gave up on it after a few weeks. I think I got about 4 frags

I started playing Crysis online with my brothers recently, I forgot how much fun that shit can be. Brings me back to the old days of Tactical Ops on a 56k modem! If anyone here plays it we should have a game

Just bought it. Downloading now. The demo was pretty interesting. Fuck I'd love to make music for games.

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Machinarium can be fucking tough and frustrating.

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Would it be possible for me to push 2.66 GHz on a game that requires 2.8?

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Yes, in most cases, but don't expect to be able to put shit like "shadow detail" on max.


Edit: ...You're talking about Modern Warfare 2 aren't you.

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Nah, Crysis.

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Oh you'll be fine, I have like 2.4 and got a bit over medium-graphics.

Which already looks better than 99% of all other games. Lot of pop-in though.
Enjoy the first levels. Crytek always messes up by adding indoor-sections halfway through that are always too long though. After that it gets better though, last missions are badass.

Personally I enjoyed Far Cry 1 the most, lllllloved those outdoor-missions.

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Okay, cool. I haven't picked it up yet but Iprobably will sometime this month. I'm not familiar with Far Cry, I'll check it out. I'm always pretty late in the game (heh) when it comes to popular games.

I just finished Machinarium yesterday. Fuck, that game has some really tough puzzels. Ironically, the very last one was the easiest for me.. probably because it wasn't one of those crazy visual brain teasers. I was very happy to see that the purchase came with the soundtrack (two, actually - the main one and one with bonus music) and I find myself listening to it a lot. Floex, the guy who made it, did just a phenominal job.

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Downloading Stalker: Call of Pripyat.



...I'm gonna shit my pants again.

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Pics or it didn't happen.

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http://blog.synthesis.net/wp-conten...8/07/mikael.jpg

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Did you ever get around to playing this, Wolf? If so, are there any significant differences between it and the previous games?

Well, better level-design for one (some freakin' beautiful vista's, like the giant crane), more shit to do, but it hasn't properly been released in English.


So you have to go for the Russian equivalent of Engrish, you get the storyline, but most of the dialogue is kinda Babelfished. Not exactly a maaaajor gripe, but still. Anyway, if you loved the other 2 games you'll love this one, no doubt about it.

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I think the English version is due out in a month or two, I'll most likely buy it given how much I adore the others. I bought the first two games on Steam during the Xmas sales, they were about £2/$4 each! Can't go wrong.

My only gripe with Clear Sky is that I can't have all of the DX10 graphics options on full, because it becomes unplayable. This is pretty annoying given that I can play Crysis on full in DX10 without any issues. I have a GeForce 8800GTX which has 768MB of on-board RAM, plus 4GB of system RAM and a Q6600 Quad Core. I should be able to have 10 copies of Clear Sky running at the same time! It's just so buggy and badly programmed, but I think that's part of the charm with these games

Well yes it runs a lot smoother than Clear Sky, better engine.

And indeed, first time I played I put most options on full like on other games, and when the intro started (when you wake up in that camp-area) I thought my 3Dcard blew up or something. Also, I hope the ending is less disappointing than the last level in Clear Sky though (the level on the way to Pripyat is quite fabulous in that one though)

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Music to my ears! I've always wanted to enjoy Clear Sky as it was intended to be, but the DX9 graphics are pretty enough anyway. Looking forward to the Call of Prypiat.

Haha same here, I knew something wasn't right when it took my character about 10 minutes to get out of bed. I was getting about 8 FPS!

The endings have always been a bit anti-climactic, even in the first game where there were something like 7 or 8 possible endings. Hopefully the pay-off will come in CoP.

Assassin's Creed II is due out in March, I believe. I fucking hate the fact that PC gamers are last to get everything. I'm still waiting for the GTA IV DLC to come to the PC (I know it must be coming because the last patch added some achievements from The Lost and Damned). Achievements, there's something I've never given half a rotten fuck about. What nutter is running around in GTA IV trying to find 200 pigeons to kill? Even I have more of a life than that! haha

Heh. I remember playing GTA IV with the Trophies automatically added by the PS3. They gave me a trophy for finishing the opening cinematic, during which I did, literally, not a damn thing. I'd already felt they were completely meaningless, but really, how is it an achievement to get through to the first moment of actual gameplay?

I submit to you that it is not.

If you guys really want to play the Stalker game, you should just learn Russian. They might even have an achievement for it.

Well I'd rather have that than a crappy port immediately released. I shudder at the thought of trying to run over rooftops evading 20 guards with crappy controls.

Heh, Tony Hawk's American Wasteland on PC even told you to use the right thumb-stick. Eh.

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Haha! I think I remember my brother (who is more of a console man) talking about some of the frivolous achievements awarded to him for simply putting the disc in the drive the right way up, and the number of points awarded are sometimes higher than those offered for difficult gameplay-related achievements. I think the idea of achievements is superfluous in video games - it's like winning the lottery, and to celebrate you winning the lottery successfully you're given an extra 5 grand. But it's mainly the arbitrary nature of most achievements that puzzles me, like the pigeon hunting one in GTA IV. It's not exactly the most enthralling of gameplay!

I have the same problem with games like World of Warcraft, which seem to involve a lot of wandering around for hours on end, mining magic turnips in order to reach XP level 72, at which point you can carry two satchels of enchanted wizard shame instead of just the one. When does the gameplay start?

I hear what you're saying, but unfortunately it doesn't always work like that. GTA IV is a good example; it's one of the weakest ports I've played in a long time, and it took the better part of a year for it to reach the PC market after it was out on consoles. Time doesn't always guarantee a good product, and I think the delay in this case has more to do with waiting out the agreed "Xbox exclusive" status of the game before it can be offered to other platforms.

The Club is a game which apparently had its source code copied and pasted from one system into the other, because even the on-screen button hints were all Xbox controller buttons! I mean, how difficult would it have been to replace such things with PC-relevant ones? It's a shit game anyway.

I hear that Assassin's Creed III will have multiplayer. I'm not much of a multiplayer...player, but I'd be interested to see how it's implemented. I hope it's not just a load of racing over rooftops and seeing who can assassinate the most people in under 2 minutes, etc. Some co-op would be interesting, you could work on genuine strategies together and the like.

Did anyone here ever play Shiny's MDK? In my opinion their absolute best game, even beating Earthworm Jim. I mean fuck, just look at this moutherfucker's suit!

http://i40.tinypic.com/314f58y.jpg
http://vinashare.net/image/images/5..._2_Armaged.jpeg

Kurt's Coil Suit

Kurt's main defense against the Streamriders is Dr. Hawkins's Coil Suit, a skin-tight armor suit made of a leather-like material inlaid with twisting gold designs. This suit serves as a bullet proof vest and protects Kurt from the atmospheric friction of re-entry.

The sniper rifle is actually Kurt's chaingun mounted on his helmet. It gains 100x zoom and the capability of supporting 6 different types of ammunition. Kurt does not actually see out of the helmet, rather, he sees out of a HUD camera, used to aim. There are three "Bullet Cams" that track each projectile and linger briefly after impact, showing the damage done.

The front end of Kurt's helmet can be removed and attached to his arm, becoming a machine gun with unlimited ammo. There is also a powerup that increases the damage and firing rate of the chaingun, making it even easier to defeat vast quantities of enemies.

The Ribbon Chute allows Kurt to navigate long jumps, long falls, and utilize updrafts (deploying automatically). The Ribbon Chute retracts automatically when not being used and can be used infinite times. According to Dr. Hawkins's diary, there were also concepts for a "Bow Chute" and a "Tie Chute".



Unfortunately you can't really see in those pictures that he's also got a MOTHERFUCKIN MINI GUN ON HIS HAND! Please, please, please tell me someone has played it? I want to share the pure fun and awesomeness that this game is. I consider it a work of art. The sequel is good but it in no way lives up to the original's surreal, Tim Burtonesque battle grounds.

I am totally reinstalling this game when I get home.. its been about 10 years.

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I played it on the Playstation back in the day, I can't remember an awful lot about it though, except that I quite liked it at the time. It was a pretty weird game!

Oh yeah, you're a Half-Life 2 fan, yes? I recently downloaded the 11GB+ Cinematic Mod for it, took fuckin' days. It's basically a complete overhaul of the textures and models (and music) of the game. It looks amazing, but unfortunately the coast levels are completely unplayable because the developer decided to make them night-time levels, and even with the flashlight turned on you can't see ANYTHING, literally. Well, you can see a patch of ground immediately below you, but that's it. Can't even see your weapon. I can't for the life of my understand why the guy released the mod in this state. Anyway, it's worth a look if you have plenty of bandwidth/hard disk space (when it's installed it'll take up a good 20GB!); the models look amazing, the skin and fingernails look almost real. Sounds like a weird thing to pick up on haha, but I zoomed in on various bits to see what difference the mod really made and I was impressed by how lifelike they looked. I think the dev is a perve though, he replaced Alyx's model with what looks like some sort of porn star with fairly big tits and a boob-tube hahaha. The same goes for the rest of the female cast!

The developer has been working on realistic eyes, too, complete with eyeball fluid. You can check all of that shit out on the forum if you wanna have a look.

Since you're too much of a cheap bastard to buy anything (I mean seriously, the UK is running out of hookers and ethanol), I'm sure you can find an MDK torrent. The second one is good, too, but it's a bit more 'silly' than the first and kind of ruins the feel. Its still fun though. If you play and enjoy the first one, definitely play the second one.

I'm probably going to buy the game your recommended in the console thread, Criminal Origins. It looks pretty tits and I'm in the mood for a good scare and will need that to hold me over until Silent Hill comes. You wouldn't happen to have the .exe to send me, would you?

I'll definitely read up on it as it sounds awesome, but there's no way I can download a 20GB program. First off, I'm sure my computer couldn't run it. Besides that: The last time I did that was with a music program and it was 4 days of frustration (my internet drops a lot) and broken hopes. I also don't have 20GBs to spare. I was just forced to delete CoD and another game because I kept running out of memory while recording music.. I need to buy a new external HD. That's fucking ridiculous though about the dev totally fucking up the coast sections.. like, it just doesn't make sense. He's got enough talent and vision to, from your statements, stunningly re-haul the game, but he's retarded enough to blind you on the part of the game that is probably the most beautiful and serene. Are people complaining about it also on the forums? I love me Half-life 2.. Maybe if you pay for my plane ticket to come over to your house I'll play it.. but that's still a maybe.

Speaking of Half-life, there is a project to do the samHOLY FUCK A HUGE SPIDER AAH hold on I have to catch him and put him outside - okay. Damn. That thing just snuck up on me. Anyway, there is a project to totally revamp the original HF. I don't know if its to the extent of the cinematic mod, probably not, I hope not, but just to make it look like it's a modern game. I can't for the life of me remember what it's called but I'll find out. It's a hugely anticipated release and the trailer will make anyone drool. Its still in the works though last time I checked.

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Haha I do buy stuff!! Just before Christmas there were a whole load of sales on Steam and I bought the HL collection and about 15 other games. Alright, they were about £3/$6 each, but the fact remains!

I just checked, and MDK 1 and 2 - and a combo pack containing both - are on there. £7 each, or £11 for both. Not bad. I'll definitely consider getting the first one, if only for the nostalgia. Actually, fuck dat noise! GOG.com has the game for about £3, and GOG.com games are DRM-free! FUCK YOU, STEAM!

Oh yeah, GOG.com is a fucking MUST if you enjoy old games (it's Good Old Games, after all!). Dirt-cheap, DRM-free and the games are all updated to work on modern systems. Splendid.

You won't be disappointed with Condemned, it's a pretty cool game. I don't have Silent Hill but I'm sure I could find it if you genuinely want me to send you a copy

If you want I could snail-mail a set of discs to you with the mods and any other shit you might want on them. It's no big deal, it usually costs less than the sachets of anthrax spores which I definitely don't own. PM me your deets and a list of the stuff you want if you're interested. If you're worried about what I'll do with your address Chris will vouch for me; I regularly send him snapshots of the potato farm where he was conceived. The poor guy just can't get right.

The forums contain one post about the darkness, and about how turning the monitor's brightness up full makes little difference. It's a small project/community though, I don't think there's a hell of a lot of activity there. From what I can gather it's just one guy who created the mod, which is pretty impressive in itself. There are fairly regular updates/patches released though, so I'm hoping he's gonna fix the lighting problem in the near future.

Hahaha you and Bobbi are the only people I know who type in real-time. It's a gift!

I think we're both waiting for the same awesomeness to arrive - Black Mesa. I own the official Half-Life: Source, which is basically the original game transferred into the Half-Life 2 engine. It's largely the same, but the bodies have rag-doll physics and the blood splatters from HL2 are included (probably the finest blood splatter effect I've seen in a game). It's widley considered a disappointment, and Black Mesa is aiming to do the job right. And from what I've seen so far, they're well on their way to doing just that!

Yeah, I just saw that they have both MDKs and since I can't find my original disk I'm going to buy it later tonight.

I much appreciate the offer about the cinematic mod but I don't want to trouble you with burning 20 disks, and, besides, I don't think my video card could handle it. However, I will be PMing you about other games and stuff I'm interested in.

Yes! Black Mesa project.. wow can't believe I forgot that name. I can't fucking wait. It'll be like getting a whole new HF. I doubt we'll see the 3rd episode until next year.

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I second what Paddy said. You'll enjoy Condemned. I haven't beaten it yet but when you have it turned up loud with the lights out it's scary.

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Ahh I just remembered, the mod requires a 64bit O/S and therefore a 64bit processor, so that's another obstacle in your way of using it! There's actually a "lite" version which doesn't require as much power and runs on a 32bit system, but doesn't contain HD models and textures (just prettier ones). I'm assuming this means it's much smaller, too. But yeah, if you're having to uninstall games to make room for others I doubt you'd have enough space anyway haha.

It's about fucking cunting wankering bastarding time:

http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/106/1065011p1.html

anyone want to play starcraft? my sn is Bloody_poop on uswest

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My bro got an BETA key for Battlefield Bad Company 2.

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I got an Boner from your bro

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat is on Steam now, and if you already own the first two games in the series you get £5 off, or whatever the equivalent is in your currency. I'm currently skint, so I'll have to either wait or just UseNet that fucker in the meantime.

Yeah, UseNet

Riiiiiight, thanks for reminding me, have it on this PC (not the official English version though, but a seemingly Babelfished one) but kind of forgot about it. Should get back to work on that one.


Oh, also, a good argument if you were doubtful about this one: after you complete the main quest, this time you can still wander around exporing the zone afterwards. Good, cause the final "game end too bad if you hadn't finished all side-quests yet maybe you should reload that savegame from 7 days back kurwa dai mi brovara jivko" was quite gay, in my humble opinion.

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That's great news! I think developers of open world games who end the game permanently after the last story mission are depriving gamers of what they worked the hardest to create - a functioning, infinitely explorable virtual world. Likewise, I hate when games like GTA force you to progress through the storyline missions in order to unlock chunks of the map.

Far Cry 2 would be the exception, though; this game was already fairly lifeless and barren even during the story missions, I can't imagine what there'd be to do after the storyline comes to a close, other than drive around shooting up road blocks which is essentially what Far Cry 2 consists of - road blocks, broken down vehicles and amateurish voice acting. Playing Far Cry 2 with a trainer makes it twice as fun, though. Fun enough to warrant paying £7.49 for it on Steam during a sale!

Looks like my PC died. It was 7ish years old, had been reformatted at least 4 times and was held together with cum and duct tape so it was about time for it to go. Looks like I won't be playing anything new for awhile. I use it mainly for recording and stuff so luckily I had everything backed up on my external (which is EXTRA backed up at my work PC) and my father is letting me use his laptop until now.

However, it can run Worms Armageddon so I'm having some real fun getting back into it. It's one of the few games that I am seriously godly at, especially in the elite scheme (20 second turn time, 2 ropes, basic weapons and team super weapon - the most challenging and strategic scheme I think). Just to encourage some competition and a reg to play with, I will give anyone $10 that can beat me in a 2 out of 3 tournament in elite. Hands down, probably one of the top 3 most fun games out there. Someone torrent it (or PM and I'll send it to you) and play me.

Paddy?

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Holy shit Worms Armageddon was one of my favorite games of all time. When I was in middle school ( a good 7-8 years ago) my friends and I would have worm tournaments and such. I never quite beat all the missions though, I think I got past the Eifel Tower one and got stuck. My death match level was pretty good though, I forget the rankings but it was somewhere around general or above, maybe more. Most of our games with friends just consisted of holy hand grenades and banana bombs set on full power. Fun times, fun times....


Only bad thing I remember was WormNet, it was hard to find a decent game going and was filled with Europeans.

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I never gave a shit about the missions in Worms Armageddon. But shit man I really want to play that game now. I still have my PlayStaion 1 lying around here with some other cool games like Need for Speed or Rayman (was soooo hard to beat)

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I used to love Worms for the PSX, but I haven't played it since. I think I might have tried the PC version at one point and couldn't really get into it.

I'm generally not a fan of multiplayer, although LAN games with my brothers can be pretty fun, but that rarely happens. I used to play Tactical Ops with them back in the day, and we were playing Crysis together a couple of months ago, which was nice. Other than that I prefer wandering around in GTA by myself killing pedestrians in the style of David Berkowitz.

Does anyone remember Cannon Fodder? I bought it from GOG.com a few months back, it looks like shit but it's still just as fun as it was when I was about 9 haha. Pretty funny, too.

What in the name of FUCK is this shit?

http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/106/1069295p1.html

Alan Wake (admittedly a game I've not been looking forward to all that much) isn't coming to the PC because Microsoft doesn't believe PC gamers will get the most out of it because it's better suited for being played in front of a TV whilst sitting on a couch. Are you fucking serious?? This is quite possibly the stupidest thing I've ever heard said about a game ever.

Who pulls a product from the market because they're worried that it won't be enjoyed properly? Does Ridley Scott come around to our houses with a big sack taking away the copies of Gladiator which are being watched on a 20" telly without surround sound? "Sorry folks, I don't believe you're enjoying this to the fullest, YOINK".

I honestly can't get my head around this logic. If they had said they pulled the PC version because of piracy issues or because of the budget problems in porting it I wouldn't think twice about it. Coños!

d00d just g3t an Xb0x lol

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Xbox makes my penis sad

Same here but I think I really need an XboX 360 or a PS3. Just because of Just Cause 2 and Fable 3

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Starcraft 2 beta has been released... and I didn't get in. Someone find me one and I won't ban everyone. FOR THE LOVE OF FUCKING CHRIST PLEASE GET ME ONE!!

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I didn't either. Usually very few people get in with blizzard games.

we should have a MT lurker D game or something. there's no excuse, sc is like 5$, if you actually buy it.

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I'm more of a straight-game player but I'd be down for some MT battles. I'd be even MORE down for a MT worms game...

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I'll do normal 3v3 or 4v4 (fastest possible map) because that requires minimal skill, just massing. Does anyone here play Warcraft 3?

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Ew, I hate fast maps and massing.. very little skill involved which makes it boring FAST.

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Meh...more macro over micro, but I have seen some good strats in fastest possible map ever games. Never got the hang of ladder in SC, but in WC I can tear an anus apart with very few units and actually get ranked, which is why I asked.

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I was so looking forward to Assassin's Creed II until I learnt that the new DRM scheme will require a permanent internet connection to Ubisoft's servers, and if the connection is lost or interrupted the game will be mandatorily paused until it comes back online. Cocksucking Orwellian Big Brother cocksuckers with tiny cocks, they can go and get fucked if they think I'm paying for the privilege of having my anus stretched by their draconian - and more importantly, completely impotent - cuntatronics.

DRM and copy protections are 0% effective, and the costs of these bullshit fantasist's playthings are passed on to us. Show me a game which has gone uncracked for more than a few days and I'll suck your mother's flapjacks. Ubisoft has actually stated that they know this DRM will be dealt with almost instantly by the crackers, but offer no further comment on why they bother implementing it at all. Only the paying customer will have to contend with this shit, the people downloading it illegally (i.e. me) will never even see it.

I heard an interesting theory about this bullshit. Basically, Ubisoft and other developers are making being a paying customer a massive chore so that they can blame the resultant shitty sales on pirates and completely sever their connections with the PC market. In other words, they want to stop making PC games but can't just say that, so they concoct this fake crisis allowing them to walk away without being blamed or taking responsibility, presumably because PC games don't sell as many units as consoles games, piracy or no piracy.

PC piracy was the biggest form of game piracy when the next-gen consoles were first released, but nowadays the Xbox 360 and Wii (and just last month, the PS3) are more easily cracked than a Thai child's sternum. The rate of piracy is evening out, and with that in mind I have no sympathy for game developers as they try to herd us all into console-only gaming. I fucking hate consoles, but not as much as the people who say - without a hint of irony - "just sell the PC and get an Xbox lol". FUCK OFF AND DIE OF CHAINSAWS!

In other news, GTA Liberty City Stories is coming soon, and even sooner than that is Battlefield: Bad Company 2, both of which were pre-ordered for me by my lovely little brother, God bless him and his ever-swollen, bulbous penis.

Today my friend gave me back my copy of Bioshock, so I`m gonna play this the next few weeks

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I couldn't get into Bioshock, for some reason. Is Bioshock 2 worth a look? I mean, is it more of the same with a few improvements here and there or is it as big a leap in quality gaming as there was between Half-Life 1 and 2?

Only the intro gives me a so hard boner my pants nearly exploded. I ♥ Bioshock
Dunno about Bioshock 2 but I`ll give it a look

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My Bioshock 2-download should be complete by tomorrow, a heads up on it for you guys will ensue.

Paddy I really, REALLY think you should try getting into it [BS 1] again. I absolutely loved it, and the TWIST - ofuk! - in the end (which IS hinted at, so it's by no means a total Deus Ex Machina) actually is quite good. That, and the undeniable charm of Rapture and its inhabitants.

Also, the DRM-announcement has made you give up on wanting to play ACII? Odd if so, cause as you said, downloaders will probably never notice it was ever there.

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New computer comes in friday woooooo!!! Fucking gonna revamp my counter strike domination ones again!

I swear a pc only last me on average 1 year and a half.

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I think I'll give it another go, if nothing else it'll keep me occupied until Battlefield and GTA arrive

The DRM has put me off paying for it, not playing it. I'll most likely just download it from UseNet, DRM-free

Do any of you have any experience building computers? Mine is dead (and has been for about 2 weeks) and now that I have some cash I can possibly do it. However, I really have NO idea on how to "build" a computer. I'd like to get something mid-high end, but nothing absolute insane. To be able to play most modern games on low-mid settings would be ideal and I also need some horse power because I mainly use my PC for recording (and I won't need any kind of sound card). I've got about $500 to spend, so is it possible to do it within that price range? I was told yes.

Here are the specs on my old PC, please let me know if I can salvage anything from it to save some cash: 2.67GHz 2048MB DDR SDRAM 333MHz Single Channel, I also have a ATI R9800XT 128 BIT that a friend gave me - is this a good card?

Anyone have any info on this process or care to personally help me?

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Well if your working with 500 bro definitely gonna have to recycle the processor and video card. The rest you can buy within the 500 dollar price range. Problem that may arise is finding a board new that's compatible with that processor, maybe find a used one on ebay. If all else fails pay the shipping and handling before I toss my old xps 200 in the trash and I'll send it to you...needs a new board

If you keep your processor and video card though you can buy this years technology, just buy an upgradable board..that way when you get more cash you could possibly update to an Intel extreme chip wo0t.

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I'd ditch the PCI-E videocard. Dated technology and your largest bottleneck.


But indeed, salvage the CPU, it's decent enough.
The other card your friend offered you, hmmm, by today's standards (and you wanted to be able to play the latest games on low-mid settings) you'll need at least 512. But there are a lot of good low-price 512 cards out there, won't even have to go over 100$, maybe even as low as 80$ (look around for used ones?)

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Ubisoft (the company behind Assassin's Creed II) have put forth their case for their horrid DRM scheme, which will affect all Ubisoft games from here on, not just AC2:

http://www.computerandvideogames.co...e.php?id=235596

Again and again the only question that matters is never asked - this DRM will be dealt with by the pirates in a matter of hours, so what's their motivation for maintaining their DRM system thereafter? Piracy, which is what DRM aims to quash, won't be affected in the slightest.

In the interview they actually say that they know their DRM isn't impervious and will be cracked, and they chastise Steam because Steam games are easily hacked. My point, and the point of every PC gamer, is that their DRM is just as ineffective as Steam and every other rootkit-infested bullshit that came before it. I'm actually expecting it to be cracked before the release date, because Russian pirates have gotten their hands on a copy of the game and are offering it up to the crack squad and I imagine the crackers will be working that little bit harder just to show Ubisoft what a bunch of deluded, pigheaded fucknuts they are.

I was genuinely planning to buy this game. Not anymore, son!

Amen to that.

I BOUGHT the first Assassins Creed, and it even plays without the CD! Not even cracked at all! Reason for me to buy it!

Oh yes, Bioshock 2 is some GOOD shit right there. Haven't finished it (don't game a lot, and not in long streaks either) but trust me it's got the same feel of the first, extravagant/extraordinairy characters included.
And the underwater-levels are a neat lil' extra touch.

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I bought AC1, too It stands as a testament to a game's quality if Paddy "Could You Sew a Shirt Onto This Button For Me?" McMullan buys a copy of it. I might start re-playing it tonight, actually.

I wasn't really into Bioshock. I have a weird taste when it comes to games, a taste that I don't really understand myself. I think the best way of framing it would be to say that I'm just a picky, miserable cunt, and not in such a way that it affords me a status as prestigious as "connoisseur" or "hard to please". I'm just as shallow as a pikey's bathtub when it comes to moving pixels around.

My ideal game would consist of the following ingredients:

* Free roam, with no "unlocking" of certain parts of the world required
* Extremely realistic violence/malleable NPCs (GTA IV's physics are pretty good; just add Soldier of Fortune-type gibbing and I'm happy)
* No supernatural/paranormal/alien horseshit
* Red Faction: Guerilla/Battlefield: Bad Company 2-type destructible environments
* Few, if any, American or British voice-overs if the game doesn't take place in or near either nation
* If it's a war game I'd like the option to play as the non-P.C. army, or the Axis of Paddy, rather than sit through several hours of propagandistic cut scenes apparently funded by the ghost of Ronald Reagan haunting Margaret Thatcher's pussy - I'm lookin' at you CALL OF DUTY
* Not much, if any, comedy unless it's a comical game (one of GTA's downfalls for me - kinda hard to re-enact the Tiananmen Square massacre when the NPCs are all quipping as they run for their lives from my massive, pulsing, throbbing AK47. BE SERIOUS WHEN I FIRE AT YOU)
* Toggle option for First Person and Third Person perspectives
* The ability to skip cut-scenes and avoid lengthy dialogue without hampering your ability to progress
* Cheats built-in and usable at any time without "punishment"
* NO FUCKING ACHIEVEMENTS, YA RAT BASTIDS!

Either that or another 2D Monkey Island sequel.

Would some one care to give me a recommended outline or parts I need to get in order to build a working computer in that price range, including the parts mentioned that I should salvage from my old computer (minus the graphic cards, I'll need a newer one)? Thanks. Yours truly: helpless.

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For $500 you'd be lucky to get a modern low to mid system. You'll need a new motherboard for a start, one which has PCI-E slots. I'd recommend this one as a mid-ranger:

http://www.techspot.com/review/43-asus-p5n-e-sli/

Your RAM clock speeds are pretty low, and I'm not sure how much you could squeeze out of it by overclocking, and I doubt a new motherboard would accept it given its age and therefore physical dimensions, so I'd recommend new RAM. I have 2GB spare (2 x 1GB sticks), which is clocked at 800MHz out of the box. It's pretty good RAM, the same stuff I use (I just have too much haha). I can snail mail it to you if you want it, obviously I won't charge ya, so that should save you a good $100 or so. It's no trouble, I won't be using it and if I need new RAM I'll most likely upgrade to faster shit anyway.

Your processor probably wouldn't transfer to the new motherboard even if it was worth saving, which it probably isn't haha. You can get dual cores for a reasonable price these days, and that would suffice. Something along these lines would be good, but you can get cheaper non-Intel ones which basically do the same job:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/183979

Your GPU has one massive flaw that I can see without even looking it up - the on-board RAM. 128MB is abysmal if you plan to play Crysis and the like. I also imagine that the shader model on the card is outdated (modern games won't even start if the shader model isn't at least 2 or 3). Because you're on a budget, I'd recommend sticking with ATI. Something like this (which has a whopping 1GB of on-board RAM) is right up your street:

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/.../NOV-45501.html

Depending on what card you get you may need two or more PCI-E connectors on your PSU (power supply). So, looking into a power supply which has at least two PCI-E connectors and has enough juice to run the card will probably put another $50- $100 on the price tag. It depends on the card, so keep tabs on both items when you shop around - the PSU you have now might be enough.

I'm not sure what sort of case you have, but I'd recommend having at least 2 fans on it. Modern GPUs will start hitting some pretty mean temperatures after a while if your case isn't properly ventilated. This was never a concern 10 years ago, but nowadays there's an entire industry built on just cooling due to the sheer volume of energy flowing through modern graphics cards and processors. Again, your current case might be fine, and you can mount extra fans onto it if necessary (they're only about $10 each or something).

I'm not a whiz kid when it comes to this stuff, I've built my own system and watched my brothers build theirs which doesn't really amount to much in terms of expertise, so someone else's input would be nice!

Thanks a ton Paddy, and I will most definitely take you up on that snail mail offer. Check your PMs.

It looks like I won't be able to start buying anything until the 13th or 14th because I just blew through all my money to pay for gas, pharmaneeds, and lawyer fees (DUI..) but that will give me a good amount of time to research some more and not rush into buying shit as fast as I can, which is often my MO. I hate myself. Thank God porn is free.

Me: God, thank you for making porn free in this day and age.
Me: You're welcome, me. And always remem -
Malnourished Romanian Child Sex Slave: Dear God, please... well... I know that you’re real and that I deserve to have my shame cave violently abused by the entire town’s male population.. over and over again.. but I could really use som –
Me: SHUT THE FUCK UP, KID! Porn is fucking free now! Do you understand what that means? Did you not hear me? Porn is free, for as long as the internet exists for fuck's sake! Stop your God damn whining and enjoy what I have given you and the rest of ungrateful humanity. Why can’t you be more like your shackle mate, Mihaita? He doesn’t ask for or question anything. He just does what he’s meant to do and is eternally grateful for free porn.


I think I will be uping my budget to $700 just to give myself a little more wiggle room. LORD KNOWS I LOVE A GOOD WIGGLIN'!

I feel Wolfsherz also in the process of rubbing out a informative post soon too. I will name my computer after the boths of you if he too can manage to help me do less work. Padsherz? McWolfy? Wolfing down maxy Pads? Oh the possibilities! Now that's what I call incentive!

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...And Assassins Creed 2 is succesfully hacked!


Quelle surprise, quoi.

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Haha fuck yeah! I'm currently on sequence 13, although the game isn't yet fully completable as far as I know. There's a single file you need to download to use with the fake server which lets you progress, and it's being updated every day as legit users complete missions and upload their version of the file. There's actually a dedicated website for exactly that haha:

http://ac2clearing.whotookspaz.org/

Now that the DRM has been dealt with future releases will be cracked much more quickly. I was all for buying this game, and I will definitely buy it if they remove this ridiculous garbage from it, but until then they can suck my fat pendulous cock.

Fucking great game, too. Improves upon AC1 in every way.

EDIT: I completed the main story missions, and I'm now finishing up the side quests, and I haven't had any problems so far. Looks like the crack has been successful.

GTA IV has received a new patch, looks like a pretty substantial work. It's being released to bring the game up to date to match the features included in the Episodes From Liberty City DLC which is due out in a few days. My lil' bro pre-ordered me a copy over a month ago, can't fuckin' wait

I'm hoping sjaak327 will be able to update his trainer to work with the new patch and the new games. If you haven't tried it you should give it a look, it has some pretty cool features.

I haven't touched GTA since Vice City on PS2. What's it like the PC and the online play?

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I don't play online, but the PC port of GTA IV was pretty sloppy. It's a really good game, just doesn't run very well. Hopefully this new patch will help some.

I still think San Andreas is the best in the series, and if you use the graphics enhancements mods (ENB Series) its dated graphics look pretty fucking impressive!

EDIT: anyone who's a fan of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. needs to check out Metro 2033.

I'm daying to play the STALKER game you sent me but I'm still computerless.. I need to stop having complete disregard for money.

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Pretty far into Assassins Creed 2... This game is all I wanted it to be and more. Absolutely thrilled by it, and it really really REALLY makes me regret the DRM-bullshit, cause I would've instantly bought this game otherwise.

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The original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. might play on your current system if you turn everything down. If your graphics card supports Shader Model 2.0 you're in luck. If you've never bought a separate graphics card and instead just have one built into your motherboard then you're screwed haha.

Metro 2033 is made by most of the same crew who made STALKER, and it shows. It's basically a more linear version of STALKER, with most of the action taking place underground in the subway system and the like. I've been playing it for a week or two, and I like it so much that I will probably buy it eventually. The graphics are much better than those of STALKER, and the game feels more polished and streamlined. STALKER, on the other hand, is crawling with more bugs than yo mama's unkempt snatch.

I agree 100%. Ubisoft could have my money if they didn't treat me like what I am - a criminal (ha). It's probably the best game I've played in the past several years, and I'm predicting it will be the best of 2010. Hopefully they'll remove the DRM eventually.

I've been working my way through the side quests, and the assassination contract missions are just as fun as the main storyline assassinations. They're arguably better, because you don't have to sit through cut-scenes and dialogue before you can get down to business. Likewise, you don't have to sit through more dialogue after you've killed the fucker.

My copy of GTA IV: Episodes From Liberty City arrived today, just installing it now. Takes fucking ages! The PC version is spread over two DVD9s, like the main GTA IV game, so that's about 16GB worth of data being copied across. The console version is on a single disc. HA! I laugh at your tiny textures and inferior audio quality, PS3 and Xbox 360!

Speaking of graphic cards, does anyone here know if it'd be possible to dig up a driver for an old geforce2 gts somewhere on the net? V7700 series; we're talking antiquity here, but for the moment I just want to refurbish an old computer to take some of the load off the three already buzzing about. All I can find are these "DriverDetective" thingies which sort of gives me the vibe of a smiling alligator contemplating a clueless teacher and her kindergarten class heading his way.

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Go to http://www.nvidia.com/ and choose your location, then click Download Drivers > Beta and Archived Drivers from the top menu. If you select "Legacy" from the Product Type drop-down menu you should be able to choose GeForce 2 from the menu directly below it.

Been there done that, but it's a no can do. See, I'm trying to be a cheap ass and keep win 2000 in this old can and the problem is finding a driver that's compatible with something so impossibly old. Ah well, it's no big deal.

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The Windows 2000 operating system is an option when I select Legacy/GeForce 2.

If you want a copy of Windows XP (with Service Pack 3 incorporated) PM me. It's uploaded already from when I shared it with someone else, I just have to send you the link

Ahaha, no way. This is my Dad's laptop that he bought for like.. $700 4 yearsih years ago.

One more paycheck and I may be ready to get a new one.

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... or you might just do like me and throw a nerd ball. I've never thrown away a computer, 'cause it's such fun refurbishing the old ones. Seriously. What?

Hey, thanks Pad-man, but no sweat! I found I actually had the foresight the last time around to do a backup on all those kinds of files on an USB bought for the purpose, and then placed it in a very intelligent spot where nothing short of dumb luck would make it possible to find, ever.
Mighty strange though, I don't get 2000 as an option on that page. Could it be something with the country?

Anyway, I'll stop hijacking the thread with my personal whinings and jump back on topic just for the hell of it. I found Thief II the metal age along with aforesaid USB. Easily one of the best of all times.

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Nice one!

Mmm, that could be the problem, it didn't occur to me that there'd be country restrictions on drivers, but it's possible. If you wanted I could get you the UK/Europe link, the only downside being that the installer would be in English. But if your backups work I guess it's all good


It's cool man, this IS the PC thread after all! I know it's a gaming thread, but discussion of device drivers for graphics cards is just as relevant as the games they will be displaying.

Never played it, is that an RPG or a World of Warcraft sort of affair? Sounds like it might be haha.

Say what? Ye know not of the awesomeness that be Thief II? I'm not entirely sure of all those genre denominations; I never was much of an avid gamer and it's been quite a while since I even tried, but I guess it falls into RPG. Basically you take on the role of Garrett, the greatest thief the world has never seen (oh how the fans love that slogan) in a slightly weird medievalish steampunk world. Of course, I suppose the graphics aren't much to compete with these days, but there's just something about those huge missions and hoards of side quests and easter eggs. Not to mention that the script writers have done a tremendous job; I'd say that is the main reason I've kept the CD.

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I could never get into games like that, unfortunately. RPG and strategy games are two genres that are equally aloof to me. I even tried playing the much raved about Starcraft and just couldn't get into it. Same with Oblivion.

Oh yeah, Assassin's Creed II has received a proper crack now, from SKIDROW. It's a single file which overwrites an existing file in the Ubisoft Game Launcher directory. In other words, the actual game files themselves don't require any tinkering. Ubisoft can fuck RIGHT off.

I have it if anyone wants it, just PM me. A word of warning, though - your savegames need to be moved into the newly created SKIDROW directory, otherwise you won't be able to access them. Details will be included if the crack is requested.

Well, I may not have been much of a gamer, but strategy always was one of my genres and Starcraft doesn't even come close to licking the boots of my own list of favorites there. The Homeworld series was a top ranker, for example.
I've always found that the more a game requires you to think the more I can get into it, so yea, games like Thief II and Deus Ex always went down well. And the Ur-Quan masters. Ever tried that one? It's open source, easy to find and just great. It relies utterly on size and script and proves once and for all that graphics doesn't make a good game...
"So yea, I guess this'll be it then, captain, 'cause... I ain't coming with ya".
"Why not?"
"Why not? Why not? 'Cause I'm still locked up in this bloody cargohold YOU put me in, you miserable weakminded dolt! So if you could just see your way clear TO HELP; LET MET OUT!"
And the crystal- and spirit worshipping bird race. You just gotta love the Pkunk. And... and...

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I think taste in games is an interesting topic, because it seems to be a manifestation of other traits. It has always struck me that strategy games would appeal to inherently logical types (chess players, mathematicians, and so on). Unfortunately I'm completely impotent when it comes to that sort of thinking. That said, I love adventure games like Monkey Island and Broken Sword, which do involve a lot of problem solving, but it's of a different nature. I can't quite figure out why I love that sort of game but bleed from the ass when someone asks me to add two numbers together, or why I lose erectile functioning for a week when I play Command & Conquer. On the face of it strategy games should appeal to me as much as adventure games, but they don't haha.

Deus Ex is a game I've heard nothing but good things about, and I actually have it installed. I worked my way through the training levels last month and haven't played it since, but I'll definitely go back to it. It's often cited as the best game of all time so I gotta see for myself. I don't mind RPGs in general, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games are quite RPG-ish in many respects and I fuckin' love 'em. It's the World of Warcraft kind of games I can't stomach, they just seem like The Sims with a massive time-haemorrhaging learning curve and little reward.

I completed both episodes of GTA IV: Episode From Liberty City in less than 2 hours. They're incredibly short; taken together they don't amount to even a quarter of the length of GTA IV. Quite enjoyable, all the same. I'd recommend waiting for the price to drop significantly before buying it, or just pirate it.

I only play games to kill time, so mostly First Person Shooters and Action Role Play games are my choice.
Right now I`m playing Titan Quest : The Immortal Throne only because my bro said it was freakin cool and yeah, it`s decent

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Have any good PC games come out in the last year? Finals are almost over and I'm tempted to waste half my time playing Diablo II and Oblivion but I'd like to find something new and nothing's crossed my radar lately...

I don't think anything will ever beat Diablo II. I'm nostalgiaing so hard right now reminiscing about it.

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heh, I just downloaded it from my bnet account and installed it again yesterday. I've gone through the first acts so many times its going to take a little while to get started again.

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God damn, I am tempted to start a new char. Now. I never did play as a druid...

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Druids are fun for a while, at least the elemental ones. I never really played one, just got one rushed and did some cow and baal runs.

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I played heavily as a necromancer, and a little bit of the druid. they're definitely not as powerful but they're a lot of fun to play. wish there was a badass female character, i could never get into the sorceress.

The Amazon is pretty wicked. Personally, I preferred the Assassin as a female character as they're pretty fun and heavy but the Amazon is probably an all-around better character.

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